Rachel Suh filed suit challenging Colorado’s caucus system as an unconstitutional delegation of government authority to private political parties. Denver District Court hears arguments February 5th—less than a month before caucuses begin. Suh argues 1.97 million unaffiliated voters (49.7% of the electorate) are excluded from the first stage of candidate selection. Parties self-certify their own results with no state oversight. Candidates need 30% support at assemblies to reach the primary ballot. By the time unaffiliated voters participate, the menu has already been set. Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose office filed the Motion to Dismiss, is running for Governor through the Democratic caucus process. Secretary of State Griswold, the named defendant, is running for Attorney General through the same system she administers.
Three days after a Colorado Court of Appeals panel questioned whether Tina Peters received an unconstitutionally harsh sentence, the state released 10 seconds of surveillance footage showing Peters’ hands on another inmate’s neck. The Colorado Department of Corrections refused to release footage from inside the maintenance closet where her legal team says the encounter began. CDOC confirmed it reviewed additional footage beyond what it released. Peters’ attorneys say she was attacked while filling a water unit and sustained injuries. CDOC’s spokesperson says no one was injured. Both statements cannot be true. Governor Polis is considering clemency. President Trump made Peters’ release a condition for restoring federal funding to Colorado.
Four catastrophic incidents at Keystone Resort in 34 days. Two dead, one paralyzed, one with traumatic brain injury. All wore helmets. None collided with another person. They fell on snow during the worst snowpack in 44 years. Resorts operated at 11-16% capacity with warnings about rocks and stumps. Families who spent $5,000 to $10,000 on non-refundable passes faced a choice: lose everything or ski anyway. The industry deployed 22 lobbyists to kill accident reporting requirements five years ago. No replacement bill exists.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission released winter energy tips January 23 urging residents to lower thermostats to save 3-5% on bills. The same agency approved a $1.9 billion Xcel spending plan and rate increases that could push bills up 72% by 2029. Xcel executed five separate power shutoffs affecting 121,000 customers under approved spending authority—without established regulatory standards. The PUC scheduled its first formal hearing on establishing actual rules for January 28, nine months after approving the program. More than 4,000 Coloradans documented PTSD, hotel costs, lost work, and food spoilage. The PUC does not approve or deny Xcel’s shutoff decisions. Xcel unilaterally determines when to cut power and to whom. Xcel reported $1.94 billion in profits for 2024, up 9.3% from 2023.
Initiative #95 qualified with 142,299 signatures for the November 3 ballot. The measure would require law enforcement to notify DHS within 72 hours of charging someone whose immigration status cannot be verified if that person has a prior felony or faces violent crime charges. Current law threatens deputies with $50,000 fines for alerting federal authorities. Attorney General Weiser sued Mesa County Deputy Alexander Zwinck for sharing information about a nursing student with an expired visa. Mesa County Sheriff revealed State Patrol troopers engaged in identical conduct. Weiser filed no lawsuits against them. While Colorado prosecuted the deputy, Tren de Aragua gang members terrorized Aurora residents. Police documents show officials knew about Venezuelan criminal activity since June 2023 but withheld information until viral video forced acknowledgment. Criminal investigations nearly doubled: 41 in 2022, 84 in 2023, 66 in the first half of 2024. ICE arrested 3,522 people in Colorado between January 20 and October 15, 2025—five times the 734 arrested in the same 2024 period. Among them: 16 with homicide charges, 52 with sex offense charges.
Colorado’s winter roads claimed additional casualties. A Front Range snowboarder died January 20 at Keystone. A Westminster man died there January 7. A semitruck jackknifed on Kenosha Pass, requiring hazmat cleanup and six-hour closure. In Commerce City, a driver crashed into a parked RV, fled with his gravely injured passenger, switched vehicles, then was pulled over for speeding while attempting to drive her to a hospital. She died. CSP cited 2,800 crashes from tailgating in 2025, with more than 200 people injured or killed.
Colorado’s 150th anniversary will feature nearly 150 drone light shows through December, replacing fireworks in many communities. Each 14-minute show costs communities $10,000 to $18,000. Upcoming: Durango’s Snowdown Light Parade January 30, Steamboat Winter Carnival February 7.
The legislature opened January 14. No ski accident reporting bill has been introduced. Caucuses begin March 3. The PUC holds its PSPS hearing January 28. Peters’ appeal remains pending. Initiative #95 appears November 3. Half of Colorado’s voters remain locked out of caucuses. The ski industry operates without transparency requirements. Surveillance footage sits in state possession. The pattern holds.
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