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Colorado’s nonstop campaign cash dash | Colorado Springs Gazette

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Colorado’s nonstop campaign cash dash | Colorado Springs Gazette


Adam Frisch is lending new which means to “perpetual marketing campaign.” As an alternative of continuous to marketing campaign for an workplace even after he has gained — a standard sufficient criticism about politicians — Frisch is continuous to marketing campaign after he misplaced. Mere months in the past.

Victory eluded him by the slimmest of margins — 546 votes — in his face-off final November with Colorado’s third Congressional District incumbent, Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert. Having “missed it by that a lot,” the Aspen Democrat is raring to attempt once more. And so he’s bombarding voters and potential donors with a torrent of mass mail begging for bucks — nearly two years earlier than the 2024 election.

The marketing campaign contains allies who weigh in on his behalf. Adam Kinzinger — the nationwide political commentator and former maverick GOP congressman from Illinois — hit up Frisch’s mailing record for contributions this week. “Adam may have gained. He ought to have gained,” Kinzinger wrote. Frisch’s spouse not too long ago authored one among his e-asks, as nicely. Considered one of her missives the opposite day reminded recipients how, “final marketing campaign, we received out-spent by Lauren Boebert and her Tremendous PACs — by thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of {dollars}.”

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Nicely, they’re not about to be outspent once more. As Colorado Politics reported this week, Frisch outraised Boebert by almost $1 million in first-quarter 2023 political fundraising, in line with experiences launched final weekend. Actually, Frisch’s $1.75 million haul prior to now three months was greater than that of all of the candidates in Colorado’s seven different congressional districts mixed.

The event little doubt had staffers buying and selling high-fives at Frisch’s perpetual marketing campaign workplace.

On the danger of placing a damper on the event, although, it would pay to ponder the collateral injury. Notably, the ensuing arms race.

Boebert — a Republican firebrand who after only one time period in Congress already has one thing of a nationwide fan base — isn’t any slouch at fundraising in her personal proper. As Colorado Politics additionally reported, her re-election effort took in $763,000 this quarter.

“The novel left thinks that I’m susceptible,” she writes in one among her myriad fundraising emails. “They odor blood within the water. And they’re displaying it with this huge fundraising haul.”

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There are ripple results, too. The marketing campaign money sprint serves to stoke the extra typical, perpetual campaigns of present officeholders in Colorado’s congressional delegation.

Three-term, 2nd Congressional District U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, a Lafayette Democrat, raised $285,000 within the first quarter of 2023 — regardless of an overwhelmingly Democratic district that’s in all probability his for all times if he needs. Freshman U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat who handily gained the open seventh Congressional District seat final November, raised $218,000. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, the Centennial Democrat now in his third time period representing Colorado’s more and more Democratic sixth Congressional District, raised $115,000.

Crow, by the best way, had almost $1.4 million within the financial institution left over from prior fundraising; Neguse reported $1.8 million in his marketing campaign piggy financial institution.

All are just about assured re-election given the political alignment of their districts. But, they haven’t paused their campaigns.

Frisch, then again, in all probability wants all he can get if he intends to unseat Boebert. However consequently, the 2024 election for Boebert’s seat is already a mixed, $2 million-plus race — simply three months into her new time period.

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Take into consideration what all of it does to voters already jaded about politics. If the incessant pestering for contributions doesn’t flip them off, the promoting blitz it funds, will. For the well being of democracy and the sake of their very own sanity, Coloradans may use a break from the infinite marketing campaign cycle.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board



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Colorado

Here’s what Colorado concert season holds for music fans in 2025

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Here’s what Colorado concert season holds for music fans in 2025


There’s plenty in store for the Front Range concert scene in 2025, from a jam-packed Red Rocks Amphitheatre calendar to higher ticket prices and massive tours at Colorado’s biggest venues.

Here’s a handy preview.

