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Colorado Residents Say Government is Dysfunctional and Cost of Living is Crushing
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State, Approved, CBS Colorado

Colorado Residents Say Government is Dysfunctional and Cost of Living is Crushing

By Libby Smith | CBS Colorado Colorado Health Foundation launched the Pulse Poll in 2020 as a way to hear from adults all across Colorado on the issues that are impacting them the most. The latest poll was taken between April 19 and May 18, 2025. A bipartisan team of researchers talked with 2,333 Coloradans from across the entire state. One of the key findings in this year's poll is that concern over government jumped to the top of the list. Respondents feel like government is not going to address or ease their other problems. which includes rising prices. "This year cost definitely dominates the conversation. The top four issues that Coloradans identified as most serious are all related to cost. 90-percent nearly of Coloradans said that the cost of living is an extremely serious ...
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Taxpayer-Funded Mountain Retreat Moves Ahead Amid Denver Layoffs
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Taxpayer-Funded Mountain Retreat Moves Ahead Amid Denver Layoffs

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado Ten of Denver's 13 city council members are planning to attend a $26,000, two night, one day retreat in Colorado's foothills next week for team building and professional development, at the same time the city is laying off workers and trying to find ways to cut costs and save money. "We signed this contract prior to knowing of any budget shortfall," said Council President Amanda Sandoval, who pushed for the trip at the Lone Rock retreat in Park County. "We signed this contract prior to knowing of any furlough days, we signed this contract prior to knowing of any layoffs," said Sandoval. She said the council retreat had been in the works since December 2024, and the contract was signed May 8. Two weeks later, Mayor Mike Johnston revealed the depths ...
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Polis Rejects DOJ Label as Sanctuary State and Defends Local Law
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State, Approved, CBS Colorado

Polis Rejects DOJ Label as Sanctuary State and Defends Local Law

By Jennifer McRae | CBS News Colorado The Justice Department put 11 other states on its list besides Colorado — California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. It also included Baltimore County, Maryland; Cook County, Illinois; San Diego County, California; and San Francisco County, California, along with 18 cities from Seattle to Philadelphia. The letter states that a response to the letter must be submitted by Aug. 19 that "confirms your commitment to complying with federal law and identifies the immediate incentives you are taking to eliminate laws, policies, and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement." Gov. Polis' Office said in a statement to CBS Co...
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Colorado Teachers Priced Out of Their Communities
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State, Approved, CBS Colorado

Colorado Teachers Priced Out of Their Communities

By Tori Mason | CBS Colorado A new survey of more than 3,200 educators in Colorado says the housing crisis is pushing teachers out of their communities, and in some cases, out of the profession. The Keystone Policy Center's report, We Can't Live Where We Teach: Teacher Perspectives, finds that more than half of educators are spending well above the recommended share of their income on housing, with some paying more than 40%. Nearly 6 in 10 say they would be interested in district-provided affordable housing, and 70% would be comfortable with their school district as their landlord. "Colorado's ability to deliver quality education depends on having committed, effective teachers in every classroom," said Van Schoales, senior policy director at the Keystone Policy Center. "This repor...
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USDA chooses Fort Collins as one of five new hubs in major federal relocation effort
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CBS Colorado, Approved, National

USDA chooses Fort Collins as one of five new hubs in major federal relocation effort

By Dillon Thomas | CBS Colorado The United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA, will close down a major portion of its current headquarters in Washington, D.C., moving some of the staffers to Northern Colorado. Fort Collins was selected as one of five locations around the country where the headquarters will be relocated. "At first blush, everything about having offices out here makes sense," said Kenny Rogers, a cattleman in Yuma. Rogers has been a cattleman for decades, at times serving in leadership roles among his peers. He said the announcement of the partial move to Fort Collins was a surprise to him, but one he welcomes. "Getting boots on the ground where the action is occurring, rather than in an office in Washington, D.C., that is not a bad thing," ...
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Flood tragedy in Texas stirs old memories—and resolve—at Colorado’s Cheley Camps
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Flood tragedy in Texas stirs old memories—and resolve—at Colorado’s Cheley Camps

