Nick Coltrain

Politics reporter

Nick Coltrain

Nick Coltrain covers state politics for the Denver Post. He joined the news organization in 2022 after covering the Iowa caucus and COVID-19 for the Des Moines Register and all things for the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

Group of students visit the Colorado State Capitol Building in Denver on Thursday, April 2, 2026. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Budget bill begins journey as lawmakers debate election law, youth gaming in the Colorado legislature this week

April 6, 2026 at 1:51 p.m.

The Colorado legislature's $46.8 billion budget will begin its journey through the House on Wednesday. Bills about gun dealers, elections and youth gaming will also be the focus of debate.

Wendy Lamm, of Castle Rock, left, and her husband, Stephen, right, and their son, Evan, join other families of people with developmental disabilities to protest cuts to their Medicaid services at Civic Center Park in Denver on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

Colorado is nearing another massive budget cut. Medicaid will take the brunt — and it may not be the last shortfall.

April 7, 2026 at 6:15 a.m.

鈥淲e have a red-state budget and we have blue-state ideals, and that doesn鈥檛 work very well,鈥� one observer said -- forcing difficult budget choices every year for Colorado lawmakers.

Gov. Jared Polis hands House Majority Leader Monica Duran a signing pen after signing House Bill 1339 into law on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. The law renames C茅sar Ch谩vez Day to Farm Workers Day for the next two years following allegations that the civil rights leader sexually abused women and girls in the movement. The signing ceremony was closed press. (Photo courtesy of Gov. Jared Polis' office)

Colorado renames C茅sar Ch谩vez Day in honor of farmworkers just in time for today’s holiday

March 31, 2026 at 1:39 p.m.

States across the country have moved quickly to rename the holiday to honor the movement, and not the man. Colorado recognizes March 31 as a voluntary legal holiday, with state...

State Sen. Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican, speaks during a bill signing ceremony for Senate Bill 11 in the governor's office at the Colorado State Capitol on Monday, March 30, 2026. Behind her is Gov. Jared Polis. Family members displayed portraits of loved ones who died after purchasing fentanyl-laced drugs on social media. The law requires social media companies to comply with search warrants within 72 hours. (Photo by Nick Coltrain/The Denver Post)

Gov. Jared Polis signs law setting search warrant requirements for social media companies

March 31, 2026 at 10:31 a.m.

"I don't know of another instance where somebody could knock on your door, give you a warrant, and you could say, 'I'll get to it when I get to it,'...

Kim Bimestefer, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, in a handout photo. (Provided by the Colorado governor's office)

Director of Colorado’s Medicaid agency resigns after lawmakers planned vote calling for her removal

March 30, 2026 at 2:58 p.m.

Kim Bimestefer's time overseeing HCPF included the entirety of the pandemic, which hit the U.S. in 2020 and saw the rapid expansion of Medicaid to include a broader swath of...

Colorado state Sen. Julie Gonzales speaks during a rally and press conference on the east steps of the City and County Building in Denver on June 9, 2025. Gonzalez won the vote at the Democratic State Assembly on Saturday for the party's nomination for U.S. Senate. (Photo by Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

Julie Gonzales set for one-on-one with John Hickenlooper in race for U.S. Senate

April 10, 2026 at 3:04 p.m.

More than 1,600 Democratic faithful filled Memorial Hall in Pueblo on Saturday, even as thousands of Coloradans joined protests against the Trump administration as part of the national No Kings...

Democratic candidate for Governor Cary Kennedy speaks during the Democratic State Assembly at the 1stBank Center on April 14, 2018, in Broomfield, Colorado. She won the assembly that year, but then-U.S. Rep. Jared Polis went on to win the Democratic primary and the governorship. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Special to the Denver Post)

State assemblies kick off as Colorado Democrats gather to pick primary candidates for major offices

April 8, 2026 at 4:40 p.m.

The assemblies aren鈥檛 the end of the nomination process -- indeed, some high-profile names in Democratic politics are foregoing it. But assembly vote winners will land on the ballot's top...

Gov. Jared Polis, center, signs House Bill 1001 into law in the governor's office at the Colorado State Capitol on Wednesday, March 26, 2026. The new law is aimed at making it easier for entities like nonprofits and school districts to build housing on land they own. (Photo by Nick Coltrain/The Denver Post)

Gov. Jared Polis signs HOME Act, aimed at making it easier for nonprofits to build housing

March 25, 2026 at 5:58 p.m.

"Partnering with the legislature, we're truly beginning to chip away at the high cost of housing by breaking down barriers," Gov. Jared Polis said at a bill signing Wednesday.

U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper, left, and Michael Bennet take part in a news conference on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Sens. Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper qualify for June primary ballot in different races

March 24, 2026 at 6:16 p.m.

U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper have each qualified for the June primary ballot, the Colorado Secretary of State's Office announced Tuesday -- albeit for different contested races.

Rep. Monica Duran sits at her desk during a special session at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Renaming of C茅sar Ch谩vez Day, 3D-printed gun ban, data center regs in the Colorado legislature this week

March 23, 2026 at 12:49 p.m.

The Colorado legislature will debate a bill that would strip C茅sar Ch谩vez's name from a holiday less than a week after an investigation reported allegations of sexual abuse.

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Nick Coltrain

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Budget bill begins journey as lawmakers debate election law, youth gaming in the Colorado legislature this week

Colorado is nearing another massive budget cut. Medicaid will take the brunt — and it may not be the last shortfall.

Colorado renames C茅sar Ch谩vez Day in honor of farmworkers just in time for today’s holiday

Gov. Jared Polis signs law setting search warrant requirements for social media companies

Director of Colorado’s Medicaid agency resigns after lawmakers planned vote calling for her removal

Julie Gonzales set for one-on-one with John Hickenlooper in race for U.S. Senate

State assemblies kick off as Colorado Democrats gather to pick primary candidates for major offices

Gov. Jared Polis signs HOME Act, aimed at making it easier for nonprofits to build housing

Sens. Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper qualify for June primary ballot in different races

Renaming of C茅sar Ch谩vez Day, 3D-printed gun ban, data center regs in the Colorado legislature this week