State

Wolf reintroduction strains rural Colorado as payouts outpace budget

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Colorado is eighteen months into the state’s wolf restoration project, and the teeth are still coming out.

So far, the state has paid over $370,000 in claims to ranchers who have been impacted by the presence of wolves near their operations. Although wolf advocates and detractors both agree that Colorado should compensate people for wolf-related losses, ranchers believe the funds are not enough to cover the full breadth of the impact of the carnivores in this state. Conversely, wildlife advocates question if some of the reimbursements that ranchers have claimed are a good use of taxpayer money.

Wolf reintroduction strains rural Colorado as payouts outpace budget Read More »

Caldara: Time to see if Polis will choose his socialist friends or Colorado’s future

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There are only three jobs worth having in Colorado. The first is fortunately mine.

Any person who can make a living by indulging his passion is beyond blessed. I somehow have provided for my family by fighting for personal and economic freedom in Colorado. Running Independence Institute, Colorado’s machine to promote liberty principles over party, politicians and special interests, is a dream come true.

The next coolest job in Colorado is quarterback for the Denver Broncos, which, by the way, I would be totally awesome at.

The only other job I’d want here would be governor, the most influential and powerful gig for changing policy and shaping the state’s future.

Caldara: Time to see if Polis will choose his socialist friends or Colorado’s future Read More »

Statewide and congressional contests heat up early as candidates line up for 2026

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Colorado’s political world is in as close to a lull as it’s likely to get this cycle — six months past the 2024 general election, days after the end of this year’s regular legislative session, and with just over a year to go until voters begin casting primary ballots.

Major candidates for the state’s most prominent and competitive 2026 contests have already emerged, but many are about to get more company.

Statewide and congressional contests heat up early as candidates line up for 2026 Read More »

The Good, the Bad, and the Alarming: What You Need to Know from Colorado’s 2025 Legislative Session

Top Stories, Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State / /

The 2025 legislative session officially adjourned Wednesday evening after 120 days, leaving behind a flood of new laws, deep partisan divides, and a public increasingly skeptical of the pace and priorities of progressive lawmakers. From sweeping gender identity mandates to gun control and TABOR attacks, the Democrat supermajority pushed through one of the most ideologically driven sessions in recent memory.

The Good, the Bad, and the Alarming: What You Need to Know from Colorado’s 2025 Legislative Session Read More »

Colorado Republicans: Effort to save taxpayers money ‘shredded’ by Democrats this session

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Republican lawmakers, who are in the minority at the state Capitol, said they saw little success in their campaign to save residents money this year, as Democrats “shredded” that goal.

At the beginning of the session, Republicans unveiled a series of measures that, they insisted, would save the average Colorado family $4,500 each year.

“We had hopes to make life more affordable,” said Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen of Monument.

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Gazette editorial board: Veto HB 25-1147 to stop the soft-on-crime overreach

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Our state was slammed by a crime wave a few years ago — aided and abetted by a notoriously offender- friendly, victims-be-damned Legislature — leaving it to hard-hit local governments to figure out how to respond.

With state lawmakers abandoning the crime fight on every front — hard drugs, auto theft, illegal immigration, you name it — a number of Colorado cities, commendably, took the reins.

Gazette editorial board: Veto HB 25-1147 to stop the soft-on-crime overreach Read More »

Brauchler: SB25-276 is lawmakers’ latest mockery of immigration enforcement

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SB 25-276 is a Democrat-only sponsored bill that attacks the rule of law and will make Colorado less safe and less just.

It contains a predictably steep, yet unquantified, unfunded mandate to counties, who fund the 23 district attorneys’ offices across Colorado. SB 276 expands the opportunity for “noncitizen defendants” to challenge every guilty plea they have entered to every class of misdemeanor, petty offense, and even municipal charges,” at any time following the entry of a guilty plea.” There is no time limitation for this challenge.

Brauchler: SB25-276 is lawmakers’ latest mockery of immigration enforcement Read More »

GOP Chair Horn: President Trump delivered in 100 days – now Colorado Conservatives must lead the charge

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“We will close the border. We will stop the invasion of illegals into our country,” President Trump said at an Aurora, Colorado, rally on October 12, 2024. That promise was central to his push for a second term.

Now, just over 100 days in, he’s delivering – tightening the border and reversing years of neglect.

The previous administration under President Joe Biden left a legacy of border chaos. Millions of illegal immigrants crossed into the United States, overwhelming not only border communities but also cities and states far from the frontier.

Colorado has become a hotspot in the fight against organized crime and trafficking.

GOP Chair Horn: President Trump delivered in 100 days – now Colorado Conservatives must lead the charge Read More »

Boebert revives American Energy Act to push lower costs, energy independence

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DENVER (KDVR) — U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert introduced a new version of her American Energy Act bill this week.

Boebert said the goal of the American Energy Act is to streamline permitting processes for oil and gas producers. The thrice-elected congresswoman said the bill will allow American energy companies to focus on creating jobs and lowering costs.

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Polis’ ‘libertarian’ label faces reality check from Reason Magazine

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DENVER — Amidst ongoing battles within his own party, and despite recently vetoing a pair of bills that concentrated more authority in Colorado state government, Jared Polis’ carefully scripted reputation as a libertarian-leaning governor appears to be fading.

Even Reason Magazine, the national media outlet that has for years has hung its hat on the idea that Polis is more liberty-minded than progressive, is now questioning whether Polis’ moderate temperament is real, with editor-at-large Nick Gillepsie tugging back on Polis’ libertarian card in an April 14 article asking if the “small government Democrat is beefing up state power.”

Polis’ ‘libertarian’ label faces reality check from Reason Magazine Read More »