Rocky Mountain Voice

Local

100 bison headed to NWSS this week
Approved, Downtown Denver, Local, thefencepost.com

100 bison headed to NWSS this week

By Hagstrom Report | SOURCE: THE FENCE POST DENVER — Nearly 100 American bison are headed to Denver this week for the National Bison Association’s 44th annual Gold Trophy Show and Sale at the National Western Stock Show. The NBA will host a corresponding conference in nearby Westminster in which over 500 of today’s bison stewards will gather for a few days of bison-specific education, networking, feasting and fun.  Over 20 bison producers, from the U.S. and Canada, will bring their top bison breeding stock to the annual auction, in which the animals are cared for in the bison pens at the NWSS Stockyard Event Center. Animals are judged on Thursday and Friday, culminating with a live animal auction at Denver’s National Western Livestock Auction Arena starting at 10 a.m., Satu...
Should Denver ban homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather? City Council will decide tonight
Approved, denvergazette.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Should Denver ban homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather? City Council will decide tonight

By Noah Festenstein | SOURCE: DENVER GAZETTE Denver's councilmembers will decide tonight whether to ban homeless encampment sweeps when temperatures fall below 32 degrees, a move that Mayor Mike Johnston opposes. The council gave the proposal preliminary approval last week, when a few councilmembers voted against advancing it and others showed hesitation to move it forward. The vote is happening as a cold snap, which plunged temperatures to subzero in the last several days, is expected to leave metro Denver today.  READ FULL STORY ON GAZETTE.COM
Vilsack to travel to National Western Stock show in Denver
Approved, Downtown Denver, Local, thefencepost.com

Vilsack to travel to National Western Stock show in Denver

SOURCE: THEFENCEPOST.COM Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will hold a panel discussion with farmers and ranchers at the National Western Stock Show in Denver on Friday, USDA said in a media advisory. Vilsack will focus on “rancher and farmer-focused programs that spur economic activity by supporting on-farm conservation, bolstering new markets, expanding independent meat processing options, and keeping farming viable for the next generation,” USDA said. READ FULL ARTICLE ON THEFENCEPOST.COM
Interview: Lori Saine, Weld County Commissioner on Standing up for Liberty
Approved, freestatecolorado.com, Local, Northern Colorado, State

Interview: Lori Saine, Weld County Commissioner on Standing up for Liberty

SOURCE: FREE STATE COLORADO Lori Saine isn't afraid to stand up for liberty, even if it means she has to stand alone. As a State Legislator, she served for eight years in the House, and now she serves as a Weld County Commissioner. Her voting record in the House earned her an A+ rating from Principles of Liberty, an A from the Colorado Liberty Scorecard, and House Champion from the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. Serving as Commissioner, Lori has been a voice for taxpayers, gun owners and entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, Lori's fellow Weld County Commissioners haven't always supported her principled approach to governance. Even with opposition from her own party, Lori refuses to back down, and remains a staunch defender of Pro-Liberty Principles. In this interview, Lori ...
Denver City councilmembers ‘desperate’ amid homelessness, immigration crises
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Denver City councilmembers ‘desperate’ amid homelessness, immigration crises

By Luige Del Puerto | SOURCE: COLORADO POLITICS Denver Mayor Mike Johnston plans to travel to Washington, D.C. this week — his second in as many months — to press White House and federal officials for a concrete solution to the illegal immigration crisis that's threatening to consume hundreds of millions of dollars of the city's budget.  Denver’s mayor earlier said if the current influx of immigrants persists, the city could be spending $180 million this year. In the past year, the city burned through $38 million to accommodate the more than 37,000 immigrants who illegally crossed America's southern border and arrived in Denver.  Worried about how to pay for the immigrants' food and shelter, Johnston asked the city's agency heads to evaluate their budgets and come u...
Costs for Assisting Denver’s Overwhelming Indigent Migrants Could Reach $500 per Household, Report Reveals
Approved, Downtown Denver, Local, thelobby-co.com

