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House opens 75th session with Rep. DeGraaf questioning, if passwords were leaked can election be certified?
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House opens 75th session with Rep. DeGraaf questioning, if passwords were leaked can election be certified?

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice It did not take long for the opening of the 75th General Assembly to reach a hiccup Wednesday. Republican Rep. Ken DeGraaf objected to the Colorado House credentials committee report, typically a first order of business when opening the legislature, based upon concerns related to Secretary of State Jena Griswold's office leaking election system passwords. The credentials report is presented to the whole of the House and voted on to start the process of seating representatives. DeGraaf was critical of a system Griswold has self-described as the "gold standard". He rose to state the objection to the credentials report. "This [the password leak publicly] lasted a full four months," DeGraaf said. "This is the keys to the kingdom." His fu...
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Republicans in minority, but with House seat gains, as 75th General Assembly opens on Wednesday
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Republicans in minority, but with House seat gains, as 75th General Assembly opens on Wednesday

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice The 75th session of the Colorado General Assembly opens Wednesday, Jan. 8, with sine die — adjournment on the final day of the session — slated for May 7. Between, Republicans will be faced with minorities in both chambers and the Democratic trifecta, with Gov. Jared Polis heading up the executive branch. Voters, though, did hand Republicans one advantage. House Republicans are no longer in a super minority and, like Senate Republicans, face a simple minority. That is not to say it will be any easier to pass Republican bills or defeat Democratic bills. Republicans face a 23-12 minority in the Senate and a 43-22 minority in the House. Heading up the Republican House will again be Minority Leader Rose Pugliese of El Paso County. She has gain...
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Browning: Colorado egg law and bird flu has people ‘scrambling’ to find eggs
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Browning: Colorado egg law and bird flu has people ‘scrambling’ to find eggs

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice During the last few weeks, there have been a couple of notable changes you may have noticed at your local grocer. The old saying that warns us not to keep all of our “eggs in one basket”, has now become, “I can’t find or afford eggs in my basket.” People are divided as to what has caused this “poaching” of their wallets, if they can find eggs on the shelf. No matter the cause, it has many people "fried.” Some people believe that the new Colorado law, which mandates that only cage-free eggs will be sold in Colorado, is to blame for the nearly-empty egg shelves and high cost of eggs, if you can find them.  The “egg-ception” to the law is that egg-producing operations with 3.000 or fewer hens are not required to ...
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District 11 ends decades-old contract with teacher union in effort to deliver for students, families
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District 11 ends decades-old contract with teacher union in effort to deliver for students, families

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice The District 11 School Board has decided against renewing its master agreement with the local teacher union — the Colorado Springs Education Association (CSEA). The CSEA is a branch of the Colorado Education Association (CEA), an affiliate of the largest teacher union – the National Education Association (NEA).  District 11 President Dr. Parth Melpakam described it as a move to empower nimble governance and improve student outcomes: “Without the master agreement, it just gives us a lot more flexibility to address some of our persistent challenges and change the narrative of a district that was becoming irrelevant in the landscape of Colorado Springs.”  “The agreement was a layer of complexity that limited our ability t...
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In four days, wintry weather has canceled 250 flights, delayed 2,820 more at DIA
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In four days, wintry weather has canceled 250 flights, delayed 2,820 more at DIA

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A four-day snow event in Denver and areas east of the Continental Divide has done more than dump some badly-needed moisture on half the state. It has greatly affected air travel. As of Tuesday mid-morning, there have been 2,820 flights delayed and 250 flights canceled since the beginning of the snow event on Saturday, according to Flight Aware. There has been some amount of snow accumulation each day. The heaviest cancelation day was Sunday, with 106; the heaviest day for delays was Saturday, with 1,119. Flight Aware breaks delays and cancelations related to an airport into outbound (departure) and inbound (arrival). There have been 113 outbound cancelations and 1,634 delayed outbound flights since Saturday. The most affected carier was...
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Brita Horn announces she will seek chair of Colorado Republican Party
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Brita Horn announces she will seek chair of Colorado Republican Party

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Brita Horn, a former Routt County treasurer, a fire chief and grassroots and civic leader, has announced her candidacy for chair of the Colorado Republican Party. “This is about the future,” Horn said in a campaign press release. She noted a desire to lead the party with “three key priorities: relationships, resources and responsibility." She will focus on victories at the ballot box in 2026, the release reads. "Colorado Republicans have a bright future, but only if we unite, collaborate and focus on winning elections,” Horn said. As chair, she would build relationships with future candidates, donors, volunteers, activists and the public at large, ensuring the party has the resources necessary to support these candidates and responsi...
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Gaines: You, too, can file a campaign finance complaint against someone
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Gaines: You, too, can file a campaign finance complaint against someone

By Cory Gaines | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice You may not have known this before, but you have the ability to accuse someone in this state of a campaign finance law violation.  You don’t have to be a witness at a trial.  In fact, once you make the accusation, you are essentially out of the process.  You will get notifications from the secretary of state’s office about the progress of the complaint, but you don’t do anything other than swear out a complaint.   You also don’t have to have an intimate knowledge of campaign finance law.  I’m not urging you to make wild, uneducated accusations here, but you don’t need to be a lawyer or an expert.  Many of the rules around campaign finance are pretty straightforward, thus finding violations d...
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Letter: Reflections on America and the once thriving rural family farm economy
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Letter: Reflections on America and the once thriving rural family farm economy

I have a small farm of 24 acres. Although only a fraction is cultivated, the rest is open grazing, and it keeps me plenty busy.  I grow squash, rabbits, plum, hackberry, rose hips, mint, sage, potatoes, firewood, furniture wood, and hay, using horse and rabbit manure (and wood ash) for fertilizer.  Each year finds me working to surpass the productivity of the prior year.  Each day finds me occupied in scores of chores.  I feel fit and capable (knock on wood) although I'm in my 70's.  And I've time to reflect on the problems of the day which find their way, somehow, into the media as well as those problems which seem obvious to me that don't ever get mentioned. I notice the nationwide birth rate has dropped to significantly below "replacement," with about 40% ...
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Smart Wolf Policy group organizes to recall failed Colorado wolf law
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Smart Wolf Policy group organizes to recall failed Colorado wolf law

 By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Advocates for Smart Wolf Policy (SWPCO) has submitted a draft statutory proposition for the 2026 election to the Colorado Legislative Council, which, if successful, would return wildlife management back to experts and biologists who are assigned to manage the 903 wildlife species in Colorado. It would turn back attempts to ask voters, who neither have the expertise or experience, to dictate wildlife policy. It is being viewed as good news for the millions of Coloradoans who voted against Prop. 114 in 2020. It is the first step necessary to repeal the 2020 “reintroduction and management of gray wolves law,” reads a press release. “Right now, we have to dance to the tune of the State Title Board. Once we are...
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Browning: Where we’ve been and how it’s going in the ‘Great Colorado Wolf Experiment’
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Browning: Where we’ve been and how it’s going in the ‘Great Colorado Wolf Experiment’

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice It’s been just more than a year since Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) began implementing the 2020 narrowly-approved Proposition 114 to reintroduce the gray wolf.  So far, there doesn’t seem to be anyone who is calling the effort a success. CPW employees are being ostracized in their communities, ranchers and livestock growers are taking significant losses, people on the Western Slope feel stomped on by Front Range voters and state government officials’ progressive agendas. Even the wolves themselves are suffering, all over a decision made by emotional voters who have no expertise in either wildlife management or predator/prey relationships, and who were not given all the information that they needed to mak...
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