Colorado Senate Bid to Secure NCAR Funding Fails, State of the State Address Highlights, Proposed Class Action Lawsuit in Denver Over Contaminated Gas

Headlines Friday, January 16, 2026

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    Colorado Senate Bid to Secure NCAR Funding Fails, State of the State Address Highlights, Proposed Class Action Lawsuit in Denver Over Contaminated Gas KGNU News

Colorado Senate Bid to Secure NCAR Funding Fails

The National Center for Atmospheric Research, or N-Car in Boulder did not get any funding in the recently-passed appropriations package.

That’s despite efforts from Colorado’s senators to secure money for the facility, which employs over a thousand scientists and works on weather forecasting, aviation safety, disaster preparedness, and military operations, among other things.

Last month, the Trump administration said it would dismantle the facility, calling it a “source of climate alarmism.” Senate Republicans blocked the amendment put forth by Colorado’s senators.

Senator John Hickenlooper said that N-car was just one example of retaliation against Colorado by the Trump administration. He said the lack of N-car funding made America less safe, and that the threat of climate disasters like wildfires and hurricanes will remain.

CO State of the State Address Highlights

Governor Polis gave his final state of the state address yesterday before a joint session of the Colorado legislature. The speech was sentimental, but also laid out his priorities for his last year in office.

Polis opened on a somber note, reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, and mass shootings that happened during his two terms. But then he highlighted some of his favorite achievements, like free kindergarten, universal preschool and making progress on Colorado’s clean energy goals. Polis also criticized the Trump administration over funding cuts to states, imposing tariffs and its hardline immigration policies.

Looking ahead, Polis urged lawmakers to tackle some of his remaining priorities this year, like building more affordable housing. He also expressed frustration over the cost of Medicaid and its growing burden on Colorado’s budget. 

That report comes to KGNU from the Colorado Capital News Alliance

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Proposed Class Action Lawsuit in Denver Over Contaminated Gas

A class action lawsuit was filed Tuesday for those who are experiencing car troubles after they were sold contaminated gas at stations around the Denver Metro area. The lawsuit was filed by a Littleton resident named Ryan Mahone filing for himself and, “all similarly situated persons” experiencing problems with their vehicle after using contaminated gas distributed by HF Sinclair to stations around the Denver Metro.

Mahone’s lawyers, Franklin D. Azar & Associates, told the Denver Post they’ve yet to have their case certified as a class action suit, but they’ve received hundreds of calls about the case. Frank Azar also told The Post he anticipates the situation being held up for years, in part, because there will be many similar suits aimed between specific gas stations and Sinclair.

As of Wednesday morning, Colorado’s Division of Oil and Public Safety had received more than 600 complaints from concerned parties experiencing engine issues after filling up their car at a contaminated station. 

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Mountain Village Mayor Steps Down After Alert of Investigation into 

Mountain Village Mayor Marti Prohaska stepped down as the ski resort-adjacent town’s mayor Wednesday night amid an investigation into a meeting she had in December that floated the idea of Mountain Village purchasing the Telluride Ski Resort. The investigation was to look into a meeting Telluride Mayor Pro Tem Meehan Fee and Mayor Prohaska had with Chris Horning owner of Telluride resort in mid December while Telluride Ski Patrol was striking for better compensation, shutting down the ski resort. The two elected officials said they had enlisted investors to complete a deal where their towns would own a majority stake in the resort, though neither leader informed their town’s elected councils of their visit as they said they went to their meeting representing themselves as town residents  and not officials.

A Contract confirming the sale of a majority of the resort was posted anonymously earlier this week, causing Horning to pull out of the deal. The town of Mountain Village announced Prohaska’s resignation yesterday – Mayor pro tem Scott Pearson saying him and town council will vote soon to elect a new mayor to fill the vacancy.

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You can hear daily headlines on the Morning Magazine, KGNU’s weekday morning show with coverage of local and regional public affairs and news with headlines and commentary. Click here to listen to full episodes of the Morning Magazine.

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