Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

State

Grama’s Magnifying Glass: Refocusing the Voice of Colorado
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Grama’s Magnifying Glass: Refocusing the Voice of Colorado

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, RMV NE CO Newsroom, Rocky Mountain Voice While sitting in the waiting area at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, I heard the characteristic sounds of hospital life—beeping machines, nurses moving quietly, and families whispering prayers of hope. My wife, Sherrie, underwent brain surgery with advanced laser technology, prompting me to reflect on the importance of focus—its influence not just on medical results but on the core of our lives. As a boy, I often borrowed my grandmother’s magnifying glass — the one she used for reading mail, books, and sometimes the Bible and fine print. Outside in San Diego’s bright sun, where I lived during my teen years and until I joined the military, it became something different. I’d arrange dry leaves or pieces of pap...
Read More
Colorado Counties Push Back on Polis Over Costly ‘Unfunded Mandates’
No Comments
DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Counties Push Back on Polis Over Costly ‘Unfunded Mandates’

By: Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 In Mesa County alone, Commissioner Bobbie Daniel tracked down almost $10 million a year in unfunded mandates. DENVER — More than 40 Colorado counties have voiced concerns to Governor Jared Polis about laws being passed without funding. They claim it's putting a burden on local governments, and in some cases, leave taxpayers to foot the bill. The concern started in Mesa County when Commissioner Bobbie Daniel started to notice "unfunded mandates" getting brought up constantly when discussing budget. "I asked, 'Anyone tracking this? Is this something that we're, collectively as an organization, tracking?' And no, and we weren't at the time," Daniel said. "And so I said, "Let's continue looking at this. Let's track it and see what we come up with.'"...
Read More
Colorado Democrats Eye New Map Powers as Weiser Calls for Constitutional Change
No Comments
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Eye New Map Powers as Weiser Calls for Constitutional Change

By: Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser recently becomes the first statewide elected official–and the only candidate for governor–to announce his support for a constitutional amendment allowing Colorado to redistrict congressional seats mid-cycle in his efforts to “Trump-proof” Colorado. Weiser gave a nod to partisan gerrymandering to favor Democrats first on a 9news interview Oct. 23, with his gubernatorial campaign following up with a statement soon after. “When states like Texas and North Carolina redraw their maps to stack the deck in favor of Republicans, Colorado must be prepared to respond,” Weiser says in his statement. If elected governor in 2026, Weiser says he will support a mid-cycle map redrawing before th...
Read More
How a CPR survey of 400 Coloradans on illegal immigration became “statewide opinion”
No Comments
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

How a CPR survey of 400 Coloradans on illegal immigration became “statewide opinion”

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project CPR’s media malpractice To say that CPR’s coverage leans left is to say that the sky is blue. The CPR article linked first below didn’t just lean left, however. It was so noteworthy for getting some basics so wrong that it merits the title media malpractice. There was a recent article by CPR which questioned (I think you could probably go as far as to use the verb “downplayed”) claims by ICE that their agents are facing more and more assaults and threats. That article is linked second below for your perusal. This more recent article, the one linked first below and by a different reporter, follows that earlier effort thematically by focusing largely on what they (the reporters and those interviewed) see as e...
Read More
Colorado AG Joins 21 States in Lawsuit Claiming Student Loan Program Is Politically Biased
No Comments
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado AG Joins 21 States in Lawsuit Claiming Student Loan Program Is Politically Biased

By: Marissa Ventrilli | Colorado Politics Colorado has joined 21 states in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education over placing restrictions on a student loan forgiveness program for public service employees. It’s the latest lawsuit filed by Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is running for governor, against the Trump administration. He has so far pursued more than 40 lawsuits since January. According to the lawsuit, a new federal rule deems certain state and local governments and nonprofit organizations ineligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) if they are found to have engaged in “activities or actions” that are “disfavored” by the Trump Administration, such as providing services for transgender children and promoting diversity, equity...
Read More
Last-minute voter? Your refund might be on the menu
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Last-minute voter? Your refund might be on the menu

