Colorado Today
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The Colorado news you need in less than 15 minutes a day, from Colorado Public Radio’s newsrooms. Get connected with your community and understand how the biggest stories in Colorado impact your life. Available each weekday morning at 6:00 a.m. with hosts Bazi Kanani and Arlo Pérez Esquivel. Follow this show, and consider donating to support future episodes at cpr.org.
Colorado Public Radio 2025
The Colorado news you need in less than 15 minutes a day, from Colorado Public Radio’s newsrooms. Get connected with your community and understand how the biggest stories in Colorado impact your life. Available each weekday morning at 6:00 a.m. with hosts Bazi Kanani and Arlo Pérez Esquivel. Follow this show, and consider donating to support future episodes at cpr.org.
Colorado Public Radio 2025
Denver says layoffs could help fix a looming budget crisis — but workers say the city isn’t being transparent, and now the union is stepping in. Then, climate change is making it harder to cool down at night — especially in Colorado’s cities. Plus, a beloved book program from Dolly Parton hits a funding snag, putting some local chapters at risk.
As you prepare for the Fourth of July weekend, you’ll hear the outlook for West Nile virus in Colorado, and what makes someone more likely to be bitten by mosquitoes.
Congress’ Big Beautiful Bill targets wind and solar energy – two industries that have been booming in Colorado.
Federal immigration officials are eyeing Colorado for a second detention center, which would open in the southern part of the state.
A green menace to watch out for in your yard, and your neighborhood, which could eat up Front Range trees.
Some Colorado mountain towns are trying to attract visitors, but lately, numbers are dropping.
A state mandate to track police uses of force was meant to bring clarity and empower Coloradans — but the data is falling short. Then, a controversial proposal could put federal public lands on the market for housing. Plus, results from a closely watched special election. And, a few ideas to help you plan your weekend, including comedy in Boulder.
The state official suing Gov. Polis over an immigration information-sharing order takes the stand in court.
Barry Morphew was just arrested for his wife’s murder for a second time, in a case about prosecutorial misconduct, true crime podcasts and rural investigations.
Colorado lawmakers bolster against CDC overhaul.
A new executive order changes staffing and technology to fight wildfires.
Leaders of conservative Douglas County want voters to give them more authority.
Plus, we explain cuts to the National Park Service.
The U.S. Justice Department made an unprecedented demand for all of Colorado’s election data from the past two elections. We’ll explore why.
Protests over immigration enforcement that sprang up in Los Angeles over the weekend have now spread to Colorado.
Denver claims a historic drop in unsheltered homelessness. We fact check the claim.
Just a few years ago Coloradans voted to fund free meals at schools, but the program is running out of money already.
A whistleblower is suing Governor Jared Polis, because Polis told him he needed to hand over information about unaccompanied immigrant children to federal officials.
The latest on measles in Colorado, Boulder firebomb attacker in court, transgender protections challenged, Puerto Rican festival
Renters may be particularly annoyed at a veto from Governor Jared Polis, which rejected an attempt to guard against alleged price fixing.
Why the state euthanized a wolf for the first time since it reintroduced the endangered species.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is on trial in Denver for the Big Election Lie.
What we’ve learned about an attack on peaceful demonstrators in Boulder on Sunday afternoon.
Supreme Court oil train ruling, Denver’s downtown renovation, scientists want your house gunk
Colorado is near the top in the country for road rage, and the reaction could be anything from cars colliding to menacing with a gun.
From tree planting to e-bikes, how President Trump is cutting back on environmental projects in Colorado aimed at people who are most harmed, to the tune of $25 million.
What the Republican changes to Medicaid mean for all Coloradans and our pocketbooks.
The Trump administration is creating a list of migrant children in Colorado and their locations. They say it’s for the kids’ wellbeing, but advocates wonder if it’s also a veiled attempt to deport them.
Five years after George Floyd’s death, we talk to an organizer about what’s happened to the Black Lives Matter movement in Colorado.
Three decades ago, in one of the biggest criminal cases in Grand Junction history, a man was sent to prison for bombings because of a pair of wire cutters. Now that evidence is under scrutiny.
We survey the damage from tornadoes that touched down on Colorado’s Eastern Plains.
Governor Jared Polis puts new pressure on cities and towns that resist state law on affordable housing.
Air traffic controllers in Colorado temporarily lost communications with pilots flying into Denver International Airport.
The Supreme Court considers birthright citizenship today. It’s one of 20 cases Colorado is participating in to try to stop Trump’s agenda.
Denver has decided to switch where it will buy asphalt material for roads, rejecting the local refinery. They call it a moral decision, but it may not be better for the environment.
A Colorado lawsuit moves forward to hold Exxon Mobil and Suncor responsible for disasters like wildfires made worse by climate change.
Whether Colorado actually gets a professional women’s soccer team may hinge on how the Denver City Council votes tonight. We’ll explain what taxpayers have at stake.
The biggest stories from across the state in under 15 minutes.
A plan is speeding forward for new passenger trains to take you farther into the mountains from metro Denver.
It feels like we’re getting plenty of rain this week, but what’s happening to the snow is causing concern.
