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Welcome to the Kim Monson Show podcast. Kim Monson is your host. Climate alarmists ignore history. 97-year-young Lt. Col. Bill Rutledge (Ret. USAF) discusses the Great Galveston Hurricane which was a Category 4 hurricane that struck September 8, 1900. Between 6000 and 8000 people perished. CEO of Laramie Energy Bob Boswell addresses Trump’s energy policies. RE/MAX realtor Karen Levine notes the latest regarding the metro real estate market. Karen Gordey, owner of Radiant Painting and Lighting, shares tips regarding holiday outdoor lighting. ————————————————————————————– The Kim Monson Show airs on KLZ 560 AM every Monday thru Friday, 6-8 AM MST.
SPEAKER 17 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 10 :
I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 17 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 10 :
With what is happening down at the Statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it’s not.
SPEAKER 17 :
Today’s current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 10 :
I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
SPEAKER 17 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
SPEAKER 10 :
Indeed, let’s have a conversation. And welcome to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are treasured, you’re valued, you have purpose. Today’s drive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And thank you to the team that I get to work with. And that’s Producer Joe, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Producer Luke, the whole list here. I normally have that right here in front of me. But thank you, Producer Joe, and happy Thursday. Happy Thursday, Kim. And we’ve got a great show planned for you today. There’s a lot going on out there and a lot to talk about. I’ve been spending a lot of time working on this Colorado Union of Taxpayers ratings report of our Colorado State Legislature. And with that, looking at… some of the uh things the uh two ballot questions that will be on our state ballot as well as there is going to be some different questions on some of the other ballots and we will be writing on those two state ballots uh questions as well as wendy warner has written something regarding the vibrant denver which is a huge bond increase Well, it’s actually a bond extension. They’re going to start this language off, I imagine, without increasing taxes. But bear in mind, if you have a tax question that is on your ballot, it is raising your taxes, whether or not it says that or not. And tomorrow, we actually pre-recorded this with Douglas Bruce, who is the author of we’re going to be talking about those specific issues as well. So stay tuned on all of that. Our word of the day is pusillanimity. That’s easy for me to say. I had practiced this, my friends. Pusillanimity. And it’s P-U-S-I-L-L-A-N-I-M-I-T-Y. I practiced it, but obviously not well enough. But it is the quality of being weak and cowardly or not brave or being frightened of taking risks. And their example was the school inspector present was condemned passivity and pusillanimity and said that she saw pusillanimity in action. uh we i think that many times we see pusillanimity in action when we may be afraid to engage in a conversation and if in fact we censor ourselves we don’t have to worry about government or someone else censoring us we need and that’s why freedom of speech is so important in one of the the very first things in our bill of rights in the constitution And of course, speaking of the Constitution, Constitution Week will begin on September 15th in beautiful Grand Lake, Colorado, culminating on the 21st with a church service in the park. But I would love to have you join us for the main event, which will be on Saturday the 20th. The keynote speaker on that is Georgetown professor and nationally recognized professor, and that is Jonathan Turley. So we’d love to have you join us. To get more information, go to GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. That is GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. Our quote of the day, I went to Calvin Coolidge. He was born on July 4th, 1872, and died in 1933. And it is amazing to me, so many of our different… presidents that July 4th is such an important date. Both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on July 4th, 1826, which was 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence. And then James Monroe also died on July 4th, and here Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4th. So I find that so interesting. But Calvin Coolidge was the 30th president of the United States, and he served from 1923 to 1929. He was a Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, and he gained a reputation of a small government conservative. And he said this, and this has also been something like this has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln as well. He says, don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. And one of these ballot questions that we’re going to have, we have Proposition LL and Proposition MM. And one of those two, I’ve got to get them both in my brain, but it’s creating a graduated income tax. And one of the tenets of communism, Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, one of the things he says is that there needs to be instituted a graduated or progressive income tax. And what that means is, is the more that you make the higher percentage the government takes from income taxes. First of all, I don’t think that we should have income taxes because that is taxing people for being productive. But we do have that. We have that amendment was passed into the Constitution during the Woodrow Wilson progressive era. And, of course, it was sold that it was going to only tax the rich. But what happens then is that there’s mission creep on taxing the rich, and we now see where everyone is, well, everyone that’s working pays income tax. And that… that the more that people make, the higher rate they’re taxed at. That’s also based on envy. We want to reward people for working harder and taking risks and doing well. So this progressive income tax question that will be on our ballot here in Colorado is ostensibly to pay for healthy school meals for all children. And we have to ask if in fact that is really the proper role of government to providing school meals for kids anyway. And that is something that people should, instead of higher and higher taxes, people should pay less in taxes and then parents can pay for their children’s meals or pack their lunches as it used to be in the old days. And so, again, they have different reasons that they will present on the ballot for you to vote for higher taxes. The other thing that they – and when I say they, those that are trying to pass taxes realize that if, in fact, they can say that we’re going to tax somebody else and not you – then people will vote for that as well. We can’t fall into that trap. We need to make sure that all of us are treated equally under the law. And that is one of the foundations of our great American idea. Now, we have these important discussions because of our amazing sponsors. We have one of them on the line right now, and that is Karen Gorday with Radiant Painting and Lighting. Karen, welcome to the show. Good morning, Kim. Thank you. And I can’t believe that we’re into September, which means that Christmas is right around the corner. And one of the things that you specialize in at Radiant Painting and Lighting is holiday lighting. So people really should be thinking about that at this time.
SPEAKER 14 :
Absolutely. It’s never too soon to start thinking about Christmas lights.
SPEAKER 10 :
And the question, how do you get lights to the top of trees?
SPEAKER 14 :
That’s a very good question, Kim. It really depends on the size of the trees. Sometimes we can use – we’ve got little pools that we attach to poles and can walk the lights around to get them in a perfect circle, et cetera. And sometimes we can use ladders, but then if they are 35, 40, 45 feet, then we’re going to have to rent a lift and use the actual lift – to get all the way to the top of the tree.
SPEAKER 10 :
Now, do people leave those lights on? You don’t leave them on year round. So you come back and take them down then, right?
SPEAKER 14 :
Correct. We take them down, depending on the customer, either early January, but most people like leaving them up until after the stock show. So then we come and take them back down and store them for next year. It’s not a good idea to leave these up all year because they’re commercial grade and you can leave them outside about 90 days ish. But the other problem is the squirrels. The squirrels like to eat the lights, so you don’t want to keep them up all year.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. So how does it work? And what a blessed thing that we’re in such a prosperous society that at Christmastime people can put these lights out on our trees. And I just, I love the festive spirit of everyone. And so I think it’s just such a great blessing that we can do that for the holidays. And so what does it look like when you start to work with someone on a lighting plan? You come out, I imagine you talk with them about exactly what they’d like to accomplish, you know, what kind of lights they want, all that kind of stuff, right?
SPEAKER 14 :
Correct. So I talk to them ahead of time before going out. If they’re looking just to get, let’s say, the front of their house done and they have some columns on their house and they want those wrapped in lights, I can just do that off of a picture and, you know, talk to them about what color lights they’re looking for, et cetera. But then when they’re wanting to decorate those trees or maybe a couple sides of their house, then it’s always a good idea for me to go out there. Trees can get very tricky depending, you know, on the width and the height. And so I like to get my eyes on that and take some pictures and measurements and then get the estimate over to them, you know, for the full kit and caboodle.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. And what’s the best way for people to reach you at Radiant Painting and Lighting?
