Colorado

Will Trump move Space Command from Colorado again? State’s Republicans are “not waiting to make our case.”

Published

9 months ago

April 10, 2025

Will Trump move Space Command from Colorado again? State’s Republicans are “not waiting to make our case.”

The yearslong fight over the permanent home of U.S. Space Command — currently in Colorado Springs but in danger of being moved to Alabama — kicked into a higher gear Thursday, as the state’s Republican members of Congress said the battle was hardly over.

“We’re not waiting to make our case,” U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank said in an early morning video call with reporters. “We’re making our case and we’re doing it right now. We’re going to continue to fight — it makes sense that it be in Colorado. It’s already in Colorado.”

Crank is a freshman who represents the 5th Congressional District where Peterson Space Force Base, home to Space Command, sits. He was joined by Reps. Lauren Boebert, Gabe Evans and Jeff Hurd, who spoke from an office at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Members of Alabama’s congressional delegation have been spinning a different story this week, with U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers saying on a podcast that contractors are “ready to turn dirt” on a future Space Command headquarters at the Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville.

Rogers, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told Auburn University’s “Cyber Focus” podcast Tuesday that he expected a final decision from the Trump administration this month.

“We do expect it to be announced right after the Air Force secretary is named,” he said.

President Donald Trump in January nominated former air crewman and space expert Troy Meink to lead the Air Force. He hasn’t been confirmed to the post yet.

But Colorado’s Republicans were hopeful that no move would happen.

“I’ve asked many of our senior military leaders: What is the military value of moving Space Command out of Colorado Springs?” Crank said Thursday. “And, point blank, they say there isn’t any.”

Evans, who represents Colorado’s 8th Congressional District and is an Army veteran, said he was encouraged by the fact that Trump didn’t immediately move Space Command upon taking office nearly three months ago — as was predicted by Rogers shortly after the November election.

“There were a lot of rumors swirling that this was going to be one of those first executive orders dropped on Jan. 20,” Evans said. “As we all know, there was no executive order on Day 1 talking about Space Command.”

Space Command, which is responsible for the nation’s military operations in outer space, was revived in 2019 under Trump’s first administration. Located first in Colorado Springs, it was set to move to Alabama after Trump announced that state as his selection for a permanent headquarters in the waning days of his first administration in early 2021.

But former President Joe Biden later reversed that decision and the command remained in Colorado. The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce estimates it supports nearly 1,400 jobs and has a $1 billion impact on the local economy.

Huntsville, home to some of the earliest missiles used in the nation’s space programs, scored higher than Colorado Springs in a Government Accountability Office assessment of potential locations for the command. That same office, however, gave the selection process low marks for documentation, credibility and impartiality and said that senior U.S. officials who were interviewed conveyed that remaining in Colorado Springs “would allow U.S. Space Command to reach full operational capability as quickly as possible.”

With rising military threats from Russia and China, Boebert said Thursday that it was “even more critical for Space Command to avoid being moved across the country.”

The minimum $2 billion price tag to relocate the command would undermine the priorities the administration has set with its budget-cutting Department of Government Efficiency office.

“It really flies in the face of the DOGE operations that are taking place,” the congresswoman said on the call.

The Republican delegation on Monday sent a letter to the White House outlining Colorado’s position on the issue. They wrote that a move to Alabama “would introduce unnecessary risks, disrupt established operations and waste valuable resources.”

The state’s Democratic members of Congress, along with both of the state’s Democratic U.S. senators, have also been vocal about keeping the Space Command in Colorado.

On Thursday’s call, Crank said that with the president’s announcement during his first week back in office of the creation of the Golden Dome missile defense system — a futuristic network of U.S. weapons in space designed to destroy ground-based missiles within seconds of launch — it’s all the more critical to keep Space Command in Colorado.

“We have to have this seamless coordination between (Colorado Springs-based) Northern Command and Space Command, especially if we’re going to be successful implementing Golden Dome,” he said. “They literally share the same parking lot at Peterson Space Force Base, so I believe there would be a great loss in capability there.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.

Originally Published: April 10, 2025 at 10:54 AM MDT

Source link

Click to comment

Colorado

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Published

4 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Battle with the Blue Jackets | Colorado Avalanche

Columbus Blue Jackets (18-18-7) @ Colorado Avalanche (32-4-7)

2 p.m. MT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM)

After a homestand-opening win on Thursday, the Avalanche hosts the Columbus Blue Jackets for Next Gen Night on Saturday. This is the second and final regular-season matchup between the teams in 2025-26, as the Avalanche defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1 in Columbus on October 16th.

A Big Night at Ball

Josh Manson recorded the first two-goal and four-point game of his career, along with a Gordie Howe hat trick, as the Avalanche defeated the Ottawa Senators 8-2 at Ball Arena on Thursday. Manson was one of five Avs to post at least three points on Thursday, alongside Nathan MacKinnon (1g/3a), Ross Colton (3a), Brock Nelson (2g/1a) and Cale Makar (1g/2a). Additionally, Brent Burns added a goal for Colorado while Scott Wedgewood stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced in net for the Avs. With the victory, the Avalanche extended its home win streak to 16 games.

At 10:11 of the first period, Manson opened the scoring with his third goal of the season via a shot from the point through traffic. MacKinnon doubled Colorado’s lead at 17:14 of the first period with his 36th goal of the season via a shot from the slot set up by Necas. The Avs took a 3-0 lead at 2:35 of the second period when Makar scored his 13th tally of the season via a left-circle shot after receiving a drop pass from MacKinnon. At 5:08 of the middle frame, Shane Pinto put the Senators on the board. The Senators momentarily made it 3-2 with 13:41 remaining in the second period, but the goal was disallowed after the Avs successfully challenged for offside. After the disallowed tally, the clock was reset to 13:48.

