EDITORIAL: A sad situation
If any place in the West has an appreciation for wild horses, it’s Grand Junction.
Witness the metal horse sculptures that greet visitors exiting Interstate 70 at Horizon. They’re inspired by the Little Bookcliffs herd near De Beque.
But for all their majesty and iconic stature as emblems of the West, wild horses, or mustangs, pose a sizable ecological challenge – one that Congress is trying to address.
There are about three times more horses than rangelands can sustain. Public lands will support 27,000 of the animals, but there are 72,000 on BLM land, the Sentinel’s Dennis Webb reported Monday. That’s not counting this years’ new foals. Another 47,000 are in holding facilities leading “miserable lives” according to a volunteer with Friends of the Mustangs.
Veteran policy advisor Mara Sheldon joins Holland & Knight
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 47 minutes ago
Mara Sheldon, who has spent more than three decades in public policy and strategic communication, has joined Holland & Knight as a senior policy advisor in its public policy and regulation practice group. Sheldon represented the state Colorado at the...
Jesse Jackson dead: Civil Rights activist dies at 84
Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner
mabinty.quarshie.washington.examiner@gazetteedit.wpenginepowered.com
Updated 53 minutes ago
Famed civil rights activist and longtime black political leader Rev. Jesse Jackson died on Tuesday morning, at the age of 84 following a longtime battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Jackson was hospitalized in November and later diagnosed with a degenerative condition...
What Republicans do, and don’t, want to hear from Trump at State of the Union
Ramsey Touchberry, Washington Examiner
ramsey.touchberry.washington.examiner@gazetteedit.wpenginepowered.com
Updated 57 minutes ago
Congressional Republicans are pleading with President Donald Trump to exercise message discipline on major domestic issues in his upcoming State of the Union address as the 2026 midterm elections kick off. In interviews with the Washington Examiner, GOP lawmakers desire...
High winds bring extreme fire danger, hazardous snow squalls to Colorado
Dan Boniface
dan.boniface@denvergazette.com
Updated 1 hour ago
An extreme weather day is on tap across Colorado on Tuesday, due to high winds that will bring extreme fire danger to the eastern half of the state and hazardous winter conditions to the mountains. Here’s what you need to...
Researchers to study universal health care, as Coloradans face $1 billion in medical debt
Mary Shinn
mary-shinn@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 hours ago
Colorado residents owe about $1 billion in medical debt. The sky-high number is a small portion of the nation’s medical debt estimated around $220 billion, according to a 2024 analysis by Peterson Center on Healthcare and KFF, formerly the Kaiser...
With the deadline missed, Bureau of Reclamation plans to move forward on Colorado River operations
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 22 hours ago
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...
Record snow drought in Western states raises concern for water shortages, wildfires | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
The Associated Press
the-associated-press@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 5 days ago
MONTANA Record snow drought raises concerns A record snow drought with unprecedented heat is hitting most of the American West, depleting future water supplies, making it more vulnerable to wildfires and hurting winter tourism and recreation. Scientists say snow cover...
Appeals court clarifies what materials judges may rely on for postconviction decisions
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 20 hours ago
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified on Thursday that trial judges who are deciding whether to grant relief to convicted defendants may rely on the materials attached to, or referenced in, the parties’ arguments. In contrast to direct appeals of criminal convictions,...
Democrat Shannon Bird qualifies by petition for primary ballot in Colorado’s toss-up 8th CD
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 21 hours ago
Former state Rep. Shannon Bird has qualified for the Democratic primary ballot in Colorado’s hotly contested 8th Congressional District by submitting a sufficient number of petition signatures, state election officials said this week. The winner of the Democrats’ June 30...
Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases about reliability of gun-to-bullet matching
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will hear two cases questioning the reliability of expert testimony that purports to identify whether a specific bullet was fired from a specific gun. At least three of the court’s seven...