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Priced out, packed in: Colorado renters squeezed by costs, policy gridlock and population growth
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Priced out, packed in: Colorado renters squeezed by costs, policy gridlock and population growth

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s affordable housing crunch – especially in the rental sector – has been building for years. Reports from the Common Sense Institute and Bell Policy Center trace the tipping point to around 2015, when demand consistently began outpacing supply. The last decade has seen rising home prices, stagnant wages and insufficient new construction which has made the situation worse due to recent immigration pressures and allegations of resource allocation issues. Origins and escalation of the crisis Bell Policy Center noted a statewide rental rate increase from 30.9% in 2009 to 34.8% by 2022, with urban counties like Denver reaching 50.1%.  In just a year, Colorado slipped further down the affordability scale, now rank...
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Hancock: President Trump’s nuclear plan puts power—and America—back on the grid
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Hancock: President Trump’s nuclear plan puts power—and America—back on the grid

By Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, Substack Trump’s Plan to Fix the Grid, Cut the Red Tape, & Fuel the Future Politics doesn’t power cities—electricity does. And Trump just fired up the most significant energy move we’ve seen in decades. It isn’t about windmills or wishful thinking. It’s about fission. Steel. Jobs. It’s about restoring America’s backbone, one kilowatt at a time. Welcome to America’s new atomic age. Trump’s nuclear strategy is not a relic of the Cold War but a blueprint for national revival. At its core is a simple truth: electricity has become intelligence. The race to dominate artificial intelligence—the next frontier of economic and military superiority—will not be won with slogans or solar panels. It will be won with gigawatts. And nuclear energy, ...
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Released and reloaded: Montrose bond records show cracks feeding Colorado’s criminal underworld
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Released and reloaded: Montrose bond records show cracks feeding Colorado’s criminal underworld

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice When a Montrose County woman was released on a $0 personal recognizance bond after skipping court in late 2023, it wasn’t her first time facing charges. It wouldn’t be her last either. Within nine months, she was arrested again – this time for second degree assault, harassment and criminal attempt. Her story is not an outlier. It is a warning. “There’s a revolving door with criminals or serious crime,” said Montrose County Sheriff Gene Lillard in a recent interview with RMV. “Last month we picked up one person five times – they were released on PR bond. There’s no consequences.” To illustrate how Colorado laws are contributing to rising crime and lawlessness, Sheriff Lillard prepared and shared a document showing just one small snapshot in ti...
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Garbo: Sanctuary policies led to chaos—and now they’re blaming ICE
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Garbo: Sanctuary policies led to chaos—and now they’re blaming ICE

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The chaos unfolding in Los Angeles isn’t just disturbing, it’s the natural result of years of political cowardice and ideological extremism. The riots erupting in response to ICE’s lawful enforcement of deportation orders are not acts of civil disobedience. They are acts of defiance against the rule of law itself. And the blame lies squarely at the feet of Democratic leadership in California, who declared Los Angeles a “sanctuary city,” emboldening illegal activity while abandoning their sworn duty to protect American citizens. Let’s be clear: no elected official has the right to nullify federal law to score political points. Yet that’s exactly what California’s leadership has done - undermining immigration enforcement, encourag...
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False claims, real consequences: Judge rejects activist’s First Amendment defense
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False claims, real consequences: Judge rejects activist’s First Amendment defense

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice El Paso County judge rejects motion to dismiss defamation suit against Bernadette Guthrie, ruling that calling a school board member a “child predator” is not protected by the First Amendment. For more than a year, Derrick Wilburn – father, community leader and now an elected school board member – was publicly branded a “child predator” by a vocal district parent. The accusations, repeated at school board meetings, online and even in state legislative testimony, painted him as a man who preyed on children.  Wilburn filed a defamation lawsuit in December 2024, seeking accountability. And on April 29, a Colorado judge drew a legal line.  El Paso County District Court Judge Gregory Werner denied defendant Bernadette Guthrie’s motion...
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Hunter: More than a price tag—what that doggie in the window really cost
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Hunter: More than a price tag—what that doggie in the window really cost

