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Colorado Families Demand Action as Incompetency Rulings Free Violent Suspects
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado Families Demand Action as Incompetency Rulings Free Violent Suspects

By Alliyah Sims | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Loved ones lost, cases dismissed and dangerous criminals walking free. Families and lawmakers across the state are demanding immediate change to a 2024 law they say is putting lives at risk. People gathered outside the Colorado Supreme Court, coming with broken hearts and a clear message. “To speak loudly and loudly against these competency laws that really just seek to prioritize the rights of a perpetrator over the victims,” said Lori Gimelshteyn, executive director of the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network. Backed by 6,000 petition signatures, speakers on Thursday demanded that district attorneys take a stand and lawmakers rewrite laws petitioners say are letting violent offenders walk free. “In 2024, I actually voted for this bi...
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More Than Colorado: How Friendship and Faith Are Expanding the Rocky Mountain Voice
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

More Than Colorado: How Friendship and Faith Are Expanding the Rocky Mountain Voice

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, RMV NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice Let me tell you about a longtime friend of mine—and now a dear friend of Rocky Mountain Voice—Joe Cherry, CEO and Founder of Exectras in Houston, Texas. As I write this, I’m sitting in his remarkable home in Houston, Texas. My wife, Sherrie, continues her fight against Glioblastoma Stage 4 Brain Cancer, and we’re working with the team at MD Anderson to handle this relentless disease. During this difficult time, Joe insisted that Sherrie and I stay with him in his home—a gesture filled with love, hope, and faith, in other words, life-changing. Some partnerships are written on paper; others are written on the heart. This one began long before Rocky Mountain Voice ever published its first story or Exectras (short ...
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How Did Compact Negotiators Split the Colorado River’s Flow in 1922?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

How Did Compact Negotiators Split the Colorado River’s Flow in 1922?

By Steve Harris | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice For my third installment in our discussion of the 100-year anniversary of the Colorado River Compact in 1922, I’ll describe how the states negotiated their respective share of the annual flow of the Colorado River. Though I was not in attendance in 1922, the minutes of the negotiations are very thorough. A few definitions before we start: “WY” is short for the federal water year from October 1st to September 30th. Colorado water years are November to October. AF is acre-feet or 325,851 gallons or 43,560 cubic feet. MAF is million acre-feet. Actual Colorado River flows in 1922: At the first Colorado River Compact Commission (CRCC) meeting on January 30, 1922, data on the flow of the Colorado River at various l...
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Public safety crisis? Colorado ranks 7th worst for violent crime per capita
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Fox31, Approved, State

Public safety crisis? Colorado ranks 7th worst for violent crime per capita

By Brooke Williams | FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado has once again been ranked as one of the least safe states in the nation, according to a recent WalletHub data report. The personal finance website conducted the study using data for each state, focusing on data points that indicate how safe an area is, such as the frequency of violent events like shootings, how many drivers are insured, hate crime incidents and bullying, unemployment rates, how many first responders and law enforcement are available and others data points. The Safest States in America in 2025, according to the study, are Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Utah. The least safe states were found to be Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Arkansas. This year, Colorado ranked at No. 44, ...
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Government shutdown strains DIA operations and staffing
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Government shutdown strains DIA operations and staffing

By  Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette The shutdown of the federal government has begun to palpably affect the country’s airports, including at Denver International Airport, which is seeing staffing shortages, according to officials. By Monday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration was reporting that staffing shortages were creating delays at DIA, as well as airports in California and New Jersey. Denver International Airport officials anticipate that more than 938,000 passengers will travel through airport checkpoints between Oct. 9 and Oct. 20, a 5.5% increase over the same time period in 2024. Lawmakers, meanwhile, continue to disagree on funding the federal government, forcing air traffic controllers and other essential federal employees to work without pay. More ...
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Griswold Finalizes 2025 Ballot, Voters to Decide on New Tax and Meal Programs
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Griswold Finalizes 2025 Ballot, Voters to Decide on New Tax and Meal Programs

By Michael Braithwaite | The Denver Gazette Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold certified the 2025 election ballot Wednesday, with voters set to vote on two statewide measures in early November. The ballot measures include two propositions concerning the Healthy School Meals for All Program, which pays for public schools to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, according to the Secretary of State’s website. “I look forward to another successful Coordinated Election this November,” said Griswold, on the website. “Thank you as always to all the County Clerks and election workers across the state for your hard work to ensure every eligible Coloradan can make their voice heard in our secure and accessible elections that lead the na...
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Rural Colorado Airports Face Flight Cuts if DC Gridlock Continues
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Rural Colorado Airports Face Flight Cuts if DC Gridlock Continues

By Shannon Ogden | Denver7 The Essential Air Service (EAS) provides federal subsidies to commercial airlines to serve small, rural airports that would not otherwise have commercial air service. DENVER — A key lifeline for rural communities may soon be cut. Small commercial airports in Colorado and nationwide may see flight cancellations if the government shutdown continues. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that funding for the Essential Air Service (EAS) would lapse Sunday if the government doesn't reopen by then. EAS provides federal subsidies to commercial airlines to serve small, rural airports that would not otherwise have commercial air service. This includes the airports in Cortez, Pueblo, and Alamosa in Colorado, as well as 174 other communities nationwide. ...
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Polis celebrates city compliance as lawsuits claim unconstitutional power grab
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Polis celebrates city compliance as lawsuits claim unconstitutional power grab

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The Polis administration is taking a victory lap this week on local government compliance with housing laws passed by the General Assembly in the past two years, although the highest level among the metrics is only 60% compliant. In another metric, there are more localities that are non-compliant than those that are. The majority are in the “progress” phase. The Department of Local Affairs on Tuesday released a “compliance dashboard” that shows to what extent municipalities are complying with laws on transit-oriented communities, accessory dwelling units or so-called “granny flats” and housing needs assessments. A statement Tuesday noted an executive order that Gov. Jared Polis signed in May on “strategic growth” through compliance with ...
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Fix It or Fund It: Inside the $361 million standoff over Colorado’s unfunded mandates
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Fix It or Fund It: Inside the $361 million standoff over Colorado’s unfunded mandates

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado counties say they’re done footing the bill for laws they didn’t fund. Citing a 1991 statute and more than $361 million in unfunded mandates, the Fix It or Fund It coalition is asserting that if the state won’t pay, local governments won’t comply. Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel didn’t set out to launch a statewide revolt. Two years ago, she created a spreadsheet to track state mandates that came without funding. The goal was to help department heads navigate budgeting headaches. But that quiet act of accounting has since grown into something far louder—a bipartisan movement spanning more than 36 counties, with local governments now invoking state law to declare state mandates “optional.” “We started this whole unfunded mandate...
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When the prosecutor is also the judge: Colorado’s due process problem under Griswold’s watch
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

When the prosecutor is also the judge: Colorado’s due process problem under Griswold’s watch

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I wouldn’t blame someone for thinking the fix is in at a Colorado Administrative Law hearing (especially in the SOS’s Office). If you break one of our state regulatory agencies’ copious rules, the process for our state’s administrative hearings bears little resemblance to a real trial. I recently did some looking into the state’s administrative hearings process, and was disappointed in what I found.The idea of this being a hearing in front of an independent, nominally-impartial, and disinterested judge is decidedly NOT what the process looks like.This goes, as you might imagine for an office run by Jena Griswold, double for the Secretary of State’s Office.More in the op ed below.https://completecolorado.com/2025/09/22/p...
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