March 9th 2026
US House Energy Committee sends letter to Colorado seeking audits.
The U.S. House Committee on energy and commerce has sent a letter to Colorado
Governor Jared Polis and The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Finance,
seeking audits and processes in place to comply with federal laws. The committee is
probing reports of waste, fraud and abuse in Colorado's medicaid program, citing recent
stories that outline over-billing in transportation spending and alleged improper payments
in autism services. The March 3rd letter points to problems that surfaced in Minnesota,
such as over-billing, falsified records, identity theft and phantom claims in medicaid
social service and health programs for a variety of populations. The letter says the
committee is concerned that Colorado's Medicaid program "may be similarly vulnerable"
to fraud, waste and abuse that "harms medicaid enrollees, legitimate providers and
taxpayers". The committee has set a March 17th deadline for a response from Colorado.
CSP released preliminary summary on I-25 Pueblo pile-up Friday.
The Colorado State Patrol on Friday released a preliminary summary of the deadly crash
that took place on I-25 south of Pueblo during a dust storm on February 17th. According
to CSP, the accident took place as follows: a Ford Escape was northbound on I-25 and
rear-ended a GMC Sierra hauling a trailer. The Sierra was going 15 to 20 miles per hour
in the 75 mile per hour zone. After the escape hit the Sierra, it rotated clockwise and
ended up in the left lane facing east. The Sierra continued north and came to stop on the
right shoulder. A 2004 Kenworth hauling a trailer was traveling northbound and slowed
due to conditions and the previous crash when it was sideswiped by a Ram 3500 hauling
a stock trailer. The Ram continued driving and struck the parked sierra. The blockage of
I-25 caused by The Escape and The Kenworth caused a series of collisions that built up
the 29-car crash. In all, 5 people were killed and 12 people were injured in the pile-up.
Missing Fishers Peak hiker located early Friday.
A missing hiker was located safe, but cold, on Friday morning around 6am, walking
along I-25 near Fishers Peak State Park. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers, The Las
Animas County Sheriff's Office and Fishers Peak Fire Protection District launched
search efforts on Thursday after a 911 call from fellow hikers around 6pm. The missing
hiker was overdue at the Trailhead inside Fishers Peak State Park after reportedly
choosing an off-trail return route, separating from the main group around 4pm. The
vehicle-based search was augmented by a drone with a thermal camera and voice
capability. The search was paused around midnight Thursday. While the outcome was
positive, CPW officials say that departing designated trails significantly diminishes
timely, or positive outcomes, in efforts to locate missing hikers.
CDPHE announces additional measles cases in Colorado.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Friday identified four
additional cases of measles in three unvaccinated Adams County residents and in one
unvaccinated Weld County resident. All of the individuals are tied to Broomfield High
School or Broomfield Heights Middle School. Additional possible exposure locations
include kaiser permanente hidden lake in Westminster, Children's Hospital in
Broomfield, Chippers Bowling alley in Broomfield, Coldstone creamery in Westminser,
Arby's in Westminster and Woodside Baptist Church in Denver.
City of Alamosa announces sponsorship program accepting applications.
If you plan to host an event in the City of Alamosa that will be held July through
December of this year, you can now apply for the city's event sponsorship program.
Applications will be accepted until 5pm on Tuesday, May 5th. visit alamosa.gov for a
copy of the application, or call 719-587-2024.
March 6th 2026
CO State Lawmakers announce new Tabor ballot measure.
Colorado State Lawmakers yesterday announced that they are introducing a new ballot
measure to increase school funding that would raise the taxpayer's bill of rights revenue
cap by billions of dollars. The Colorado Education Association says that every student is
underfunded by about $4,000 per year, creating about a $4 billion annual shortfall in
funding. Educators say the measure could help address a chronic underfunding crisis in
Colorado's Public Schools. However, not everyone is on board. Under Tabor, the state
can only keep and spend a set amount of revenue. Any tax collections exceeding that
limit must be returned to taxpayers. So, under Tabor, legislators must ask voters to
approve what is a tax increase to raise the revenue cap, to allow the state keep more tax
revenue, this time in the name of education. The independence institute says the proposal
is well-intentioned, but misguided. It says Colorado is spending more on K-12 education
than ever before despite declining school populations. Despite all this, voters are told
that there is not enough money. The institute says this is not a revenue problem but a
budget problem.
New Bill would allow suspicious transactions to be paused in Colorado.
Banks and Credit Unions would be able to pause suspicious transactions to prevent scams
under a new Colorado bill being considered in the House. HB26-1110 would give banks
and credit unions more authority to intervene when they suspect that a customer is being
targeted by fraud. If the bill passes, financial institutions could report concerns directly
to law enforcement, contact a trusted person connected to the customer's account, and
temporarily delay suspicious transactions. The delay would be allowed to continue until
the financial institution determines there is no financial exploitation, until law
enforcement concludes its investigation, or until a court orders the delay removed. The
bill is scheduled for a second reading in The House today.
Questions being raised in Morphew case.
