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Good morning, Colorado.

Earlier this week I checked out the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum for the first time and am happy to report back: It’s a gem. I always love when museums provide free days or pay-what-you-can admission and the community actually takes them up on it. The admission at the Pioneers Museum is always free, and the result Tuesday was a vibrating old courthouse, with couples quietly browsing the artworks, families killing time in the hallways, a buzzy historic elevator zipping people between floors, and a group of fifth graders dashing between galleries.

More from that trip, and plenty of news, below.

BREAKING Democrats lose Colorado House supermajority — pending recounts — after GOP wins two more races as final votes are tallied. Republicans flipped three seats in the Colorado House of Representatives, stripping Democrats of their supermajority. Despite the losses, Democrats remain in firm control of every branch of state government.

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Lincoln Community Hospital registered nurse Deanne Kahler handles a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine vial before the start of a vaccination clinic at the hospital in Hugo in February 2021. (Andy Colwell, Special to The Colorado Sun)

62%

Adults surveyed who have a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act

President-elect Donald Trump has taken vague jabs at the Affordable Care Act throughout his campaign, but the ACA has become deeply entwined in the way Colorado does health care over the past 14 years. John Ingold looks at what it means for Colorado if the new administration decides to, as House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged, “take a blowtorch” to the policy.

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife placed GPS collars on two wolves in North Park on Feb. 2, 2023. Male wolf 2101 has a gray coat and is in the foreground on the right. Male wolf 2301, believed to be the offspring of the gray-colored wolf, has a black coat and is in the background on the left. (Colorado Parks and Wildlife photo)

Earlier this month four counties were notified they are being considered for the next wolf release amid continued outcry and petitions from ranchers to pause the program. Most of the county commissioners pushed back, citing land limitations and elk herds, but Pitkin County commissioner Francie Jacober, herself a rancher, remained open to the release. Tracy Ross has details.

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Demonstrators march along the 16th Street Mall in Denver on June 24, 2022, after Roe v. Wade was overturned. (Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America)

7

States that passed constitutional guarantees to abortion this month

Abortion and reproductive health care access were major centerpieces for Democrats going into the 2024 election, with a number of states — including Colorado — voting to protect abortion in their state constitutions. Sandra Fish looks at how abortion laws across the country changed with the 2024 election, and what a Donald Trump presidency could mean at the federal level.

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In the center is the painting “Illustrious” by Jeresneyka Rose. Rose was raised in Colorado Springs and her murals can be seen throughout the city. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)

The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum has been collecting art and artifacts since 1896. But when the museum’s curator of history examined the collection based on gender, she found a severe dearth of women. So she fundraised and then went shopping, acquiring 88 new works over the past year. I visited the museum’s new permanent exhibition to see what almost 200 years worth of women artists looks like in the region.

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In “What’d I Miss?” Ossie’s dad recounts how what seemed like post-Civil War progress quickly disappeared — and worries it could be happening again.

CARTOON

Drew Litton has the prescription for Coloradans suffering from post-election anxiety. Caution: May become habit forming.

CARTOON

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What are your favorite free museums around Colorado? Shout them out: parker@coloradosun.com.

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Type of Story: News

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