Costs for Assisting Denver’s Overwhelming Indigent Migrants Could Reach $500 per Household, Report Reveals

SOURCE: THELOBBY-CO.COM The financial burden to house, feed, and care for the thousands of indigent migrants arriving in Denver could amount to $500 per Denver household, according to a report from the Common Sense Institute. The report from the think tank highlights the growing apprehension regarding the city's ability to provide essential services for the influx of migrants. "If the Denver mayor's recent spending projections of $180 million hold true, the city will have exhausted a significant amount of its general funding by the end of 2024," the report states. "To date, spending has been covered by a combination of federal, state, and city funds, but it remains unclear how the projected 2024 amount will be financed." Furthermore, Denver's expenditures fail to fully ac...
Colorado Springs shelters nearly 900 homeless people as temperatures continue to dive
Approved, El Paso County, gazette.com, Local

Colorado Springs shelters nearly 900 homeless people as temperatures continue to dive

By Debbie Kelley | SOURCE: The Gazette Colorado Springs’ shelters and ad hoc warming centers accommodated nearly 900 homeless people who sought to escape Sunday night’s subzero temperatures. The 352 people that hundreds of Hope COS volunteers removed from outdoor camps and under bridges and transported to emergency overnight centers inside three local churches set a record, the organization’s founder Melissa Oskin said Monday. “It’s just about double what we had as a high before that,” she said. READ FULL ARTICLE ON GAZETTE.COM
Eastern Plains was ignored by disaster declaration, legislator says
Approved, Eastern Plains, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Eastern Plains was ignored by disaster declaration, legislator says

When a disaster declaration was issued by Gov. Jared Polis, related to extreme winter weather conditions, it failed to recognize the impacts on communities and residents of the Eastern Plains, a letter authored by Southeast Colorado Republican Rep. Ty Winter reads. The same storm system which impacted residents in other areas of the state dumped heavy snow on the sparsely populated Eastern Plains and stretched resources to their extent, the letter indicates. “Over the last 10 days, the Eastern Plains in Colorado have endured severe weather and blizzard conditions. Colorado’s farmers, livestock producers and rural families were faced with single-digit, below-zero temperatures, and other life-threatening conditions,” a letter from four legislators begins. The letter, dated Jan. 12, ...
Denver City Council to consider banning homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather
Approved, denvergazette.com, Downtown Denver, Local

Denver City Council to consider banning homeless camp sweeps in frigid weather

By Noah Festenstein | SOURCE: The Denver Gazette Denver buying the $88.5 million Denver Post building and a ban on sweeps of homeless encampments while temperatures are below 32 degrees top the agenda for the Denver City Council meeting on Tuesday. City offices are closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, delaying the council’s weekly Monday meeting.  Two of the items likely to be most talked about were tabled at the past two meetings. Council members two weeks ago voted to postpone the purchase of the Denver Post building, citing a need for more information about the purchase plan. The city is considering buying the building for $88.5 million. Denver needs more courtroom space by 2030, according to a 2020 courts master plan. READ FULL ARTICLE ON DENVERGAZETTE.COM
Husband of Rep. Brittany Pettersen lands hefty Jefferson County consulting gig; questions swirl around bid process
Approved, completecolorado.com, Denver Metro, Local

Husband of Rep. Brittany Pettersen lands hefty Jefferson County consulting gig; questions swirl around bid process

By Sherrie Peif | SOURCE: Complete Colorado Page Two LAKEWOOD — Despite voters in Jefferson County (Jeffco) overwhelmingly rejecting higher taxes twice in the last three years, the Democrat-controlled county commission is back at it again. Only this time, they are willing to pay big money to a political consulting company co-owned by Ian Silverii, the activist husband of US Representative Brittany Pettersen, whose congressional district includes Jeffco. Silverii is hoping he can help secure what looks to be another ballot initiative to de-TABOR county revenues and/or raise taxes in some form. However, multiple problems with the process around how and to whom Jeffco awarded the hefty contract, appear to signal inside connections influencing the decision. On Nov. 2, 2023, Jeffco’...