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Hunter: I’ve got the ‘bug’ only the Denver Fly Fishing Show can cure
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Hunter: I’ve got the ‘bug’ only the Denver Fly Fishing Show can cure

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The screaming and whirling of the drag as I set the hook into what I hoped would be a whopper rainbow was unforgettable. The trout surfaced and then nearly pulled me in the river, waders and all, and that was enough. I was "hooked", you could say. OK, maybe it wasn't a "whopper" and maybe it didn't exactly go down like that. Maybe the trout was the size of the fish Deion Sanders catches in that commercial with Nick Saban. It felt like a whopper to this novice, and I had "the bug" you could say for fly fishing. That's why I'm like a kid in a candy store this week. The 23rd annual Denver Fly Fishing Show is making its return to the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center from Friday-Sunday, Feb. 21-23. The Fly Fishing ...
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Local ranchers get wolf training from Delta County Livestock Association
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Local ranchers get wolf training from Delta County Livestock Association

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice There have been no reported wolf depredation of cattle or sheep in Delta County, so far, but Robbie LeValley, on behalf of the Delta Livestock Association, gave a Feb. 13 presentation to more than 130 ranchers in Hotchkiss, Colo., emphasizing how critical precise record keeping will be — should and must likely when the quiet ranching community is impacted by wolf depredation. Hotchkiss is a small town with a population of 929 people, all of whom are impacted by the local ranching economy. Hotchkiss is located in the North Fork of the Gunnison River, between Paonia and Delta, in Delta County. “We are not here to argue about the wolves, they’re here. Wolves are close, they are on top of us,” LeValley said. The informat...
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Wolf 2307-OR died as a result of another wolf, not a gunshot wound as some theorized
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Wolf 2307-OR died as a result of another wolf, not a gunshot wound as some theorized

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Despite allegations and innuendos from animal rights activists, wolf 2307-OR died as a result of a fight with another wolf, not a gunshot wound last September. Wolf 2307-OR was found dead after his collar signaled that he had died, on Sept. 9, 2024, CPW reported in a press release Sept. 12, 20224, concerning the event three days earlier. CPW, at the time, said that 2307-OR was killed by another wolf, but then backtracked when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) noted there was a gunshot injury. Months later, the pathology report concluded that the gunshot was not a factor in the wolf’s demise. In a Jan. 8 meeting of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, commissioners heard repeated accusations from pro-...
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Garbo: Lead the fight for America by reclaiming our republic from the enemies within
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Garbo: Lead the fight for America by reclaiming our republic from the enemies within

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice To be a citizen of the United States is to inherit one of the greatest political experiments in human history — one built upon the foundation of unalienable rights, limited government and a system designed to safeguard liberty against the natural tendency of power to corrupt. The Founding Fathers envisioned a constitutional republic where the people — not monarchs, aristocrats, or unchecked rulers — held sovereignty over their own destinies. The Declaration of Independence establishes the core philosophy that birthed this nation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of...
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Rep. Ty Winter on leadership, rural values and politics: ‘Without your word, you’re nothing’
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Rep. Ty Winter on leadership, rural values and politics: ‘Without your word, you’re nothing’

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Leadership isn’t just about making deals and passing laws for state Rep. Ty Winter. As assistant minority leader, he helps shape the Republican Caucus, while ensuring the people of his Southeast Colorado District 47 have a voice in the Colorado House.  “We grew up in a house where we had to get up and take care of something every day, and I think that's important,” the rancher, businessman and third-generation funeral director said. “When you have another living being depending on you to make sure you water, feed and give it shelter – that teaches work ethic and values.” At the funeral home, Winter is "my mother’s first associate, and my wife and I work alongside her,” he said. “I help on the ranch when needed, but at thi...
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Jackson County rancher is first to have a confirmed livestock kill by wolves in 2025
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Jackson County rancher is first to have a confirmed livestock kill by wolves in 2025

