Purplish

Colorado has a part-time, citizen legislature, driven by the notion that it’s important to have people from all kinds of professional backgrounds bringing their experience to lawmaking. So for four months every year, state legislators pause their regular lives to be at the Capitol. But the flexibility to do that can be hard to come by, and some say the pay — currently around $47,000 a year — makes things even harder. Now, an approach lawmakers hoped would take the politics out of the pay raise process could end up boosting their wages at the worst possible time.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland and KUNC’s Lucas Brady Woods lean into the ongoing debate and tension around how much state lawmakers earn, what it means for the legislative process and the variety of fixes, from the financial to the fundamental, some have proposed. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News: How much are Colorado’s state legislators paid?

CPR News: Amid budget cuts, legislators and statewide office holders set for pay increases next year

The Independent Elected State Official Pay Commission’s 2025 Pay Report

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additional reporting for this episode from Rae Solomon.

Primary ballots will land in Coloradans’ mailbox in a few weeks, and now, voters know which candidates will be on them. Many got there by winning over party activists at the recent Democratic and Republican state assemblies in Pueblo. These were high-stakes gatherings in a high-stakes election year, as hopefuls lined up for all of Colorado’s top offices: U.S senator, governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland, The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul and CPR’s Caitlyn Kim break down which candidates rallied enough delegate support, what kinds of competitions it sets up for the primary in June, and what this method of selecting candidates means in the big picture.
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News/KRCC: Gubernatorial candidates Scott Bottoms, Victor Marx win slots on GOP primary ballot at state assembly

CPR News: Democrats gather in Pueblo to select candidates for primary ballot

CPR News: Kirkmeyer, Marx, Bennet file petitions to get on ballot for gubernatorial primaries

The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s unaffiliated voters say they’re intentionally not joining a political party. Here’s why.

The Colorado Sun: Republicans who want to opt out of Colorado’s primaries get major boost from federal judge’s ruling

The Colorado Sun: State senator defeats two Democratic rivals, securing lone spot on primary ballot for Colorado treasurer

The Colorado Sun: Diana DeGette narrowly made the primary ballot. Here’s why you maybe shouldn’t read too much into it.

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additional reporting for this episode from KRCC’s Briana Heaney.

A bill advancing through Colorado's statehouse would require law enforcement officers to ask a set of 11 questions — 11 very specific questions, meant to measure someone’s risk of dying at the hands of their abuser. Backers say the change is especially urgent now, because even though homicides in Colorado have gone down in recent years, domestic violence killings have gone up. 
CPR’s Bente Birkeland, KUNC’s Kyle McKinnon and CPR’s Ava Kian discuss efforts to try to improve how law enforcement across Colorado responds to domestic violence calls, and the unique challenges of addressing domestic violence. 
Catch up on our latest coverage:

CPR News: Advocates push for a statewide protocol for domestic violence victims

KUNC: Colorado lawmakers want police to take new steps when responding to domestic violence calls

KUNC: Colorado faces domestic violence crisis as survivor danger escalates

CPR News: Colorado domestic violence deaths rise even as statewide homicides fall

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer.

Decades ago, Colorado lawmakers set statewide limits on noise for different types of areas — lower limits near homes, louder away from them. But a recent court case has upended the status quo around which venues are allowed to be extra loud and how much say local governments have, and that has state lawmakers this year stirring up a noisy debate over noise.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland and Dan Boyce delve into the complexity of noise and how people experience it, the debate over state limits versus local control, and why the Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs is at the center of this debate.
Catch up on our coverage:

CPR News: Local noise permit bill passes Senate after contentious committee hearing

KRCC: Statehouse proposal would allow cities to issue noise permits for properties like the Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs

KRCC: Ford Amphitheater opponents hope Colorado Supreme Court ruling will bring the noise down

KRCC: Colorado Springs mayor, city staff will meet with operators of Ford Amphitheater after widespread noise complaints

And check out two past Purplish topics that are back in the news:

Colorado banned conversion therapy for minors. A U.S. Supreme Court case could upend that

Tina Peters is headed to trial – how did we get here?

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer.

The six lawmakers tasked with writing Colorado’s budget have an excruciating job this year — they must find about $1.5 billion in savings to keep the budget in balance, and understand that many of their cuts will have direct, human consequences. That’s because the state's Medicaid program, which provides health coverage to low-income Coloradans, accounts for a significant part of Colorado’s budget, and costs have ballooned in recent years.
CPR’s Bente Birkeland, The Colorado Sun’s Jesse Paul and The Denver Post’s Seth Klamann discuss what’s driving rising Medicaid costs for the state, where lawmakers are looking for savings and what this all means for Colorado residents. 
Catch up on the latest coverage:

The Colorado Sun: Colorado’s state budget shortfall grows to more than $1.5 billion, forcing legislature to make much deeper cuts

CPR News: Impact of state budget cuts gets real as lawmakers start trimming Medicaid programs

The Colorado Sun: Providing health care to immigrants who are children or pregnant is costing Colorado 611% more than expected

The Denver Post: As Medicaid costs rise, should Colorado charge fees on large employers that don’t insure all workers?

The Denver Post: Flawed analysis caused Colorado Medicaid program’s costs to surge and made it ‘attractive’ to fraud

CPR News: Medicaid recipients, advocates furious over state mistake that’s costing tens of millions of dollars

The Colorado Sun: Legislature mulls ballot measure that would ask voters to raise TABOR cap by billions primarily to fund Colorado’s schools

Purplish is produced by CPR News and the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Purplish’s producer is Stephanie Wolf. Sound design and engineering by Shane Rumsey. The theme music is by Brad Turner. Megan Verlee is the executive producer. Additional reporting for this episode from CPR’s John Daley and The Colorado Sun’s John Ingold and Erica Breunlin.