Rocky Mountain Voice

State

Second Amendment Lawsuit Targets Denver Gun Ban and State Magazine Limits
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Second Amendment Lawsuit Targets Denver Gun Ban and State Magazine Limits

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette A lawsuit filed in federal court by three Denver residents and two gun rights groups aims to strike down the city’s “assault weapon” restrictions, along with bans on ammunition magazines holding 15 rounds or more. The complaint, filed on June 30 by Ray Elliott, Trevor Alley and Michael Vitco, along with the Firearms Policy Coalition and the Colorado State Shooting Association, an arm of the National Rifle Association, alleges Denver’s semiautomatic firearm ban is unconstitutional, as is its ban on 15-round or larger magazines. Naming the city government, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Armando Saldate III, Colorado State Patrol Chief Col. Matthew Packard and Denve...
Marx Clings to Narrow Lead as Colorado Election Officials Finish Ballot Review
DENVER7, Approved, State

Marx Clings to Narrow Lead as Colorado Election Officials Finish Ballot Review

By Seth Klamann | Denver7 Race has remained largely unchanged for days, but it remains too close to call with some ballots still out. Victor Marx has held a narrow, roughly 2,000-vote lead over state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer for several days, but the race is still too close to call as the window for voters to fix deficient ballots remains open. Marx, a religious nonprofit leader, has led Kirkmeyer for nearly a week after overtaking the veteran lawmaker the day after polls closed in the June 30 primary. With more than 518,000 ballots counted, Marx led Kirkmeyer 39.8% to 39.5%, according to the Associated Press. The AP projected that 98% of votes had been counted. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
Independent Candidate Launches Last Minute Bid for Colorado’s First Congressional District
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Independent Candidate Launches Last Minute Bid for Colorado’s First Congressional District

By Mark Samuelson | The Denver Gazette Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros’ surprising defeat of 15-term Congresswoman Diana DeGette may be creating a void within Denver’s voter base — and at least one latecomer is jumping into that gap, petitioning to get himself on the November ballot as an independent candidate. Dr. Shimon Blau told The Denver Gazette he spent the weekend stewing about the direction of the state’s politics following last week’s primary election and Kiros’ victory. On Monday, he carried out a frenzied exchange of phone calls with the Colorado Secretary of State’s office to obtain the right application. Late that afternoon, Blau said, he filed the paperwork to petition for valid signatures in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District. If he can come up with ...
Children’s Hospital Colorado insurance data tells one story—its testimony another.
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Children’s Hospital Colorado insurance data tells one story—its testimony another.

By Kelly Notarfrancesco | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Hundreds of children were provided puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones by Children’s Hospital Colorado’s TRUE Center for Gender Diversity annually in 2024 and 2025 — in numbers that may be more than 35 times higher than those previously reported in 2024 by medical watchdog group Do No Harm. Do No Harm (DNH) analyzed five years of insurance data and demonstrated an average of 22 minor patients per year had received either puberty blockers or hormone therapy at Children’s from 2019-2023. DNH’s analysis led it to place Children’s on its “Dirty Dozen” list of the 12 worst-offending children’s hospitals promoting sex change treatments for minors.  The stark difference between Children’s self-reported number...
Colorado AG Joins Lawsuit Over USPS Mail Ballot Proposal
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado AG Joins Lawsuit Over USPS Mail Ballot Proposal

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette The Colorado Attorney General’s Office joined 24 state attorneys general in filing a formal complaint against what it called the U.S. Postal Service’s attempt to aid President Donald Trump’s efforts to seize control of elections and restrict mail-in voting. In March, Trump signed an executive order calling for the compilation of a list of individuals in each state who are legally eligible to vote. Under the order, USPS would only be permitted to send mail ballots to individuals on the lists. Last month, a court struck down the executive order, ruling it unconstitutional. However, according to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, USPS has not withdrawn its proposed rule to implement the order. “This is another...
Victor Marx Holds Narrow Lead as Colorado GOP Governor Race Nears Finish
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Victor Marx Holds Narrow Lead as Colorado GOP Governor Race Nears Finish

