In 2023, the Colorado Times Recorder conducted multi-part investigations focussing on the Leadership Program of the Rockies, abortion abolitionists, Andrew Wommack, the Satanic Temple, state Rep. Scott Bottoms (R-Colorado Springs), and more. Below, you can read those stories.

Leadership Program of the Rockies

In this series, the Colorado Times Recorder investigated the Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR), Colorado’s preeminent training program for conservative activists and political candidates. Alumni lists and social media posts revealed that LPR had not just trained some of the state’s most extreme and conspiracy-minded Republicans – it had actively sought them out.

Part One: Classically Liberal, Contemporarily Extreme: Colorado’s Conservative Leadership Program Courts the Fringe 

Part Two: Liberal Arts: How Colorado’s Conservative Leadership Program Influences Education

Part Three: Most Media Figures from Conservative Leadership Program Push CO Republicans Rightward into Irrelevance

The Satanic Temple & After School Satan Club

With a new wave of “Satanic panic” rising among many conservatives, reproductive justice reporter Heidi Beedle went on a deep dive into the history of Satanism in U.S. politics and culture, as well as the role played by the modern Satanic Temple in progressive advocacy and religious conservative discourse.

Part One: The Devil Went Down to Denver: The Satanic Temple, Unbaptisms, and Christian Conservatism

Part Two: The Devil in the Details: After School Satan Club and Public Education

Part Three: Rosemary’s Baby: The Satanic Temple and Abortion

Abortion Abolitionists in Wichita, Kansas

This March, abortion abolitionists from across the country flocked to Kansas for the fourth annual “Abolition Now” conference. Reporting on the ground in Wichita, Heidi Beedle examined the past of the Christian movement to abolish abortion, and why many refuse to settle for a partial abortion ban.

Part One: The New Abolitionists: The Christian Anti-Abortion Movement Gaining Ground in State Legislatures

Part Two: The Army of Gideon: Anti-Abortion Activism in Wichita

Part Three: Wheat and Chaff, Sheep and Goats: Divides Within the Christian Anti-Abortion Movement

Woodland Park & Andrew Wommack

In this extensive investigation, columnist Logan Davis took a close look at the small town of Woodland Park, Colorado, as well as the powerful conservative influences looming over its school district – and the implications for the future of public education in the U.S.

Part One: The Small Colorado Town at the Center of Far-Right Plans for American Schools

Part Two: The Specialists – A Woodland Park Investigation

Part Three: American Birthright – A Woodland Park Investigation

Part Four: Buying the Birthright – A Woodland Park Investigation

Part Five: Secret Audio Recording Reveals Inner-Workings of Woodland Park Takeover

Part Six: Onward Christian Soldiers – A Woodland Park Investigation

Part Seven: Fear & Loathing in Woodland Park

Advocates for D20 Kids Discord Leaks

A month before this year’s election, the Colorado Times Recorder received leaked logs from a Discord server run by Advocates for D20 Kids, an activist group pushing conservative candidates in Colorado Springs’ Academy School District 20. In this investigation, Heidi Beedle blew the whistle on inflammatory comments by the group’s leadership, as well as the dark money influencing not just D20’s school board race, but similar races across Colorado.

Part One: Fire-Breathing Lesbians & Satan-Worshiping S.O.Bs: The Private Chat Logs of a Christian Conservative School District Group

Part Two: Seducing the Bride of Christ

Part Three: Dark Money and the School Board Industrial Complex

State Rep. Scott Bottoms’ Sermons

After one year in office, state Rep. Scott Bottoms (R-Colorado Springs) has firmly positioned himself as the most extreme member of Colorado’s legislative Republicans. Investigative reporter James O’Rourke examined numerous archived sermons by Bottoms to paint a picture of who Bottoms is and what his prominence means for Colorado politics.

Part One: Is a Right-Wing-Pastor Turned-Legislator the GOP’s State House Leader, As He Claims to Be?

Part Two: Colorado Pastor Turned Legislator Has Promoted Christian Nationalism From The Pulpit For Years