Today is Jan. 25, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, a Republican from Wellington, announced this morning he will resign his leadership post effective at the end of the day, the culmination of attempts by colleagues to oust him after his drunk-driving arrest became public.

A caucus election for his replacement will take place on Thursday at 8 a.m.

“I would like this to serve as a message to my fellow members to be careful and not get behind the wheel when impaired,” Lynch said.

“Please learn from my lesson,” Lynch said.

The chairman of the Colorado Republican Party helped in ousting House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, who announced on Wednesday that he is stepping down from his leadership post in the wake of mounting pressure after a DUI arrest in 2022 became public.

Lynch did not disclose the arrest, which happened before he assumed the mantle of House Minority Leader, to his caucus, a sore point for his colleagues when the story broke last week.

How big of a role Dave Williams played in Lynch’s ouster is unclear. But the Republican Party official showed up at the state House on Tuesday and spoke with two members pushing for Lynch’s resignation from leadership.

Williams did not hide his animus toward Lynch in a text message on Wednesday to Colorado Politics.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said in a news release that the map would use data collected from the prior month to tell the public, recreationists and livestock producers where the wolves have been.

“By looking at the data, CPW staff can learn where wolves have been, but they cannot tell where wolves are at a current point in time, nor can they predict where the wolves will go,” according to the release. “To protect the wolves, specific GPS data will not be shared.”

The maps, the division said, are created using GPS data collected from the 12 collared wolves in Colorado – the 10 released in December, plus the two that have been killing livestock in Jackson County.

Lawmakers grilled officials from the Department of Natural Resources and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, who found themselves on the hot seat on Wednesday at the state Capitol, where policymakers described communication failures and problems tied to the release of wolves in Grand and Summit counties last month.

The lawmakers said the state mishandled communications over the release and added that destroyed trust with ranchers and landowners. They added those ranchers and landers are now saying they will no longer work with the agency on conservation issues.

Dan Gibbs, chief of the Department of Natural Resources, apologized for the communication failures.

Lawmakers also hammered agency representatives over their refusal to come up with a definition of “chronic depredation” that would allow a Jackson County rancher to deal with two wolves – unrelated to the released wolves – that have killed 16 livestock and four working cattle dogs.

A cadre of Democratic governors – including Gov. Jared Polis – called on Congress and the Biden administration to reach a border security deal that includes funding to support states, such as Colorado, that are struggling to respond to the humanitarian crisis caused by an influx of immigrants crossing the border illegally.

“We need Congress to take action to secure our border and pass comprehensive immigration reform,” Polis said in a news release. “States can’t do this alone. It’s time to put politics aside and deliver the real solutions and support that states like Colorado, and many others, need.”

The group of nine governors urged Congress to quickly negotiate a legislative package that addresses border security and modernizes the country’s immigration system, while providing federal funding and coordination.