KUNC

Colorado lawmakers ended a tumultuous, impactful session Tuesday night after passing dozens of new laws that are poised to change everything from how the state pays for roads to who can purchase guns.

Farmers in parts of the West are experiencing some of the worst drought conditions in nearly two decades. The dryness presents challenges in keeping a farm or ranch viable, and in how farmers deal with mental health concerns.

The visible signs of a deadly pandemic are fading quickly inside the state Capitol. Staff have removed the yellow caution tape that blocked the basement cafeteria for many months. Swarms of lobbyists and tourists are back. And people like Brett Frizzell are even taking off their masks deep inside the poorly ventilated building that historians once labeled a “disease breeding ground.”

Together, the measures would temporarily prevent people convicted of some violent misdemeanors from purchasing guns, create a new state office focused on preventing gun violence and allow cities to adopt stricter gun laws than the state.

Environmental groups suing to halt construction of the Windy Gap Firming Project in Northern Colorado have agreed to drop their case in exchange for $15 million to address concerns about the proposed project’s water quality and ecological effects.

The Colorado River’s biggest reservoirs are likely to drop to historically low levels later this year, prompting mandatory conservation by some of the river’s heaviest users.

A gun-owning Democrat who leads horseback adventure in San Miguel County is torn over the idea of an assault weapons ban. A former corrections officer living in Cortez says lawmakers should focus on strengthening laws already on the books.

When it comes to water in the West, a lot of it is visible. Snow stacks up high in the mountains then eventually melts and flows down into valleys. It’s easy to see how heavy rains and rushing rivers translate into an abundance of available water. But another important factor of water availability is much harder to see.

The Fort Yuma-Quechan Indian Tribe is situated at a nexus in the Colorado River Basin.

A showdown is looming on the Colorado River. The river’s existing management guidelines are set to expire in 2026. The states that draw water from it are about to undertake a new round of negotiations over the river’s future, while it’s facing worsening dry conditions due in part to rising temperatures.