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A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room
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American Policy, Approved, Commentary, State

A Seat at the Table, Not Just a Chair in the Room

By Aimee Tooker | Commentary, American Policy Center Coordination is the key to harmonizing land management plans and the strategies of the communities that live and work on federal public lands From the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado the Dolores River flows through Montezuma, Dolores, San Miguel, Montrose and Mesa counties until the state line with Utah.  National and local environmental and rewilding advocates had pushed for almost 50 years for a Wild and Scenic designation on the Dolores River.  It never went through because over the course of the years it was decided by the generational locals, municipalities and tax districts that that was not the correct way to manage the river. The talk of Wild and Scenic designation (most restrictive designation for a river) cau...
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Carrying the mission forward: October 11 Legacy Rally to honor Charlie Kirk in Grand Junction
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Carrying the mission forward: October 11 Legacy Rally to honor Charlie Kirk in Grand Junction

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice One month after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, his message of faith and freedom is rallying new ground. On Saturday night, Turning Point USA will gather national speakers, local pastors and community leaders at the Mesa County Fairgrounds—marking both remembrance and renewed resolve. Turning Point USA will bring national speakers and community leaders to Grand Junction on Saturday night for the Legacy Rally—set for 6 p.m. at the Mesa County Fairground grandstands. Set one month after Charlie Kirk’s death, the event is focused on helping Coloradans—especially youth—continue the mission he built his life around. Organizers say donations will support the local TPUSA chapter at Colorado Mesa University. Security for the event will...
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Fix It or Fund It: Inside the $361 million standoff over Colorado’s unfunded mandates
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Fix It or Fund It: Inside the $361 million standoff over Colorado’s unfunded mandates

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado counties say they’re done footing the bill for laws they didn’t fund. Citing a 1991 statute and more than $361 million in unfunded mandates, the Fix It or Fund It coalition is asserting that if the state won’t pay, local governments won’t comply. Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel didn’t set out to launch a statewide revolt. Two years ago, she created a spreadsheet to track state mandates that came without funding. The goal was to help department heads navigate budgeting headaches. But that quiet act of accounting has since grown into something far louder—a bipartisan movement spanning more than 36 counties, with local governments now invoking state law to declare state mandates “optional.” “We started this whole unfunded mandate...
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Classroom or campaign: NEA handbook sparks questions in Mesa County
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The Business Times, Commentary, Local, Top Stories

Classroom or campaign: NEA handbook sparks questions in Mesa County

By Austin DeWitt | Commentary, The Business Times In the last two months, the National Education Association (NEA) released its 2025 Handbook, the document that sets the goals and priorities for the nation’s largest teachers’ union for the coming year. And then, just as quickly, it was gone. Within 24 hours, the handbook was quietly removed from its website. Why? What was so controversial that it had to be scrubbed from public view? Fortunately, a copy was preserved before it disappeared, and what it contains should give every educator, parent and taxpayer pause. What the NEA Is Promoting The handbook calls for “racial quotas over merit” – a direct rejection of merit-based advancement – and instructs that “all educators must acknowledge the existence of white supremacy culture ...
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Mesa County authorities arrest Caprock Academy employee for sexual exploitation of child charges
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KJCT-TV ABC 8, Approved, Local

Mesa County authorities arrest Caprock Academy employee for sexual exploitation of child charges

By Kacie Sinton | KJCT News 8 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - An employee of Caprock Academy is behind bars at the Mesa County Jail today after being arrested on the charge of sexual exploitation of a child. 45-year-old Shane Chatfield was reported to police on September 11, when the Grand Junction Police Department was informed that an adult man had allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to another adult man who had been pretending to be a child. Chatfield had also allegedly tried to arrange a meet-up, according to authorities. Chatfield appeared in custody over Zoom on September 17. The judge ordered a cash-only bond of $20,000. In addition to the bond, Chatfield is not allowed to use social media or dating apps or contact minors, and his electronic usage will be monitored. ...
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“God’s timing, not mine”: Rose Pugliese on closing one chapter and trusting what comes next
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