Higher ticket prices

The average ticket price is expected to rise again in 2025, with promoters blaming ballooning costs on unprecedented demand. In addition to inflation, digital scalpers are gumming up the works, prompting false sell-outs the minute many shows go on sale and sending some fans to the secondary market, where prices usually skyrocket. And if you’re able to snag them, solid seats at Ball Arena, Red Rocks or Dick’s Sporting Good Park will rarely dip below the $50 mark, with many tickets topping $100 (or much, much more).

In 2024, the average price of a ticket for one of the top 100 tours was $127.38, which was 9.4% higher than in 2019, and an all-time high, according to Pollstar. Even before the pandemic, prices were creeping skyward: Boulder Weekly reported that Red Rocks tickets jumped more than 60% between 2018 and 2024. Concerts look to increasingly become a luxury item for a society whose wealth gap is growing at an alarming rate.

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President Joe Biden speaks in 2023 about efforts to eliminate hidden junk fees. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Tours and cost-reckoning

Canceled shows due to low ticket sales dotted 2024, with embarrassing about faces from The Black Keys, Jennifer Lopez and others angling for full-scale arena comebacks. This year looks to be more measured in its tour launching, with proven acts slotting comfortably into the biggest venues and mid-sized and smaller acts owning the city’s historic theaters and indie clubs.

On the bright side, Colorado consumers can now see the full list of taxes and other fees before buying their tickets, thanks to recent legislation. That helps in the decision-making process and offers more transparency on the true cost of your purchase.

Taylor Swift performs during night one of The Eras Tour in Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Friday, July 14, 2023. Thousands of fans crowded the stadium to enjoy the sold-out concert. (Photo by Grace Smith/The Denver Post)
Taylor Swift performs during night one of The Eras Tour in Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Friday, July 14, 2023. Thousands of fans crowded the stadium to enjoy the sold-out concert. (Photo by Grace Smith/The Denver Post)

Huge shows are not going anywhere

Taylor Swift dominated the national music sphere in 2024 with an “Eras” tour that sold out a pair of shows at Empower Field at Mile High. Slightly less top-of-mind but still huge acts Coldplay (June 10), Post Malone (June 15), and Metallica (June 27-29) are hitting Invesco Field in 2025. Coors Field is also likely to unveil more concerts on the level of 2024’s Billy Joel, Green Day, Kane Brown and Journey/Def Leppard shows.

At Ball Arena, which remains the metro area’s dominant arena, already-announced shows feature Rod Wave, Sebastian Maniscalco, Justin Timberlake and a multi-night run from Billy Strings — and that’s just in January. More notables include Tyler, the Creator (Feb. 11); Mary J. Blige (Feb. 25); Kylie Minogue (April 29), Andrea Bocelli (June 17); Linkin Park (Sept. 3), and comic Nate Bargatze (Sept. 12-13).

Matt Schulz preforms with a broken using a scooter as Cage the Elephant plays at Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Sept. 19, 2024. It was the final stop on their Neon Pill tour for Cage the Elephant. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
Matt Schulz performs with a broken foot using a scooter as Cage the Elephant plays Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs on Sept. 19. 2024. It was the final stop on their Neon Pill tour. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

Venues — and their neighbors

As Broomfield’s FirstBank Center has fallen to the wrecking ball, there are glimmers of new venues along the Front Range. What that means for fans is that certain shows may be much closer to home. Colorado Springs music lovers no longer need to drive to Denver to see some Red Rocks headliners thanks to the city’s new Ford Amphitheater. That controversial outdoor venue continues to rankle some neighbors over noise issues, which have prompted critics to take their case to local politicians and the news media. (Venu, the owner of the amphitheater, recently launched a defiant marketing campaign that dubbed itself “Fan Founded. Fan Owned,” and claimed that the AEG Presents-booked amphitheater was a disrupter in the industry.)

In Loveland, the home of Blue Arena, Larimer County in December finalized a 70-acre purchase on which the Ranch Events Complex plans to grow — including building yet another new venue. We’ll see what kind of capacity and booking it has when it’s finished (likely not this year, since it hasn’t even broken ground) but it promises even less of a reason for people who live in the head into metro Denver.

