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Weld County Gives Green Light to Colorado’s Largest Data Center Near Windsor
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Weld County Gives Green Light to Colorado’s Largest Data Center Near Windsor

By Peter Choi | Denver7 The 41-acre project could become Colorado's largest data center, but community members raised concerns about water, noise, the power grid, and outreach. GREELEY, Colo. — The Weld County Board of Commissioners voted 5-0 Wednesday to approve a proposed data center that could become the largest in Colorado. The roughly 41-acre data center is planned for the former Carestream Health site in an unincorporated area of Weld County near Windsor. The New York-based company Global AI is proposing the project. During a public hearing on Wednesday, commissioners heard from the company and community members who raised concerns about the project's potential impacts, including water use, noise, the power grid, and the company's outreach to nearby resi...
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Douglas County Is Working. Why Redesign a Government That Has Served It So Well?
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Douglas County Is Working. Why Redesign a Government That Has Served It So Well?

By C. J. Garbo | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Douglas County voters will soon be asked to make a consequential decision about the structure of their county government. A citizen-initiated ballot measure proposes expanding the Board of County Commissioners from three members to five, with the expanded board composed either of five commissioners elected by district or three elected by district and two elected at large. The current commissioners have referred a separate measure that would allow voters, if they approve expansion, to preserve countywide elections for all five commissioners. Supporters of the expansion have framed their argument around representation, accountability, and population growth. Douglas County has unquestionably grown, and it is reasonable to perio...
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New Poll Finds Johnston and Denver City Council Losing Favorability
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

New Poll Finds Johnston and Denver City Council Losing Favorability

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s favorability rating fell 7 percentage points over the past year, while the City Council’s favorability rating dropped 3 percentage points, a new poll has found. A little more than a year after taking office, Johnston had enjoyed a 48% favorability rating among likely voters. That declined to 46% in 2025, sliding to 39% in 2026, according to a new Colorado Polling Institute poll. Half of likely voters hold an unfavorable opinion of him, up 4 percentage points from last year. The City Council’s favorability rating climbed from 34% in 2024 to 41% in 2025 but it fell to 38% in 2026. “Voters who hold a favorable view of the mayor are largely anchored by the view that he is ‘getting th...
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Castle Rock Council Approves New School Land Rules Despite District Concerns
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Castle Rock Council Approves New School Land Rules Despite District Concerns

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado Douglas County School District is grappling with a change in law in one of its most populous communities. The Castle Rock Town Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night changing the way land and funds dedicated to schools are allocated. Historically, developers have dedicated land or funding for future public schools. The town holds these assets until the district is ready to build a school, but now the district will need to meet certain conditions and timelines, or the land may be used for other purposes. There are currently 13 sites in Castle Rock planned for schools. The ordinance cites "changing demographic trends, school enrollment patterns, and long-range capital planning" as reasons many of them may not be developed into schools fo...
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Colorado Counties Push Back as CPW Rules Could Silence Local Voices
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Counties Push Back as CPW Rules Could Silence Local Voices

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The September meeting of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission will feature newly revised public‑comment rules — changes introduced by chair Jay Tutchton of Bent County, who announced them without first discussing the revisions publicly with the rest of the commission. Tutchton set forth the new rules as follows: The general public comment agenda item will be set at 60 minutes.  Virtual and in-person commenters will be called at random, replacing the previous first-come, first-served system of signing up and prioritizing in-person first opportunities.  The Commission will hear commenters in a two-thirds split, allowing only a third of the speakers to come from the online platform. Priority, in terms of receiving a...
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Audit Finds Denver Oversight Failures Added Millions to 16th Street Project
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Audit Finds Denver Oversight Failures Added Millions to 16th Street Project

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Surprise historic sewer discovery delayed completion a year, cost $18M The Denver Auditor recently found significant oversight and contracting problems with the $175.6 million 16th Street Improvement Project, including an $18 million contract increase and a nearly one-year extension that bypassed City Council review. The report also found that inadequate planning for historic brick sewers contributed to the overruns, even after one of the three qualified contractors withdrew from bidding because of utility risks. The city proceeded without fully investigating those risks, which later contributed to the $18 million increase and nearly yearlong delay. “Because the city did not consider the sewer while planning...
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Colorado Cities Wrestle With Costs and Benefits of Data Center Expansion
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Axios Denver, Approved, State

Colorado Cities Wrestle With Costs and Benefits of Data Center Expansion

By Alayna Alvarez | Axios Denver Colorado communities are taking dramatically different approaches to the boom in data center development, with a patchwork of moratoriums, incentives and new restrictions. Why it matters: The local experimentation is filling a vacuum left by state lawmakers, who failed last legislative session to agree on how Colorado should regulate the resource-hungry facilities. State of play: The fragmentation sets up another potential fight at the Colorado State Capitol next year over how to capture the upside of data center development without saddling communities with their enormous electricity, water and infrastructure demands. Driving the news: Denver — which already has 50 data centers — has&...
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The cheap politics of acknowledgment: Joondeph’s case against Denver’s plan
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American Thinker, Approved, Commentary, Local

The cheap politics of acknowledgment: Joondeph’s case against Denver’s plan

By Brian C. Joondeph | Commentary, American Thinker Not long ago, I attended a Sunday service at a Methodist church in Denver. Before the service began, the pastor introduced herself, shared her preferred pronouns, and informed the congregation that we were worshipping on stolen Native American land. I remember wondering why, if the land had truly been stolen, the church still owned it. I wrote about it on these pages.  Now Denver’s City Council wants to add another public ritual to official meetings. Not a prayer. Not the Pledge of Allegiance. Not even a moment of silence. A labor acknowledgment recognizing slavery and its legacy. Image created by ChatGPT The proposal is curious for one obvious reason. Colorado ent...
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New Study Finds Government Taxes and Fees Add Tens Of Thousands To Colorado Home Prices
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

New Study Finds Government Taxes and Fees Add Tens Of Thousands To Colorado Home Prices

By Peter Lifari | Commentary, The Denver Gazette Colorado’s economic competitiveness is slipping, and housing affordability is one of the most important reasons why. Policymakers have more control over this than they might think.   A new report from the Common Sense Institute details tens of thousands of dollars in housing-construction costs created not by land or water scarcity, labor costs, materials costs, market conditions or interest rates — but by nothing more than policy.  Housing affordability is as much an economic development and competitiveness issue as it is a social one. That matters in a state tracking business establishment losses and domestic migration losses.  This is a relatively new development for Colorado. For years, the ...
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Denver Takes Tobacco Companies to Court Over Cigarette Litter
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Denver Takes Tobacco Companies to Court Over Cigarette Litter

By Anna Coon | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Denver has filed suit against major tobacco companies, arguing that cigarette manufacturers should pay the cost of cleaning up the thousands of cigarette butts thrown onto city property each year. “Our data says that almost 25% of all the litter we collect is made up of cigarette butts,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said. “So, think about it as a quarter of the total cost the city spends to do trash pickup, is filled with these cigarette butts.” The city is suing 9 major tobacco manufacturers, including Philip Morris and Reynolds American, along with Colorado Springs-based distributor Peerless Products. The 72-page lawsuit argues that cigarette butts have long clogged city streets and stormwater drains and entered wa...
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