“God’s timing, not mine”: Rose Pugliese on closing one chapter and trusting what comes next

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice  Rose Pugliese describes her resignation from the Colorado House as one of the hardest decisions of her life, shaped by prayer, sacrifice —  and the voices of her children. “I truly want to follow God’s path and I think part of God’s path for me now is making sure I prioritize my children,” she explained. For the House minority leader and single mom, that path now means stepping back from the Capitol and returning to Mesa County. Her choice, effective Sept. 15, came during a week she described as overwhelming — from the Evergreen school shooting to the assassination of Charlie Kirk to the grief of 9/11 remembrances.  What finally cut through the politics was a child’s honesty. “Mommy, we feel like you’re not OK, and we want you t...
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Minority Leader Pugliese resigns from House: “I want more than anything to follow God’s path”
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Minority Leader Pugliese resigns from House: “I want more than anything to follow God’s path”

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Rocky Mountain Voice received a resignation letter late Sunday night from Rep. Rose Pugliese (El Paso County), announcing she will step down as Colorado House Minority Leader and from her District 14 seat effective Sept. 15. Pugliese, who rose to the top Republican leadership post in her first term after Mike Lynch’s 2024 resignation, wrote that her faith guided her decision. “If you wanted peace, you had to follow God’s path. I want more than anything to follow God’s path. I needed to understand what that path was for me in this time of my life,” she said. She explained that the message came during a homily after the special session, when she prayed for clarity. Her letter describes a painful end to that session. “The last day of Special Ses...
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The Courage of a Calling
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

The Courage of a Calling

By Bobbie Daniel | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Twelve years ago, I made my first trip to Washington, D.C. I was expecting my third child at the time, and as I walked through the memorials, the words carved in stone seemed to speak directly to me. At the Jefferson Memorial, I knew I wasn’t alone. At the Lincoln Memorial, I sensed the weight of a calling I couldn’t yet name.  Their words reached across centuries with clarity and conviction, and I remember thinking: people don’t talk like this anymore. Yet something in my soul stirred. God was preparing me, though I didn’t yet know for what. In scripture, the callings of ordinary people are always marked by courage. Moses had to confront Pharaoh with only a staff in his hand. Esther risked her life to plead for her pe...
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Public safety or politics? Mesa County sues Polis over sanctuary crackdown
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The Daily Caller, Approved, State

Public safety or politics? Mesa County sues Polis over sanctuary crackdown

By Jason Hopkins | Daily Caller One of Colorado’s biggest counties is taking on the state’s “unconstitutional” sanctuary law after it was used to crack down on a sheriff’s deputy who helped federal immigration authorities. The Board of Mesa County Commissioners is moving forward with its lawsuit against a Democrat-led sanctuary law that prohibits local law enforcement in Colorado from sharing personal information about a foreign national with federal immigration authorities, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed. The lawsuit was filed after state officials sued a Mesa County sheriff’s deputy for helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and effectively forced him out of the job. “The Constitution makes clear that immigration is a federal responsibility, not something ...
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Immigration arrest lawsuit dismissed against Mesa County deputy
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Fox31, Approved, Local

Immigration arrest lawsuit dismissed against Mesa County deputy

By Heather Willard | Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — A lawsuit filed against a Mesa County Sheriff’s Office deputy who may have shared information with federal agents that led to a 19-year-old Utah student’s arrest has been dropped. The case was filed by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office after Mesa County Deputy Andrew Zwinck allegedly shared details of a traffic stop in a group message that included members of Homeland Security Investigations, leading to the detention of Caroline Dias-Goncalves on June 5. Previous reporting: Mesa County Sheriff’s Office investigation finds ‘disturbing’ messages in drug chat Dias-Goncalves, 19, has no criminal record and was attending the University of Utah on a merit scholarship. In Colorado, local and state law enforcement and peace office...
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