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State Regulators Override Elbert County To Advance Massive Power Line Project
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Local

State Regulators Override Elbert County To Advance Massive Power Line Project

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) recently sided with Xcel Energy in overriding Elbert County’s denial of a permit for the monopoly utility’s $1.7 billion power line project. The decision was based on a rarely used state statute. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, both Elbert and El Paso counties previously denied Xcel’s permit request to build a massive transmission line that slices directly through Colorado’s Eastern Plains. Colorado’s Power Pathway Project is 550-mile line connecting wind and solar energy generated in eastern counties to Denver metro-area communities. The project is a vital part of Governor Polis’ ambitious, though increasingly unrealistic mandate for 100% renewable energy ...
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Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, Local

Colorado Regulators Override Local Denial To Advance Renewable Energy Grid

By Mark Jaffe | The Colorado Sun The ruling was based on a statute used just 3 times in 21 years allowing regulators to override local land use decisions on electric and gas infrastructure projects. State utility regulators have overruled local land use decisions and cleared the way for Xcel Energy to build its $1.7 billion Power Pathway transmission line through Elbert County. The line will bring Eastern Plains wind and solar to the Front Range. The Elbert County Commission voted in June 2025 to deny Xcel Energy two key permits responding to protests by landowners and ranchers and an unwillingness by the utility to reroute the path, which cut through the heart of the county. The county commission and many landowners sought to have the route moved fa...
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Colorado Lawmakers Move To Rein In Utility Eminent Domain After Xcel Land Dispute
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Move To Rein In Utility Eminent Domain After Xcel Land Dispute

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics After months of backlash over Xcel Energy’s use of eminent domain in eastern Colorado, lawmakers representing Elbert and El Paso counties are advancing legislation that would bar utilities from initiating property takings until they’ve secured state approval and all required local permits — a move supporters say will restore fairness and prevent landowners from being forced into legal limbo. House Bill 1278, sponsored by Rep. Chris Richardson, R-Elizabeth, and Sens. Marc Snyder, D-Colorado Springs, and Rod Pelton, R-Cheyenne Wells, would require utilities to receive a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Public Utilities Commission, as well as all necessary local land use approvals and permits, before initiating em...
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State Regulators Set Hearing on El Paso County Rejection of Xcel Power Line Permits
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

State Regulators Set Hearing on El Paso County Rejection of Xcel Power Line Permits

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Proposed routing for Xcel’s Power Pathway project in eastern and southeastern Colorado (Courtesy of Xcel Energy)      Colorado regulators plan a public hearing next week on Xcel Energy’s appeal to override El Paso County’s rejection of permits for a major transmission line segment. The hearing renews debate over a statewide renewable energy project that rural residents argue threatens property rights, wildfire safety and local landscapes without delivering benefits to their communities. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission scheduled the in-person session for 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at Swink Hall in the El Paso County Fair and Events Center, 366 10th St., Calhan, to gather comments on Xcel’s request to build 45 mil...
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Elbert County Pushes Back as Xcel Tries to Force Power Line Route Through Private Land
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Elbert County Pushes Back as Xcel Tries to Force Power Line Route Through Private Land

By: Tori Mason, Jaimie Dodge | CBS Colorado Elbert County neighbors have spent years fighting Xcel Energy, and it's not even their utility. Residents say they're exhausted, scared, and furious as Xcel works to push ahead with a transmission project that would cut directly through their land. Residents along the proposed Power Pathway route are still battling the utility over a segment of the 550-mile transmission line that would cross Elbert County. More than 50 people spoke against the project at a public hearing on Tuesday in Kiowa. Commissioners denied Xcel's local permit in June, but the company is now appealing to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC), which will make the final decision. That ruling isn't expected until April 2026. READ...
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Campaign Signs for Elizabeth School Board Defaced With Hate Symbols
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Local, Approved, kdvr.com

