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Trump’s misguided speech reminded me why it matters Colorado has real leadership (Opinion)
As President Donald Trump touted many so-called “policy wins” for women, it has made me reflect on just how much he has actually harmed women.
Legal prostitution in Colorado more liberal than Nevada’s rural brothels? (Opinion)
Senate Bill 97 would remove legal barriers to prostitution, soliciting sex, and keeping a place...
Utah begins to cull mountain lions to ‘study’ the effect (Opinion)
Utah’s mountain lion cull follows hard upon a 2023 state law that opened up year-round,...
Sen. Michael Bennet should not get to pick his replacement (Opinion)
Bennet should either say now who intends to appoint or -- to remove even a...
Why ICE should target lawbreaking employers instead of mass deportations (Opinion)
"Each year, thousands of undocumented workers are detained or deported. Yet, on average, only about...
Palantir leaves Colorado after politicians chose between dirty money and the voters they represent (Opinion)
"The largest recipient of donations from Palantir employees and the company’s PAC are PAC’s set...
Lawmakers haven’t given up on Colorado’s unions and neither should Polis (Opinion)
"Despite Colorado’s law being positioned as a 'compromise,' the Labor Peace Act actually plays out...
A Utah monument comes under attack — again (Opinion)
Utah politicians are betting the public won’t pay as much attention to management retrenchment as...
Global energy demand is rising as Colorado hinders the oil and gas industry (Opinion)
Colorado’s energy debate has become increasingly disconnected from the realities of how energy systems operate....
Olympic athletes represent U.S. and our freedoms (Letters)
Athletes represent U.S. and our freedoms Re: "U.S. athletes speaking up about politics face backlash,"...
Trump is on a losing streak and taking it out on Colorado (Opinion)
“You can indict a ham sandwich,” former New York Court of Appeals Judge Sol Wachtler...
Crossing the corners of private land to access public land won in courts, now laws must follow (Opinion)
"Corner crossing may be ingenious, but it is not radical. It is a straightforward affirmation...
In the drying West, here is how Aurora is leading water conservation (Opinion)
People who call Colorado home know the sun is often shining and that chapstick is...
Colorado deserves politicians willing to say “abolish ICE” (Opinion)
"When your job is numbers, every person becomes a statistic and a justification in pursuit...
Legalize roadside burritos and sidewalk tamales in Colorado (Opinion)
More than 30 years on I can still remember pealing back the tinfoil. There was...
Colorado’s reintroduction of wolverines is based on science not the ballot box biology that got us wolves (Opinion)
Earlier this month, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) released the Colorado Wolverine Restoration Plan,...
Extreme weather coupled with high fire risk leaves Xcel Energy with no easy choices (Opinion)
While it’s not possible to estimate the exact damage that could have occurred had these...
We served the Department of Homeland Security for years. Trump’s ICE operations are a threat to America’s rule of law. (Opinion)
"Citizens have a duty to exercise their First Amendment rights peacefully. But the greater burden...
A quiet, pervasive fear has taken hold in Minnesota. Now we carry papers (Opinion)
A quiet, pervasive fear that has taken root in the Twin Cities, forcing some people...
We all know plastic is nasty stuff, so why do I find so many empty bottles on the trail? (Opinion)
On trails in Grand Canyon National Park, I mostly pick up empty water bottles. It...
Colorado needs a graduated income tax because we can’t rely on Washington anymore (Opinion)
Colorado cannot remain dependent on the federal government to support the child care needs of...
The ugly sides of AI (Opinion)
AI will be beneficial but not without significant costs. Historically America's lawmakers addressed the human...
Moab is not a place for “nuclear tourism.” The DOE can’t sugarcoat spent nuclear fuel. (Opinion)
Like the radioactive waste itself, some bad ideas won’t disappear. Southeast Utah is in the...
Tina Peters and her attorneys are not helping her case for clemency (Opinion)
Pro tip to Tina Peters and her legal representatives — lying to the public about...
I warned Colorado lawmakers this law was unconstitutional and now they will pay millions in attorney fees (Opinion)
The fact that the state had to lose millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to...
