Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Rocky Mountain Voice

What Colorado redacted from a federal prison letter—and why it matters
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

What Colorado redacted from a federal prison letter—and why it matters

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The state confirmed it received a request from the Bureau of Prisons regarding the transfer of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters to federal custody. What the public has not been allowed to see is why the federal government made it in the first place. Colorado released a copy of the Bureau of Prisons letter earlier this month, but only after heavily redacting its substance. State officials said releasing the withheld information would be “contrary to the public interest.” The redactions removed nearly every explanation the federal government provided for why it sought custody at all. An unredacted version of the same letter, reviewed by Rocky Mountain Voice, tells a more complete and more consequential story. ...
Read More
Trump announces full pardon of Tina Peters in Truth Social post
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

Trump announces full pardon of Tina Peters in Truth Social post

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice President Trump posted on Wednesday that he is granting a full pardon to former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who has served 14 months of a nine year prison sentence.  He announced it in a Truth Social post late in the afternoon.  Trump criticized Democrats in the post, saying violent crime has gone unaddressed while election-related cases moved forward after 2020. “For years, Democrats ignored violent and vicious crime of all shapes, sizes, colors, and types,” Trump wrote. He added that violent criminals “who should have been locked up were allowed to attack again.” Trump said Democrats instead chose to go after people who pushed for election security, writing that they “chose instead to prosecute anyone ...
Read More
Colorado’s systems have failed Tina Peters again and again
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s systems have failed Tina Peters again and again

By RMV Editorial Board On December 8, 2025, three events collided in Colorado that no honest observer can dismiss as coincidence. A federal judge dismissed Tina Peters’ habeas corpus petition, admitting she raised “important constitutional questions” about whether a state court punished her for her speech, then refused to consider those questions because of the Younger doctrine. Hours later, Colorado’s Department of Corrections moved Peters into Isolation Detention Observation: twenty-two hours a day in a concrete cell, lights on around the clock, no yard time and a single explanation—“this is for your safety.”  That same afternoon, the United States Department of Justice opened a civil-rights investigation into Colorado’s prisons and youth facilities, citing po...
Read More
Good News or Fake News: Peace — Real News with Integrity
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Good News or Fake News: Peace — Real News with Integrity

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice If hope teaches us to look forward, then peace teaches us how to stand firm right now. But here’s the tension every Coloradan feels—especially during the holidays: We live in a culture that profits from our anxiety. Fear sells. Outrage spreads. And when everything is loud, peace is mistaken for passivity… when in reality, peace is a kind of strength, a power that shapes who you are. Therefore, the question for you is, “What source is shaping who you are—the Good News or the fake news?” Because trusting the Good News builds confidence in the peace you carry. Or in other words, PEACE is Real News with Integrity. It’s not fragile. Peace is not the absence of conflict. Simply, peace is the inner integrity of a life aligned...
Read More
Kansas case and new immigration report deepen scrutiny of Colorado’s stance on SAVE
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

Kansas case and new immigration report deepen scrutiny of Colorado’s stance on SAVE

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A Kansas mayor’s felony voting case is renewing national attention on how noncitizens end up registered to vote and what states can do to prevent it. The issue is gaining urgency as federal agencies expand the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, known as SAVE, while Colorado and several other states reject federal data-sharing efforts even as federal law requires them to maintain accurate voter rolls. A Kansas case shows the stakes of mistaken registration The case driving the discussion is unfolding in Coldwater, Kansas, where Mayor Jose “Joe” Ceballos-Armendariz, a noncitizen, has been charged with voting in at least three elections. The state’s case rests on Kansas election statutes that classify noncitizen voting as...
Read More
Colorado’s Agricultural Economy Depends on Affordable, Reliable Energy
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s Agricultural Economy Depends on Affordable, Reliable Energy

By Matthew Gonzales | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s agricultural industry is one of the state’s greatest economic drivers. With more than 195,000 jobs and roughly $47 billion in economic output each year, it not only feeds the state - it feeds the region and beyond. And like any industry built on tight margins and year-round operations, it depends on one thing to stay competitive: affordable, reliable energy.  That’s why the role of natural gas in Colorado deserves more attention in statewide energy discussions. Natural gas powers irrigation equipment, heats greenhouses, dries grain, and keeps storage and food processing facilities running. It’s the backbone of the infrastructure that gets food from farm to table.  And that energy cost doesn’t stay in the field...
Read More
A Town on Edge: Inside the Erie Mail Threats That Resulted in No Charges
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

A Town on Edge: Inside the Erie Mail Threats That Resulted in No Charges

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In early October, residents across Erie and in Virginia, began opening their mailboxes to find sympathy cards inside plain envelopes. The message referenced the assassination of Charlie Kirk, accompanied by an empty packet of Gushers candy taped to the card, glitter and a loose powdery substance that spilled when handled. Twenty residents in total received the cards. Many were former candidates, business owners, volunteers, and known conservatives within the community. One envelope opened in Virginia triggered a full hazmat activation. Loudoun County Fire & Rescue’s official report shows responders in Tychem suits isolating the scene, testing the substance, and alerting federal authorities. Their lab equip...
Read More
Secretary Griswold’s Reckless Assault on Election Integrity
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Secretary Griswold’s Reckless Assault on Election Integrity

By Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB” | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold's recent statement rejecting the U.S. Department of Justice's request for voter registration data is not just misguided; it is a blatant act of partisan obstruction that undermines the very foundation of the American Republic. By declaring that the DOJ "can take a hike" and lacks any "legal right" to this information, Griswold has elevated political theater over her sworn duty to uphold federal law. Her rhetoric, laced with unfounded accusations of election subversion, dismisses a straightforward federal effort to verify citizenship and ensure only eligible Americans vote. This is not about "sensitive" data or federal overreach. It is about enforcing the law to p...
Read More
Caught between two governments: Whistleblower says Colorado’s DEI system collides with a federal ban
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Caught between two governments: Whistleblower says Colorado’s DEI system collides with a federal ban

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When managers in the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) logged into their Nov. 6 virtual meeting, the agenda read like a standard operational update. But on the list sat two items that created angst: the statewide EDI/Colorado for All report due in December and the launch of a 2026 Inclusive Leadership cohort.  Those initiatives, part of Colorado’s expanding equity and inclusion system, set the stage for a clash with a different set of requirements now coming from D.C. The moment in the meeting Rich Guggenheim, the program manager who oversees plant certification inspections for Colorado’s nursery and seed industries, signs off on several USDA pest survey grants. When Inclusive Leadership came up, he ...
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