Estes Valley Voice: After months of legal wrangling, shifting defenses, and public outcry, the Estes Valley Voice has secured a significant, albeit bittersweet, victory in its Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) lawsuit against Estes Park Health.

On July 17, Larimer County District Court Judge Carroll Michelle Brinegar ordered the taxpayer-funded hospital to pay the Voice’s legal fees and costs after it withheld a Letter of Intent tied to a major acquisition deal with UCHealth.

The court’s ruling comes after Estes Park Health, operated by the Park Hospital District, denied three separate CORA requests for the LOI between October 2024 and February 2025. The document, signed on October 3, outlines terms of a deal that would transfer operational control of the hospital to UCHealth for just $1 per year for 50 years, while local property owners would continue to pay taxes to support the facility.

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