Colorado lawmakers hold a hearing regarding a state-chartered insurer…West Nile virus hits horses…and, rabid skunks in El Paso County.

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Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn of Colorado’s 5th District closed out a series of town hall meetings last night to a packed crowd of people both for and against the proposed Democratic health care bill. KRCC’s Andrea Chalfin was there, and has this report.

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Additional Resources:

HR 3200, or, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009″
HR 3400, or, “Empowering Patients First Act”

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Colorado is poised to have one of the largest winter wheat harvests in the country this year. The “winter” in that wheat simply means it was planted in the winter season. But all that wheat has to go somewhere, and before it does, it has to be harvested. Custom harvesters are the answer for some, teams that travel the land, hauling combines and other equipment from farm to farm. KRCC’s Andrea Chalfin caught up with one such company in Limon, to find out just what custom harvesting is all about…and, as she reports, you too can follow along from home.

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Check out the All Aboard Wheat Harvest blog, with Jada Bulgin and her co-blogger Jenna Zeorian.

Below: Farmer Doug Blackwelder, and custom harvesters Perry Hoffman, Jada Bulgin, and Leon Bulgin talk about their work, set to photos from the Limon harvesting operation. (Click bottom right for full screen.)

And for even more, here’s the view from a combine!

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Clean-up is complete on Mount Massive…Colorado car dealers apply for $37.5 million in rebates from the Cash for Clunkers program…and, a program aimed at protecting endangered fish in the upper basin of the Colorado River gets an extension.

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High school reunions are events many are familiar with–they’re times to get together and reminisce about moments in youthful lives that help shape who we are to become. For resident Teila Tankersley, they’re also about a shared past, if only by the classroom walls and locker lined halls.

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(The “Citizen Report” is a collaboration between the Colorado Springs Gazette and KRCC. More information is available at the YourHub link at ColoradoSprings.com.)

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A controversial proposal to swap forest service land in southwestern Colorado shows no signs of letting up. On Tuesday the U.S. Forest Service briefed La Plata county officials on the latest developments with the project. The public will get a chance to comment on the proposal at a hearing in early September and a large crowd is expected. Bente Birkeland reports from Durango.

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