SPEAKER 14 :
It’s www.paintswithradiant.com or the phone number is 720-940-3887. Okay, now let’s change gears just a little bit.
SPEAKER 10 :
You’re busy because you are running for Lakewood City Council. And we talked recently that just as a citizen speaking, you’ve been able to make, I think, already make a difference. So tell us about what’s going on there.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yes, so I got a huge win last Monday night. As you know, Lakewood is rezoning the entire city. And last Monday, I was able to pull time, so I had 10 minutes to speak, and really hit them on property rights and government overreach and everything. As a result, after public comment was done, you know, two and a half hours later, when they were making amendments, they actually did make an amendment regarding the rebuilding of a home after a disaster. And I couldn’t believe it. I was really, really happy. And that doesn’t happen very often. Maybe very rarely do they listen and take action. So that was a huge win for all property owners. in Lakewood. I’ll be back out there next Monday night talking to him about the proper role of government because they’re doing this every two weeks until October 13th. And there’s so much in the zoning that I’ll be out there every two weeks.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, so I just have a question then to, well, and since you’re running for office, I don’t feel like you have to answer this, but as you may know, we are focusing on trying to get a variance for F. Wallah French Bakery up on Lookout Mountain Road. And I’ve had people that have reached out and said, well, Kim, if the zoning says X, then that’s what the zoning is. Although I’ve seen that there are variances that can be given for different properties. And I think flexibility is important. But I find it so interesting over here that it’s so rigid regarding this zoning with this little property. But then you’ve got not only Lakewood, but a lot of different municipalities. And I find it interesting, this is happening right now, of rezoning, changing the comprehensive plans, and that’s changing the big rules for everybody. And so I find this interesting that government’s doing this over here on a big scale, but yet not having any flexibility on this micro level. I just am scratching my head on this, Karen.
SPEAKER 14 :
I’m scratching my head on it as well. And in fact, I do have a painting estimate over in Golden later today. So I’m going to stop by the bakery just to set my eyes on the property. But one thing I noticed in the Lakewood zoning is they’re going to allow commercial retail in neighborhoods. But they’re putting timeframes on there, and I know you talked about that on your show yesterday or the day before. My concern, number one, is putting that in the neighborhood, but then you’re restricting times on businesses, which I understand from one aspect, but then – It’s not the proper role of government to set the hours, right? And it’s similar to the road being closed in our on-lookout mountains, right? And there’s a very slippery slope there. And I don’t understand the end game.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I don’t either. So that’s why, Karen, it is so and I thank you for stepping forward to run for city council, because what has happened is so many people that have gotten into these elected positions at the local, the county, the state level. is in the federal level even is they forget that there are representatives of the people we’re a constitutional republic and that our electeds are representatives of the people and they start to think that they’re working for the jurisdiction to try to tax people and and rule their lives and so it’s uh it’s really important that people be elected that understand the proper role of government So how can people get information about you regarding your campaign?
SPEAKER 14 :
They can go to Karen for Lakewood for is spelled out. So Karen for Lakewood dot com and has all the information about my campaign there.
SPEAKER 10 :
OK, Karen Gorday, thank you so much with radiant painting and lighting. We’ll talk with you next week.
SPEAKER 14 :
Sounds great. Have a great one.
SPEAKER 10 :
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There’s so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to The Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m., with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at kimmonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 10 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. I want to say thank you to the Harris family for their gold sponsorship of the show. And also Hooters Restaurants has locations in Loveland, Westminster, and in Aurora. Great specials Monday through Friday for lunch and for happy hour. And how I got to know them, it’s an important story. When I was on city council about… capitalism versus government control. It’s really an interesting story. You can find that at my website. On the line with me is Ramey Johnson. She is a fellow board member on the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. That website is coloradotaxpayer.org. Ramey Johnson, welcome to the show. Good morning, Kim. A lot is happening out there. And before we get into it, I wanted to say thank you to our team. And that is our fellow board members, Steve Dorman, Greg Golianski, Russ Haas, Bill Hamill, Rob Knuth, John Nelson, Wendy Warner, Marty Nielsen, Ramey Johnson, you, Mary Jansen, Dave Evans, Corey Onozorg, Paula Beard, and Ray Beard. This is a great group of volunteers, and I’m working to put the finishing touches on all the work that you have done, all of you have done, for our ratings report, which will be coming out. It is a monumental task, but I think it’s a great service to the people of Colorado, Ramey.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, it is, Kim. Yes, it is, and it does take an enormous amount of time. You’ve actually been the one that has carried the water on this this time.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, I need to carry the water a little bit further. I was working on it yesterday, and boy, there’s a lot of great information in there. But let’s talk about one of the issues that is near and dear to your heart, and that’s homelessness. And when I say near and dear, you’re concerned about it. And of course, I think it’s become a homelessness industrial complex. There is so much money going into homelessness, and there are people making a ton of money off of the tragedy of homelessness. What’s your thoughts on this?
SPEAKER 11 :
You’re correct with that. It’s also a political issue. You know, recently we were on a trip to France. And so I was asking other people on the boat, you know, about homelessness in their countries. And this is a worldwide issue. It’s not just in Lakewood. It’s not just in Denver and Colorado. The French, when you get into Paris, it is clean. You don’t see homeless anywhere. President Macron bussed the homeless to shelters throughout France in preparation of the Olympics in 24. And that’s their ongoing way that they’ve been handling it. They don’t keep them in the cities right there. And when you get into the inner ports, you don’t see the homeless. We did see a few, but nothing like what we’ve got here. You know, I decided to do a little bit of a deeper dive on this. And in Hungary, homelessness is illegal. Public sleeping is criminalized and subject to fines and jail. In Finland, housing first, no conditions. Japan, there’s a lot of societal pressures. You can only imagine that. They have a very different value system there. China tries to repatriate the homeless with their families. Pakistan has the highest number of homeless at 8 million. But when talking with folks on the boat, it sounds like there’s a lot of commonality. There’s mental health, alcohol issues. Drugs to some degree. But the reality is for some people, Kim, this is a chosen lifestyle as well. We were in Parker over the weekend and the streets are clean. The main street is vibrant. You don’t see homeless. You don’t see tents. You don’t see folks in the medians. You know, you got to wonder what is Parker doing now? that other cities, particularly Lakewood, can learn from. And you probably know Dave Kerber, don’t you, from Greenwood Village?
