As the Kiowa County Press closes out another successful year, we’re taking a look back at some of the articles and items of interest in Kiowa County and from across Colorado. Collectively read tens of thousands of times, our mix of original and curated articles paint a picture of the varied interests of readers across the state and nation. With close to 29,000 articles and items online at the end of 2024, there’s a wide variety of news, information, and entertainment to capture the interest of our hundreds of thousands of readers each year.

Below we take a look at the most popular Colorado-based articles for the year. Electronic subscribers and online readers can click through to view the articles.

1. Blizzard warning expands across eastern Colorado for Monday – January started off with blizzard conditions across the southeast part of the state closing roads and generally making travel difficult. Later in the week, temperatures fell below freezing, and remained there for several days.
2. Governor Polis issues order appointing judges and nominating commissioners – In November, Governor Polis named the initial judges for the new 23^rd Judicial District, which includes Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln counties.
3. Colorado town passes measure supporting Trump's immigration policies – Castle Rock in Douglas County, is opting to strongly cooperate with the immigration policies announced by President-elect Donald Trump when he takes office January 20, 2025.
4. Colorado Republicans file misconduct complaint against Griswold over Trump ballot case – Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a licensed attorney, raised the ire of many Republican with comment made in the run up to a Supreme Court case to decide the eligibility of Donald Trump to be a presidential candidate in Colorado.
5. Colorado families must sign up to get $120 per child for food through Summer EBT – Lower-income families could receive additional food assistance for the summer – but only if they signed up through their children’s schools before the end of April.
6. Colorado officials raise alarm after audit on mountain community mail delays – Hiring and retaining postal workers in Colorado’s mountain has been problematic, leading to delays and reduced mail service for those communities.
7. Judge rules Colorado’s preschool program violated schools’ First Amendment religion rights - The Archdiocese of Denver and two Catholic preschools alleged in a lawsuit that they were unable to participate in Colorado’s universal preschool program because the state will not allow the religious educational institutions to exclude LGBTQ children and parents.
8. Blizzard conditions returning to eastern Colorado Sunday night – Advanced warning about the January severe storm discussed in our top article for they year. The storm was expected to impact southeast Colorado into Tuesday
9. Governor Polis announces clemency for 26 people – In late December, Governor Polis granted clemency to 26 people, including four commutations and 22 pardons.
10. Boebert’s threats to sue opposition group’s donors likely improper, judge says – In June, a lawsuit against Congresswoman Lauren Boebert alleging that she made “maliciously false statements” was allowed to move forward. Boebert sought to have the case dismissed under Colorado’s anti-SLAPP law, which protects Coloradans who exercise free speech rights from meritless lawsuits.
11. Colorado directing millions for training to increase number of healthcare workers - Colorado is awarding $18 million in grants to increase training for health care workers as it faces a predicted deficit of 3,000 physicians by 2030.
12. Impeachment resolution against Secretary Griswold introduced in Colorado House – Following an accident leak of passwords for voting equipment across the state, a resolution was introduced to impeach Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. The resolution later failed.
13. Governor Polis appoints District Attorney for the 16th Judicial District - Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed James R. Bullock as the District Attorney for the 16th Judicial District, which includes Bent, Otero, and Crowley counties.
14. Colorado woman receives federal prison sentence for stealing $483k from Amazon - A 37-year-old Denver woman received a one-year and one-day prison sentence after pleading guilty to committing wire fraud in a scheme where she defrauded her employer, Amazon.
15. Democratic congressional candidate in Colorado arrested for alleged protection order violation - Ike McCorkle, a Democratic congressional candidate, was arrested in Douglas County earlier this week for allegedly violating a protection order. McCorkle was one of four Democrats running for Colorado’s 4th District seat, which was ultimately won by Representative Lauren Boebert.
16. Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office under review for diverting $380k - The Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners took control of the Sheriff's office finances for overspending nearly $1 million and an alleged unauthorized transfer of $380,000 in taxpayer funds to a non-profit.