Sale of idyllic mountain monastery near Aspen is one more lost spiritual space (Opinion)
For nearly 70 years, people from around the world visited St. Benedict’s Monastery in Old...
Clemency for Tina Peters endangers us all (Opinion)
Governor Polis has cited humanitarian reasons for possibly granting clemency to convicted felon, Tina Peters....
Three Colorado mayors ask for legislative response on crime and AI (Opinion)
As mayors with varying political affiliations representing the three largest cities in our state, we...
Is takeout dying? The middle ground between the cost of eating out, cooking is disappearing.
Commentary: Denver's takeout options didn't stop being delicious, they stopped being affordable
Why are Democrats going to hand over the CU board to MAGA? (Opinion)
Voters expected Democratic leadership rooted in Colorado values like transparency, inclusion, and accountability. However, CU...
How state policy is quietly crushing Colorado’s small businesses (Opinion)
Supporters of the repeal dismissed the vendor fee as insignificant, claiming it averaged just $60...
Afghan refugees do not deserve to be scapegoated by the president (Opinion)
When an Afghan asylum seeker shot two National Guard members, killing one, President Donald Trump immediately seized the tragedy...
Keeping the Craig coal power plant open will only hurt Colorado rate payers (Opinion)
The president’s eleventh hour executive order to keep the coal-fired Unit 1 at the Craig...
Ben Nighthorse Campbell foretold of Denver’s elites and backlash to Democrats (Opinion)
A major irritant for Campbell, Ken Lane recalled, was what the senator called the “elitist”...
Joe Oltmann for Colorado governor? Please, spare us another Republican candidate obsessed with chemtrails and Tina Peters (Opinion)
Like other unserious candidates, Joe Oltmann's presence further diminishes the state GOP at a time...
Keeping the Rockies running requires the right to repair our shuttle vehicles (Opinion)
At 3 a.m. on a winter morning, when most Coloradans are still asleep, our shuttle...
UCHealth’s commitment to caring for Coloradans in need is not shown in misleading report on profits (Opinion)
Following a misleading report on hospital finances, The Denver Post published an editorial that misrepresents...
Colorado got schooled by the courts on our constitutional freedoms, again in 2025 (Opinion)
2025 was the year of remedial education for the Colorado General Assembly.
Should alcohol mix with your holiday mixer? (Opinion)
We in Colorado drink a lot (9th highest rate of excessive drinking in the United...
What will Trump’s marijuana adjustment mean for Colorado’s cannabis industry? (Opinion)
We have disciplined operators running lean businesses in a crowded landscape. Rescheduling won't mean a...
A greater threat to Colorado’s elections than Tina Peters? (Opinion)
The real threat to election integrity got comparatively fewer headlines back in November when one...
We need coal a bit longer but can we afford Xcel Energy’s Comanche 3? (Opinion)
A few years ago, Colorado was triumphantly easing out of coal generation in orderly fashion....
South Broadway has soccer fever because the Summit will be a force for good in the neighborhood (Opinion)
South Broadway has soccer fever, and for good reason. After years of crawling back from...
I worked at NOAA for 30 years, and know Trump’s attack on Colorado’s world-class science labs puts us all at risk (Opinion)
The research activities NCAR and the NOAA labs in Boulder conduct are predominant sources of...
DeGette: Coloradans deserve affordable health care from this Congress
"If Congress simply extended the enhanced ACA tax credits, something Democrats have been fighting for...
Mayor Johnston, bowing to business interests and wealthy families, is moving Denver’s road safety backwards (Opinion)
During this latest budget crunch, when DOTI staff members were being laid off and safety...
Colorado’s war on natural gas is unfair to people like me who own little old houses (Opinion)
After I bought this little, old house, I changed out the 70-year-old boiler for a...
Lawmakers should deliver Colorado families a back-to-school sales tax holiday (Opinion)
Prices go up. Paychecks do not. Parents are doing everything they can, and it still...
Nuggets’ road success is why they will contend for NBA championship: Renck
Denver hasn't done anything yet. But the Nuggets' 11-game winning streak on the road tells...