Questions are being raised about just why Suzanne Morphew's daughters were so
desperate to get their mother's remains released to a Colorado Springs Funeral Home so
that she could be cremated. Morphew went missing from her Salida home on Mother's
day of 2020. Her remains were found in a fresh grave in Saguache County in September
of 2023. Her husband, Barry Morphew, has been charged with her murder. The response
from The 12th Judicial District Attorney's office to the daughters' motion says, in part
that "in April of 2024, the remains of Suzanne Morphew were made available for release
to her family. Notably, at that time, no one was charged with Suzanne Morphew's
murder. Further, at that time, family members did not take possession of her remains".
While Suzanne's remains had been released to a funeral home, they have been returned to
authorities. The remains were to be cremated the day after authorities re-took possession
of them.
Raton officials working on I-27 impact study.
Officials in Raton are working on a study to determine how extending Interstate 27 from
Texas into Northern New Mexico would impact the city, thanks to $2.6 million secured
in a federal funding bill last month. Congress enabled the extension of Interstate 27 in
2022, from Amarillo, Texas, to Raton, along the current path of U.S. 87. The I-27
extension effort is part of a national interstate expansion effort also known as "ports-to-
plains".
Colorado's Snowpack once again slips to record lows.
Colorado's Snowpack has once again slipped into record lows. As of Wednesday,
Snowpack is as follows: in The North Platte River Basin 71%, The Yampa & White
68%, The Gunnison 64%, The South Platte and Colorado 63%, The San Juan & Dolores
57%, The Upper Rio Grance 52% and The Arkansas remains at the bottom at 45%. More
snow is expected today and tonight.
March 5th 2026
CO Gov Polis started political firestorm Tuesday Night over Tina Peters case.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis started a political firestorm Tuesday Night with a post on
his personal X account regarding two former Colorado officials, a Democrat and a
Republican. Polis said that last week, Former State Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis, a
Democrat, was sentenced to probation and community service after being convicted of
four felonies, including attempt to influence a public official. She must serve two years
of probation, 150 hours of community service and pay a $3,000 fine, to be waived if she
completes an additional 100 hours of community service. Polis notes that Former Mesa
County Clerk Tina Peters, a Republican, was convicted of the exact same felony charge
of attempting to influence a public official, yet peters received a nine year prison
sentence. Polis said that "justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly".
The post is the latest indicator that Polis is leaning toward offering clemency to Peters.
CO State Lawmakers introduce bill to bar Electric Company property takings.
Following months of backlash over Xcel Energy's use of eminent domain in Eastern
Colorado, state lawmakers are advancing legislation that would bar utilities from
initiating property takings until they've secured state approval and all required local
permits. HB26-1278, would require utilities to receive a certificate of public convenience
and necessity from the public utilities commission, as well as all necessary local land use
approvals and permits, before initiating eminent domain proceedings. The legislation has
arisen following Xcel's announced plans for "Colorado's power pathway", a $1.7 billion,
550-mile high-voltage transmission line that would connect the eastern plains to Denver.
Commissioners in both Elbert and El Paso Counties denied Xcel's permit applications
last July. Following the denial, it was discovered that Xcel had already begun eminent
domain proceedings to take resident's property in the path of the proposed line.
Vehicle accident/fire closes North I-25 on Raton Pass yesterday.
The Northbound lanes of Interstate 25 were closed for several hours yesterday afternoon
following a 3 vehicle accident near the top of Raton Pass in New Mexico. According to
Raton fire, firefighters responded to a vehicle fire about 2:30pm yesterday. Upon arrival,
firefighters found a semi-truck and SUV on fire with fuel leaking from the fuel tank on
the semi. Also involved in the accident was a semi carrying a very large steel drag line
bucket. The rear escort vehicle for the wide load was the SUV that was involved in the
accident and fire. The wide load and escort vehicle were reportedly parked on the east
side of the roadway when another northbound semi experienced mechanical issues and
struck the wide load truck and escort vehicle. Four individuals were taken to the hospital
– two with serous injures and two with moderate injuries. The scene was cleared and I-
25 reopened about 5:26pm.
Arrests made in connection to Huerfano County fire.
Collin Bates and Jana Dunn were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the "lascar fire"
in Huerfano County. According to The Huerfano County Sheriff's Office, arrest warrants
were obtained for Bates and Dunn who are believed to be responsible for the fire. The
pair are facing charges of recklessly starting a fire, criminal mischief, second-degree
arson, fourth-degree arson and third-degree trespass. The Lascar Fire was reported just
before 3am on Tuesday, February 24th, off of County Road 651 in a rural part of
Huerfano County south of Rye and northwest of Walsenburg. The investigation into the
fire remains ongoing.
Huerfano County Democratic Caucus to be held this Saturday.
The Huerfano County Democratic Caucus and Assembly will be held this Saturday,
March 7th, at The Huerfano Community Center at 9th and Russell in Walsenburg. All
Huerfano County Democrats are urged to attend. Doors open at 8:30am to register and
the caucus will begin at 9:30am.
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