Necas gave the Avs a 4-1 lead on the power play at 11:46 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a sharp-angle one-timer from the bottom of the left circle set up by MacKinnon. At 12:03 of the middle frame, Burns made it 5-1 with his sixth goal of the season via a right-point shot through traffic. Nelson gave the Avs a 6-1 lead on a five-on-three power play at 14:23 of the second period with his 20th goal of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon’s cross-ice feed. The Avalanche took a 7-1 lead at 16:48 of the middle frame when Manson scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season via a one-timer from the point set up by Jack Drury’s feed. At 18:04 of the middle frame, Nelson scored his second tally of the game and 21st of the season via a right-circle one-timer set up by Ilya Solovyov’s feed from the left point. Brady Tkachuk made it 8-2 with a shorthanded goal from the doorstep at 7:03 of the third period.

Leading the Way

Nate the Great

MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (36) and points (78) while ranking tied for third in assists (42).

All Hail Cale

Makar leads NHL defensemen in points (51) and assists (38) while ranking third in goals by blueliners (13). Among all NHL skaters, he’s seventh in assists.

Marty Party

Necas is seventh in the NHL in points (55) and tied for ninth in assists (35).

Series History

In 70 previous regular-season games against the Blue Jackets, the Avalanche has a record of 45-19-1-5.

Defeat on the Road

The Blue Jackets lost 5-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. In the first period, Columbus took a 2-0 lead after goals from Boone Jenner at 8:24 and Kent Johnson at 10:41 before Reilly Smith put Vegas on the board at 12:20. The Golden Knights took a 4-2 lead after second-period goals from Smith at 5:19, Jack Eichel at 13:07 and Mark Stone on the power play at 18:44. Kirill Marchenko scored for the Blue Jackets to make it 4-3 at 14:28 of the third period before Brett Howden gave the Golden Knights a 5-3 lead at 16:14 of the final frame.

Contributors Against Columbus

MacKinnon has posted 26 points (7g/19a) in 22 games against the Blue Jackets.

In nine contests against Columbus, Makar has registered 17 points (6g/11a).

Necas has recorded 21 points (4g/17a) in 26 games against the Blue Jackets.

Producing Offense for Ohio’s Team

Zach Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in points (46) and assists (30) while ranking tied for first in goals (16).

Marchenko is tied for the team lead in goals (16) while ranking second in points (35) and tied for second in assists (19).

Dmitri Voronkov is third on the Blue Jackets in points (28) and goals (15).

A Numbers Game

30

Colorado’s 30 five-on-five goals since December 19th (10 games) are the most in the NHL during that span.

63

The Avalanche’s 63 second-period goals lead the NHL.

3.94

Colorado’s 3.94 goals per game since December 1st lead the NHL during that span.

Quote That Left a Mark

“It was fun. I don’t think he’s ever seen that before. He’s seen me fight. He’s maybe seen me score. But I don’t think he’s ever seen—actually, nobody’s ever seen that before out of me in the NHL. So, it was a first for everybody, including myself.”

— Josh Manson on recording a Gordie Howe hat trick with his father, former NHLer Dave Manson, in attendance

Source link

Colorado

Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Published

16 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Colorado man heads to Washington, D.C., to gain support for Marshall Fire survivors

Four years after the fire, recovery is still incomplete for some Marshall Fire victims. A Colorado man is joining wildfire survivors from across the country to push lawmakers to make changes and provide support for survivors still rebuilding.

Recently, a historic $640 million settlement was reached with Xcel Energy, but the Coloradans who lost everything in the Marshall Fire might not be receiving all the money that they’re owed. Some settlements could be taxed, while others were paid in full.

Benjamin Carter

“I was the fourth responding fire engine to the Marshall Fire. By the end of the night, I was triaging homes in the neighborhood that I grew up in,” said former firefighter Benjamin Carter. “I’ve seen how much the community’s hurting, and I just wanted to do whatever I could to help.”

Carter is now fighting for those who lost their homes, including his mother. He’s working with an organization called After the Fire, joining up with wildfire survivors in Oregon, Hawaii and California. This week, Carter flew to Washington, D.C., to speak with lawmakers about how they can help survivors rebuild.

In 2024, lawmakers passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, which exempted wildfire survivors from taxes on related settlements, among other tax relief. But the bill expired last week, shortly after Xcel agreed to settle over the Marshall Fire.

“If the people don’t have to pay taxes on the damages, then it helps them rebuild,” Carter explained. “Some of the smaller attorneys still haven’t received payment, so all those people will be subject to those taxes; all the attorney fees, and what the actual settlements end up being. And, of what they’re actually getting at the end of the day, that’s been a huge challenge.”

Congress has already proposed extension options. But Carter hopes that by sharing their stories, legislators will act before survivors lose anything else.

“With a lot going on in Washington and everything, the representatives don’t always know about all the issues. And so, we want to educate them on this issue and hopefully gain their support,” Carter said.

Source link

Colorado

Boebert takes on Trump over Colorado water

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Boebert takes on Trump over Colorado water

Congress failed Thursday to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a Colorado water project that has been in the works for over 60 years. It’s one of two back-to-back vetoes, the first of his second term. But Colorado Republican 4th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert — known for her fierce MAGA loyalties — still […]

Source link