The forecast calls for protests 

Good morning, Colorado.

Of course, days after I give my sheepdog a haircut, there’s a blizzard warning and temperatures drop to the 30s. Faux spring was nice while it lasted, at least. While Kevin the dog has no choice but to go for a walk sans-fur coat, make sure to grab yours before heading outside this week — early forecasts predict more snow could be on the way.

While your coffee is still warm, let’s get to this morning’s news.

Olivia Prentzel

Reporter

THE NEWS

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Trump Justice Department says it will “review” prosecution of Colorado election conspiracy theorist Tina Peters

In a court filing Monday, a top Justice Department lawyer wrote that the federal government’s interest in the prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters would include determining “whether the case was ‘oriented more toward inflicting political pain than toward pursuing actual justice or legitimate governmental objectives.’” Jesse Paul has more.

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NEWS

Hundreds gather in front of NOAA campus in Boulder to protest recent federal firings

Outside of the building that bears his name, former U.S. Rep. David Skaggs led a gathering of hundreds of people protesting the wave of federal firings that could imperil the country’s ability to forecast weather and track the effects of climate change. Parker Yamasaki was on the scene and has more from the protest.

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ECONOMY

Surprise rental fees, impostor fraud are fastest risers in Colorado AG’s list of consumer complaints in 2024

There were more complaints by consumers to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office last year than any before it — a 20% jump from the previous record set in 2023. And as Tamara Chuang reports, the nature of those complaints has been evolving since 2018. Click through to see more about this year’s complaints and browse previous years.

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HEALTH

With measles outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico, is it time for Colorado to worry?

Just across the 35-mile Oklahoma Panhandle from Colorado, the Texas county of Dallam has at least four confirmed cases of measles. While Colorado hasn’t had a case of measles since 2023, John Ingold digs into the risks and why vaccination remains the best way to avoid getting sick.

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EDUCATION

Colorado speaker proposes new school funding approach that would curb — but not eliminate — cuts for many districts

Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, has launched what she called an “opening bid” to stem the damage by a new school funding formula and the state’s billion-dollar deficit. Erica Breunlin explores what’s different about McCluskie’s pitch and what it could mean for struggling districts.

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• New bill would set security requirements for ride share companies operating in Colorado. Companies like Lyft and Uber would have to track and report violent incidents, and do more to ensure the person behind the wheel is really the registered driver.

MORE NEWS

• Home improvements help people age independently. But Medicare seldom picks up the bill. CAPABLE, a program that helps seniors live independently, is available in about 65 places across 26 states, including Colorado.
• Mark Baisley becomes second Republican state lawmaker to enter Colorado’s 2026 race for governor. State Sen. Baisley, of Woodland Park, said the political left has tightened its grip on the Colorado community to pass radical bills, some of which are “blatantly unconstitutional.”

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE COLORADO REPORT

• Colorado man fighting to get Social Security payments restarted after erroneously being declared dead. Aurora resident Alex Vukovich noticed his January check from Social Security had disappeared from his account. When he asked his bank, they said the federal government said he was dead.
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• Despite recent changes, Denver leaders say they’re committed to pedestrians and cyclists. Nearly all of the car-free or car-lite “shared streets” that the city opened during the pandemic have been re-opened to vehicles, but city leaders say the long-term plan to make it easier to walk and bike through Denver is still active.
  — Denverite
• RTD ridership fails to grow in 2024: “We’ve lost customers who used to trust us.” Even as the system’s buses saw an increase in usage in 2024, RTD reported overall ridership was still 38% below the pre-pandemic 2019 numbers.
  — The Denver Post 🔑
• Lawmakers want to fast-track telecom companies’ infrastructure projects. Local governments are pushing back. Local leaders say major telecoms just don’t want to build in rural areas, but lawmakers and businesses are pushing a bill that would give local governments 120 days to approve or deny a permit before it would be automatically approved.
  — Post-Independent
• Denver barbecue restaurant closes after staff walks. AJ’s Pit Bar-B-Q, which in its short run received accolades from the Michelin Guide Colorado, is closed after its staff walked out the door while the owner was out of the country. Workers say that when they did not receive W2s, it was revealed that taxes were being deducted from their paychecks but not being reported, leading some to owe thousands of dollars to the IRS.
  — Denver Business Journal 🔑

🔑 = source has article meter or paywall

Section by Eric Lubbers | CTO & Newsletter Wrangler

THE OPINION PAGE

COLUMNS

• Inflation is up. People are fired. Stocks are down. Are we great again yet? Small businesses and the middle class are struggling amid inflation under Donald Trump. But the billionaires are getting richer.
  — Trish Zornio
  

COMMUNITY

• Dear Colorado legislators: Don’t cut your youth advisory council just for a $50k savings. The money allocated for the teen program that connects youth to state policymakers has led to monumental change and success.
  — Kate Glover, Fort Collins junior and member of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council

The Colorado Sun is a nonpartisan news organization, and the opinions of columnists and editorial writers do not reflect the opinions of the newsroom. Read our ethics policy for more on The Sun’s opinion policy and submit columns, suggest writers or provide feedback at opinion@coloradosun.com.

SunLit

REVIEW

“Brittle Bones”: A TV reporter, an unearthed body, a cozy mystery

Author Paulla Hunter packs a lot into her first chapter of “Brittle Bones,” the third installment in her mystery series built around TV reporter Darcy Moreland. This winner of the Colorado Authors League award for cozy mystery not only introduces a body dug up from a basement, but revisits a paused love affair with the detective investigating the scene.

READ AN EXCERPT

• Interview with the author. Lest you think the premise of finding a body buried in the basement stretches the bounds of reality, Hunter explains that her inspiration for this book came from a friend whose newly purchased house contained a corpse in the crawl space.

Section by Kevin Simpson | Writer

Here’s to hoping *real* spring isn’t too far away. Thanks for joining us today.

— Olivia & the whole staff of The Sun

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