April 27th 2026
CO State legislators introduce Bill to increase legislature/court security.
Responding to a string of high-profile attacks nationwide and growing safety concerns
inside Colorado's courthouses and capitol, State legislators introduced House Bill 26-
1422 last week, a bill that would dramatically expand protections for elected officials,
staff and judicial employees. The bill would establish an administrator of legislative
safety, a law enforcement officer who would serve as a point of contact for members and
employees of The General Assembly to discuss matters of personal safety and work
alongside The Colorado State Patrol. The measure also includes provisions regarding
members of the judicial branch and orders the creation of a courthouse security task force
and requires sheriffs to adopt the recommended standards established by that task force.
The bill is scheduled to be heard by the house state, civic, veterans and military affairs
committee today.
Co-owner of RTN Funeral home sentenced Friday.
Carie Hallford, one of the owners of the now-defunct return to nature funeral home in
Penrose, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, followed by 1 year of parole on Friday.
The state sentence will run concurrently to her federal sentence. Carie Hallford, along
with her husband Jon Hallford, were arrested in October of 2023 after 189 bodies were
found improperly stored in their funeral home. Victims said that Carie Hallford handled
the client-facing side of the business, including taking payments and handing off fake
cremains in urns. Carie Hallford took a plea deal in the state case, pleading guilty to
abuse of a corpes. The deal was accepted last December. She was facing a sentence of
25 to 35 years in prison. Carie Hallford was also ordered to pay $68,360.18 in restitution.
She is currently appealing her federal plea deal.
Poitry Canyon Fire broke out in Las Animas County Friday.
The Poitry Canyon Fire broke out in Las Animas County on Friday, burning northwest of
Kim. The fire had burned 2,065 acres as of last night with 0% containment. Governor
Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency for the fire, directing the department of public
safety and its divisions of homeland security and emergency management and fire
prevention and control to assume control of the fire efforts. The Colorado Division of
Fire Protection and Control assumed control of the fire yesterday. Single-engine air
tankers, large air tankers and helicopters have been reportedly assisting fire crews in
fighting the fire. No injuries have been reported thus far and no evacuation orders have
been issued for the fire.
El Pomar Foundation approves grant for scseed in Saguache.
The El Pomar Foundation has approved a $5,000 grant through the foundation’s
competitive application process for scseed in Saguache for general operating support.
scseed, or Saguache County sustainable environmental and economic development, has
sponsored many community organizations and efforts to create a better life in Saguache
County. Scseed helps in planning strategies, facilitating community meetings, surveys
and data collecting, writing grants, building partnerships and networking across The San
Luis Valley and beyond. The El Pomar Foundation is one of the larges and oldest private
foundations in Colorado.
Body of Chaffee County Hunter discovered on Saturday.
The body of 27-year-old Kaden Sites was discovered on Saturday near Tabeguache Creek
in Chaffee County. According to The Chaffee County Sheriff's Office, Sites body wasfound in a
wilderness area about 1-1/2 miles from his truck. Sites had gone turkey
hunting near Mount Shavano around 1:30pm on April 15th, and was expected back the
same afternoon. A search for sites has been going on for the past 10 days. Foul play is
not suspected and the cause of death has not yet been released.
April 24th 2026
Bill to ask voters to change Tabor cap to be debated in the Senate today.
SB26-135, a bill that requires the Secretary of State to refer a ballot issue to the
November 2026 general election that seeks to increase public education spending by
tapping into Taxpayer's Bill of Rights refunds would actually allow the state to keep 75%
of the retained monies with only 25% of those monies actually going to K-12 schools,
according to a nonpartisan analysis of the measure. What the measure means, according
to the analysis, is that every taxpayer would lose $7,381 in Tabor refunds over the next
10 years, with the state claiming that money will go to education. Instead, however,
according to the analysis, 75% those dollars would go into the state's general fund – to be
used by lawmakers for whatever purposes they choose – and actually short-change K-12
schools. Tabor requires a public vote in order to raise taxes. It also limits revenue
growth, and requires excess revenue to be refunded to taxpayers. SB26-135 would allow
the state to create a new Tabor limit above the existing Tabor cap, and would amount to a
tax increase and a loss of tabor refunds. The bill is scheduled to be debated in the Senate
today.
CO Republican Party files motion to keep Unaffiliates out of party primary.
The Colorado Republican Party this week filed a motion asking a federal judge to keep
Republican Primary Ballots out of the hands of Unaffiliated voters. The motion seeks a
temporary restraining order to direct Colorado's Secretary of State to exclude
Unaffiliated voters from participating in the Republican primary, which will take place
on June 30th. Colorado has been under a semi-open primary system since voters passed a
proposition in 2016 that allows unaffiliated voters to vote in a primary, but they can only
vote in either the Democratic or Republican Primary. The Colorado Republican Party
has been fighting the semi-open primary system for the past 3 years.
RTN Funeral home owner to be sentenced today.
Carie Hallford, one of the owners of the now-defunct Return To Nature Funeral Home in
Penrose is expected to be sentenced on the state charges against her today. She and her
Husband Jon Hallford were arrested in October of 2023 after 189 bodies were found
improperly stored in their funeral home. Carie Hallford took a plea deal in the state case,
pleading guilty to abuse of a corpse. She is facing a sentence of 25 to 35 years in prison.
She was sentenced in March to 18 years in prison for her federal case. The federal
sentence will run concurrently with her state sentence.
Las Animas County Coroner's office opens investigation in LACDC death.
The Las Animas County Coroner's office has opened an investigation into the death of
John Romero, 58, who died on April 20th while in custody at The Las Animas County
Detention Center. Detention officers responded to a medical emergency and requested
emergency medical services, according to the coroner's office. Romero was transported
to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The cause and manner of death has not
been determined, pending completion of the investigation, including toxicology reports.
Romero was being held on $100,000 bail on charges including criminal attempt to
commit first-degree murder, menacing, possession of a weapon by a previous offender,
theft of a firearm, reckless endangerment and prohibited use of a weapon while under the
influence.
CPW issues reminder to residents to beware of black bears.
With Spring upon us, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reminds residents and visitors that
black bears are emerging from their dens and are looking for food. CPW has already
received 98 reports of bear activity in 22 Colorado counties this year. Remember to
never feed or approach bears; secure food, garbage and recycling; remove bird feeders
when bears are active; never leave pet food outdoors; and, clean and store grills after each
use.
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