By Rocky Mountain Voice Editorial Board Still sitting on your ballot? You’re not alone—Colorado’s full of last-minute voters trying to make sense of Propositions LL and MM before the drop box closes. Both deal with “Healthy School Meals for All,” a free lunch program with a not-so-free price tag. And depending how you vote, your refund might just end up on the menu. How we got here Back in 2022, voters approved Proposition FF, the “Healthy School Meals for All” program that promised every K–12 student a free lunch. It sounded simple until someone had to pay for it. The money came from a new tax on Coloradans earning $300,000 or more—along with wage hikes for cafeteria workers and a nudge to use more local ingredients. Fast-forward to 2025, and the legislature realized there’s e...
Read More
Colorado’s Competitive Edge Fades Under High Taxes and Regulation
No Comments
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado’s Competitive Edge Fades Under High Taxes and Regulation

By: Nash Herman | Complete Colorado The non-partisan Tax Foundation just published its 2026 edition of the State Tax Competitiveness Index. Colorado — already in the bottom half of states for tax competitiveness — continues to slide in the rankings, and the current political trajectory will only exacerbate the situation. Colorado losing its edge  In last year’s index, Colorado placed 32nd in overall tax competitiveness, worse than all of the state’s immediate neighbors.  According to its subcategories, Colorado ranked 10th in corporate taxes, 18th in individual income taxes, 37th in sales taxes, 36th in property taxes, and 39th in unemployment insurance taxes.  This year, Colorado’s rank dropped to 33rd ...
Read More
Why Colorado’s Elections No Longer Belong to Its Voters
No Comments
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Why Colorado’s Elections No Longer Belong to Its Voters

By: Vince Bzdek | Commentary, The Denver Gazette Why is Michael Bloomberg, the former presidential candidate, three-term New York mayor and founder of the financial info firm that bears his name, spending millions on Colorado elections? The short answer: because he can. The liberal New Yorker has donated $2.7 million to support Denver’s flavored tobacco ban, Referendum 301, to be decided on Tuesday. Two of his donations to that campaign were the largest individual contributions in Denver history, according to an Axios analysis. Bloomberg is also the largest donor in the 2026 governor’s race, giving $500,000 to a super-PAC supporting U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s campaign. “This is a very large donation for a statewide race,” Seth Masket, professor of political sc...
Read More
Polis Sounds Alarm on Medicaid Spending: “We Can’t Fund Everything”
No Comments
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Polis Sounds Alarm on Medicaid Spending: “We Can’t Fund Everything”

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Gov. Jared Polis released his budget request for next year, and Medicaid will take a big hit. The governor says the health insurance program for low-income Coloradans is growing at nearly twice the rate of the state government overall. Polis says, if the state doesn't slow the rate of growth, the program will crowd out everything but funding for schools in the next few years. In the state, 1.2 million Coloradans rely on Medicaid. The governor says none of them will lose coverage, but what that coverage looks like will change.  "There's two levers on Medicaid," Polis said during a press conference. "One is how many people you cover, and two is what you cover." Polis' budget request hones in on what services Medicaid covers. "There have bee...
Read More
The Colorado Pastor Rwanda Calls a Terrorist: Christine Coleman’s Fight for Truth and Faith
No Comments
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The Colorado Pastor Rwanda Calls a Terrorist: Christine Coleman’s Fight for Truth and Faith

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice When Pastor Christine Coleman opened a message from a friend in Belgium earlier this month, she didn’t expect to find her own name on Rwanda’s new Domestic Terrorist List. “She texted me and said, ‘Christine, they released a list of terrorists, and you are one of them,’” Coleman recalled. “At first, I was shocked. But then I had a deep joy—because when wicked people hate you, it means you’re doing good.” The document, issued on October 14, 2025, by Rwanda’s National Counter-Terrorism Committee, named twenty-five individuals accused of supporting or financing terrorism. It accused her of “supporting the FLN and inciting terror acts against Rwanda.” Coleman flatly denies the charge. “They cannot find one proof,” she said.&nb...
Read More