Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: State government

Colorado Congressman Accuses Polis Administration Of Mismanaging Road Funds
kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado Congressman Accuses Polis Administration Of Mismanaging Road Funds

By: Hanna Powers | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado congressman is accusing the state of mismanaging transportation dollars, arguing that despite record funding, roads across Colorado are in worse shape than ever. Rep. Gabe Evans, who represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, shared an exclusive letter with FOX31 that he is sending directly to Gov. Jared Polis and Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Shoshana Lew. In the letter, Evans raises concerns about roadway safety, crumbling infrastructure, and what he describes as a failure to prioritize basic road maintenance over mass transit and climate-focused projects. “This stretch of I-25 is one of the busiest highways in the state,” Evans told FOX31, pointing to the corridor that ...
Inside the structure of Colorado’s Democrat-advocacy complex
ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, State

Inside the structure of Colorado’s Democrat-advocacy complex

By Scott K. James | Commentary, Scott’s Sheet How a Small Circle of Nonprofits, Appointees & Climate Advocates Took the Reins Friday, we broke down the rule that choked our highways. Today, we lift the curtain on the people and organizations pulling the levers. This isn’t conspiracy theory. It’s process. It’s not “secret cabal.” It’s perfectly public what they do — just rarely examined. 1. Meet the Architects Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) – Executive Director Elise S. Jones. Based in Boulder. Works in six-state region promoting decarbonization, clean transportation, smart land use. (SWEEP) Colorado Energy Office (CEO) – Executive Director Will Toor. Oversees state’s energy & transportation-electrification ag...
Colorado’s Budget Is Bigger Than Ever. Health Care Is Why.
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s Budget Is Bigger Than Ever. Health Care Is Why.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s state budget is larger than it used to be. That much isn’t disputed. What has changed over the last twenty years is where that growth landed. The Common Sense Institute’s “Colorado Budget: Then and Now” (December 2025) Colorado’s state budget has grown faster than population and inflation since the mid-2000s. The shift wasn’t sudden. It accumulated, year by year, across multiple budgets and multiple administrations. The increase shows up clearly in the numbers. In the mid-2000s, state spending worked out to a little under $5,600 per person once population and inflation were accounted for. It didn’t stay there. Year by year, the number crept higher. It now sits above $7,300. The increase...
How climate policy became the steering wheel of Colorado government
ScottKJames.com, Approved, Commentary, State

How climate policy became the steering wheel of Colorado government

By Scott James | Commentary, Scott K. James In part 1 of my five-part series, I reveal how climate mandates quietly reshaped Colorado’s laws, roads, and local control – without a vote from the people. Yesterday, I told you the truth about where I am – not as an elected official, not as a partisan, not as a policy wonk, but as a human being who loves this state enough to lose sleep over it. If you missed it, you can read that emotional prologue here. That was the heart.Today begins the head. Today marks the first installment of the five-part series I promised – not ranting, not rumor, not political theater, but the receipts. The real sequence of events, the policies, the bills, the rules, the decisions, and the machinery that fundamentally reshap...
Trump Blasts Polis as Weak and Pathetic Over Continued Imprisonment of Tina Peters
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Trump Blasts Polis as Weak and Pathetic Over Continued Imprisonment of Tina Peters

By Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado President Trump continued to use strong words to describe Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Monday. He's upset about the fact that Tina Peters, the former county clerk and top election official in Mesa County, is still behind bars. Last week, Trump posted to Truth Social that he was pardoning Peters, saying, "Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the 'crime' of demanding Honest Elections." READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
Colorado’s quiet transformation leaves working communities behind
Rocky Mountain Voice, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado’s quiet transformation leaves working communities behind

By Scott James | Commentary, Scott K. James I am sounding the alarm on the quiet erosion of Colorado’s values, warning of a top-down agenda that’s silencing everyday citizens. Not the Colorado of glossy tourism ads and climate conferences. The real Colorado. The one where: Kids worked ranches and feedlots, not “sustainability internships.” You and I went to Northeastern Junior College, Aims, CSU, UNC, CU – not Cornell, Yale, or Harvard – and that was good, solid, honest. We measured a person by whether they showed up and worked, not by what panel they spoke on. A neighbor expanding his cow–calf operation was a reason to crack a beer, not a reason to clutch pearls about “emissions.” Colorado used to be: Free. Pragmatic. Op...
SMART Act hearings offer rare oversight of Colorado state agencies
Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

SMART Act hearings offer rare oversight of Colorado state agencies

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project SMART act: speak up at state department/division hearings The Colorado SMART act (see the first link below for the bill) is the formalism by how our state legislature provides oversight of various governmental agencies. Reading through the bill makes me nod with approval while at the same time pegging my scoff meter. What I mean is that the language is lofty, and I’m not sure how much genuine oversight happens. The good news is that (regardless of the effectiveness of the oversight) a SMART act hearing is your chance to speak up if you have comment about a particular department or division of a department. I will use the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee as my example for this ...
Colorado’s systems have failed Tina Peters again and again
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s systems have failed Tina Peters again and again

By RMV Editorial Board On December 8, 2025, three events collided in Colorado that no honest observer can dismiss as coincidence. A federal judge dismissed Tina Peters’ habeas corpus petition, admitting she raised “important constitutional questions” about whether a state court punished her for her speech, then refused to consider those questions because of the Younger doctrine. Hours later, Colorado’s Department of Corrections moved Peters into Isolation Detention Observation: twenty-two hours a day in a concrete cell, lights on around the clock, no yard time and a single explanation—“this is for your safety.”  That same afternoon, the United States Department of Justice opened a civil-rights investigation into Colorado’s prisons and youth facilities, citing po...
Colorado’s Agricultural Economy Depends on Affordable, Reliable Energy
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s Agricultural Economy Depends on Affordable, Reliable Energy

By Matthew Gonzales | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado’s agricultural industry is one of the state’s greatest economic drivers. With more than 195,000 jobs and roughly $47 billion in economic output each year, it not only feeds the state - it feeds the region and beyond. And like any industry built on tight margins and year-round operations, it depends on one thing to stay competitive: affordable, reliable energy.  That’s why the role of natural gas in Colorado deserves more attention in statewide energy discussions. Natural gas powers irrigation equipment, heats greenhouses, dries grain, and keeps storage and food processing facilities running. It’s the backbone of the infrastructure that gets food from farm to table.  And that energy cost doesn’t stay in the field...

Join us at RMV's Freedom Festival

Click Here for Tickets!

This will close in 0 seconds