SPEAKER 10 :
I’ve met him a couple of times.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, well, I spoke with him. And is he the mayor? I think he’s the councilman. I’m not sure that he’s the mayor at this point. I’ll check. Yeah, I’ll check that too. When I looked at it, it said councilman, but maybe he is mayor. They have an interesting way that they’re approaching homeless down in Greenwood Village. He says they kill the homeless with kindness. They treat the homeless like anyone else. It is conduct based and No one is allowed to urinate or defecate on public land. The expectation in Greenwood Village is that you behave as though you’re housed. What a neat idea. And he said they have created a culture to go above and beyond to have a nice city. If a homeless there has a cart with belongings, they must move immediately. But if they find a cart, it can sit there for 24 hours. They pick it up. They put it into a special holding place. And in 30 days, it’s disposed of. One thing about Greenwood Village that I really like, they treat the businesses as though they are residents, that they’re part of the community. In fact, because of that, some of the businesses have chosen to stay there. They really feel that Greenwood Village is working with them to keep shoplifting at a small amount or none. And if you are shoplifting down there The police talks to them, and the business must file charges, which is not, I don’t believe that Lakewood is doing anything like that. The reality is some people steal for a living, and their punishment is they go to jail, which basically just interrupts their day. Most of them are usually bonded out, but they move on. And what they do is that they offer them vouchers. There are a lot of people who want to go to the Denver rescue mission or there’s a shelter in Aurora. Sometimes they don’t want to go. They choose that they don’t want to go to one of the rescue places or a shelter. But because they feel unwelcome, they will just move on. And this is kind of funny. He said they treat their homeless like soccer moms. You can’t litter, you can’t do drugs, and you can’t threaten others. I love that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. And he is a council member. I just checked that. Dave Gerber is a council member at Greenwood Village. I know that… Go ahead, Ramey. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 11 :
When I told you it’s a political kind of a football, they’re being used. As you know, last year, Governor Polis fast-tracked a bill to designate a half a mile on each side of the light rail as high-density transit-oriented development. Well, Lakewood has used that as a way that if you ignore the homeless, basically on Colfax, on 14th Avenue, which is a disaster… Property values drop, developers can come in, and it makes it ripe to build high-density apartment houses. I don’t know why Lakewood is so excited about high density, but one thing that goes along with that is that it does change the political mixture of a city as far as their votes go. And that’s the reality of that.
SPEAKER 10 :
That is a reality on that. You and I have had significant conversations about this issue, and to your point is I think there’s political… political strategy on this as well I think with the high density because as you know working a campaign that sometimes it’s difficult to get campaign literature into some of these high density apartment buildings and some people are able to get literature in and some aren’t and I think you probably experienced that didn’t you
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, I did. It’s my understanding, well, Metro West Housing, which provides subsidized type situations, they absolutely would not allow my literature in. However, I understood that my opponents was in there. They are very aligned with Lakewood. which is one of the ways that they can get their zoning. They’ve got like 15, 12, 15 facilities here in Lakewood. Wow.
SPEAKER 10 :
And that’s a lot of that. Well, with subsidized housing, what that is, is that is government housing. And of course, subsidizing, if somebody’s getting subsidized, that money’s taken from somebody else. Ramey, it is such an honor to serve on the board of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers with you. And we really do have an amazing team. We’d recommend that people join us. It’s only $25 a year. They can do that at coloradotaxpayer.org. And I thank you for all of the great work that you have done for Colorado and continue to do. You served in the state legislature. You served as a city councilwoman in Lakewood. And I just really appreciate that you care so much about our community.
SPEAKER 11 :
Thank you, Kim. And you know that I respect you so much and adore you. I really hold you high.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thanks, Kim. Thank you, Rami Johnson. And these important discussions happen because of all of our sponsors. And for everything regarding residential real estate, talk to Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 01 :
Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty, wrote founding father John Adams. REMAX realtor Karen Levine has been working diligently at the local, county, state, and national levels to protect property rights and homeownership. Karen has navigated the often challenging Colorado Metro real estate market for years. Karen Levine is the trusted professional for you to turn to when you are buying or selling your home, considering a new build, or exploring investment opportunities. Realtor Karen Levine. You want her on your side of the table. Call Karen at 303-877-7516. That’s 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
When you’re looking for a premium quality painting experience or professional temporary outdoor lighting, call our friends at Radiant Painting and Lighting. The owner, Karen Gorday, spent over 20 years in the customer service industry. She and her experienced professionals will treat your home as if it were their own and take great pride in their work. They only deliver excellence. When giving your home a beautiful new paint job, they use premium cog and paint and will always deliver what they say. They don’t just enhance your space, they transform it. When you want excellence, call Radiant Painting and Lighting at 720-940-3887.
SPEAKER 21 :
We’ll be right back. To learn more, reach out to Teresa at 520-631-9243. Teresa would love to talk with you. Again, that number is 520-631-9243.
SPEAKER 10 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Check out our website. That is KimMonson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And while you’re at the website, sign up for our weekly email newsletter. And do you want more freedom and confidence with your money? Well, Mint Financial Strategies can help. They’re an independent firm with over 25 years of experience. And as an accredited investment fiduciary, they put your best interests first always. With a strategy-first approach, they’ll help you build a plan that fits your life. So call Mint Financial Strategies today. That number is 303-285-3080. 303-285-3080. And then also check out the website for the Center for American Values, which is located in Pueblo. They’re nonpolitical. They’re nonpartisan. They’re focused on these foundational principles of honor, integrity, and patriotism. They’re going to be hosting an event in honor of or remembrance of 9-11 on, obviously, 9-11. And you can get all the information by going to AmericanValueCenter.org. That’s AmericanValueCenter.org. And pleased to have on the line with me a sponsor of the show. And that is Bob Boswell. He’s the CEO of Laramie Energy. Bob Boswell, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 22 :
Good morning, Kim.
SPEAKER 10 :
And a lot is happening with the Trump administration regarding our naturally occurring hydrocarbons fuels, and that is oil, natural gas, and coal. And so I find it pretty exciting on the federal level. What’s your thoughts?
SPEAKER 22 :
Well, I think it’s overdue, and I’m pleased that the president is making changes that allow us to develop Colorado’s natural resources. We’re richly endowed. We, under false lesbians’ auspices of radical climate change, the current party’s in power, party in power has done everything it can to stop that development. It’s hurt the state. We’re having states around us open up for data centers, but not in Colorado. And it’s simply because Colorado has gained a reputation as a difficult state in which to do business.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and I think someone was on just recently that said that we are the sixth most regulated state in the country. And regulations, I think you and I agree that there’s probably some regulations that are necessary, but over-regulation, it really makes it so difficult for businesses to be able to do business. And ultimately… They will move to other states, although it’s crazy to me, Bob, that we here in Colorado sit on amazing natural resources. And it used to be in your business and oil, natural gas and coal. that the risk was trying to find a well that would be productive. But now the risk is really, it’s political risk, regulations and different laws that are coming down from the legislature and the bureaucrats.
SPEAKER 22 :
Well, that’s certainly the case in Colorado as it relates to the development of our natural resources. It’s been a battle. It continues to be one. There are a myriad of regulations that are put in every session. I agree that there are certain elements of regulation that are important, and we support those. But when it’s regulations that are inappropriate, such as this disadvantaged, they call it DIC, disadvantaged and impoverished communities, they are actually inhibiting development, economic development, and the well-being of those people in these designated areas for development and enhancement and quality of their lives and economic situation. So we have appropriate regulations, but we have inappropriate regulations. And there’s not a balance, unfortunately, in the Colorado houses and the governorship that allows a reasoned legislation to be implemented.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and that’s why elections are so important. And that’s also why it’s so important to be shedding light on what is happening. Because, Bob, I think, and we had Ramey Johnson on in the previous segment with the Colorado Union of Taxpayers. And it’s an all-volunteer group. And we watched the legislation that is being proposed. And… It is so onerous and so complicated. There were over 700 pieces of legislation that was proposed this last session. And Colorado Union of Taxpayers took positions on over 270 of those. It’s a monumental task to try to keep track of what is happening there. And one of my friends said that cut is the shortcut to understand what’s going on. But this is this is it’s irresponsible. There is no way that electeds can read all of that legislation. But yet it’s being put into law. And then we have flagged things that affect our oil, natural gas and coal industries. And it seems like every legislative session, there’s something new that’s trying to make it more and more difficult to. for oil, natural gas, and coal industries. And what that is, is it’s really an assault upon reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy sources for everyday people. So when we see this attack upon naturally occurring hydrocarbons, it’s really an attack upon the prosperity of everyday people.
