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Colorado News Miner 145
Primaries, Thiel, school investigations, a Golden ticket, Kiros, and more.
by Ari Armstrong, Copyright © 2026
Lynn Bartels: RIP.
GOP Gov Primary: See Dick fume: "Colorado Republicans stand on the brink of total irrelevance and embarrassment if they nominate one of the two nonsensical, buffoonish candidates running for governor, Victor Marx and Scott Bottoms." Meanwhile, Seth Klamann wrote a report on Marx. It's nothing like the deep investigative piece I'd hoped for. Marx is probably happy with the article, as its headline calls him "atypical" and "a force." A Post editorial offers quite a lot more information and says Marx's "social media accounts, his websites, and his YouTube page grossly overstate the work his ministry has done since 2003." Mandy Connell provides additional details about the Florida operation. Shaun Boyd reports that Darcy Schoening said she reported Marx for collecting donations from some people over the legal limit, leading to Marx issuing some refunds. Meanwhile, Sam Tabachnik has an article on Bottoms that includes discussion of the candidate's anti-gay stance and his conspiracy mongering about the elections and about child trafficking in the Capitol. Bloomberg backs Bennet, btw (which is a good reason to vote for Weiser).
Polis-Thiel Connection: Winston Cho: "Behind closed doors, powerbrokers across the world in politics, tech and media have convened at an annual in-the-know retreat hosted by Peter Thiel. . . . Dialog membership isn't limited to conservatives. Many prominent Democrats or figures associated with left-leaning politics are connected to the group, including . . . Colorado governor Jared Polis." It'll be interesting to see if this "leaked" information is confirmed.
Activists Push Cherry Creek Investigation: Jamie O'Rourke: "A new investigation by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) into alleged 'racially discriminatory programming' in Cherry Creek Schools was seemingly instigated by a local conservative, anti-LGBTQ, pro-charter activist group. The group's leader [Lori Gimelshteyn of Colorado Parent Advocacy Network] now says she's working together with the federal agency on the investigation." Okay, so that's weird. But what are the underlying facts? Here's what DOE claims: "OCR is investigating allegations that the District sponsors clubs that exclude students based on race. Reports further allege that the district requires teachers to consider race when assigning classes and to provide differing levels of academic support based on race. Additionally, complaints claim that the District promotes a teacher training program that restricts participation based on race." I'll guess we'll see what more comes to light.
JeffCo Investigation Seems Like Bunk: Melanie Asmar: "District says 61 boys the Trump administration found on girls’ sports rosters were mascots, managers."
I Got a Golden Ticket: No, not the candy-bar kind. I got a parking ticket in Golden enforced by a contracted company, Interstate Parking Company of Colorado LLC, a relationship that strikes me as deeply problematic. Anyway, here's what I wrote for the appeal: "The signage is extremely misleading. I parked to the proper side of a sign saying no parking here to the corner. Right across the street and right around the corner are signs saying 2-hour parking. The tiny sign saying permit required is approximately 25 yards up the street, barely visible, and I did not see it because I did not come in that way. If you're going to enforce these permitting rules you need clear, visible signage in the relevant areas." A rep arbitrarily cut the fee in half. Obviously this was nothing like an objective or evidence-based review. Golden is largely a tourism-based town. I'm surprised its officials want to risk gaining the reputation of extorting visitors.
Illegal Biking: 7News: "Douglas County sets new regulations for electric dirt bikes." Good.
Pueblo Coroner: Olivia Prentzel: The coroner and his brother face 152 felony charges "for abuse of a human tissue, forgery and theft."
Generous Coloradans: CSI: Coloradans gave $6.1 billion in charity in 2025 and worked 110 million volunteer hours.
What's an In-State Crime? Well here's a crazy one from Michael Karlik: A woman charged $10,000 on her ex's credit card without his permission. "Prior to trial, the defense argued that Colorado lacked authority to prosecute [her] because no part of her alleged crimes occurred 'wholly or partly within the state,' as Colorado law requires." Seems like an easy legislative clarification (for future cases).
Kiros Cancelled: Kiara DeMare: "Ogden Theatre canceled Kiros-Piker event due to 'pressure and concern.'" Melat Kiros is running against Diana DeGette; Hasan Piker is a livestreamer. Logan Davis observes that a couple venues that canceled are tied to Phil Anschutz, which might or might not mean anything. The ADL has a report on Piker.