Colorado is preparing to make it easier for some incarcerated people to get released from prison as part of a three-part strategy to ease the overcrowding problem.

Why it matters: The Democratic-backed measures are designed to decrease spending on prisons by releasing lower-level offenders and juveniles.

Driving the news: The three prison management bills would:

• Allow the parole board to grant early release to people who were convicted as juveniles or young adults of a felony if they've served at least 20 years and participated in a rehabilitation program.
• Give some inmates the chance to earn additional time off their sentences if they participate in rehabilitation programs.
• Direct the parole board to release more inmates when prisons are near capacity and urge the court system to find "alternative solutions" to incarceration for minor parole violations. It would also make people convicted of felony drug offenses eligible for early parole.

What they're saying: "I don't believe we should make the penalty for every single violent crime life in prison without the possibility of parole," state Rep. Javier Mabrey (D-Denver) told critics at a recent hearing.

• "So if we're accepting the fact that people are going to get out, then making our community safer means incentivizing participation in these [rehabilitation] programs."

The big picture: Colorado's prison bed vacancy rate hit a critical point in 2025 for the first time, sending the Polis administration and state lawmakers scrambling.

• The governor's office said in March that the state needed to open a new prison — possibly two — but lawmakers balked, instead spending more at private prisons and local jails to hold state inmates.

Full story

"I don't know if you'll ever have full and complete closure at any point. But I think it does help."

This week in Denver feels like none we've seen in seven months.

Why it matters: It's raining — it's pouring. And we need it.

Driving the news: Today, widespread rain showers and a possible afternoon thunderstorm are expected along the Front Range with a high only in the upper 40s.

• The mountains are under a winter weather advisory through 6pm tomorrow with snow accumulations expected between 5 and 13 inches, and the greatest totals along the Front Range mountains.

The intrigue: The last time Denver recorded 0.5 inches of rain was Sept. 23, 2025, 9News meteorologist Chris Bianchi reports.

What we're watching: Tomorrow it warms to 60 with partly sunny skies and a 50% chance of rain.

• Saturday, the storm clears and leaves us with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s.
• Sunday it warms to the mid-70s.

🏈 Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons announced his retirement from football yesterday at age 32. He spent most of his career in Denver and earned a pair of Pro Bowl selections. (Denver Post 🔑)

👶 A newly introduced bill at the Legislature would generate money from investments to reduce the wait times for families to receive child care subsidies. Currently, more than 9,000 families are waiting for assistance. (Chalkbeat)

👀 The judge who sentenced former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters to 9 years behind bars has refused to recuse himself after the state Court of Appeals ordered a new sentencing hearing. (CPR)

🗳️ A federal judge blocked the Colorado GOP's attempt to exclude unaffiliated voters from participating in its primary election, saying it would create too much confusion so close to the June vote. (Colorado Sun)

Earlier this week, we asked you to share how you use artificial intelligence and where you fall into the three distinct camps: power users, doubters and resisters.

What we're hearing: We received dozens of thoughtful emails — including at least one written by Claude — and we wanted to share some of your insights.

"I'm in the "power users" bucket. … I'm a software developer, and at work I use various flavors of these AI tools as never-tiring assistants.

• "Outside of work, I also use them for a huge range of tasks that make my life easier. … vacation planning, used car research and purchasing strategy, grocery shopping prep, workout planning..." — Josh Montague

"One month ago, I was a doubter; now I'm a power user. ... I can do in weeks what would take an entire development team months." — Gary Koh

The other side: "I am definitely a resister. Here's a synopsis of why:

• 1) The energy use and water use …
• 2) AI is being used as an excuse to fire people…
• 3) AI tools steal the creative works of humans…
• 4) The use of AI is fundamentally dishonest, as people … pass them off as their own work. …
• 5) People use AI to avoid doing their own thinking and intellectual work, the result of which is the dumbing down of society at large." — Jeff Leitner

"I feel like I fall into a fourth group. I use AI fairly regularly, but by no means am I a power user.

• And also I am skeptical of AI's future and the impact of data centers. I use it, but I kind of feel icky about it." — Matt Smith