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Studies show Colorado property taxes are ‘extremely low.’ So why do they feel so high?
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State, The Colorado Sun

Studies show Colorado property taxes are ‘extremely low.’ So why do they feel so high?

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun Over the past year, property taxes have dominated Colorado’s state politics like rarely before. Public outcry over a 40% jump in homes’ taxable values spawned a multi-million dollar ballot fight, a special legislative session and a bipartisan commission to study tax relief for homeowners. And there’s more to come, with a number of property tax measures vying for voter approval on the November 2024 ballot.  There’s just one detail that’s difficult to square with the political panic: Study after study from researchers across the political spectrum shows that Colorado’s property taxes aren’t all that high. In reality, they’re close to the lowest in the entire country. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN...
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New Colorado stop sign: Buc-ee’s, the big, beloved convenience store opening its first location
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Northern Colorado, The Colorado Sun

New Colorado stop sign: Buc-ee’s, the big, beloved convenience store opening its first location

By Parker Yamasaki | The Colorado Sun JOHNSTOWN — As a kid, Randy Pauly’s favorite barbecue in Texas was served out of a window. He’d order a brisket sandwich, step back and wait for a hand to slide a plate out in front of him. He never saw what he called “the action.” The chopping, slicing, saucing and slamming it all together. When Pauly became the full-time pitmaster for Buc-ee’s, a Texas-based gas station known for its fresh-cut brisket sandwiches and buck-toothed beaver mascot, he wanted to turn the sandwich assembly into a show.  “Freeeeeeeshhhh brisket on the board!!!” a man in a red polo shirt, denim apron and fake tattered cowboy hat yells out from the Buc-ee’s butcher block. “Fresh brisket on the board!” The other deli counter employees around him echo, with va...
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Thanks to TABOR, $2B in refunds likely headed back Colorado taxpayers.
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State, The Colorado Sun

Thanks to TABOR, $2B in refunds likely headed back Colorado taxpayers.

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Colorado budget writers may be headed back to the drawing board. Slower population growth and rising fee revenue could trigger upwards of $300 million more state taxpayer refunds than expected in the current budget year, under economic forecasts presented to the Joint Budget Committee on Friday. The latest forecasts leave top lawmakers well short of what they expected to be able to spend in next year’s budget, with less than a week left to finalize the 2024-25 spending plan before it has to be submitted to the General Assembly for consideration. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Why is Ken Buck really resigning? 
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State, The Colorado Sun

Why is Ken Buck really resigning? 

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun U.S. Rep. Ken Buck vehemently denied Thursday that his decision to resign from Congress before the end of his term was aimed at making it harder for Lauren Boebert to take over his 4th Congressional District seat as she and others have suggested.  “It’s ridiculous,” Buck, a Windsor Republican, told The Colorado Sun.  Boebert said in a written statement after Buck announced Tuesday that he would leave Congress on March 22 that the five-term congressman’s resignation was a “gift to the uniparty” and  “a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election.” Republicans aligned with Donald Trump often use the “uniparty” label to insult members of the party they think aren’t conservative enough or work too closely...
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The wine and brownies are gone: 50 women trapped on ski bus for 16 hours — and counting — after major Colorado snowstorm
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The Colorado Sun, Western Slope

The wine and brownies are gone: 50 women trapped on ski bus for 16 hours — and counting — after major Colorado snowstorm

By Jennifer Brown | Colorado Sun Amassive snowstorm that buried Colorado and shut down Interstate 70 stranded travelers overnight, including a ski bus filled with 50 women who were out of water and food after being stuck 16 hours and counting.  “We’re in good spirits,” Mary Wagner, one of the skiers on the bus, told The Colorado Sun on Thursday morning. “But we’re done now.”  For years, the women, many retired or moms with kids in school, have taken the ski bus on Wednesdays. This week, they spent the day at Vail, then got back on the bus at 3:30 p.m. for the ride home. Within 10 minutes, as the snow started to fall, they were stopped on Vail Pass because of a stalled car. When they were able to move again, the uphill climb overheated the transmission on the bus, so they...
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Lauren Boebert won’t pursue special election nomination to replace Ken Buck after his abrupt resignation
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State, The Colorado Sun

Lauren Boebert won’t pursue special election nomination to replace Ken Buck after his abrupt resignation

Boebert is still running, however, in the Republican primary to be the GOP nominee for the November election in the 4th Congressional District By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert said Wednesday that she will not pursue the Republican special election nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Ken Buck in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District after he departs Congress at the end of next week.  Boebert is still running, however, in the Republican primary to be the GOP nominee for the November election in the 4th District. In a written statement, Boebert called Buck’s resignation “a swampy backroom deal to try to rig an election” for her opponents. “Forcing an unnecessary special election on the same day as the primary election will confuse voters, result in a lame duck ...
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Colorado rental car fee hike would raise money for Front Range and mountain passenger rail systems
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado rental car fee hike would raise money for Front Range and mountain passenger rail systems

By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun Colorado’s state-imposed rental car fee would increase by as much as $3 per day under a soon-to-be-introduced bill in the legislature aimed at attracting federal investment in proposed Front Range and mountain passenger train systems. The fee increase would generate an estimated $50 million in revenue annually, money that would be used as a match to secure federal grants. Lawmakers are specifically hoping for a share of the $66 billion Congress set aside in 2021 for rail development in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.  “We have a short window to pull down this federal infrastructure money,” said Senate President Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat and the lead sponsor of the forthcoming bill. “I really want to make sure Colorado...
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1,400 patients of a Western Slope clinic still struggle to find care a month after its abrupt closure
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The Colorado Sun, Western Slope

1,400 patients of a Western Slope clinic still struggle to find care a month after its abrupt closure

By Tatiana Flowers | Colorado Sun Former clients of a Delta-based clinic that shut down early last month are still looking for mental and physical health care on the rural Western Slope. Sixty people were referred to Axis Health System last month and one former client said she has found better health care options since Integrated Insight Community Care closed last month.  But some of the 1,400 other clients said they fear they’re facing a crisis, because there are too few mental and physical health care providers available in their area who take Medicaid, and can care for people with complex and specialized needs. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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6 important things to know about Denver’s migrant crisis
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Denver Metro, The Colorado Sun

6 important things to know about Denver’s migrant crisis

By Jennifer Brown | Colorado Sun Almost 40,000 migrants have come to Denver in the past 15 months, a number that’s become hard to comprehend.  “To put that in context, that’s Coors Field on a Saturday night in July when the Dodgers are in town,” said Jon Ewing, spokesman for Denver Human Services, during this week’s Colorado Sun virtual event on the migrant crisis. “You look to your left, you look to your right, up and down, and almost every seat is full. That’s the number of people that we’ve cared for over the last year.” Here’s what you should know about how Denver is handling all this and what’s in store longer term. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN https://youtu.be/EzQCnkeZkEk?si=mVooQJ7q54CYoo1V
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Ken Buck announces he will leave Congress on March 22, scrambling race to replace him that includes Lauren Boebert
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National, The Colorado Sun

Ken Buck announces he will leave Congress on March 22, scrambling race to replace him that includes Lauren Boebert

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun U.S. Rep. Ken Buck will leave Congress on March 22, the Windsor Republican announced Tuesday in a decision that’s sure to scramble the already highly contentious and competitive race to replace him that includes Lauren Boebert. “It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado’s 4th District in Congress for the past nine years,” Buck said in a written statement. “I want to thank them for their support and encouragement throughout the years. Today, I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week. I look forward to staying involved in our political process, as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family.” Buck, who was already planning to retire after his current term ends in January 2025, didn’t p...
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