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Buyers walk free, survivors carry the scars: Colorado debates sentencing for child traffickers
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Buyers walk free, survivors carry the scars: Colorado debates sentencing for child traffickers

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado lawmakers confronted a question this week that has lingered for years under the gold dome: how far should the state go in punishing those who buy and traffic children? Two bills offered two different answers. Senate Bill 26-015 cleared Senate Judiciary on a 6–1 vote and was referred, as amended, to Appropriations. Senator Nick Hinrichsen cast the lone “no.” HB26-1082 went the other direction. Representative Scott Bottoms’ bill would have required life without parole in certain cases involving trafficked minors. It stalled in the House Judiciary Committee. No one in the room disputed the harm. That wasn’t the fight. The debate centered on sentencing, and whether judges should still have ro...
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CMU student leaders press governor hopefuls on taxes, energy and rural control
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

CMU student leaders press governor hopefuls on taxes, energy and rural control

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice TPUSA chapter leaders from Colorado Mesa University opened Monday night’s gubernatorial forum with a question more typical of a legislative hearing than a campaign rally. Instead of easing into the forum, they went straight to TABOR. “How would you approach balancing Colorado’s budget while complying with TABOR? And what are your priorities when it comes to taxes, refunds and state spending during periods of surplus and economic stagnation?” Six candidates were at the forum that evening. Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer told the crowd she almost didn’t make the trip, saying she rearranged her Joint Budget Committee schedule and decided to “head on over to Grand Junction” when the weather held. Rep. Scott Bottoms of Colorado Springs share...
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$4 million-plus in alleged Medicaid ride billing draws federal fraud charges in Colorado
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

$4 million-plus in alleged Medicaid ride billing draws federal fraud charges in Colorado

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s Medicaid transportation system operates on a straightforward premise. A ride is provided to a qualified Medicaid recipient. Documentation is submitted. The state reimburses the provider. For thousands of Coloradans, particularly those in rural communities or without reliable transportation — that structure makes routine medical care possible. But federal prosecutors now allege that in two separate cases, the reimbursement model itself was manipulated. Non-emergent medical transportation billing is the focus in the cases that have been filed in U.S. District Court this month regarding providers in Mesa and Douglas counties. The cases involve more than $4 million. On Feb. 10, the U...
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What SuperBowl LX Can Teach Us About Colorado Politics
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Top Stories

What SuperBowl LX Can Teach Us About Colorado Politics

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan (*not a football player) Last Sunday, millions of Americans watched one of the most lackluster competitions between two NFL teams in a long while. The stats indicate that the Seattle Seahawks outplayed the New England Patriots, consistently from start to finish. The score speaks clearlly: Seattle won and New England lost.  I think SuperBowl LX was chock full of lessons that apply to Colorado politics. One team (Seattle) had a clear game plan, a competent and experienced coach and quarterback, and great players who understood their jobs and executed well. The other team (New England) didn’t. Both teams made it to the SuperB...
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House passes SAVE America Act: Citizenship proof bill heads to Senate
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Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

House passes SAVE America Act: Citizenship proof bill heads to Senate

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice In a tight 218–213 vote Wednesday, the House approved the SAVE America Act and sent it on to the Senate. U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank (CO-05) voted in favor of H.R. 7296, the SAVE America Act. “American elections are reserved for American citizens only,” Crank said after the vote. “The majority of American people want secure elections, and the SAVE America Act will require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.” The bill makes changes to the 1993 federal voter registration law, adding a requirement that applicants prove they are U.S. citizens. Anyone registering for a federal election would need to provide documentary proof of citizenship. The bill also lays out what counts as proof of citizenship. A REAL ID that...
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Colorado’s immigration folly: Taxpayer dollars fueling a broken system
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s immigration folly: Taxpayer dollars fueling a broken system

By Rep. Ken DeGraaf | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As the state representative from House District 22 in Colorado Springs, I see daily how federal immigration enforcement and state policies affect families in El Paso County. President Trump’s 2024 reelection brought a secured southern border after the Biden era’s chaos, when 8 to 11 million people entered illegally—the largest surge in U.S. history.  That influx overwhelmed communities nationwide, including Colorado. While federal policy now prioritizes removing criminal aliens, Colorado Democrats have enacted legislation that rewards illegal immigration with generous taxpayer-funded benefits, all while ignoring the burden on law-abiding citizens. Deportation data from 1993 to 2022 show enforcement is bi...
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When grievance overrides justice: The risk of declaring nothing illegal
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When grievance overrides justice: The risk of declaring nothing illegal

By Michael Hancock | Guest Commentary, Undercurrent How Moral Slogans Collapse the Rule of Law “There is no such thing as illegal on stolen land.” It is a clever slogan—short, moral, and absolute. And like most slogans that aspire to absoluteness, it collapses the moment it is treated as an argument rather than a chant. The claim rests on a simple premise: because land was once taken unjustly, no law exercised upon it today can be legitimate. The conclusion sounds radical, even righteous. In reality, it is neither. It is a logical error masquerading as moral courage—and one with consequences far more destructive than its advocates seem willing to admit. Begin with the historical reality the slogan quietly ignores. There is no land on earth untouch...
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“America must not be overwhelmed”: A century-old warning revisited
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

“America must not be overwhelmed”: A century-old warning revisited

By Tom Anthony | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who penned the lion’s share of the Constitution, is perhaps the most stellar example of the philosophy of America as a meritocracy, having been the illegitimate son of a Caribbean storekeeper who rose to become George Washington’s Adjutant and the first Secretary of the Treasury. He said this about immigration: “Foreigners will generally be apt to bring with them attachments to the persons they have left behind; to the country of their nativity, and to its particular customs and manners. They will also entertain opinions on government congenial with those under which they have lived; or, if they should be led hither from a preference to ours, how extremely unlikely is it that they will...
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Colorado task force clears 566 felony warrants as fugitive arrests rise in 2025
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado task force clears 566 felony warrants as fugitive arrests rise in 2025

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado was not an easy place to hide last year. By the end of 2025, U.S. Marshals Service was reporting 498 fugitive arrests tied to Colorado's Violent Offender Task Force. Those arrests cleared 566 felony warrants in total - more than the year before, and enough to register as a 17 percent increase. The figures come from the Marshals Service’s statewide enforcement summary, not from a collection of isolated arrests or one-off operations. In the agency’s words, the increase reflected “relentless efforts to locate and arrest violent fugitives,” driven by coordination across multiple law-enforcement agencies. What the Marshals Actually Reported The organization and operation of the Colorado Violen...
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Mandated hiring preferences are not a “just transition”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Mandated hiring preferences are not a “just transition”

By Aimee Tooker | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Colorado Just Transition Action Plan was established in 2020 to “empower communities with resources to drive their own economic transitions.”  I take personal issue with Section 2 of this introduced bill. SB26-052 “CONCERNING COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, PROVIDING A HIRING PREFERENCE FOR COAL TRANSITION WORKERS IN COAL TRANSITION COMMUNITIES AND EXPANDING THE ALLOWABLE WAYS IN WHICH A PUBLIC ENTITY MAY DEPOSIT OR INVEST JUST TRANSITION MONEY.” ·       A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL CONSULT WITH THE JUST TRANSITION OFFICE, ·       A COVERED BUSINESS SHALL REPORT ANNUALLY TO THE JUST TRANSITION OFFICE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRIOR YEAR: o   (a) THE TITLE OF ANY POS...
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