Purplish
Colorado Public RadioPurplish
Purplish is a podcast about politics and policy and how they shape Coloradans’ lives, hosted by Colorado Public Radio’s public affairs reporter Bente Birkeland and reporters from the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. They break down the latest developments at the statehouse, in Congress and in local communities, to find the bigger picture behind the political headlines.
Purplish is produced by CPR News with support from the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Colorado Public Radio
Purplish is a podcast about politics and policy and how they shape Coloradans’ lives, hosted by Colorado Public Radio’s public affairs reporter Bente Birkeland and reporters from the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. They break down the latest developments at the statehouse, in Congress and in local communities, to find the bigger picture behind the political headlines.
Purplish is produced by CPR News with support from the Colorado Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Colorado Public Radio
Boosting lawmaker pay during budget cuts isn’t a great look, but it’s exactly what’s set to happen next year.
Gov. Polis’ decision to commute the election-deniers’ sentence has reverberated through the political world.
Coloradans are guaranteed to get a new governor in the fall. But first, five hopefuls have to convince voters they should represent their party in the midterms.
What lasting impacts did the legislature actually make this year?
From banning masks for law enforcement to empowering civil liberties lawsuits, the legislature has considered a range of proposals this session.
Party diehards got their say on who they want to see on the ballot. The Purplish team breaks down who made it through and what it means to pick candidates this way.
Leaving an abusive partner is often extremely difficult, and dangerous. But research shows that when police ask the right questions, it can get a bit easier.
It’s not often state lawmakers rush to give some of their power away to local officials. But when it comes to loud events, they could do just that.
Colorado’s Medicaid spending has grown dramatically in recent years, making it tough for the state’s budget writers to avoid deep cuts to the program.
The Department of Corrections says it needs money to fund additional beds. But Colorado lawmakers don’t want to keep writing short-term checks without a long-term plan.
Police say the technology has improved public safety. But as public outrage over these systems grows, state lawmakers step into the debate.
There’s a growing movement to restrict neonics, in the name of protecting public health and the environment. But farmers say that ignores agricultural reality.
As community resistance to data centers grows, Colorado legislators weigh competing visions on the topic.
Are the president’s actions against the state policy disputes or political retaliation?
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis has roughly four months to get his final legislative goals done as he also contends with the Trump administration, which seems bent on punishing Colorado.
Budget woes, intraparty drama and more, Colorado lawmakers head back to the statehouse with a lot on their plates.
As climate disasters increase, homeowners face rising premiums, less choice and availability, and losing coverage altogether.
Other blue states want Colorado to join the fray, but redrawing lines early is easier said than done.
We go back to that grueling conflict, 80 years ago, with one of its last remaining veterans
Coloradans spoke strongly about school lunches in this off-year election. Next year's ballots will give them a lot more to chew on.
The building itself, and the various objects inside it, open up bigger conversations about history and politics.
Advocates say the program has been successful at feeding more kids and reducing lunch line stigma. There's not enough money to do everything it promised.
The case pits free speech against the authority of states to regulate medical practices.
The debate over a second Buc-ee’s in Colorado has been heated from the start, with more flavors of political intrigue than its jerky.
In a tense and, at times, dramatic special session, lawmakers pushed through bills to tackle a billion-dollar budget hole, SNAP cuts, and more.
Incidents keep happening at the statehouse that show lawmakers still have a ways to go in their quest to set a healthy workplace culture.
Purplish takes a trip inside the treasure vault at the State Capitol
Now that lawmakers in D.C. are done, lawmakers in Colorado’s Capitol will have to figure out how to absorb its many cuts and changes.
For the first time in 50 years, a Colorado county will vote on going home rule -- but there's a lot of debate about what that really means.
In 2020, Colorado became one of the first states in the nation to pass police accountability reforms in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Five years on, where does that effort stand now?
After so much talk about Gov. Jared Polis on Purplish this year, hear from the governor himself, during a live event hosted by The Colorado Sun.
From AI meltdowns to trans rights, rideshare safety and unions, Colorado’s lawmakers left plenty of big decisions till the very last minute.
How a bill about illegal activity on social media turned into a faceoff between lawmakers and Gov. Polis.
