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Mesa County voters approve measures 4A and 4B for schools, promising upgrades, transparency
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Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Mesa County voters approve measures 4A and 4B for schools, promising upgrades, transparency

By Jen Schumann | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice In a decisive voice, the Mesa County community voted for ballot measures 4A and 4B. This passage is a clear mandate: Buildings with accessibility and security issues get an overhaul. Five learning days remain on the school calendar. And teachers will receive more approved curriculum sources, so they won’t have to resort to websites like Teachers Pay Teachers.  Mesa County voters passed Ballot Issue 4A with 71% approval to fund school renovations. Ballot Issue 4B, with 65% approval, allows retaining funds for extra educational resources and maintenance. Dr. Brian Hill, the district's superintendent, praised the community's commitment: "This support," he said, "means we can create safer, more modern learning environments. [We can] ...
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Kalam: How Denver became a city of plywood and hollow plinths
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Kalam: How Denver became a city of plywood and hollow plinths

By Ahnaf Kalam | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice In the heart of Denver, what once stood as a mosaic of statuesque history and pride has become a city of empty plinths, iron bolts and plywood cover-ups—monuments, not to the past, but to a peculiar present. The city, known for the quiet dignity of its Pioneer Monument, Civil War memorials and an enduring homage to figures of historic Colorado, has found itself sacrificing the aesthetic that once conveyed its cultural soul. In a surge of post-George Floyd “anti-racism,” Denver’s leaders have erased long-standing symbols, replacing artful bronzework with exposed screws and fenced-off pedestals. Denver, it seems, has become a city obsessed with forgetting. In the summer of 2020, the removal of Kit Carson’s statue at the Pioneer...
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Sloan: The conservative’s duty in a second Trump presidency
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Commentary, National, Rocky Mountain Voice

Sloan: The conservative’s duty in a second Trump presidency

By Kelly Sloan | Contributing Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice We are now a week past election day, and it is time for a bit of circumspection. Donald Trump won, convincingly, both the electoral college and the popular vote. He is due his victory lap, as are Republicans in general, after having endured months of being called every rotten thing in the book. And yes, there is, in that vein, some amusement to be had at the expense of those on the left who are –- to put it mildly -- not handling the results well. But schadenfreude is an emotion best indulged in small doses, lest it eventually corrupts the soul. The Democrats are forced to undergo a considerable degree of introspection as they travel their post-election "Via Dolorsa". But conservatives too, after the celebratory firewo...
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Republican strategist to grassroots: ‘Help cure ballots’ in tight HD 16, 19 races
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Republican strategist to grassroots: ‘Help cure ballots’ in tight HD 16, 19 races

Republicans Rebecca Keltie, Dan Woog can eliminate Democrats' Colorado House supermajority with wins By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice If Republicans are able to hang on to razor-thin leads in two Colorado House races, it would prevent veto-proof Democrat supermajorities in both state legislative chambers. As of late Tuesday, Republican Rebecca Keltie led Democrat Steph Vigil by 21 votes in House District 16, while Republican Dan Woog led Democrat Jillaire McMillan by 207 votes in House District 19. "These two races are still too close to call and will come down to the wire," said Tyler Sandberg, chief campaign strategist for Colorado House Republicans. The El Paso County House District 16 was separated Monday evening by 0.06%, or six one-hundredths of one percent after...
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Northwest Colorado open to prospect of nuclear power generation, survey says
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Northwest Colorado open to prospect of nuclear power generation, survey says

By Lindy J. Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice With the impending closure of the Craig and Hayden Power Stations, the closing of the coal mines in Northwest Colorado and the state and federal push to rid the area of traditional fossil fuel base load generation,  Rio Blanco, Moffat, and Routt county governments are trying to figure out how to replace the imminent job loss, revenue loss and tax loss that are certain to devastate their local governments and the residents in those communities that have relied on a fossil fuel economy for decades. To that end, Northwest Colorado energy Initiative (NCEI) was formed under the auspice of Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC) to educate and survey area residents concerning the possibility of bringing nuclear power gene...
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‘Uncle Benny’ urges Republicans to change approach to down-ballot funding
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘Uncle Benny’ urges Republicans to change approach to down-ballot funding