The added burden I wish my non-Jewish neighbors understood this time of year (Opinion)
“If Chanukah is a festival of lights, why don’t we put them on our house?”...
Renck: Adam Prentice comes full circle as Broncos’ increasingly valuable fullback
Adam Prentice's story deserves telling, not just because of the local connection, but because of...
Where is Trump’s concern for conditions in federal detention centers? (Letters)
I find it fascinating and ironic that this same DOJ has chronically overlooked similar issues...
Is Gov. Jared Polis really a ‘sleazebag’ or does he just endorse sleazebags on social media? (Opinion)
Polis encouraged Coloradans "to read the work of two men who often say outlandish things...
The creative way Colorado can work around Citizens United to keep big money’s corporate influence out of politics (Opinion)
"We must reduce the influence of big money in our politics so that elected officials...
Colorado Treasurer: The real fix for Colorado’s budget woes isn’t austerity. Tax the rich and oil and gas. (Opinion)
The federal shutdown offered a warning. Will the Colorado legislature heed it?
When is a ribbon cutting so much more than opening a modern wing on a historic building? (Opinion)
The grand opening of the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance expansion is far more than a...
Renck: A Father’s Sonshine. Dakota Ridge climbs final mountain with coach, quarterback leading way to title
After six losses in the semifinals, after falling in their lone title game appearance in...
Hegseth and the Department of War (crimes) prove Jason Crow right (Opinion)
When Congressman Jason Crow and five Democratic colleagues with military and intelligence service released a...
NREL drops ‘renewable energy’ in bow to Trump’s new climate Orwellian newspeak (Letters)
Laboratory name change spells trouble Re: "The National Renewable Energy Lab is renamed," Dec. 3...
Kafer: Under no circumstances should Tina Peters be handed over
After a few months of truculent, all-caps argle-bargle on social media demanding Tina Peter's release,...
Western senators cannot support this Trump nominee who wants to liquidate public lands (Opinion)
Trump's BLM nominee Steve Pearce’s vision for our public lands is not conservation or even...
Put political pique aside by considering Thanksgiving’s origins (Opinion)
Throughout America’s history, Thanksgiving has been celebrated in times of difficulty and dissension. People from...
Mayor Johnston got it right on license plate cameras (Opinion)
As someone deeply committed to public safety, civil rights, and the protection of vulnerable communities,...
Big Brother is tracking you — Denver’s descent into surveillance dystopia (Opinion)
Denver is on a path toward the destruction of individual privacy under the guise of...
Coloradans shouldn’t pay for Xcel’s coal mistakes (Opinion)
In a shocking twist, the state of Colorado just sided with Xcel Energy and petitioned regulators...
The pain of lost family and someone else’s Thanksgiving (Opinion)
No one’s trying to kill the party. But there’s nothing like a forced party to...
We need courage to change course on the Colorado River (Opinion)
The Colorado River is in crisis. The seven basin states just blew through a heavily...
Trump’s response to Rep. Crow’s video was completely unhinged (Opinion)
If the message in the video takes the debate about Trump’s handling of our military...
They fled the Taliban, legally entered the U.S. and now Trump is detaining them (Opinion)
How a large, wealthy country can turn its back on people fleeing death and imprisonment...
The pleasures — and perils — of seasonal jobs in the backcountry, on rivers or snow (Opinion)
Seasonal work provided travel, flexibility, constant learning and sometimes fun. But if you asked me...
The U.S. Air Force Academy is on the brink of failure. Here’s how to save it. (Opinion)
Multiple parents whom I know personally, themselves Air Force Academy grads or instructors, are now...
Weiser is wrong to jump ship on Colorado’s fair redistricting process (Opinion)
"Rather than follow the lead of Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, Colorado should continue to...
Trump is setting up our National Parks for failure — to be sold or taken over by private interests (Opinion)
The Trump administration is setting up our national parks to be sold out from under...
Ken and John Salazar: Despite decade of planning for San Luis Valley land conservation, state could break yet another promise to southern Colorado
It has come to our attention that the governor-appointed State Land Board — with no...
