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Gov. Jared Polis ends bid to comply with ICE subpoena

Gov. Jared Polis is reversing course on his attempts to provide federal immigration authorities with sensitive state records.

News

Gov. Jared Polis is reversing course on <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="his attempts" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/06/09/colorado-jared-polis-ice-lawsuit" data-vars-content-id="5e888ba3-5e6f-4d22-89f1-e430b2b34135" data-vars-headline="Gov. Jared Polis ends bid to comply with ICE subpoena" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/06/09/colorado-jared-polis-ice-lawsuit" target="_self">his attempts</a> to provide <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="federal immigration authorities" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/10/22/colorado-governor-jared-polis-ice-immigration-status" data-vars-content-id="5e888ba3-5e6f-4d22-89f1-e430b2b34135" data-vars-headline="Gov. Jared Polis ends bid to comply with ICE subpoena" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/10/22/colorado-governor-jared-polis-ice-immigration-status" target="_self">federal immigration authorities</a> with sensitive state records.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The case" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/06/05/ice-jared-polis-lawsuit-colorado-immigration" data-vars-content-id="5e888ba3-5e6f-4d22-89f1-e430b2b34135" data-vars-headline="Gov. Jared Polis ends bid to comply with ICE subpoena" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/06/05/ice-jared-polis-lawsuit-colorado-immigration" target="_self">The case</a> shined a spotlight on the tension between federal immigration enforcement and Colorado&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="privacy and sanctuary protections" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/05/05/colorado-immigrant-protections-sanctuary-state-lawsuit" data-vars-content-id="5e888ba3-5e6f-4d22-89f1-e430b2b34135" data-vars-headline="Gov. Jared Polis ends bid to comply with ICE subpoena" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/05/05/colorado-immigrant-protections-sanctuary-state-lawsuit" target="_self">privacy and sanctuary protections</a>.

Exclusive: Dems demand DHS abandon plans for new Colorado ICE facility

The planned facility would be in a dormant prison in Hudson, roughly 30 miles northeast of Denver.

Colorado Democrats are urging the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Department of Homeland Security" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/01/ice-detention-centers-jails-noem-trump" data-vars-content-id="22dd5b7a-350d-472f-968e-91a6cec26ca4" data-vars-headline="Exclusive: Dems demand DHS abandon plans for new Colorado ICE facility" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/01/ice-detention-centers-jails-noem-trump" target="_self">Department of Homeland Security</a> to scrap plans for a new ICE detention facility in rural Weld County.Why it matters: The move is intended to pressure the Trump administration to rein in its <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="aggressive expansion of immigration detention" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/13/ice-immigrant-detention-warehouses-spending" data-vars-content-id="22dd5b7a-350d-472f-968e-91a6cec26ca4" data-vars-headline="Exclusive: Dems demand DHS abandon plans for new Colorado ICE facility" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/13/ice-immigrant-detention-warehouses-spending" target="_self">aggressive expansion of immigration detention</a> as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="public confidence in ICE sours" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/27/ice-trump-alex-pretti-minnesota-minneapolis-americans-poll" data-vars-content-id="22dd5b7a-350d-472f-968e-91a6cec26ca4" data-vars-headline="Exclusive: Dems demand DHS abandon plans for new Colorado ICE facility" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/01/27/ice-trump-alex-pretti-minnesota-minneapolis-americans-poll" target="_self">public confidence in ICE sours</a>.

Scoop: Piñata stunt fuels tensions in 8th District Democratic primary

During the forum, the organizers and the candidates repeatedly mocked and laughed at the piñata version of Bird

Election

Three <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Democratic candidates" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/10/16/colorado-8th-district-fundraising-rutinel-bird-evans" data-vars-content-id="a9c1b917-c91a-4112-ba13-af70c974647d" data-vars-headline="Scoop: Piñata stunt fuels tensions in 8th District Democratic primary" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/10/16/colorado-8th-district-fundraising-rutinel-bird-evans" target="_self">Democratic candidates</a> for Colorado&#x27;s 8th Congressional District appeared at a campaign forum this week to talk about immigration.Yes, but: One of the three, who didn&#x27;t attend, was depicted as a piñata.

New Denver indie bookstore looks to break the mold

Denver Book Society in the Uptown neighborhood is a coffee shop and soon a bar.

Denver&#x27;s newest indie bookstore wants to be more than just books.The intrigue: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Denver Book Society" data-vars-click-url="https://www.denverbooksociety.co/" data-vars-content-id="4e1e3cf4-d4c4-43b2-8ad3-7c94e04a6a7b" data-vars-headline="New Denver indie bookstore looks to break the mold" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.denverbooksociety.co/" target="_blank">Denver Book Society</a> in the Uptown neighborhood is a coffee shop and soon a bar. It&#x27;s a place to play board games and do puzzles. It hosts book clubs.

How to recycle your Christmas tree in Denver

Denver's Treecycle program will run until Jan. 30.

