Defending Property Rights, Reforming Elections, and Honoring the Fallen

On the February 26, 2026 broadcast, Kim Monson examines the fight over property rights and local control in Colorado, from Lakewood’s blanket up-zoning to state election bills and energy mandates, before welcoming Rachael Flick, widow of fallen Colorado Springs officer Micah Flick, whose story of resilience and healing anchors a powerful second hour.

Lakewood Citizens Challenge Blanket Up-Zoning

Start listening at 10:17 – Hour 1

Karen Gordey, owner of Radiant Painting and Lighting and grassroots organizer in Lakewood, breaks down how the city council rushed through a complete rewrite of the city’s zoning laws. The new ordinance allows high-density development across the entire city, not just along transit corridors as state law requires. Citizens were brushed aside in planning meetings, and the council openly admitted wanting to push the rewrite through before new members took office after November.

Gordey reports that a bipartisan coalition gathered enough petition signatures to force a special election on April 7, with ballots dropping March 16. She points to the Greeley special election that same week as a model for citizen-driven pushback against government overreach in land use policy. The effort draws support across party lines, age groups, and even renters, each with distinct reasons for opposing the blanket up-zoning ordinance.

“Some don’t like the assault on property rights. Some said, don’t Denver my Lakewood, because they don’t want Lakewood to look like Denver.”

Karen Gordey, Owner, Radiant Painting and Lighting

Election Bills Flood the Colorado State Legislature

Start listening at 22:14 – Hour 1

Wendy Warner, secretary of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, sounds the alarm on six election-related bills introduced in a single week at the Colorado State Legislature. HB26-1104 would mandate the Secretary of State to verify voter rolls against a third-party credit bureau, a measure Warner supports after more than 50 years of election work in Denver. She recounts finding 12 undelivered ballots scattered on the floor of a Glendale apartment mail room, illustrating the risk of outdated voter registration lists.

HB26-1113, a 44-page omnibus bill titled Modifications to Elections, would permit 15-year-olds to serve as election judges and eliminate the right of registered voters to challenge another person’s eligibility at the polls. The bill also extends the window during which mail ballots circulate before election day, creating more time for ballot harvesters to operate. Warner urges listeners to use CUT Engage at coloradotaxpayer.org, which lets citizens send messages to legislators in under a minute. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers.

“Just remember, don’t be silent. Don’t let these bills go through. Take a little bit of time to research them, or at least when you hear about it on the Kim Monson Show, to go up on Cut, Engage, and send your message for the minute or two it takes you to do it.”

Wendy Warner, Secretary, Colorado Union of Taxpayers

Colorado’s War on Natural Gas Targets Homeowners and Industry

Start listening at 37:42 – Hour 1

Bob Boswell, CEO of Laramie Energy, details three regulatory initiatives designed to electrify Colorado and eliminate natural gas from homes and businesses. The Clean Heat Plan (SB21-264) directs the Public Utilities Commission to cut greenhouse emissions from gas distribution, forcing the conversion of roughly 600,000 homes and commercial buildings to electricity by 2030. The Air Quality Control Commission’s Regulation 28 targets buildings over 50,000 square feet, while the Diverse Energized Ordinance applies to buildings over 25,000 square feet.

Boswell warns that 50 of the 472 bills and resolutions introduced this session relate to energy, despite Governor Polis‘s “grand bargain” with oil producers. He notes that Colorado holds the second-largest natural gas reserves in the country yet inhibits their development through 24 to 25 new fees that amount to taxes in disguise. In the second segment, Boswell and Monson discuss AI data centers and their potential for western Colorado, where high elevation, sparse population, and abundant natural gas create an ideal location for the technology, if regulatory barriers are removed. He praises Energy Secretary Chris Wright as the right leader at the right time for American energy policy.

“We need to have a ballot initiative to allow people to have consumer choice and use whatever power and whatever fuel source they believe is the most economic and appropriate for their own personal use.”

Bob Boswell, CEO, Laramie Energy

Government Red Tape Blocks the Housing Americans Need

Start listening at 67:43 – Hour 2

Karen Levine, award-winning realtor with RE/MAX Alliance, reports from the RE/MAX conference in Las Vegas that the economy is healthy overall but housing affordability remains the central challenge. Economist Elliot Eisenberg told attendees that a lack of inventory continues to prop up prices, putting entry-level homes out of reach for most first-time buyers. RE/MAX operates in 120 countries and moves more homes than any other brokerage, yet even the largest firm in the world cannot overcome policy obstacles.

Levine traces the affordability crisis directly to regulation, pointing to upcoming requirements for water heaters and furnaces that could raise replacement costs from $2,500 to as much as $10,000. She argues the regulatory burden prevents elderly homeowners from downsizing, which locks up inventory and blocks growing families from moving into larger homes. Government subsidies designed to paper over the problem, Levine contends, only shift costs from one group to another without creating genuine affordability.

“One additional law does not create affordability on any level. It just creates cost.”

Karen Levine, Realtor, RE/MAX Alliance

Resilience and Healing After a Line-of-Duty Death

Start listening at 76:30 – Hour 2

Rachael Flick recounts the day in February 2018 when her husband, Colorado Springs Detective Micah Flick, was killed in the line of duty. Micah’s team had tracked a suspect for eight hours as part of the BATTLE (Beat Auto Theft Through Law Enforcement) task force. When officers moved to make the arrest, the suspect drew a concealed firearm and opened fire, shooting Micah’s partner Scott Stone in the hip and fatally wounding Micah with a bullet to the neck. Two other officers were injured and a civilian was permanently paralyzed in the ensuing firefight.

Flick describes how she and Micah always made time to say “I love you” and kiss each other goodbye, knowing the risks of law enforcement. Left with seven-year-old twins, she channeled her grief into advocacy and now hosts The Hopecast, a podcast focused on post-traumatic growth and resilience. She is writing a book called Return to Honor about bridging the gap between the public and police through her love story with Micah. Flick will serve as keynote speaker at the Angels of America’s Fallen gala on Saturday, April 18, an organization that supports children of fallen first responders from enrollment through age 19, with more than 1,000 children currently on the wait list.

“You don’t have to be walking in the intensity of fresh grief for the rest of your life, that there is a deep level of healing that is possible. You’ll never forget. You’ll never be over them. You are forever changed by a loss, but you can have freedom and healing and a fresh view on life.”

Rachael Flick, Keynote Speaker, Angels of America’s Fallen Gala