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Colorado paid $767M in Trump tariffs before SCOTUS ruling

The question now is whether businesses — or everyday Americans — will get refunds.

News

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court declared a large swath of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="President Trump&#x27;s tariffs illegal" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/20/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-illegal" data-vars-content-id="cf8904ab-5df9-477a-a8b6-4b0686605804" data-vars-headline="Colorado paid $767M in Trump tariffs before SCOTUS ruling" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/20/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-illegal" target="_self">President Trump&#x27;s tariffs illegal</a>, the question is whether businesses — or everyday Americans — will <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="get refunds" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/20/trump-tariffs-states-refunds" data-vars-content-id="cf8904ab-5df9-477a-a8b6-4b0686605804" data-vars-headline="Colorado paid $767M in Trump tariffs before SCOTUS ruling" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/20/trump-tariffs-states-refunds" target="_self">get refunds</a>.

Community leaders rally, demand unity amid increased ICE activity

Immigrant advocates, community leaders, artists and a state lawmaker urged unity against what they characterize as aggressive immigration enforcement.

Parents are afraid to take their children to school. People are skipping important cultural celebrations. Others are hesitant to go to work.State of play: Those are some of the ripple effects described Friday by community leaders, who say <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Immigration and Customs Enforcement&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2026/01/27/colorado-immigration-ice-state-lawmakers" data-vars-content-id="f559426e-8e44-47e6-8327-9fe1dce57448" data-vars-headline="Community leaders rally, demand unity amid increased ICE activity" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2026/01/27/colorado-immigration-ice-state-lawmakers" target="_self">Immigration and Customs Enforcement&#x27;s</a> increased activity is affecting daily routines in parts of Denver&#x27;s Indigenous, Asian American, Black and Latino communities.

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.

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>.

Reexamining a buffalo soldier's story in Denver

Cathay Williams is considered the only woman to serve as a buffalo soldier.

History

February may be nearing its end, but there&#x27;s still plenty of time to commemorate Black History Month in Denver.Why it matters: The annual celebration recognizing African American history, contributions and culture is especially vital at a time <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="when attempts to hide" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/29/funding-cuts-erasing-black-history-blackout-report" data-vars-content-id="a6c34e28-678a-462a-816a-dda757db9e5f" data-vars-headline="Reexamining a buffalo soldier&#x27;s story in Denver" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/29/funding-cuts-erasing-black-history-blackout-report" target="_self">when attempts to hide</a> <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="some of that history" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/20/philadelphia-slavery-exhibit-250th-anniversary" data-vars-content-id="a6c34e28-678a-462a-816a-dda757db9e5f" data-vars-headline="Reexamining a buffalo soldier&#x27;s story in Denver" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/02/20/philadelphia-slavery-exhibit-250th-anniversary" target="_self">some of that history</a> — including slavery — are rising.

Spotlight: Colorado's new state historian Susan Schulten

The University of Denver professor specializes in U.S. history.

University of Denver history professor Susan Schulten says commemorating <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Colorado&#x27;s 150th anniversary" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/07/29/america-250-colorado-150-commission-polis-spending" data-vars-content-id="cd1f0d7e-1d3b-4bdc-9360-fddf48c899f9" data-vars-headline="Spotlight: Colorado&#x27;s new state historian Susan Schulten" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2025/07/29/america-250-colorado-150-commission-polis-spending" target="_self">Colorado&#x27;s 150th anniversary</a> next year is a chance to revisit the role it played in U.S. history when it became a state 100 years after the country&#x27;s independence.The big picture: Schulten, who on Friday takes over as state historian, says it took time for Colorado to be admitted into the Union. Even its precursor, the Territory of Colorado, arrived as a war<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" started ripping the nation apart" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2024/05/03/slavery-civil-war-museum-exhibit-richmond-confederacy" data-vars-content-id="cd1f0d7e-1d3b-4bdc-9360-fddf48c899f9" data-vars-headline="Spotlight: Colorado&#x27;s new state historian Susan Schulten" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/richmond/2024/05/03/slavery-civil-war-museum-exhibit-richmond-confederacy" target="_self"> started ripping the nation apart</a>.

How Denver landmarks recognize Black history

Only about 11% of the individual landmarks are connected to historically excluded or underrepresented communities.

Justina Ford&#x27;s brick flat on Arapahoe Street didn&#x27;t just serve as a home, but as a 20th century headquarters for a pioneering medical practice in Denver&#x27;s Five Points neighborhood.Zoom in: Ford, Colorado&#x27;s first licensed <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Black woman doctor" data-vars-click-url="https://history.denverlibrary.org/building/justina-ford-houseblack-american-west-museum" data-vars-content-id="79032f49-1e6d-484b-b7af-d4b52ee408b5" data-vars-headline="How Denver landmarks recognize Black history" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://history.denverlibrary.org/building/justina-ford-houseblack-american-west-museum" target="_blank">Black woman doctor</a>, lived and treated people at 2335 Arapahoe St. from 1912 until she died in 1952, per the Denver Public Library.

Boulder's single-day snowfall record tops the nation

Boulder County holds the U.S. record for most recorded snowfall in a single day, with 76 inches.

Wintry conditions in Denver this week are a far cry from the city&#x27;s record snowfall.Flashback: On March 19, 2003, the city recorded a staggering 33.7 inches, according to NOAA.

Netflix's JonBenét Ramsey series spotlights local missteps

The true crime docuseries on Netflix has renewed interest in the 1996 death of the 6-year-old beauty pageant queen.

A new Netflix docuseries on the unsolved killing of JonBenét Ramsey is drawing renewed attention to the Boulder Police Department&#x27;s handling of the decades-old case.The big picture: Since the Nov. 25 premiere of &quot;Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey,&quot; local officials reaffirmed their commitment to finding her killer but declined to disclose recent progress, citing concerns about compromising the investigation and any future prosecution.

Barney L. Ford building is Denver's connection to the  Underground Railroad

Located at 1514 Blake St., it's named after a Black abolitionist, entrepreneur, civic leader and politician.

The National Park Service <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="lists more than 80 sites" data-vars-click-url="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/ntf-listings.htm" data-vars-content-id="ef268c0d-6fb3-421e-b499-ebc207f521e3" data-vars-headline="Barney L. Ford building is Denver&#x27;s connection to the Underground Railroad" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/undergroundrailroad/ntf-listings.htm" target="_blank">lists more than 80 sites</a> across the country connected to the Underground Railroad, including one in Denver.Zoom in: The three-story Barney L. Ford Building, located at 1514 Blake St., is named after a Black abolitionist, entrepreneur, civic leader and politician born into slavery in 1822.