By Ernest Luning | Colorado Politics Republican Victor Marx held on to a narrow lead Monday over state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer as county clerks continued to count ballots in Colorado’s gubernatorial primary. Following an update posted at 3:30 p.m. by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office, Marx had 206,477 votes to Kirkmeyer’s 204,527, for a lead of 1,950, or about 0.38% of the 518,490 votes tallied so far. State Rep. Scott Bottoms trailed in the three-way race with 107,486 votes. At present, the difference between Marx’s and Kirkmeyer’s totals is short of the number that would trigger a mandatory recount under Colorado law. Although Kirkmeyer jumped out to an early lead on primary election night last Tuesday, Marx overtook her the following afternoon and has sinc...
Colorado Families Warn Medicaid Caregiver Caps Will Hurt Disabled Children
Colorado Public Radio, Approved, State

Colorado Families Warn Medicaid Caregiver Caps Will Hurt Disabled Children

By: John Daley | CPR News With the budget in crisis, state lawmakers capped the number of hours a week a person providing care to someone else, often a family member, can be reimbursed. A series of phased in cuts started taking effect this month and impacted families expressed deep apprehension about what the coming months will bring. “Disproportionate, unfair, insensitive,” were among the words Kelly Lyons had for the change. The deadline comes with the state Medicaid program under intense scrutiny, as a new commission, set up by the legislature starts its work and a new governor will be elected in November and take office next January. She lives in Castle Rock and cares for a 16-year-old daughter, Kendall, who she said was diagnosed with an an...
Aspen Acres Fire Tops 91,000 Acres as New Evacuations Hit Fremont County
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Aspen Acres Fire Tops 91,000 Acres as New Evacuations Hit Fremont County

By: Dana Coffield | The Colorado Sun The Willow fire near Leadville grew by 900 acres overnight spurring mandatory evacuation of areas southwest of the city. Ouray 100 race canceled because of Gold Mountain fire. The Aspen Acres fire southwest of Pueblo made another surge Sunday, bringing the total acres burned to 91,523, federal fire officials said, and making it the seventh largest wildfire on record in Colorado. Authorities said Thursday the fire was human-caused but released no further details about its origin as it raced northeast from near the Aspen Acres campground across Pueblo County, where it forced the evacuation of the towns of Beulah, Colorado City, Rye, San Isabel and Wetmore. Around 8:15 p.m. Sunday, the Fremont County sheriff issued a mandator...
No way out: Rural Colorado is outvoted at every turn
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

No way out: Rural Colorado is outvoted at every turn

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Tom Harrington manages a 500-cow operation on the Crystal River Ranch, two miles from the town of Carbondale on a mesa west of town.  He grew up in Ridgway.  A friend sent him some papers from the North Park area of Walden showing the school news, a note from the old folks' home and local ads. "I looked through these papers and I thought, man, this is like the 70s in Ridgway," he said. Those things have disappeared from the Carbondale he lives in now. "They've certainly left here." He has also watched the valley floor transform in his 18 years on the ranch, hayfields replaced by a shopping complex and apartment buildings, the quiet gone with it. "Once things are paved over," he said, "they never come back....
Colorado’s dirty voter roll: Where the ballots go
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s dirty voter roll: Where the ballots go

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice  Getting on and getting off the voter rolls were the first two questions. In Part 3, Mike O’Donnell turns to where Colorado voter data and ballots go next—through ERIC, out-of-state mailing addresses and overseas voting rules he argues deserve closer scrutiny. The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) ERIC is a nonprofit membership-based organization currently supported by twenty-six states, including Colorado. Member states share detailed voter rolls and DMV information with ERIC.  Colorado taxpayers pay around $50,000 a year for their membership in ERIC and the (alleged) primary benefit to the state is that ERIC monitors NCOAs that they share with the Colorado Secretary of State although, as n...