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La Jara land deal raises questions about public access and state priorities
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

La Jara land deal raises questions about public access and state priorities

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Selling La Jara to conservation groups and the Feds, including a swap with CPW? I had a reader send me a heads up on the State Land Board’s (SLB) La Jara land deal. The reader had heard about it in a CPW meeting because CPW could be involved in the land swap. I wanted to push this out quick so you have a chance to sign up and speak (or email) prior to the October 15th State Land Board meeting. As such, I can’t go into huge amounts of depth or summarize. I can give you the information that’s publicly out there so you can look and decide for yourself. As a quick overview, the SLB is charged with management and leasing of the state’s publicly-owned lands with the mission of getting as much revenue from them as the...
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A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room
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American Policy, Approved, Commentary, State

A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room

By Aimee Tooker | Commentary, American Policy Center Coordination is the key to harmonizing land management plans and the strategies of the communities that live and work on federal public lands From the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado the Dolores River flows through Montezuma, Dolores, San Miguel, Montrose and Mesa counties until the state line with Utah.  National and local environmental and rewilding advocates had pushed for almost 50 years for a Wild and Scenic designation on the Dolores River.  It never went through because over the course of the years it was decided by the generational locals, municipalities and tax districts that that was not the correct way to manage the river. The talk of Wild and Scenic designation (most restrictive designation for a river) cau...
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‘Nothing off the table’: U.S. targets citizenship fraud in major enforcement push
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Just The News, Approved, National

‘Nothing off the table’: U.S. targets citizenship fraud in major enforcement push

By Steven Richards | Just the News Operation Twin Shield in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota flagged more than 1,000 cases suspected of being fraudulent, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told Just the News. After a joint operation by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) found “mass patterns” of marriage and other immigration fraud in Minneapolis, the agency’s director says denaturalization and prosecutions are on the table. Operation Twin Shield, which was conducted by USCIS in coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, flagged over 1,000 cases suspected of involving “fraud or ineligibility indicators,” the agency shared in an after-action announcement.  The agency rev...
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FBI Surveillance of GOP Lawmakers Raises Questions About Abuse of Power
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The Federalist, Approved, National

FBI Surveillance of GOP Lawmakers Raises Questions About Abuse of Power

By Hans Mahncke | The Federalist The FBI secretly monitored the phone records of eight sitting Republican senators in an abusive fishing expedition done with impunity. In 1972, a small team of operatives connected to President Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign broke into the Democratic National Committee’s offices in the Watergate complex to install listening devices. To this day, there is no conclusive evidence that Nixon personally ordered — or even knew of — the break-in beforehand. Yet Watergate shaped American political consciousness for decades. It gave the world a permanent suffix for scandal and became the ultimate symbol of abuse of power, a crisis so severe that it culminated in the only resignation of a U.S. president to preempt removal from office. Fast forward 50 y...
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Colorado Town Begins Recovery as Pagosa Springs Reopens After Major Flooding
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CBS News, Approved, Local

Colorado Town Begins Recovery as Pagosa Springs Reopens After Major Flooding

By: Austen Erblat | CBS News Evacuations have been lifted and U.S. Highway 160 has reopened in Pagosa Springs after what officials in southern Colorado described as "extreme flooding conditions." Mandatory evacuations were ordered late Saturday night after the San Juan River more than doubled its average flow. "After a thorough inspection, the Highway 160 bridge at First Street has been declared safe and is now fully open to regular traffic," the town wrote in a Facebook post Sunday, just after 8 a.m. "However, standing water and debris remain in various areas, posing ongoing safety risks. As a precaution, all parks and the surrounding downtown areas along the San Juan River will remain temporarily closed to the public. Authorities urge all residents and visitors to avoid these ar...
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The price and pieces of peace: How Trump’s approach worked where others failed
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American Greatness, Approved, Commentary, National

