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Tina Peters Launches Legal Fight for Freedom in Colorado Courtroom
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Local, Approved, National File

Tina Peters Launches Legal Fight for Freedom in Colorado Courtroom

By Ally Rose | National File Tina Peters’ Latest Bid For Freedom Began in Colorado Courthouse Last Week. Last Tuesday, the Tina Peters saga continued in a Colorado courthouse as lawyers went before the United States Tenth Circuit District Court of Colorado Chief Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak. In front of a packed courtroom, the lawyers for the former Mesa County Clerk were poised to argue for the release of Ms. Peters at the habeas corpus hearing. Readers will remember that last year, Tina Peters was convicted of seven of the ten charges she faced, with the most serious convictions being three counts of attempting to influence a public servant and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation. Her sentence by District Judge Matthew Barrett raised eyebrows thr...
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State Targets Law Enforcement for Cooperating with Federal Immigration Agents
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Fox News, Approved, State

State Targets Law Enforcement for Cooperating with Federal Immigration Agents

By Landon Mion | Fox News Mesa County deputies Alexander Zwinck and Erik Olson were placed on unpaid leave after sharing information with ICE following traffic stops. Two Colorado deputies have been disciplined for sharing information with federal immigration agents, which is a violation of state law enacted a few months ago. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued Mesa County Sheriff's Deputy Alexander Zwinck last week after his cooperation with federal immigration agents on a drug task force was exposed during a Brazilian college student's arrest for an expired visa, according to The Associated Press. While addressing the incident on Thursday, Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell said Caroline Dias-Goncalves, a 19-year-old nursing student, was pulled over by Zwinck for a traffi...
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‘Not a side budget anymore’: English learner costs surge in public schools
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The Epoch Times, Approved, National

‘Not a side budget anymore’: English learner costs surge in public schools

By Aaron Gifford | The Epoch Times Federal and state laws mandate accommodations for all English language learners in public schools. Despite federal effectiveness at curbing illegal immigration, most states still allocate extra money for students learning English, regardless of whether they are here legally. All states apply a per-pupil funding formula for local districts. Above that base rate, 47 states and the District of Columbia provide additional money for English language learners. The expanded rates range from $904 to $16,161 per student if that pupil is also low-income, according to the Learning Policy Institute, which estimates there are more than 5 million English learners across K–12 public education. That includes nearly half the student population in the Dallas...
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They built the budget bomb: Now Colorado Democrats say President Trump lit the fuse
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

They built the budget bomb: Now Colorado Democrats say President Trump lit the fuse

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board They built the budget bomb. Now they say Trump lit the fuse. Colorado Democrats want you to believe they’re victims of the Big Bad Federal Budget Bill. That the state’s $1.2 billion shortfall just... happened. Like a pothole after a snowstorm. Nothing to do with how they’ve governed. Governor Polis says, "The Trump Administration is withholding needed funds from our classrooms," and Senate President James Coleman warns, "There’s no avoiding the fact that these cuts will hurt Colorado families." Convenient. But here’s the part they don’t mention: Colorado’s fee-based revenue—the stealth tax that doesn’t require a vote—blew through the roof to $25.8 billion last year.  That’s right. More than half of the entire state budget now come...
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Polk: Summer TDS cases are rising across the U.S. — Is it time for a shot?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Polk: Summer TDS cases are rising across the U.S. — Is it time for a shot?