Recorded in front of a live audience, GOP state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer and Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse discuss the impacts of President Trump’s actions in Colorado.
Democrats hope their new bill can stymy some of the tactics they’ve seen deployed by the Trump administration.
There are bills on medical care, harassment and more. But each proposal comes with its own round of debate, as opponents argue Colorado is going too far on a polarizing issue.
Democratic soul searching. A Republican fork in the road. As the nation undergoes enormous political shifts, the parties in Colorado are struggling to find their footing.
Agonizing decisions kept lawmakers working past deadline on the massive spending package
A local vs state battle has taken hold over how Colorado will grow. It’s a fight about local control and who gets to decide what’s best for Coloradans.
With less than 60 days left to go and plenty of big, controversial bills still in play, it’s crunch time for state lawmakers.
It can take over a year to get DNA results in a sexual assault case. Lawmakers want that to change.
Colorado takes a relatively cheap and fast approach for filling statehouse vacancies. What it's not, is democratic.
Meet two members of the freshman class at the Capitol
How did state finances end up in such bad shape, and how far will lawmakers go to get back in balance?
Democrats are targeting one firearm feature they say makes the most difference in mass shootings.
For 82 years, this law has made unionization more difficult in Colorado.
Done poorly, they can be Powerpoint Purgatory. Done well, they make news.
After all the drama of recent years, the start to the 119th Congress has been, dare we say it, pretty normal?
What the first days might say about the 2025 state legislative session
Plus, what else to watch for as lawmakers convene under the Capitol dome in 2025
From tight congressional results to a grab-bag of ballot measures, here's what the election delivered for Colorado
Across the state, candidates and campaigns are making their final pitches to Colorado's voters.
From keeping noncitizens from registering to what's inside the vote-counting machines.
Your ballot includes fourteen law change and constitutional amendments and we explain them all
From the absolute toss-up to the pro-normal face-off, here are the races we're watching most closely.
An experiment in democracy is on the ballot this fall.
Also: Participate in a Purplish taping!
Assessing the primary as the dust settles
GOP rifts in the Congressional Districts 5 and 8 primaries
The primary fight for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District
In eastern Colorado, a primary and a vacancy election
What are Colorado voters worried about?
Ending on a high note
Drinking at the Colorado Capitol
The new oil and gas war
Is Colorado really about to commit to passenger rail?
Lawmakers’ $1.5B tax credit battle royale
Is Colorado’s medical aid in dying law too hard to use?
What do all the new immigrant arrivals mean for Colorado?
The first month of session, down
Inside the fight to keep Space Command in Colorado
Tina Peters is headed to trial – how did we get here?
The legislature returns: what lies ahead?
Could this Colorado case determine Trump’s political future?
What’s up with Prop. II?
What’s up with Prop. HH?
Colorado Springs’ next mayor is a man few thought would win. What happened?
Land use, property taxes and party conflicts — how the legislature wrapped up
The legislature’s spending dance
The year that could change how Colorado grows
Colorado’s blockbuster filibuster (and why it matters)
Xcel’s winter of discontent
Disability rights at center stage
Rent control in Colorado?
How Colorado’s gun laws have changed from frontier days to today
The Polis Agenda
The legislature is back: what do they want to do?
Is Colorado a blue state now?
What we’re watching for on Election Day
What keeps our elections safe?
All your 2022 ballot measures explained (plus a few weird ones from history)
Housing on your ballot
Colorado’s Latino voters and the 2022 races
Moderates in the Midterm
What did we learn from the primary?
Unaffiliated Voters — the big question mark
The GOP Divide
What lawmakers did with their time
With mental health, can Colorado achieve ‘transformative’ change?
The fight to ban Menthols and flavored vapes
Who’s on the primary ballot?
Colorado at the eye of an election conspiracy storm
The past, and future, of abortion in Colorado
Crime is rising in Colorado – is justice reform to blame?
Lawmakers’ brewing labor battle
Serving in the statehouse while running for Congress
The housing crisis comes home to the Capitol
Back to work at the Capitol
Remembering the January 6th Capitol Riot
What’s ahead when the legislature returns?
Hey, did you hear there was an election?