The price and pieces of peace: How Trump’s approach worked where others failed

By Victor Davis Hanson | Commentary, American Greatness Trump’s unorthodox mix of pressure, power, and pragmatism shattered old diplomatic molds—delivering a rare moment of calm to the world’s most combustible region. What did Donald Trump do differently to obtain at least temporary calm in the Middle East compared to the failed efforts of past administrations, foreign powers, and the United Nations? Let us count ten different approaches. 1. Trump curtailed a considerable amount of Iranian oil income and its dispersal. He stopped, for the near future, the Iranian effort to build a bomb. Trump also allowed Israel to destroy Tehran’s air defenses, humiliate it militarily, and eliminate many of its top military officers and nuclear physicists. Thus, Israel’s half-century-long worries...
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Small Colorado Town Turns Tragedy Into Triumph After Fire
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Small Colorado Town Turns Tragedy Into Triumph After Fire

By Russell Haythorn | Denver7 GoFundMe nears $200K as Nederland comes together in wake of Caribou Village Shopping Center fire. NEDERLAND, Colo. — It’s been a tough week for the small mountain town of Nederland, but amid the ashes, hope is taking root. The Caribou Village Shopping Center fire has destroyed more than 30% of the town’s businesses, but now, neighbors, local businesses, and volunteers are coming together to help turn heartbreak into action. Nederland is the kind of place where neighbors feel more like family, said Dan Vollmer, a local realtor with Berkshire Hathaway who launched a GoFundMe campaign for the town. “I’ve been up here a handful of years," Vollmer said. "You really start to call this place home after about two." As the fir...
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‘A New Era of Peace’: Trump’s Powerful Knesset Speech Draws Global Attention
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TownHall.com, Approved, National

‘A New Era of Peace’: Trump’s Powerful Knesset Speech Draws Global Attention

By Leah Barkoukis | Townhall Israeli officials heaped effusive praise on President Trump ahead of his Knesset speech on Monday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling him “the greatest friend the State of Israel has ever had in the White House” as cheers of “Trump” broke out among attendees.   https://twitter.com/ThePatriotOasis/status/1977684259558285817 https://twitter.com/KatiePavlich/status/1977693302552989979 Trump, for his part, delivered a powerful message of peace, strength, and hope as the war-torn region enters what he called a “historic dawn.” But he first acknowledged the work to get to this point by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, among others. A...
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Western Water Crisis Deepens as Key Colorado River Decisions Loom
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The Fence Post, Approved, State

Western Water Crisis Deepens as Key Colorado River Decisions Loom

By Ali Longwell | The Fence Post Western Slope elected officials, water managers, engineers and conservationists met in Grand Junction on Friday, Oct. 3, all focused on one thing: the uncertain future of the Colorado River. “Water users, as a lot, tend to crave certainty, and that certainty seems more and more elusive these days,” said Peter Fleming, general counsel for the Colorado River District, at this year’s annual seminar hosted by the River District. Andy Mueller, the River District’s general manager, said the Colorado River Basin was “at a crossroads.” While the seminar broached many of the challenges and opportunities facing those who rely on the Colorado River, most discussions came back to two looming decisions that will dictate how the future looks for the 40 millio...
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Democrat Lawmakers Face Scrutiny Over Vail Retreat Funded by Undisclosed Donors
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Democrat Lawmakers Face Scrutiny Over Vail Retreat Funded by Undisclosed Donors

By Taylor Dolven and Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun The Colorado Opportunity Caucus, considered among the more moderate Democrats in the legislature, organized the event. The caucus was formed as a nonprofit that doesn’t disclose its donors. At least 17 Democratic state lawmakers gathered with lobbyists during a weekend retreat at a Vail hotel organized by the nonprofit Colorado Opportunity Caucus. The two-day gathering included “educational panels” and discussions, according to state Sen. Lindsey Daugherty, an Arvada Democrat who is chair of the caucus formed in January as a nonprofit. She said the purpose of the event was to “get a group of pragmatic, diverse legislators together to really talk about our goals for our caucus based on what we think the Colorado people really want ...
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