The Home Front: Democratic women cast more Colorado votes than anyone else

Democratic women are Colorado’s largest voting bloc, reports The Pueblo Chieftain. “Almost 560,000 registered Democratic women made up the state’s single largest voting bloc by gender, according to an abstract of the election released by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. The results were similar in Pueblo County, where 20,671 female registered Democrats made up the largest bloc by gender and party affiliation. … The abstract included Democrats, Republicans, unaffiliated voters, the Libertarian Party, the American Constitutional Party, the Green Party and the Unity Party. The list was broken down by gender, and included “unknown,” people who did not reveal their gender when registering to vote.”

The Greeley Tribune fronts a story about how siblings and an oil-and-gas worker saved animals from a local barn fire. One of them said “he knew how to operate a forklift because of his experience as an oil and gas worker. The fence came up without too much trouble, and he and Sam rushed inside to free the animals. They found three horses and a few dogs.”

“The Longmont council on Tuesday took the first step toward raising the water rates 2017 and 2018 beyond the already-approved 9 percent increase for both years,” reports The Times-Call. “The 8 percent increase in water rates in both 2017 and 2018 is needed to fund Longmont’s participation in the Windy Gap Firming Project at the 10,000 acre-foot level.”

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports Mesa county is down to one DMV location after a recent closing. The paper also likely got the blood boiling of some subscribers with a below-the-fold wire story headlined “Trump Turns to Beltway, Wall Street.”

“Would you be willing to spend $5 to $10 more on gas each month if it meant a more picturesque northern Front Range?” That’s a question The Coloradoan in Fort Collins asks today. “State agencies are mulling a trio of gasoline changes that would quell smog and air pollution but increase prices at the pump. Ken Lloyd, executive director of the Regional Air Quality Council, said it will study the economic and environmental impacts of the potential changes. The council, a planning group for the area that includes Fort Collins, will commission the study in the next year.”

The Boulder Daily Camera has a piece about plans for a local subdivision moving ahead despite conflicting visions. “The SILO subdivision — which eventually will join development slated for the area surrounding the once-quiet intersection of Arapahoe Road and U.S. 287 — moved a step closer toward realization early Wednesday morning, as Lafayette planning commissioners approved plans after a public hearing colored by clashing of residents’ opinions for how, if at all, the development should move forward.”

“Management practices for bighorn sheep in Colorado have been called into question after a spike in euthanizations this summer in the high country of the San Juan Mountains,” reports The Durango Herald. “In 2009, the state adopted a protocol that mandates any wild bighorns that come into contact with domestic sheep herds must be euthanized. Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the state agency in charge of wildlife management, renewed the measure in 2014.”

The Denver Post reports how Colorado “must act now” to address its aging population and rising costs associated with it. “Colorado’s aging population will have a profound impact on “virtually every Coloradan” over the next 14 years, according to a new report commissioned by state lawmakers. And, the planning group says, if steps aren’t taken to prepare, it could have a dramatic impact on the state budget, which would see its revenue growth slow just as the costs of health care and other senior services are expected to explode.”

Colorado Springs saw no snow fall in the city this year, which is unusual, according to The Gazette. “The city beat the record for latest first snow by staying dry on Monday, one day past the mark set Nov. 28, 2010, when 1.1 inches of snow was recorded, according to the National Weather Service in Pueblo.”