Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Local

Colorado Sheriff Turns to Community to Revive Mounted Patrol
No Comments
Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Colorado Sheriff Turns to Community to Revive Mounted Patrol

By Jacob Factor | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — Western Colorado has a rich history with horses, from cowboys and ranchers to mounted law enforcement. Today, a Western Slope sheriff’s office is hoping to revitalize a tradition going back more than 140 years. Though never officially disbanded, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office has had a mounted patrol of deputies from at least 1884 until budget constraints in the 1980s caused the posse to fade away. Now, the sheriff’s office wants to restart and revitalize the unit. “We live in western Colorado, our heritage is tied to the effective use of the horse for agriculture, transportation, recreation, ‘search and rescue’ and for many years past as a part of effective law enforcement,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post. “A wo...
Read More
Grand Junction Zip Line Project Fizzles Despite Lavish Public Subsidies
No Comments
Local, Approved, The Business Times

Grand Junction Zip Line Project Fizzles Despite Lavish Public Subsidies

By Brandon Leuallen | The Business Times The Las Colonias Riverfront Zip Adventures zip line, which was launched after initial delays in August 2023, then shut down partway through 2024, remains inactive in 2025. As an anchor business for the $30 million Riverfront development, Bonsai Design, a company that designs aerial-adventure courses and owns the zip line, secured $1.69 million in taxpayer-funded incentives, including payment of development fees, impact fees, land-lease discounts, property-tax breaks and grant support. Bonsai also was entrusted with operating the zip line, adding jobs and recruiting other outdoor businesses to fill the park. The online bookings page for the zip line states: “We are closed for the remainder of 2024. Thanks for a great season and we hope to se...
Read More
D-11 takes on media trust crisis with new high school journalism course
No Comments
denvergazette.com, Approved, Local

D-11 takes on media trust crisis with new high school journalism course

By Debbie Kelley | Denver Gazette With longstanding principles of objectivity, truth and fairness in news reporting up for debate in recent years, a homegrown Career and Technical Education course launching in Colorado Springs School District 11 for the fall semester will explore such topics under an overarching theme of “ethics in journalism.” So while juniors and seniors receive real-world training in broadcast, podcast, video and print media creation and production, they'll also be schooled on how to do it all by “upholding the highest standards of journalistic integrity,” said course founder Chaim Goldman. He’s also the executive producer and host of The Peak News, a “hyper-local news” radio show that’s on hiatus from the airwaves over the summer. In May 2024...
Read More
Hutchins: ‘Free press under fire’ isn’t just a panel title—it’s reality
No Comments
Substack, Approved, Local

Hutchins: ‘Free press under fire’ isn’t just a panel title—it’s reality

By Corey Hutchins | Commentary, Inside the News in Colorado, Substack The free press is under fire. That was the theme of a public discussion in Colorado Springs about the ways in which the local journalism industry operates during a time of, shall we say, disruption. On the panel was Gazette Executive Editor Vince Bzdek, former Denver Post Editor Greg Moore, Rocky Mountain PBS CEO Amanda Mountain, Colorado Sun reporter and editor Jesse Paul, and KOAA News5 investigative journalist Alasyn Zimmerman. Will Stoller-Lee, the program chair for the Greenberg Center for Learning and Tolerance, moderated the discussion at the Ent Center for the Arts on the campus of UCCS. Topics ranged from bias and diversity in newsrooms to attacks from Republican Pres...
Read More
Teller County woman’s $150K greenhouse caught in zoning battle over local agriculture
No Comments
KOAA News, Approved, Local

Teller County woman’s $150K greenhouse caught in zoning battle over local agriculture

By Tony Keith | KOAA News5 DIVIDE, Colo. (KOAA) — A Colorado woman was told she needs to take her nearly 3,000 square-foot greenhouse down, but she plans to fight to keep it up. The woman goes by the name Virginia Loop and her home is along Moss Rock Court on the northwest side of Divide. In June of 2024, Loop explained she was excavating her property for a greenhouse kit when a new code enforcement officer paid her a visit. Loop said she had a conversation with that code enforcement officer and explained she didn't need a permit because of a building code section exempting agricultural structures. Loop sent the code enforcement officer an email, which Loop shared with News5, and reads as follows: "As discussed on the phone, here is the section of code for exemptions of permitting...
Read More
Governor Solicits Input After Millions Already Spent on Pedestrian Project
No Comments
Local, Approved, Colorado Politics

Governor Solicits Input After Millions Already Spent on Pedestrian Project

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis is asking Coloradans to weigh in on the $29 million pedestrian bridge he envisions as part of the state's 150th birthday celebration. However, the bridge project, which will primarily be funded by private donations, is facing challenges in its next step: securing approval from the legislature's Capital Development Committee. The bridge, according to its design, will connect the grounds of the state Capitol across Lincoln Street to Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park, and then across Broadway to Civic Center Park. The state has already allocated $8.5 million of taxpayer money to initiate the project, but the remaining funds will need to be raised through private donations. The initial cost is $18 million, but an additional $10...
Read More
Douglas County Residents Voice Concerns as John Adams Academy Moves In
No Comments
Local, Approved, CBS News

Douglas County Residents Voice Concerns as John Adams Academy Moves In

By Olivia Young | CBS News A fast-growing Colorado community will soon be home to two new schools that are set to open in the next two years. A tuition-free public K-12 charter school, John Adams Academy, has been approved to open in 2026 on 25 acres of land in Douglas County donated by Sterling Ranch LLC. The school will be located in Sterling Ranch, south of Waterton Road and adjacent to Ascent Village. John Adams Academy was approved by the Colorado Charter School Institute last month after being released to the state authorizer by the Douglas County School District. Some community members say that process didn't allow them to fully voice concerns over where their tax dollars were going. A DCSD public elementary school funded by a bond passed last year is set to open in Ster...
Read More
Denver City Council Eyes Risky Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting for Local Elections
No Comments
Local, Approved, Axios Denver

Denver City Council Eyes Risky Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting for Local Elections

By Esteban L. Hernandez | Axios Denver If Denver's current municipal election system isn't broken, why fix it? The big picture: It's a refrain from Denver City Council members opposing a bill that would change city elections to ranked choice voting. Yes, but: Despite reservations, they advanced the bill Tuesday to the full council. Why it matters: Voters may decide this fall whether to fundamentally change how local elections work. The other side: Council members who back the bill, including Sarah Parady and Darrell Watson, say it will boost turnout, increase candidate engagement with voters and save money. How it works: Ranked choice voting allows people to rank candidates in order of preference when multiple contestants are available (...
Read More
Gazette editorial board: AG Weiser defends censure-shamed CU regent over public health warning
No Comments
Local, Approved, gazette.com

Gazette editorial board: AG Weiser defends censure-shamed CU regent over public health warning

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette For a politician with his eyes on a higher prize, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sure seemed shortsighted the other day when he took to social media in defense of the indefensible — a University of Colorado regent rightly rebuked by her peers for her abuse of office. Readers might recall the CU Board of Regents recently voted 7-1 to censure first-term board member Wanda James, a Democrat who represents Denver’s 1st Congressional District. James, arguably the state’s most politically ambitious pot dealer, has behaved at times as if she represents the marijuana industry rather than her district — and it finally backfired on her. The owner of a Denver marijuana retail outlet, James unconscionably attempted this year to s...
Read More

FD863768-0ACF-495E-9D21-2EF784DFFA6B[1]

Join us at RMV's Freedom Festival

Click Here for Tickets!

This will close in 0 seconds