SPEAKER 22 :
Well, I think it’s – Genesis is the grab for power and control, centralization, and that’s not in the best interest. We have various circumstances we’re dealing with, and I can cite the Mesa County where there’s around 2,400, 2,500 people in there. It’s predominantly a farming community. We develop natural gas in that area. They’ve recently under – a Denver or other Colorado-supported initiative or wanting to build a new school in this community. This school is a good school now. There’s 240, 250 students. They have come in and proposed and are in the process of adding on to this school for a $70 million investment. We pay 70% of the taxes in this county. Our company does. This cost of $70 million is going to be passed on throughout the entire county. Our taxes will go up. That’s one thing. But you have farmers and ranchers in this community that the increase in taxes resulting from a $70 million improvement of a school that hosts 250 40 students is unwarranted. The government comes in and they hire a consultant, and this consultant works with the construction industry on the development of plans for a school, and you come up with a $70 million investment, which… isn’t necessary or appropriate when you could probably do anything, improve the school for something much less. And it’s just an example of kind of government overreach and impacting communities. Yet they put this law in this proportionally impacted community, which is intended to restrict, to restrict development in these communities that need it. So it’s, it’s,
SPEAKER 10 :
it’s it’s hard to understand okay so connecting this dot because this is a really important dot to connect is this particular community about 2500 people uh and there’s 240 250 kids in the school and the this is the other thing is we’re voting ourselves into this debt and we’re always we talk so much about spending on the federal level and how that’s out of control But what we’re seeing on the local level is we are encumbering ourselves with debt. So my understanding is this little community voted for this bond for this new school, and it’s $70 million for the school. And this is the other thing that people… And they’re sold that the state’s going to come in, and it seemed like they were putting in, well, several million dollars towards this school. And so people kind of look at that like free money. They say, oh, well, if the state’s going to put this in, then okay, I’ll vote for it. and not really looking at the dollars of what they’re encumbering for themselves. And that’s why we need to make sure that people really think about these issues before they vote yes on any tax increases.
SPEAKER 22 :
Well, that’s a critical statement you just made. In this instance… There were town meetings in a little town of Colborne. The people were really sold on the idea of this grand school in their community. But they weren’t really apprised of the impact on them personally from an economic point of view of having to pay for this building, you know, over a long period of time. But still, it’s going to probably triple their taxes. And it’s not something that is easily affordable when you’re in Florida. These smaller communities that are predominantly agricultural driven with and also driven by development of their natural resources. So it’s a it’s a shame that we have these types of situations. And, you know, I could go on about the Tabor Act. We have the Tabor Act, which is taxes free. can only be increased with the public vote. And we used to run a surplus. In the last several years, we’ve been running a deficit, and this year it’s been estimated to be anywhere from, you know, $800 million to $1.2 billion. And the government, to get around the Tabor Act, have been putting fees in place. And they are taxes, but they call them fees so they don’t have to be put to a public vote. And the last count I knew about, there had been some 21, 22 of these fees put in place that is, again, taking money out of people’s pockets and businesses’ pockets to go in and try to supplement what is a burgeoning deficit because of out-of-control government spending.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and that is why we need to be informed on these issues. And when we come back, Bob Boswell, I want to drill down a little bit. This little community on the Western Slope, it’s a really important story regarding how people can get, I want to say, talked into. approving these tax increases. We’re approving, when we approve this, just what that’s going to do to property taxes and these little communities. So we’re going to continue the discussion with Bob Boswell. He is the CEO of Laramie Energy. These discussions happen because of our sponsors, such as Laramie Energy. But for everything mortgages, you should talk to Lauren Levy.
SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
All of Kim’s sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of the Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, KimMonson.com. That’s Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 10 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. A couple of things. Check out the USMC Memorial Foundation’s website. They are hosting a 5K run to benefit the Marine Memorial. And that is on the 20th of September. That’s a busy day in Colorado. There’s a lot going on. That is also the main event for Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week. Jonathan Turley will be the keynote speaker. I will be emceeing the event. It is a great day as well up in Grand Lake. They have a parade, which is such a taste of Americana. And then the main event in the park and then fireworks over the lake. It’s really a great event. But it’s not just today. It’s a whole week. It begins on September 15th. And you can get all the information about all the speakers by going to GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. and then that website for usmc memorial foundation is usmcmemorialfoundation.org i’m talking with bob boswell he is the ceo of laramie energy and bob we’re talking about this little town on the western slope that uh your company you said pays 70 percent of the taxes so that this the county gets It has tax revenue, which that has to be generated by taking it from businesses and people. So they have a budget, and your company pays 70% of the taxes for that budget. Am I getting that correct?
SPEAKER 22 :
That’s correct. This is in the little town of Colburn, Colorado. Okay. And it’s in Mesa County, which is on the western slope. Okay.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. And the people of the county voted to approve a $70 million addition or improvement to the local school, correct? And one of the things that I’m sure was a selling point by the consultants was, hey, the state is going to put in X million of dollars. So you’re not having to pay for all of that, correct?
SPEAKER 22 :
That’s correct.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. So people said, okay, because it’s human nature. If I don’t have to pay for it, if somebody else will pay for it, oh, yes, I will vote for that. But now they have just a point is $70 million divided by 240 students is $291,000 per student. And you made a point in one of our interviews that that doesn’t hire one teacher for the kids.
SPEAKER 22 :
That’s correct.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay. So I know I’m setting this up for you, Bob. But the next thing is, is from a public policy standpoint, both at the state legislature and rules and regulations, those are making it more and more difficult for our oil, natural gas, and coal companies to operate in Colorado. So from a public policy standpoint, if you get squeezed and squeezed and squeezed and and you’re paying less than 70% of the revenue to that community, the farmers and ranchers and business people in that community are going to have to take up the slack. And I think that this is an example in this community of what is happening on a bigger level here in Colorado, Bob.
