Rocky Mountain Voice

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Two former board presidents urge a course correction for Cherry Creek schools
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Two former board presidents urge a course correction for Cherry Creek schools

By Jennifer Churchfield and Aagje Barber | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As former presidents of the Cherry Creek School Board, we have always believed that the success of our schools begins with a laser focus on students, academic excellence, and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Today, we write with deep concern — and urgency — about the direction of the district and the need for a course correction. That’s why we are endorsing Amanda Thayer and Tatyana Sturm for the Cherry Creek School Board. The Board of Education has taken its eye off the classroom. As a result, fewer than half of Cherry Creek students are proficient at grade level in core subjects — a staggering statistic for a district once considered a statewide leader in academic performance. This is unac...
A ‘Trail of Broken Lives’ Tells the Real Story of Colorado’s Legalized Marijuana
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

A ‘Trail of Broken Lives’ Tells the Real Story of Colorado’s Legalized Marijuana

By: Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Denver Gazette Society once vilified marijuana. Later generations of hipsters laughed off the stigma.  Now, mounting evidence has brought things full circle — vindicating the psychoactive drug’s original critics after all.  Today’s high-potency pot — legalized for recreational use in Colorado in 2012 and in over two dozen other states since then — is leaving a trail of destruction. Whether it’s marijuana’s devastating impact on the mental health of our youth, or on the safety of our highways, it’s drawing overdue scrutiny that is justified by hard data. Pot’s toll in traffic fatalities in particular is back in the news. A new study by Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, looked at driver autopsy results from car crashe...
La Jara land deal raises questions about public access and state priorities
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...
A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room
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...
The price and pieces of peace: How Trump’s approach worked where others failed
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...
The sword is passed: Honoring Charlie Kirk’s bold stand for truth
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

The sword is passed: Honoring Charlie Kirk’s bold stand for truth

By Pastor Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice “Well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Lord.”  ~  Matthew 25:23 ~ As we conclude this series on The Sword of the Spirit, my heart feels both heavy and hopeful. Heavy, because we mourn the loss of a strong, confident voice for truth and a dear friend of Rocky Mountain Voice—Charlie Kirk. Hopeful, because his legacy shows us the trail we are called to follow, with no exceptions, and in my opinion, there is no better way to close this powerful series. I was fortunate to be with Heidi Ganahl, founder of RMV, along with her daughter, Hollie, a Valor High School student, Vice President of the new Turning Point USA chapter, and former Denver Bronco Derek Wolfe, back in April of this year, wh...
Colorado’s HB25‑1250 shifts gun conversation into schools—what could go wrong with teachers filing ERPOs?
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s HB25‑1250 shifts gun conversation into schools—what could go wrong with teachers filing ERPOs?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project HB25-1250’s required materials for schools are now online A bill passed into law in the regular legislative session this year required, quoting the bill’s fiscal note from the first link below “The bill requires the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to post or link to certain materials on its website for local education providers, including school districts, boards of cooperative services, district charter schools, institute charter schools, approved facility schools, and the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.”It also requires that, again quoting the fiscal note, “local education providers must distribute these materials to caregivers of elementary and ...
Has the Left Grown Too Comfortable With Political Violence?
Washington Examiner, Approved, Commentary, National

Has the Left Grown Too Comfortable With Political Violence?

By Michael Barone | Commentary, Washington Examiner Why are so many Democrats fond of wishing death on their opponents? That’s a question raised by two astonishing developments early this month. On Oct. 3, National Review’s Audrey Fahlberg revealed texts Jay Jones had sent, perhaps mistakenly, to a Democratic colleague, bemoaning the cordial remarks the then-Republican speaker was delivering after the death of a Democrat. “If these guys die before me,” he wrote, “I will go to their funerals to p— on their graves, Send them awash in something.” Prompted, he goes on. “Three people, two bullets. Gilbert” — the Republican speaker — “hitler, and pol pot. Gilbert gets two bullets in the head. Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you ...
Time to cut ties: Americans back President Trump’s push to defund the UN
Rasmussen Reports, Approved, Commentary, National

Time to cut ties: Americans back President Trump’s push to defund the UN

By Brian C. Joondeph | Commentary, Rasmussen Reports President Trump’s blunt assessment of the United Nations during his September 23 address wasn’t just political theater. It reflected the growing frustration many Americans feel toward a bloated, ineffective, and increasingly hostile international organization. In his speech, Trump declared, “The U.N. is supposed to stop invasions, not create them, and not finance them.” According to a new Rasmussen Reports poll, 60% of U.S. voters agree, including 43% who strongly agree. That’s not a fringe view – that’s the voice of the American mainstream. The United Nations, established in 1945 to promote peace and cooperation among nations, has instead become a symbol of globalist overreach and institutional rot. From its failure to prevent ...
More Than Colorado: How Friendship and Faith Are Expanding the Rocky Mountain Voice
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

More Than Colorado: How Friendship and Faith Are Expanding the Rocky Mountain Voice

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, RMV NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice Let me tell you about a longtime friend of mine—and now a dear friend of Rocky Mountain Voice—Joe Cherry, CEO and Founder of Exectras in Houston, Texas. As I write this, I’m sitting in his remarkable home in Houston, Texas. My wife, Sherrie, continues her fight against Glioblastoma Stage 4 Brain Cancer, and we’re working with the team at MD Anderson to handle this relentless disease. During this difficult time, Joe insisted that Sherrie and I stay with him in his home—a gesture filled with love, hope, and faith, in other words, life-changing. Some partnerships are written on paper; others are written on the heart. This one began long before Rocky Mountain Voice ever published its first story or Exectras (short ...