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Governor Solicits Input After Millions Already Spent on Pedestrian Project
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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...
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Douglas County Residents Voice Concerns as John Adams Academy Moves In
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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...
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Denver City Council Eyes Risky Shift to Ranked-Choice Voting for Local Elections
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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 (...
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Gazette editorial board: AG Weiser defends censure-shamed CU regent over public health warning
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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...
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Christian Bookstore Sues Colorado Over Forced Speech on Gender Identity
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Local, Alliance Defending Freedom, Approved

Christian Bookstore Sues Colorado Over Forced Speech on Gender Identity

By Staff | Alliance Defending Freedom COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of a Christian bookstore in Colorado seeking to uphold its religious and commonsense beliefs about biological sex. Born Again Used Books, a family-owned bookstore in Colorado Springs, is challenging a state law that recently redefined “gender expression” to include “how an individual chooses to be addressed,” that is, pronouns and titles based on gender identity rather than biological sex. Although Born Again Used Books happily sells its products to everyone, Colorado now compels the bookstore to speak using pronouns and titles based on a person’s preferred gender expression—thereby requiring the store to prioritize a person’s professed ide...
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Denver sues to keep federal funds while limiting ICE cooperation
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Denver sues to keep federal funds while limiting ICE cooperation

By Óscar Contreras | Denver7 The joint lawsuit alleges the Trump administration has asserted “an unprecedented and unlawful interpretation of the federal government’s authority to commandeer local government resources” DENVER — The City and County of Denver on Tuesday announced it had filed suit against the Trump administration for what it called “its unlawful and unconstitutional threats” to withhold federal funding over Denver’s policies limiting cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The joint lawsuit, filed last week in conjunction with nearly 50 other jurisdictions from across the country in U.S. District Court in northern California, alleges the Trump administration has asserted “an unprecedented and unlawful interpretation of the federal government’s aut...
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Christian Business Owner Attacked for Helping the Homeless in Woke Denver
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Local, Approved, Fox News

Christian Business Owner Attacked for Helping the Homeless in Woke Denver

By Kristine Parks , Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi | Fox News Jamie Sanchez has felt a calling to serve the homeless ever since he was a child. But he never imagined that following that calling would lead to him being labeled a bigot. "It was really strange, actually, because we all of a sudden started getting like messages on Instagram about how we hate gay people and just like random comments like that," Sanchez told Fox News Digital. "And come to find out there was like an organized group ready to protest the opening of our café before we even open. We did some digging, and we found out it was strictly because we were Christian." Sanchez is the owner of The Drip Café in Denver, located in the Art District on Santa Fe Drive. He also runs a homeless ministry called "Recycle God's Love," t...
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Behind closed doors: Leaked memos reveal how Durango 9-R Schools avoided a DEI lawsuit—until now
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Local, Top Stories

Behind closed doors: Leaked memos reveal how Durango 9-R Schools avoided a DEI lawsuit—until now

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Durango School District 9-R changed its hiring policy this spring without a public announcement—but the move didn’t go unnoticed. According to a new federal civil rights complaint filed by Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF) and authored by its general counsel, William Trachman, the district had for years pushed a race-conscious hiring agenda, encouraged by internal equity committees and shielded by carefully worded legal guidance.  Now, MSLF says those practices violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act—and that scrubbing the language in 2025 wasn’t enough to undo the damage. This filing is one of three separate federal complaints MSLF has submitted since late June. The others challenge a district policy that endorses race-based ...
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Registered Sex Offender Breaches Colorado School Grounds in Alleged Kidnapping Attempt
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Local, Approved, CBS News

Registered Sex Offender Breaches Colorado School Grounds in Alleged Kidnapping Attempt

By Austin Erblat | CBS News MONDAY UPDATE: Parents are livid at the response of school staff during and after the alleged kidnapping attempt. A Colorado man is in jail after attempting to kidnap a boy at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora, police say. Solomon Galligan, 33, walked onto school property and approached several children on Friday afternoon and tried to grab a boy before leaving the area, an Aurora police spokesman told CBS News Colorado on Sunday. It wasn't immediately clear what prompted him to leave, but Aurora police say officers found a man matching the description of the one reported and arrested Galligan. A request for an arrest report was pending Sunday. Galligan has been charged with one count of attempted kidnapping and is being held i...
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