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A fire chief lost his free speech case. The day after, he published a book.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

A fire chief lost his free speech case. The day after, he published a book.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Erik Holt read the opinion the morning it came down on July 7 at 9 a.m. Three federal judges had decided that when the former Florissant fire chief handed election surveillance footage to a criminal investigator examining alleged misconduct in the board's election, he was doing his job, not speaking as a citizen.  That single finding ended his case. It meant the federal courts would never reach whether the board fired him in retaliation. He wrote the last chapter of his book that day. He submitted it for publishing the next. "I used the very First Amendment that the court said I didn't have to publish a book and tell my story," Holt said. RMV has followed Holt's case since November 2025, in reports on the su...
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Colorado Voters To Decide Whether To Cap State Income Tax At 4.4%
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Voters To Decide Whether To Cap State Income Tax At 4.4%

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Election officials on Thursday confirmed that the proposal to cap the state’s income tax at the current rate submitted signatures and voters will consequently decide its fate this November. The fight over tax rates is part of the tug and pull in Colorado between opposing political forces feuding over state revenue. One side of that fight argues that Colorado isn’t generating enough revenue to spend on state priorities, such as education. The competing side counters that the state already collects enough — but policymakers’ spending priorities are misplaced. The Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday cleared Initiative No. 232 after Advance Colorado, the group behind it, submitted more than 184,000 signatures to get it on the b...
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Polis Asks Trump for Disaster Declaration After Devastating Colorado Fires and Floods
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DENVER7, Local, State

Polis Asks Trump for Disaster Declaration After Devastating Colorado Fires and Floods

By Robert Garrison | Denver7 White House says President Trump will evaluate Colorado's request with 'with great care and consideration'. DENVER — Gov. Jared Polis is asking President Donald Trump to approve a major disaster declaration after two of Colorado's most destructive wildfires burned hundreds of thousands of acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and triggered deadly flooding. Polis formally requested a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump and FEMA on Sunday to support recovery from the Aspen Acres and Gold Mountain Fires, according to a news release from the governor’s office. The request seeks federal assistance for Pueblo, Custer and Ouray counties after the two fires burned more than 140,000 acres, destroyed 324 h...
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New Federal Rule Ends Medicaid Funding for Some Youth Gender Treatments in Colorado
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

New Federal Rule Ends Medicaid Funding for Some Youth Gender Treatments in Colorado

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun The new rule blocks federal dollars from being spent on the care. The change will affect hundreds of transgender youth in Colorado. Colorado will suspend Medicaid coverage for hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care for transgender youth due to a new federal rule, the state agency that oversees the program said. The rule, finalized earlier this month, blocks federal funds from being used to pay for the care for youth. Specifically, the rule applies to coverage for people under 18 who are covered by Medicaid and people under 19 who are covered by a companion program called CHIP, which in Colorado is known as CHP+. The rule affects coverage for hormone therapy and puberty blockers, as well as other procedures. It do...
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Federal Judge Blocks Colorado Law Expanding State Oversight of ICE Facility
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Courthouse News Service, Approved, State

Federal Judge Blocks Colorado Law Expanding State Oversight of ICE Facility

By Amanda Pampuro | Courthouse News Service Months before reports of tuberculosis infecting a detainee at an immigration detention center in Aurora, state lawmakers sought to expand the public health department’s ability to inspect the facility. DENVER (CN) — A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Thursday blocking a Colorado law that sought to expand the state public health agency’s ability to inspect an immigrant detention facility in Aurora. “HB-1276 applies only to civilian detention centers, of which there is one,” Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico wrote in the opinion. “Though Colorado argues that the law only brings GEO into compliance with existing state regulations applied to other detention facilities, that law singles out this o...
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Colorado Ballot Measure Would Protect Hunting and Fishing in State Constitution
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Measure Would Protect Hunting and Fishing in State Constitution

By Mike Krause | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado voters will decide in November whether to enshrine hunting and fishing as a constitutional right, after the secretary of state’s office on Wednesday confirmed Initiative #302 qualified for the general election ballot. Backers of the measure, formally titled “Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish,” turned in over 184,000 petition signatures, with state election officials declaring more than 145,000 of those as valid, easily clearing the roughly 124,000 signature threshold required for constitutional amendments, as well as the 2% per-district requirement in all 35 of Colorado’s state senate districts. The measure, backed by the newly formed T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance, amends the Colorado Constitution to establish...
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Denver’s 2028 Convention Bid Advances as Democrats Narrow Field to Three Cities
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The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Denver’s 2028 Convention Bid Advances as Democrats Narrow Field to Three Cities

By Mike Catalini | The Colorado Sun A final decision is expected to be made later this year by party leaders. Democrats on Thursday narrowed the list of potential host cities for their 2028 presidential convention to Boston, Denver and Philadelphia as their party looks ahead to a wide-open primary to succeed President Donald Trump. Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement the cities put forward “incredibly strong bids,” and he promised the convention would be an “inspiring celebration of our party’s future nominee.” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston celebrated the news. “We are honored that Denver has advanced as one of the top three candidates to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention,” he said in a writt...
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Untangling Colorado’s home care Medicaid, one waiver at a time
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Untangling Colorado’s home care Medicaid, one waiver at a time

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Untangling a (rather hefty) reader statement about Medicaid. Be forewarned, the government programs and acronyms pile up fast here. I'll try my best to get around that, but read carefully and slowly.It's been a while because it's taken a while to learn it, but this post is in response to a reader comment about combining some of Colorado's Medicaid services under one banner. Before we can touch on that, however, we have to do some prerequisite work first. A Medicaid waiver seems at first to have no connection to what it actually is, but if you stop and reason it out, the word makes sense. Remember that Medicaid is a program that is run by states, and the states partly fund it. The feds also fund Medicaid via matching dol...
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Colorado funded ads telling kids they can get therapy without parental consent
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado funded ads telling kids they can get therapy without parental consent

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A child in Colorado can sign up for state-funded therapy at age 12 without a parent knowing. That is not a loophole. It is how the program is built. The program is called I Matter.  It offers up to six free counseling sessions to any young person 18 or under, or up to 21 for those receiving special-education services, and is delivered mostly by telehealth.  According to a report released this month by the medical advocacy group Do No Harm, the state funded a youth-targeted advertising push built around one message. Youth 12 and older don't need a parent to sign off. A consent waiver written into law Do No Harm reviewed 279 files obtained through the Colorado Open Records Act. Its report covers severa...
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Weighted, primed and paid: A walkthrough of the survey behind Colorado’s furbearer vote
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Weighted, primed and paid: A walkthrough of the survey behind Colorado’s furbearer vote

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Dr. Niemiec's Deeply Flawed Research At a recent Colorado Parks and Wildlife meeting, newly-appointed CPW commissioner Dr. Niemiec produced an incredibly flawed study to help back up her motion regarding furbearer bag limits, a change in policy that was not on the agenda and for which there was no opportunity for comment by the public. If you would like to read up on the meeting itself and a potential lawsuit, see an earlier newsletter linked first below.Not too long after writing the earlier newsletter, a reader shared the Club 20 article (linked second below) providing some context and background on the work. In addition to encouraging you to read the piece, it provides a great excuse to follow up on the ...
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