May 12th 2026
Bill to give retiring coal plants three year extension passes CO Legislature.
A bill that would give municipal utilities a three year extension on retiring coal plants in
Colorado has passed The Colorado House and Senate and is now on its way to Governor
Jared Polis' desk. SB26-182 aims to meet Colorado's clean energy goals while
maintaining electric reliability and affordability. Municipal coal-fired power plants like
The Ray Nixon Power Plant's coal unit south of Colorado Springs was originally
scheduled to be shut down on December 31st of 2029. With passage of the bill, that
retirement date will now be pushed off to December 31st of 2032. The bill also requires
annual reporting on the progress a utility is making toward the state's clean energy goals,
a commitment to explore feasible emissions reductions beyond 80%, and ensures system
reliability, safety and affordability. Governor Polis is expected to sign the bill into law.
Revised version of CO AI law passes legislature.
A revised version of Senate Bill 26-189, Colorado's Artificial Intelligence law, has
cleared both the colorado house and senate just a week after it was introduced and is now
headed to The Governor's Desk for his signature. The new legislation is intended to
replace a law adopted in 2024, which was amended during a special session last year to
delay its implementation date. Supporters had insisted that law was a safeguard against
algorithmic discrimination, but critics argue it was overly burdensome and impractical to
implement. Under the bill, technology using automated decision making would be
required to disclose the technology's intended use to users. The bill also grants
consumers the right to request personal data, to correct data used, and to request a human
review of any decision. It remains to be seen if polis will sign the measure into law.
City of Trinidad announces planned power outage for tonight.
The City of Trinidad has announced that it has scheduled a planned power outage to
begin tonight at 5pm. The power outage is expected to last through approximately 3am
tomorrow. Power could return earlier if the scheduled work is completed early. The
purpose of the outage is to replace aging infrastructure and to ensure the long-term safety
and reliability of the city's electrical system. City officials suggest that residents charge
their phones and other essential devices, unplug sensitive electronics to prevent damage,
keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed, use flashlights instead of candles for safety,
and check in on any neighbors who may need help during the outage.
Alamosa City Council considering lighting restriction roll back.
The Alamosa City Council is considering rolling back lighting restrictions in the city
following recommendations from the community and the city's development services.
The city adopted darksky international standards for reducing light pollution in 2024.
However, after city staff and local business owners worked out a plan that would benefit
them the most, the recommendation to the city council is to reverse those original code
adoptions this year. Since the code adoption in 2024, city staff have received complaints
primarily from local business owners saying that specific elements such as restrictions on
brightnews and color temperature are problematic. Council approved the changes on first
reading last week. A public hearing on the matter will be held on May 20th.
CPW commission approves firearms training and safety course record fee.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife commission last week approved a $52 firearms training
and safety course record fee as part of its implementation of senate bill 25-003, which
establishes new requirements for the purchase of specific semi-automatic firearms in
Colorado. The fee will support the administration of CPW's firearms safety program and
is required by statue to reflect the actual costs of operateing and maintaining the
program's record system.
May 11th 2026
GOP candidates in CO file lawsuit to block unaffiliated voters from primary.
Ron Hanks, Scott Bottoms and David Willson, all Republican candidates in Colorado,
last week filed a lawsuit in Denver district court that seeks to prevent unaffiliated voters
from participating in next month's GOP Primary. The three are asking the court to grant
a preliminary injunction that would bar state election officials from mailing Republican
primary ballots to unaffiliated voters for the June 30th primary. They are also asking the
judge to declare that the voter-approved law establishing Colorado's primary system is
unconstitutional. The three argue that the state's semi-open primary system violates their
constitutional rights by forcing republicans to let outsiders help choose the party's
nominees. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, the state's top election official,
and Governor Jared Polis, both Democrats, are named as defendants.
Senate Democrats move forward with bill to re route taxpayer refunds.
Senate Democrats on Friday moved forward with HB26-1419, a proposal to re-route
$306 million in taxpayer refunds, despite objections from legislative staff and republican
opposition. The bill won preliminary approval from the State Senate on Friday and now
awaits a final vote in the senate before it goes back to the State House, which must
concur with any amendments that are adopted in the senate. Democratic lawmakers
believe the money is an overpayment from the 2024 fiscal year, and believe they are
owed the money back because the state experienced a shortfall following the passage of
HR1, The Trump Administration Tax Package. Joint budget committee staff told the
committee in February that the 2024 refund does not appear to qualify as an "over-
refund" under current law, but the JBC moved forward with HB1419 anyway. Critics are
preparing to sue if the proposal becomes law.
Alamosa Police conclude multi-agency investigation Friday.
