Colorado Today

As private security guards are being sent to a postal service processing facility in Denver, some state officials are concerned about timing ahead of the election. Then, the number of single-family homes being built in Colorado is at its lowest level in at least six years. Also, the BLM is turning to birth control to help rein in wild horse herds. Plus, the Tarantula Festival in La Junta is hostin...

Patients at Colorado’s largest hospital had to rely on the emergency backup oxygen after someone disrupted the main supply to the building. Then, the Aspen Acres Fire is mostly contained, but the people who lost their homes to it just found out they won’t be getting help from the federal government. Plus, a Denver neighborhood worries a park upgrade could drive away their beloved beavers. Email us...

Medicaid continues to be the 800-lb gorilla in the room when it comes to the state budget — with cost overruns that could get close to a half a billion dollars this year. Then, Colorado judges are turning off the livestreams in their courtrooms, after hundreds of clips of proceedings have shown up on social media. Plus, the snowless winter and summer heat were too much for one iconic snowfield nea...

The super El Nino has raised Coloradans’ hopes for an extra snowy winter, but even as we move into fall, forecasters aren’t sure whether the weather pattern will deliver. Then, some campuses in the CU system are seeing a precipitous drop in foreign enrollment, while CU Pueblo has developed a new approach to reach students who might not think of themselves as college material. Plus, millions of bir...

CDOT is warning motorists that it’s shutting down part of I-70 westbound near Denver this weekend. Then, a data center energy bill sponsored by GOP Rep. Gabe Evans passed the House yesterday, another sign that Colorado’s delegation is joining the mounting congressional concern over the AI revolution. Plus, the giraffes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo have some fancy new accommodations, designed to keep t...

Colorado law requires gun owners to safely store firearms where kids can’t get to them. But last year’s shooting at Evergreen High School has some parents there questioning whether the law is tough enough. Then, a superPAC connected to President Donald Trump is spending a half million dollars to help Rep. Jeff Crank’s reelection effort. It’s the latest sign that Republicans are worried about their...

Colorado Democrats have long struggled to win over rural voters, but could their midterm strategy buck the trend? Then, as levels continue to drop on the Colorado River, a Supreme Court showdown is looking more and more likely. Plus, there’s new Colorado polling on AI and Data Centers. Spoiler alert: they’re very unpopular. Email us at coloradotoday@cpr.org . Colorado Today is supported by CPR’s m...

Forecasts suggest we could be in for another dry winter in Colorado, and that has the state’s largest water utility warning its customers that things like lawns are likely to get even more expensive. Then, in the lower Arkansas River valley, water users are asking hard questions about the spill that poured millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the waterway. Plus, we visit a hummingbird sanc...

For people worried that problem gambling is on the rise in Colorado, there’s one sport in particular they point to: table tennis. Then we take a closer look at the legacy of 9/11. First, students are learning about the influence that moment in history still has on their present. Then, a FEMA photographer from Colorado whose photos from ground zero are now on display in Denver. Email us at colorado...

While COVID-19 cases slowly rise across the country, Colorado is trying to fight falling vaccination rates by making it as easy as possible to get the jab. Then, the field is growing in the race to be Denver’s mayor, as incumbent Mike Johnston reckons with a negative approval rating. Plus, Colorado’s leaves are changing color a little early this year, thanks in part to the drought. Email us at col...

Yvonne “Missy” Woods, the former CBI DNA analyst accused of manipulating results in hundreds of cases, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Then, multiple lawsuits argue the soaring price of lift tickets is the result of illegal collusion by big ski companies. And, a cup of coffee that supports people entangled in the criminal justice system. Email us at coloradotoday@cpr.org . Colorado Today...

After being rejected for federal help last year, Colorado communities will finally get access to FEMA funding to help recover from this summer’s wildfires and flooding. Then, Federal subsidies can help working parents afford care for their children, but the waitlist for the program is so long, some children are simply aging out. Plus a rare chance to see professional-level sumo wrestlers in Colora...

