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The Rule 211 gamble: How two towns used Colorado law to effectively shut down an oil company’s core assets
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The Rule 211 gamble: How two towns used Colorado law to effectively shut down an oil company’s core assets

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Buried wells, sworn affidavits and a state determined to make an example. This is the opening chapter of a three-part series on one oil and gas company’s final stand—and what the documents and data actually reveal. Start with the towns. Stay for the verdict. Start with the towns. Stay for the verdict. In September 2024, the cities of Dacono and Frederick uploaded a PDF to the Energy and Carbon Management Commission’s (ECMC) filing system. It was short, simple—and explosive. The two municipalities weren’t asking for a cleanup, a fine or a negotiated fix. They were asking the state to order the permanent plugging and abandonment of 45 wells operated by K.P. Kauffman Company (KPK). Their argument relied on Rule 211, a provision historically u...
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DiGirolamo: The predator playbook every parent needs to know about
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DiGirolamo: The predator playbook every parent needs to know about

By John DiGirolamo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Internet is a 24\7 how-to manual. Unfortunately, it’s also available for predators to gather advice to target and manipulate your child. All in a matter of seconds, simply by asking. Staca Shehan, Vice President at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children recently said, “We're also seeing offenders enter questions asking for guides or tutorials on how to groom or recruit children and do it more efficiently.” The following summarizes the ways predators go after your kids: Predator Grooming Tactics: Victim Targeting: Constantly seek children and teens to interact with. It is quick and easy to find others online. Predators seek anyone who is vulnerable and willing to interact in a chat room, on social me...
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Garbo: Colorado Democrats set the house on fire, then send you the insurance bill
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Garbo: Colorado Democrats set the house on fire, then send you the insurance bill

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice If you’re a Colorado homeowner staring down another massive insurance premium hike - welcome to the consequences of single-party rule. For over a decade, Democrats have run this state. For the last four years, they’ve enjoyed unchecked supermajorities. And yet, while your coverage hasn’t improved, your bill has exploded. In just two years, my own homeowners insurance jumped 190%: - 2023–24: $3,029 - 2024–25: $5,230 (+72.66%) - 2025–26: $8,768 (+67.65%) I’ve filed zero claims. My house hasn’t changed. But the policies passed under Democratic control have made everything worse. This is what happens when public policy is written by unskilled, untalented, uninformed people who face no meaningful opposition or accountabil...
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Minary: Why merit beats seniority and DEI in hiring and leadership
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Minary: Why merit beats seniority and DEI in hiring and leadership

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice With the federal debt now topping $35 trillion, it’s clear there’s too much fraud, waste, abuse, corruption, redundancy, reckless spending and status quo. Change is in order. In Jan. 2025, Pres. Trump issued an Executive Order entitled: “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing” which introduced MERITOCRACY into the system.  A lot of people applauded the change and others reacted negatively.   MERIT is a good thing. The dictionary defines MERIT as: 1) Superior quality or worth; 2)  Quality deserving praise or approval; 3) Virtue and demonstrated ability or achievement.  Those qualities are all good when you’re looking for a surgeon, banker, financial advisor, employee, m...
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Daniel: Colorado’s political ruling class has turned common sense upside down
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Daniel: Colorado’s political ruling class has turned common sense upside down

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice There was a time when Colorado ran on common sense. We valued hard work, local control, and the idea that if you played by the rules, you’d get a fair shake. But somewhere along the way, the folks running this state traded those values for political theater and personal ambition. Today, agriculture, coal mining, oil and gas, small businesses, and law enforcement — the very things that help keep our state running — are treated like the enemy. The latest example proves just how upside‑down things have gotten: the Attorney General of Colorado is suing a Mesa County deputy… for doing his job. Now, I don’t know about you, but where I come from, you don’t punish the people who keep you safe. Yet here we are — living in a state wh...
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“We absolutely back the badge”: Mesa County defends deputy in federal suit
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“We absolutely back the badge”: Mesa County defends deputy in federal suit

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Mesa County is taking Colorado’s top political figures to court. On Tuesday, commissioners unanimously voted to authorize a federal lawsuit against Governor Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser over what they called “politically motivated litigation” targeting local law enforcement under a controversial new state law. The board’s action followed a detailed legal presentation from County Attorney Todd Starr and remarks from all three commissioners defending Sheriff Todd Rowell and other named deputies. “This action is necessary to protect the constitutional rights of our employees at the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office,” Starr said. “They’re  facing imminent threats of civil liability and penalties.” At issue is Senate Bill 276, which ...
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Gaines: Is CDPHE’s harm reduction program normalizing meth and crack on the taxpayer’s dime?
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Gaines: Is CDPHE’s harm reduction program normalizing meth and crack on the taxpayer’s dime?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project CDPHE's harm reduction via Colorado Health Network, Inc. The Colorado Politics article linked first below is about a meth flyer that was circulating in Denver and causing some heartburn. It's a flyer which offers tips on how to smoke not only meth but also crack cocaine. The flyer was produced and distributed by Access Point Denver.Quoting the article:"Operated by Colorado Health Network, Access Point Denver is a harm reduction program offering services such as drug checking, overdose prevention and sterile needle exchanges to reduce the transmission of diseases among drug users. In June, the Denver City Council unanimously approved a 24-month contract extension worth more than $3 million that funds Access Point Denver’...
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Russia hoax was the strategy: Clinton greenlit Trump smear to deflect from her email scandal during 2016 run
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Russia hoax was the strategy: Clinton greenlit Trump smear to deflect from her email scandal during 2016 run

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Newly declassified documents and insider testimony has started to change how people view the whole Trump–Russia narrative. At the heart of it all is a 2017 intelligence report that claimed Vladimir Putin meddled in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win.  For years, it was treated as fact. But now, that conclusion is being questioned both by former officials and documents that never saw daylight until recently. Among the most telling pieces of evidence are internal emails suggesting Hillary Clinton signed off on a plan to push the Russia angle, not because it was true, but to take heat off her own email troubles. That Intelligence Community Assessment, or ICA, released just two weeks before Trump’s inauguration, s...
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Hancock: The beauty of balance between urgency, authority and the republic
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Hancock: The beauty of balance between urgency, authority and the republic

By Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, Substack Reclaiming the Wisdom of a System Built for Both Crisis and Constraint One of the most brilliant features of the U.S. Constitution is its recognition of human nature—not just in its vices, but in its limitations. The framers didn’t just aim to prevent tyranny; they aimed to build a system that could govern well even though no institution—or person—is omniscient or omnipotent. It’s a humility baked into the structure. That’s why Congress makes the laws, and the President executes them—two separate powers working together. But what the Constitution also quietly acknowledges is that not every problem can be solved by committee. In a world where markets shift overnight, threats emerge in real time, and global actors often cheat the syste...
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