Tag: top story
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Colorado senators review budget as Medicaid costs drive $776 million increase
Colorado senators this week are reviewing revisions to the current state budget, which has been reduced by hundreds of millions of dollars in each round of cuts. The bottom line is that, because of Medicaid costs, the state will spend more in 2025-26 than lawmakers approved in the 2025 session. Last week, the House approved…
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Susan Blanco new Colorado Supreme Court justice
Chief Judge Susan Blanco of Larimer and Jackson counties is the newest member of the Colorado Supreme Court, Gov. Jared Polis announced on Tuesday. “A few words come to mind: Innovation. Excellence. Creativity. Hard work. These are values we need across society,” said Polis during a news conference announcing Blanco’s appointment. Blanco, 48, became a…
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With the deadline missed, Bureau of Reclamation plans to move forward on Colorado River operations
Feb. 14 was no Valentine for the seven states of the Colorado River, which failed to come up with an agreement by that deadline on how to manage the dwindling water resource beginning Oct. 1. The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation on Saturday announced it would move forward with a…
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Colorado policymakers scramble with prisons on track to exceed capacity
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Colorado’s prison system is on track to exceed capacity within the next year, driven by a sharp slowdown in parole releases, staffing shortages and an aging inmate population — all as lawmakers grapple with an $800 million general fund shortfall that limits options for expanding beds or spending in alternative programs. If projections hold, the…
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Colorado Republicans set meeting to restrain state chair Brita Horn, but she says they can’t do that
A Colorado Republican Party officer has scheduled a meeting of the party’s state central committee to consider whether to curb state GOP chair Brita Horn’s spending authority and hold a confidence vote in her leadership, but Horn said the party official who issued the formal call lacked the required legal authority, so the meeting won’t…
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President Pro Tem Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet to resign from Colorado Senate
A top Democrat in the Colorado General Assembly is resigning to take a new job. President Pro Tem Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Commerce City, who has served in the General Assembly since 2017, will become the director of the David and Laura Merage Foundation for Combating Antisemitism. Her last day is this Friday. The…
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A fight over seeds and bees: Colorado Democrats target neonicotinoid pesticides
Colorado lawmakers are weighing new restrictions on a class of pesticides after Gov. Jared Polis signaled support for a Democratic-backed bill aimed at protecting pollinators — a proposal that has raised sharp worries from farmers who rely on treated seeds to protect crops from soil-dwelling pests. The proposal contained in Senate Bill 65 would restrict…
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Who are the 3 finalists for the Colorado Supreme Court?
A citizen-led nominating commission has chosen the finalists for a vacancy on the Colorado Supreme Court, the first opening in five years on the seven-member court. The vacancy arose after the unexpected resignation of Justice Melissa Hart, who formally departed on Jan. 5 following an extended “leave of absence” since the fall. The three finalists…
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14th wolf dies in northwest Colorado
The 14th wolf to die in Colorado since their reintroduction about two years ago took place during a “collaring” operation in the northwestern region of the state last week. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the wolf, identified as #2305 — meaning it was one of the original 10 animals that came from Oregon — died…
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Colorado legislators advance proposal allowing lawsuits against federal immigration agents
A divided panel of Colorado legislators on Monday advanced a proposal to give individuals injured during an immigration enforcement operation the ability to sue federal agents in state court. The measure comes amid speculation that Colorado could be next on the Trump administration’s target, given the tension between the White House and the state, which…