Colorado Has A Map — If The Court Approves
Redistricting Deadline Looms
Competition Vs Commonalities — A Conundrum For Redistricting
Colorado’s Got A Brand New Map (But It’s Not The Final Map – Yet)
Communities Urge Redistricting Commission To Consider The Ties That Bind
A Road Trip Through Colorado’s (Maybe) 8th District
Redistricting Highlights Challenges To Latino Representation
Colorado ‘Nonpartisan’ Redistricting Process Is Still Plenty Political
Redistricting: What You Need To Know To Learn The Things You Need To Learn
Get ready for Purplish: The Great Redraw
That’s All, Folks!
The Chopping Block
Into The Whirlwind
The Big Money Episode
Race, Politics and Racial Politics
Where Are They Now?
Justice Reform, A Year After George Floyd
Hot At The Legislature: Housing And Immigration
What The Heck Is The Public Option?
Maps, Data And Drama, Drama, Drama
Big Changes, Little Attention
Gun Laws After Boulder
BONUS: Meet The Jared Polis And Anthony Fauci Of 1918
Capitol Warming
1.9 Trillion Is An Awfully Big Number
Polis’s Pandemic Year
Everything You Need To Know About Transportation Reform
The State of the State is…
On With The Show
Two Capitols, One Wild Week
BONUS BONUS EPISODE: An Extraordinary Session
BONUS EPISODE: Digesting Colorado’s Election Outcomes With Two Colorado Politics Insiders
What The Heck Just Happened?
What We’re Watching For
On Voter Turnout, And Attempted Voter Turn-Offs
Election Grab Bag
So Many Ballot Measures. Like, SO MANY
The One About Debates
Ground Game, Grounded?
Mail Ballot Blues
Purplish Returns: The Election Season
BONUS: The Democrats Competing To Take On Cory Gardner
The End Is Near
Protests, Policing, And Education Cuts
The Legislature Strikes Back
You Can’t Kiss Babies Over Zoom
Budget Cuts and Building Rules
W(h)ither The Big Bills?
Justice — And Many Other Things — Delayed
Partisan Politics vs. Pandemic Politics
The ‘Stay At Home’ Order, Discussed By Three People Staying In Their Homes
Politics, Policy, and the Pandemic
Legislation In The Time Of Coronavirus
Super Tuesday Might Not Mean What You Think In Colorado…
Sausage In The Making
Out Of The Statehouse, Into The National Spotlight
Family Matters
Big Ideas Incoming
The Matter Of Life And Death
The Political Is Personal
Things Democrats Disagree About
Trailer: Purplish Reborn
ALL OF THE BILLS!!!!
The First Fractivist
Electoral College Dropouts
Could Colorado Fix Congress?
BONUS: Hick At High Noon
BONUS: What’s Next for Pur-plish?
Blue Avalanche
The Holdouts
You Can’t Hack Paper
The Prisoner Voting Dilemma
Purple State Blues
Gerryman-don’t
The Forgotten State Of Southern Colorado
Walker Stapleton’s Family
Jared Polis’ Money
The Signature Wars
Introducing ‘Purplish’: A Podcast About Colorado Politics And The Forces That Shape It
Should Colorado lawmakers get a raise? It’s a politically thorny topic
April 24, 202626min 51sec
Colorado has a part-time, citizen legislature, driven by the notion that it’s important to have people from all kinds of professional backgrounds bringing their experience to lawmaking. So for four months every year, state legislators pause their regular lives to be at the Capitol. But the flexibility to do that can be hard to come by, and some say the pay — currently around $47,000 a year — makes things even harder. Now, an approach lawmakers hoped would take the politics out of the pay raise process could end up boosting their wages at the worst possible time.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland and KUNC’s Lucas Brady Woods lean into the ongoing debate and tension around how much state lawmakers earn, what it means for the legislative process and the variety of fixes, from the financial to the fundamental, some have proposed.
Catch up on our latest coverage:
- CPR News: How much are Colorado’s state legislators paid?
- CPR News: Amid budget cuts, legislators and statewide office holders set for pay increases next year
- The Independent Elected State Official Pay Commission’s 2025 Pay Report
Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additional reporting for this episode from Rae Solomon.