Biography

Bob Ewegen was raised on a farm in northeastern Colorado’s Phillips County that has been in his family since 1887. The serious dust storms that struck the area in the 1950s help spark his interest in protecting the fragile environment of the high plains region.

Bob has received more than 30 writing awards in a 45-year career in journalism that began on the University of Colorado student newspaper, The Colorado Daily. While pursuing his B.S. in journalism from CU, Bob also worked with the Westminster Journal and Public Service Co. of Colorado in its public relations department. When he was editor-in-chief of the Daily in 1966-67, it was ranked as one of the top five student newspapers in the U.S.

In 1967, Bob went to work for United Press International in Denver. A year later, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and, after basic training, was assigned to the information office at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. He later edited the post newspaper, The Pointer View. After his release from the Army in 1970, Bob returned to UPI in Denver and began pursuing an M.S. degree in economics and labor relations from CU. In July, 1970, he joined The Denver Post as a reporter. He finished his M.S. in 1972. His courses in environmental economics convinced him that often the supposed trade-offs between environmental values and economic benefits are often based on false assumptions. Indeed, many insults to the environment, such as development of the Tongass wilderness in Alaska, only occur because government artificially subsidizes development in areas that both wise economics and environmental stewardship argue should be left alone.

Bob spent more than 36 years at The Post, 31 of which were spent on the editorial page as an editorial writer, columnist and deputy editor. He was recognized as one of the paper’s top authorities on state taxes and budgets as well as complicated natural resource issues including water, oil shale, and environmental issues.

After retiring from The Post in November, 2008, Bob decided he was still too young to, as he put it, “become one of these bitter old men who sit around writing letters complaining about their property taxes.” Realizing that he had spent 45 years primarily researching and writing on public policy issues, he decided to pursue a long-standing interest in law by earning his paralegal certificate from the Community College of Denver — with a 4.0 average — and joining in his daughter’s law practice.Bob lives in Denver’s Capitol Hill area with his wife, novelist and Super-Mom Yvonne Montgomery, two Dachshunds, Maguffin and Riley; and two cats, Shadow and Oreo. His attorney daughter, Misty, is one of the partners of Ellis Wright & Ewegen, and his son, Shane, was recently reward his Ph.D.in Philosophy at Boston College and now teaches philosophy at Stonehill College in Easton Massachusetts.