Denver kills $10M contracts with private prison operators
Denver officials have declined to renew more than $10 million in contracts with two for-profit companies that operate halfway houses.
The City Council voted Monday to kill proposed contracts with CoreCivic and GEO Group, which run six community corrections facilities in the city.
These companies also operate private prisons across the U.S. and have contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to run immigrant detention facilities.
City staff declined to comment on what would happen next.
The state Department of Corrections would likely need to find prison space for more than 500 people or grant them parole if the residential-style facilities close in Denver.
Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration also could try to renegotiate the contracts and send them back to the council.
With the deadline missed, Bureau of Reclamation plans to move forward on Colorado River operations
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 12 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 river beginning Oct. 1. The Department of the Interior and 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 3 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...
Democrat Shannon Bird qualifies by petition for primary ballot in Colorado’s toss-up 8th CD
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 1 day 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 1 day 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...
State Rep. Peña outlines significant inequalities in Colorado’s school finance law | A LOOK BACK
Rachael Wright, Special to Colorado Politics
rachael.wright@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 4 days ago
Forty-Five Years Ago This Week: In a guest column published in The Colorado Statesman, House Minority Leader Rep. Federico Peña, D-Denver, wrote that his greatest disappointment with the legislative process was “the inability, or unwillingness, of the General Assembly to...
Colorado Politics Calendar Feb. 16-22
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,...
Michael Bennet and ‘the question’ | SONDERMANN
Eric Sondermann
eric-sondermann@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 1 day ago
The train usually runs only one way. The route goes from the state Capitol to Washington, D.C. State legislators become members of Congress; governors become senators. See Hickenlooper, John. Including our junior senator, no matter his years, a total of...
Colorado District Attorneys unveil 2026 legislative priorities | WHAT’S YOUR AGENDA?
Marissa Ventrelli
marissa.ventrelli@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
Welcome to What’s Your Agenda?: The Colorado Politics’ weekly publication of trade association priorities for the state’s 2026 legislative session. The Colorado District Attorneys’ Council provides training, resources, and legislative support to every prosecutor in the state. In order to...
A day in the life of the Capitol: Capitol M | Week of Feb. 14, 2026
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
The lighter side of the Capitol, usually. If you were walking around the Capitol on Feb. 12, there was plenty to see and to be amused (or delighted) by. Let’s start with the high school kids from Greeley’s District 6....
Appeals court clarifies what materials judges may rely on for postconviction decisions
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 5 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,...
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LYNN BARTELS | Feeling nostalgia over the news game
Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t ask me, “Do you miss journalism?” My standard answer is, “I miss what journalism used to be.” Lynn Bartels I miss the newspaper war between the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post, although being a soldier in that battle was so stressful. And to top it […]
Another protest at Aurora immigration detention center
AURORA – Activists protested Monday at an immigration detention center in Aurora where a group of people last month replaced the American flag out front with a Mexican flag. Organizers of Monday evening’s protest outside the privately-run GEO Group center asked on Facebook that participants bring signs and noisemakers and reminded them to conduct themselves […]