It’s Time That Colorado’s 2nd Leading Economic Driver, Agriculture, Gets Some Respect

By Senators Byron Pelton, R-Sterling and Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton

failed.

But far-right Republicans are still pushing to prevent unaffiliated voters — who make up the largest share of Colorado’s electorate — from weighing in on GOP primaries. Proponents of opting out are worried that Democrats are registered as unaffiliated voters and casting ballots for weaker candidates in GOP primaries.

Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams, whose campaign to lead the party earlier this year hinged largely on his support of blocking unaffiliated voters from participating in Republican primaries, said he hasn’t taken a position on the amendment.

“This is a clever attempt to make an impossible 75% threshold be possible to meet,” Williams told The Colorado Sun. “I won’t be advocating from the chairman’s podium. That’s not appropriate.”

Williams said the proposal was drafted by Chuck Bonniwell, a conservative commentator, and that as of Thursday evening it hadn’t been vetted by the party’s bylaws committee.

Bonniwell told The Sun the 75% threshold is effectively impossible to meet because most members of the central committee don’t show up for meetings. He said Proposition 108 was written to prevent a party from opting out and that he’s simply trying to level the playing field.

Every now and then we all like to take a trip down memory lane.

When you are a senator serving in the minority, those memories can be painful sometimes. But try being a senator from rural Colorado in the minority and recalling all the bad legislation, proclamations, executive orders or department appointments that have come across the books over the past few years — painful doesn’t even begin to describe it.

We represent the heart of rural Colorado — Weld, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma counties where agriculture is one of the top industries, and not just in our own counties, but also in our state and the nation. Weld County is the No. 1 beef producer in Colorado and among the top 5 in the United States.

And let’s not forget lamb, turkey, pig and chicken production as well as corn, wheat, potatoes, onions, carrots, the list of products coming out of northern and eastern Colorado goes on and on. Without the farmers and ranchers in Colorado to help feed America, the shelves at the supermarket would run dry.

In fact, agriculture is Colorado’s second highest economic driver, contributing $47 billion to the economy each year!

Yet, every year since he was elected Colorado’s governor, it appears that Jared Polis has enjoyed slapping our constituents in the face.

In 2019, it was the creation of new oil gas regulation via Senate Bill 19-181, which curtailed any new developments and eliminated thousands of jobs.

In 2020, he brought us Ellen Kessler as an appointee to the State Veterinary Board, sparking a lot of controversy in the ag community due to her animal rights activism and vegan lifestyle. She ultimately resigned in 2022 amid more controversy. Also in 2020, Polis signed a bill to overregulate the egg industry by mandating cage-free egg production, that contributed to the skyrocketing of egg prices after it took effect in 2023.

2021 was a big year for Polis. He signed Senate Bill 21-087 into law — the so-called agricultural labor rights and responsibilities bill, which set wage minimums and allowed ag workers to unionize. It has adversely affected many ag operations in just two years. He also proclaimed March 20th as “Meat Out” day, encouraging Coloradoans to not eat any meat on that day. And his nepotism shined through when he gave his husband influence to make decisions around Proposition 16, better known as the PAUSE Act, which would have criminalized certain animal husbandry, reproductive health and medical practices; thankfully this was deemed unconstitutional by the courts, and it did not make it onto the 2022 ballot.

In 2022 Polis appointed yet another anti-agriculture woman to an important position. Rebecca Niemiec became the manager of the state’s Bureau of Animal Protection program. Niemiec conducted a study in support of wolf reintroduction.

And then just last month, Polis decided to veto Senate Bill 23-256, which would have ensured that livestock producers could protect their herds from Wolf attacks under the new introduction program and preserve their way of life.

Aside from all that, Polis insults the industry every year when he fails to recognize agriculture’s importance in his State of the State Address. He may have dropped a key word here or there over the years, but in five speeches, he has never made it a point to talk about or give credit to our industry. With how much thought that goes into preparing these speeches, nothing is ever forgotten by accident. Everything is by design.

This must stop! It’s time that Colorado’s ranchers and farmers get some respect from our Governor, and that starts with everyone in the industry making a presence by showing up to as many meetings and events as we can.

We greatly appreciate everyone who works in our food production process and chain. Stakeholders — whether they are cattle ranchers or grow corn — need to come together as one strong voice for Colorado agriculture. We are not a production type with divided stories. The Governor is ignoring us all together, so we need to all stand together!

