All Entries in the "State" Category
Colorado has the third-most lightning deaths in the country – Here’s how to stay safe.
A thunderstorm that turned roads into rivers and basements into swimming pools lit up the sky over Greeley on Tuesday night with flashes of light as bright as daytime. Three days earlier, a single lightning strike killed a Jackson County rancher and more than 30 of his cattle. Last week, a storm that raged over Yuma, rumbling […]
Hungry goats are latest phenom-nom-nom in Colorado wildfire prevention
Donny Benz, left, and his fiancé Kaiti Singley, right, with Goat Green LLC, monitor their Cashmere goats as they graze in fields in Dutch Creek Open Space in Louisville, Colorado, on May 22, 2024. As the goats eat, they create natural firebreaks that help to prevent and slow down wildfires. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The […]
Bipartisan Bill to Support Farmers and Ranchers Becomes Law
ALAMOSA, CO – Governor Jared Polis today signed into law bipartisan legislation sponsored by Representative Matthew Martinez and Senator Dylan Roberts that creates a refundable state income tax credit for a farm or ranch that uses certain stewardship practices that benefit the environment, such as improving soil health and water efficiency. “With the help of this […]
Cost of gas in Colorado sparks anger from Governor and consumers
The cost of gas is about to spike in Colorado. How high will it go? The EPA is forcing Colorado to switch to reformulated gas as ground-level ozone hits “severe” during the summer Keep an eye on gas prices in the next few weeks, Colorado, and you can watch a major policy battle play […]
Governor Polis signs SB24-171, reintroducing wolverines to Colorado
SUMMIT COUNTY – Governor Jared Polis joined staff from Colorado Parks and Wildlife at Loveland Pass today to sign SB24-171, which gives CPW the authority to reintroduce the North American wolverine to Colorado. Thanks to bill sponsors Senator Perry Will, Senator Dylan Roberts, Representative Barbara McLachlan, and Representative Tisha Mauro, SB24-171 contains key assurances for Colorado industries by […]
Colorado Employment Situation – April 2024
Household survey data According to the survey of households, Colorado’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was flat from March to April at 3.7 percent. The number of unemployed individuals grew by 1,900 over the same time period to 120,100. The national unemployment rate increased one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.9 percent from March to April. Colorado’s labor force increased by 1,500 […]
Colorado Farm Bureau Earns Excellence in Communications Award
Centennial, Colo. – The Colorado Farm Bureau Communications Department won an award from the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Excellence in Communications Award competition. The American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2024 Communications Award winners were named at this year’s Communications Conference in Waco, Texas. The competition recognizes state Farm Bureau professionals from across the country for their […]
DMV and CPW receive award for innovative work in supporting Colorado state parks
DENVER – Tuesday, May 7, 2024 — On Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis announced the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) as the recipients of the 2024 Tom Clements Better Government Award for Outstanding Innovation in Government. The award recognizes both state agencies’ work to support Colorado state parks and […]
CPW announces new active fire alert feature to COTREX mobile app
Where there’s smoke, there’s COTREX. Before your next outdoor adventure, check COTREX for active wildfires around the state to stay safe. DENVER—Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is proud to announce a new feature on the Colorado Trail Explorer (COTREX) mobile app that notifies outdoor recreationists about active fire alerts, including wildfires and prescribed burns in […]
Colorado State University helped create birdcast migration model
From the tiniest feathered fledglings to the large raptors and waterfowl, Colorado is home to more than 400 different species of birds. Some birds live here year-round, while others just pass through during their annual migration route. Most birds in the western hemisphere migrate twice a year between their breeding and wintering grounds, but when and to where depends on the […]
Colorado owes residents $67M in tax refunds
The state owes Colorado residents $67 million in tax refunds that should have been paid out years earlier, a costly mistake lawmakers are now working to fix, having discovered the problem after the governor has already signed the next fiscal year’s spending plan. Lawmakers said they only learned about the problem a few days ago and […]
Guest Essay by Paul Schlagel on the importance of a strong U.S. sugar policy
Paul Schlagel grew up on his family’s farm in Longmont, where his family has produced sugarbeets in Colorado for over 100 years. When you think of Colorado agriculture, cattle ranching might be the first thing to come to mind, but we’re home to a sweet industry as well: sugarbeets. As a fourth-generation sugarbeet farmer whose […]
New medical school coming to University of Northern Colorado as state tries to solve workforce shortages
An artist’s rendering of University of Northern Colorado’s College of Osteopathic Medicine shows one possibility of the building’s design May 1, 2024. The college will become Colorado’s third medical school and is part of a $247 million legislative package geared toward expanding health care programs at higher education institutions across the state amid a […]
Colorado Ag Commission Approves Avian Influenza Emergency Rule
Broomfield, Colo. — Yesterday, the Colorado Agricultural Commission approved, and Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg adopted an emergency rule to help limit the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Colorado. Since the initial detection of HPAI in dairy cattle in March 2024, the virus has spread to dairies in at least nine states, including […]
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Services releases 2022 Census of Agriculture
On March 27, the NASS released state and county profiles from the 2022 census Some of the key conclusions are below. Farm and ranch numbers shrunk while their sizes grew. Overall, the number of farms and ranches in Colorado decreased to 36,056 in 2022, down from 38,893 in 2017 (7.3%), while the average size […]
