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Paul Lundeen resigns from Colorado Senate to lead American Excellence Foundation
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Paul Lundeen resigns from Colorado Senate to lead American Excellence Foundation

By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, is resigning effective Monday to become president and CEO of the American Excellence Foundation The top Republican in the Colorado Senate announced Monday that he is resigning from the legislature to take a job in the private sector. Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, is resigning effective Monday.  “Serving Colorado has been an honor and blessing,” Lundeen said in a written statement. “I am grateful to the people of Senate District 9 for the opportunity to fight for policies that empower individuals, protect our communities, and promote prosperity. As I transition to a national platform, I am eager to continue advocating for personal freedom, economic opportunity and common-sense c...
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A crisis of cradle and classroom: How Colorado’s baby bust is closing schools
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

A crisis of cradle and classroom: How Colorado’s baby bust is closing schools

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s classrooms are getting quieter – not because kids are learning, but because there are fewer of them. Across the state, dropping birth rates and shrinking enrollment are forcing schools to close, merge – or sit half-empty. And the trend isn’t slowing down. In May, the Common Sense Institute released a report warning that Colorado’s birth rate has been declining since 2005 and has fallen faster than the national average since 2011. The report projects the state will lose more than 15,000 children under age 18 by 2030 – roughly the equivalent of the entire Thompson R2-J school district. Denver Public Schools is already deep into closures. According to CSI’s analysis, DPS has approved the closure of seven schools and partial restructur...
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McCombie: Initiative 82 revives push to restrict hunting, override expert conservation
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Approved, Commentary, NRA Hunters' Leadership Forum, State

McCombie: Initiative 82 revives push to restrict hunting, override expert conservation

By Brian McCombie | Commentary, NRA Hunters' Leadership Forum Colorado anti-hunters are making yet another push to wrest control of that state’s wildlife from wildlife professionals. This time, it is the recently proposed Ballot Initiative 82, the “Colorado Wildlife & Biodiversity Protection Act.” At its core, Initiative 82 would create an independent commission parallel to the current Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission. This independent commission would then draw up legal protections for unnamed “keystone species” and assess financial penalties for any violations of these protections. If approved by voters in the state’s 2026 election, $2.5 million in taxpayer dollars will fund this commission. It then will decide what exactly are the “keystone species,” though observers ...
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Federal judge upholds Colorado’s 21+ gun law, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners vow to appeal
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Federal judge upholds Colorado’s 21+ gun law, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners vow to appeal

By Taylor Dolven | Colorado Sun A gun rights group challenged the 2023 law in court. Thursday’s ruling by a U.S. District Judge is a win for gun-control advocates. Colorado’s law requiring people to be at least 21 years old to buy a gun can stand, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The ruling is a definitive win for gun control advocates and a blow to the group Rocky Mountain Gun Owners and two young people hoping to purchase guns, who sued Gov. Jared Polis to block the law in 2023. Chief U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer sided with Polis and said in his ruling that the plaintiffs could not prove that the law violated their rights. “Plaintiffs cannot establish a violation of a right secured by the Constitution or that they have suffered an irreparable injury from such a violat...
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State employee sues Governor Polis over ICE information sharing
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

State employee sues Governor Polis over ICE information sharing

By Marshall Zelinger | Denver Gazette The case highlights tensions between state privacy protections for immigrants and federal immigration enforcement efforts DENVER — A state employee has sued Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), alleging that the governor has ordered state employees to illegally share personal information about sponsors of undocumented minors with federal immigration agents in violation of laws Polis, himself, has signed. Scott Moss, the Director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics in Colorado’s Department of Labor and Employment, filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court on Wednesday, seeking to block Polis from requiring disclosure of personal identifying information (PII) to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in response to an administr...
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Pro-2A advocates plan strategy events in response to Colorado gun laws
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Pro-2A advocates plan strategy events in response to Colorado gun laws

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Next week, on June 10 and 11, Colorado gun owners and Second Amendment advocates will gather for two Legislative Round Up events in Lakewood and Fort Morgan, organized by the NRA-ILA (National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action) and Rocky Mountain Voice. The event is organized with coordination by Amanda Hardin of Lipstick Tactical, a Denver-based firearms training organization.  The events work to build advocacy efforts in light of multiple anti-gun laws the 2025 Colorado General Assembly passed and Governor Jared Polis signed into law. The gatherings will provide a platform to discuss these laws and strategize legal and grassroots responses. “We’re running the exact same event in two geographically d...
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Enos: Colorado’s war on parental rights isn’t over—it’s escalating
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Approved, Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Commentary, State

Enos: Colorado’s war on parental rights isn’t over—it’s escalating

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado Colorado is on a roll. Violating religious liberty and compelling free speech are two issues that Colorado Courts have already been reprimanded for. Our Courts lost two civil rights lawsuits – Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis – in addition to being overturned by the United States Supreme Court in the decision that was supposed to throw Donald Trump off the 2024 Colorado Presidential Election ballot. Now, we are doing it all over again. On Friday, May 16th, Governor Polis quietly signed HB25-1312, Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals, into law. There was no ceremony or statement from the Governor, just an administrative signature. When...
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Restaurants win relief as Colorado bill leaves wage hikes to local control
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Approved, Axios, State

Restaurants win relief as Colorado bill leaves wage hikes to local control

By John Frank | Axios Denver The nasty fight at the Colorado Capitol over how much to pay tipped restaurant workers ended in a standoff this week. The big picture: Gov. Jared Polis signed the Restaurant Relief Act into Colorado law on Tuesday, with backing from the Colorado Restaurant Association and other major industry organizations. Why it matters: The result is a victory for the opposition, which mounted an aggressive campaign against the legislation, though it gives cash-pinched restaurant owners another chance to make their case at the local level. Threat level: The state's restaurant industry faces a crisis, with as many as 200 closing statewide last year — a majority of which operated in Denver — partially prompting the legislative proposal...
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New rules take effect July 1 for Colorado gun owners seeking concealed carry permits
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

New rules take effect July 1 for Colorado gun owners seeking concealed carry permits

By Heather Willard | Fox31 DENVER (KDVR) — A law changing the requirements for concealed firearm carry permits will go into effect on July 1, and gun owners should be aware of what is changing. In just under a month, anyone who wants to renew or apply for a concealed weapons permit must complete further steps, due to HB-24-1174. The new law drew criticism from gun rights groups, which said the law could deter gun owners who would otherwise carry their firearms. If you’re renewing your concealed carry permit, the law requires that the applicant “demonstrate competence with a handgun,” which can be done through participating in organized shooting competitions, current military service, or current certifications as a peace officer. You can also show competence ...
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Boulder terrorist case reveals immigration enforcement blind spot: overstayed visas
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Approved, National, New York Times, State

Boulder terrorist case reveals immigration enforcement blind spot: overstayed visas

By Miriam Jordan | New York Times Unlawful border crossings dominate the political debate about immigration. But estimates suggest 40 percent of undocumented people entered the United States lawfully and then stayed. The suspect in the Boulder, Colo., attack highlights a type of immigrant who has been largely absent from the heated political messaging on immigration: a person who arrives in the United States legally, on a tourist or other temporary visa, and remains after their permission to stay has lapsed. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national accused of carrying out the attack in Colorado, entered on a tourist visa in August 2022 that would have allowed him to remain in the country for six months once he presented his passport to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection offic...
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