Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Jeff Hurd

Trump Administration Releases Key Funds For Colorado River Water Project
Approved, State, The Denver Gazette

Trump Administration Releases Key Funds For Colorado River Water Project

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The Trump administration on Friday released $40 million, clearing the way for a water district and its partners to finish funding the purchase of some of the state’s most senior Colorado River water rights, Gov. Jared Polis announced. Federal funding for the Shoshone water rights owned by Public Service Company, a division of Xcel Energy, was approved by the Biden administration in 2024 through the Inflation Reduction Act. An executive order issued shortly after President Donald Trump took office in January 2025 put that funding on hold. With the $40 million in federal funding on its way, the project’s funding now stands at $97 million, close enough to its $99 million total cost that the Colorado River Conservation District can move int...
Coastal desalination could save Colorado’s water. The pushback? Cost
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Coastal desalination could save Colorado’s water. The pushback? Cost

By Michael J Badagliacco, “MJB” | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s water rights must never become a bargaining chip.  The 1922 Colorado River Compact apportioned 7.5 million acre-feet annually to the Upper Basin, including Colorado, and the same amount to the Lower Basin states. The 1928 Boulder Canyon Project Act fixed specific Lower Basin shares: California 4.4 million acre-feet, Arizona 2.8 million acre-feet, and Nevada 0.3 million acre-feet. The 1948 Upper Colorado River Basin Compact later assigned Colorado roughly 51.75% of the Upper Basin’s share, or about 3.86 million acre-feet. The 1964 Arizona v. California Supreme Court decree confirmed federal oversight of these mainstream allocations while highlighting the need for supply solutions beyond repeate...
Farmers Ranchers And Fuel Costs Drive Debate In Colorado Congressional Race
Vail Daily, Approved, Local

Farmers Ranchers And Fuel Costs Drive Debate In Colorado Congressional Race

By David O. Williams | Vail Daily Republican Ron Hanks, a former state lawmaker and U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, told the Vail Daily in a recent email interview that this year’s race for the 3rd Congressional District seat that includes part of Eagle County is all about accountability — a quality he says incumbent Republican Jeff Hurd severely lacks. “Hurd has not been responsive to the district, has taken unpopular positions, and has not stood up to take accountability for his actions,” said Hanks, who successfully landed on the June 30 primary ballot by virtue of a voice vote at the GOP Assembly in Pueblo last month. Hanks, who unsuccessfully challenged Hurd in the 2024 primary, got the required 30% or more of the delegates at the assembly, whi...
Outside Money Fuels Push To Redraw Colorado Congressional Districts For Democrats
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Outside Money Fuels Push To Redraw Colorado Congressional Districts For Democrats

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Coloradans For a Level Playing Field received $150,000 from a nonprofit tied to a federal super PAC controlled by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. A nonprofit tied to Democratic leadership in the U.S. House is financing a redistricting effort in Colorado that would make the party favored to win seven of the state’s eight congressional seats, up from the four it controls now. House Majority Forward gave $150,000 on Feb. 25 to Coloradans For a Level Playing Field, the issue committee working to put a measure on the November ballot redrawing the state’s congressional districts.  The nonprofit, which doesn’t disclose its donors, is aligned with the House Majority PAC, a federal super PAC controlled by House Minority Lead...
Trump re-endorses Hurd in CD3: Says Scheppelman will exit race
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Trump re-endorses Hurd in CD3: Says Scheppelman will exit race

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional reporting, including comments from Colorado Republican Party Secretary Russ Andrews and a statement from Hope Scheppelman confirming she has suspended her campaign. President Donald Trump on Friday morning reversed course in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, re-endorsing Rep. Jeff Hurd and announcing that former challenger Hope Scheppelman would step out of the race to join his administration—a move she later confirmed in a campaign statement. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Scheppelman and her husband Steven—both Navy veterans—will leave the campaign trail “to join my Administration, in a capacity to be determined,” calling them “wonderful and patriotic” supporters of the...
Colorado Lawmakers Split on Iran
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Split on Iran

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Colorado’s congressional delegation split sharply along party lines Saturday after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, triggering a fresh debate in America over presidential war powers. Trump announced early Saturday morning that U.S and Israeli forces had begun “Operation Epic Fury” after multiple explosions were reported around Iran. Later in the day, the president said that Iran’s leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed. Iranian state media also confirmed Khamenei’s death. Both sides of the political aisle agree that Iran — one official called the country a “terrorist state” — should never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. But Democrats and Republicans clashed over the latest operations, just ...
After Trump pulls endorsement, CD3 Republicans weigh loyalty and constitutional independence
State, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

After Trump pulls endorsement, CD3 Republicans weigh loyalty and constitutional independence

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke his endorsement of Rep. Jeff Hurd and instead back primary challenger Hope Scheppelman reshaped the Republican race in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. It also sharpened a debate inside the party: does representation mean standing firm on constitutional ground—even when that conflicts with the president—or aligning closely with the America First agenda? From Durango to Grand Junction, Republicans are trying to sort out what Trump’s move means—not just for June, but for November. A question of representation Delta County resident Shirley Bauer said Trump’s announcement hit her hard. “When I heard President Trump pulled his endorsement of Rep. Jeff Hurd, it honestly thr...
High Court Says Congress Holds Tariff Power Drawing Fast Response From Colorado Lawmakers
kdvr.com, Approved, State

High Court Says Congress Holds Tariff Power Drawing Fast Response From Colorado Lawmakers

By Brooke Williams | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a bulk of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports from many foreign trading partners. The Supreme Court justices ruled 6-3 that his expanded use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs without Congressional approval was unlawful. The act gives the sitting president authority to regulate various economic transactions after declaring a national emergency, according to Congress.gov. Trump is the first president to attempt to invoke the act to impose tariffs. “Changes in the use of IEEPA powers since the act’s enactment in 1977, including its use to impose tariffs on imports from almost all countries in 2025, have caused some Membe...
Colorado Ballot Push Aims To Redraw Maps And Diminish GOP Representation
Colorado Public Radio, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Push Aims To Redraw Maps And Diminish GOP Representation

By Caitlyn Kim | CPR News The group Coloradans for a Level Playing Field wants to put an initiative on the 2026 ballot that would allow the state to draw new Congressional maps for 2028 and 2030. If voters approve, the state would join the redistricting tit-for-tat going on across the country after President Donald Trump urged Texas to redraw its congressional map to help Republicans retain control of the House in 2026. Several other Red and Blue states have followed or plan on following suit, such as Missouri, North Carolina, California and Virginia. “No one wanted to have to take this action,” said Curtis Hubbard, spokesperson for Coloradans for a Level Playing Field, adding independent commissions that make such decisions are ideal. “But with Donald Trump and his MA...
The warning before SPEED: How an ongoing Colorado wolf dispute shaped the permitting debate
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

The warning before SPEED: How an ongoing Colorado wolf dispute shaped the permitting debate

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Before Congress voted to overhaul the nation’s permitting process, a Colorado lawmaker had already issued a formal warning that federal law was being set aside in the rush to move forward. On December 13, 2024, Rep. Lauren Boebert sent a detailed letter to then–Interior Secretary Deb Haaland arguing that Colorado’s wolf reintroduction plan triggered federal jurisdiction and could not legally proceed without updated federal Resource Management Plans and a proper National Environmental Policy Act review. She asked the Department of the Interior to press pause on any additional wolf imports until those federal duties were met. More than a year later, the House passed the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic De...

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