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Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Going the wrong way: Colorado’s fentanyl deaths rise while the rest of the nation falls

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice While much of the country is finally beginning to turn the corner on fentanyl, Colorado is heading in the opposite direction. And the human cost is staggering. Colorado’s numbers are still moving up—synthetic opioid deaths have climbed 17 percent since December 2024. Elsewhere, the trend has started to turn. Across the country, overdose deaths have dropped 26.9 percent, according to the CDC, the steepest one-year decline of the crisis and the lowest levels since 2019. Colorado isn’t just behind. It stands apart. A March 2026 report from the Common Sense Institute puts that gap into focus: 1,620 excess deaths. In other words, that’s how many more Coloradans died from synthetic opioid overdoses between ...
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Colorado Wildlife Agency Seeks $450K More For Wolves Despite $1.5B State Budget Shortfall
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Wildlife Agency Seeks $450K More For Wolves Despite $1.5B State Budget Shortfall

Byline: By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The panel of legislators charged with crafting the budget on Monday rejected a proposal that proponents said would increase transparency around how much Colorado Parks and Wildlife spends to bring additional wolves into the state. At the same time, the wildlife agency is seeking $450,000 in general funds for fiscal year 2026–27 — twice what it spent in 2025 — to acquire more wolves, even though the agency has not identified where the animals would come from. The request arrives as the state faces a projected $1.5 billion shortfall in the general fund budget in next year’s spending plan. Joint Budget Committee staff had recommended creating a separate budget line beginning in 2026–27 to clearly show the state’s spe...
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El Paso Co. clerk resigns leadership role and pulls county from clerks association over transparency concerns
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Ashe in America, Approved, Commentary, State

El Paso Co. clerk resigns leadership role and pulls county from clerks association over transparency concerns

By Ashe in America | Commentary, Ashe in America The CCCA is a Non-Governmental Organization that Generally Serves as the Authority on Colorado Elections El Paso County Clerk & Recorder Steve Schleiker has quietly resigned as Vice President of the Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA), and he has withdrawn El Paso County from active membership in the non-governmental organization. Schleiker was candid about his decision in an email with a Colorado voter who reached out after noticing his name had been removed from the CCCA leadership list. “After careful consideration, I made the decision several weeks ago to resign as Vice President of the Colorado County Clerks Association and to withdraw El Paso County from active membership. This was not a decision I made li...
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The Democrats who funded Colorado’s 611% Medicaid overrun are running for Congress
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The Democrats who funded Colorado’s 611% Medicaid overrun are running for Congress

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado is staring down a $1 billion budget hole. Disabled kids are losing healthcare. Dental benefits are getting capped at $750 a year. Two Democrats who helped create and fund Cover All Coloradans are now asking voters to send them to Congress. Shannon Bird stepped away from the statehouse to run full-time. That sets up a primary between Bird and Rep. Manny Rutinel in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, with Republican incumbent Gabe Evans waiting in November. It started with HB22-1289 in 2022, opening Medicaid-style coverage to children and pregnant women who otherwise met eligibility but didn’t qualify because of their immigration status. Bird voted yes. The early estimate was $14.7 million for the fiscal year, tied to an expe...
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Selective scrutiny: Are Colorado journalists choosing who gets held accountable?
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Selective scrutiny: Are Colorado journalists choosing who gets held accountable?

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Complete Colorado In a recent LinkedIn post, local Colorado media mascot animal Kyle Clark proclaimed, “Journalists just repeating what the powerful say isn’t news. And it’s not Next [Clark’s news magazine Next on 9News]. Next holds power to account, offering context and clarity that cut through spin and misinformation. It’s time for truth.” Not too long after putting on his emphatic face and making his bold statement, Clark recorded a Next segment where I think it’s reasonable to say he didn’t quite hit his own mark.  In the segment, Clark amplified a piece written by Logan Davis of the Colorado Times Recorder (CTR) entitled  “EXCLUSIVE: Secret ICE Detention Facilities Exist Around Colorado, Data Shows.”  The N...
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Colorado Lawmakers Move To Replace César Chávez Day Amid Abuse Allegations
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Move To Replace César Chávez Day Amid Abuse Allegations

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado The Colorado State House Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee gave unanimous approval Monday to a bill that would rename "César Chávez Day" as "Farm Workers Day" in Colorado. The measure comes after 95-year-old Dolores Huerta — who co-founded the United Farm Workers Union with Chávez — alleged he sexually assaulted her, appearing to corroborate the claims of many other women, many of whom were children at the time. Under the legislation, "Farm Workers Day" would be an optional state holiday. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and City Council President Amanda Sandoval temporarily re-named the upcoming holiday "Sí Se Puede Day" in Denver. The city's celebration for the late labor leader was...
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No ICE Agents At Colorado Airports As Security Lines Stay Short
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

No ICE Agents At Colorado Airports As Security Lines Stay Short

By Bernadette Berdychowski | The Denver Gazette As President Donald Trump deployed immigration agents to help U.S. airports manage hours‑long security lines during the partial government shutdown, Denver International Airport remained relatively calm on Monday. At the nation’s third‑busiest airport, TSA PreCheck lanes remained open to start the week. By noon, security remained easy to get through, with both the West and East checkpoints showing minimal waits of about five minutes, according to the airport’s live tracker. In a statement to The Denver Gazette, an airport spokesperson said as of Monday, security is still “operating normally.” “At this time, we have not received any communication indicating that ICE agents will be staffing our checkpoints,” the s...
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Federal EPA Regulators Flag Colorado Air Permits For Weak Gas Monitoring
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Federal EPA Regulators Flag Colorado Air Permits For Weak Gas Monitoring

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun State needs to ensure Western Slope companies are monitoring harmful gas releases, order says. The Environmental Protection Agency has slapped back six oil and gas air pollution permits to Colorado regulators, saying the state failed to require adequate monitoring of natural gas venting in the Garfield County systems and risked letting too much dirty air into the atmosphere.  The environmental watchdogs who objected to two oil and gas companies’ permits called the rare Trump Administration rejection a victory in their ongoing campaign to force Colorado into more monitoring of gas leaks, intentional venting and flaring. Repeated failures in any of those steps of natural gas gathering release harmful volatile organic compounds a...
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Colorado saw red flags in autism therapy billing and approved higher rates anyway
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado saw red flags in autism therapy billing and approved higher rates anyway

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Federal auditors documented convicted staff working with autistic children. Colorado had no system to catch it. Every week, parents of autistic children in Colorado dropped their kids off with behavior therapists they trusted. What they didn't know—what the state never required anyone to verify—was whether those therapists had passed a background check. Many hadn't. Not because anyone failed a background check. Because Colorado never required one. HHS Office of Inspector General audit highlights—February 2026. Source: https://oig.hhs.gov/documents/audit/11494/A-09-24-02004-highlights.pdf The findings from federal auditors came out in February. At least $77.8 million in improper Medicaid payments for autism therapy in 20...
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From party switch to $6.4 million: Examining the rise of a CD4 candidate
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From party switch to $6.4 million: Examining the rise of a CD4 candidate

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In a matter of months, Eileen Laubacher went from a newly registered Democrat with no primary voting history to the best-funded candidate in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. That kind of political acceleration is unusual on its own. What makes it more striking is how many pieces had to move at once to get there. Her party registration, then and now In Jefferson County, Laubacher shows up as a registered Republican as far back as 1998. That didn’t change until January 2024, when she went unaffiliated, followed by a switch to Democrat two months later using her Ken Caryl address. She filed to run for Congress not long after. It would be more than four months before her voter registration was updated t...
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