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Boll: Ideological divides remain in Douglas County—but Home Rule offers a path forward
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Boll: Ideological divides remain in Douglas County—but Home Rule offers a path forward

By Laureen Boll | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As a 30-year resident of Douglas County, I’ve witnessed our community’s strength, resilience, and commitment to individual liberty. Yet, I was stunned in 2020 and 2021 when some community members surrendered their parental rights to government bureaucrats during the COVID-19 response, advocating for government-backed mandates on virtual learning, masking, and vaccinations.  Five years later, we face a similar battle with the proposed Home Rule ballot initiative. This is our chance to reclaim local control, and voters must consider the source of opposition to understand what’s at stake. The Promise of Home Rule Home Rule would empower Douglas County to design a government that reflects our values, not Denver’s one-siz...
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Rep. Suckla: The Dolores NCA and GORP aren’t collaborative acts—they’re a legislative ambush
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Rep. Suckla: The Dolores NCA and GORP aren’t collaborative acts—they’re a legislative ambush

By Larry Don Suckla | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I’ve spent most of my life in the saddle. I was born and raised in Southwest Colorado. I’ve worked the land, ranched cattle, and served my neighbors as both a County Commissioner and now your elected representative in the Colorado State House. My family owns one of the largest ranches in the region, tens of thousands of acres built by my grandfather and worked by my father before me. Today, I still help run that ranch with my own children. It sits squarely inside the proposed boundaries of the Dolores River National Conservation Area. And nobody from the federal government or Senator Hickenlooper or Senator Bennet’s office ever asked us a single thing about it. Not one phone call. Not one visit. Not even a letter. ...
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Making America Safe Again: The vital role of immigration enforcement
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Making America Safe Again: The vital role of immigration enforcement

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Legal immigration has long shaped America’s identity, while unauthorized migration threatens public safety, stability, and fairness. Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s “border czar,” has led the development of a comprehensive deportation strategy to address these threats.  In Aurora, recent gang takeovers of apartment complexes underscore the urgency of enforcement, as local police confront transnational criminals targeting vulnerable communities.  The Value of Legal Immigration The legal immigration process provides people with an organized framework to enter the country through systems which guarantee both safety and successful assimilation.  According to the National Academies of Sciences, leg...
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SCOTUS backs states protecting minors from transgender treatment—Colorado lawmakers say HB25-1312 defies it
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SCOTUS backs states protecting minors from transgender treatment—Colorado lawmakers say HB25-1312 defies it

 By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Tennessee’s restrictions on gender-related medical interventions for minors has reignited scrutiny over Colorado’s HB25-1312, with several Republican lawmakers calling the ruling a clear rebuke to the law’s premise—and a warning to parents. “I was so happy with the Supreme Court’s ruling. I hope it leads to the State of Colorado being sued for the passing and the Governor’s signing of HB25-1312,” said Sen. Janice Rich (Mesa County). That ruling, issued June 18 in U.S. v. Skrmetti, affirmed that Tennessee’s restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone treatments for youth were constitutionally sound because the state had a legitimate interest in protecting minors from harm.  The ma...
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Andrews: Every illegal immigrant counted helps the left keep power
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Andrews: Every illegal immigrant counted helps the left keep power

By Russ Andrews | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Illegal immigrants are already stealing elections. Just not in the way you might think. Since Biden took office, at least 14 million illegal immigrants have entered the country—on top of the estimated 20 million already living here prior to 2021. Most of us conservatives believe that promoting this foreign invasion of our border was designed to allow those 34 million illegals to eventually vote. In the last election, 56% of Latino immigrants voted Democrat, while 42% voted Republican. The average Congressional district holds approximately 760,000 “residents.’ Notice I wrote “residents,” not citizens. The Census is held every 10 years; the next census will be taken in 2030. EVERYBODY gets counted, whether they are here leg...
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“Too many wolves”: Congress and DOI signal shift on gray wolf policy
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“Too many wolves”: Congress and DOI signal shift on gray wolf policy

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice At a House Natural Resources Committee hearing last week, frustration among ranchers, landowners and state officials across the West boiled over. What followed wasn’t just venting—it was a coordinated push by lawmakers and the Interior Department to delist the gray wolf and rein in the Endangered Species Act’s long hold on predator policy. “The ESA was never meant to be a Hotel California—where you can check in but never leave,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, borrowing a now-familiar line from Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman to describe how species once listed rarely come off. “We’ve far exceeded the original goals… in some cases by more than twofold.” Burgum’s comments came in response to multiple lawmakers from Colorado, Cal...
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Montrose Commissioner Pond: GORP Is a Land Grab. Period.
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Montrose Commissioner Pond: GORP Is a Land Grab. Period.

By Sean Pond | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act GORP is being advertised as a community driven conservation success story. It’s not. It’s a federal land grab wrapped in pretty paper, designed to sell the illusion of balance while slowly destroying everything that makes Western Colorado worth living in. This bill doesn’t protect the land. It strangles it. They’ll tell you grazing is still allowed. Sure. But what good is a grazing permit if you can’t access your cows? If you can’t get there to fix fences, build a pond, haul salt, or rescue a sick calf? If you can’t use a pickup or a UTV or bring in the tools you need to survive?  When you strip away access, you strip away use.  It’s like giving you the right to own ...
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Garbo: If true, it’s the greatest violation of American sovereignty in modern history
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Garbo: If true, it’s the greatest violation of American sovereignty in modern history

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice According to new reports, the FBI has obtained intelligence confirming that China has produced and distributed fake U.S. driver’s licenses to facilitate fraudulent mail-in ballot voting. Let that sink in. If true, this is not just foreign interference in our elections; it is a coordinated attack on American sovereignty. And the gravity of such a revelation cannot be overstated. This would represent not only a betrayal by a foreign adversary but a failure, or worse, a complicity within our own institutions. What’s worse is the possibility that this operation didn’t occur in a vacuum. It may have been aided, ignored, or tolerated by political actors here at home. If so, we’re not just looking at corruption. We’re looking at tre...
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Knutzen: Northeastern Clay Busters rack up top medals in Skeet, Sporting Clays and Trap
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Knutzen: Northeastern Clay Busters rack up top medals in Skeet, Sporting Clays and Trap

By Bruce Knutzen | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice This guest piece highlights the success of the Northeastern Clay Busters at the 2025 SCTP tournament. Coach Bruce Knutzen shares results and reflections from a team growing in strength and community support. Over the weekend of June 6th, 7th, and 8th, members of the Northeastern Clay Busters SCTP team attended a three-day state tournament. The Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) is open to youth from elementary grades through college to participate in the safe, educational, and enjoyable SCTP clay target sports of American Trap, American Skeet, and Sporting Clays. All school-age boys and girls in grades 12 and under, with the physical, mental, and emotional maturity to participate in a team sport, are eligible for the ...
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Garbo: Immigration policy should serve America, not exploit it
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Garbo: Immigration policy should serve America, not exploit it

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Let’s set the record straight. Immigration is not a right. Not under the U.S. Constitution. Not under international law. Not by any moral, legal, or civil standard.  It is a privilege, and one granted by a sovereign nation to those who respect its laws, value its principles, and are willing to contribute to its future.  That privilege, once respected and coveted as one of the greatest honors in the world, is now under relentless attack - distorted by entitlement, corrupted by politics, and weaponized by those who seek to benefit without belonging. To understand this clearly, let’s use a comparison everyone can relate to: driving a car. The Driving Analogy Driving isn’t a right. It’s a regulated privilege. I...
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