By Olivia Young | CBS News Colorado Among the victims of the devastating flooding in Texas are at least 27 campers and counselors from a girls summer camp, Camp Mystic. A thousand miles from Camp Mystic, the tragedy hits close to home at another summer camp nestled in the Rocky Mountains. This summer, the camp spirit is persisting at Cheley Colorado Camps, a family-owned summer camp with its own history of dealing with extreme weather. "Our great-grandfather, Frank, started camp in 1921 and he set up an amazing foundation and built most of the lodges that we use today," said Jeff Cheley, fourth-generation owner of Cheley Colorado Camps. "We feel that we have this wonderful opportunity to really make a difference in the lives of young people and create this space for them to ...
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ICE expansion in Colorado draws fire as private prison firms compete for contracts
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

ICE expansion in Colorado draws fire as private prison firms compete for contracts

By Anna Alejo | CBS Colorado Just days after the passage of President Trump's budget bill allocating $45 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand detention facilities, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado made public documents submitted by private prison operators seeking to sign contracts with the federal government. The ACLU says the government provided the documents in response to its lawsuit filed in April. The Trump administration says it plans to build capacity for 100,000 ICE detention beds nationwide. Locations offered for new ICE detention centers in Colorado include Walsenberg, Colorado Springs, Hudson, and La Junta. "We sued the federal government because they were hiding these documents about their intent to expand ICE detention in Colorado...
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$440/month? Colorado homeowners crushed by soaring insurance bills
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

$440/month? Colorado homeowners crushed by soaring insurance bills

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado Homeowners insurance is getting more expensive, and in a high-risk state for hail and wildfires, some Coloradans are feeling the financial pinch. Rocky Mountain Insurance Association says Colorado ranks second in the nation for hail insurance claims and ranks second for the number of homes in high-risk wildfire areas. Colorado also has the sixth-highest homeowners insurance premiums.  In the 25 years she's lived in Broomfield, Melinda Endres says she's never seen a bill like this June's mortgage. "I thought it was a mistake. I thought, are you kidding?" Endres said, "We get this letter saying that it's going to increase to over $2,000 now, and that's more than $300 a month." So Melinda said she called her broker, and they told her tha...
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$29M in errors, 30% staff vacancy: Audit uncovers years Colorado prison system budget mismanagement
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CBS Colorado, State

$29M in errors, 30% staff vacancy: Audit uncovers years Colorado prison system budget mismanagement

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado An audit of the Colorado Department of Corrections has uncovered "erroneous information and incorrect calculations" over four years of budget requests reviewed. An independent third party conducted the audit that resulted in nearly three dozen recommended changes. CDOC Executive Director Moses "Andre" Stancil told the state's Joint Budget Committee he agrees with the recommendations in the 101-page report that found CDOC's approach to budgeting is unlike any other prison system in the country, and not in a good way. "Everything has been such a fluid mess over the years," said budget writer and Republican state Rep. Rick Taggert of Grand Junction. The audit found CDOC's budget requests have had "inaccurate, incomplete, and inco...
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Boebert steps in where Colorado failed: Black sludge in Morgan County drinking water
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

Boebert steps in where Colorado failed: Black sludge in Morgan County drinking water

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado The plight of a tiny community in eastern Colorado will soon be the subject of a congressional hearing.  Colorado U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert is coming to the aid of a small water district in Morgan County, where toxic black sludge passes for drinking water.  The Prairie View Ranch Water District is 50 miles northeast of the Denver metro area, and it has been a colossal disaster 20 years in the making. Residents say without drinkable water, their homes are worthless.  Boebert -- who represents the residents in Washington D.C. -- is asking the House Appropriations Committee for a $5 million grant to help overhaul the water system.  Boebert is the first elected official willing to meet with the residents, se...
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