Aurora’s new shelter strikes the right balance between work-first and housing-first approaches (Opinion)
The program is neither a “Housing First” model, where individuals experiencing homelessness are given private...
Universities must change how they foster inclusiveness, DU has a plan to help everyone belong (Opinion)
Perceptions that the work fostering inclusiveness at the University of Denver has been swept aside...
Search and rescue teams in the West are vital, and not just because people push the bounds of recreation (Opinion)
I was high up on a cliff above Moab, Utah, as night was falling, and...
Here is what it would take for me to join a No Kings rally (Opinion)
To all those who wrote me personally or sent a letter to the editor about...
The world has moved on but climate change fueled-storms triggered a humanitarian disaster in Alaska (Opinion)
Powerful back-to-back storms have ravaged dozens of mostly Alaska Native communities in western Alaska: Approximately...
Fight back against Xcel’s rate creep (Letters)
"Xcel Energy continually requests rate increases, pancaking a request on the natural gas side and...
Vote no on housing question 3A to keep Littleton from getting an annoying HOA (Opinion)
If I wanted a small group to dictate what I could do with my property,...
The government shutdown will cause Colorado families to go hungry (Opinion)
Holding SNAP food access is a severe threat to the 600,000 Coloradans who depend on...
These DPS incumbent candidates don’t support school choice (Opinion)
This election offers a turning point. Denver voters can choose leaders who bring urgency, competence,...
Get past the harmful stigmas and step up for Colorado’s 3,448 children in foster care (Opinion)
In Colorado, an astounding 3,448 kids need homes. These are real kids, caught in difficult circumstances...
Insurance companies are underinsuring Colorado homes to disastrous results (Opinion)
"We found that 74% of homeowners affected by the Marshall Fire were underinsured, and 36%...
This park in Utah is under threat from Trump — do not give up (Opinion)
As retired Capitol Reef superintendent Sue Fritzke said, "OHVs would denigrate the very resources those...
No Kings rally has lost even this sympathetic critic of President Donald Trump (Opinion)
But now that the signs are propped against the garage wall and social media feeds...
I spent three months in jail because a prosecutor hid evidence of my fiancee’s suicide (Opinion)
Tragically, in 2019, my fiancée took her own life. What began as one of the...
A record 77 grizzly bears died in Yellowstone this year. Miracle’s survival depends on humans doing better. (Opinion)
This summer, a grizzly cub in Grand Teton National Park gained international fame after an...
Fighting Colorado’s ban on ‘conversion therapy’ for the free speech I need and my clients deserve in my office (Opinion)
On Oct. 7, I walked into the U.S. Supreme Court, not because I ever imagined...
Our shared humanity is the path to peace in Gaza (Opinion)
"To speak of the October 7 attack and of Hamas only in passing is to...
The genocide in Gaza has killed Palestinians for 2 years, Coloradans must raise their voices (Opinion)
For 730 days, I have watched Palestinians live-stream their own genocide from Gaza to the...
Assisted suicide was offered to my friend Jane Allen. She had an eating disorder. (Opinion)
Assisted suicide is anything but compassionate for vulnerable people, like the tragic story of my...
Why declining aquifers, like the crucial Denver Basin, matter as much as our rivers (Opinion)
Denver Basin aquifers, like the Ogallala, get little replenishment from mountain snows. Instead of growing...
Trump’s administration can’t grasp that some American lands should remain wild, without roads or logging (Opinion)
Pushing to build new roads in our most rugged areas is a fool’s errand. Let’s...
Krista Kafer: These top notch Republicans have a shot next year, let’s not spoil it with my endorsement
My endorsement could cost a good Republican candidate votes. Thus, I will not be endorsing...
Bill Ritter: Donald Trump’s reality is at odds with the crisis we are living in Colorado
This week in New York City, I moderated a panel at Climate Week, a global...
We agree, despite our drastically different politics, that the U.S. cannot continue with this hate (Opinion)
"Spiraling into hate only wastes energy, furthers the divide, and produces greater suffering. It never...