On this Labor Day, we’re handing the Colorado Today feed over to our colleagues at Purplish. Host Bente Birkeland and KRCC Editor Andrea Chalfin explain why, after being rejected by the small town of Palmer Lake, Buc-ee’s is closer than ever to becoming a reality in northern El Paso County. Listen to the full episode of Purplish: What the ‘Buc’? Email us at coloradotoday@cpr.org . Colorado Today i...

At schools from Denver to Grand Junction, and many points in between, students plan to walk out of class at noon today to register their anger over the Trump administration’s widespread arrests and detention of immigrants. Plus, the state recently joined a lawsuit over a federal rule making it harder for many trans youth to get gender affirming care. Then, the head of the Denver Metro Chamber of C...

Colorado’s largest utility has laid out how it plans to meet the booming demand for energy by data centers. But critics say the plan doesn’t go far enough to require that power come from clean sources. Then, a debate in Colorado Springs over whether new rules could make rooftop solar less attractive for homeowners. Plus, a new poll offers a look at how Latino voters in Colorado view the state and...

The numbers are in and Colorado’s air really did have a terrible summer, thanks in part to ground-level ozone. Then, the state accidentally made personal information about confidential voters searchable online, and one of those exposed is the Republican candidate for Attorney General. Plus, new lawsuits argue understaffing is endangering inmates at a private prison in Eastern Colorado. And this we...

Communities and parks along the lower Arkansas River have been warned to avoid the waterway as a massive wastewater spill continues to make its way downstream. Then, ICE arrests are up, and immigrant rights groups in Colorado are documenting cases where they say agents have used unnecessary and unlawful force. Plus, a lab at CSU is learning about dementia by studying cognitive decline in dogs. Ema...

This school year started with a lot fewer mobile distractions in some Colorado’s classrooms. As districts roll out their new restrictions, we hear what some students think of them. Then, after a teen was hit and injured at an unauthorized late-night car meet up, her parents are asking why law enforcement can’t do more to crack down on these events. Plus, Colorado has a state flower, a state tree a...

CORRECTION: In today's segment about Colorado's glaciers, we identified the expert voice throughout as Matthew Siegfried from Colorado School of Mines. However, the final two quotes are actually from Dan McGrath, associate professor of geosciences at CSU. We apologize for the error. The floods and mudslides in Nepal have horrified the world, and for some in Colorado, the pain is personal. Plus, wh...

Colorado helped lead the lawsuit against Meta for practices the state says have harmed kids. So what will it get from the company’s big settlement? Then, doctors say fear over immigration enforcement is keeping some patients from seeking care, and it’s taking a toll on their providers, too. Plus, a Fort Collins teen may have found the most “Colorado” way possible to get to college. Email us at col...

Colorado election officials are vowing to maintain the state’s all-mail ballot system, even as the Trump administration moves forward with plans to restrict who can get ballots that way. Then, two state patrolmen were shot in Woodland Park Tuesday, unleashing a huge law enforcement response. Plus, we get a look behind the controls of a new adaptive race car, designed for people with serious spinal...

From political football to actual football, Denver’s jockeying to host some big-name events in the coming years. Then, Gov. Polis requested federal disaster declarations for two of this year’s wildfires. But after denying similar requests last year, will the President agree? Plus, a new law puts banks on the front lines of fighting fraud against seniors. And how a historic sewer exposed weaknesses...

A new plan from the federal government spares Colorado from having to send more water to downstream states, at least for now, and that means some unhappy neighbors. Then, you will likely find more than a dozen statewide initiatives on your ballot this fall — why has that become such a popular avenue to make policy? Plus, Colorado’s overall growth rate has slowed, but some areas are still booming....

Millions of tourists visit Glenwood Springs each year, many to visit the town's hot springs. But locals are concerned that plans to expand a nearby mining operation could forever alter that natural resource. Then, the federal government is rounding up around a thousand wild horses in the state this summer, reigniting the debate over how to manage this iconic, yet not-native species. And, bears! In...

After weeks of back-and-forth, the state is going to court to try to force the private company running Aurora’s immigrant detention center to cooperate with a public health order. Then, why the end of the Roadless Rule won’t immediately impact Colorado’s National Forests. Plus, a look inside the massive emergency exercise at DIA Wednesday. And Waymo is inviting reporters to ride in its driverless...