The Mountain Minute: 5/16/2025

🎧 Mountain Minute – May 16, 2025
From daily emotional monitoring in schools to stolen electricity under I-25, Colorado’s challenges aren’t just growing—they’re being codified into law. Here’s your sharp, unfiltered roundup from Team RMV.

Colorado News:
🔹 TRAILS SEL Raises New Alarm – A second exposé on Pueblo D70’s TRAILS program confirms students are subjected to daily “emotional assessments” using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and mindfulness—without parental consent. Critics say unlicensed teachers are using clinical tools in group settings while test scores continue to plummet.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/notarfrancesco-trails-goes-beyond-sel-its-activism-wrapped-in-therapy-language/

🔹 DEI & CRT Undermine Academic Rigor – A powerful op-ed from a former Colorado educator argues that DEI and CRT are replacing real education with ideological compliance. Students are being told what to think—not how to think.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/sencenbaugh-dei-and-crt-may-sound-noble-but-theyre-driving-academic-mediocrity-in-schools/

🔹 Gender Bills Rammed Through in Final Hours – An RMV analysis reveals how HB25-1312 and HB25-1309 were fast-tracked with limited debate, expanding gender identity protections and taxpayer-funded gender care. Critics warn parental rights and religious liberty are under attack.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/enos-colorados-2025-session-pushed-the-most-woke-agenda-weve-ever-seen/

🔹 Polis Supports Expanded Sanctuary Law (SB276) – Governor Polis has signaled he will sign SB276, which bars local jails from honoring ICE detainers without a federal warrant and allows undocumented immigrants to access public benefits without an ID. Law enforcement says the law puts communities at risk.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/polis-open-to-signing-bill-restricting-local-ice-cooperation-as-colorado-sanctuary-debate-heats-up/

🔹 Homeless Camp Caught Stealing Electricity – Officials in Colorado Springs discovered a homeless encampment tapping directly into I-25’s highway light poles, powering TVs and sound systems. It’s a striking sign of the growing boldness behind the state’s homelessness crisis.\
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/homeless-camp-tapping-i-25-power-cleared-by-colorado-springs-deputies-site-continues-to-reappear/

🔹 COVID Chronicles – C&C’s Bold Rebellion Remembered – Five years ago, C&C Breakfast in Castle Rock reopened in defiance of lockdown orders—losing its license but sparking a statewide movement. RMV revisits how that moment ignited a rebellion against government overreach and selective enforcement.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/the-covid-chronicles-may-1-7-2020-seven-days-that-set-the-stage-for-open-rebellion/

National News:

🔹 Medicaid Penalty for Illegal Immigrant Coverage – A new Republican-led bill in Congress would cut 10% of federal Medicaid reimbursements to states that fund healthcare for undocumented immigrants. Colorado currently covers over 18,000 individuals under two such programs.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/medicaid-bill-targets-colorado-over-health-care-for-illegal-immigrants/

🔹 Time to Blow Up the Budget Process? – In a blistering RMV column, Greg Walcher argues the federal budget process is broken beyond repair. He calls for ending omnibus bills and restoring single-agency votes to bring accountability back to D.C.
Read more: https://rockymountainvoice.com/2025/05/walcher-want-to-fix-congress-break-the-budget-process-first/

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And as always—stay sharp, stay bold, and stay in the fight.