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice How much is that doggie in the window? Remember this cheerful tune? It’s a jingle from another era, when the dream of a family pet felt as simple as a walk past a shop window. But today, that question echoes with heavier meaning. In the aftermath of COVID-19, animal shelters across the country are overwhelmed—not with hopeful adopters, but with returned, surrendered, and abandoned dogs. What was once a feel-good moment, the impulse to bring home a furry companion during lockdown, has for many turned into complete heartbreak. Behind the catchy melody lies a more sobering truth: the real cost of pet ownership goes far beyond the price tag. The surge in pet adoptions during the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedent...
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Devotional: The breastplate of righteousness isn’t a costume—it’s combat gear
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Devotional: The breastplate of righteousness isn’t a costume—it’s combat gear

By Pastor Drake Hunter | Commentary, Elevating Life Church Reflecting on the lives of remarkable figures—Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, etc.—we discover a golden thread that weaves through each of their stories: character. If asked how to live a good, just, and meaningful life, each would likely point not to power, fame, wealth, or status but to the inner life—the heart. Real character, a character that can meet the demands of a harsh reality, they’d say, isn’t a PR stunt; it’s forged in private, rooted in virtue, and revealed in action. It’s one thing to know what’s right…it’s another to live it. That’s the difference between fantasy and fact. In this mini-series, we’ve suited up with the Breastplate of Righteousness, anchoring ourselves not in...
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A crisis of cradle and classroom: How Colorado’s baby bust is closing schools
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A crisis of cradle and classroom: How Colorado’s baby bust is closing schools

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s classrooms are getting quieter – not because kids are learning, but because there are fewer of them. Across the state, dropping birth rates and shrinking enrollment are forcing schools to close, merge – or sit half-empty. And the trend isn’t slowing down. In May, the Common Sense Institute released a report warning that Colorado’s birth rate has been declining since 2005 and has fallen faster than the national average since 2011. The report projects the state will lose more than 15,000 children under age 18 by 2030 – roughly the equivalent of the entire Thompson R2-J school district. Denver Public Schools is already deep into closures. According to CSI’s analysis, DPS has approved the closure of seven schools and partial restructur...
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Hunter: Dear Common Sense on using your voice without becoming part of the chaos
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Hunter: Dear Common Sense on using your voice without becoming part of the chaos

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice “Dear Common Sense” is a no-nonsense advice column for those who still believe truth matters, leadership is earned, and common sense isn’t so common anymore. Each issue tackles real questions from real people, offering grounded wisdom for speaking up, leading well, and living with integrity in a noisy world. No shouting. No spin. Just clarity with character.  Let’s lean into our first entry. Shall we? Dear Common Sense, I care about this country, probably more than I let on. And I’m not one to sit on my hands when something needs to be said. But these days, it feels like speaking up just adds to the noise. I don’t want to keep my mouth shut, but I don’t want to add to the shouting match either. ...
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“Not one mention of sexual abuse”: Parents slam Jeffco union as Title IX storm builds
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“Not one mention of sexual abuse”: Parents slam Jeffco union as Title IX storm builds

By Heidi Ganahl, Rocky Mountain Voice Jeffco Public Schools is at the center of a storm as teachers and parents clash with Superintendent Tracy Dorland over leadership, transparency, and the district’s handling of cultural and safety concerns.  Tensions hit a breaking point on May 29, when the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA)—representing roughly a quarter of Jeffco’s 5,000 teachers—declared a vote of no confidence in Superintendent Tracy Dorland. The move came just days before news broke of a federal Title IX investigation into the district. Union leaders accused her of top-down leadership, fostering instability, and eroding trust. They highlighted high turnover in central office staff, the rejection of a board-approved policy on ICE protocols, and the rollback ...
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