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He reported election irregularities. Weeks later he was fired: Now a Colorado fire chief appeals in federal court
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

He reported election irregularities. Weeks later he was fired: Now a Colorado fire chief appeals in federal court

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Erik Holt says he didn’t expect reviewing surveillance footage from a polling location inside the Florissant fire station would cost him his career. Holt says the fallout came quickly. Within weeks of providing investigators the footage he believed showed election rule violations, he was out of a job. The dispute that began inside the Florissant fire station is now before the federal appeals court. Judges will review whether reporting suspected wrongdoing can cost a public employee his job. Holt is no longer fighting the appeal alone. Mountain States Legal Foundation has joined the case and is now representing him. “Public employees do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they take a government job,” said Grad...
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Insurance Turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz Could Ripple Into U.S. Energy Prices
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National, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Insurance Turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz Could Ripple Into U.S. Energy Prices

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice The next jump in gasoline prices might not start at an oil well or a refinery. It could start in the insurance market. The change isn’t happening on the water. It’s happening in insurance offices. Marine insurers have started canceling or sharply increasing the cost of war-risk coverage for ships operating in the Persian Gulf as tensions involving Iran grow. It may sound like a technical insurance decision, but for shipping companies it can determine whether a tanker sails or waits. When coverage disappears — or becomes too expensive — ships often wait. And some already are. Shipping reports indicate vessels have slowed or anchored near the Strait of Hormuz while insurers review the risks a...
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Nine-year sentence questioned: Peters’ attorneys cite contrast with Lewis case
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Nine-year sentence questioned: Peters’ attorneys cite contrast with Lewis case

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Tina Peters’ attorneys said Wednesday they appreciate Gov. Jared Polis taking a look at her clemency request, pointing to what they believe is a sentencing disparity. Peters’ attorneys shared the statement with RMV after Polis posted about the case of former state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis while talking about clemency. They said that contrast between Lewis’ and Peters’ case is central to their clemency request. “Tina Peters is grateful to Governor Polis for considering her request for clemency,” the statement said. The defense team also echoed a comment Polis made in a recent social media post about fairness in the justice system. “As the governor said, Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly,...
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Why did nearly 500,000 Colorado voter records change after elections were certified?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Why did nearly 500,000 Colorado voter records change after elections were certified?

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado voters are constantly told to trust the system. Trust the process. Trust the machines. Trust the results. That’s where a new complaint under the federal Help America Vote Act enters the picture. https://twitter.com/Unite4Freedom/status/2029353098318364887 It names Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and focuses on something most voters probably never think about—what happens to election records after certification. The complaint says voter participation records were modified nearly half a million times across those three election cycles. There’s one number in the complaint that’s hard to miss—487,887. Michael Cahoon filed the complaint. It’s now being circulated by electi...
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Same Colorado law, different outcomes: Probation in Denver, prison in Mesa County
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Same Colorado law, different outcomes: Probation in Denver, prison in Mesa County

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice In Colorado, the same felony statute led to two very different courtroom outcomes. One walked away with probation. Peters is now serving a prison sentence that stretches close to a decade. The case against Peters unfolded under Colorado’s statute on attempting to influence a public servant—§ 18-8-306, the same law used in the prosecution of former Colorado state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis. In Denver District Court, jurors convicted Lewis on four felony counts tied to forged letters submitted during a Senate ethics investigation. The Mesa County verdict came with far steeper consequences. Peters received a prison sentence totaling nine years. Gov. Jared Polis referenced the Lewis sentencing this week while ...
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Why Iran Matters to Every Single American
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Why Iran Matters to Every Single American

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice There are Americans right now screaming, “Why are we in Iran? This isn’t our fight.” Let’s slow that down. What’s unfolding in the Middle East isn’t a foreign skirmish on a map most people can’t read. It’s a defining moment for American security, American prosperity, and American credibility — and it affects every one of us, whether we’re paying attention or not. This Didn’t Start in Tehran Before Operation Epic Fury, the Trump administration removed Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela — not with a strongly worded letter or another round of sanctions, but with decisive action and the kind of political will Washington hadn’t shown in decades. Maduro had turned Venezuela into a narco-state actively poiso...
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From ethics complaint to felony conviction: How forged letters ended a Colorado lawmaker’s career
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From ethics complaint to felony conviction: How forged letters ended a Colorado lawmaker’s career

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The investigation that ended former Colorado Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis’ political career did not begin with police or prosecutors. It began inside her own office. It ended in a Denver courtroom. There, jurors found the former lawmaker guilty on four felony counts tied to letters submitted during a legislative ethics investigation. The workplace dispute had become a criminal case. No prison sentence followed. The judge handed down two years’ probation, 150 hours of community service and a $3,000 fine. Months earlier, aides had begun raising complaints about how Jaquez Lewis ran her office. They accused her of mistreating staff and assigning work unrelated to legislative duties. Those complaints quickly reached S...
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Colorado’s most valuable company leaves—Weeks after protests outside its Denver office
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s most valuable company leaves—Weeks after protests outside its Denver office

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice On February 17, Palantir Technologies posted a single sentence on X: “We have moved our headquarters to Miami, Florida.” There was no press conference and no detailed explanation. https://twitter.com/PalantirTech/status/2023780511051809010 At the time of the move, Palantir was the most valuable publicly traded company headquartered in Colorado, with a market capitalization in the tens of billions of dollars. And just like that, the state’s highest-valued corporate name had a new address. The announcement was brief. The consequences may not be. What the Economic Modeling Shows A February 2026 report from the Common Sense Institute examined what Palantir’s departure could mean for Colora...
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Grassroots-backed election amendments fall short as House advances HB26-1113
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Grassroots-backed election amendments fall short as House advances HB26-1113

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado lawmakers approved a sweeping update to the state’s election laws Tuesday after rejecting several amendments that would have added voter roll verification requirements and expanded cybersecurity standards for election infrastructure. The vote followed a second-reading debate on HB26-1113 the previous legislative day that centered on election security proposals and questions about the accuracy of Colorado’s voter rolls. Sponsors describe bill as routine election law update Rep. Jenny Willford (Adams County) rose first to present HB26-1113 to the chamber. “The house bill that you have in front of you today is a cleanup bill for elections and voting,” Willford said. She told colleagues Colorado’s electio...
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Former Judicial Discipline Director Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Colorado Supreme Court Oversight
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Former Judicial Discipline Director Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Colorado Supreme Court Oversight

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A former top official inside Colorado’s judicial discipline system is accusing the state’s highest court of protecting itself — and says he was fired after trying to hold it accountable. Christopher S.P. Gregory’s federal lawsuit names an unusually broad group of defendants: the Colorado Judicial Discipline Rulemaking Committee, the Colorado Supreme Court, Governor Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, current and former justices, senior judicial administrators, and other state officials. The breadth of the case is intentional. He is not just accusing individuals of wrongdoing. He is challenging the framework that he says allowed those individuals to influence — and ultimately suppress — the very pr...
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