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Colorado Sees Strong Concealed Carry Permit Numbers Despite New Restrictions
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Sees Strong Concealed Carry Permit Numbers Despite New Restrictions

By: Mike Krause | Complete Colorado DENVER– Despite a Democrat-led state legislature hostile to the lawful carrying of concealed handguns, new data show at least 27,901 Coloradans still subjected themselves to the government scrutiny and costs required to become concealed handgun permit (CHP) holders in 2025, while another 21,871 renewed existing permits.  That’s according to a recently published County Sheriffs of Colorado annual report. Notably, the report lacks data from Adams, Garfield, Pueblo and San Juan counties, which combined accounted for over 5,000 new permits in the prior year, meaning the numbers for 2025 may well be under-reported. Regardless, while the number of new permits trails the 29,495 issued in 2024, it outpaces the 25,218...
Griswold Joins Other States Asking DHS To Confirm ICE Will Stay Away From Polling Locations
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Griswold Joins Other States Asking DHS To Confirm ICE Will Stay Away From Polling Locations

By: Jacob Mauk | The Denver Gazette Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced Monday that the state has formally requested written confirmation from the Department of Homeland Security that ICE agents will not be stationed at polling locations during the 2026 election cycle, according to a news release. The letter comes a week after Kristi Noem, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, said, “There are no plans to have ICE officers at our polling locations.’ Noem has since been fired by President Donald Trump, who nominated Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her. Noem was fired not long after testifying before Congress regarding tactics used over the last year to crack down on immigrants living in the United States illegally. READ THE FULL ART...
Xcel Warns Grid May Need Coal Plants Longer Amid Delays In New Energy Projects
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Xcel Warns Grid May Need Coal Plants Longer Amid Delays In New Energy Projects

By: Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The plants in Pueblo and Hayden were slated to phase out between 2025 and 2030. Now the company has proposed running all their units for four more years. Xcel Energy, facing what it says is a shortfall in electricity generating capacity for the next two years, is proposing to run its four coal-fired units until 2030. Comanche Unit 2, in Pueblo, was supposed to close at the end of 2025. One unit at the Hayden Station is to close in 2027 and the second unit is slated to shut in 2028. Comanche Unit 3 is set to close in 2030. Comanche 3 suffered turbine damage in August taking the unit offline. Xcel Energy initially said repairs would be completed in June, but in a March 2 report to state regulators the company said it h...
Colorado Democrat Shelves Prostitution Decriminalization Effort Amid Growing Criticism
The Daily Signal, Approved, State

Colorado Democrat Shelves Prostitution Decriminalization Effort Amid Growing Criticism

By: Tyler O'Neil | The Daily Signal Colorado’s Republican House leader is calling foul after a Colorado state senator says he is effectively killing his own bill to decriminalize prostitution—in order to protect “sex workers” from the trauma of having to testify. State Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, the main sponsor of SB26-097, told the Colorado Sun that his bill lacks the necessary support to clear the Senate Judiciary Committee, so he will ask to delay the measure until after the 2026 legislative session, effectively killing the bill. He said the “sex workers” who persuaded him to bring the bill also persuaded him to effectively kill it. “Ultimately, we all decided that having a very tense, long committee hearing, where they’d have to be in a room with a ...
Colorado bill would require devices to signal when users are minors
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado bill would require devices to signal when users are minors

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Across the country, lawmakers are trying to figure out how — or whether — government should step in when it comes to kids and the internet. Some proposals focus on social media platforms. Others target app stores. A few states have gone a step further, looking at the devices themselves. Colorado is now testing that approach. The proposal, Senate Bill 26-051, is titled “Age Attestation on Computing Devices.” The idea behind it is fairly straightforward: certain devices would send apps a signal indicating whether the person using them is a minor. Supporters say the goal is to give apps a way to recognize when younger users are trying to sign in. Not everyone who testified during the hearing w...
Free to Choose Life
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Free to Choose Life

By Rep. Scott Slaugh | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Upon arriving at the Colorado State Capitol in September to be sworn in as the new State Representative for District 64, I was eager to join the state lawmaking enterprise and already had a few ideas for new legislation. Soon I was advised by veteran lawmakers to reconsider my goals.  As one of only twenty-two Republicans facing a Majority Caucus of forty-three Democrats, it would be smart to tailor at least a couple of my early bills to topics where I might find agreement with members from the Majority Caucus.  That sounded reasonable enough; what could go wrong?  I have nothing but respect for the commonsense goal of “building bridges” where possible. Because I stand firmly in support...
Democrats Push Plan to Eliminate TABOR Refunds For The Next 10 Years
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Democrats Push Plan to Eliminate TABOR Refunds For The Next 10 Years

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Colorado voters could decide this fall whether billions of dollars that would otherwise be returned as refunds under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights should instead go to public schools under a ballot measure unveiled Thursday by Democrats. Supporters say the proposal would address chronic underfunding in K-12 education, while critics argue it takes money away from taxpayers and amounts to sidestepping the state’s constitutional spending limits. Supporters have insisted that schools are underfunded to the tune of billions of dollars, while one study says revenue and spending by schools have significantly grown in the last few years, with a noticeable shift toward non-instructional spending. Under the proposed ballot measure, the am...
Questions Surface Over Colorado Trust Approach To Equity And Grant Funding
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Questions Surface Over Colorado Trust Approach To Equity And Grant Funding

By Debbie Kelley | The Denver Gazette A redirection in grantmaking that began two years ago for The Colorado Trust, a 40-year-old Denver-headquartered funder, has led some employees to now voice concerns, which has reportedly put their jobs in jeopardy. The vice president of communications for the private health equity foundation says the course has been set for years, with this being the third year of a strategic plan to primarily focus on three “social determinants of health:” food, housing, and mental and behavioral health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines social determinants of health as nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes, such as environmental, educational, economic and employment-related conditions arising out of where a pers...
Food Shaming Concerns Delay Colorado Plan to Ban Soda Purchases With Food Stamps
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Food Shaming Concerns Delay Colorado Plan to Ban Soda Purchases With Food Stamps

By: Jennifer Brown | The Colorado Sun The SNAP rule change was delayed by a state board after a 7-hour hearing including fierce opposition from the governor’s fellow Democrats, Hunger Free Colorado and Save the Children. A plan to prohibit Coloradans from using food-assistance benefits to buy soda and sugary fruit juices was stalled Friday by a state board after opponents argued it was an overreach that could harm the dignity and autonomy of low-income families. The rule would ban the use of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, called SNAP, to buy soda as well as juices with added sugars or artificial sweeteners. Gov. Jared Polis won approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the “healthy choice” rule in August, but needed...
Colorado Secretary Of State Jena Griswold Peddles Blatant Lie About Supreme Court Role
TownHall.com, Approved, State

Colorado Secretary Of State Jena Griswold Peddles Blatant Lie About Supreme Court Role

By: Matt Vespa | Townhall This Democrat was caught spreading a complete lie, and it wasn’t difficult to expose. This political con job is occurring in Colorado, where Secretary of State Jena Griswold is running in the Democratic primary for the 2026 attorney general race. There’s no need for her to do this, as she’s considered the frontrunner. If you don’t remember, Griswold tried to prevent Donald Trump from running in 2024 over the January 6 incident.   That case went before the Supreme Court, which slapped down this little stunt in a unanimous decision, holding that only Congress, not the states, can determine who is ineligible for federal office. Yet Griswold makes it seem as if she were delivering oral arguments. She did not. And she appears to have little to no cou...