Monument’s council heard the draft 2027 budget and gave no formal direction on either question it posed, learned that the bid for the northbound lanes of Jackson Creek Parkway has moved from October to December, and accepted five drainage tracts from the Conexus development after staff said two of them may have been taken out […]
Category: Government
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Palmer Lake Candidate Forum, October 4, 2026: Revenue, Water, Buc-ee’s and the Fire Department
Ten of the twelve candidates for Palmer Lake mayor and trustee answered six questions at a Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce forum at Palmer Lake Town Hall on Sunday, Oct. 4, the day before ballots were mailed. Several kept returning to the town’s finances; the town administrator estimated last month that Palmer Lake could run out […]
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Atis Jurka Wants Palmer Lake Residents Heard First. Now He Is Running for Mayor.
A retired Army officer who has spent two years on Palmer Lake’s board, and cast its lone dissent on some of its biggest decisions, is asking voters to make him mayor. Atis Jurka’s campaign rests on the idea that residents should be heard before decisions are made and able to see how their money is […]
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Monument’s 2040 Plan Gets More Time: A Hearing on October 14, a Council Vote on November 2
Monument has pushed back adoption of its comprehensive plan and downtown master plan by four weeks. The Planning Commission hearing continues October 14; the council vote is now November 2.
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No Rural Health Transformation Money Reaches El Paso County
The federal official who runs the program announced Colorado’s $169 million share from Colorado Springs on Monday, alongside the congressman for the Fifth District. None of the money may be spent in El Paso County, which is not among the 52 counties the program covers. Federal rules keep at least 85 percent of it from […]
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Crank and Killin Answer Our Questions
Every voting precinct in the Tri-Lakes sits in Colorado’s Fifth Congressional District, where first-term Republican Jeff Crank faces Democrat Jessica Killin on November 3. Crank carried the district by 13.8 points two years ago. Last month one national handicapper moved the race from Likely Republican to Lean Republican. The Independent read the roll calls, the […]
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Crank and Killin, in Their Own Words
The Independent sent the same five questions to Rep. Jeff Crank and Jessica Killin on September 13, and told both campaigns their answers would be published in full. Both answered. This is the complete record, reproduced as received and unedited. The reporting built on these answers, including where the claims in them hold up against […]
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Palmer Lake Sets Bear Workshop as Administrator Warns of Two-Year Cash Runway
Palmer Lake trustees will hold a special workshop on bears and trash, tentatively Oct. 12, after residents spoke Sept. 24. The town administrator also warned reserves could last about two years at current spending.
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Buc-ee’s Opponents Take the County’s Decision to Court
Tri-Lakes Preservation, the Monument-area nonprofit that has opposed a Buc-ee’s at Interstate 25 and County Line Road since the Palmer Lake annexation fight, has joined neighbors of the site in asking El Paso County District Court to overturn the county commissioners’ Aug. 27 decision allowing the travel center in the C-1 zoning district. The complaint, […]
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Bears, Trash and a Town Hall: What to Know Before Palmer Lake’s Meeting Tonight
Palmer Lake bears and trash are not on tonight’s Board of Trustees agenda, but the subject is headed for public comment, with a state senator’s testimony and a staff memo asking the board to wait.