FILE - Sweat covers the face of Juan Carlos Biseno after dancing to music from his headphones as afternoon temperatures reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius), July 19, 2023, in Calexico, Calif. More Americans believe they've personally felt the impact of climate change because of recent extreme weather, including a summer that brought dangerous heat for much of the United States, according to new polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
Sweat covers the face of Juan Carlos Biseno after dancing to music from his headphones as afternoon temperatures reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius), July 19, 2023, in Calexico, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Whither the weather?

Extreme weather will continue to poke holes in the calendar, as it has over the last couple years due to wind, hail and other safety-prompting concerns. Certainly, unpredictable weather has long been a factor at Colorado’s hundreds of annual outdoor concerts, from early-season snow to summer hail and fall/winter ice. And yet, seemingly unprecedented events continue to occur, potentially giving pause to fans who were excited about open-air music. Meteorologists have said climate change in 2024 was largely to blame for the rising number of storms and long bouts of extreme heat.

Red Rocks Amphitheatre’s Louis Tomlinson concert in 2023 turned into a wailing mess as nearly 100 concertgoers were treated for bloody lacerations, broken bones and other injuries due to a solstice-coinciding hail storm (seven people required hospitalization). That year also saw tours in which heat, dust and wildfire smoke affected Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder’s voice in Paris; “Jason Aldean collapsed onstage from heat stroke during a performance in Hartford, Conn.; and Disturbed canceled a Phoenix gig because their equipment wouldn’t turn on in the 117-degree heat,” Billboard reported.

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“Fans, meanwhile, have been forced to evacuate to tents, cars and bathrooms amidst storms, and risked overheating both at Ed Sheeran’s Pittsburgh show in July and Las Vegas concert in September,” according to the report. We also saw Burning Man take a major hit from extreme weather in August, from dust storms to mud, which has hurt ongoing ticket sales for the desert festival in Nevada.

In 2024, shows from Foo Fighters, Hozier, Pink, AJR and others were canceled internationally due to extreme weather, Rolling Stone reported, including a May 4 show from Hippo Campus at Red Rocks that was scuttled due to dangerous winds.

Colorado’s outdoor venues, from Red Rocks and Levitt Pavilion Denver to the 18,000-seat Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, are all vulnerable to extreme weather. At all of them, consider bringing seats or something sturdy to shelter under, in addition to the usual ponchos and cold-weather gear, and carefully watch weather reports on your phone.

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Federal agents, police conduct joint operation at Colorado Springs townhouse

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Federal agents, police conduct joint operation at Colorado Springs townhouse


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Colorado Springs Police and federal agents were on the scene at a Colorado Springs townhouse Wednesday night.

There is no word on whether their presence at Antelope Ridge Drive was connected to the explosion of a Cybertruck in front of a Las Vegas hotel Wednesday morning.

Authorities have confirmed the truck was originally rented in Colorado but have not given any more specific details on where.

A spokesman for the Colorado Springs Department sent 11 News the following statement:

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This is a developing story, and KKTV 11 News is working to learn more.



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‘Prolific’ burglary, auto theft suspect arrested as Colorado Springs police continue investigation into smash and grabs

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‘Prolific’ burglary, auto theft suspect arrested as Colorado Springs police continue investigation into smash and grabs


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Police in Colorado Springs have arrested a teen they said is a “prolific burglary and auto theft suspect” as they continue to investigate several smash and grab burglaries of vape shops over the past year.

According to CSPD, investigators learned the location of the suspect, 18-year-old Ryan Vigil, the morning of Dec. 31. Officials said those investigators with the burglary unit then started an operation to take Vigil into custody alongside the Tactical Enforcement Unit, K9 Unit, Drone Unit, and the Motor Vehicle Theft Unit.

Police said they followed Vigil after he walked from his residence to a stolen vehicle that had been stashed at a nearby apartment complex. According to CSPD, when officers tried to make contact, Vigil fled on foot, but was apprehended by a K9.

Authorities said Vigil was taken into custody on a felony warrant related to burglary, theft and criminal mischief, as well as new charges related to motor vehicle theft and resisting arrest.

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As of Wednesday afternoon, Vigil was still in custody in the El Paso County jail.



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