Salvage Yard Fires, a Colorado Boulevard Bus Plan, and Dark Money in the Primaries

On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Kim Monson returned from travel to a packed morning a week before Colorado’s primary. Priscilla Rahn made the case for acting now on school choice, Lauren Fix tied burning salvage yards to a squeeze on affordable cars, Nancy Rumfelt described dark money in seven Republican primaries, Jon Boesen explained how to document an accident, Dana Busch broke down a Colorado Boulevard bus plan, and Scott Bottoms talked campaign and child-protection bills.

Acting Now on School Choice

Start listening at 09:19 – Hour 1

Priscilla Rahn, headmaster of Excalibur Classical Academy, told listeners that families cannot afford to wait on a public system she says is not teaching children to read, write, and do arithmetic. She pointed to Chalkbeat reporting that 39 percent of fourth graders and 37.8 percent of eighth graders met or exceeded state standards on the CMAS math exam, numbers presented as an improvement. For Rahn, that still means a majority of children are not proficient, and parents of those children need an option right now.

With Excalibur opening this fall, Rahn pointed parents to it as the immediate option. She recounted inaugural families signing a wall the day before and calling themselves risk takers, then turning the phrase around to say the real risk is public school. Fresh from a Society for Classical Learning conference in Texas, she said her biggest takeaway was to protect a school’s culture, keeping teachers aligned on a shared faith-based foundation, since compromise and a fuzzy mission are what sink many private, home, and micro schools. Enrollment is open, she said, and waiting often means a wait list.

“We are paying property taxes to have a public education system that is not educating our children.”

Priscilla Rahn, Headmaster, Excalibur Classical Academy

Burning Salvage Yards and the Squeeze on Affordable Cars

Start listening at 19:09 – Hour 1

Lauren Fix of Car Coach Reports pointed to a pattern she finds hard to ignore. Her recent article, America’s Salvage Yards Are Burning, documents a wave of unusual fires destroying auto salvage yards from Idaho to Colorado to Camden, New Jersey. Drained of fluids and batteries, the cars are mostly hunks of metal, she said, which makes the rash of fires suspicious. The stakes are practical. When a common part for an everyday car is no longer made, the salvage yard is where a body shop finds an affordable replacement, and losing those yards drives repair costs up and used cars off the road.

Fix connected the fires to the Obama-era cash for clunkers program, which she said removed reasonably priced cars from the market and seized their engines, hurting buyers who could not afford new vehicles. She then described a leaked insurance framework in which carriers could refuse to insure older cars, impose real-time rate hikes, and offer night or aggressive-driving surcharges, pressure she ties to a push toward 15-minute cities already taking shape in Oxford, England. New cars now average around $50,000, she noted, while AutoZone closes more than 700 stores, narrowing where drivers can find parts.

“But it’s all about control. It always comes down to limiting your freedom.”

Lauren Fix, Car Coach Reports

Dark Money in Seven Republican Primaries

Start listening at 49:46 – Hour 1

Nancy Rumfelt, a Thompson School District board member running for Colorado House District 51, called in to warn that outside money is trying to buy the Republican primary. She said roughly $235,000 has been spent against her alone, and that spending across seven targeted races approaches $1.5 million. Out-of-state canvassers, she said, are being bused into her district and three other House districts, an effort she argued is anything but grassroots.

Rumfelt named the Colorado Conservative Leadership Fund as the group leading the attacks, alongside donors she described as part of a uniparty that wants malleable candidates in Denver. She listed the other targeted grassroots candidates, including Jason Bias, Troy Vander Heule, Jamie Coach, Matt Alexander, Bob Davis, and Senator Linda Zamora Wilson.

“This is an absolute assault on our constitutional republic and the way our elections are supposed to be decided by the people, not by some corporate sponsorship.”

Nancy Rumfelt, Candidate, Colorado House District 51

Documenting an Accident Before the Insurer Does

Start listening at 61:58 – Hour 2

Jon Boesen of Boesen Law explained how a few minutes of documentation at an accident scene can change a case months later. Call the police, he said, or in Denver an accident investigator, so that fault is established clearly and an insurer cannot later argue shared responsibility. If a witness offers an account, ask them to stay until the officer arrives.

When an injured person cannot move, Boesen said, a good Samaritan, friend, or family member can step in to take pictures of a raised sidewalk or a hazard, gather witness names and phone numbers, and capture short videos of what people saw. He recounted clients who had the presence of mind to record a 30-second statement from a witness, a rare but powerful move. Insurance companies, he said, are in business to make money and will take any angle to avoid responsibility, so clear documentation spares an injured client an unnecessary fight.

“If there’s witnesses, get names, get phone numbers, get statements, because it will potentially be a game changer down the road because insurance companies are in it to make money.”

Jon Boesen, Boesen Law

A Costly Bus Plan for Colorado Boulevard

Start listening at 71:39 – Hour 2

Dana Busch, an engaged citizen who digs into local proposals, laid out a bus rapid transit plan for Colorado Boulevard that she says does not add up. The favored design would remove a traffic lane in each direction from Interstate 70 to Hampden, add a dedicated bus lane, and double the time a driver needs to travel the corridor. She said the city has not completed infrastructure, stormwater, or electrification studies, and that several stretches lack the width for the project without taking private property.

Busch put the price at a minimum of $200 million for a route projected to gain only 2,600 riders by 2047, served by diesel buses because RTD cannot afford better. Eminent domain along the corridor is unavoidable, she said, and roughly half the bus stops would be removed, forcing riders with mobility needs to walk farther. She pointed to Glendale’s unanimous no-build vote, a June 25 Denver Press Club forum, and two new sites, savecoloradoboulevard.com and keepdenvermoving.com, urging residents to press their neighborhood associations and council members for answers.

“I mean, ultimately, what this is, is this is part of a much bigger agenda.”

Dana Busch, Engaged Citizen

A Governor’s Race and Three Child-Protection Bills

Start listening at 104:18 – Hour 2

Scott Bottoms, a state representative and candidate for governor, called in a week before the primary after a campaign swing across the West Slope. He said momentum is strong, that he feels confident heading into the general, and that he expects to face Senator Bennett in the fall.

Bottoms recounted running three bills that mirrored the Protect Kids Colorado ballot initiatives, working with the group’s director, Erin Lee. The bills, which died in the legislature, would have protected girls’ sports from biological males, imposed life sentences for trafficking a child, and banned sex-change surgeries for minors. He said he ran them to put Democrats on record, and that all three measures now head to voters in November. He cast the primary as a we the people moment and pointed listeners to his campaign website.

“This is a we the people moment for us. Elections remind us that it’s we the people, that it’s not we the government.”

Scott Bottoms, State Representative and candidate for governor