Colorado

State shifts mobile driver’s licenses into higher gear

Thanks to the growing adoption of smartphone wallets and mobile payment technologies like Apple Pay and Google Pay, Colorado officials expect the state’s mDL to gain wide acceptance.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

To solve the affordable housing crisis, some communities are turning to hotels

The pandemic presented communities with a unique opportunity to convert hotels into residential spaces, creating everything from temporary transitional housing to long-term supportive homes. But is the model sustainable today?

  • By Molly Bolan

Investors are buying mobile home parks. Residents and governments are pushing back.

Amid an affordable housing crisis, some states are looking to help low-income residents stay in their homes by helping them purchase the land their manufactured housing sits on.

  • By Molly Bolan

How the Pandemic Is Leaving a Lasting Mark on Mountain Towns

It’s not just higher home prices.

  • By Molly Bolan

States Post Yellow Alerts to Try to Nab Hit-and-Run Drivers

Hit-and-run crash fatalities in the United States jumped 26% from 2019 to 2020.

  • By Jenni Bergal, Stateline

A Republican Tried to Introduce a Commonsense Gun Law. Then the Gun Lobby Got Involved

After a sheriff’s deputy was murdered in a Denver suburb, Colorado state Rep. Cole Wist took action by sponsoring a red flag bill. It likely cost him his seat.

  • By Megan O’Matz, ProPublica

Alabama Senator Calls on ‘Sore Loser’ Coloradans to Give Up Space Command HQ

Colorado politicians, however, are not giving up.

  • By Jacqueline Feldscher

Colorado May Soon Be the First State to Guarantee Lawmakers 12 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave

Such formal parental leave policies are extremely rare in statehouses. That’s changing as more women and young people serve in public office.

  • By Barbara Rodriguez, The 19th

Climate Change May Push the US Toward the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ for West Nile Virus

Colorado recently recorded the most West Nile virus deaths and cases of neuroinvasive infections in nearly two decades. Scientists warn that climate change will make conditions ripe for more West Nile transmission.

  • By Melissa Bailey, KFF Health News

Cloud Seeding Might Not Be as Promising as Drought-troubled States Hope

Several states are experimenting with weather modification to try to generate snow as water supplies shrink. An atmospheric scientist explains the history behind it and the challenges.

  • By William R. Cotton , The Conversation

States Lawmakers are Taking On Housing Policy Once Left to Locals

Legislators are looking at new—and sometimes controversial—ways to spur denser development and more affordable homes.

  • By Jared Brey

How Cities and Counties Are Using $18B in Federal Funds

A new tracker includes information on more than 2,300 projects that 150 big cities and counties are directing American Rescue Plan Act dollars toward.

  • By Andre Claudio
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8 Best Winter Festivals in the U.S.

A list from Travel + Leisure showcases festivals that include snow golf and volleyball, skiers hanging onto a cowboy on horseback and plungers jumping into the icy waters.

  • By Andre Claudio

Devastating Colorado Fires Cap a Year of Climate Disasters, With One Side of the Country Too Wet, the Other Dangerously Dry

U.S. disasters in 2021 told a tale of two climate extremes. A climate scientist explains why wet areas are getting wetter and dry areas drier.

  • By Shuang-Ye Wu , The Conversation

Best Places for Winter Outdoor Activities

A new list from Outside magazine recommends some of the nation’s top spots for a winter vacation.

  • By Andre Claudio

States Add Mask Mandates, Review Roles as Omincron Variant Spreads

New York's governor declares a major statewide shift in Covid-19 policy, while Colorado's governor says he's leaving masking up to localities.

  • By Rebecca C. Lewis

As Food Banks Struggle to Feed More Families at Thanksgiving, Localities Step Up to Help

Food shortages and soaring prices have hampered many charities' ability to collect and buy enough items. Municipal governments are investing new federal funds to boost these efforts.

  • By Andre Claudio

Snowy Roads Will Be Cleared, But It Will ‘Take Extra Time’

The ongoing labor shortage has exacerbated existing plow driver hiring problems, transportation officials said.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Hoping to Boost Vaccine Rates, One State Announces Grants for Primary Care Doctors

The Colorado program will use federal relief money to help health care practices boost vaccine distribution.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

State Officials to Drone Operators: Please Stop Harassing the Animals

Wildlife officials in Colorado this week urged recreational drone pilots to avoid disrupting animals during flights, the latest example of a growing issue for state agencies.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

'Vaxfluencers' Getting Residents to Get the Shot

Public health agencies are paying local Instagram and TikTok celebrities to promote Covid-19 vaccines, a relatively new outreach strategy that, so far, seems to be working.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram