Rocky Mountain Voice

Commentary

Colorado’s auto theft reckoning: A crisis we built, a crisis we can fix
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s auto theft reckoning: A crisis we built, a crisis we can fix

By RMV Editorial Board Colorado didn’t become the nation’s auto theft capital by accident. It got there through a decade of choices that treated working families’ cars like disposable assets. Lawmakers downgraded the theft of “low-value” vehicles to a low-level offense and sold it as reform. They never explained the part where families would carry the cost. Criminals understood the message right away. If the state didn’t take these thefts seriously, why would the offenders?  The surge pushed Colorado to No. 1 in auto theft back in 2021 and we didn’t fall far—No. 2 in 2023 and No. 4 in 2024—as neighborhoods kept paying the price in lost time and tighter budgets. State Patrol signals a shift What says more than any statistic is what the state is doing now. In a recent sta...
A Miracle in Our Midst: Celebrating Pastor John Water’s Successful Liver Transplant
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

A Miracle in Our Midst: Celebrating Pastor John Water’s Successful Liver Transplant

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, RMV NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice Every now and then, a moment arrives that stops us in our tracks and reminds us of the sheer goodness and mercy woven into the fabric of life. This is one of those moments. Just two days ago, our Lead Pastor at Elevating Life Church in Fort Morgan, CO, Pastor John Waters, received a donor liver and came through surgery with flying colors. Today, as I write this, he is recovering beautifully — awake, talking, smiling, and already cracking jokes. In classic John fashion, he’s showing us what unwavering faith looks like in real time. As Senior Pastor at Elevating Life Church, I’ve had the honor of walking closely with John throughout this journey — through the uncertainty, the long wait, and the quiet strength he ...
Colorado detransitioner’s story anchors Protect Kids Colorado event on safeguarding vulnerable children
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Colorado detransitioner’s story anchors Protect Kids Colorado event on safeguarding vulnerable children

By Antoinette De La Cruz | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice My name is Antoinette. I am a detransitioner. And I want to save Colorado’s children from enduring the anguish I’ve been through. I began exploring transitioning into a man during my late teenage years and spent nearly 20 years trying to turn myself into a man before I realized my mistake. Now I am mutilated and sterilized as the result of multiple surgeries with life-threatening complications. My body has been a battlefield of “gender affirmative care.” I grew up in a household of physical, mental and sexual abuse and during my childhood, I learned I had no value as a person and certainly no value as a girl. I learned that being a girl meant being a target. And I did not want to be a target. So I transitioned to...
Epstein Emails Reveal Longstanding Envy of Trump’s Success
Washington Examiner, Approved, Commentary, National

Epstein Emails Reveal Longstanding Envy of Trump’s Success

By Byron York | Commentary, Washington Examiner JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S RESENTMENT TOWARD DONALD TRUMP. There’s no doubt Jeffrey Epstein thought he was a very, very smart guy. “He always thought he was the smartest person in the room,” said one associate. Another said Epstein “thought he was smarter than the next guy.” When in 2008 Epstein pleaded guilty to procurement of a minor for prostitution, his defense asked for leniency based on his “unique intellect.” Someone with such high self-regard can be deeply disturbed if a friend or associate, or a former friend or associate, achieves more, makes more money, and rises higher up society’s ladder than the person who feels he is the smartest guy in the room. Reading through Epstein’s emails released by Republicans on the H...
Colorado Accused of Abandoning Constitution in Handling of Tina Peters Case
Illinois Review, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Accused of Abandoning Constitution in Handling of Tina Peters Case

By Mark Vargas | Commentary, Illinois Review Colorado officials want the public to believe that keeping former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters in prison is justice. But when a woman’s health is collapsing, when she is rapidly declining, and when her continued confinement now poses a direct threat to her life, the law tells a very different story. Colorado is not simply neglecting its responsibility – it is violating its own constitution. Article II, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution states in unmistakable terms: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” While this language mirrors the Eighth Amendment, Colorado’s Supreme Court has long interpreted its own provision more broadly than the federal min...
The Whole Armor: Where Humanity Meets Holiness
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

The Whole Armor: Where Humanity Meets Holiness

By Pastor Drake Hunter | Commentary, Elevation Life Church Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  ~ Ephesians 6:11 ~  Are you a half-dressed soldier in the Lord’s Army? During my time in the Air Force, one lesson stuck with me: readiness is everything. There’s no such thing as being partially prepared for a mission. I’ll never forget my time at Camp Bullis during a maneuvering field exercise early in my career. A few of us airmen decided to “lighten the load.” We figured since it was just training, we could ditch some of the gear—vests, helmets, gloves—just to stay comfortable. “It’s not real combat,” we told ourselves. “What’s the harm?” Then came the surprise inspection and a simulated attack. We were comple...
Bill search reveals how Polis grew Medicaid—yet he blames rising costs
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Bill search reveals how Polis grew Medicaid—yet he blames rising costs

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Colorado bill search: a new tool for the toolbox The post that follows this one will lean on a search of Colorado legislation, so before we get to that, I wanted to show you how to search for bills. This is a great way to do some investigating on your own if you have a mind to.The first link below is to the Colorado legislature’s bill search page. It lets you search bills back to the 2016 legislative session with a variety of filters.Screenshot 1 shows the search bar. Going left to right ....Field A is for a keyword. In the post that follows this one, I looked at Medicaid-related bills, so I typed “Medicaid” there.Field B lets you search by chamber (House or Senate). My search was more general, I left it on the d...
Full Steam Ahead on the America First Agenda
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Full Steam Ahead on the America First Agenda

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice A lot of good has already happened in Trump’s first year back. Donald Trump’s first year in the White House has delivered more progress than most presidents manage in an entire term. The border is tightening. Energy is coming back to life. Inflation is easing. America feels steady again. You can see it in people’s faces — a sense of relief, a little pride, a little hope after years of turbulence. But anyone who’s ever built anything knows early wins don’t carry you forever. Momentum is a start, not a finish. We’ve moved things forward, but keeping that ground and pushing it further is the real test. This is where you focus up and just do the work. The America First agenda works — and the next chapter must be about execution, ac...
Democrats Claim Trump-Epstein Proof Then Delete Post After It Collapses
The Western Journal, Approved, Commentary, National

Democrats Claim Trump-Epstein Proof Then Delete Post After It Collapses

By C. Douglas Golden | Commentary, The Western Journal The Democratic Party is staking a lot on the rather thin gruel in the Jeffrey Epstein emails they’ve released. So much so, in fact, that they’re not apt to check whether the claims of a serial fabulist and convicted sex offender are verifiable. Spoiler alert: They are, and not in the way they had hoped. In case you haven’t been keeping up with the drama: On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released three of Epstein’s emails which mentioned President Donald Trump in some vague way. They redacted the name of one of his victims, who is said to be Virginia Giuffre; now deceased, the woman at the center of the scandal involving the former Prince Andrew was formerly employed at Mar-a-Lago ...