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Follow the money faster: New tool unlocks Colorado spending data in minutes
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Follow the money faster: New tool unlocks Colorado spending data in minutes

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I have mentioned (and used) the TOPS system, our state’s online checkbook register, multiple times. It’s a great way to see who our state is paying and for what. I noticed recently (within the last 6 months) that the people who run it made it significantly harder to use: I’m not sure why, but at some point they made it so you can only go month by month.** I had a reader kindly volunteer his time and skill at computer programming to come up with a way to automate TOPS searches so I, and now you since the program is public, don’t have to click and wait month by month to find what we need. The program this person came up with lives online and is linked first below. They titled it a TOPS scraper. It’s pretty i...
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“Single most insecure person I’ve ever encountered”: Former Griswold aide breaks silence ahead of AG race
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

“Single most insecure person I’ve ever encountered”: Former Griswold aide breaks silence ahead of AG race

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Reese Edwards didn’t plan to speak out. He spent less than a year inside Colorado’s Secretary of State’s office before leaving in 2020, frustrated and burned out enough to walk away. He wasn’t looking to revisit any of it. Now, with Jena Griswold running for attorney general, he’s speaking up—and doing it on the record. “I love democracy with an almost religious belief,” he told RMV. “The idea of people deciding for themselves how they will govern themselves. That’s why I took the job.” Edwards, who served as Director of Government and Public Affairs, is now going on record with a warning. He says what he witnessed inside the Secretary of State’s office—erratic leadership, blurred lines between political ambition and public duty ...
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Cherry Creek Schools Face Scrutiny After 14 Contracts Signed Improperly
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Cherry Creek Schools Face Scrutiny After 14 Contracts Signed Improperly

By Natalie Chuck | Denver7 Revelation comes just months after the former superintendent resigned and his wife, the head of human resources, was place on administrative leave amid an ongoing investigation. GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Denver7 Investigates has learned that 14 employment contracts, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, were signed improperly in the Cherry Creek School District. The revelation comes after one parent and district alum filed an open records request to see an interim superintendent's contract. "I wanted to see what the terms of his contract were," parent Molly Lamar told Denver7 Investigates. The contract for Toby Arritola, who was previously the district's executive director of strategic initiatives, was signed Feb. 2...
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Denver Declines To Release Completed Probe Into Police Division Chief After 14 Months and $110K
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Denver Declines To Release Completed Probe Into Police Division Chief After 14 Months and $110K

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado A CBS Colorado investigation has learned the City of Denver has spent $110,000 on a 14-month investigation of Denver Police Division Chief Magen Dodge, but is refusing to release the completed investigation, which was finalized three months ago. "I have determined based upon a balancing of the factors... that the potential harm in disclosing the investigation report prior to the completion of the disciplinary process significantly weighs against the public interest at this time," wrote Andrea Webber, Records Administrator for Denver's Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Denver Police Department.  Webber said a disciplinary process is underway, justifying the city's refusal to release the outside investigation report. ...
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Human Trafficking Concerns Resurface as Epstein Files Cite Colorado Links
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Human Trafficking Concerns Resurface as Epstein Files Cite Colorado Links

By Rachael Wright | The Denver Gazette With the U.S. Department of Justice’s release of 3 million more files pertaining to convicted sex felon Jeffrey Epstein, multiple written mentions of alleged connections to Colorado towns and business owners have come to light. A word search of the documents for “Colorado” generates 1,485 hits, with inquiries for cities including Denver and Aspen generating several thousands more.  Chad McWhinney, a Colorado real estate developer and chairman and co-founder of Realberry, a Denver-based real estate organization, was referenced in an email exchange to Epstein on Nov. 1, 2014. Also included in the files was a pho...
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CORA changes would extend deadlines and expand government discretion
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

CORA changes would extend deadlines and expand government discretion

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Kipp is back with another stab at CORA. I had heard from my state senator (B Pelton) that Senator Kipp would be back this year with another run at modifying the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA).Her bill recently came out and I link to it first below. The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition (CFOIC) article on the bill is linked second below as an additional resource if you want it.I will be advocating against this bill both here and, hopefully, by testifying against it in committee (as of this writing there is no date set).To her credit, Kipp is not oblivious to past criticism (or strident enough to not care a la Senator Sullivan) about her previous attempts at modifying CORA; having been following her ...
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The RMV stories readers didn’t scroll past in 2025
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The RMV stories readers didn’t scroll past in 2025

By RMV Editorial Board This list wasn’t built in a meeting. It formed over time, story by story, as readers decided what was worth stopping for. What follows are the 25 RMV stories that held attention in 2025—and didn’t let go. Looking across the year’s top 25 stories revealed patterns, which we reflect on at the end. 1. School unions gave $11K to Jeffco candidate who admitted to a sealed juvenile sexual offense RMV reported that a Jefferson County school board candidate privately acknowledged a sealed juvenile sexual offense while receiving financial support from education unions. The story documented information voters did not have before ballots were cast and raised questions about disclosure, trust, and institutional accountability in school leade...
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Rocky Mountain Voice: Boots on the Ground, Uncovering Colorado’s Hidden Truths
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Rocky Mountain Voice: Boots on the Ground, Uncovering Colorado’s Hidden Truths

By Heidi Ganahl | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Rocky Mountain Voice has spent the last two years covering stories that don’t fit neatly into a news cycle. We’ve reported on fraud, government overreach, and policy failures by doing the unglamorous work — pulling records, talking to whistleblowers, and sticking with stories long after other outlets lost interest. Our commitment isn’t just to report. It’s to make sure Coloradans have access to information that challenges the official narrative. Looking back, it’s hard to ignore how much of this would have stayed buried if no one had been willing to stick with it. Take Tina Peters, then Mesa County Clerk, who found herself in the crosshairs after preserving election records. Much of the media responded by framing her a...
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