Colorado Public Radio

Colorado could be the next state to consider a ban on "assault-style" weapons, Colorado Public Radio has learned, although discussions are still in the preliminary stages at the state capitol and no legislation has been introduced yet.

A little more than a year into the pandemic in the U.S. and governors across the country continue to be thrust into the spotlight as they maneuver through vaccine distribution and decisions on opening up their states.

During the public health emergency, governors have used extraordinary powers to shut down businesses and mandate masks and social distancing. No governor ever ran for office "expecting to lead a state through a pandemic," says Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat.

In the shadow of former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party is trying to find its footing nationally and in many corners of the county.

In Colorado, after facing major losses in the last few cycles, a volatile election for the party chair in El Paso County — one of the GOP's traditional strongholds — shows how deep some of the divides have become.

Lyle Darrah was on a conference call at work in rural Weld County, north of Denver, when the riot at the U.S. Capitol started on Jan. 6. When his boss mentioned what was happening, he turned on news coverage — and immediately felt his last allegiance to the Republican Party slipping away.

Kurt Papenfus, a doctor in the small town of Cheyenne Wells, Colo., started to feel sick around Halloween. He developed a scary cough, intestinal symptoms and a headache. In the midst of a pandemic, the news that he had COVID-19 wasn't surprising, but Papenfus' illness would have repercussions far beyond his own health.

Papenfus is the lone full-time emergency room doctor in the town of 900, not far from the Kansas line.

In Glenwood Springs, Colo., the restaurant Masala and Curry was having its best summer ever. Residents of the densely-populated Denver Metro Area eager for a COVID-19 summer staycation flooded the mountains along the critical transportation artery that is Interstate 70. And many stopped in to try the restaurant's Indian cuisine.

The sheep and goats, pigs and cows lounging in the shade of the covered, outdoor arena had no idea about the strange times we're living through. They didn't know that just beyond their pens — more spaced-out than normal — there weren't the typical carnival rides, funnel cake stands or crowds at this year's Mesa County Fair in Grand Junction, Colo.

Even though 9-year-old Harold Stafford had been planning for the fair for months, he still seemed surprised to be there.

Colorado voters could well decide this fall which party controls the U.S. Senate.

But first, on Tuesday, voters will pick the Democrat to challenge GOP Sen. Cory Gardner. Former Gov. John Hickenlooper is the national party's first choice for the nomination, but his campaign has hit some snags in recent weeks. He was a two-term governor, former mayor of Denver and had a short-lived presidential bid.

At first glance, this modest home nestled against a hillside in the mountains somewhere west of Colorado Springs appears to have all the amenities you'd expect in a quiet retreat. There's even a two-story tower built right in. An otherwise peaceful place to catch the 360-degree view of winter's splendor.

"[It's a] really nice place to sit and vacation — enjoy. But, if necessary, it's a guard post," Drew Miller pointed out.

Half of a million Colorado workers are set to receive new labor protections that go into effect in 2020, but not everyone is happy. Some employers are upset with the new rules, and some workers are upset that they have been left out.

A few workers who traditionally haven’t gotten protections like overtime pay and guaranteed rest breaks will get them, but critics say the proposed rules will change things too slowly and for too few people.

The seven members of Colorado’s U.S. House of Representatives delegation will cast historic votes Wednesday on whether to approve two articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump.

Looking back, it now seems the vote was inevitable. As with past impeachments, there has been a strong partisan tinge to the debate. 

The state’s three Republican representatives were clear from the start that nothing they’ve seen or read about the president’s conduct amounts to an impeachable offense.

On a beautiful late spring day a few years ago, Mark Bergman was driving his Mazda Miata through the Vail Valley. The scenic ride turned sour when the car in front of him kicked up a rock and threw it backward — right into his windshield.

“I’m just glad I had the top up,” he said.

Scientist Gabrielle Petron looks out into the world and sees numbers. In her work for the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Petron plots data on her computer like most people complete a shopping list on the back of an envelope. 

Richard Dash of Alumina Energy stood in front of a small crowd gathered inside the white, marble hallways of the Colorado Governor’s Residence. This was his chance to pitch oil and gas executives on his company’s thermal storage system to capture energy from renewable or fuel-fired power plants. 

Public hearings in the impeachment inquiry begin in the U.S. House today. Coloradans of various political stripes said this week they will watch the hearings closely, but hope the process goes quickly. 

At the Federal Center light rail stop, just west of Denver in Lakewood, on Tuesday, voter Joe Brosky said the public hearings would ideally bring more facts to light.

Federal officials have arrested a man accused of plotting to attack a historic synagogue in Pueblo. The co-conspirators turned out to be undercover FBI agents.

Court documents say Richard Holzer, 27, of Pueblo, was arrested Friday just after the agents brought him what were supposedly two pipe bombs along with dynamite to blow up Temple Emanuel.

If Proposition DD passes this November, not only would sports betting become legal, but Colorado could secure a new way to fund “state water projects and obligations.”

This is the first installment in CPR’s series Teens Under Stress, a months-long examination of the pressures adolescents are under and what can be done about it.

Neal Levine remembers the reaction he would get when he first introduced himself to statehouse legislators as a cannabis lobbyist.

“‘Is that a real job?’” he recalled. Yes, it is a real job.

As more and more states legalize marijuana in one form or another, it’s become a billion-dollar industry that has attracted the attention of federal lawmakers and lobbyists.