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Why Ditching the Flat Tax Would Be Colorado’s Biggest Mistake
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Why Ditching the Flat Tax Would Be Colorado’s Biggest Mistake

By Jake Fogleman | Commentary, Complete Colorado The battle over Colorado’s future tax system has officially begun, and the stakes for families, businesses, and the state’s economy couldn’t be higher. Backed by a coalition of advocacy groups that consistently push for higher taxes as the solution to Colorado’s challenges, the Bell Policy Center submitted proposed language for the 2026 ballot that would overturn nearly four decades of sensible tax policy by abandoning Colorado’s flat-rate income tax and adopting a graduated tax system. Under their proposals, Colorado taxpayers would be forced to confront a new five-bracket tax system with marginal rates up to 9.5 percent, among the highest in the country. The proponents claim it’s about fairness, equity, and making t...
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Wheat Ridge Brewery Targeted After Hosting Conservative Discussion
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, Local

Wheat Ridge Brewery Targeted After Hosting Conservative Discussion

By Ari Armstrong | Commentary, Complete Colorado In a shocking turn of events, a Wheat Ridge brewpub actually (you might want to sit down for this one) recently allowed a group of customers meeting informally to discuss conservative politics to come inside to buy food and drinks. Among the participants was Barbara Kirkmeyer, a state senator and Republican candidate for governor. Scandalous! If you restrict your media diet to conservative propaganda mouthpieces such as Westword and the Denver Post, you might think that the owner of the bar in question, Paul Porter, is just a guy who “has made a career of fixing chain restaurants and entertainment venues” and who runs an establishment that’s “ridiculously fun.” But that’s just what they want you to think. Over on...
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Pueblo Voters to Decide Whether to End Strong Mayor System
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Pueblo Voters to Decide Whether to End Strong Mayor System

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado PUEBLO–The City of Pueblo’s November election ballot includes a major charter amendment asking voters to dismantle the city’s “strong mayor” form of government, reverting to the council/manager system the southern Colorado municipality of roughly 111,000 residents once had. Pueblo, along with Denver, Leadville and Colorado Springs are currently the only cities that operate under a council-mayor form of government, where an elected mayor with veto authority acts as the chief executive, preparing the budget, hiring and directing staff, and proposing ordinances. The city council acts as the mayor’s legislative counterpart, adopting the budget, and approving and acting on ordinances. Ballot Question 2C asks voters to change to a council-manager cit...
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Colorado certifies light ballot: Two statewide measures on TABOR refunds and high-earner deductions
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Colorado certifies light ballot: Two statewide measures on TABOR refunds and high-earner deductions

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER — Colorado voters will be getting a break from a long list of statewide questions this November, after Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced she had certified the 2025 ballot with only two measures going in front of all voters in the state. Voters will however still have their fair share of things to vote on closer to home as many city council and school board seats are up for grabs, as well as new local tax asks and extensions of existing taxes around the state. This year is an odd year election, meaning ballot measures are, for the most part, limited under state law to fiscal issues related to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR). The two measures that will appear were both referred by the legislature this S...
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Trained Armed Staff Could Be Key to School Safety
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Trained Armed Staff Could Be Key to School Safety

By Jon Caldara | Commentary, Complete Colorado Enough. Damn it, enough! Enough virtue signaling instead of preventing school shootings. Enough of elected school boards denying reality. It is time for all of Colorado’s 178 school districts to join the 50 that currently have volunteer, trained, concealed armed staff to stop a shooter the moment he begins — because when seconds count, the police are only minutes away The difference is wanting to feel safe versus wanting to be safe. By constantly making it harder and more expensive for law-abiding people (i.e. the good guys) to purchase, practice and legally carry firearms, our lawmakers think we will feel safer. Maybe some will even fall for it and feel safer. But none of it makes us any safer. Reality check Actually ...
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Montezuma County judge faces potential removal after allegations of abuse of power
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Montezuma County judge faces potential removal after allegations of abuse of power

By Savana Ksarck | Complete Colorado CORTEZ–The Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline (CCJD) has announced formal proceedings to potentially remove Montezuma County Court Judge Ian McLaren for multiple instances of judicial misconduct, including lying while under investigation by the commission. Montezuma County borders Utah, New Mexico and Arizona in the southwest corner of Colorado. The 22nd Judicial District judge came under fire during a case involving then Montezuma-Cortez School District Superintendent Tom Burris in August 2024. Burris had been accused of failing to report sexual abuse of a student by a teacher. After an investigation found no evidence of the alleged abuse, McLaren then scheduled a hearing where he berated Burris over the unsubsta...
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November ballot tax hike seeks to cover collapsing ‘free’ lunch program and SNAP
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November ballot tax hike seeks to cover collapsing ‘free’ lunch program and SNAP

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado voters are set to decide further hiking taxes on high-income earners to prop up the state’s dwindling “free” school lunch program as part of the November statewide ballot.  But under a recently amended version of the measure, any excess revenues would be used to also subsidize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), more commonly known as food stamps. Colorado’s Healthy School Meals for All program began shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic, when the legislature fully funded “free” school meals for every kid in the public school system for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school years. With funding set to end after the 2022, lawmakers asked Coloradans to approve Proposition FF, which raised taxes on Coloradan...
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Nuclear Energy Presents a Security Solution Colorado Can’t Afford to Overlook
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Nuclear Energy Presents a Security Solution Colorado Can’t Afford to Overlook

By Kevin McManimon | Commentary, Complete Colorado While a real-life ‘Red Dawn’ scenario playing out is unlikely, with Soviets falling from the skies and taking over Colorado, the threats to national security posed by Colorado’s current decarbonization agenda are very real. Colorado is home to some of the United States’ most important national security assets, including the U.S. Space Command, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and many aerospace and defense contractors. The installations run by these assets require a dependable energy source in order to monitor threats, operate satellites, and carry out functions to protect the nation. But as the state continues towards an unrealistic climate goal of 100% decarbonization by 2040, an important iss...
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Colorado sheriffs warn new gun licensing law threatens constitutional rights
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Colorado sheriffs warn new gun licensing law threatens constitutional rights

-By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER – A major gun licensing law enacted by the Colorado legislature during the 2025 session is leaving some Colorado sheriffs with a bit of heartburn. Although Senate Bill 25-003 won’t take effect until Aug. 1, 2026, the sweeping changes to how Colorado residents can purchase certain firearms puts the onus on local sheriffs to enforce, but no help with funding of the new state mandates. Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams said all this bill has done is put him in a situation where his constituents think he is helping Democrats enforce a violation of their Second Amendment rights. “They ask me all the time why I just don’t refuse to enforce it,” said Reams, who has previously refused to enforce gun laws enacted during his time as she...
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