Guest Columns - The Journal

Upholding rural values, improving the lives of constituents in Senate District 6

The First Regular Session of Colorado’s 75th General Assembly has officially passed the halfway point and I am happy to share some updates on my time under the gold dome this year. I have t...

DATE: Mar 18, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

An honor and a privilege to serve my home district and its residents

It’s been a busy first month in Washington, D.C., setting up our office, assisting constituents, hiring staff, attending committee hearings, participating in floor votes and so much more. I...

DATE: Mar 11, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

It is up to the American public to defend the places we love

In Southwest Colorado, our public lands are the backbone of our communities. The meandering Dolores River provides solitude and wilderness alongside grazing lands for local ranchers. Canyons...

DATE: Feb 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Why Emil Bove’s battle against Danielle Sassoon is so self-defeating

It was easy to predict that a diktat from Donald Trump’s Justice Department would, at some point in his second term, prompt resignations from career prosecutors with conservative legal bona ...

DATE: Feb 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

President Donald Trump’s policies put us in economic danger

Donald Trump’s platform was clear when he was running for president. He promised to make bold improvements – quickly raising revenue by imposing tariffs on foreign goods, slashing prices at ...

DATE: Feb 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Hitting the ground running on behalf of HD59

Here’s another update from the Capitol! It's been a cold January, but there’s been snow on the ground here in Denver that’s needed on the Western Slope. Every year, legislators spend the fir...

DATE: Feb 5, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Inherding, ecologically informed grazing allows cattle to coexist with wolves

I’m excited for the future of ranching in Colorado and it’s because of wolves. Does that sound incongruent? It makes perfect sense, actually. It’s because cattle rancher Glenn Elzinga and hi...

DATE: Feb 1, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Don’t put public lands on the chopping block

American liberty and American wilderness are intertwined

DATE: Jan 29, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Keeping our sights on protecting the Dolores River Canyons, our Western heritage, and outdoor recreation economy

This fall, we visited the heart of the Dolores River Canyons in Western Colorado. I biked an old mining road that overlooked the Paradox Valley where Utah’s La Sal Mountains rose above the r...

DATE: Jan 22, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Though we cannot prevent lightning strikes or high winds, there are things we can do

It is mid-January as I am writing this. I look out at the pastures and crop fields here in the North Valley and I see the tans and browns that I have looked at since November. The tractors a...

DATE: Jan 22, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Bureaucracy is made up of people we know, and is not all bad

Bureaucracy is an example of a “devil term” in today’s politics. All you have to do is mention the word, and people think of waste, excessive size, barriers to getting things done, impersona...

DATE: Jan 15, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

A historic anniversary: The Battle of New Orleans

On Jan. 8, we celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans, which ended the War of 1812 with the British. That war was not popular at the time, and has been treated negatively by A...

DATE: Jan 8, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion