
Hickenlooper: Leave Fire Prevention Measures in Local Hands
Governor John Hickenlooper says many Coloradans who live in fire-prone areas need to be doing more to prepare their homes to survive, but don’t look for him to push new […]

By Megan Verlee

Black Forest Visit Reveals a Fire Both Relentless and Capricious
[Photos: CPR’s Megan Verlee] When the Black Forest Fire blew up ten days ago, it first leapt high into the trees, raging up through tinder-dry ponderosa branches.

By Megan Verlee

CO Prison Towns Waiting for Ax To Fall
Storefronts, many empty, line the courthouse square in Sterling, CO.

By Megan Verlee

ICYMI: Bad news for Colo. Democrats in 2014
A look back at last week’s big stories including a new poll showing that Governor Hickenlooper and Sen. Mark Udall may face tough re-election fights in 2014.

By Megan Verlee

Black Forest Shows Lessons of Mitigation Applied Unevenly
[Photo: Alex Chambers] The neighborhoods where the Black Forest Fire is burning are in what’s called a red zone, one of Colorado’s most wildfire-prone areas.

By Megan Verlee

Too soon? Candidates already gearing up for 2014 elections
For many of us, it feels like the bruising election of 2012 just wrapped up, but for the state’s political hopefuls, 2014 is just around the corner. And it could be a big year.

By Megan Verlee

Governor Defends Dunlap Decision, Responds to Lobato Verdict
Two big legal decisions dominate Colorado Matters’ regular conversation with Governor John Hickenlooper this month. The first is a ruling from the Colorado State Supreme Court. In Lobato v.

By Megan Verlee

Mixed Reactions to Dunlap Stay of Execution
[Photo: Governor Hickenlooper announcing his decision in the Dunlap case at the Capitol. CPR/MVerlee] The state’s first execution in more than fifteen years is on hold.

By Megan Verlee

What’s next in Colo.? Keeping up with the bills
The closing gavel may have fallen on this year’s legislative session, but the political reverberations could go on for some time. Colorado Matters wraps up our series of conversations about the 2013 session, by hearing from CPR’s state government reporter Megan Verlee, about some of the most politically contentious legislation.

By Megan Verlee

House leaders reflect on a momentous session
Colorado Matters marks the end of a jam-packed session of the state legislature by checking back in with two of the most powerful figures at the State Capitol — House Speaker Mark Ferrandino (D-Denver) and House Minority Leader Mark Waller (R-Colorado Springs).

By Megan Verlee

Historically busy, controversial legislative session ends in Colo.
Colorado’s state legislature finished its work for the year Wednesday afternoon. In the end, a session marked by late nights and big fights wrapped up on a calmer note, with lawmakers zipping through their final votes, before breaking for the next eight months.

By Megan Verlee

Capitol Check-In: May 3, 2013
There are just four working days left in the state legislative session, and around 130 bills still actively in the process.

By Megan Verlee

New judicial center designed to meet needs of today’s courts
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor is in Denver today to dedicate the new seat of judicial power in Colorado. The Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center is downtown, catty-corner from the state Capitol.

By Megan Verlee

Couples in Colo. seek civil unions at midnight ceremonies
At the stroke of midnight, civil unions became the law of the land in Colorado.

By Megan Verlee

Gov. Hickenlooper facing tough decisions on upcoming measures
With lawmakers working overtime to get their bills through before the session ends, Governor John Hickenlooper has a lot of decisions to make about which he’ll sign, and which he may give the axe.

By Megan Verlee

Sequester Cuts Force Science Website into Philosophical Shift
The sweeping federal budget cuts known as sequestration are likely to have some big impacts on our state: defense workers furloughed; shuttered control towers at smaller airports; and federal school […]

By Megan Verlee