Headlines Thursday, October 16, 2025
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Nebraska Supreme Court Case, AI Working Group, State Health Official Resignation, Boulder County Considers Slowing Minimum Wage Increase KGNU News
Colorado asks Supreme Court to reject Nebraska water lawsuit
Governor Jared Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser are urging the US Supreme Court to reject a lawsuit filed against Colorado this summer by the state of Nebraska. The lawsuit alleges Colorado violated a century-old water agreement on the South Platte River by illegally diverting water and preventing it from getting to Nebraska’s farmers. Governor Polis pushed back at a press conference yesterday, saying “we won’t sit by while Nebraska chases a meritless and premature lawsuit that circumvents their rights under the agreement and threatens our water resources and our rural communities in northeastern Colorado.”
Polis and Weiser said the lawsuit’s allegations are not supported by evidence. They also rejected claims that Colorado is obstructing Nebraska’s efforts to build the Perkins County Canal, a contentious proposal to divert water from the South Platte River across the border into Nebraska.
Polis convenes AI regulation working group
Today, Governor Polis is convening a working group, made up of technology companies and consumer advocates, to rewrite the state’s AI regulations. The Denver Post reports that this is the second time in a little more than a year that the state has tried to land a consensus on regulating artificial intelligence, and that while AI companies say Colorado’s regulations are too stifling, consumer advocacy groups say they aren’t doing enough. Those regulations generally seek to prevent discrimination by AI used in hiring or lending decisions. This comes weeks after a contentious special session ended without a negotiated settlement to the now 18-month-old AI conflict.
State health official resigned after apparent sexual harassment investigation.
The Denver Post uncovered records that show Scott Bookman, who was head of Colorado’s COVID-19 response, resigned earlier this summer after an apparent sexual harassment complaint.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment didn’t publicly announce the departure of Bookman, one of the agency’s top-ranking officials. But a partially redacted letter that the state health department provided to The Denver Post under a Colorado Open Records Act Request, showed Bookman was under investigation July 23.
When asked why it was redacted, the health department cited a records law exemption for sexual harassment complaints. Bookman resigned two days later, on July 25.
The department’s records unit said the investigation was completed, but declined to release any information about the allegations or whether the probe found any wrongdoing.
Boulder County considers slowing minimum wage increases
Boulder County commissioners are weighing a proposal to slow the pace of minimum wage increases after hearing from farmers and Niwot business owners who say labor costs are too high. Boulder County’s current minimum wage is 16 dollars and 57 cents an hour and is scheduled to rise to 25 dollars an hour by 2030. But, according to the Boulder Reporting Lab, commissioners considered revising that at Tuesday’s public hearing.
The county adopted the current wage schedule in 2023, hoping that cities like Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville and Longmont would do the same. But only the City of Boulder opted to raise its minimum wage, resulting in inconsistencies across the county.
Several local farmers and business owners at the hearing said labor accounts for more than half of their total costs. Workers’ advocates urged commissioners to keep the current wage schedule. Boulder County Commissioners will meet again next Tuesday, Oct. 21
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