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He Loved This City. Then It Nearly Killed Him.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

He Loved This City. Then It Nearly Killed Him.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Nico Francis had spent the early part of the evening on April 3 at the First Friday ArtWalk on Santa Fe, and with friends waiting on Colfax, he grabbed a Lime scooter just after 11:30 p.m. and took what he called the scenic route. It was a night like dozens of others for the Ohio transplant, who moved to Denver in 2020 — a man who had long been something of a downtown defender, someone who pushed back every time a friend called the area dangerous.  "I love 16th street. I love downtown. I like just riding through there and seeing what's going on — seeing all the people, seeing everything going on," Francis said. That comfort level would not survive the night. Then something felt off  A white SUV conta...
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HB26-1276 faces hearing today as Rep. Slaugh warns sanctuary policies could cut federal jail funding
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HB26-1276 faces hearing today as Rep. Slaugh warns sanctuary policies could cut federal jail funding

By Rep. Scott Slaugh | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Editor’s update: HB26-1276 is scheduled to be heard today at 1:30 p.m. in the House Finance Committee (HCR 0112). Readers can listen to the hearing live here or sign up to testify here. Since the year 2000, by Act of Congress the federal Department of Justice’s has annually reimbursed state prisons and thousands of local county jails across the nation for the documented costs of incarcerating convicted criminal aliens –persons not lawfully present in the United States and convicted of a felony crime or two misdemeanors under a state’s criminal code. That decades-old federal program is called the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or simply, “SCAAP.”   From its inception the federal SCAAP program ...
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GOP advances candidates as convention backs effort to limit primary ballots to Republicans
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GOP advances candidates as convention backs effort to limit primary ballots to Republicans

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Republicans came to Pueblo to choose candidates. They left having done that—and still debating who should have a say in choosing them. What unfolded over the course of a long delayed and at times contentious assembly produced clear outcomes in major races while also setting in motion a legal step that could reshape how those candidates are selected in the future. Candidates emerge with distinct paths to the ballot Two different approaches carried through in the governor’s race. State Rep. Scott Bottoms led with 968 votes (45.13 percent) while Victor Marx followed with 837 votes (39.02 percent). Both cleared the 30 percentage threshold required to advance. Supporters raise signs for Scott Bottoms as delegates r...
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When a remodel turns into a $60,000 lesson: One builder’s run-in with Colorado’s regulatory system
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When a remodel turns into a $60,000 lesson: One builder’s run-in with Colorado’s regulatory system

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When Rob Treta started expanding a small home for his girlfriend in Arvada, he thought he was dealing with a familiar problem—delays. “I submitted the plans and I said, ‘Hey, tell me what I need to do,’” Treta said. “They told me three to four weeks. It took 22 weeks. Nobody ever mentioned asbestos.” Treta has been building in Colorado for 30 years. He has worked across multiple counties, pulled permits, remodeled homes and built from the ground up. What changed isn’t entirely clear—but Treta said what he ran into felt unlike anything he had seen in decades of building. “I’ve probably built 60, 70 projects in my 30 years,” he said. “And I’ve never run into this before. Never.” This wasn’t how his projects usually went. It star...
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While Colorado cuts care for its most vulnerable, it continues funding undocumented children in a $96 million program
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While Colorado cuts care for its most vulnerable, it continues funding undocumented children in a $96 million program

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice “This is selfish.” That’s how Jon Caldara opened his April 1 column, writing not about politics, but about his son. He leads Denver’s Independence Institute and has long been a free-market voice in Colorado. "My son, Chance, has Down syndrome," Caldara shared. "This 21-year-old man cannot consistently count to five, can't read and can't write his own name. He needs constant supervision for choking risks. He still needs help toileting. And that's just the start." Medicaid, Caldara wrote, "was designed for people like him, our most vulnerable. And I am grateful for it. This is the funding he requires to live." The Colorado legislature is in the process of cutting it — not because the state determined Chance and people...
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She moved her company to Colorado: Seven months later she decided to leave
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She moved her company to Colorado: Seven months later she decided to leave

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Heather Florio didn’t move her company to Colorado for a short stay. When she arrived in early 2025, she thought she was putting down roots. “We came here… at the beginning of January, 2025 with anticipation of this being our permanent home.” About seven months in, she said the company was having to leave. “We found out that some laws had changed here in the state of Colorado,” Florio said. “Specifically regarding tax thresholds. We’re looking at double the amount of taxes if we stay here. We are unfortunately having to leave my home state.” Florio described that decision in a video from the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, which was shared with RMV by the Colorado Chamber. https://youtu.be/J0BkXb59iPs?si=du...
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Colorado fought scrutiny—until a lawsuit forced a cleanup
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Colorado fought scrutiny—until a lawsuit forced a cleanup

By RMV Editorial Board | Rocky Mountain Voice Back in 2019, Colorado’s voter rolls were already showing the problem—if anyone in charge had been willing to look at them. Forty counties had more registered voters than eligible citizens. Call it whatever you want—but it’s not normal. That wasn’t a partisan claim. It wasn’t a social media theory. It was data. And for a long time, it just sat there. No press conference. No urgency. No statewide fix. Then something happened. Someone sued. The lawsuit no one was supposed to take seriously Eventually, someone stopped waiting for the state to act. By October 2020, it had crossed a line. Judicial Watch took it to federal court, filing suit against Jena Griswold under the National Voter Registration Act. An...
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He lost once. Now he’s back: Why David Willson jumped into Colorado’s AG race late
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He lost once. Now he’s back: Why David Willson jumped into Colorado’s AG race late

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice For ten years, David Willson stood in Colorado courtrooms defending parents accused of neglect—many of them homeless, addicted or on the verge of losing their children. He learned quickly the system doesn’t operate in clean lines. “I went into that work thinking people were just partying and getting high. It took me about six months to realize they’re trying to get high because their life is so miserable.” Now, his daughter is entering law enforcement. “She said, we arrest a lot of homeless people who have warrants.” For Willson, that isn’t a contradiction. It’s the reality he’s seen from both sides. “You have to understand what people are dealing with. But you also have to enforce the law.” He got in late. The Republica...
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From Kazakhstan to Colorado: Secretary of State candidate James Wiley’s plan to scrap electronic voting machines
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From Kazakhstan to Colorado: Secretary of State candidate James Wiley’s plan to scrap electronic voting machines

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice James Wiley was 7 on Election Night 2000. He remembers the decorations from his birthday staying up for two more weeks while the country waited to find out who had won. He didn’t understand hanging chads or voting machines. At the time, he was living in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where his missionary family had been since he was three months old. What stuck with him from those years wasn’t the mechanics of elections. It was how power operated. He’s 32 and running for Colorado Secretary of State as a Republican, after years working on election cases and a stint as executive director of the Libertarian Party.  What he’s saying on the campaign trail isn’t new for him. The push to get rid of electronic voting machines and move to hand-cou...
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What Sets J.J. McKinzie Apart in Colorado’s Secretary of State Race
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

What Sets J.J. McKinzie Apart in Colorado’s Secretary of State Race

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice J.J. McKinzie is one of four Republicans running for the open Secretary of State seat,  and he is not running on name recognition. He is running on a resume that looks nothing like most politicians'. McKinzie spent more than 25 years inside some of the largest companies in the world, advising on regulatory compliance and operational efficiency. He has owned small businesses, led nonprofits, and homeschooled his children for over two decades.  He holds degrees from Colorado State University, the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and Charis Bible College, with training in psychology, business, technology, futures studies, and biblical studies, including five master’s degrees. "In consulting, I had to deliver...
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