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New Colorado Laws Take Effect Jan. 1 With Sweeping Changes for Health Care Housing and Gun Shows
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

New Colorado Laws Take Effect Jan. 1 With Sweeping Changes for Health Care Housing and Gun Shows

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A new year means new laws in Colorado, covering everything from health insurance and gun shows to “junk fees” and protections for wild bison. Here’s a list of laws passed during the 2025 legislative session that will go into effect on Jan. 1. House Bill 1002: Medical necessity determination insurance coverage This law codifies and clarifies mental health parity requirements for insurers, ensuring that individuals receive the same coverage for mental health and behavioral services as they do for physical care. House Bill 1030: Accessibility standards in building codes This law requires new local building codes to meet or exceed international accessibility standards. It prohibits them from providing less protection than ...
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Trump Rejects Arkansas Valley Water Pipeline Bill Citing Federal Taxpayer Burden
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Trump Rejects Arkansas Valley Water Pipeline Bill Citing Federal Taxpayer Burden

By Sophia Villalba | Denver7 DENVER — President Trump has vetoed a bill aimed at providing reliable, clean drinking water to rural communities in southeastern Colorado. It's another setback for the decades old "Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act" that would have completed a 130-mile pipeline bringing drinking water to 39 Colorado communities on the Eastern Plains. This is the president's first veto of his second term in the Oval Office. He rejected the bipartisan bill that passed both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate unanimously, saying the project would cost federal taxpayers too much money. The Arkansas Valley Conduit was first approved back in 1962, but according to the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, it wasn’t built for deca...
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Xcel Seeks Gas Rate Hike as Colorado Customers Face Rising Utility Costs
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Xcel Seeks Gas Rate Hike as Colorado Customers Face Rising Utility Costs

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun Colorado consumer advocate says second rate-increase request in a quarter is testing the will of customers and the Public Utilities Commission. Xcel Energy is aiming to raise its gas customers’ bills by an average $7.59 a month — for a total of $190 million — to pay for safety improvements, rising operating and maintenance costs and investor returns. The company filed the proposed rate hike with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission on Monday. The rate request comes a little more than a month after Xcel Energy filed for a $356 million electric rate increase, which would raise the average residential electric bill 10% to $110 a month. In late November, the PUC also approved a $155 million plan to deal wi...
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From Firebrand to Lawmaker Boebert Reflects on Growth and Accountability
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

From Firebrand to Lawmaker Boebert Reflects on Growth and Accountability

By: Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics For years, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s name has become a shorthand for controversy in her home state and in the nation’s capital. Recently, the outspoken Colorado Republican has drawn rare praise from some of her fiercest critics, particularly after breaking expectations during a key vote. Boebert insisted the moment isn’t a departure from her values but a reflection of how she has matured as a lawmaker navigating power, loyalty, and accountability in Congress. Epstein files Boebert made national headlines when she was summoned to the White House and met with officials in the Situation Room last month. Many immediately pounced, painting the meeting as a bullying session and speculating that the president was likely pus...
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Bird Resignation Rekindles Debate Over Unelected Lawmakers
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Bird Resignation Rekindles Debate Over Unelected Lawmakers

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado DENVER – Despite new laws governing vacancies in the Colorado legislature, Democrat statehouse member Shannon Bird has still found a workaround that throws a wrench into her constituents’ ability to choose their representative at the ballot box. Bird announced earlier this month she would be stepping down from her seat in House District 29 on Jan. 5 to focus on her bid for the US Congressional District 8 seat, currently held by Republican Gabe Evans. Bird’s unique timing for vacating HD 29, which includes parts of Adams and Jefferson counties, takes advantage of a quirk in the law allowing for her replacement to serve possibly an entire extra year more than state statute sets forth for House members. The meaning of ‘half’ ...
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Why Mamdanism Will Not Win Colorado
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Why Mamdanism Will Not Win Colorado

By Booker Lightman | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Zohran Mamdani’s upset victory in the New York City mayoral election has sparked excitement on the far left and dread on the right. Will Mamdani herald a new age of far-Left ascendancy? Fortunately for Republicans, his victory was contingent on factors specific to New York City that are not present in the rest of the country. Mamdani’s voters were not scattered randomly throughout New York City. They were heavily concentrated in what political analyst Michael Lange calls the “commie corridor,” an area of Northern Brooklyn and Western Queens populated by a peculiar demographic - young, non-black, college-educated, middle-income, often without children, and often employed in the nonprofit sector.  These wer...
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The RMV stories readers didn’t scroll past in 2025
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The RMV stories readers didn’t scroll past in 2025

By RMV Editorial Board This list wasn’t built in a meeting. It formed over time, story by story, as readers decided what was worth stopping for. What follows are the 25 RMV stories that held attention in 2025—and didn’t let go. Looking across the year’s top 25 stories revealed patterns, which we reflect on at the end. 1. School unions gave $11K to Jeffco candidate who admitted to a sealed juvenile sexual offense RMV reported that a Jefferson County school board candidate privately acknowledged a sealed juvenile sexual offense while receiving financial support from education unions. The story documented information voters did not have before ballots were cast and raised questions about disclosure, trust, and institutional accountability in school leade...
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Colorado Coyote Debate Reveals Sharp Divide Between Ranchers and Activists
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Coyote Debate Reveals Sharp Divide Between Ranchers and Activists

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–A recent Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) stakeholder report shows a wide gap between agriculture producers and animal welfare activists when it comes to management of coyotes.     The stakeholder report, released in early December, summarizes four months of CPW meetings with rural interests, such as ranchers and sportsman, along with animal welfare and environmental activists. CPW held these meetings to explore potential changes to current furbearing animal management.  While the two sides found common ground on management strategies of most other animals, coyotes were the one species the groups could not compromise over.    Ranchers, sportsmen, and rural landowners expressed the ...
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Colorado Voters Could Decide Future Of ICE And Local Law Enforcement Cooperation
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Voters Could Decide Future Of ICE And Local Law Enforcement Cooperation

By Ryan Fish | Denver7 Initiative, currently undergoing signature verification, would include offenders charged with a violent crime or repeat felony. DENVER — Next fall, Colorado voters could decide whether local law enforcement should be required to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in certain cases. The proposed ballot measure would require law enforcement notify the Department of Homeland Security if a person “not lawfully present in the United States”—or with an “unknown” lawful presence after a “reasonable effort” to determine it—is charged with a violent crime or if the person has been convicted of a prior felony. Conservative non-profit Advance Colorado is pushing for the p...
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