Proposed Change To Colorado GOP By Laws Would Make It Easier To Block Unaffiliated Voters From Republican Primaries

Closing Colorado’s Republican primaries has been a major objective of the far right by Jesse Paul and Sandra Fish, The Colorado Sun

The Colorado GOP’s state central committee is scheduled next month to consider a change to the party’s bylaws that would make it easier for Republicans to block unaffiliated voters from participating in their primaries, a major objective of the far right.

The amendment would make a nonvote by a member of the central committee an automatic “yes” vote on any action that requires the approval of at least 70% of the committee’s support to pass.

Under Proposition 108, the 2016 ballot measure letting unaffiliated voters cast ballots in partisan primaries, the Colorado Democratic and Republican parties can opt out of the change if 75% of their respective central committees agree to do so.

A GOP effort to block unaffiliated voters from the 2022 primaries was soundly rejected by the Republican state central committee. A subsequent federal lawsuit also

To pass, the amendment needs the support of two-thirds of the central committee members who gather Aug. 5 in Castle Rock, where the party will also select a new vice chair. Priscilla Rahn, who was reelected to the position earlier this year, resigned from her post last month to run for a seat on the Douglas County Commission.

Bonniwell said he doesn’t know if he can meet the two-thirds threshold, but he’s going to lobby central committee members in the coming weeks to support his proposed change.

“It’s gonna be a challenge,” he said. “But I thought I’d give everybody the opportunity.”

The opt-out vote must happen by Oct. 1, per Proposition 108.

If the GOP opts out of the state primary, general election nominees would instead be selected through the caucus and assembly process by a relatively small number of Republicans. That would leave hundreds of thousands of party members out of the process and likely lead to more partisan candidates. Opting out would also prevent candidates from gathering signatures to get on the ballot.

More than 434,000 Republicans and 231,000 unaffiliated voters cast ballots in the 2022 GOP primary. In some counties, more unaffiliated voters cast Republican primary ballots than registered Republicans.

The unaffiliated participation in 2022 was up considerably from 2020 and 2018, the first year unaffiliated voters were allowed to cast ballots in Colorado’s partisan primaries.

Both Democrats and Republicans have been steadily losing members as voters switch to unaffiliated. At the end of June, 47% of voters were registered unaffiliated, 27% were Democrats and 24% were Republicans.

While opting out has been an objective of the far right, more moderate Republicans have warned that it could spell further disaster for the Colorado GOP by alienating unaffiliated voters.

Former state Rep. Ron Hanks, who lost the GOP U.S. Senate primary in 2022, and Colorado GOP Secretary Anna Ferguson recently attended a Fremont County Central Committee meeting and urged members to support opting out of the primary, Fremont County Clerk Justin Grantham said.

Hanks made the ballot through the caucus and assembly process and lost in the primary to Joe O’Dea, a Denver construction company owner who gathered signatures to make the ballot.

Grantham, a Republican, said he worries about the consequences of cutting so many party members out of primary voting. Only about 3,700 delegates attended the 2022 GOP state assembly to select statewide candidates, with as few as about 400 people participating in some of the congressional assemblies.

Bonniwell said he plans to propose an amendment at the state central committee’s meeting in September that would let all registered Republicans vote at a special convention on who should be the party’s general election candidate.

“I really want all Republicans to vote in the primary,” he said. “I just don’t want another primary in which Democrats go unaffiliated and unaffiliateds dominate the election. I believe in the caucus system, but (there are) too limited a number of people who go there.”

Former state Sen. Kevin Lundberg wrote in a recent email newsletter to supporters that the GOP has raised about $12,000 of the $50,000 it says it needs to file another lawsuit challenging unaffiliated voters’ ability to participate in partisan primaries. He’s spearheading the potential legal challenge on behalf of the party, with John Eastman expected to be part of the lawsuit, Williams told conservative talk show host George Brauchler.

Eastman, a former University of Colorado visiting scholar and lawyer for President Donald Trump, represented a group of Republicans in the failed lawsuit last year seeking to block unaffiliated voters from Colorado’s 2022 primaries. California is considering disbarring Eastman for his role in Trump’s attempts to overturn the results in the 2020 election.

The central committee will also consider an amendment at its Aug. 5 meeting that would change how its delegates to the Republican National Committee convention are selected and operate.

The proposed change is an attempt to make Republican presidential candidates pay closer attention to Colorado next year, Williams said, given that the Centennial State will be one of several states holding their primary on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

Under the amendment, any GOP presidential candidate who wins more than 20% of the primary vote in Colorado could select their own delegates from the state to attend the RNC convention. Additionally, the amendment would bind Colorado’s delegates to support their assigned presidential candidate through at least two rounds of voting at the RNC convention, helping candidates and campaigns avoid the messiness of a potential convention floor fight.

