Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: John Hickenlooper

A different kind of Republican: Windholz urges support for Dr. Janak Joshi for U.S. Senate
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

A different kind of Republican: Windholz urges support for Dr. Janak Joshi for U.S. Senate

By JoAnn Windholz | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Not all doctors are the same just as not all candidates for elected office are the same.  One such doctor and candidate, Dr. Janak Joshi is my pick to be Colorado's Republican nominee for U.S. Senate. Having served with Dr. Joshi I know he is the perfect example of servant leadership. He treats everyone with dignity and kindness, while refusing to compromise his values and principles.  It’s evident to anyone who knows him that his strong faith and patriotism drive his passion and commitment to protecting Colorado families, providing relief to taxpayers, defending the unborn, and standing strong for our Constitutional liberties.   Dr. Janak Joshi is different from all the rest.   ...
“I’m not a politician”: Montrose commissioner Sean Pond enters U.S. Senate race
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

“I’m not a politician”: Montrose commissioner Sean Pond enters U.S. Senate race

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice “I’m not a politician,” Sean Pond said. “I’m just that guy that stood up and said no to federal overreach.”  Pond said that decision eventually led him beyond local fights. Appointed to the Montrose County Commission in February 2025, Pond said the conversations didn’t stop once he took office. A question sits at the center of Pond’s campaign launch video, released Sunday, and the conversations he said ultimately pushed him into the U.S. Senate race. “What keeps you up at night?” https://youtu.be/mV7iEAuX-fM Pond said the question at the center of his campaign launch video wasn’t new. He said he began asking it months earlier, including on social media, as a way to hear directly from Coloradans about what felt...
Trump Rejects Arkansas Valley Water Pipeline Bill Citing Federal Taxpayer Burden
DENVER7, Approved, State

Trump Rejects Arkansas Valley Water Pipeline Bill Citing Federal Taxpayer Burden

By Sophia Villalba | Denver7 DENVER — President Trump has vetoed a bill aimed at providing reliable, clean drinking water to rural communities in southeastern Colorado. It's another setback for the decades old "Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act" that would have completed a 130-mile pipeline bringing drinking water to 39 Colorado communities on the Eastern Plains. This is the president's first veto of his second term in the Oval Office. He rejected the bipartisan bill that passed both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate unanimously, saying the project would cost federal taxpayers too much money. The Arkansas Valley Conduit was first approved back in 1962, but according to the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, it wasn’t built for deca...
The cost of obedience: How Colorado’s senators strengthened economic malfeasance
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The cost of obedience: How Colorado’s senators strengthened economic malfeasance

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice It is both sad and disappointing that Colorado’s two U.S. senators are incapable of independent thought. As the simple puppets of their overlords, they have selfishly voted fifteen times NOT to reopen the federal government—even though their “no” votes hurt the Coloradans they supposedly represent.  Colorado was already struggling economically before the federal shutdown.  Between January 2023, the start of the post-COVID economy in the U.S., and August 2025, job creation in Colorado had been growing at less than half the national rate and unemployment was growing at around twice the national rate.  How state unemployment changed since January 2023: Colorado up 58.5% vs U.S. 28.5%. How ...
Colorado Leaders Urge Action as SNAP Deadline Nears and Health Enrollment Begins
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado Leaders Urge Action as SNAP Deadline Nears and Health Enrollment Begins

By: Gabrielle Franklin | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — Open enrollment season kicks off in just a couple of days. SNAP benefits are set to run out at the same time on Nov. 1. Some leaders on Capitol Hill say Americans should prepare to be sticker-shocked by an increase in premiums. This is all coming with no deal on healthcare subsidies as Congress remains shut down. Open enrollment begins with no deal on healthcare We heard from both Democrats and Republicans representing Coloradans on Capitol Hill.They have different thoughts about how we got to this point and what could happen next. “This is going to impact everybody, even if you are on an employer-sponsored healthcare. That’s why we need to fix this,” said Congressman Jason Crow, a Democrat representing the state’s 6th ...
Colorado Republicans Slam Bennet, Hickenlooper Over Prolonged Shutdown
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Republicans Slam Bennet, Hickenlooper Over Prolonged Shutdown

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado As the government shutdown stretches into another week, federal funding for food assistance is set to run out in just over a week. Friday was supposed to be the payday for many federal employees who have been furloughed for a month. Instead, some employees got a paystub showing zero dollars. Colorado's Republican members of the United States Congress are growing increasingly frustrated with the refusal of Democratic members to pass a funding bill. U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert, Jeff Crank, Gabe Evans and Jeff Hurd fired off a letter to U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and warned Coloradans are suffering because of the shutdown. Fifty-five thousand federal employees are facing financial hardship, and more than 600,000 Colorada...
Colorado Democrats Push DOE to Restore $600M in Cancelled Energy Grants
Just The News, Approved, State

Colorado Democrats Push DOE to Restore $600M in Cancelled Energy Grants

By: Elyse Apel | Just The News Colorado Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, joined together to sign a letter calling for the U.S. Department of Energy to restore over $600 million in funding for 38 Colorado-affiliated energy projects. Colorado Democrats joined together to sign a letter calling for the U.S. Department of Energy to restore over $600 million in funding for 38 Colorado-affiliated energy projects. In the letter, Colorado's U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, and Colorado U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse, Diana DeGette, Jason Crow and Brittany Pettersen argue the cuts are harmful to the state. “By cancelling over $600 million in energy-sector funding, much of which directly supported grid reliability, DOE is making it more di...
AGNC and Craig urge Congress: Let displaced coal workers access retirement without penalty
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, State, Top Stories

AGNC and Craig urge Congress: Let displaced coal workers access retirement without penalty

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice They built the grid. Now they’re fined for surviving. Colorado coal workers plead for relief amid forced transition fallout. In Craig, a coal worker with $60,000 in retirement savings could lose $6,000 of it overnight—just for trying to survive after losing his job. That’s the reality hundreds of families are facing in Northwest Colorado, where coal plants and mines are shutting down years ahead of schedule and federal tax law is punishing livelihoods already in freefall. Now, the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC) and the City of Craig are calling on Congress to change that. The two entities are urging passage of the Energy Worker Penalty Waiver Act, a federal bill that would exempt displaced coal workers from the standard 1...
Leading Democrats pander to unions as they join King Soopers picket lines
The Center Square, Approved, Local

Leading Democrats pander to unions as they join King Soopers picket lines

By Elyse Apel | The Center Square King Soopers workers have gone on strike across Colorado, with prominent state leaders appearing on the picket line. The Colorado-based grocery store is one of the largest employers in the state. More than 70 stores, many of them in the Denver area, have joined the strike since it began Thursday. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local Union No. 7 initiated the two-week strike of more than 10,000 unionized workers, alleging unfair labor practices. According to a press release, 96% of union members voted to strike. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
Two water bills by Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper advance in lame duck session
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, National

Two water bills by Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper advance in lame duck session

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The race to get bills signed into law before President Joe Biden leaves office is on, and two water bills sponsored by Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Denver, are trying to get on that list. The first is an extension of the Colorado River Basin System Conservation Act, which earlier this year put $125 million into the system conservation pilot program operated by the Upper Colorado River Commission. Under the latest iteration, the act would be extended until 2026. The system conservation pilot program is a voluntary, temporary, and compensated agreement to conserve consumptive use (or depletion) of agricultural, municipal, or industrial water. It was tested between 2015 and 2018 and allowed lapses, but it was restarted in 2023. However, the progr...