Research and development for renewable energy took a hit yesterday with 114 layoffs at NREL in Golden.
Colorado lawmakers have just three days left to finalize their work, which could include controversial regulations on rideshare companies.
Colorado has a plan for high-speed passenger rail to connect its cities, but two of the state’s members of Congress are speaking out against it.
Democrats in Colorado have been trying to pass a labor law that would make it easier to unionize, but it’s one of the major things still undone with one week to go in the legislative session.
A hundred days into his term, we’re learning more about Trump’s plan to punish Denver with funding cuts, which have already started.
A hundred people were detained at a nightclub in Colorado Springs.
Lawmakers and the governor are having an unusual showdown at the state Capitol over social media regulation.
Colorado news headlines in under 15 minutes.
Images generated by AI are getting so real that child safety advocates say our laws aren’t keeping up.
Colorado's top new stories in under 15 minutes each day
A new target of federal budget cuts is AmeriCorps, the community service organization.
Hear Colorado's top news stories in under 15 minutes.
Alabama lawmakers push for a move of Space Command headquarters from Colorado to their state.
Social media giants like Meta would have to do more to protect kids online under a bill with broad support, but Gov. Polis may veto it.
A new memorial is approved for the state Capitol grounds, to help Colorado acknowledge its colonial past and heal relationships with Native people.
Trump’s proposed funding cuts would cost more than 11,000 Colorado kids access to early education.
At least two of Colorado’s biggest names in politics will face off in a primary for governor.
Colorado’s new immigrants face a tough new question about whether to keep paying their taxes if it could lead to deportation.
Proposed changes in Washington could reshape life in Colorado’s San Luis Valley.
Bus drivers and train operators in metro Denver get a new contract. This is what it means for riders.
Colorado could switch to carbon-free electricity sooner than you would think, and Gov. Polis is pushing for a last-minute bill in the legislature to accelerate the change.
Immigrants escaping slavery who were detained by ICE in Colorado.
Would Uber and Lyft rides be safer for drivers and passengers if every ride was recorded on video and audio?
Several international students are told they can no longer study at universities in Colorado.
Colorado has its first measles case in years. Experts explain the risk and how you can protect yourself.
A proposal to restrict guns with detachable magazines is meant to make up for past policy failures.
We answer a question about why Colorado’s school year is the shortest in the country.
Colorado-based researchers trying to prevent HIV have lost their federal funding
Colorado is losing hundreds of millions of dollars for public health at a time when the state is already a billion dollars over budget.
Colorado’s hot springs operators are sweating a green energy campaign.
It’s budget week for the state, when lawmakers have to make final decisions on how to cut $1.2 billion.
Hundreds of families in Denver are still living in their cars despite millions spent to address homelessness.
There may be little left of the federal Department of Education after President Trump’s executive order directing his education secretary to close it.
Colorado is going nuclear if lawmakers get their way. The new reactors appear safer than in the past, but there’s always a risk of meltdown.
Your local school may be closed tomorrow, because teachers will be busy protesting over the budget.
Medicaid is on the chopping block and some Coloradans have a lot to lose, including their independence.
An about-face in the government’s plan for electric vehicles means some EV chargers are getting turned off
Colorado’s governor commits to trade with Canada amid the trade wars.
Colorado has the money to help you buy new appliances for your home, but there’s a delay in getting it out to homeowners.
Thousands of Coloradans have lined up around the block to see their members of Congress.
The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a Colorado law that bans conversion therapy for young LGBTQ people.
We have good news for homebuyers in Colorado, and advice for dealing with atypical weather.
Denver Restaurant Week kicks off today amid a contentious debate over how restaurant workers in Colorado should get paid.
Denver’s mayor faces accusations he broke federal law in sheltering immigrants. Plus, a decades-long western conservation success story faces a new threat.
Denver is spending thousands of dollars preparing its mayor to appear before a congressional committee today.
Going up and down the Front Range by train may actually be possible soon, 20 years after it was promised.
Weather forecasting is hit by layoffs, and Colorado companies plan for tariffs.
Get the statewide news you need in less than 15 minutes each weekday.
June 23, 2025: Layoffs to fix budget crisis, hot nights and climate change, Dolly Parton book program struggles
June 23, 202513min 26sec
Denver says layoffs could help fix a looming budget crisis — but workers say the city isn’t being transparent, and now the union is stepping in. Then, climate change is making it harder to cool down at night — especially in Colorado’s cities. Plus, a beloved book program from Dolly Parton hits a funding snag, putting some local chapters at risk.
This episode of Colorado Today is hosted by Arlo Pérez Esquivel and Bazi Kanani. It’s edited and produced by Mateo Schimpf and Stephanie Wolf. The executive producer is Rachel Estabrook. Theme music by Pedro Lumbraño.
Email us at coloradotoday@cpr.org.
Colorado Today is supported by CPR’s members.
Read more on the stories in today’s show:
- Denverite’s Kyle Harris reports on the controversy over expected layoffs in Denver’s government.
- Denverite’s Juanita Hurtado Huérfano and CPR’s Stina Sieg report on financial challenges for some Colorado chapters of Imagination Library.