Bente Birkeland
Bente Birkeland has covered Colorado politics and government since spring of 2006. She loves the variety and challenge of the state capitol beat and talking to people from all walks of life. Bente's work has aired on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, American PublicMedia'sMarketplace, and she was a contributor for WNYC's The Next Big Thing. She has won numerous local and national awards, including best beat reporting from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors. Bente grew up in Minnesota and England, and loves skiing, hiking, and is an aspiring cello player. She lives in Lakewood with her husband.
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Every new year, public media reporters across the country bring us some of the new state laws taking effect where they are. Here are six in 2026. -
A handful of states led by Democrats could have attempted mid-decade redistricting to counter President Trump's push in GOP-led states, but aside from California, they have been slow to act.
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Even many voters who support the president questioned the lengths his administration is going to to remove people from the country.
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A man who once ran for county sheriff in Colorado was arrested for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail into a county clerk's office, appearing to target the county's voting machines.
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We hear from Trump voters in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Colorado about what they think of the policies in the first 100 days of the Trump Presidency.
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A new state law in Colorado requires all jails to offer inmates an opportunity to vote in-person. Jails worried about safety and logistics, but so far counties say it's been going well.
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Voters in Colorado's 8th Congressional district and still making up their minds about who should represent them, even if they already have their pick at the top of the ballot.
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Trump doubled down on false claims he has made about migrant crime in the city, and called for the death penalty "for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law-enforcement officer." -
Former Mesa County, Colo., Clerk Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison for allowing unauthorized access to voting materials.
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Voters in a Colorado congressional district discuss the political divisions they see at home and around the country during a crucial election year.
