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Stephanie Vigil won’t challenge Rebecca Keltie’s victory in state House District 16 race
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Stephanie Vigil won’t challenge Rebecca Keltie’s victory in state House District 16 race

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Rep. Stephanie Vigil, D-Colorado Springs, who lost the House District 16 race to Republican Rep.-elect Rebecca Keltie, says she will not challenge the results. An automatic recount, ordered after the race ended in a seven-vote lead for Keltie, brought that race to a tie. But the canvassing board in El Paso County made up of one Democrat, one Republican, and the county clerk, declared that three votes cast for Vigil would not be counted, and Keltie was certified as the winner on Dec. 5. The Secretary of State's office accepted those results. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis criticized for blaming wolf reintroduction program costs on ranchers
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis criticized for blaming wolf reintroduction program costs on ranchers

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics Gov. Jared Polis is facing backlash for comments he made during the winter conference of Colorado counties, when he blamed ranchers for the cost of the wolf reintroduction program this year. The topic of wolves at the Colorado Counties, Inc. conference arose in response to Polis' comments about an ever-tightening state budget. The association represents 63 of the state's 64 counties. State economists have estimated that the 2025-26 state budget will be short about $1 billion due to lowering inflation and the end of billions in one-time federal money tied to the pandemic. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Auto thefts down statewide, but still remain high, State Patrol says
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kdvr.com, State

Auto thefts down statewide, but still remain high, State Patrol says

By Rachel Saurer | Fox 31 News Colorado State Patrol shared an encouraging look at auto theft numbers statewide. The number of cars being stolen has dropped to the lowest it has been since 2020. “In 2023, we saw a 20-plus percent reduction over 2022. And this year in 2024, we are trending for further decreases from last year. An additional 20 percent or more depending on how this last month or so goes,” said Cale Gould, public outreach coordinator, Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority with CSP. Gould said there are many factors contributing to this decrease to include owners taking accountability for their vehicles and the state passing legislation to further criminalize motor vehicle theft and provide more funding. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX 31 NEWS
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Colorado is 6th most regulated state in America, chamber report says
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denvergazette.com, State

Colorado is 6th most regulated state in America, chamber report says

By Marissa Ventrelli and Luige del Puerto | Denver Gazette Colorado is the sixth-most regulated state in the country and nearly half of its roughly 200,000 regulations are "excessive or duplicative," a finding that poses negative ramifications on economic growth, on productivity and, ultimately, on residents, according to a new study from the state's chamber of commerce. The study commissioned by the Colorado Chamber of Commerce is the latest report to examine the state's regulatory environment and to argue that the regulations lead to job losses associated with compliance costs and lost sales. The chamber released its study following another report showing that Colorado has slipped behind other states in terms of economic strength and that its economy is proje...
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Supermarket super merger that would have impacted 105 grocery stores in Colorado collapses
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State, The Colorado Sun

Supermarket super merger that would have impacted 105 grocery stores in Colorado collapses

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun A day after two judges in two lawsuits ruled against the proposed $24.6 billion supermarket merger, Albertsons Companies said Wednesday it would end its merger agreement with Kroger. “Given the recent federal and state court decisions to block our proposed merger with Kroger, we have made the difficult decision to terminate the merger agreement. We are deeply disappointed in the courts’ decisions,” Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said. At the same time, the Idaho grocery chain, which owns 105 Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores in Colorado, said it filed a lawsuit against Kroger for breach of merger agreement accusing the larger supermarket chain “repeatedly refusing to divest assets necessary for antitrust approval, ignoring regulators’ feedbac...
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House Republicans announce committee assignments for 75th state legislative session
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State

House Republicans announce committee assignments for 75th state legislative session

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A bench of Republicans offering diverse skill, experience and conservative values will serve Coloradans in the 75th session of the Colorado General Assembly, Minority Leader Rose Pugliese said Wednesday as she announced the party's committee assignments. “The House Republican caucus is proud to bring common-sense leadership and thoughtful solutions to the issues Coloradans care about most,” she said. “These assignments truly reflect the caucus’ commitment to increasing affordability, keeping Colorado families safe, and protecting taxpayers while providing strong leadership and expertise across all legislative areas." She joined Assistant Minority Leader Ty Winter in announcing the committee assignments. “Our committee members bring a wealt...
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As Colorado slips behind other states in economic strength, slower economic growth in 2025 is ‘new reality’
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gazette.com, State

As Colorado slips behind other states in economic strength, slower economic growth in 2025 is ‘new reality’

By Bernadette Berdychowski  | The Gazette As Colorado slips behind other states in terms of economic strength, its economy is projected to grow — albeit slower in 2025, according to a new report. The Business Research Division at the University of Colorado Boulder released its 60th annual outlook Monday detailing forecasts of Colorado’s economy and various industries for 2025 based on the analysis from 140 statewide government, business and academic experts. The report found Colorado’s economy is growing, but falling behind in several areas. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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Colorado officials outline ‘conflict minimization’ efforts ahead of next gray wolves release
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coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado officials outline ‘conflict minimization’ efforts ahead of next gray wolves release

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it has made improvements to its "conflict minimization" program following feedback from livestock producers, who have pleaded with the agency to delay the introduction of the next set of gray wolves. Notably, the state is adding "conflict reduction" staffers and "non-lethal mitigation specialists" to its staff.  Up to 15 more wolves are expected to be released in Colorado early next year.  "Through partnerships with the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA), the Colorado Wolf Restoration Ad Hoc Working Group, USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services, Colorado State University Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) and NGOs, we are in a position to offer Colorado livestock...
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Lundberg: More light needs to be shed on Griswoldgate, despite ‘move along’ spin
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Commentary, State

Lundberg: More light needs to be shed on Griswoldgate, despite ‘move along’ spin

By Kevin Lundberg | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Nothing to see here, move along, move along… This week it was widely reported that a “third party” investigation concluded Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s public posting of hundreds of passwords for months on her official website was inadvertent and therefore no harm was done. Absent in this report is an adequate analysis of the serious compromise that occurred to the election equipment which the passwords were intended to protect (no one really knows who may have found this information online or how it may have been used to manipulate election results), nor did the report deal with the fact that the secretary of state (SOS) hid this password breach from the public and the county clerks while the election ...
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Colorado experts predict what the state’s economy will look like in 2025
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado experts predict what the state’s economy will look like in 2025

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun The Herculean effort of predicting how the current year has gone and what will happen to Colorado’s economy in next year took 140 local experts from every major industry sector, meetings since September and dozens of staffers at University of Colorado’s business school putting in roughly 1,000 hours of work.  On Monday, it was summed up with a sentence: “The economy is on stable footing.” The full 171-page report is also available online for those who prefer to dive deeper, but on Monday, senior economist Richard L. Wobbekind, the faculty director of the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business, shared highlights during the annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook & Forum event. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO ...
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