You can turn your Christmas tree into one last holiday gift this month by transforming it into mulch.The big picture: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Denver&#x27;s Treecycle program" data-vars-click-url="https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Recycle-Compost-Trash/Seasonal-Programs/Treecycle" data-vars-content-id="f5fc6270-77de-490a-b995-9310bb7fb9ab" data-vars-headline="How to recycle your Christmas tree in Denver" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Recycle-Compost-Trash/Seasonal-Programs/Treecycle" target="_blank">Denver&#x27;s Treecycle program</a> will make three tree drop sites available on weekdays until Jan. 30 from 8am to 2pm, including:

Why you should not eat snow

Think about the snowflake you cut in kindergarten, the one with all the different edges and angles.

Environment

Musician Frank Zappa once famously <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="warned" data-vars-click-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woDy6LwXS1g" data-vars-content-id="b9ab4af7-aa66-469a-bd24-59981e1ca72a" data-vars-headline="Why you should not eat snow" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woDy6LwXS1g" target="_blank">warned</a>, &quot;Don&#x27;t eat the yellow snow.&quot;The intrigue: Colorado State University hydrologist <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Steven Fassnacht" data-vars-click-url="https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/srf/" data-vars-content-id="b9ab4af7-aa66-469a-bd24-59981e1ca72a" data-vars-headline="Why you should not eat snow" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/srf/" target="_blank">Steven Fassnacht</a> said it&#x27;s not the only snow you should avoid ingesting.

A clean energy future is possible in Colorado

Western Resource Advocates is helping Colorado retire coal plants and cut emissions by 2030.

Climate

Western Resource Advocates (WRA) are the watchdogs keeping Colorado&#x27;s climate progress on track as political winds shift and threaten progress.Why it&#x27;s important: Pollution from power plants, gas-powered vehicles, buildings, and homes drives climate change and threatens the health and livelihoods of our communities.<ul><li>Cutting fossil fuel use protects both people and landscapes across the West.</li></ul>

Colorado sees dangerous heat waves increase

Nearly 200 cities across the nation have recorded more consecutive heat waves.

The two largest cities in Colorado are getting more heat streaks, raising health risks for residents, a new analysis finds.The big picture: Denver and Colorado Springs both had four additional heat streaks on average between 1970 and 2024, per a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new report" data-vars-click-url="https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/extreme-heat-streaks-2025" data-vars-content-id="a52aebbe-0126-4d63-809f-be2eaa142522" data-vars-headline="Colorado sees dangerous heat waves increase" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/extreme-heat-streaks-2025" target="_blank">new report</a> from research group Climate Central.

Fireflies are flourishing in Colorado

The luminous insects often emerge near wetlands.

You&#x27;re not imagining it. Fireflies are <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="having a good year" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2025/07/01/fireflies-good-summer-mild-spring" data-vars-content-id="8692d5e6-3fb6-462b-9e8d-16706dee7210" data-vars-headline="Fireflies are flourishing in Colorado" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/indianapolis/2025/07/01/fireflies-good-summer-mild-spring" target="_self">having a good year</a>.Why it matters: Firefly populations have declined over the last 100 years.

Diminutive Colorado cactus removed from endangered list

The Colorado hookless cactus had been listed since 1979.

After 46 years, the Colorado hookless cactus is blooming.State of play: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the plant, whose scientific name is Sclerocactus glaucus, from the Endangered and Threatened Plants list amid its recovery, the federal agency announced last month.

SCOTUS clears path for more crude trains through Colorado

The ruling means the railway can move forward — at least legally. But opposition at the local level is far from over.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="unanimously ruled" data-vars-click-url="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-975_m648.pdf" data-vars-content-id="1ab31475-01b0-4a8d-b3a8-dcedb7d2adbb" data-vars-headline="SCOTUS clears path for more crude trains through Colorado" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-975_m648.pdf" target="_blank">unanimously ruled</a> that federal agencies aren&#x27;t required to consider broader environmental impacts of infrastructure projects they don&#x27;t directly control.Why it matters: The decision greenlights construction of the controversial 88-mile <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Uinta Basin Railway" data-vars-click-url="https://www.cpr.org/2024/12/10/today-scotus-to-hear-uinta-oil-train-case/" data-vars-content-id="1ab31475-01b0-4a8d-b3a8-dcedb7d2adbb" data-vars-headline="SCOTUS clears path for more crude trains through Colorado" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cpr.org/2024/12/10/today-scotus-to-hear-uinta-oil-train-case/" target="_blank">Uinta Basin Railway</a>, which would carry thousands of barrels of crude oil through western Colorado, and beyond, along the Colorado River — <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the nation&#x27;s most endangered waterway" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/04/19/colorado-river-ranked-most-endangered" data-vars-content-id="1ab31475-01b0-4a8d-b3a8-dcedb7d2adbb" data-vars-headline="SCOTUS clears path for more crude trains through Colorado" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/04/19/colorado-river-ranked-most-endangered" target="_self">the nation&#x27;s most endangered waterway</a> — toward Gulf Coast refineries.

How to recycle your Christmas tree

It&#x27;s time to turn your holiday tree into a springtime gift. The big picture: Denver&#x27;s Treecycle program started one day after Christmas, encouraging residents to bring their trees to select sites to be turned into mulch.

Environment

Feds "cannot delay action" on Colorado River

How to recycle your Christmas tree in Denver

Why you should not eat snow

A clean energy future is possible in Colorado

Colorado sees dangerous heat waves increase