EDITORIAL: Fremont needs scrutiny
How bad was Fremont County Sheriff Jim Beicker’s news conference last week? Well, it’s not a good sign when the best news you have to offer is that the latest group of your employees to face disciplinary action didn’t actually break any laws.
That’s a pretty low hurdle for a law enforcement agency to clear. You’d expect that in addition to preventing other people from breaking laws, sheriff’s deputies would follow the law themselves. But that may not be a given in the Fremont County sheriff’s department, where 11 officers have been placed on administrative leave so far this year.
To put that into perspective, when fully staffed, the department is supposed to have 116 employees. Also, bear in mind that there are five more months in the year, so the number of employees put on leave could continue to climb.
Fifty years later, women reflect on first coed class at the Air Force Academy, struggle for equality
Mary Shinn
mary-shinn@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 23 hours ago
When the first female Air Force Academy cadets arrived 50 years ago this summer, they stood in front of an enormous sign on campus that read “Bring me men.” In the shadow of that sign, Kathleen Utley Kornahrens, one of...
As Lake Powell shrinks, marinas are having to adapt to dwindling water levels | OUT WEST ROUNDUP
The Associated Press
the-associated-press@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
ARIZONA Reservoirs near record lows PAGE — The Colorado River’s Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the U.S., is shrinking. A record-dry winter and extreme heat — as well as decades of overuse, chronic drought and climate change —...
A new day? Colorado’s troubled guardianship office pursues ‘cultural reset’
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
Colorado’s guardianship program, long criticized for mismanagement and high staff attrition, is undergoing a “cultural reset,” as its new director works to repair partnerships and prepare for a major expansion under recent legislation. Created by lawmakers in 2017, the Office...
U.S. Senate OKs funding bill to avoid government shutdown
Wire Services
wire-services@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 1 day ago
Hemp provision became point of contention WASHINGTON • The U.S. Senate in an overnight vote Saturday approved a short-term measure to fund federal agencies into early December and avoid a government shutdown during the middle of campaign season. The late-summer...
The relevance of Watergate more than a half-century later | SONDERMANN
By Eric Sondermann
by-eric-sondermann@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
It was the scandal for which all other scandals are now named. In June 1972, a small group of Cuban burglars with high-level connections broke into the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Those headquarters were located in the Watergate...
Wirth downplays Social Security disaster talk | A LOOK BACK
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
Forty-five years ago this week: “As time goes on,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Wirth, of the 2nd Congressional District, “we are finding that the safety net, which was proposed earlier this year, has some very large holes in it,”...
Colorado Politics Calendar Aug. 10-16
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
CoPo’s weekly political calendar will help you find political and public-policy events throughout Colorado. It includes candidate and issue campaign events, public policy meetings, court hearings, state and local party conventions, assemblies, debates, rallies, parades, speaking engagements, traveling dignitary appearances,...
Democratic group aims Spanish-language TV ad at Gabe Evans in Colorado’s battleground 8th CD
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
A national group tied to House Democratic leadership launched a six-figure Spanish-language TV ad in Colorado this week targeting Republican U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans and the GOP’s signature budget legislation. The 30-second spot is part of $15 million in new...
Colorado School of Mines lands major share in Trump’s $100M mining-education plan
Thelma Grimes
thelma.grimes@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 days ago
President Donald Trump on Friday named the Colorado School of Mines among roughly a dozen institutions that will share in a $100 million commitment “to train the next generation of American miners.” Paul Johnson, the university’s president, said he is...
Local party leaders, incoming judge among members of judicial performance commission that violated law
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 22 hours ago
A local Democratic leader and 2024 presidential elector. A legislative aide and leader in the Young Republicans. An incoming county court judge freshly appointed by the governor. They are among the eight members of the northeastern Colorado judicial performance commission...
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Jared Polis picks two women to lead his campaign for Colorado governor
Democratic gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Jared Polis announced that two women will lead the management of his campaign. Jenn Ridder, a well-known operative within Democratic circles, will take the position of campaign manager, and Lisa Kaufmann, a long-time Polis staffer who ascended to chief of staff, will assume the role of chair of the […]
EDITORIAL: Keep 'Councilcare'
During a budget retreat late last year, Steamboat Springs City Council members were met with a ticklish dilemma when, during budget discussions, they were told by City Attorney Dan Foote that the taxpayer-funded insurance benefit members receive – and have received since 1992 – was never properly approved by voters, as stipulated in the city charter. […]