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Why Colorado Mesa University’s president decided to stand alone when it comes to higher ed funding
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, State

Why Colorado Mesa University’s president decided to stand alone when it comes to higher ed funding

By Jason Gonzales | Chalkbeat Colorado After four years on the job, Colorado Mesa University President John Marshall felt he needed to break ranks. Colorado higher education leaders have made it a tradition to sign a letter stating how much more money they need beyond the governor’s November request, including this year. The unified financial requests have led to far more money for all colleges and universities in recent years. But Marshall said he couldn’t sign onto this year’s letter for the sake of the students he serves. He hopes his absent signature sparks a conversation about the challenges the Grand Junction school has faced — not a disagreement that Colorado universities need more state funding. READ THE FULL STORY AT CHALKBEAT COLORADO
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Second Colorado marijuana recall in January hits nearly 60 dispensaries
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Approved, State, Westword

Second Colorado marijuana recall in January hits nearly 60 dispensaries

By Thomas Mitchell | Westword The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division has issued a health and safety notice over mold and yeast concerns for marijuana grown by Medpharm Holdings, LLC, which does business as cultivator Bud & Mary's. The recall, issued January 28, includes nine different harvest batches and impacts 58 dispensaries across Colorado. According to the MED, the flagged product was sold from February 7 through December 20 of last year. After testing marijuana from Bud & Mary's, some harvest batches were "found to have exceeded acceptable limits established for total yeast and mold," the MED notice says. According to Bud & Mary's, the recalled product passed initial post-harvest testing, but a test at the retail level identified microbial contamin...
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Legislative health-care debates commence in the 75th General Assembly
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Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Legislative health-care debates commence in the 75th General Assembly

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Several health-care bills — including two scheduled for their first hearings this week — are set to reignite the debate this legislative session on whether the benefits of greater coverage mandates are equal to the greater costs they’ll bring. And it won’t be just insurance issues that will occupy legislators’ discussions on health care this year. Regulation of a federal drug-pricing program, Medicaid-generated budget problems and the fate of the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurer all are on the table, causing legislators to have to think deeply about why health-care spending is rising and what impacts they can have on businesses and consumers. On Wednesday, a House committee will discuss a bill that seeks to require health benef...
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Wolves will continue to be a ‘burden’ to livestock producers, Cattlemen’s Association says at Farm Show
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Wolves will continue to be a ‘burden’ to livestock producers, Cattlemen’s Association says at Farm Show

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A little more than four years ago, voters statewide supported Prop. 114 to reintroduce gray wolves to Colorado. As long as it is the law, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are directed to implement it, cattle raisers are going to have to face the challenge, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association Executive Vice President Erin Karney said Tuesday in a lecture kicking off the Colorado Farm Show. "It is going to continue to be a burden to livestock producers," she said. She argues, though, what might be viewed as a Western Slope issue is a concern on both sides of the continental divide, noting the operations of Eastern Colorado cattle raisers, feedlots, sale barns and processing plants. "A lot of our members are directly affected," Karne...
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Cattle rustling, labor and tariffs among concerns for ranchers, Cattlemen’s Association tells Farm Show audience
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Cattle rustling, labor and tariffs among concerns for ranchers, Cattlemen’s Association tells Farm Show audience

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice There's some similarity in a 19th century problem, which led to the beginnings of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, and today's environment for cattle raisers. Founded in 1867, the Colorado Cattlemen's Association predates statehood and helped form the National Western Stock Show in 1899, the Colorado Brand Board in 1902, and the Colorado Beef Council in 1956. "We are still focused on the same issues today — we are still dealing with cattle theft," said Erin Karney, the organization's executive vice president during a lecture kicking off the Colorado Farm Show. A year ago in Rifle, there were 150 or more head of cattle stolen. Just recently, there were 160 or more head of cattle stolen from a handful of landowners in Montrose, she note...
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Colorado’s GOP U.S. House members reject state GOP’s proposed bylaw changes, as Williams wants a debate
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Colorado’s GOP U.S. House members reject state GOP’s proposed bylaw changes, as Williams wants a debate

By Lindy Browning | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice In what some denounce as an attempt to consolidate power for GOP Chairman Dave Williams, the Republican Party has proposed a last-minute change to the organization's bylaws on Jan. 30. Colorado Congressional Republicans, supported by state Senate Republicans, have written an open letter rejecting these changes. “As Colorado’s four Republican members of Congress, we write to express our united and unequivocal opposition to the proposed bylaw amendments under consideration by the Colorado Republican Party.  As a party, we should not be taking votes to radically change our rules under a lame-duck administration, additionally, these changes threaten to undermine our ability as a party to focus on the issues that matter most...
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Stories of struggle, hardship fuel Rep. Ryan Gonzalez’s push for practical state solutions
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Stories of struggle, hardship fuel Rep. Ryan Gonzalez’s push for practical state solutions

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice What makes a leader relatable? For newly-elected Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, R-Greeley, representing the 50th District in Weld County, it’s growing up in a household where sacrifices weren’t optional, but survival. Gonzalez knows the struggles of everyday Coloradans. As the son of a single mother and a domestic violence survivor, he has lived through them. “When I was 12, my sister ran away. She was gone for three weeks. And I was out putting up missing signs everywhere,” Gonzalez said. “My mom couldn’t eat or sleep. A mother’s worry is, is my daughter safe? Will I find her in a ditch somewhere? The whole time, my dad knew where she was and was covering it up.” For Gonzalez, these moments reflected his mother’s enduring streng...
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SB25-003, limiting semiauto firearm sales, passes Colorado Senate committee
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

SB25-003, limiting semiauto firearm sales, passes Colorado Senate committee

By Maddie Rhodes | KDVR-TV Fox 31 News A bill banning some semiautomatic firearm sales passed through part of the Colorado Senate and is making its way through the floor. On Tuesday, Senate Bill 25-003, “Semiautomatic Firearms & Rapid-Fire Devices,” passed through the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee in a 3-2 vote. The proposed bill, backed by Democratic Senators Tom Sullivan of Centennial and Julie Gonzales of Denver, would prohibit the manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale and purchase of specified semiautomatic firearms along with the purchase and sale of accessories that increase the rate of semi-automatic fire, like binary triggers. READ THE FULL STORY AT KDVR-TV FOX 31 NEWS
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Task force on disability rights recommends major changes to Colorado law
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Approved, State, The Sum & Substance

Task force on disability rights recommends major changes to Colorado law

By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance Following three months of deliberations, a task force studying the rights of Coloradans with disabilities has softened some recommendations to boost awards in antidiscrimination lawsuits but still offered proposals likely to stir significant business opposition. Among the task force’s recommendations are to let plaintiffs in disability-related antidiscrimination suits seek emotional damages, to replace existing caps on noneconomic damages and to extend to three years the timeline for filing such legal action. The recommendations — along with about 50 less controversial suggestions involving housing accessibility, outdoor recreation and government services — are likely to end up in a bill during this legislative session. During sometimes com...
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As White House calls for federal funding freeze, Colorado Democrats label it ‘reckless’ and ‘illegal’
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The Center Square, Approved, State

As White House calls for federal funding freeze, Colorado Democrats label it ‘reckless’ and ‘illegal’

By Elyse Apel | The Center Square Colorado Democrats have been quick to react to an order from the White House Office of Management and Budget temporarily pausing federal funding to “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.” Federal financial assistance includes grants and loans, though the order does limit the pause to those programs that have been “implicated” by President Donald Trump’s executive orders from the past week, “including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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