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Town of Hudson Sued Over Approval Process for Planned ICE Detention Center
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Town of Hudson Sued Over Approval Process for Planned ICE Detention Center

By: Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette A nonprofit organization filed a lawsuit against the Town of Hudson Wednesday, challenging plans to reopen a former federal prison in the town as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. Together Colorado, along with Janet E. Carlson, filed the case in Colorado District Court in Weld County, alleging the town is not “powerless to act” and that the proposed detention facility violates the town’s zoning laws. “Under Colorado law, Hudson has not only the authority but the obligation and the duty to treat the proposed facility the way it would treat any other new facility proposed within the Town: by applying and enforcing its own Land Development Code,” the lawsuit says. In addition to the ...
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Denver Mayor Defends City Policies While Mapping Out Housing Expansion Plan and Universal Childcare Goal
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Mayor Defends City Policies While Mapping Out Housing Expansion Plan and Universal Childcare Goal

By: Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Nearly a year after Denver cut city jobs to close a $250 million budget gap, Mayor Mike Johnston used his third State of the City address to promise universal childcare and 20,000 homes as part of a new redevelopment vision connecting seven major sites by transit, bicycle and pedestrian routes. Johnston took center stage on Tuesday at the National Western Center, replacing his 2025 city theme “Capital of the New West” with “the open frontier,” as he laid out an ambitious plan for Denver’s future. Among the guests attending Johnston’s address were Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Weiser, former Denver mayors Michael Hancock and Federico Peña, and Melat Kiros, the Democratic socialist wh...
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Federal Judge Dismisses Mesa Sheriff Challenge to Colorado Immigration Law
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Federal Judge Dismisses Mesa Sheriff Challenge to Colorado Immigration Law

By Michael Karlik | The Denver Gazette A federal judge dismissed a challenge from Mesa County Sheriff’s Office leaders last week to a Colorado law limiting public employees’ cooperation with immigration authorities, concluding that the plaintiffs did not allege they engage in any conduct that the law would prohibit. In a July 17 order, U.S. District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher noted that lawmakers only forbade the sharing of personal information “for the purpose of” immigration enforcement. Even then, the law contains exceptions for authorized criminal investigations or necessary duties. “The Court respects that Plaintiffs’ wish to ensure they understand, both for individual reasons and on behalf of the agencies they head or work for, the current bounds of the law ...
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Aurora Congregation Under Review Following Reports Of Homeless Exploitation Scheme
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Aurora Congregation Under Review Following Reports Of Homeless Exploitation Scheme

By: David Migoya | The Denver Gazette Two regional Seventh-day Adventist conferences that oversee the activities of its member churches across several states have launched inquiries into an Aurora-based congregation tied to a Medicaid operation that exploited the homeless. The Rocky Mountain Conference and the Central States Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist church — based in Denver and Kansas City, Kansas, respectively, and representing about 150 congregations in six states — said revelations that a newly created Aurora church was part of that enterprise were troubling. A Denver Gazette investigation into “The Program” showed how the Maranatha Indonesian-American Seventh-day Adventist Church was connected to a home-health agency that over three years collec...
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Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Law Takes Effect Aug. 1
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Colorado’s New Semiautomatic Firearm Law Takes Effect Aug. 1

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette A Colorado law passed in 2025 established new requirements for individuals planning to purchase semiautomatic weapons. Here’s what residents should know before Senate Bill 003 goes into effect on Aug. 1. From a ban to a training course For decades, advocates have been pushing for a ban on semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines, which they have described as “assault weapons,” though efforts escalated following the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. After the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 1224, which prohibited the sale, transfer and possession of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds. However, some advocates wanted mor...
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Polis Warns Socialism Could Destroy Colorado
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Polis Warns Socialism Could Destroy Colorado

By: The Denver Gazette | The Denver Gazette The ideological divide within the Colorado Democratic Party once more burst into the open on Wednesday when Gov. Jared Polis responded to a legislator’s criticism by referencing Zimbabwe’s socialist experiment. “Thanks to socialism, the average Zimbabwean became a trillionaire,” the governor posted on X, using his personal account, referring to the oft-repeated sarcastic jab at the African nation, which experienced one of the worst inflationary arcs in history under Robert Mugabe. Polis was responding to Rep. Yara Zokaie, D-Fort Collins, who said the governor is scared of socialists because of his wealth. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Douglas County Replaces Flock Cameras With $22.8 Million Axon Public Safety System
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Douglas County Replaces Flock Cameras With $22.8 Million Axon Public Safety System

By: Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is abandoning the controversial Flock Safety camera system, joining a growing number of Colorado law enforcement agencies that have raised concerns about data privacy and ownership. The Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a nearly $22.8 million contract with public safety technology company Axon that will replace the county’s network of Flock Safety license plate reader cameras and add a countywide drone response system. The package includes 100 Axon Outpost license plate reader cameras, replacing the county’s existing 50 Flock cameras, as well as a network of “first responder drones” stationed throughout the county. Officials said the technology will improve emergency res...
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Utilities Push Record $9.2 Billion In New Rate Increases During Second Quarter
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Utilities Push Record $9.2 Billion In New Rate Increases During Second Quarter

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Colorado had no requests last quarter Electric and gas utilities sought a record $9.2 billion in rate increases nationwide during the second quarter, according to a new analysis by the consumer advocacy organization PowerLines, as utilities continue seeking billions for grid upgrades, reliability improvements and growing electricity demand. The filings would affect more than 56 million customers and push this year’s total requested rate increases to $18.6 billion, the consumer advocacy group said. Colorado was largely absent from the report’s tally of second-quarter rate requests because Xcel Energy’s major electric rate case was already pending before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The utility originally so...
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New History Exhibit Explores the Triumphs Trials and Transformation of Colorado
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

New History Exhibit Explores the Triumphs Trials and Transformation of Colorado

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette After three and a half years in Colorado, I knew the state had mountains and sunshine. What I didn’t know was how often Colorado has reinvented itself. Or why Colorado is the way it is. After a 90-minute tour with Katherine Mercier — a historian who developed the “38th Star” exhibition at the History Colorado Center — I began to understand the why. Colorado celebrates its 150th anniversary as a state on Aug. 1. I’ve always thought of Colorado as a blue state. But that wasn’t the case in the years before statehood. Politicians viewed Colorado through a very different lens — as a place more likely to send Republicans to Congress and the White House. This political reality shaped Colorado’s long ...
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Rye Evacuations Continue As Aspen Acres Fire Nears 100,000 Acres
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Rye Evacuations Continue As Aspen Acres Fire Nears 100,000 Acres

By: Savannah Eller and Nick Smith | The Denver Gazette The wait has no end in sight for evacuated residents of Rye, near where the Aspen Acres fire continues to burn in rough, tinder-dry terrain to the west. While about 6,400 people have been able to return to communities like Colorado City, Wetmore and Beulah, Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero told attendees at a community meeting Tuesday night that conditions were not yet safe for an additional 3,000 displaced people. “I wish I had the answer,” he said. The problem, explained Brad Washa, operations section chief with the Alaska Complex Incident Management Team, is fuel and weather. He said the part of the fire burning near St. Charles Peak is finding extremely receptive fuel in Engelman spruce trees, many of ...
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