Colorado Today

Colorado’s justice system is under scrutiny over whether some of its youngest defendants are being denied protections meant for those presumed innocent, especially when detention can worsen underlying conditions. Then, state leaders aim to strengthen civil rights enforcement as federal priorities shift… but funding those efforts could prove a challenge. Plus, a CSU researcher is studying the scien...

Following a no-confidence vote, Brita Horn says she’ll resign as head of the Colorado GOP after next month’s state convention. But some candidates question whether the party can make it through that all-important step in the primary selection process. Then, in Mesa County organizers are changing the name of the upcoming Cesar Chavez Day celebration, and trying to keep the focus on honoring the lab...

Colorado’s prison system is bursting at the seams. To deal with it, the governor’s office wants money to reopen a shuttered prison, but lawmakers aren’t eager to write that check. Plus, the Denver City Council votes next week on the contract for a new vendor to replace Flock’s license plate surveillance system, but concerns remain. And if you’re listening to this with a tissue in your hand, you’re...

Colorado is experiencing record temperatures this week, and water managers want people to start thinking about conservation now. Then, disturbing accusations about the late labor leader Cesar Chavez have Denver rethinking whether to honor him. And sentencings this week in two high profile criminal cases. Plus, a state board considers whether to ban Colorado’s SNAP recipients from using their benef...

The group that oversees the National Center for Atmospheric Research is suing the government departments that fund it, arguing NCAR is being dismantled not for policy reasons, but to punish Colorado. Then, the Southern Colorado city of Walsenburg has been without reliable water since last week, as crews try to plug leak after leak. Plus, after a surprising assembly upset, a political newcomer will...

We bring you the latest on the strike on one of the largest meatpacking plants in the country. Then, Jefferson County Public Schools is pushing back as the Department of Education accuses it of Title IX violations over accommodations for trans students. And a Colorado producer talks about her work on, “One Battle After Another.” Email us at coloradotoday@cpr.org . Colorado Today is supported by CP...

Colorado lawmakers face painful budget decisions that could affect programs for people with severe disabilities. Then, recycling in Colorado gets a high-tech upgrade, we visit a new facility where AI-powered systems sort materials with air cannons. Plus, rock art sites across the state reveal glimpses into the lives and ideas of people who lived here thousands of years ago. Email us at coloradotod...

Colorado’s once booming job market has been lagging the nation for a while now, and last year it may have hit an unpleasant milestone. Plus, why thousands of workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley are preparing to hit the picket line Monday. Then, after two weeks of war Persians in Colorado are holding on to the hope that this could be the start of something better for Iran. And the state...

President Donald Trump has long opposed all-mail elections, now he’s trying to strong-arm Congress into banning them. For Colorado, the impact of that change could be significant. Then, ICE officials were on the stand in a Denver courtroom this week, and their testimony gave rare insights into the agency’s operations in Colorado. Plus, we meet two members of Team USA competing in wheelchair curlin...

State lawmakers are considering requiring AI chatbots to implement new safety measures as concerns grow about the risks to kids. Then, the School of Mines has a new effort to prepare its undergraduates for jobs in quantum industries, and it involves a lab deep under the earth. And, a film about poet Andrea Gibson, who died of cancer last summer, is up for Best Documentary at the Oscars this weeken...

While the war with Iran is thousands of miles away, its effects are already being felt locally. That includes higher prices at the fuel pump. Then, Colorado is in danger of running short on nurses. The state’s universities hope to shore things up. Plus, can pumping oxygen into your home help with altitude sickness and insomnia? Email us at coloradotoday@cpr.org . Colorado Today is supported by CPR...

Colorado’s latest wildlife debate centers on fur trapping, where unlike big game hunting, trappers don’t have to report how many animals they take. Then, what a super-deep drilling experiment in Weld County might say about the energy future in Colorado. Plus, we visit a very unusual office party, thrown by artists with an unusual vision for Denver’s empty highrises. Email us at coloradotoday@cpr.o...