“That gives the campaigns, the candidates peace of mind that what they get in Colorado they can keep,” Williams said.

Water Project to Close Two Blocks of Main Street in Fort Morgan

Work scheduled to start Monday, July 17, and continue for nearly two weeks

A water line replacement project will require closure of two blocks of Main Street just north of Platte Avenue starting next Monday.

From July 17 through July 28, the Fort Morgan Water Department will be installing new water main in the 600 and 700 blocks of Main Street (Hwy. 52). The work will require the full traffic closure of Main Street in both directions from north of Platte Avenue (US Hwy. 34) to just north of the Seventh Avenue intersection.

This full closure is expected to be in place for the first week of the project. During the second week officials hope to have only two lanes closed. Traffic control and detour signage will be in place, and motorists are asked to plan accordingly to avoid this route during the duration of this project.

The water main is being replaced due to age and degrading condition to avoid future emergency repair work. Special traffic accommodations will be made for the local businesses that do not have rear access to continue their operations, and separate notification will be made to those affected by water service interruptions.

Paving operations will follow the replacement of the water main and as safety allows, traffic lanes will be opened to help alleviate congestion and inconvenience.

Upon completion of the Main Street project, crews will move operations to the 600 block of Linda Street for the replacement of that water main, requiring the full traffic closure of Linda just west of Edwards Right Price Market. Access to the Market will still be available from East Platte Avenue and East Sixth Avenue.

The City of Fort Morgan Water Department thanks the citizens for their patience as we wrap up the water main projects for 2023. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at (970) 542-3911 or email us at erik.sagel@cityoffortmorgan.com.

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Total Cost of Crime in Colorado was $27.2 Billion, Equivalent to $4,623 per Coloradan, Costing the State Numerous Jobs

Study analyzes the economic impact of increasing crime rates and their effects on the overall state economy

Denver, CO – Today, Common Sense Institute (CSI) issued a new study analyzing the economic impact of increasing crime rates and their effects on the overall state economy.

“If Colorado continues on its current crime trajectory, our economy could be severely impacted with total costs of crime reaching $27.2 billion in 2022, equivalent to $4,623 per Coloradan,” said Kelly Caufield, CSI Executive Director.

The report provides an in-depth analysis of Colorado’s economy by examining the state’s crime rates. Of concern, summer homicides have spiked, with an 18% increase in the murder rate from the first half of 2022 to the first half of 2023. This has led to substantial societal costs, as each murder comes with a price tag of $8.8 million.

Additionally, the analysis shows that Adams County and the City & County of Denver account for 40% of all crimes. Such high crime rates come with both tangible and intangible costs, severely impacting the state’s economy.

“Reports such as this underscore the significance of crime and safety policy in relation to job creation and economic influence,” said J.J. Ament, President & CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and a member of the CSI Board. “It’s crucial that both policymakers and the general public understand the immediate and long-term economic implications of high crime rates. This knowledge allows for a balanced evaluation of benefits and drawbacks, thereby enabling more informed decision-making processes.”

While crime rates have been soaring in recent years, the study emphasizes that the situation can change rapidly with effective crime prevention policies and strategies, as evidenced by certain counties’ successful attempts in reducing crime rates.

“Our analysis sheds essential light on the intricate relationship between crime rates and economic prosperity. It is our hope that these critical insights inform and inspire effective strategies, driving a stronger and safer Colorado for all,” said CSI Senior Economist Steven Byers.

Other key findings include:

● Crime rates would have to be reduced significantly to lessen the cost of crime. For every 1% decrease in the number of crimes the state adds 474 jobs and $56.2 million to GDP

● If crime went to zero, insurance premiums could decrease by 25%, leaving $1.71 billion more in consumers’ pockets, and lead to an increase in GDP by $5.62 billion Common Sense Institute is a non-partisan research organization dedicated to the protection and promotion of Colorado’s economy. CSI is at the forefront of important discussions concerning the future of free enterprise in Colorado and aims to have an impact on the issues that matter most to Coloradans. CSI’s mission is to examine the fiscal impacts of policies, initiatives, and proposed laws so that Coloradans are educated and informed on issues impacting their lives.