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice With the outcome of a few races still in doubt Monday morning, Republican Ben Aste was already focused on the next one. Aste, the man who ran as "Uncle Benny" for the Larimer County District 3 seat, proposed a new approach to campaign funding, on a Republican call with several candidates and former Sen. Kevin Lundberg, that he hopes might gain some support. "I'm going down and I'm going to open a 'future election monies' account," he said. "This would be a place to put $5 or $10 or whatever you have each week or month." Democrat Jody Shadduck-McNally defeated Aste by 12.6%, despite his hard work attending events throughout the campaign, and a good distribution of signage. He earned 43.7% of the vote. "We certainly felt like we did every...
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Lundberg: In ‘Griswoldgate’, it is time to prove we have the ‘gold standard’
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Lundberg: In ‘Griswoldgate’, it is time to prove we have the ‘gold standard’

By Kevin Lundberg | Guest Columnist, Rocky Mountain Voice When Tina Peters was accused of sharing Mesa County election equipment passwords, all of the machines were replaced and she got several years in prison. But, when the shoe is on the other foot and Secretary of State Griswold (SOS) is caught publicly exposing more than 600 complete BIOS passwords of election machines from all across Colorado and kept it a secret for several days right before the election, it becomes an honest mistake and no big deal. I say either pardon Tina or arrest Jena. Or, better yet, do both, for Jena is clearly guilty of withholding the facts from the public and Tina was just trying to get to the truth, so everyone could know those facts. But the fate of Jena Griswold is not the biggest issue. The ...
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Devotional: Refined through trials, the gift of suffering well
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

Devotional: Refined through trials, the gift of suffering well

By Drake Hunter | Devotional, Rocky Mountain Voice Suffering and flourishing may seem like opposites, yet they often walk hand-in-hand. Some of our deepest growth springs up from our darkest trials. Just look at Christian history: Jesus’ suffering wasn’t a detour, but a central part of His journey— and many of His earliest followers faced the ultimate cost for their faith. Their sacrifices remind us that we, too, share in Christ's suffering. When Jesus spoke of drinking of the same cup and being baptized similarly (Mark 10:39), He invited us to follow Him even through suffering, knowing that it has the power to transform us and resurrect us to a new life. So, when suffering hits, we shouldn't be caught off guard. Life inevitably comes with challenges that test us to our core. Stan...
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Carr: Why risk-limiting audits are risky (software is auditing software)
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Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Carr: Why risk-limiting audits are risky (software is auditing software)

By Tasha Carr | Guest Commentary, Larimer League of Independent Voters As an election watcher, I have witnessed many risk-limiting audits (RLAs) in Larimer County. I was immediately struck by how inadequate they seemed because the most important audit step is hidden within the RLA tool and is not observable by the audit board or election watchers. After reading the so-called “gentle introduction” to RLAs, I quickly learned that my skepticism was justified. The problem is not with the RLAs per se, but that Colorado is not doing the RLAs correctly and as a result cannot guarantee that the election outcomes are correct. READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE LARIMER LEAGUE OF INDEPENDENT VOTERS Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do n...
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Garfield County deputy terminated for alleged embezzlement
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Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

Garfield County deputy terminated for alleged embezzlement

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice Corp. Trisha Worley, a 14-year veteran of the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office has been terminated for allegations of embezzlement, a a press release from Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario reads. According to information provided by the sheriff, Worley was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 23, when there was a formal accusation that she had embezzled funds from a local nonprofit organization. An internal investigation revealed enough evidence that, on Nov. 7, she was terminated.  Colorado Bureau of Investigations is taking the lead on any criminal charges that may result from their investigation to avoid any perception of conflict of interest in the case, the sheriff said. Whenever a member of a law enforcement ag...
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