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Are there too many Grumpy Old Men Voters in Colorado?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Are there too many Grumpy Old Men Voters in Colorado?

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Every ten years the U.S. Census Bureau organizes a count of all the residents of the United States. This count includes citizens as well as non-citizens, and even those experiencing homelessness. The Census Bureau also provides annual updates to the decennial numbers using surveys as well as by tapping into government information they can easily access like data on births and deaths, federal tax returns, medicare enrollments, and statistics from the Social Security Administration. These annual updates serve many purposes and, in my case, one of them is to provide feedback on how accurate the Colorado voter roll is. Colorado switched to mail-in ballots in 2013 and is one of only eight states that conducts mail-in electio...
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Saving lives in schools: Naloxone access expands across Colorado
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Pew Charitable Trusts, Approved, State

Saving lives in schools: Naloxone access expands across Colorado

By Alexandra Duncan | Pew Charitable Trusts State Senator Cleave Simpson explains why making an opioid overdose reversal drug more available matters Despite declining drug overdose deaths in the U.S., opioids such as fentanyl are still driving most of these fatalities across the country. But naloxone is a lifesaving medication that can help. Any person, even those without medical training, can administer naloxone to someone in need and reverse an opioid overdose. As a farmer and rancher in rural Colorado, State Senator and Minority Leader Cleave Simpson—a Republican representing District 6, the southwest region covering Alamosa, Durango, Telluride, and other cities—knew the overdose crisis was taking a toll on his community. But when he joined the Colorado...
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Student Demand Surges But Trade Schools Struggle to Recruit Experienced Teachers
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State, Approved, kdvr.com

Student Demand Surges But Trade Schools Struggle to Recruit Experienced Teachers

By Alliyah Sims | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — As more students turn to skilled trades, a growing instructor shortage threatens to slow down programs designed to train Colorado’s future workforce. Inside Emily Griffith Technical College, the classrooms don’t look like lecture halls; they resemble job sites. You can find students suited up in safety gear learning the skills that help keep Colorado running. “The demand is very, very high. Most of our trades programmings actually have a wait list,” said Gideon Geisel, dean of the college. Behind the scenes of those full classrooms comes a hidden problem. They are getting harder to staff, leaving some instructor positions unfilled for months. “Since I’ve been here, really all of the programs, you know, at one time or another h...
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How ballot initiatives play a role in Colorado policymaking
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

How ballot initiatives play a role in Colorado policymaking

By Colorado Politics For more than a century, Colorado voters have used the ballot box not just to elect leaders but also to make laws, shaping the state’s most defining policies through citizen-led initiatives. Those two avenues of policymaking — the first by legislators, the second by citizens — yet represent another point of tension that is inherent to America’s grand experiment in representative democracy. At times, it leads to reaction and counter-reaction, both within and outside the state Capitol. The threat of a ballot measure, for one, can prompt legislators to act. Indeed, some see the initiative process as a counterbalance to the Colorado legislature, serving as a check on state policymakers, at times overriding their will. Others prefer the legislative process, with...
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Poll shows Trump policies unpopular yet Democrats face their own backlash
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Axios Denver, Approved, State

Poll shows Trump policies unpopular yet Democrats face their own backlash

By John Frank | Axios Denver President Trump and his policies are deeply unpopular in blue-state Colorado, according to a new independent poll, but the numbers still offer Republicans a glimmer of hope. Why it matters: The wide-ranging survey released Monday by Colorado-based Magellan Strategies comes a year before the 2026 midterm elections and reflects deep cynicism among voters toward both major parties. State of play: Trump's job approval in Colorado is 41% with 59% disapproving, a familiar upside-down result driven by the opposition to his agenda. Two out of every three Colorado voters view the One Big Beautiful Bill Act unfavorably. About 60% oppose Trump's cuts to federal agencies. 57% oppose the president's tariffs on foreign goo...
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Feds launch investigation into Colorado’s healthcare spending on illegal immigrants
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Feds launch investigation into Colorado’s healthcare spending on illegal immigrants

By Brandon Richard | Denver7 Denver7 took a closer look at the investigations, which critics call politically-charged and baseless. DENVER — The Trump administration and now Congress have launched investigations into Colorado’s spending on health care for undocumented immigrants. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it was increasing oversight of states that misuse federal Medicaid funds to provide healthcare coverage to undocumented immigrants. “Medicaid is not, and cannot be, a backdoor pathway to subsidize open borders,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “States have a duty to uphold the law and protect taxpayer funds. We are putting them on notice — CMS will not allow federal dollars to be diverted to cove...
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Colorado ACLU takes aim at Trump bond restrictions for immigrants
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CBS News, Approved, State

Colorado ACLU takes aim at Trump bond restrictions for immigrants

By Anna Alejo | CBS News A new suit filed in the U.S. District Court of Colorado challenges a Trump administration policy that denies bond hearings to immigrants who entered the country without authorization. The class action suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado calls the policy "a far-reaching departure from longstanding immigration law," and seeks to represent the entire class of individuals subject to the new bond policy in Colorado.   The ACLU says the detention of immigrants at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Aurora without eligibility for bond raises serious constitutional concerns, adding "the Constitution doesn't allow the government to lock people up without due process." "The law says that they're...
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Reduce Taxes BY Eliminating the Government Middleman
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Reduce Taxes BY Eliminating the Government Middleman

By Russ Minary | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice "The power to tax is the power to destroy." – U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, 1819 In this article, I’ll explain and contrast how and why the American free market works differently and better than government (in many cases) using two free market American businesses you know: Amazon and Costco. NOTE: I am a Constitutional conservative and enthusiastic advocate of the free market wherever, whenever and in whatever ways possible. I don’t oppose all government, just that which is redundant, costly, over-regulated, complicated, unnecessary, or too oppressive and costly. Which is most of it. In the past, manufacturers, local retailers and their customers enjoyed friendly relationships. A middleman like a distribu...
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Polis Claims Trump Tariffs Hurt Jobs but Many See Benefits
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State, Approved, The Gazette

Polis Claims Trump Tariffs Hurt Jobs but Many See Benefits

By Marianne Goodland | The Gazette A report released Thursday by Colorado’s governor said President Donald Trump’s tariffs policy is disrupting the state’s economy and courting a recessionary scenario. State economists have, in fact, been sounding the risk of a scenario for a year — preceding both the White House’s tariffs changes and the congressional budget that Democrats blamed for Colorado’s $800 million deficit. As recently as June, analysts said the chances of a recession in the next year stood at 50% and climbing. Since Trump took office, tariffs have increased sevenfold to about 21% in Colorado, according to the report. Nationwide, it’s closer to 24%. A year ago, the tariffs averaged around 3%. The last time tariffs went that high occurred in 1910, Gov. Jar...
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