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain voice It only took six weeks in 2025 for the first confirmed wolf livestock depredation to be reported, this one from Jackson County.  A rancher has reported that a cow, which was due to calve within the month, was killed by an uncollared wolf in Jackson County, approximately 10 miles south of the Wyoming border. The name of the rancher is not being disclosed for privacy reasons. First reported by Shannon Lukens of Steamboat Radio, the rancher said that CPW has been out and confirmed that his cow was indeed killed by a wolf. According to the rancher, who to his misfortune had been a victim of wolf depredation in 2024 and who had his dog killed by a wolf 30 feet from his backdoor, went out to feed his cows on Feb. 4, and al...
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Alexis Hitzeroth challenging Cody Kennedy for District A on Grand Junction City Council
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Alexis Hitzeroth challenging Cody Kennedy for District A on Grand Junction City Council

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Grand Junction voters on April 8 will choose between incumbent Cody Kennedy and Alexis Hitzeroth for the District A seat on City Council. Kennedy, who served a 17-year career as a police officer and is now a small business owner, has served on the boards of Crime Stoppers of Mesa County, Grand Valley Resettlement Program among others. His primary issues are "compassionate" fiscal responsibility, affordable housing and public safety. Hitzeroth served 13 years in the Army National Guard, earning the Outstanding Service Medal during Operation Enduring Freedom. She earned a degree in environmental science and performed watershed conservation work for the U.S. Geological Survey. Her platform focus is affordability, honoring Gr...
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Sponsors offer some concessions, but SB 3 still ‘infringement,’ Republicans argue
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Sponsors offer some concessions, but SB 3 still ‘infringement,’ Republicans argue

'Shall not be infringed means shall not be infringed' — Sen. Lisa Frizell By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Debate over Senate Bill 25-003, which began in the late afternoon Thursday and continued into the wee hours of Friday morning, ended with Democrats giving initial support to one of the country's most extreme gun laws in a mostly party line voice vote in the Colorado Senate. At issue is whether, in the interest of stemming mass shootings in the state, if Coloradans should sacrifice constitutionally-provided gun ownership rights. Bill co-sponsor, Democrat Sen. Tom Sullivan, relayed the story of his son's death in the Aurora theatre shooting more than a decade ago, which inspired his writing of the bill. "This is primarily working to enforce the [high-capacity magazi...
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Sen. Kirkmeyer decries two-faced SB 3, permitting filmmakers to use guns that Coloradans couldn’t purchase
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Sen. Kirkmeyer decries two-faced SB 3, permitting filmmakers to use guns that Coloradans couldn’t purchase

'All of those films with people shooting each other might have led to mass shooting violence' — Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The same guns which Senate Bill 25-003, the semi-auto firearm ban, would make unlawful for Coloradans to sell, purchase or transfer ownership of, would be allowed for filmmakers in the state to use as props. And it isn't setting well with Senate Republicans, especially Brighton Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer. "As long as you're firing blanks and you're from Hollywood, it's OK for you to put that prop in a film and glamourize it," she described an amendment to SB 3 reading. "All of those films with people shooting each other might have led to mass shooting violence." The stemming of mass shootings in Colorado, as she notes, is suppose...
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Sen. Rod Pelton asks Colorado lawmakers to ‘crack down on crime in this state’
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Sen. Rod Pelton asks Colorado lawmakers to ‘crack down on crime in this state’

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The odds might not be ever in your favor in Colorado that if you operate a motor vehicle here, it won't be stolen at some point. A case made Friday by Cheyenne Wells Sen. Rod Pelton is a family from Wray on the distant Eastern Plains, near the state line shared with Nebraska. The family, from Cory Gardner Country in Yuma County, had traveled to Denver on Thursday, but had difficulty returning home. "They were up here enjoying a good time at state wrestling and their car was stolen," he said. Wray is a town of about 2,400 with a crime rate nearly four times lower than the average. Extrapolating FBI data from 2019-2023, Newsweek reports auto theft per capita is highest in Colorado among all states. That FBI data also details auto theft ha...
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