Alamosa Police on friday concluded a multi-agency narcotics investigation resulting in
the seizure of thousands of fentanyl pills, various illicit drugs, firearms and multiple
arrests in the San Luis Valley. Police detectives, in coordination with The DEA and CBI,
conducted a traffic stop on US160 and Colorado 159 at approximately 1:14am on Friday
with officers discovering over 6,000 fentanyl pills and U.S. currency. Dale Tardona, 42,
and Ileaha Gallegos, 45, both of Manassa, taken into custody on drug felony 1 charges.
Multiple search warrants were executed in Manassa later Friday with seizures of a large
amount of U.S. Currency, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, several firearms,
and items used to conceal and transport illicit narcotics. The investigation remains
ongoing.
Supporters of Suzanne Morphew gather Saturday in Chaffee County.
Friends, supporters and community members gathered in Chaffee County on Saturday to
honor Suzanne Morphew, the Colorado mother who disappeared 6 years ago on mother’s
day. Morphew was 49 when she was reported missing from the family’s home near
Salida on May 10th, 2020. Her remains were found in 2023 near Moffat in The San Luis
Valley. Her death was ruled a homicide. Suzanne’s husband, Barry Morphew, has
pleaded not guilty to her murder and has denied any involvement in her death. His trial is
expected to begin in October in 12th Judicial District Court in Alamosa. Supporters say
they remain hopeful that justice will be served in the case.
CDOT announces various closures in Colorado Springs.
The Colorado Department of Transportation has announced that crews in Colorado
Springs will close down various lanes and shoulders for repairing concrete panels. The
crews will begin overnight lane closure near the US24/Cimarron Street interchange
tonight. Drivers on I-25 will see various land closures between 9pm and 4am through
Thursday between Mile Markers 141 and 142. Lane closures will take place in both
northbound and southbound lanes. Delays are expected to be minimal.
May 8th 2026
CO State Lawmakers pull bill to regulate license plate readers.
Colorado State Lawmakers have pulled SB26-070, a bill looking to regulate law
enforcement’s use of automated license plate readers from consideration. The bill, also
known as the peeps act, would have required law enforcement to have a warrant to access
data collected by the plate readers, except for in certain emergency situations. The bill
would have also put restrictions on how long the data could be retained and would have
limited the agency's ability to share the data with other law enforcement agencies outside
of Colorado. The bill's sponsors said there was a lot of pushback from law enforcement,
who said the bill would make it harder to solve crimes. Governor Jared Polis also
expressed skepticism towards the bill. License plate readers collect car information,
location and plate information, tracking people's movements and bringing up right to
privacy issues.
Colorado Gubernatorial fundraising top leaders announced.
Victor Marx and Phil Weiser lead Colorado Gubernatorial fundraising with the two
campaigns together hauling in more than $20 million as of the end of April. Republican
Victor Marx and Democrat Phil Weiser each raised over $1 million in the first four
months of the year. Democratic U.S. Senator Michael Bennet fell just shy of the $1
million mark for the period. The super PAC supporting Bennet, however, left all three of
the leading candidates in the dust, with nearly $2.5 million in receipts, including $1.25
million from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Weiser and Bennet have
been facing off for The Democratic Nomination for more than a year. The GOP field
narrowed to three last month. Primary ballots will go out beginning on June 8th and are
due back to your local county clerk by June 30th.
4.0 magnitude earthquake strikes SOCO yesterday.
A 4.0 magnitude earthquake struck yesterday morning around 11:44am in Southern
Colorado near the New Mexico Border, according to The U.S. Geological Survey. The
earthquake's epicenter was about 17 kilometers south-southwest of Weston, west of
Trinidad, at a depth of 8.7 kilometers with shaking felt as far away as Pueblo and Monte
Vista. The shaking measured an intensity level 3. The USGS says it estimates that there
is a 28% chance that an aftershock greater than 3.0 could be felt in the area again within
the next week. No structure damage was reported from yesterday's quake.
Alamosa man sentenced in child abuse case.
Henry Moe, 63, of Alamosa, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Monday after
pleading guilty to charges of abuse of a child knowingly causing serious bodily injuries
and incest. The District Attorney's office reached a resolution with Moe and his defense
attorney in lieu of going to trial. Moe was arrested on July 2nd, 2025, following an
extensive investigation into his involvement in child sex crimes. Moe will also serve 3
years parole plus a 20-year closely supervised probation where he will participate in
intensive treatment and be monitored on a daily basis. Following sentencing, Moe was
remanded to the custody of The Alamosa County Sheriff's Office where he will be
transferred to the department of corrections.
Walsenburg City Council continuing talks with Tesla.
The Walsenburg City Council is continuing talks with Tesla to bring a Tesla
supercharging station to Walsenburg. While the proposed location would be at the east
end of The Heritage Park parking lot, near Russell Street, council members asked if there
was any flexibility with the location, suggesting the station be placed further to the west,
or around the downtown area. Tesla is pursuing a location in the downtown area as
opposed to the outskirts of the city, saying that typical charging time is around 20 to 30
minutes. Where electric power is available will also be part of the consideration for the
final location of the charging station.
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