Colorado Matters

The stop and search of two Native American students at CSU prompted us to ask Cheryl Crazy Bull, the president of the American Indian College Fund, about other barriers Native students face on college campuses. Then, Brian Eason of the Associated Press checks in about the struggles of the state employee pension system. Also, why the president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition opposes making child autopsy reports public. A few groups are in the early stages of deciding whether to step in and buy the Denver Post. And, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan. Hogan died Sunday of cancer.

Lawmakers put a wrap on the 2018 legislative session, grappling with some of the thorniest issues right up to the last minute. The session will bring changes for people stuck in traffic, for state workers unsure of their retirement, and for people who prefer full-strength beer. Then, the number of underage teens smoking electronic cigarettes has skyrocketed and is starting to draw federal scrutiny. Plus, one of the most enduring symbols of the Cold War turns 60.

Scientists are studying how nature affects our health, from brain studies in national parks to forest bathing in Japan. Journalist Florence Williams got interested in this research when she left her outdoorsy life in Boulder and moved to Washington, D.C. Suffering from a nature deficit, she says, she noticed she was more anxious and slept poorly. In her new book “The Nature Fix,” Williams writes about her quest to understand why.

Republican Greg Lopez wants to be Colorado’s governor. He’s an Air Force veteran and used to be mayor of Parker, elected at age 27 as a Democrat. Lopez would be Colorado’s first Hispanic governor, but he’s raised relatively little money. Then, it was known as “Black Sunday” when, in the early 1980s, Exxon shuttered an oil project in Western Colorado, laying off 2,200 workers. It inspired a new novel. And, some recommendations for wildflower hikes in Colorado.

She has the No. 2 job in the state. Now Lieutenant Governor Donna Lynne wants the top one. As our candidate interviews continue, we talk health care, education and guns. Then, after a deputy’s death at the hands of a man who’d been identified as a mental-health risk, a Rocky Mountain PBS documentary explores what might have prevented the shooting.

A pivotal vote is scheduled at the state Capitol today on the so called “Red Flag Warning” bill. If passed, it would allow judges to take guns from people deemed a risk to themselves or others. Its co-sponsor, Cole Wist is in hot water with some of his fellow Republicans. Then, Colorado is ground zero for marijuana legalization, but as more states seek to expand or legalize sales, many policy makers are getting key facts wrong about Colorado’s pot market. Also, Colorado’s painful history of lynching, and how a local artist is recreating artwork destroyed by ISIS.

You probably think your vote is private, but there’s a twist in Colorado’s upcoming primaries. Then, freestanding ERs are popping up all along the Front Range and chain drug stores are becoming doctors offices. What do these changes mean for patients in Colorado and the cost of care? Plus, why a Colorado business that makes a killing looks like it’s dying. And Latino families in Southern Colorado still feel the effects of the Mexican-American War.

Our latest interview with the candidates for governor: Doug Robinson, who has never run for public office before, but has Republican politics in his blood. Then, retired Iliff School of Theology professor Tink Tinker on white Christian colonialism. Two longtime dance teachers at the prestigious Denver School of the Arts resigned earlier this year– after a 5-month investigation into charges they created an abusive environment. And, how the governor wields his veto pen.