Good Morning, Colorado, you’re listening to the Daily Sun-Up with the Colorado Sun. It’s Friday, September 17th.

 

Today - Last year, a national group got involved in Colorado’s Republican primaries, spending on candidates seen as less conservative in several open seats. Now, some republicans want the party to opt out of the primary elections next year, arguing that the process of selecting candidates should be kept in-house.

 

But before we begin, let’s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett’s book “Colorado Day by Day”:

 

Today, we take you back to September 17th, 1868 when a group of about 50 volunteer troops from Kansas and Colorado Territory awoke to find themselves surrounded by Cheyennes and Arapahos. For nine days they hunkered on a sandbar in the middle of the river. The sandbar came to be known as Beecher Island, but it disappeared during a flood in 1935.

 

Now, our feature story.

 

Republicans who want their party to opt out of Colorado’s primary elections next year are citing a national group’s spending as a prime reason why. Unite America, which operates state and federal political action committees, got involved in Republican legislative primaries last year, spending nearly $456,000 on candidates seen as less conservative in several open seats. All five candidates supported by the group won their primaries — prompting some Republicans to decry the involvement of “outsiders” and say the process of selecting candidates should be kept in-house. Sandra Fish tells us more.

 

Reporter Jesse Paul is traveling to Pueblo on Saturday to watch the Republican confab, so check in for updates at Coloradosun.com. 

 

And Before we go, here are a few stories that you should know about today:

 

SCL Health, the Broomfield-based operator of eight not-for-profit hospitals with 16,000 employees, will merge into much larger Intermountain Healthcare of Utah, creating a chain of 33 hospitals with 58,000 employees across six Western states. SCL Health will give up its corporate name and overall leadership to Intermountain, but the individual Colorado hospitals such as St. Joseph’s and Good Samaritan will retain their names. Officials expect a combined annual revenue of about $14 billion and said the merger would help the hospitals continue promoting “affordable” care. They did not answer reporters’ questions about whether they would commit to freezing or lowering prices. 

 

The latest draft of Colorado’s congressional map avoids putting the state’s current U.S. House members into the same district, while creating a sweeping L-shaped district across most of the Western Slope and southern Colorado. The new 8th Congressional District in the north Denver metro region would be nearly 39% Hispanic. High-country counties including Routt, Jackson, Eagle, Summit and Grand are grouped with Larimer and Boulder into a proposed 2nd Congressional District. And the new districts would no longer pit Garfield County Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert against Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette. The map released this week is the second to be drawn by nonpartisan staff based on 2020 census data. It also incorporates input from the public about previous drafts. 

 

The federal Bureau of Land Management had planned to remove 80% of the wild horses in Sand Wash Basin as drought-stricken rangeland was so decimated it looked like “moon dust.” But after national outcry and a plea from Gov. Jared Polis, the wild horse roundup ended with the removal of 70% of the estimated 900 horse herd, about 100 fewer horses than expected. The 684 horses were herded by a low-flying helicopter into holding pens during the two-week roundup.

 

 A federal judge ruled Thursday that the man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs in is incompetent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The ruling delays U.S. prosecutors' efforts to bring Robert Dear to trial after he was repeatedly deemed incompetent in state court. Neither prosecutors nor the defense contested the finding — but Dear did, shouting “I’m opposing it; I’m not crazy,” via a video feed from a mental health facility in Missouri. Sixty-three-year-old Dear is accused of killing three people and wounding eight others during the Nov. 27, 2015, attack. He was diagnosed in 2016 with a delusional disorder that has caused him to believe for decades that the FBI was persecuting him.