For full report: https://commonsenseinstituteco.org/the-cost-of-crime/

Rosen: How About An ‘Enough Already Month’

by Mike Rosen, Complete Colorado Page 2

In the wake of LGBT Pride Month, we move on to Disability Pride Month and National Ice Cream Month in July. How come the celebration of our nation’s birth gets only one day on the Fourth of July?

Scores of other causes get a full month either by presidential proclamations or simply the pronouncement of some organization. September gets 14, like National Honey Month and National Yoga Month. I didn’t find any for December with Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, and Festivus (see, “Seinfeld”) presumably clearing the field. If we cut the length down to a week, they could fit in hundreds more.

LGBT Month has its roots in a Gay Pride march on June 28, 1970 in NYC. A year earlier on that date, a brutal police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay night club in Greenwich Village, set off a week of protests that became known as the Stonewall Riots. That set in motion the Gay Rights Movement. In 1999, President Clinton officially declared June “Gay and Lesbian Month.” In 2011, President Obama expanded it to the whole LBGT community. Don’t be surprised if it becomes a national holiday with government workers taking the day off.

Homosexuality is as old as humankind, although gays and lesbians have been historically denied societal approval and respect. Their battle for public acceptance and basic rights in America was finally won, deservedly, in the 21st century. As a sense of how recently that was, even President Obama still publicly opposed samesex marriage until 2012, about the same time public opinion shifted in that direction.

Perhaps the assertion of gay pride is not as much about pride in their sexual orientation as it is a clear declaration that there’s no shame in it. By the same token I’m not “proud” of being heterosexual, it’s just my orientation, not an achievement.

Initially, the gay rights movement was limited to just three initials, LGB (B for bisexual). In keeping with the current political tactic of “intersectionality,” a movement gains clout when it expands its membership. So, LGB has become LGBT, with the inclusion of transsexuals. As an infinitesimal fraction of the population, the T doesn’t add much clout.

The movement is also known as LGBTQIA+ which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual. The + sign leaves the door open for other categories to be added in the future, with 18 letters in the alphabet still available, excluding H for heterosexual. (That might be too inclusive.)

Interestingly, some LGBs are offended and argue Ts are an unworthy addition to their alliance since LGBs are about sexual orientation, not gender or psychology. And the LGB sexual orientation doesn’t require disfiguring surgery or a new wardrobe. Transsexuals suffering from gender dysphoria are dissatisfied with the biological and anatomical gender they genetically inherited from their birth parents. Surgically altering their bodies doesn’t change their XX or XY chromosomes. A trans man is still a woman, and a trans woman is still a man, no matter how they “present” themselves or “identify.”

I wish T’s no harm. If they choose to live that way, it’s none of my business. But I regard their premise as an affront to science and common sense. I’m not intimidated by the militancy of their progressive enforcers, won’t be bullied into using their long list of transsexual contrived personal pronoun preferences, and will never ungrammatically say something like “Who do they think they is.” I’m outraged at public school educators who steer confused, immature, impressionable young kids in that direction without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

It’s notable that most transsexuals are males presenting as women. I don’t know why. Some are frauds, like a young boy who wants to ogle girls in their locker room. Or opportunists like male-to-female Renée Richards in the late 1970s, a mediocre tennis pro who had better success switching to the women’s tour. Men who present as women should not be allowed to compete against actual women in sports where they have a physiological advantage. (Spelling Bees are OK.) I won’t alter my vocabulary to substitute “menstruating person” for “woman.” I’ll never replace mother with “birthing person.” “Sex assigned at birth” is a contrived term to pretend you can transform your gender. Billions of people on this planet who hold religious beliefs would say sex is assigned by their God. At birth, it’s simply a recognition of anatomical reality. Newborn male babies don’t demand pink diapers.

Dustin Hoffman, in the movie “Tootise,” wasn’t a T, he was just a man pretending to be a woman in order to land a role in a TV soap opera. And Corporal Klinger in “M.A.S.H,” dressed like a woman only to get out of the Army.

Longtime KOA radio talk host and columnist for the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News Mike Rosen now writes for CompleteColorado.com.

WHEN: AUGUST 3, 2023 8AM-5PM

WHERE: 404 CHAPMAN ST DISTRICT OFFICE

NEW STUDENTS- please bring the following documents to registration: Birth Certificate/Record • Immunization Records • Proof of Address

KINDERGARTENERS - All incoming kindergarteners need to register. Student must be 5 years of age by June 15, 2023. Please bring the following documents to registration: Birth Certificate/Record • Immunization Records • Proof of Address

RETURNING STUDENTS - Online registrations will be open August 1, 2023. This will have to be completed in order to checkout a Chromebook