The Mountain Minute: 9/30/2025

🎧 Mountain Minute – September 30, 2025
Today’s headlines run hot: Colorado schools under the microscope, zoning fights, and a pivotal board election — plus national clashes over energy, faith, and campus activism. Here’s your roundup.

Colorado News:
🔹 Durango 9-R backlash – After RMV’s Dirty Dozen exposé, the district labeled parents “misinformed.” Families say the real misinformation comes from the schools, pointing to secret gender policies, poor test scores, and $200K in DEI spending.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/durango-9-rs-monday-update-comes-as-parents-dispute-the-misinformation-label/

🔹 Vail teacher controversy – A VSSA teacher apologized after remarks about Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump sparked outrage. She faces unpaid leave and mandatory training, leaving the community split over free speech vs. professionalism.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/vssa-teacher-apologizes-debate-persists-over-classroom-remarks-about-charlie-kirk-and-trump/

🔹 Douglas County election – Voters head to the polls November 4 in a pivotal school board race. Conservatives cite higher grad rates and test scores, urging support for their “Common Sense” slate to keep momentum going.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/why-the-douglas-county-school-board-election-on-november-4th-matters-more-than-ever/

🔹 Brush bomb scare – A “suspicious device” shut down schools Monday. The Greeley Bomb Squad later determined it wasn’t an explosive; classes resumed the next day.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/bomb-squad-called-after-suspicious-device-forces-school-closures-in-brush/

🔹 Lakewood zoning fight – Officials deny claims that “single-family” zoning was eliminated, saying the city never had such a district. Still, residents worry the overhaul could invite high-density development.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/lakewood-officials-push-back-on-single-family-claims-amid-zoning-overhaul/

🔹 Ballot measures – Colorado voters will decide two issues in November: Prop LL, a TABOR override for rising school lunch costs, and Prop MM, a tax hike on high earners to fund school meals and food stamps.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/colorado-voters-to-weigh-tabor-override-and-nicotine-tax-hike/

🔹 Evergreen heroes – Two teens are being hailed for bravery during the high school shooting. Both were wounded while saving classmates, and families say their courage prevented even greater tragedy.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/colorado-teens-hailed-as-heroes-after-evergreen-high-school-shooting/

National News:
🔹 Cattlemen push back – Western ranchers warn federal land restrictions are strangling multi-generational operations.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/western-cattlemen-push-back-on-federal-land-restrictions/

🔹 Trump’s coal plan – A $625M investment aims to modernize plants, cut costs, and secure reliable baseload power for rural America and the AI economy.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/trump-team-backs-coal-with-625m-plan-to-secure-cheap-reliable-power/

🔹 Michigan church massacre – A former Marine killed four and wounded eight at a Latter-day Saints chapel. Trump called it “an attack on Christians,” while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was driven by anti-Mormon hate.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/fbi-says-michigan-church-shooting-was-targeted-attack-leaving-four-dead/
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/michigan-church-massacre-leavitt-points-to-anti-mormon-hate-as-trump-calls-it-attack-on-christians/

🔹 Obama Foundation probe – Millions funneled through Tides went to groups tied to anti-Israel campus activism. House Republicans warn charitable dollars may have bankrolled extremism.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/millions-donated-to-obama-foundation-funneled-to-tides-for-anti-israel-activism-at-ivy-league-colleges/

🔹 Health freedom call – A new commentary argues vaccine mandates violate America’s “forgotten birthright” of bodily autonomy, praising Florida’s surgeon general for rejecting them and urging curiosity over censorship.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/09/29/freedom-our-forgotten-birthright-dogged-vaccine-rejection-should-stimulate-curiosity/

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