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Kaiser Permanently Ends Gender Transition Services for Colorado Minors
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Kaiser Permanently Ends Gender Transition Services for Colorado Minors

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Citing pressure from the Trump administration, Kaiser Permanente is the latest health system to acquiesce to demands that it cease providing gender transition services to minors that includes chemical or surgical procedures. Kaiser CEO Greg A. Adams announced the change in an email to executives, saying “there has been significant focus by the federal government on gender-affirming care” for minors since President Donald Trump assumed office. “After significant deliberation and consultation with internal and external experts including our physicians, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause gender-affirming surgical treatment for patients under the age of 19 in our hospitals and surgical centers,” Adams said in the email. While the p...
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Meeker self-evacuates as Elk and Lee fires surge past 75,000 acres
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Meeker self-evacuates as Elk and Lee fires surge past 75,000 acres

By Michael Braithwaite | Denver Gazette The town of Meeker has been self-evacuated as the nearby Elk and Lee fires surpassed 75,000 combined acres Thursday. Both started by lightning earlier this week, the twin fires have drastically grown in size over the past several days. On Tuesday, the Lee Fire was estimated to be 7,750 acres and the Elk Fire at 13,025, according to a Facebook post from the Rio Blanco County Sheriff's Office. Just four days later, the Lee Fire has grown to nearly 61,000 acres and the Elk Fire to 14,236, the office said. Officials have attributed the significant growth to the fire's interior being filled in, though crews have not yet reached any containment on either fire. The blazes' growth has threatened both the town of Meeker and the Highway 64 cor...
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Colorado faces $1B hole: Governor Polis calls special session called and imposes state hiring freeze
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Colorado faces $1B hole: Governor Polis calls special session called and imposes state hiring freeze

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Gov. Jared Polis will convene the legislature on Aug. 21 to enact cuts to the state budget amid a $1 billion deficit, even as he is instituting a hiring freeze. The governor said the hiring freeze in state agencies will start on Aug. 27.   The governor confirmed that, in addition to spending reductions, the special session will deal with AI regulation. Lawmakers approved new AI regulations last year. They are expected to go into effect Feb. 1, 2026. The AI law established rules around the use of artificial intelligence, primarily in employment, health care, education, and government practices, where, backers said, the risk of bias or discrimination exists. Businesses have argued that the new law is problematic, potentially penaliz...
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Colorado Lawmakers Sound Alarm on Budget Crisis and AI Regulation Vacuum
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Colorado Lawmakers Sound Alarm on Budget Crisis and AI Regulation Vacuum

By Marianne Goodland | Denver Gazette Will there be a special session this month? Multiple sources have told Colorado Politics that on Wednesday the governor will call the General Assembly back to Denver on Aug. 21. Members of the Joint Budget Committee showed signs Tuesday that they're ready to go — and need only the word from the governor to get started. Policymakers' main challenge will be cuts totaling $955 million in general funds, the result, according to Democrats, of federal tax policy changes that came out the budget adopted by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 but which Republicans argued is a problem of the state's own making. Secondarily, the call could include a request to fix Senate Bill 24-205, the artificial intelligence regulation that ...
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Law Enforcement Under Fire for Upholding Federal Immigration Laws
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Law Enforcement Under Fire for Upholding Federal Immigration Laws

By Luige del Puerto | The Denver Gazette Phil Weiser's suit targets Mesa County Deputy Alexander Zwinck for allegedly violating state laws that prohibit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The unpaid, weeks-long suspension of a deputy sheriff out of Mesa County for sharing information with federal agents has raised questions about how local authorities must navigate a state law that bars cooperation with immigration enforcers. More notably, it's unclear whether the impositions of the new law also mean limiting access by local officers to the more expansive federal databases — something the Mesa County deputy had cited as a major reason for cooperating with multiple agencies.  The law, expanded this year, expressly prohibits all Colorado state agencies an...
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Mesa County Sheriff Blasts Phil Weiser for Politicized Lawsuit Against Deputy
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Mesa County Sheriff Blasts Phil Weiser for Politicized Lawsuit Against Deputy

By Luige del Puerto and Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The decision by the Colorado Attorney General's Office to sue a deputy is "demoralizing," Mesa County's sheriff said on Wednesday, arguing it sends the message that the state's top law enforcement office is selectively enforcing a state law barring cooperation with federal immigration agents — and for "maximum political effect." Sheriff Todd Rowell said Attorney General Phil Weiser knew of officers from another law enforcement agency who also shared information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and faced no consequences, while his deputy is the subject of a lawsuit from Weiser's office. "As it stands, the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General’s Office sends a demoralizing message to law enforcemen...
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‘Lawsuit inferno’: Tort reform advocate warns Colorado’s legal climate is driving out job creators
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‘Lawsuit inferno’: Tort reform advocate warns Colorado’s legal climate is driving out job creators

By Marissa Ventrelli | Denver Gazette The American Tort Reform Association has labeled Colorado a "lawsuit inferno" in its latest Legislative HeatCheck report, which ranks states based on the number of laws passed each year expanding liability. During the 2025 session, the Colorado legislature introduced 45 bills creating new private rights of action or expanding civil liability. According to the Colorado Civil Justice League, more than half of those bills were signed into law, including measures expanding the definition of damages under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and modifying the state's wage and hour enforcement laws.  “Colorado lawmakers seem hell-bent on making it easier and more lucrative to sue, while doing little to help the people who ac...
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Feds Take Aim at Colorado Sanctuary Laws that Protect Illegal Alien Criminals
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Feds Take Aim at Colorado Sanctuary Laws that Protect Illegal Alien Criminals

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The U.S. Department of Justice has filed an amended complaint against the state of Colorado and the city of Denver over sanctuary policies. The lawsuit was initially filed in May, but the amended complaint, filed last Friday, also targets the lawsuit filed last week by Attorney General Phil Weiser against a Mesa County deputy sheriff. The Weiser lawsuit alleges Deputy Alexander Zwinck shared information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement about a 19-year-old nursing student who was the subject of a traffic stop. The student was later picked up by ICE and detained for two weeks and released on bond. The Weiser lawsuit claims Zwinck broke Colorado laws that forbid Colorado state and local government employees from cooperating or s...
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Denver Spends $3 Million Urging Residents to Eat Less Meat
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Denver Spends $3 Million Urging Residents to Eat Less Meat

By Greta Kerkhoff and Luige del Puerto | The Denver Gazette "Eat less meat." "Eat more plant-based meals." "Vote for climate-conscious leaders." The tips come from a "do more" list that Mayor Mike Johnston's administration posted as part of its $3 million marketing campaign that aims to persuade residents to help the city reach its climate goals. Additionally, posters have begun popping up around the city, including slogans that say, “It's the end of the end of the world." Behind the public relations blitz is the Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency's “Do more. Do less. Do something.” campaign. Notably, the city said eating less meat and a host of other actions would "help the planet and protect" communities. The Johnston administration is not the fi...
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Colorado Agriculture Under Siege from Regulation and Rewilding
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Colorado Agriculture Under Siege from Regulation and Rewilding

By Rachael Wright | The Denver Gazette Janie VanWinkle is contemplating something she never thought she’d ever consider — selling the family ranch after four generations of living and working in Colorado. “The political environment is so toxic that if we do speak up at all, it falls on deaf ears,” said VanWinkle, a Western Slope rancher. “This is no longer an agriculture-friendly environment or atmosphere. Five years ago, I could never imagine having this conversation with my family.” Colorado's agricultural industry is the state's second-largest economic driver, accounting for more than $47 billion in activity and employing more than 195,000 people. The export of Colorado cattle as of 2024 generated nearly $4.5 billion, making Colorado one of the 10 producers in the nation. Th...
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