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Colorado lawmakers funded an office to handle complaints against judges. No one set it up.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado lawmakers funded an office to handle complaints against judges. No one set it up.

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun In the wake of an alleged blackmail and harassment scandal that roiled the state judicial branch, the Colorado legislature in 2023 created an independent office to help ensure it didn’t happen again. But two years later, the ombudsman office still doesn’t exist — and it’s not clear why. The apparent oversight came to light this week when a legislative budget staffer — looking line by line for things to cut from the state’s operating budget to close a $1.2 billion shortfall — discovered an oddity: a $400,000 budget for an agency that had no employees, hadn’t made a budget request and didn’t appear to exist anywhere but on paper. “This independent agency does not exist,” Craig Harper, the legislative budget staff director told the Joint Budg...
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Universal preschool bill dies as some Colorado programs still complain of bumps
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Universal preschool bill dies as some Colorado programs still complain of bumps

By Ann Schimke | Chalkbeat Colorado via The Colorado Sun Colorado’s $344 million universal preschool program is popular among families, but some providers say they’re still wrestling with problems that make it hard for families to secure seats or for preschools to sustain themselves financially. Some preschool directors want greater access to the state’s preschool sign-up system. Others want to be paid by the state before kids step into their classrooms — not a month later. Some providers also want more leeway on preschool class sizes, which the state will cap at 20 by 2026 for most preschools. These are a few of the sticking points that remain a year and a half after the rocky launch of universal preschool. State lawmakers proposed a bill meant to address these and other issues, ...
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Colorado education groups ask lawmakers to devise plan to boost school funding, eye 2026 ballot measure
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado education groups ask lawmakers to devise plan to boost school funding, eye 2026 ballot measure

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun Colorado education advocacy groups are banding together to call on lawmakers to begin more seriously examining how to close the gap between the amount Colorado spends on public education and the amount necessary to fully fund schools.  Following the results of two recent adequacy studies that indicate Colorado is underfunding education by billions of dollars, the organizations say the time to start figuring out how to steer more funding toward schools is now, even as Colorado faces a particularly tight budget year. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Will Colorado Springs’ growth come at cost to Eastern Plains? Farmers say yes.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Will Colorado Springs’ growth come at cost to Eastern Plains? Farmers say yes.

By Shannon Mullane | The Colorado Sun The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District stepped up its fight against a massive Colorado Springs annexation, citing concerns that water from farms in southeastern Colorado would be used to supply 6,500 new homes and businesses to support them. The district, which serves Pueblo, Crowley, Bent, Otero and Prowers counties, passed a resolution outlining the threats its communities face when Colorado Springs expands.  Big cities in Colorado regularly turn to agricultural water to get more water to satisfy their growth. For farmers and ranchers, selling or leasing water to cities can mean drying up farmland, laying off workers or compromising their way of life. A recently approved annexation plan, the Karman Line project n...
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Grand County ranchers will receive almost $350k in compensation for animals lost to wolves last year
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Grand County ranchers will receive almost $350k in compensation for animals lost to wolves last year

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Two ranchers who lost livestock to wolf attacks in Grand County will receive nearly $350,000 in compensation for losses reported starting a year ago after the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved the payment during its monthly meeting Wednesday.  Farrell Livestock will receive $287,407.63 for sheep and cattle losses and Bruchez and Sons will receive $56,008 for cattle losses. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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With measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, is it time for Colorado to worry?
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

With measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, is it time for Colorado to worry?

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun The ongoing measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico is edging closer to Colorado, at least geographically. Four cases — and possibly a fifth — have been reported in the Texas Panhandle county of Dallam, which sits about 35 miles south of Colorado’s southern border, separated by the Oklahoma Panhandle. This doesn’t mean an outbreak is imminent in Colorado, of course. But state health officials have been getting ready in case one is. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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6% of Colorado land is supposed to be protected by conservation easements. But who enforces them?
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

6% of Colorado land is supposed to be protected by conservation easements. But who enforces them?

By Jerd Smith | The Colorado Sun The landscape of sprawling pastures dotted with ponderosa pines and towering square buttes that bridges Interstate 25 south of Castle Rock and north of Monument is vast, quiet and largely undeveloped. Colorado voters wanted it that way 25 years ago when conservation groups, a former governor and a billionaire stepped in to forever protect this high-profile corridor from future development. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Citing overreach by Democrats, Sen. Mark Baisley becomes second Republican to enter race for governor
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Citing overreach by Democrats, Sen. Mark Baisley becomes second Republican to enter race for governor

By Bente Birkeland | The Colorado Sun The list of Republicans aiming for Colorado’s top office is growing. Two current statehouse Republicans have officially entered the race for governor in 2026, when Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is term limited. Colorado has not elected a Republican governor since Bill Owens handily defeated a Democrat in 2002.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Does Colorado get back more or less than it spends in federal taxes?
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Does Colorado get back more or less than it spends in federal taxes?

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun If you ever feel like you may be in a one-sided relationship with the federal government come tax season, there’s a chance you’re right. It’s not you, it’s them. The focus lately on federal spending cuts has highlighted the importance that massive amounts of federal money play in all 50 states. But there’s another perspective to this issue: For some states, the amount they receive back in federal funding is less than what they pay in taxes. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Sen. Michael Bennet is ‘very, very seriously’ considering Democratic run for governor, senior aides say
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Sen. Michael Bennet is ‘very, very seriously’ considering Democratic run for governor, senior aides say

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is “very, very seriously” considering a run for Colorado governor in 2026, according to two senior aides, as he contemplates how to most effectively push back against the Trump administration.  The aides spoke Friday to The Colorado Sun on the condition of anonymity to relay personal conversations they’ve had with Bennet. The staffers said Bennet has been making phone calls to Colorado political and civic leaders as he mulls his decision.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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