Weekend Roundup with Jon Mitchell

A lot of things happened this past week aside from the presidential election. We'll talk about people accused of election fraud and key ballot measures that passed, and we'll talk to Colorado Politics guru Ernest Luning about some of the key races in Colorado from this past week.

Colorado's secretary of state is under fire after a likely security breech of the state's voting machines. How does this affect Jena Griswold? We'll talk about that, plus reporter Breanna Jent will talk about some of the more important ballot measures and candidates people in Elpaso County will be voting for on Nov. 5.

Did you ever think an elephant could sue for its freedom? That (kind of) happened this week when an animal rights group made an attempt to free five elephants currently living at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. We'll also talk to Sports Editor Brent Briggeman about the Air Force football team, which is in the midst of its longest losing streak in more than a decade and what the Falcons hope to do to get back in the win column.

Candidates River Gassen and Jeff Crank made their cases for representing the Colorado Springs area in Colorado's 5th congressional district. We'll bring you some of the things they said. We'll also talk about an iconic Colorado Springs eatery that will close soon, and we'll talk with new Gazette Preps editor Marcus Hill about how he plans to cover Colorado Springs' booming high school sports scene.

Former President and GOP candidate Donald Trump dropped into Aurora, Colorado, on Oct. 11 and discussed his immigration policies. We'll fact check a part of his speech that came in the Denver suburb. Plus, we'll also talk about how Colorado Springs this past week came a little closer to getting a 27-story building downtown.

Colorado's Republican Party has seen better days, and that's because it is seeing a lot of drama when it comes to who the real chairman of the party is. We'll talk with political reporter Ernest Luning about how this happened and why it's a big deal during an election year. We'll also give some insight on the verdict of the Boulder King Soopers mass shooter and why the shooter's insanity plea didn't hold up in court.

So what's with all the talk about the Venezuelan gangs in Aurora, Colorado? And why does Donald Trump care? We'll explain all of that in our interview with reporter Nico Brambila, who has covered this story extensively. We'll also update you on the trial of the Boulder grocery store mass shooting from 2021 and on the issues with Colorado's gray wolf reintroduction. 

This week, Democratic congressional candidate River Gassen comes on the program, and she explains why she thinks the race for the open House of Representatives seat in Colorado's 5th congressional district against Republican Jeff Crank will be much more competitive than some people think. We'll also give an update on what Aurora city officials are saying about the Venezuelan gangs in the city.

Our interview this week is with Jeff Crank, a Colorado native, a Republican and current host of the American Potential podcast who is running to be the House representative for the state's 5th Congressional district. We ask him about all of his policy stances as he tries to replace the retiring Doug Lamborn in the House of Representatives. We also talk about a historic decision made when it comes to Air Force Academy cadets being required to attend Air Force football games.

A special legislative session in Colorado resulted in reduced property taxes for Colorado residents. We break down what that means. Plus, Aurora's mayor admitted that Venezuelan gangs have become a big problem, and Colorado Springs residents are making a lot of noise about how loud the new Ford Ampitheater is. Also, check out the Gazette's e-edition, where this episode and others are embedded each Sunday: https://daily.gazette.com/the-colorado-springs-gazette