Campaign Signs for Elizabeth School Board Defaced With Hate Symbols

By Anna Coon | KDVR Fox31 ELBERT, Colo. (KDVR) — Three candidates for the Elizabeth School Board woke up Tuesday to a disturbing sight: their campaign signs had been vandalized. David Fletcher, a current school board member and one of the candidates whose sign was defaced, said he wasn’t surprised to see the damage. The signs, which he shares with two other conservative candidates, were all marked with swastikas early Tuesday morning. “I think that they are just some people that are filled with hate,” Fletcher said. “Who knew I was going to be painted as a Nazi just for running for school board?” Fletcher says tensions in the local political scene have likely increased due to the district’s ongoing court battle with the ACLU over books it tried to remove from school libraries. ...
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Judge overrules Elizabeth School District, forces return of books parents objected to
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Judge overrules Elizabeth School District, forces return of books parents objected to

By Michael Karlik | Denver Gazette An Elbert County school district confirmed on Friday to a federal judge that it has restored 19 restricted books to library shelves after she found the school board likely violated the First Amendment rights of students and authors by removing the titles for ideological reasons. Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit declined to suspend, or stay, a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney. Previously, Sweeney ordered the Elizabeth School District to return the restricted books to libraries, and she set a specific date of April 5. The 10th Circuit put that order temporarily on hold while it took an initial look at the case, before ultimately deciding against intervention...
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Elbert County commissioners seek to dismiss lawsuit filed by county residents
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Elbert County commissioners seek to dismiss lawsuit filed by county residents

By Deborah Grigsby | Colorado Politics, via Denver Gazette Three Elbert County Commissioners named in a lawsuit alleging they conducted official business outside of public purview have asked the court to dismiss the case that could hold them financially responsible for contracts they awarded. In September, a group of Elbert County residents sued the board and commissioners Chris Richardson, Dallas Schroeder, and Grant Thayer in their official capacities after it was discovered they gave hefty employment contracts to County Manager Shawn Fletcher and longtime County Attorney Bart Greer.  The defendants, as stated in court documents filed on Friday, assert that two plaintiffs' three claims are moot because the county approved the employment contracts in question at a speci...
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‘Concerned Citizens’ charge that Elbert Co. commissioners violated open meetings law on contracts
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

‘Concerned Citizens’ charge that Elbert Co. commissioners violated open meetings law on contracts

By Deborah Grigsby | Colorado Politics A group of Elbert County residents was hoping to resolve several lingering questions about how County Manager Shawn Fletcher and longtime County Attorney Bart Greer landed hefty new employment contracts without providing public notice—and outside of a public meeting. Known collectively as “Concerned Citizens,” Elbert County residents Kenneth Cardwell, Jill Duvall, Jim Duvall, Chris Hatton, Nic Meyer, Robert Rowland and Bob Ware have retained the law firm of Zansberg Beylkin, LLC to compel County Commissioners Chris Richardson, Dallas Schroeder and Grant Thayer to “formally acknowledge” that the two contracted the county entered into with Fletcher and Greer are “legally invalid” because they were were approved outside of a public meeting.  ...
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Substantial pay raises for county manager, attorney led to heated Elbert County town hall
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Approved, Elbert County News, Local

Substantial pay raises for county manager, attorney led to heated Elbert County town hall

By Nicky Quinby | Elbert County News Amid controversies over pay hikes for local government executives and Xcel Energy’s power-line plans, the July 17 Elbert County Commissioners Town Hall Meeting was hotly anticipated and well-attended. Wendy Walp, Elbert resident and treasurer for the Elbert Women’s Club, said the turnout was much bigger than the last town hall in Elbert. People trickled in well after the 6:30 p.m. start time at the Russell Gates Mercantile Building. The meeting started off calmly with a county update from the commissioners, though many had difficulty hearing and frequently yelled for the commissioners to speak up. READ THE FULL STORY AT ELBERT COUNTY NEWS
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