SPEAKER 22 :
I think that’s exactly right. And, you know, what we’ve seen is it’s not only the regulatory burden, it’s not only the burden on the industrial or the natural resource development, but it’s the burden on the community. The government is supplementing, and by government supplementing, that means the taxpayers of Colorado are supplementing a project that’s way overbuilt. And the cost of that, even with the government supplement from the state into this community, the burden is still on a significant bond. It’s going to raise the taxes of every person in that community. These are property taxes. And I don’t know that people, A, particularly recognize that going in, and B, to the extent that they swore it. economic development in the communities by unnecessary or inappropriate regulations. In this standpoint, these disproportionately impacted community regulations, they are hurting the economic development and the ability of this community to pay back the bonds associated with the construction of a You know, a $70 million facility for 250 students. And, you know, we see this irresponsible economic fiscal responsibility at the state by going from a surplus to now where we have a significant deficit of and they are cutting government spending, which is the appropriate thing to do. But they should have had the foresight to know that the burden of these increased expenditures would ultimately need to be either supplemented with increased taxes or with increasing debt. And we see what’s happened in the state of Colorado with this huge deficit and at the state level.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and our volunteer board of Colorado Union of Taxpayers, we took positions on the – there was one that we did, and it was a late breaking, and didn’t get it through hearing. But otherwise, we took positions on all of those bills from the special session. And a lot of it was – some of it was rating other – you know, other pockets of money. And I know that there was a headline that Polis cut some taxes or cut some spending, but it’s not enough. And then also they rated different, like I say, different, one of them was the unclaimed property tax fund. They’re rating that or I guess they’re borrowing from that. And so it’s it to your point, it’s really irresponsible what’s happening down at the statehouse. Bob Boswell, CEO of Laramie Energy. We always learn so much from you. We’ve got about a minute left. How would you like to wrap this up?
SPEAKER 22 :
I think it’s important that the taxpayers. Communities of the state of Colorado understand that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. And promises are made for political gain that need to be underwritten and financed. And frankly, they’re not being underwritten and financed. And we’re seeing this in the huge deficit being run at the state level. And so it’s time for change. We need to change. We need to get more balance politically in the party so that we don’t have these egregious types of projects and expenditures that we can’t afford. So there needs to be a balance at state level. It’s not about politics or power. It’s about fiscal responsibility. And you don’t have that if you don’t have a balance.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, absolutely true. So Bob Boswell, thank you so much, CEO of Lerman Energy. And I really do appreciate reliable, efficient, affordable, and abundant energy sources that come from our naturally occurring hydrocarbons, such as oil, natural gas, and coal. So Bob Boswell, we’ll talk with you next month. Thank you so much.
SPEAKER 22 :
Thanks, Kim.
SPEAKER 10 :
And our quote for the end of the show is from Calvin Coolidge. He said, Your ability to face setbacks and disappointments without giving up will be the measure of your ability to succeed. So, my friends, today be grateful. Read great books. Think good thoughts. Listen to beautiful music. Communicate and listen well. Live honestly and authentically. Strive for high ideals. And like Superman, stand for truth, justice, and the American way. My friends, you are not alone. God bless you. God bless America. And stay tuned for our number two.
SPEAKER 15 :
Talking about.
SPEAKER 13 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 17 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 10 :
I find that it takes work to get your brain around these ideas, and it takes work to engage in these conversations.
SPEAKER 17 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 10 :
With what is happening down at the Statehouse, I used to think that it was above my pay grade to read the legislation, and it’s not.
SPEAKER 17 :
Today’s current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 10 :
I see big danger in as much as we will be giving an unelected bureaucrat the power to make rules about what we inject into our bodies.
SPEAKER 17 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
SPEAKER 10 :
indeed let’s have a conversation and welcome to our number two of the kim monson show thank you so much for joining us you each are treasured you’re valued you have purpose today strive for excellence take care of your heart your soul your mind and your body my friends we were made for this moment in history and thank you to the team that i get to work with that’s producer joe luke rachel zach echo charlie mike theresa amanda and all the people here at crawford broadcasting happy thursday producer joe happy thursday kim And I’m going to jump in here. I choose these words sometimes and in my brain I’m like, oh, I think I can pronounce that. And then I get on the air and it’s like, oh, this is interesting. But it’s such an interesting word. So we’re going to give it a whirl. And it is pusillanimity. And it’s P-U-S-I-L-L-A-N-I-M-I-T-Y. And it’s the quality of being weak or cowardly. And I’m realizing that I maybe should not have been so brave to try to have this as my word of the day without A lot more practice. But it says, let’s see, the school inspectors present an example of pusillanimity in action, and she condemned passivity and pusillanimity as well. And I find that interesting. This was, again, from the dictionary that they came up with that sentence. But we need to be… brave as we are engaging in these conversations. And many times I think that we have pusillanimity in these conversations. We don’t want to rock the boat. And so how can we have conversations without rocking the boat? And that’s why we do the show is to try to get to a point where we’re having a Socratic conversation with others about what is happening instead of yelling with each other. And so your challenge is to use the word pusillanimity in a sentence today. Our quote of the day is from Calvin Coolidge. And he said this, and he was our president, our 30th president from 1923 to 1929. He was born on July 4, 1872. He died today. In 1933, he said, don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong. And that is Calvin Coolidge. As far as let’s see here, a couple of the headlines. This is a headline that’s liberal groups pitch graduated income tax for Colorado’s 2025 ballot. And we will have Proposition LL and Proposition MM on the ballot. This has been interesting. Yesterday, I spent a lot of hours on our Colorado Union of Taxpayers Ratings Report. We will be taking positions on these two pieces of propositions that will be on our ballot. And what I’m finding is is that it is difficult to get the actual language of the particular ballot questions on the state ballot right now, as well as the actual ballot question language for what’s going to be on many of our local ballots. I thought these and so I was over at the Secretary of State’s website and was trying to find the exact propositions there. I can’t find them yet. And but there’s all kinds of things there about access to voting. And I thought, we need informed voters. We need voters to understand what’s going on. But the push is to, and I think it’s important, yes, the right to vote is so important, but it’s also a responsibility. It’s a responsibility to know what’s going on. And what has happened now is people are influenced by soundbites. They’re influenced by mailers. that don’t give you the whole picture. Perfect example is this little town on the western slope in Colorado that passed a $70 million bond for a new school that works out to $291,000 per student, and that’s not with any hiring. One teacher, one textbook, that is just for the school building. And so that’s why we’ve got to be, on top of these issues and I find it frustrating that we the public are not getting all the information about all these questions in early instead of late. And so again, stay with me on this. I’m deducing the strategy here and certainly property taxes, increasing property taxes makes it more difficult for people to own their property. And being able to own your own home, if that is your choice, and you want to try to make that happen, can create value for you and your family. And somebody that’s been helping people with that for many, many years is Karen Levine, RE-MAX Alliance Realtor. Karen, welcome to the show. Good morning, Kim. How are you? I am doing well. And there’s a lot happening in our state right now. And we’re going to be having a lot of tax questions on the ballot this November. And right now, I probably would recommend a vote no on almost all of them, Karen, because I’m concerned about property taxes.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, I’m concerned about the cost of living in Colorado, and I’ve run into a variety of people who have basically said we can’t afford to live here anymore. And I understand at the Realtor Association, we took a look at the city and county of Denver’s question on the ballot, which they’re referring to as Vibrant Denver, and And it’s not that we don’t want our cities to have good infrastructure and good amenities, but the burden on the taxpayer has gotten pretty great.
SPEAKER 10 :
And Wendy Warner, one of our board members at the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, we’re going to take a position on this. I love the words, of course we want a vibrant Denver. However, their public policies have been destructive to Denver. And in fact, the Hill… reported the top 10 most dangerous cities in the United States. Washington, D.C. was number 10, but Denver was number nine, Karen. And you and I have loved Denver over all these years, but I’m pretty frustrated with this beautiful city that I love that’s become dirty and dangerous, and now they just want more money.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. And they use the rhetoric that they are not increasing taxes, which basically they’re extending the debt. And so to the taxpayer, their out-of-pocket so-called doesn’t increase, but it also doesn’t decrease because they continue to carry more and more debt. And so it’s a difficult question. I know City of Westminster is looking at a tax increase. And the question they posed us earlier in the year is, would we like to see that as a sales tax increase or a property tax increase? And I don’t know that we need the increase at all.
SPEAKER 10 :
So it was presented as this or that instead of the third option would be no tax increase, right? Right, right.
SPEAKER 12 :
And interesting, they don’t give you that option.
SPEAKER 10 :
So, Karen, you mentioned that there are people that are moving out of the state because it’s become expensive. Of course, if they’re going to sell their home, they should give you a call to do so. But what are you seeing regarding the… metro real estate market because many times when, for example, there’s opportunity whenever things are in flux. And so I think there’s real opportunity in the metro real estate market as well. So selling a home, buying a home, it’s important to work with you because you’ve been through this, not through this before, this is kind of unique, but you’ve been through different cycles in this residential real estate market.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and this is not, what do I want to say? The sky is not falling, Kim. The real estate market is good. Over Labor Day weekend, I listed a property and I sold the property. So there are buyers in the marketplace and there are lots of good options for buyers. This particular buyer wanted to be in a particular community because of the amenities the community had and the type of homes they were looking for. And interestingly enough, Once they made that determination, which was back in June, there were no new homes that came on the market all summer. And then we saw two or three come on the market these last 10 days, and they were able to purchase one in the community they wanted to live in. So I think it’s very local and we need to keep an eye on that. There are areas of the metropolitan Denver area that people look out to live in. They want to live there. And then there are areas that maybe are not as favorable, but offer a better financial opportunity where you could go in and change that community around. um improve that community and we’ve seen that we saw that in denver as young families moved from where it wasn’t affordable anymore to where it was affordable and they made those communities vibrant okay and that’s the way to do it instead of a big bond increase exactly and i think uh What we hear on the news is how they don’t have enough money and there’s budget shortfalls and this and that. Well, maybe they should take a hard look at where they’re spending that money. And maybe some of those programs could be handled by the private sector and be handled much more efficiently. Well said, Karen Levine. How can people reach you? They can reach me at 303-877-7516.
SPEAKER 10 :
So if you’re going to buy a home, sell a home, or look at a new build, call Karen Levine. That number is 303-877-7516. Karen, we’ll talk with you next week.
SPEAKER 12 :
That sounds great. Have a good one.
SPEAKER 10 :
And these are important discussions. And of course, another great sponsor is the Roger Megan State Farm Insurance Team. And they will respond to your caller text 24 hours a day, which is amazing. And having an agent that you trust instead of an 800 number is really, really important when you have something happen where you need to make a claim. And so give the Roger Megan team a call. That number is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Megan team is there.
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SPEAKER 21 :
We’ll be right back. To learn more, reach out to Teresa at 520-631-9243. Teresa would love to talk with you again. That number is 520-631-9243.
SPEAKER 15 :
Galveston, oh, Galveston, I still hear your sea winds blowing.
SPEAKER 10 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter while you’re there as well. And we’re going to talk about Galveston, obviously, with Colonel Bill Rutledge, 97 years young. And he has retired United States Air Force. And Colonel Rutledge had reached out after the tragedy in the Texas Hill Country, Kerrville, Texas, with the floods that killed, well, many of these little ones at this point. This girl’s camp. And he said, but there have been tragedies in the past. And Galveston, September 8th, 1900, was such a tragedy. So, Colonel Rutledge, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, good morning, Kim.
SPEAKER 10 :
And set this up for us because we’re in hurricane season, and that runs, I think, June 1st into November. And so set this up for what happened back in 1900 and why it’s important.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the reason it’s – well, the importance of it really was then – because it came as such a surprise to that part of Texas, and it was the greatest.
SPEAKER 10 :
Colonel Rutledge, just a quick question. Do you have a TV or radio on in the background? If you do, turn that down, because I’m catching it just a little bit.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay. It might be KLZ. Let me get it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, great. And I love the fact that Colonel Rutledge listens to KLZ and the Kim Monson Show on a regular basis. And, yeah, that gives us a little bit better audio on that.
SPEAKER 04 :
I was listening to KLZ.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, let’s set this up. Galveston, the great hurricane of 1900.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, Galveston, first of all, I learned as I studied more about it that Galveston is an island. And it’s two miles off the southeast Texas coast. And at the time, Galveston was a very prosperous location. It was the biggest cotton shipping port in the world. And there was a lot of wealth on the island from investors. And they had never had any disastrous type of storm before. They’d had other hurricanes before. But nothing severe. Unfortunately, the highest point on the island was about six feet. So it was sitting right out on the Gulf. And this was before the era of automobiles. So consequently, the access to the island was a bridge that had been put there for railroads. So other than the railroads, you had to have a boat of some kind to get across the inland bay that was between the island and the mainland. So it was very much isolated, but it was a prosperous community. People liked living there. It had citizens from all over the world. And they also… had a weather station there that was manned by the best qualified person in his field in America. So no one would have suspected that anything of this disastrous nature could occur. Now, for those who don’t know anything about it, first of all, we should recognize the significance of it because it was so huge. It was the largest single natural disaster as far as casualties in our American history. They estimate about 8,000 people on the island and about 2,000 to 4,000 people on the perimeter were hit by this and lost. The overall population of the island was close to 40,000, but They weren’t all at home, but nevertheless, a disaster that kills 10,000 people is noteworthy worldwide. And that was the worst. And, of course, recently we had this terrible thing in Texas. And last year, that horrible hurricane, it went up through the Appalachians. So there have been many, many times. But people tend to forget their history. But this one was most memorable, and they made many, many changes after the hurricane so as to protect the people on the island today.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and so 8,000 people, estimates 6,000 to 8,000 people lost their lives on the island, 2,000 to 4,000 on the perimeter, which that is 20% of the 20-plus percent of the people in that community. That’s really significant.
SPEAKER 04 :
It’s very close to Houston also. So the effects of the storm, as you know, from the storms we’ve had even recently, they’re just not localized. So when it continues, there’s a lot of damage inland. It was an all-time record wind measurement. They estimated that the wind was blowing almost 200 miles per hour. Now, of course, it only has to be 75 just to be a hurricane, 50 just to be a tropical storm, but 200 was just unheard of. And so it was a record breaker in many respects.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and it’s important to note this was in 1900, which that was before we had a lot of cars out there. All of the things that the climate alarmists have said are causing these, and they’re saying more and more hurricanes. Actually, if you look at hurricane history, we’re right within the norm on that. But I think it’s important to realize that this storm happened in 1900, before we were driving all these cars, which the climate alarmists attribute to climate change and global warming. And this happened before then.
