Environment & Politics Reporter
Conrad Swanson
Conrad Swanson covers the environment and politics for The Denver Post. He joined the newspaper in 2019 and previously wrote for the Colorado Springs Gazette, the Lawrence (Kansas) Journal-World and the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal. He was awarded a 2019 fellowship for the National Press Foundationās Spotlight on Statehouse and Local Reporting Program.
Featured Stories

Lauren Boebert is part of a dangerous religious movement that threatens democracy, experts say
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert's pattern of pushing for a religious takeover of America, spreading falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election and warning of an impending judgment day amounts to Christian...

The West’s most important water supply is drying up. Soon, life for 40 million people who depend on the Colorado River will change.
Seven states -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming ā tapped into the river and unlocked the American West. But their agreement, the 1922 Colorado River Compact,...

Colorado, Utah tribe worries nation’s last uranium mill is contaminating water, causing uptick in illness
The White Mesa Mill produces refined uranium, vanadium and rare earth compounds used for nuclear fuels, the creation of steel, batteries and electric cars. Residents are concerned those toxic leftovers...
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Thornton detects toxic āforever chemicalsā in drinking water supply, but officials say donāt panic
Concentrations of PFAS ā or forever chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects ā detected in Thorntonās water supply exceed new federal health advisory levels by more than 1,000 times,...

As critical deadline nears, only half of a plan to save Colorado River water has been proposed
Water officials from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming published a plan this week to appease federal officials wanting to save water from the drying Colorado River but didnāt include...

5 key facts about the rapidly drying Colorado River (a quick read)
This is the aridification of the American West.

The West’s most important water supply is drying up. Soon, life for 40 million people who depend on the Colorado River will change.
Seven states -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming ā tapped into the river and unlocked the American West. But their agreement, the 1922 Colorado River Compact,...

Thousands of Rainbow Family members are in Colorado and the arrests have already started
Just weeks after the controversial Rainbow Family of Living Light settled on a location for their 50th anniversary gathering and the arrests, citations and warnings are already well underway, according...

Orphaned bear cub killed after entering Colorado home in search of food
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials killed a young bear ā that they rescued nearly a year ago ā after it wandered into a Teller County home in search of food,...

Where are Coloradoās gray wolves? State officials have lost track of the eight-member pack
Despite two new wolf attacks on cows in Coloradoās North Park this spring, state officials can no longer track the pack of eight wolves, leading to speculation that some might...

Police say reported threats against anonymous Lauren Boebert source are unfounded
Claims from an anonymous source ā working to oust U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert ā that they were threatened at a Glenwood Springs health spa were unfounded, police say.

Lauren Boebert defeats Don Coram in 3rd Congressional District primary
Results for the Colorado primary election race for the 3rd Congressional District between Lauren Boebert and Don Coram. The winner will go on to challenge the Democratic candidate Adam Frisch,...

Lauren Boebert told congregation she’s “tired of this separation of church and state junkā
Just days after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, Coloradoās Western Slope Rep. Lauren Boebert said churches should control the government, not the other way around.