Rae Solomon

March 6, 2026: What's left on state lawmakers' plate; DU Middle East expert on Iran; 'Raise the Curtain' with Annie Barbour | Colorado Public Radio Whether you consider it half over, or half started, there's still a lot to tackle in the legislative session, from agriculture to AI. We get a halftime check-in from our public affairs team. Plus, ens...

Had the immense pleasure of dishing to the always fabulous @ryanhasaquestion.bsky.social about the latest doings at the Colorado statehouse for @cprnews.bsky.social @coloradopublic.bsky.social's Colorado Matters.

www.cpr.org/show-episode...

A prescription for pesticides? Why lawmakers considered a novel approach to neonics | Colorado Public Radio There’s a growing movement to restrict neonics, in the name of protecting public health and the environment. But farmers say that ignores agricultural reality.

My debut last week on @coloradopublic.bsky.social 's politics podcast Purplish was a chance to dive deep into Colorado Democrats' failed attempt this year to regulate neonicotinoid pesticides.

www.cpr.org/podcast-epis...

Colorado’s rural-urban divide is shaping agricultural policy at the statehouse But lawmakers agree on moves to safeguard the state’s farms and ranches for the next generation.

look at how rural-urban divide is shaping agricultural policy at the Colorado statehouse. My latest story for @coloradopublic.bsky.social @cprnews.bsky.social:

www.cpr.org/2026/03/06/c...

Two proposals on artificial intelligence in the medical system advance at the statehouse The bills would make it illegal for AI to pose as a psychotherapist and deny insurance coverage without human judgment.

Artificial intelligence? In healthcare 😱??!! Colorado state lawmakers consider two bills that would establish some guardrails. My latest story for @cprnews.bsky.social with Kyle McKinnon.

www.cpr.org/2026/03/09/c...

Under new regulation, common pesticide would require 'prescription' for use Neonicotinoids are widely used pesticides, but they kill bees and harm ecosystems. New rules would treat them more like controlled drugs, requiring something akin to a prescription for their use.

Neonicotinoids are widely used pesticides, but they kill bees and harm ecosystems. New rules would treat them more like controlled drugs, requiring something akin to a prescription for their use. My story aired on @npr.org's Morning Edition today.

www.npr.org/2026/02/25/n...

Farmers bristle as state lawmakers weigh the future of a ubiquitous pesticide Neonicotinoids hit the market as a safer way to kill pests. Then many pollinators started dying.

To farmers it's a breakthrough: seeds treated with tiny amounts of neonicotinoid insecticides. But the chemicals still cause major ecosystem damage. CO's lawmakers try to strike a balance between protecting crops and protecting bees. My latest for @cprnews.bsky.social

www.cpr.org/2026/02/19/f...

Susan Blanco tapped as Colorado’s newest Supreme Court justice Blanco has years of judicial experience. She is Polis’s 2nd appointment to the Supreme Court.

Colorado's newest Supreme Court justice Susan Blanco is the daughter of Iranian asylum seekers who wants to give everyone has equal access to justice.

My latest story for @cprnews.bsky.social

www.cpr.org/2026/02/17/s...

Statehouse reporters @bentebirkeland.bsky.social and @raedear1.bsky.social look at a suite of bills CO Dems have filed to push back against federal policies.

www.cpr.org/2026/02/11/s...

Feb. 11, 2026: State Dems push back on Trump, layoffs at CO energy lab, Cupid’s little helpers, Olympic gold for CO figure skaters | Colorado Public Radio Colorado lawmakers introduce new bills to blunt Trump’s policies.

On today's episode of @cprnews.bsky.social's Colorado Today podcast, you can hear me and the great @bentebirkeland.bsky.social discuss what state legislators are doing to push back against Trump Administration policies here in Colorado.

www.cpr.org/podcast-epis...

open.spotify.com/episode/0JDb...

State Democrats pushing bills to insulate Colorado from federal policies they call intrusive Legislature is addressing issues from immigration to vaccines to nonprofits.

Democrats in the Colorado state legislature are standing up a defense in the statehouse against the hostile federal policies of the Trump administration. My latest story for @cprnews.bsky.social is a collab with the great @bentebirkeland.bsky.social

www.cpr.org/2026/02/11/s...

Science-based vaccine policy passes first hurdle in the state legislature The proposal is Colorado Democrats’ response to the Trump administration’s vaccine changes.

A proposal to bolster state vaccination recommendations passed its 1st hearing in the Colorado Senate this week. It’s meant to fill the gap left since federal guidelines diverged from vaccine science earlier this month. My latest story for @cprnews.bsky.social.

www.cpr.org/2026/01/30/c...

I'm so excited to be back in the reporting saddle again after a brief hiatus. BUT, I'm working on a temporary contract, so I am still looking for a permanent position for when this contract runs out! Please send opportunities my way!

Colorado Public Radio - Colorado News You Trust Colorado Public Radio is home to CPR News, CPR Classical, Indie 102.3 and KRCC. We are a non-profit news and music organization.

🚨 Personal announcement alert! 🚨

This week I started a new job with Colorado Public Radio covering the state legislative session. You catch me down at the statehouse everyday until mid-May. And you can catch my work on the airwaves and at CPR.org.