SPEAKER 04 :
Every time I think of a whole world and the economy being dictated by a teenager from Sweden, it blows my mind. It’s so irrational. And every time I’ve talked to somebody who really was in the scientific field, especially out at the West Campus at CSU, because they’ve been studying weather and predicting things for years and years. And I’ve never talked to one who’s really in the field of meteorology or atmospheric science that believed all of the things that news keep telling us.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and that’s why you really wanted to shed light on this hurricane from 1900 at Galveston. So we’re going to continue the discussion. But I did want to mention that the Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week will begin on the 15th. September and will run through the 21st the main event is on the 20th and there will be a parade down Main Street then the main event which I have the honor to emcee in the park Jonathan Turley Georgetown professor will be the keynote speaker and And then the great fireworks over the lake at night. And you can get more information about all the things that are planned by going to GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. That’s GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. And then also check out the Center for American Values. That website is AmericanValuesCenter.org. They will be having a remembrance ceremony on September 11th. I’ve been down there for that. It’s really great. And then also they’re doing some training for secondary educators at the end of the month and focusing on these principles, character development of honor, integrity, and patriotism. More information about that, go to AmericanValueCenter.org. That’s AmericanValueCenter.org. And we have these discussions because of our sponsors. And the second syndicate is bringing voices together so that we can make a difference down at the statehouse. And they will be working this next legislative session to be down at the statehouse to watch legislation, to take action on it. And this is very important. So please support the second syndicate. because they’re going to be doing great work. I think it’s wonderful what Alicia Garcia and Teddy Collins are creating at the Second Syndicate.
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There’s so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to The Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m., with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at kimmonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 10 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. And just a question for you. Are you ready for financial freedom? Call our friends at Mint Financial Strategies. As an independent firm and an accredited investment fiduciary, they always put your interests first. Mint means more than money. It stands for meaningful relationship. information sharing a network of smart strategies and a thoughtful advisor who puts you in control no cookie cutter plans everything is tailored to you so call mint financial strategies today that number is 303-285-3080 303-285-3080 and also as you all know i totally support the usmc memorial foundation as well as the center for american values And if you’re not in Grand Lake for U.S. Constitution Week, the U.S. MC Memorial Foundation is hosting a 5K run on September 20th. You can get information about that by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That is usmcmemorialfoundation.org. And I’m talking with Colonel Bill Rutledge, 97 years young. And he has such a curiosity about people and places and history, and he’s traveled the world. And after the tragedy of the storm in Kerrville, Texas, and at Camp Mystic, all these little girls that ended up losing their lives, we look at these tragedies and we don’t realize that that we need to realize that we’ve had tragedies in the past, because many times these tragedies are being used for different narratives. I’ll just put it that way. And so Colonel Rutledge said, Kim, let’s talk about the great hurricane of Galveston, Texas, September 8, 1900. And hurricane season is June 1st until the end of November. And Colonel Rutledge, you said that we know that there were Spanish treasure ships that sank near Florida and Cuba. You grew up in Florida. And tell us about the first time you saw a hurricane.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the first time I was exposed to it, I was nine years old. I had recently moved to Florida, and I lived on the beach right on the waterfront. a huge storm that had developed, as usual, off the coast of Africa and come across. And this was the one that ultimately would strike New England and become catastrophic there for Long Island. Rhode Island, in Providence especially, was underwater. But it didn’t hit Florida. It was one of those rare ones. that came across, and then it turned and followed the Gulf Stream north. And I recall, because they did tell us over the radio, well, this storm is out there. They didn’t have the high-tech material like today. They did not have aircraft flying up to the storm area. So consequently, most of the information came from people in ships flying um captains aboard ships um so anyhow i looked out there and the ocean where we were we were about 15 miles from the gulf stream and um it was the sky was really dark i mean midday but everything looking to the east the sky was just it wasn’t black but it was a deep gray and the waves were coming in and getting bigger and bigger even on the shore where we were So we were just getting some of the side effects. And that was my first exposure. So we weren’t hit. But in 1944, we were. The traditional patterns, and I say traditional because they’re more common than not, most of these storms will start off the coast of Africa, come over towards the Gulf, enter the gulf and then they’ll tend to go in toward northeast to cross florida and that one did exactly that they normally come in over near cedar key which is north of tampa st petersburg and they’ll cross and they’ll come out usually between daytona beach and jacksonville that’s exactly what happened on that one except we were on the perimeter of jacksonville We were only 30 miles away. So our house was almost washed into the ocean. And the only thing that saved our house was it was on big pilings that went down probably 15 feet into the sand. What happens when the tide comes in with a huge storm is it just eats away the beach, the sand. It just cuts lower and lower and lower. So it’s not riding on top of the sand when it comes shore. It’s just taking all that sand away. So the house right next to us was on a regular concrete foundation. It went fast. The whole thing just collapsed. So my experience then was to get out of the way and go into the town. But nevertheless… In getting to town, there weren’t any cars moving around. So I walked to town, and my later wife’s father said, what are you doing here? I said, well, I came to the beach, but the wind was blowing so strong. He said, when you have a hurricane and it’s over 75 miles an hour, it does blow strong. So that was my first real experience with it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and let’s talk a little bit about Galveston. You mentioned this in the first segment, that one of the foremost meteorologists in the country lived in Galveston. How did they miss this, that this catastrophic storm was on its way?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, you know, even now, they will forecast from distant points where they’ve hit in the Gulf. Back in those days, most of the communications would come from ship to shore. A captain would be aboard a ship, and he would be coming towards a port and come into the port and report it. Then the people at the port could let others know about what to expect. But that didn’t exist at that time. So consequently, we had set up a weather program to predict bad storms. But unfortunately, the headquarters was in Washington, D.C., instead of close to the coast. And what had happened was there was a gentleman back there, and he knew that traditionally storms came in and followed that pattern to cross Florida to the east and then get on the Gulf Stream and go north along the Atlantic coast. And it was right, and I remember that This was two years after the Spanish-American War. And as a result of our relationship there with Cuba, the man who was the director of the program in Washington, he’d severed telephone and telegraph communications with the island. And one reason he’d done it— With Cuba or with Galveston? No, with Cuba. He severed the relations there, and this was what ultimately is a cause for so many deaths, because there were two Jesuit priests in the Havana area who developed an extensive weather predicting situation, especially for hurricanes, because they are more prevalent, of course, in Cuba. And Cuba was hit by this hurricane about the 3rd or 4th of September 1900. So the man who was in charge of the program, the priest, he went down to the southwest corner of Cuba and based upon his records which they’ve been maintaining for about 30 years. He predicted precisely that this storm was not going to turn east. This storm was going northwest, and it was going to hit the coast of Texas. But he had no way of getting the word back to the weather station because they’d already intentionally severed the relationship. It was a true case of professional jealousy. We didn’t use the expertise that was down there in order to relay that to Texas. And the circumstances in Texas did not indicate there was going to be a storm. They didn’t even know there was a storm anywhere. It was hot. It was early September. It was a week before school started. People… would go down to the beach, which wasn’t very far. And this storm was coming in on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Saturday morning, there was not any kind of rain or anything, and the weather was not too bad. It was warm. We had a good, strong breeze coming in from the south out of the Gulf, so it made larger waves. Well, the people went down there, and they really enjoyed that because then they thought they would ride the waves, and it attracted more people to the beach. Well, this was fine, except the problem was the waves kept getting larger. And in those days, they didn’t have any breakwater. They had no jetties. There was nothing on the gulf side of the island to protect it. from any kind of a tidal surge. So consequently, by early afternoon, the people started getting worried. And by late afternoon, then it started to blow. And the wind was blowing straight from the Gulf, but then the wind turned. And the wind started coming from the north, which meant it was not creating a resistance to these incoming waves at all. And so when it did that, then the hurricane itself and the eye was moving right towards the island. And this is when the fear came, because the people, they were trying to get home. They were getting off the beach. But so many homes were located right on the beach. And the orphanage was a Catholic orphanage with many children there. And it was maintained by the nuns. And it was right on the beach also. It was on the east end of the island, which had really no protection. It was not too far from where the lighthouse was, where ships would come in to Galveston Bay. So everyone started getting frantic, a little frantic. But by this time… it had gotten rough enough that they’d already had some washouts on the railroad track that connected them with the mainland. So people couldn’t go get on the train and get out of there. And very few people had boats. So they’re going to have to ride out the storm. Now, some people who were planning ahead had left, but the vast majority of the population were still on the islands Most of the houses were made out of wood, did not have foundations, did not have things like piling under them. So they’re just built flat on the sand. However, there were some that were government buildings and also the main churches and a few commercial buildings and the orphanage. These were all brick and strong. And all of those… Well, just about all of those weathered the storm, but they were terribly damaged. And even people that were in the buildings often were drawn out by the power of the wind and breaking glasses and also the tidal surge. Wow. So by the time it got dark, that’s when it really started to hit them hard.
