4/03/2026: A bill that put production fees on oil and gas development will start to fund wildlife and habitat projects. Today, Governor Polis and Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced the first round of seven projects including beaver restoration and wildlife tracker maintenance. The Senate Bill established two fees on extractive energy in Colorado, one administered by the Clean Transit Enterprise and the other by CPW to projects that address habitat fragmentation and climate change.
4/06/2026: Coloradans have spoken - the name of the future Front Range Passenger Rail Train is the Colorado Connector or "CoCo." The winning name was announced today. The public cast almost 26 thousand votes in the naming contest. "CoCo" beat out the laborious Front Range Express Destinations by less than a thousand votes. Colorado Ranger came in third, and RangeLink was the caboose. A multi-year effort is underway to link Front Range communities by passenger rail. "CoCo" will eventually run from Fort Collins to Pueblo.
4/8/2026: The CPW Commission is seeking public input on commercial fur sales regulations. Following a two-day meeting in Denver last month, the agency has begun the rulemaking process on a citizen petition to prohibit the commercial sale of furbearer pelts, with a few exemptions.
4/8/2026: Governor Polis signed a bill into law this week allowing more Coloradans to ask for someone’s guns to be removed under the state’s red flag law. Red flag laws allow judges to issue extreme risk protection orders and temporarily remove a person’s guns if they pose a threat to themselves or others. The new law expands who can petition for such an order, including institutions, like schools and hospitals. It also includes behavioral health professionals who respond to emergency calls alongside police and paramedics. Colorado lawmakers are also considering several other bills this year that would tighten gun regulations.
4/13/2026: The contentious proposed development Harvest Roaring Fork has withdrawn its application for a 1500 unit subdivision in the Cattle Creek area after weeks of community backlash. In an April 6th letter to Garfield County Planning and Zoning, the developer asked the county to stop its review of the development, and hold no further public hearings. The Post Independent reports the withdrawal was to give the development team time to review the proposal and return with a better vision. The withdrawal came soon after the Planning Commission voted 6 to 1 to recommend denying Harvest Roaring Fork after an unfavorable public hearing. The development can still return in the future for another round of county review.
4/20/2026: Yesterday evening a house fire broke out ON cr 110upvalley of Thunder River Market. Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District responded at 8:40 p.m.A large portion of the single home was involved, including the deck and two sides of the house. The fire was brought under control at about 9:00. Crews remained on scene overnight to monitor for hidden hot spots. No injuries were reported. The family and their pets evacuated safely. A total of 27 firefighters responded from Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District, Roaring Fork Fire Rescue, and Glenwood Springs Fire Department.
4/28/2026: The Colorado River District recently received a boost to its efforts to secure the contested Shoshone Water Rights in Glenwood Canyon. Last week, five soil conservation districts contributed a joint $30 thousand towards the River Districts $99 million purchase from Xcel Energy. The Shoshone hydroelectric plant holds the largest nonconsumptive senior water rights in the state, and in 2023, the River District signed a deal with Xcel to acquire the rights and ensure the water stays on the Western Slope. In 2025 Trump issued the executive order, “Unleashing American Energy” which halted funding for 17 Colorado water projects including $40 million for the purchase of the Shoshone water rights. The soil district's support comes at a crucial time for the Western Slope, as every part of Colorado is experiencing some level of drought. Last month Denver Water put the Shoshone call reduction agreement into effect, allowing them to take more from the Colorado River’s headwaters to alleviate shortages. The agreement splits the Shoshone water from over 14 hundred cubic feet per second, to just over 700.
4/29/2026: A report last month in the Colorado Times Recorder combed through thousands of data points on Immigration and Customs Enforcement and found a disturbing pattern. Hold rooms are sprinkled throughout the state. These are small detention facilities without a cot or bed, and by the agency's own rules cannot be used to hold a person longer than 72 hours. However, data obtained from FOIA requests shows that many people, including children and the elderly, were held for weeks at time. Between January and October of last year, 73 detainees were held in the Glenwood Springs hold room on Midland Avenue. Nearly half of those people had no criminal record. Of those who did have records, most were DUIs or minor traffic infractions. Only 17% had any record of violent crime. ICE has declined to provide comment to the Times Recorder.
4/30/2026: On Tuesday the Glenwood Springs Planning and Zoning Commission moved to revoke the Special Use Permit for the ICE federal detention and processing facility on Midland Avenue. The meeting attracted a big crowd that required two overflow rooms to accommodate. The vote to revoke was 6-1. A Notice of Violation was issued in March after public records requests showed multiple instances where detainees were held longer than the 12‑hour limit set in the original 2003 permit.
All public comments at the hearing were opposed to the facility’s continued operation.
Federal agencies are not usually required to follow local building or zoning rules. City staff had recommended that P&Z require corrective actions instead of revoking the permit.
An inspection on April 9, by both the Fire Marshal and Building Official determined ICE is in compliance with occupancy requirements. Updates on this story HERE.
