{"id":491606,"date":"2026-06-19T15:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T21:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/?p=491606"},"modified":"2026-06-19T16:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T22:07:21","slug":"celebrated-colorado-political-reporter-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradosun.com\/2026\/06\/19\/celebrated-colorado-political-reporter-dies\/","title":{"rendered":"Lynn Bartels, reporter and “Grand Dame” of Colorado politics, dies at 69"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Veteran Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post political reporter Lynn Bartels\u2019 family announced she has died<\/a>. She was 69.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are heartbroken,\u201d the family wrote on her social media profile. \u201cWe have been overwhelmed by the love that all of you have shared. It will lift us through the coming days and will stay with us forever.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at denverite.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bartels was diagnosed with brain cancer earlier this year, news that garnered a groundswell of tributes to her three-decade career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her family is planning a memorial service to honor her legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bartels will be remembered as a dogged reporter who often scooped her peers, built strong relationships with sources and held people in power from both parties to account with humor. She knew more about what was going on in Colorado politics than most and earned access to tidbits of gossip that made her political stories come to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back when the now shuttered Denver restaurant Racines was a hub for politicos, she would hold court with Colorado\u2019s who\u2019s who. When she sat with you, she made you feel like the most important person in the world. She\u2019d peer into your eyes, magnetically drawing out tidbits of information few others could glean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a decade after she left newsrooms, she is still remembered for her body of work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo journalist in the last 30 years did a better job covering Colorado politics with such grit, tirelessness, and humor,\u201d 9News journalist Kyle Clark recently wrote on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bartels moved to Colorado in 1993, when she began working as a night cops reporter for the Rocky Mountain News. She worked at the Rocky from 1993 until the paper closed in 2009. The Denver Post<\/a> then hired her, and she worked there until 2015 before leaving journalism to work as the communications director for then-Republican Secretary of State Wayne Williams. She also wrote for the Albuquerque Tribune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHer work is such a great legacy,\u201d wrote investigative reporter Sandra Fish on social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Independence Institute President Jon Caldara remembered her<\/a> as both a friend and a tough reporter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBartels reported on me off and on for decades, and she could be rough,\u201d he wrote on social media. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t personal. It was her job to go after anyone involved in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former Republican Sen. Cory Gardner described her as \u201cthe Grand Dame of Colorado politics and political reporting.\u201d<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHer work defined Colorado politics, its leadership, and the intrigue of power,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cShe did so with integrity and truth, without regard to \u2018sides.\u2019\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ProgressNow Colorado commentator Alan Franklin was a frequent critic of Bartels, accusing her of writing hit pieces against his favorite candidates. But he also acknowledged she made Colorado politics \u201cmore interesting and relatable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was a better person and journalist than I gave her credit for in life,\u201d he wrote upon news of her death<\/a>. \u201cWhich is sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was deeply loved by friends, colleagues and the people she covered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLynn\u2019s infectious personality and ongoing quest for selfies made her someone that everyone wanted to know,\u201d Gov. Jared Polis wrote on X. \u201cAnd her sharp wit kept readers coming back for more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorado Sun political editor Jesse Paul remembered Bartels for the encouragement she provided<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHer institutional knowledge was unmatched,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with support from news outlets throughout the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The former Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post reporter was celebrated for her relentless reporting, deep sources and infectious personality<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":244438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"credibility_indicators":{"original_reporting":false,"on_the_ground":false,"sources_cited":false,"subject_specialist":false},"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-06-19T21:39:24Z","apple_news_api_id":"eca6463d-ed67-4976-b0e1-8b4bb32e5f92","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-06-19T22:07:20Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A7KZGPe1nSXaw4YtLsy5fkg","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"The former Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post reporter was celebrated for her relentless reporting, deep sources and infectious personality","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,30,34],"tags":[21878,164,48,39,23078,1312,1846,1314],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"type-of-work":[20900],"coauthors":[22286],"class_list":["post-491606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coloradans","category-news","category-politics","tag-colorado-capitol-news-alliance","tag-colorado-general-assembly","tag-colorado-legislature","tag-colorado-politics","tag-denver-post","tag-journalism","tag-rocky-mountain-news","tag-the-denver-post","type-of-work-news-service","entry"],"credibility_indicators":[{"description":"This article contains firsthand information gathered by reporters. This includes directly interviewing sources and analyzing primary source documents.","label":"Original Reporting","slug":"original_reporting","icon":"<\/svg>"},{"description":"A journalist was physically present to report the article from some or all of the locations it concerns.","label":"On the Ground","slug":"on_the_ground","icon":"<\/svg>"},{"description":"This article includes a list of source material, including documents and people, so you can follow the story further.","label":"References","slug":"sources_cited","icon":"<\/g><\/svg>\n"},{"description":"The journalist and\/or newsroom have\/has a deep knowledge of the topic, location or community group covered in this article.","label":"Subject Specialist","slug":"subject_specialist","icon":"<\/svg>"}],"fact_brief":null,"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrated Colorado politics reporter Lynn Bartels dies<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n