17. Denver federal grand jury indicts four more conspirators in elaborate tax fraud scheme - A federal grand jury charged four people with conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. The four were indicted for allegedly assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns.
18. Governor Polis signs ‘for cause’ eviction bill into law - Colorado landlords will now need a specific reason to evict or not offer a lease renewal to a tenant under a new law signed by Democratic Governor Jared Polis. Colorado is the sixth state to enact such a policy.
19. Colorado working families would pay more under Trump tax proposals - Americans earning between $55,000 and $94,000 a year would have to pay over $1,500 more in taxes according to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
20. Governor Polis Appoints Marika Frady to the El Paso County Court - Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed Marika Frady to the El Paso County Court in the 4th Judicial District, comprised of El Paso County.
21. Arkansas River Report – February 2024 - Sixty-seven percent of Colorado was free from drought conditions, including almost the entire Arkansas River Basin, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor report released March 7.
22. 6th and 16th Judicial District appointments announced – Judicial District appointments by the governor in Colorado are a common occurrence, and regularly appear in our year-end list of top articles.
23. Colorado school district avoids lawsuit with settlement on translation services - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado began investigating Cherry Creek School District after receiving multiple complaints during the last three years for failing “to take appropriate action to address language barriers…”
24. 7 people indicted for defrauding Medicare, Medicaid in Colorado lab bribe scheme - All seven defendants allegedly partook in a conspiracy to offer and pay illegal bribes and kickbacks connected to healthcare programs like Medicare, Colorado Medicaid, and private health insurance plans.
25. Semi crash closes highway in Eads - According to the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office, the crash resulted in a hazardous materials incident when an unspecified amount of diesel spilled on the roadway and required cleanup. The highway was closed late into the night.
26. USPS warns Coloradans to delete 'smishing' texts about packages – In late December, the Postal Service said smishing is the practice of sending fake text messages to smartphones asking users to click on a link to resolve a ZIP code or other issue with a pending package. The messages are fake.
27. Jessica J. Waggoner appointed as District Attorney for the 7th Judicial District  - Governor Polis made another judicial appointment, this time for the district serving Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel counties.
28. Colorado House advances eviction bill that could alter traditional landlord-tenant relationship - The Colorado House of Representatives gave preliminary approval to a bill that would require landlords to have a reason to evict a tenant or deny them a lease renewal. The billed passed and was signed into law.
29. Blizzards warnings end, roads remain closed across southern Colorado - Colorado’s remaining January blizzard warnings were cancelled, while numerous highways remain closed in the southeast quarter of the state due to conditions and safety concerns.
30. 2024 Kiowa County Official Election Results – Results in Kiowa County, Colorado, were largely unsurprising, with county voters heavily favoring Republican candidates, and voting down a proposed set of taxes.
31. Colorado secretary of state asks US Supreme Court to uphold Trump disqualification ruling - Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a state court ruling barring former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot under a Civil War-era insurrection clause. She would later be sued for comments she made in the runup to the Supreme Court hearing. The court ruled against her, and Trump remained on the ballot.
32. TABOR refunds would become income tax cuts under Colorado bill - Colorado’s income tax rate could get cut in years that the state’s revenue exceeds a constitutional limit under a bipartisan bill lawmakers considered in May.
33. Southern Colorado highway pavement striping project underway – Transportation projects in rural Colorado always generate interest. In this one, crews removed existing pavement markings, added rumble strips, and added new striping and markings.
34. Colorado to receive settlement over deceptive wireless offers - Colorado was set to receive $147,408 from a multi-state settlement with several wireless carriers over deceptive offers. The state’s portion of the settlement is part of a $10.25 million national total to be paid out by AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Cricket, T-Mobile, Cellco Partnership and TracFone Wireless.
35. Letter to the Editor - Sheriff Bryan Williams: 1 Year Later – Bryan Williams takes a look back at his first year in office, noting, “We are a small department, but we accomplish a lot because the team always pulls together and gets the work done.”