By Mark Polk | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Mark Polk shared this satirical piece with his personal network, where it sparked laughter and strong reactions. He adapted it from a recent COVID vaccine shot article and noted it may be “too hot to handle” for some—but readers who enjoy biting political humor may find it hard to resist. As Trump Derangement Syndrome cases begin to rise this summer, many may be wondering: What are my risks, and is it time to get another vaccine? As of July 15, TDS cases were growing or likely growing in 27 states including Texas, Illinois, Colorado, North/South Carolina, NY, AZ, Missouri, Wisconsin, NJ, ND/SD, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Kalifornia, Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It also...
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Daniel: Colorado’s Budget Crisis Wasn’t an Accident — It Was a Choice
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Daniel: Colorado’s Budget Crisis Wasn’t an Accident — It Was a Choice

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s budget isn’t just strained — it’s revealing the true priorities of our state’s leadership. While seniors and disabled veterans wait to see if Colorado will uphold a constitutionally guaranteed property tax exemption, Governor Polis was busy polling Coloradans about spending $28 million on a pedestrian bridge in downtown Denver. The result? Over 87,000 people participated in just five days — 93.9% voted “no” and only 3.8% said yes. That kind of public input is rare in state spending these days. If more of our budget decisions had that level of transparency, we might not be staring at another billion-dollar deficit. The crisis we’re in today wasn’t caused by bad luck or global economics. It was the result of del...
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Xcel’s costly coal exit: Public interest group warns plan could stick consumers with the tab
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Westword, Approved, State

Xcel’s costly coal exit: Public interest group warns plan could stick consumers with the tab

By Catie Cheshire | Westword One consumer protection group is calling for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to shrink Xce's giant proposal. As Xcel Energy works to decommission coal plants across Colorado, one proposal is catching heat. Watchdog organization Colorado Public Interest Research Group believes Xcel’s proposal to replace the Comanche 3 coal plant in Pueblo will result in unnecessary costs to customers. The group's executive director Danny Katz, says the proposal is too big for southern Colorado as his organization calls on the Colorado Public Utilities Commission to pare back the proposal. According to Xcel’s filings with the PUC, the utility wants to replace energy production from Comanche 3’s coal units with a mix of wind, solar and natu...
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Clapper allies tried to strong-arm DIA analyst into signing off on fake Trump–Russia report
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Approved, National, The Federalist

Clapper allies tried to strong-arm DIA analyst into signing off on fake Trump–Russia report

By Margot Cleveland | The Federalist ‘You need to TRUST ME on this,’ Clapper’s crony told the analyst, saying he ‘would need to demonstrate [his] ability to “outgrow”’ the refusal to sign off on assessments he did not concur with. A crony of then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper threatened to withhold a promotion from a senior intelligence official unless he concurred in the fake Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election, notes obtained exclusively by The Federalist show. The notes made public for the first time today recount a conversation the top analyst in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) had with an unnamed superior who worked closely with the then-Director James Clapper, according to source...
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Over 4200 Acres Burned in South Rim Wildfire, Now 50% Contained
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Over 4200 Acres Burned in South Rim Wildfire, Now 50% Contained

By Jacob Factor | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — As containment grows for the more than 4,000-acre wildfire burning in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, officials have detailed some of the park’s losses, what crews have saved and what’s next for the park as portions reopen. Fire officials recently published a detailed story map of the South Rim Fire, which has burned about 4,200 acres in the National Park in Montrose County and just Wednesday surpassed 50% containment. The fire has been burning since lightning ignited it and several other Colorado wildfires on July 10. Fire officials in a Wednesday morning update said the north rim side of the National Park is also set to reopen Wednesday. Here’s a look at where the South Rim Fire is now and how the Black Canyon of the Gu...
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CPW Confirmation of New Wolf Pups Raises Alarms in Colorado Ranch Country
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State, Approved, kdvr.com

CPW Confirmation of New Wolf Pups Raises Alarms in Colorado Ranch Country

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — State biologists shared a minimum count of pups for one of the newly-named packs in Colorado, marking the third pack to have confirmed pups after reintroduction. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Wednesday night that the One Ear Pack in Jackson County has a minimum of six pups, and shared video of the pups playing in a field. The video is linked in the video player above. Earlier this month, CPW shared footage from a game camera showing three wolf pups playing in a Routt County clearing. The news comes on the heels of the agency announcing it had named three packs this year after more wolves were reintroduced to the state from Canada. The other named packs in Colorado are the Copper Creek Pack, which was established in 2024 and i...
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