Top leaders in the Democratic controlled senate say parts of Governor John Hickenlooper’s budget are dead on arrival…and, Action 22, a group that represents 22 southern Colorado counties, opposes another element in the Governor’s proposed budget that would close a prison in Las Animas. The group says the Fort Lyon Correctional Facility is in an area in desperate need of jobs.

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Crews have contained a grass fire that was threatening buildings near Ellicott in El Paso County…Crews are beginning to remove rock from US 50 west of Cotopaxi, and aim to have the highway reopen by the weekend…Army officials say President Barack Obama’s budget proposal includes $477 million for destroying obsolete chemical weapons stored in Colorado and Kentucky….and, Katie’s Law, a crime fighting tool that has raised privacy concerns has been fully implemented in Colorado.

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(Image courtesy CDOT.)

Governor John Hickenlooper released his budget today and is proposing the highest cuts to K-12 schools the state has ever seen…Crews are working on cleaning up a rockslide on U.S. 50 that occurred yesterday (see photo above)…and, Army leaders will gather at Fort Carson tomorrow for a symposium on rear detachments.

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(Image courtesy CDOT)

Movies like How the West Was Won starring Henry Fonda and Gregory Peck, the original True Grit with John Wayne, and Sleeper with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton have given places like Canon City, Denver, Durango, and Bent’s Old Fort near LaJunta visibility on the silver screen. But as other areas began offering large incentives, Colorado’s desirability seemed to fade into the background. KRCC’s Andrea Chalfin examines the current state of on-location shoots in Colorado, and how one county is looking to the film industry as part of its economic future.

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This piece aired as part of the February edition of Western Skies. See a slideshow and some video shot in Crowley County by clicking here.

The Colorado Department of Education says 72.4% of the class of 2010 graduated high school on time, which means within four years…A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block a prayer luncheon at the Air Force Academy…and, the Mountain Metropolitan Transit service has replaced 30 passenger vans.

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Colorado’s two U.S. Senators are backing the President’s call for a line-item veto to eliminate what he thinks is wasteful spending…The Justice Department says it’s reviewing a request by Colorado and 12 other states looking for the government’s help obtaining supplies of a scarce execution drug…and, a federal judge is hearing arguments on whether to block a prayer luncheon planned at the Air Force Academy Thursday.

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Welcome to Mise en Place, a journey of culinary delight where anything can happen. Based on the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s list of food by month, KRCC takes a look at farmers, chefs, and fodder, all with a Centennial State bent. Each month, the state’s agriculture department highlights a commodity and provides a recipe using that product. We take it a step further.

When I found out that this month’s featured product was honey, I knew there was only one place I could turn. Donna Hartley and her husband John own Black Forest Honey. Donna has spent some time on KRCC weaving sticky sweet tales of honey bee adventures. So I decided to ask her…just where do the bees go in wintertime? Take a listen:

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Here’s more from Donna regarding her bees:

Commentary: Preparing Bees for Winter (from Western Skies)

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The Bear and the Honeybee, and The Honeybee and Colors

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The Swarm

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Donna also shared some of her bee stories for the Citizen Report:

Musings of a Mad Beekeeper
Continued Musings of a Mad Beekeeper

Click below for a recipe for Honey Smoothies from the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
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An Army environmental study says Fort Carson is the best location for a new combat aviation brigade…The Colorado Department of Transportation and Trinidad city officials marked the opening of southbound Interstate 25 through the city today…and, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association has dropped its lawsuit challenging new rules to regulate the state’s energy industry.

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The state senate will debate a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to receive in-state college tuition…Federal officials have completed a draft environmental assessment of the potential effects of planting Roundup Ready crops on land in the National Wildlife Refuge System, including land in Colorado.

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With temperatures still hovering around the zero degree mark, energy companies in the region are clearly experiencing in a spike in natural gas consumption…According to a release from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, nearly 50 students at the college are relocating from the UCCS Housing Village to new rooms due to a break in water lines that serve fire sprinklers…Republican Representative Scott Tipton paid a visit to his former colleagues in the Colorado legislature today.

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