Colorado ranchers ask wildlife officials to delay next wolves release

Colorado ranchers ask wildlife officials to delay next wolves release

Colorado ranchers are renewing their demand for state wildlife officials to delay the release of more wolves until they finalize more programs to prevent attacks on livestock. Ranchers on Thursday formally asked Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioners to delay the releases — expected in early January — to prevent communication issues and depredations similar to … Read more

Why DPS says it must close Denver schools to avert “full-blown crisis”

Why DPS says it must close Denver schools to avert “full-blown crisis”

Carrie Olson remembers the first time she was told Denver Public Schools would need to close schools because fewer babies were being born. She had only been on the Board of Education for a year or two when the state demographer predicted the difficult decision that Olson — first elected in 2017 — and her … Read more

Community college enrollment gains led by dual enrollment

Community college enrollment gains led by dual enrollment

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters Dual-enrolled high school students are closing in on accounting for nearly half of Colorado’s community college enrollment, according to fall 2024 enrollment data. Of the 88,118 students enrolled at the two-year level, more than 39,000 students statewide are still in high … Read more

Coresite will no longer seek Denver tax break for new data center

Coresite will no longer seek Denver tax break for new data center

A company planning to build a new data center in north Denver will no longer seek a $9 million tax break from the city after the proposed deal raised questions among City Council members about water and energy usage. CoreSite will still build the data center in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood — but without striking the … Read more

South Adams County Water and Sanitation District runs Ballot Issue 6A

South Adams County Water and Sanitation District runs Ballot Issue 6A

A water provider in metro Denver has faced a lose-lose situation: Apply for state funding for water projects and risk giving up tax revenue — or abstain from seeking the millions of dollars of available grant money altogether. It’s a bad choice voters can help an Adams County water district avoid by passing a ballot … Read more

Colorado public lands would get protection under Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act

Colorado public lands would get protection under Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act

More than a third of the public land in one of Colorado’s top ranching and tourism counties could receive increased protections if a bill introduced by the state’s U.S. senators Thursday becomes law. The Gunnison Outdoor Resources Protection Act would place more than 730,000 acres of federal public land in Gunnison County and surrounding areas … Read more

How to use the paid family leave insurance program

How to use the paid family leave insurance program

Most Colorado workers are now eligible to receive at least part of their salaries while recovering from illness or caring for a baby, but people who are new to their jobs may not have protection from firing or demotion. Colorado’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance program has paid out about $420 million on 82,000 claims … Read more

Denver could target dozens of homes in Weir Gulch waterway project

Denver could target dozens of homes in Weir Gulch waterway project

A federally backed project that aims to restore wildlife habitat and reduce flood risks along the South Platte River and two tributaries could displace dozens of residents in some of the west Denver neighborhoods most prone to flooding. Draft plans for Weir Gulch — which envision the acquisition of up to 70 residential properties — … Read more

Would Colorado’s mountain lion population grow if hunting is banned?

Would Colorado’s mountain lion population grow if hunting is banned?

For decades, licensed hunters have killed hundreds of Colorado mountain lions every year to control the state’s population of the elusive feline. Voters in November will decide whether to ban the practice, along with the trapping of bobcats. That prospect has set off a deluge of competing claims about what will happen if big-cat hunting … Read more

Rocky Flats Stewardship Council will disband after a quarter century

Rocky Flats Stewardship Council will disband after a quarter century

Rocky Flats is at a crossroads once again. For 25 years, 10 city and county governments near the former nuclear weapons manufacturing site northwest of Denver have monitored for contaminants and other hazards through their participation in the Rocky Flats Stewardship Council. But now the council, which has met regularly to discuss conditions on the … Read more