Lucas Brady Woods
Reporter, State CapitolEmail: lucas.woods@kunc.org
I’m the State Capitol Reporter at KUNC, which means I help make sense of the latest developments at the Colorado State Capitol. I cover the legislature, the governor, and government agencies.
My work as a reporter has always been about practical, responsible journalism. But there’s also more to it than that, especially these days. Fact-based journalism about elected officials, elections, and government policy helps us participate in our democracy. It also holds those in power to account. I’m also a firm believer in public radio as a way get that reporting to the public. KUNC and stations like it go a long way in keeping the news independent and free for everyone.
Before joining KUNC, I was the news director at KSJD, an NPR station in Montezuma County, in Southwest Colorado. While I was there, one of my stories there covering the housing crisis won an award from the Colorado Broadcasters Association in the spring of 2022.
When I’m not reporting, I could be exploring a new neighborhood in Denver or a trail in some far-flung corner of our beautiful state. That, or hanging out on my couch with my dog.
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A bill backed by Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, Colorado’s first Mexican-born state lawmaker, would create a grant program for local organizations that help new arrivals get settled and connected with services like housing, healthcare, education and employment.
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In their annual address to the state legislature, the leaders of Colorado’s two Native American Tribes criticized Gov. Jared Polis and other officials for allowing state gambling laws to continue to exclude tribes. They also called for more support from the state around health care, education and water rights.
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Gov. Jared Polis and state lawmakers rode a demonstration train Thursday in a renewed push to develop the Front Range Passenger Rail from Fort Collins to Pueblo. The northern section, from Fort Collins to Denver, could open to the public as soon as 2027.
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For the second year in a row, high school students skipped class and headed to the statehouse to demand legislative solutions to gun violence. State lawmakers are considering several gun control bills, including one that would designate locations like schools, churches, recreation centers and the State Capitol as gun-free zones.
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Tens of thousands of migrant families have arrived in Denver from the U.S.-Mexico border over the last year. Some of their kids have joined the school system, but many others haven’t. In the final installment of KUNC’s new series, ‘Unseen but Everywhere,’ Lucas Brady Woods reports on the slew of barriers standing in the way of an education for local migrant children.
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The northern Front Range has suffered from high rates of air pollution for decades. Three bills announced Thursday by Democratic state lawmakers would take steps to reverse that trend.
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KUNC will deepen its engagement with communities across Northern Colorado this year by partnering with other public radio stations across the country through an initiative called America Amplified Election 2024.
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Gov. Jared Polis gave his annual State of the State address Thursday to a joint session of the state legislature. He urged lawmakers to prioritize affordable housing, public transportation and tax relief, along with public safety, environmental protections, health care costs and behavioral health care resources.
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Colorado’s 75th General Assembly convenes Wednesday at the State Capitol. Republican and Democratic lawmakers both are focused on the housing crisis, with conflicting strategies to address it. They’re also looking at bills around public safety, health care costs, youth mental health, climate change, public education and economic inequity.
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The Colorado Supreme Court blocked Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s ballot next year because he incited an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th 2021. Colorado's GOP is now threatening to skip the primary election.