Zoning Wars, Culture Shifts, and the Fight for Colorado’s Budget

On August 18, 2025, Kim Monson opened with a rallying cry to save Et Voila French Bakery on Lookout Mountain from Jefferson County zoning enforcement, then explored the cultural shift away from woke advertising with Dr. Brian Joondeph, debated property rights and election integrity with entrepreneur Susan Kochevar, and previewed Colorado’s special legislative session with Representative Rose Pugliese.

Standing Up for Small Business Against Zoning Overreach

Start listening at 14:30 – Hour 1

Melissa Ogburn, founder of United Community Leaders of Colorado, described her organization’s mission to unite conservative voices across the state. Founded in October 2022, UCLC brings together Coloradans fighting for life, faith, family, and freedom, offering mutual support so activists do not feel isolated. Ogburn announced the group’s mid-year meeting and awards ceremony set for Saturday, August 23, at the Independence Institute, where community leaders would be recognized for their work defending conservative values.

Ogburn emphasized that UCLC provides a critical network for people who feel alone defending traditional values in Colorado, noting the organization is open to anyone willing to use their voice for those principles.

“If you have a voice and you’re willing to use it in Colorado, we want to work with you.”

Melissa Ogburn, Founder, United Community Leaders of Colorado

The Sydney Sweeney Effect and the Death of Woke Advertising

Start listening at 29:23 – Hour 1

Brian Joondeph broke down the cultural backlash against woke advertising through the lens of American Eagle’s fall campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney. Writing for American Thinker, Joondeph traced how the company’s decision to feature a traditionally beautiful woman in a playful jeans ad triggered predictable outrage from the left, only for Gen Z consumers and social media users to rally behind the campaign. American Eagle’s stock price jumped, and critics found their objections mocked rather than amplified. Joondeph contrasted this with the disastrous Jaguar rebrand and years of companies featuring oversized or non-traditional models under pressure from woke culture.

The conversation shifted to Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska and the Russiagate revelations. Joondeph connected three concurrent events: the ongoing declassification of Russiagate documents implicating Comey, Clapper, and Brennan; the National Guard deployment in Washington, D.C.; and the Alaska summit. He argued these were not coincidental but part of a deliberate, leak-free strategy by the Trump administration, a sharp contrast to the first term when unnamed sources routinely fed narratives to sympathetic media outlets.

“They can hypothesize all they want, but they’re not being fed information, not allowed to frame the narrative.”

Brian Joondeph, Columnist, American Thinker

Property Rights Under Siege from Zoning to Eminent Domain

Start listening at 71:05 – Hour 2

Susan Kochevar, entrepreneur and owner of the Historic 88 Drive-In Theater, drew from her own 2012 battle with local government to support the Et Voila bakery owners. Kochevar recalled how her city sent the city manager and police chief to demand she rip up her driveway and reroute traffic through the middle of her drive-in theater, threatening to cite her personally and pull her business license. Only after 20,000 people signed a petition and confronted the city did the pressure stop. She urged listeners to take similar action for the French bakery.

Kochevar and Kim connected the bakery fight to broader property rights violations, from Xcel Energy’s eminent domain claims on Elbert County farmland for transmission lines to the state’s push for density-oriented land use codes. Kochevar questioned whether the original complaint against the bakery was motivated by a competitor eyeing the location, arguing that zoning has become a tool for government control rather than legitimate public safety.

“That’s a terrible position to be in when you have something you love, your livelihood, and people coming after you like this, especially after you had gained permission to have those trailers on the property.”

Susan Kochevar, Owner, 88 Drive-In Theater

Trump Targets Mail-In Ballots and Voting Machines

Start listening at 87:23 – Hour 2

Breaking news arrived mid-segment when a listener texted that President Trump had announced plans to eliminate mail-in ballots and voting machines from American elections ahead of the 2026 midterms. Susan Kochevar connected this to Tina Peters’s case in Mesa County and her own experiences running for the state house three times, noting that in her third race the vote totals appeared at 7:20 p.m. and never changed, raising questions about the counting process. Kim detailed the federal lawsuit filed with Unite for Freedom, amended on August 4 to include the Jefferson County Prevalence Study funded by listeners.

Colorado’s Special Session and the Fight to Protect TABOR

Start listening at 101:06 – Hour 2

Rose Pugliese detailed the Colorado special legislative session beginning Thursday, called to address a budget shortfall approaching one billion dollars. Pugliese challenged the Democratic majority’s narrative that the Trump administration and H.R. 1 caused the deficit, pointing out that Colorado was already in a structural deficit before H.R. 1 became law. She noted that the Joint Budget Committee learned on June 18 that the state would start fiscal year 2026-27 roughly $700 million in the red.

Pugliese announced her bill, co-sponsored with Senator Kirkmeyer, Senator Byron Pelton, and Representative Jarvis Caldwell, requiring voter approval under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights for any new taxes on overtime pay or small businesses starting January 1, 2026. A companion constitutional amendment from Senator Pelton would make the protection permanent, preventing the legislature from circumventing TABOR as it has done through enterprises and other workarounds. Pugliese urged grassroots engagement during committee hearings.

“And as you know, if we prioritize the budget per the proper role of government, we probably wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Rose Pugliese, Colorado State Representative

Hail Damage, Homeowner Insurance, and Impact-Resistant Roofs

Start listening at 06:50 – Hour 1

Roger Mangan of State Farm Insurance warned homeowners about the pitfalls of hail damage claims in Colorado. He cautioned against signing contracts with ambulance-chasing roofers before an adjuster inspects the damage, and described how one client waited a year and a half in lawsuits after a contractor put shingles on the roof and disappeared. Mangan noted Colorado homeowner insurance rates have risen 77 percent since 2019 across a six-year period, trailing only Nebraska and Utah. He recommended impact-resistant roofing, which earns a 30 percent premium discount at State Farm, more than paying for the upgrade cost in the first year.

“So don’t ever ever sign a contract with an adjuster or, excuse me, with a company until your adjuster shows up and does an estimate.”

Roger Mangan, State Farm Insurance

Building Credit Wisely for College Students

Start listening at 63:19 – Hour 2

Jody Hinsey of Mint Financial Strategies offered practical advice for parents sending students off to college. She recommended opening a small credit card with a $500 to $1,000 limit, putting only a small recurring subscription on it, and setting up auto-pay to build credit history without accumulating debt. Hinsey stressed keeping utilization between 10 and 30 percent and resisting the temptation to chase credit card perks by opening multiple accounts, since length of credit history matters significantly in credit scoring.

“I recommend that you put a small recurring payment on it, like a subscription, like your Netflix or something like that.”

Jody Hinsey, Mint Financial Strategies