Crisosto Apache named Colorado’s newest poet laureate Apache is the first indigenous poet to hold the position.

It's official: Crisosto Apache is Colorado's first indigenous Poet Laureate. My latest for @cprnews.bsky.social

Hat tip to the lovely @ryanhasaquestion.bsky.social for this collaboration.

www.cpr.org/2026/01/28/c...

Crisosto Apache has got me thinking about words even more than usual today! What fabulous poet laureate

Colorado schools pioneer climate jobs training program for young adults The state has made climate career training a priority, though no money to support it.

Colorado needs the right workforce to meet our climate goals. Part of the plan: climate career ed in the K-12 schools.

My latest story for @cprnews.bsky.social follows students in one of the state's first climate literacy classes on a field trip to the thrift store.

www.cpr.org/2026/01/19/h...

Exciting news! I'll be on a panel discussion for CSU's
Soil Carbon Solutions Center THIS WEDNESDAY for a talk about all things climate workforce! Join this zoom discussion at noon on 12/10.

Registration to attend the talk is open: lnkd.in/eEap3Ez2

I hope to see you there!

Dec. 1, 2025: Green energy jobs in demand, mass shooting suspect’s death ends the fight for justice, World AIDS Day | Colorado Public Radio First, we remember State Sen. Faith Winter, who has died in a car wreck. Then, for the first time, the state has a list of what specific jobs will be needed to meet climate goals. Plus, in the case of...

Happy December! My adventures in freelance & job searching continue. Exciting news this week:

I spoke w/ @cprnews.bsky.social's @hayleemay.bsky.social for the most recent ep of Colorado Today about the state's first ever accounting of our climate workforce needs.

www.cpr.org/podcast-epis...

A new state report takes stock of Colorado’s climate workforce The Colorado Climate Workforce Analysis & Plan is the first comprehensive accounting of the workforce needed to carry out the state’s climate action plans.

Hitting Colorado's ambitious climate goals is going to take a lot of work over the next decade-plus... and it's going to take a lot of workers, too. My latest story, reported for @cprnews.bsky.social unpacks a new state report on this emerging climate workforce.

www.cpr.org/2025/11/19/c...

A new state report takes stock of Colorado’s climate workforce The Colorado Climate Workforce Analysis & Plan is the first comprehensive accounting of the workforce needed to carry out the state’s climate action plans.

My latest story is about Colorado's newly released Climate Workforce study, reported for @coloradopublic.bsky.social. An interesting follow up to my recent series on the rural climate workforce. Check it out!

www.cpr.org/2025/11/19/c...

Geothermal energy networks are gaining heat. But are there enough workers to build them? A Colorado coal town’s big geothermal dreams say a lot about the shifting energy job market.

My story on the growing interest in geothermal energy networks – and the workforce we’ll need to build them - is on marketplace tech today!

www.marketplace.org/episode/2025...

The layoffs were announced in September, but I was still there, working on this last project until Friday. My heart is still hurting. But I'm proud of this final effort, and hope there will be more stories to share in the future, when I land in a new professional home.

Ta for now!

I've worked at KUNC for more than 5 years, first as a producer/reporter for the daily news show, and then as a reporter on the rural beat. That run officially came to an end last week, when KUNC eliminated the rural beat, and my job, from the newsroom, a result of termination of CPB funding.

Greener Pastures is my 3-part series about building the climate workforce in rural Colorado. This project is my very last set of stories for KUNC.

www.kunc.org/greener-past...

Colorado wants to build more geothermal energy networks. But it needs to build the workforce first A Colorado coal town’s big geothermal dreams say a lot about the region's shifting job market.

The third and final story in my series about building the climate workforce in rural Colorado explores growing interest in geothermal energy networks and whether we have a ready workforce capable of building them.
www.kunc.org/news/2025-11...

Climate adaptation is on the curriculum for future farmers and ranchers in Colorado and beyond An apprenticeship program in Colorado and the Mountain West teaches agriculture students to farm and ranch for more extreme weather.

The 2nd story in my series on building the climate workforce in rural Colorado zooms in on an apprenticeship teaching aspiring ranchers to work in a hotter drier climate, and explores how climate adaptation is taught in agricultural education across the country.
www.kunc.org/news/2025-11...

The latest climate solution for rural Colorado? Career education in the skilled trades Higher education is teaming up with skilled trade industries in Colorado’s High Country to grow the rural climate workforce of tomorrow.

Greener Pastures, my 3-part series about building the climate workforce in rural Colorado, is out now.

The first story explains why skilled tradespeople are some of the most vital and in-demand climate workers in Colorado's mountain towns.
www.kunc.org/news/2025-11...

Colorado apprenticeship program teaches ag students climate adaptation skills Adapting to a changing climate is now an essential skill for ranchers and farmers.

My 2nd story on educating the rural climate workforce aired on @marketplace.org Morning Report today. It looks at how we're preparing future ag producers to farm and ranch in a hotter, drier climate.

Regenerative ranching apprenticeship? Indeed!
www.marketplace.org/story/2025/1...

(Seriously though… is that for real? Or is it AI generated? I have to know!!)

Wowza! Cherry blossom welding helmet. 😍

I’m sure the guys in the shop won’t blink an eye at that.