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The Colorado Sun

Amid opposition to newly approved mountain lion plan, CPW commission urges respect for employees
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State, The Colorado Sun

Amid opposition to newly approved mountain lion plan, CPW commission urges respect for employees

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Colorado Parks and Wildlife employees can’t catch a break when it comes to their work on wolf reintroduction or the management of mountain lions.  And that can’t be good for their health, members of the Parks and Wildlife Commission say, or their bandwidth to manage the other 950-plus wildlife species in Colorado.  “I feel sorry for the people in this agency that are working on some of this,” said Marie Haskett, who represents outfitters on the commission, referring to CPW’s rocky first year of wolf reintroduction. “We put a tremendous amount of hours and a tremendous amount of pressure on them for everything we do. You can see it in every one of their faces.”  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Cañon City voted to build a new swimming pool, but not to fund it
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Local, The Colorado Sun

Cañon City voted to build a new swimming pool, but not to fund it

By Sue McMillin | The Colorado Sun When voters delivered a mixed decision on building a new pool in town, they created a dilemma: build it without the assurance of having the money to operate it or walk away from the project despite voters’ approval of the sales tax and debt to build it. There’s a hedge-your-bets option as well, which would slow the construction process so the district could go back to voters again to ask for funds to operate the pool before significant debt is incurred building it. The only option without financial risk is to bag the project.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado county clerk spent $4,000 on get-out-the-vote billboard with her name, face on it
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado county clerk spent $4,000 on get-out-the-vote billboard with her name, face on it

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez’s office spent $7,200 on a get-out-the-vote campaign in the lead-up to the November election that included a billboard with an advertisement that prominently featured her picture and name. Gonzalez’s office said the campaign, launched in mid-October, also included social media posts, community events and flyer distribution. The billboard alone cost $4,000. The office said it found before launching the campaign that ads featuring Gonzalez, a Democrat, were high performing, citing a June report from the consulting firm Recap Communications. Gonzalez’s spokeswoman said those findings reinforced national guidance and research showing that local officials are the most trusted messengers for election information and...
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Did Middle Park sell $1 billion of water for 10 bucks?
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Local, The Colorado Sun

Did Middle Park sell $1 billion of water for 10 bucks?

By Michael Booth | The Colorado Sun Since Dwight Eisenhower was president, tiny Middle Park Water Conservancy District has hoarded a precious gem: 20,000 acre-feet of water rights on Troublesome Creek, near Kremmling, and the authority to build a dam for it.  In October, Middle Park gave its treasure to a private rancher. For $10.   The Middle Park district, which primarily serves ranchers and hay growers in Grand and Summit counties, has only a few hundred thousand dollars of revenue each year, and no ability to raise potentially tens of millions of dollars for environmental permitting and hundreds of millions for construction, the district’s attorney said.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado sheriff who froze to death in 1881 to be honored in national memorial for fallen officers
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Local, The Colorado Sun

Colorado sheriff who froze to death in 1881 to be honored in national memorial for fallen officers

By Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun Chaffee County’s first elected sheriff, who reportedly froze to death in 1881 after becoming stranded while trying to evict claim jumpers at a mine west of Buena Vista, will be honored next year when his name is added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.  Lucien Morgan was 45 when he died in the line of duty due to weather exposure on Jones Mountain, a 13,218-foot peak, according to archives of the Rocky Mountain News and The Mountain Mail, Salida’s newspaper. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Just elected, Dist. 31 Sen. Chris Hansen to resign Jan. 9 from legislature to start new job as utility CEO
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State, The Colorado Sun

Just elected, Dist. 31 Sen. Chris Hansen to resign Jan. 9 from legislature to start new job as utility CEO

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun Democratic state Sen. Chris Hansen plans to resign from the legislature Jan. 9, the day after Colorado’s 2025 lawmaking term begins, as he takes on a new role as the chief executive officer of the La Plata Electric Association. Hansen, who lives in Denver, told The Colorado Sun that he will submit a letter of resignation to Capitol leadership in the coming days.  The La Plata Electric Association on Tuesday announced that it had selected Hansen as its CEO, a week after Hansen was reelected to a second four-year term in the Colorado Senate representing District 31. He didn’t make his plans to resign from the legislature known until Wednesday when he spoke with The Sun.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado announces possible release areas for next wave of introduced wolves
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado announces possible release areas for next wave of introduced wolves

By Tracy Ross | The Colorado Sun Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials met Friday with commissioners from four counties where the agency plans to release wolves — a new approach after state authorities previously released the animals in secret. Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Blanco and Eagle counties are in the running as drop-off points for the 10-15 wolves the agency will source from British Columbia during the 2024-25 capture-and-release season starting in December. The counties are within the agency’s northern release zone.  The early engagement comes after a rocky start to Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program in part, say critics, because of the agency’s lack of transparency starting with the release of five wolves in Grand County on Dec. 18, and five in Summit County on D...
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Gabe Evans unseats Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District
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State, The Colorado Sun

Gabe Evans unseats Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District

By Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans has unseated Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s highly competitive 8th Congressional District, a win that represents the biggest victory for the GOP in Colorado since 2014. Evans was leading Caraveo with 49% of the vote to her 48% at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday when Caraveo conceded. They were separated by about 2,500 votes. “It’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of Colorado’s 8th District,” Caraveo, a pediatrician and former state lawmaker, said in a written statement. “While this isn’t the outcome we had hoped for, the work is not over. I look forward to returning to Washington to finish out this term.” Evans said in a written statement that he was incredibly humbled. “It is an honor to...
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Democrats name Denver’s James Coleman as Senate president in 75th session, replacing Fenberg
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State, The Colorado Sun

Democrats name Denver’s James Coleman as Senate president in 75th session, replacing Fenberg

By Brian Eason and Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun Colorado Senate Democrats on Friday elected Sen. James Coleman of Denver to lead the chamber, replacing outgoing President Steve Fenberg, who leaves office in January. Coleman, who has been serving as Senate president pro tempore, ran unopposed for the position. “We’re a family,” Coleman told his caucus before he was elected by acclimation. “We will show the country why Colorado is special and continues to be a model.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado Democrats maintain control of the state legislature, but their path to a supermajority is slim
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado Democrats maintain control of the state legislature, but their path to a supermajority is slim

By Brian Eason | The Colorado Sun Colorado Democrats held on to their large majorities at the statehouse, but their path to a rare legislative supermajority in both the House and Senate was shrinking Wednesday morning, with a handful of races still too close to call. Supermajority control could embolden the progressive left to push for a more aggressive agenda on a range of issues like worker and tenant rights, the environment and social services. And there will likely be rising pressure from their base to do so as a bulwark against a second Donald Trump presidency. But their ability to reshape the state government next year could be limited. Lawmakers will return to a state Capitol in January with a pressing need to slash more than $1 billion in spending, cuts expected to fall he...
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