 

For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. And don’t forget to tune in again on Monday. Now, a quick message from our editor.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Good Morning, Colorado, you&rsquo;re listening to the Daily Sun-Up with the Colorado Sun. It&rsquo;s Friday, September 17th.
&nbsp;
Today - Last year, a national group got involved in Colorado&rsquo;s Republican primaries, spending on candidates seen as less conservative in several open seats. Now, some republicans want the party to opt out of the primary elections next year, arguing that the process of selecting candidates should be kept in-house.
&nbsp;
But before we begin, let&rsquo;s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett&rsquo;s book &ldquo;Colorado Day by Day&rdquo;:
&nbsp;
Today, we take you back to September 17th, 1868 when a group of about 50 volunteer troops from Kansas and Colorado Territory awoke to find themselves surrounded by Cheyennes and Arapahos. For nine days they hunkered on a sandbar in the middle of the river. The sandbar came to be known as Beecher Island, but it disappeared during a flood in 1935.
&nbsp;
Now, our feature story.
&nbsp;
Republicans who want their party to opt out of Colorado&rsquo;s primary elections next year are citing a national group&rsquo;s spending as a prime reason why. Unite America, which operates state and federal political action committees, got involved in Republican legislative primaries last year, spending nearly $456,000 on candidates seen as less conservative in several open seats. All five candidates supported by the group won their primaries &mdash; prompting some Republicans to decry the involvement of &ldquo;outsiders&rdquo; and say the process of selecting candidates should be kept in-house. Sandra Fish tells us more.
&nbsp;
Reporter Jesse Paul is traveling to Pueblo on Saturday to watch the Republican confab, so check in for updates at Coloradosun.com.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
And Before we go, here are a few stories that you should know about today:
&nbsp;
SCL Health, the Broomfield-based operator of eight not-for-profit hospitals with 16,000 employees, will merge into much larger Intermountain Healthcare of Utah, creating a chain of 33 hospitals with 58,000 employees across six Western states. SCL Health will give up its corporate name and overall leadership to Intermountain, but the individual Colorado hospitals such as St. Joseph&rsquo;s and Good Samaritan will retain their names. Officials expect a combined annual revenue of about $14 billion and said the merger would help the hospitals continue promoting &ldquo;affordable&rdquo; care. They did not answer reporters&rsquo; questions about whether they would commit to freezing or lowering prices.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The latest draft of Colorado&rsquo;s congressional map avoids putting the state&rsquo;s current U.S. House members into the same district, while creating a sweeping L-shaped district across most of the Western Slope and southern Colorado. The new 8th Congressional District in the north Denver metro region would be nearly 39% Hispanic. High-country counties including Routt, Jackson, Eagle, Summit and Grand are grouped with Larimer and Boulder into a proposed 2nd Congressional District. And the new districts would no longer pit Garfield County Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert against Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette. The map released this week is the second to be drawn by nonpartisan staff based on 2020 census data. It also incorporates input from the public about previous drafts.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
The federal Bureau of Land Management had planned to remove 80% of the wild horses in Sand Wash Basin as drought-stricken rangeland was so decimated it looked like &ldquo;moon dust.&rdquo; But after national outcry and a plea from Gov. Jared Polis, the wild horse roundup ended with the removal of 70% of the estimated 900 horse herd, about 100 fewer horses than expected. The 684 horses were herded by a low-flying helicopter into holding pens during the two-week roundup.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;A federal judge ruled Thursday that the man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs in is incompetent to stand trial, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The ruling delays U.S. prosecutors' efforts to bring Robert Dear to trial after he was repeatedly deemed incompetent in state court. Neither prosecutors nor the defense contested the finding &mdash; but Dear did, shouting &ldquo;I&rsquo;m opposing it; I&rsquo;m not crazy,&rdquo; via a video feed from a mental health facility in Missouri. Sixty-three-year-old Dear is accused of killing three people and wounding eight others during the Nov. 27, 2015, attack. He was diagnosed in 2016 with a delusional disorder that has caused him to believe for decades that the FBI was persecuting him.
&nbsp;
For more information on all of these stories, visit our website,<a href="http://www.coloradosun.com/"> www.coloradosun.com</a>. And don&rsquo;t forget to tune in again on Monday. Now, a quick message from our editor.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Welcome to The Colorado Sun's daily podcast, The Daily Sun-Up. Every day we’re sharing an in-depth look at one of our top stories, followed by a quick summary of important things happening in our state. For more visit us at https://coloradosun.com/.

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