SPEAKER 10 :
Okay, we’ll talk about that when we come back with the next segment. A couple of things I wanted to mention is, first of all, if you’re craving real New York style pizza and pasta, Little Richie’s and Parker and Golden have you covered. Authentic New York flavor with Colorado roots. From daily specials and weekday lunch deals to a happy hour worth planning around, your neighborhood favorite is always serving up something worth stopping for. And then also Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week will be September 15th through the 21st. You can get more information about all of the events and speakers by going to Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week. And they want to say thank you to the Gateway Inn. Sun Outdoors, Rick and Cindy Johnson, and Hydrotech Plumbing for their great sponsorship of the event. And Grand Lake has the premier Constitution Week in all of America. It’s very, very special. So more information, GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. And then also, important sponsor of the show is John Bozen and Bozen Law. If you’ve been injured, you want to reach out to them.
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If you would like to support the work of the Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, KimMonson.com. That’s Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com.
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SPEAKER 10 :
and welcome back to the kim monson show we are talking with colonel bill rutledge regarding the great hurricane in galveston texas in 1900 before we get to the balance of the conversation the song galveston by glenn campbell back in 1969 was an important song during the vietnam war and it’s about a soldier who is in vietnam and he is thinking about his his hometown of galveston it’s a it was a big hit for glenn campbell and we thought it was appropriate for our bumper music on this talking with colonel bill rutledge 97 years young his curiosity of people and places and histories traveled the world And the fact that he shares that with us is really a blessing to all of us. And so the great hurricane of 1900 in Galveston, the important thing, one of the important dots to connect here is this happened before everyday people were driving vehicles around, which is one of the things from the whole climate change narrative is that we need to quit driving. Quit driving. We need to quit flourishing. And I think Colonel Rutledge’s point is that we have had these catastrophic weather events throughout history. And this happened before all of the things that the climate alarmists are trying to take away from everyday people. So I think that’s important to understand. So Colonel Rutledge, before we went to break, you described the day, September 8, 1900. And people are not able to get off the island. There’s no break, anything to break the waves coming in the train. They could get off the island train or boat. The train tracks are being damaged. Nighttime arrives. You said that’s when it got really tough.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes. And it was dark now and the rain was was very strong. Today, you would describe it as Category 5, which is the largest category of a storm, which is 156 miles or up. And this one was estimated at 200 miles. It blew away the weather, meters and materials that the meteorology people had to judge things. Everything was blown away. The water from the tidal surge. was so great that at its peak, it was approximately 15 feet above the highest point on the island. The highest point was only six to eight feet. But it was just devastating. The people who were to survive, the largest number, really headed for the brick buildings, the government buildings and others, the churches, but one of the ironies was that one of the buildings that survived so well was the multi-story orphanage, and yet every single one of the nuns and all but three of the children were swept away out of their orphanage. Now, there were some other tragedies. The weather forecaster was named Dr. Klein. And he and his wife were holding hands, trying to get to one of their stronger buildings. And the surge just swept her away from him. And he was underwater and was lucky to have been able to come to the top and reach one of the concrete buildings. And years, I mean, days afterwards, they were able to find her, which was unusual, but they identified her by her wedding ring. And so she’s one of the few people that was actually identified and buried on the island. Now, everything wasn’t absolutely bad because there were a few good stories. There was a medical college, University of Texas, was on the island. And one young man was engaged to a young lady there, and her name was Daisy, and he was out of town. But he heard of the storm, and he told the people he was going to go straight back to the island, and if he found Daisy, he was going to marry her that day. And that’s what he did. He went back, and the storm had now gone on into the land, usually after that. The skies cleared up and it’s wreckage everywhere. But he found a preacher who decided that he would be more than happy to have the wedding. So they had a marriage wedding the day after the storm between the young doctor and Daisy. So that was some of the good news. But there wasn’t very much good news. And when the word got around in America, there were all sorts of relief efforts. Clara Barton, who was the founder of the American Red Cross, was 78 years old. She’d started off in the American Civil War. And she right away organized a relief train that came from the east and came all the way down to the coast. But it wasn’t… when it got there, the people said, well, we’ve set up a relief place in Houston. And Clara said, we didn’t come to Houston. We came for the island. And she and her whole team went over and were taken by boats over there. A Red Cross team also came. And they were there for many weeks to assist the people who had survived the storm.
SPEAKER 10 :
Boy, it’s heartbreaking to think each one of those deaths back in 1900 and here in 2025, there are people that love them. And, of course, I mentioned the Vietnam War and our different wars and conflicts as well. Each life that is lost or is given for a country, there’s people that love them.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, and there were some… positive things that were done right afterwards. And the colonel in charge of the Army Corps of Engineers had been there before and had plans to help protect the island, but it hadn’t come to pass then. But he stayed there, and he stayed for several years, and they did, in fact, dredge out the harbor so it was much deeper and And that made it safer also. And so it was also better for commercial shipping. But one of the ironies of this is that his name was Robert. And we know him better from what he did not as an engineer. He wrote the book Robert’s Rules of Order, which it was then and still is. the basic rules for conducting meetings and conferences all over the world. But we never before associated, at least I did never associate him with the hurricane down there and also the aftermath where he helped improve things by putting up a huge, huge breakwater. It must be 15 feet high at least. All along the gulf side of the island and also at key parts where you have entrance to the harbors. And also they did other things in the water that would break the current if they ever had a recurrence. like jetties for your entrance to the harbor.
SPEAKER 10 :
Colonel Rutledge, we are out of time. This is so informative, and I appreciate it. And the important thing is that they took action. So again, Colonel Rutledge, thank you. We are out of time. God bless you, and God bless America.
SPEAKER 13 :
the views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker commentators hosts their guests and callers they are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management employees associates or advertisers KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station