Governor Polis is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Tina Peters, the former clerk in prison for helping to tamper with Mesa County’s election equipment. He’s made it clear he thinks her sentence is too long, but shortening it could set off a furor in his party. Then, ten renewable energy projects around Colorado are racing to break ground and buy equipment in time to take advantage...

A problem with Apple Podcasts caused today's episode not to appear in people's feeds, so we are trying again. Apologies if this means you're getting the same episode twice. A new report raises concerns about conditions inside Colorado’s largest immigrant detention center in Aurora. Then, a long-distance bus network across the state is seeing explosive growth, but the popular service is also runnin...

A new report raises concerns about conditions inside Colorado’s largest immigrant detention center in Aurora. Then, a long-distance bus network across the state is seeing explosive growth, but the popular service is also running out of money. Plus, a citizen police oversight commission created after the Black Lives Matter protests is now asking to be disbanded. And we take you to one of Colorado’s...

In today’s show, two new measles cases are causing disruption for some students at a Front Range high school. Plus, Denver is auditioning for a starring role in the next presidential election. Then, a pipe bombing trial decades in the making is delayed in Grand Junction. And a young musician from Denver who’s making a name for herself shredding on the electric violin. Email us at coloradotoday@cpr...

Colorado’s Democratic members of congress are likely to join an effort to check President Trump’s power to wage war with Iran. Then, Denver has set up a potential federal show down by banning all law enforcement officers — including ICE — from hiding their identities while working. Plus, a bill to remove all criminal penalties for prostitution is stirring up talk at the state Capitol. And bears sp...

President Trump is reportedly considering an emergency order that could upend how Colorado and other states conduct their election. But even if that doesn’t happen, the state’s top election official is concerned by what she’s hearing from Washington. Then, pine beetles are attacking the Front Range’s ponderosa forests with devastating consequences. And a fashion exhibit in Fort Collins explores th...

It’s been a scary week for fire danger on the Front Range, but a ray of hope is on the horizon. Then, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston signed an executive order that limits what ICE can do in the city, setting up potential conflicts between federal and local law enforcement. Plus, parents are turning back to an old technology to help their kids learn communication and social skills: landlines. Email us...

Do religious schools have a right to public funding? That’s the question at the center of the ongoing debate about an elementary school in southern Colorado that opened last year billing itself as “Colorado’s first public Christian school.” Then, “blight” could be the label coming to the industrial area around Denver’s Burnham Yard, where the Broncos are planning to build their new stadium. That d...

A commonly used pesticide in Colorado is under scrutiny after beekeepers say it’s harming pollinators as well as pests, and a new bill is deepening the divide between farmers and environmentalists. Then, we learn more about the deaths of six workers at a Weld County dairy farm and what consequences their employers could face. Plus, a longtime equestrian group drops a controversial element from its...

From a presidential endorsement snub to a new gerrymandering effort, there’s already a lot cooking around the midterm elections in Colorado. Then, residents and activists from a north Denver neighborhood has scored a small victory against big tech, with the city is changing its approach to the data center boom, at least temporarily. Plus, you’ll hear an Olympian from Colorado reflect on the Milano...

It’s hard to drive very far on the Front Range without having your license plate scanned by an automated camera. But in the face of privacy concerns and fears the data could be used for immigration enforcement, lawmakers may set new limits on their use. Then, an undulating sign made from nearly a thousand LED light poles greets drivers on their way to DIA — but the display is costly — and troubled...

Denver voters approved major funding for mental health care and addiction treatment, but a new audit questions how that money is being handled. Then, a federal judge in Colorado is expressing frustration as ICE agents are accused of continuing to make arrests without warrants, potentially violating his order. Plus, as Lunar New Year celebrations begin, we go behind the scenes with some lion dancer...

We have some safety advice after a wacky week in Colorado weather – from fragile avalanche conditions in the high country to deadly dust storms on the plains. Then, one woman's fight to get Colorado to issue her a birth certificate could change the future for other stateless adults. And, one of the last professional theater critics in Colorado shares his recommendations for what to go see this win...