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Tag: Heidi Ganahl

Heidi Ganahl and Tori Stork end the “DougCo Dirty Dozen” with a warning to voters
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Heidi Ganahl and Tori Stork end the “DougCo Dirty Dozen” with a warning to voters

By RMV Staff | Rocky Mountain Voice If Colorado’s education battles mirror the nation’s divide, Douglas County may be the front line. After two weeks and twelve hard-hitting episodes, Heidi Ganahl and her daughter, Tori Stork (formerly Ganahl), have made their case through the “Douglas County Dirty Dozen” video series: the state’s most conservative district is facing a coordinated push from national unions and progressive networks intent on steering local classrooms away from parents and community values. The First Six: Unions, Books, and Boundaries Heidi Ganahl's first six videos exposed the growing influence of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in Douglas County. Four candidates—Kyrzia Parker, Clark Callahan, Tony Ryan, and Kelly Denzler—each received $2,500 from AFT Col...
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Durango’s School Board Debacle: Radical Rot, Predator Blind Spots, and a Herald Hug
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Durango’s School Board Debacle: Radical Rot, Predator Blind Spots, and a Herald Hug

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Durango used to be the kind of place where families felt good about sending their kids to school. But things shifted over the years —and not in a good way. With a critical school board election just days away, parents are speaking out. And what they’re saying is hard to ignore. What I learned from the families who helped shape the Durango Dirty Dozen series was both heartbreaking and hopeful. They painted a clear picture of a district losing touch with its mission—and of a community ready to fight back.  They told me about confusing bathroom rules, lavish DEI spending, and a media outlet more interested in enabling coverups than accountability. Their message was clear: kids are being left behind. Let’s start with bathrooms...
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Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” puts union power on trial ahead of school board elections
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” puts union power on trial ahead of school board elections

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice If the union were grading its own influence, the American Federation of Teachers would be giving itself an A+. Parents, on the other hand, are handing out detention slips—and Heidi Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” is the roll call. With ballots out and school board races underway, Heidi Ganahl has posted six “Douglas County Dirty Dozen” videos asking one question—who sets priorities inside local classrooms? Her focus is the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and four Douglas County candidates backed by $2,500 donations from AFT Colorado each—proof, she says, that national politics are steering local schools. “These aren’t local debates anymore,” Ganahl said. “The same union driving politics in Washington is writing the playbook for our school...
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“They don’t care”: Unleashed podcast spotlights Durango parents’ loss of trust
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

“They don’t care”: Unleashed podcast spotlights Durango parents’ loss of trust

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Hunter Opilla didn’t expect to speak at a school board meeting when his family moved to Durango two years ago. But after learning about the district’s gender bathroom policy—and the board’s decision to reverse a superintendent directive—he says he felt he had no choice. “Just blank stares,” Opilla recalled on a recent episode of Heidi Ganahl’s Unleashed podcast. “The board never responded to my emails.” Ganahl’s latest podcast brings together a concerned father and a charter school founder to unpack what they call a pattern of political overreach and parental exclusion in Durango Schools. The conversation echoes issues previously covered by Rocky Mountain Voice in its Dirty Dozen series and recent reporting on board transparency and trust. Th...
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From CSU Canvas Stadium to classrooms: Colorado faces a culture reckoning
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From CSU Canvas Stadium to classrooms: Colorado faces a culture reckoning

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice At CSU’s vigil for Charlie Kirk, speakers moved from grief to courage, tying the moment to a generational fight for truth. In Fort Collins, Canvas Stadium was bathed in light as thousands raised their phones in unison, a modern candlelit vigil for Charlie Kirk. The glow stretched across the stands, a silent tribute led by the students he had inspired. Thousands filled CSU’s Canvas Stadium for the Charlie Kirk vigil. “Conservatives and Christians on college campuses were told to be quiet, but Charlie gave us our voice to stand up for what we believe in, to love America and to love Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, our king,” said Gabe Saint, president of Turning Point USA’s Wyoming chapter. He described hundreds of students reaching...
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Faith under fire: Grief, risk—and the legacy Charlie left behind
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Faith under fire: Grief, risk—and the legacy Charlie left behind

By Jen Schumann | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Grief is an ember. Handled well, it can light a thousand torches. Pastor Chris Goble put it plainly—Charlie “died because he was willing to do things that we weren’t”—then pictured that spark rising into a bonfire of new voices. The scene in Orem set the tone, the flight to Phoenix confirmed it—and the work ahead now belongs to those willing to carry the heat without burning out. The cost of courage For Heidi Ganahl, the loss feels like “a gaping hole” in the conservative movement. “Freedom can be dangerous,” she said. “And it took a dear friend’s life.” Goble anchored that grief in scripture, drawing parallels to the early church. “We live in a spiritual cosmic war,” he said. “We have to expect both real and spiritual bulle...
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To American Youth: We’re passing you the torch
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Top Stories

To American Youth: We’re passing you the torch

By Jen Schumann | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice I’m writing this from a rainy weekend in Vallecito, Colorado, sitting in a small A-frame with my young adult son. It’s quiet here, but grief followed me. In the past I think about how inadequate I am to help my children and grandchildren face adversity and challenges in life and I see how fallible my attempts are. And yet, in this moment, I feel — with Charlie Kirk — emboldened in a way I never have before, even though we are heartbroken. To American youth: this is for you. Like so many others, I’ve been wrestling with how to make sense of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. I am a mom, a grandma and a former teacher. But like Charlie taught countless young people, we don’t stop when life is heavy — we take up the torch. What...
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Remembering Charlie Kirk: Colorado memorial service set for Sunday
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Remembering Charlie Kirk: Colorado memorial service set for Sunday

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice This Sunday, September 14, BRAVE Church will host a memorial service and prayer vigil to honor the life of Charlie Kirk. The service begins at 2 p.m. MT and will be held at Brave Church campuses in Englewood and Westminster. Speakers include Pastor Jeff, Jeff Hunt, Heidi Ganahl and Victor Marx. Pastor Jeff is the founder and senior pastor of BRAVE Church. Since launching the church in 2010, he has grown it to three campuses and a K–12 BRAVE Academy, while also hosting a nationally broadcast radio program that challenges listeners to live boldly in their faith. “Charlie Kirk was a friend, a courageous brother in Christ, a bold voice for truth and a man who loved his family,” said Pastor Jeff. “He will be deeply missed but his legacy will co...
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From Oregon to Boulder – The early fights that shaped Charlie Kirk
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Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

From Oregon to Boulder – The early fights that shaped Charlie Kirk

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Some leaders visit a place. Charlie Kirk kept coming back. Heidi Ganahl saw it up close. “Charlie always saw hope in Colorado… he never gave up on Colorado. He always came here,” she said. “He was one of the only ones that really stood strong with me when I was getting so vilified in the governor’s race… a great mentor and teacher to me.” From her vantage point as a CU Regent and a candidate, his loyalty was unmistakable. But his roots with Colorado’s conservative movement stretch back even further, to one of the first college students he ever backed: Heidi’s daughter Tori. Early days in Ducks country The first spark came in 2016 after a chance introduction. Tori recalls that her grandpa sat next to Charlie at an Leadership of the Rocki...
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