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Big business taxes, small family credits, and a permanent tax on overtime
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Big business taxes, small family credits, and a permanent tax on overtime

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Rep. Yara Zokaie stood before the House Finance Committee on March 9 and made the case for HB26-1221, a bill targeting executive pay deductions and corporate loss carry-forwards. "Our families are struggling to juggle their rent, groceries, and utilities," she said. The legislature had a choice. It could "choose to protect tax breaks for millionaire CEO salaries" or "allow for a break for our hard-working Coloradan families." Zokaie also co-signed HB26-1289. The reengrossed text of that bill, passed by the House on May 4, contains a provision requiring Colorado workers to add their federally exempt overtime pay back into state taxable income. Congress created a federal income tax deduction on overtime pay — up to $12,500 ...
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You’ve been praying all along — you just didn’t know it
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

You’ve been praying all along — you just didn’t know it

By Drake Hunter | Rocky Mountain Voice From Billy Graham’s Capitol steps to Ronald Reagan’s national call, the National Day of Prayer reminds us: prayer isn’t just something we do—it’s who we become. Prayer sometimes gets a bad reputation for being formal. Folded hands, bowed heads, the right words in the right order. But walk into any coffee shop on any morning and listen carefully — and you'll hear it everywhere. And once a year, a whole nation does exactly that — together. There's something so inspiring about a nation coming together to pause, even just for a moment, to reflect beyond ourselves. Back in 1952, a young evangelist named Billy Graham stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with thousands of people, calling a nation to seek God during uncertain times, m...
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Colorado loses businesses at one of nation’s highest rates, new report finds
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado loses businesses at one of nation’s highest rates, new report finds

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado residents have spent years watching prices climb while business groups warn that operating in the state is becoming harder. A new report adds another layer of data to those concerns. Colorado ranked near the bottom nationally for net business establishment growth in 2024 and recorded the nation’s worst employment losses tied to business openings and closures, according to a new analysis from the Common Sense Institute. While most states added businesses and jobs last year, Colorado was one of only six states to lose ground in both categories, joining Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Washington. Researchers pointed to high business costs and weakening confidence in Colorado’s economic outlook as growing warni...
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Transparency for All, Not Just Some
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Transparency for All, Not Just Some

By Dusty Johnson | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Editor's update: SB26-147 is scheduled for third reading and final passage in the House today, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. The legislative day began at 11 a.m. Coloradans may listen live at sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00327/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20260506/74/18834#info_  Coloradans deserve a government that operates in the open. They deserve to know who is influencing their laws, how those decisions are being shaped, and how taxpayer dollars are being used in that process. That is exactly why I am proud to sponsor SB26-147.  At its core, this bill is simple. It applies the same transparency standards to everyone involved in lobbying, including those working inside government.  Right now, private ...
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How the nation’s largest teachers union taught schools to cut parents out
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

How the nation’s largest teachers union taught schools to cut parents out

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In April 2025, Dustin Gonzalez stood before the Jefferson County school board and told them what had happened to his family. A school-appointed therapist in Lakewood, he said, had affirmed his daughter's gender transition without his knowledge. His ex-wife initiated proceedings to take his visitation. A court-appointed investigator never accused him of abuse or harm. A judge ruled anyway that his inability to affirm was sufficient grounds to reduce his parenting time — and limited it to every other weekend, Gonzalez shared on X. "It started in your schools," Gonzalez told the board. "Your systems made it possible, and your silence made it personal. You never once thought, 'Shouldn't the father be involved, too.'" He de...
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“Time to walk the talk”: Rich Guggenheim launches Republican challenge in Senate District 25
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

“Time to walk the talk”: Rich Guggenheim launches Republican challenge in Senate District 25

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A couple of Republican women called Rich Guggenheim and asked if he'd be interested in running for office. His first instinct was a joke. "Running what? Running my mouth? I can definitely... I'm really good at doing that." When they told him it was Senate District 25, he recognized the seat right away. "Nobody else wants to run, huh?" The seat was previously held by Faith Winter and is now filled by appointed Sen. William Lindstedt. They told him they'd tried. No one would do it. He said yes. He joked that a win might come with a therapy bill for them.  After saying yes, he said he earned 90 percent of the vote at county assembly. When he launched his campaign at Satire Brewing in Thornton on April 22, the early support s...
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National Small Business Week: Signs of Rising Optimism in Colorado
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

National Small Business Week: Signs of Rising Optimism in Colorado

By Justin D. Everett | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice This National Small Business Week, May 3-9, we’re not just celebrating America’s entrepreneurs – we’re seeing the results of policies that are putting them back in the driver’s seat. Across Colorado and the country, small businesses are growing, hiring, and investing again – and they have the confidence to do it. That didn’t happen by accident. Under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, we’ve ushered in a new era of economic strength focused on Main Street – making the Working Families Tax Cuts permanent, rolling back burdensome regulations, and restoring the conditions small businesses need to succeed; and the results are clear. Last year alone, the U.S. Small Business Administration delivered a record $45 billion i...
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Rail plan on the brink: Court ruling and ballot fight could kill funding
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Rail plan on the brink: Court ruling and ballot fight could kill funding

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice On April 29, Governor Jared Polis declared in a press release that Colorado had struck a deal to bring passenger rail to the Front Range — three daily round trips between Denver and Fort Collins, launching in 2029, with no new taxes.  "At nearly half the cost of previous studies," he wrote, "this agreement proves that through partnership and collaboration, passenger rail service across the Front Range is not a far-off dream, but a reality." The day before, RTD's board voted to authorize $5.58 million from its FasTracks savings account and support the project's preliminary funding framework. The term sheet itself was executed April 30 between the Colorado Transportation Investment Office (CTIO), a government-owned ...
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These are the times that try men’s souls
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

These are the times that try men’s souls

By Mark Salley | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Do all Democrats hate the country? Surely not. Do all Democrats hate Donald J. Trump? Of course not. But many — perhaps most — do! This hate has got to stop! What has Trump-hate led to? During the first administration, the hatred led to frivolous attempts to impeach him in 2019. Frivolous because the evidence being used to justify an impeachment was MANUFACTURED by leftist Democrats who hate Trump and wanted him to fail. This Trump-hate continues to lead numerous renegade judges to create needless injunctions to Trump-backed measures that would greatly benefit our country and our culture. As of April 21, lawfaremedia.org states there are 316 active cases challenging Trump administration actions…including the ridiculo...
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The Confidence Weapon: Climb Again
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Devotional, Top Stories

The Confidence Weapon: Climb Again

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again…’~ John 3:7 ~ The last few weeks, we watched Jack and Jill go up the hill… and come tumbling down. It was a picture of humility and trust. A reminder that sometimes the first step toward God is the fall that wakes us up. But Jesus doesn’t just leave us at the bottom of the hill. He looks at us—like children—and says, “Now… begin again.” Because the goal is not just to fall and feel sorry…The goal is to become something new. That’s where a different childhood rhyme helps us see what Jesus is teaching: “The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout.Down came the rain and washed the spider out.Out came the sun and dried up all the rain…And the itsy bitsy spider clim...
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