Transgender ballot measure validated; Wyoming abortion ban causing patients to go to Colorado; High pressure system to bring record temperatures

Headlines Tuesday, March 17, 2026

  • cover play_arrow

    Transgender ballot measure validated; Wyoming abortion ban causing patients to go to Colorado; High pressure system to bring record temperatures KGNU News

 

Transgender ballot measure validated

Colorado voters will weigh in on a ballot measure in November that would block schools from letting transgender students play on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity. Under the measure, schools and athletic associations would have to designate teams as male, female or co-ed. It would prohibit boys from playing on female teams and girls from playing on male teams. It also defines male and female based on a person’s “biological reproductive system.” The measure is backed by anti-LGBTQ+ political advocacy group Protect Kids Colorado. It runs counter to recent trends in the state, which has expanded protections for transgender students over the past few years.

 

Wyoming abortion ban causing patients to go to Colorado

Last week’s abortion ban in Wyoming is already delaying care for at least a dozen patients at the state’s most comprehensive abortion provider. Governor Mark Gordon recently signed a law that bans abortions at around six weeks – which went into effect immediately.

Wellspring Health Access in Casper is fighting the ban in court. The clinic’s Executive Director Katie Knutter thinks Gordon signature was politically charged:

“It is very frustrating, especially with the Supreme Court decision that we received in January, really affirming that the Wyoming Supreme Court does believe that the Wyoming State Constitution does protect the right to abortion” said Knutter.

Despite a ban that lasted seven weeks last year, the Casper clinic still provided over 300 abortions. The clinic now hopes for another court-ordered pause on the latest ban by April.

This story was reported by Jenna McMurtry for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

 

Boulder’s Valmont station still without approved coal ash cleanup plan expected to take 10 years to complete; Changes to EPA regulations will not impact project.

Coal was burned at the Valmont Power Station, near 63rd and Arapahoe in Boulder for almost 100 years, ending in 2017. Coal ash, the byproduct of coal burning, is still sitting in landfills on the property almost nine years later with no approved plan to clean it up. Xcel has submitted two plans to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to clean up the coal ash, but neither has been approved.

The focal point of the cleanup plans is an unlined landfill with over one and a half million tons of toxic coal ash.The coal ash has contaminated groundwater and the air nearby the site.

A Kentucky-based business conducting the cleanup, has a two parts plan for remediating the site – removal and reuse of the coal ash and cleanup of impacted groundwater.

Coal ash can contain toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury. High levels of lithium and selenium have also been found in the water on and near the site. CDPHE confirmed, however, that the contamination does not affect any public water supplies or private drinking wells.

Xcel submitted the corrective measures design to CDPHE, which was returned to them for revisions on Feb. 23. CDPHE has yet to receive a revised engineering design and operations plan and noted that there will be a public comment period before approval of this plan.

Related to this, there is a huge shift in coal ash regulation at the federal level.

In February, the EPA pushed back the deadline for coal ash site cleanup from May 2029 to Feb. 2032. Additionally the deadline for groundwater monitoring requirements were pushed from May 2028 to Feb. 2031.

CDPHE and Xcel said the Valmont project won’t be impacted by these changes. Valmont falls under Colorado’s Solid Waste Regulations, not the federal regulations.

READ MORE

 

High pressure system to bring record temperatures

Forecasters are predicting record high temperatures this week across the Western United States. That’s due to a high pressure system creating a massive heat dome, pushing temperatures into the 80s at higher elevations and even close to 100 degrees in the Southwest.

Russ Schumacher is Colorado’s state climatologist and director of the Colorado Climate Center at CSU. He says the biggest concern in Colorado and other mountain states is the snowpack, which is already dismal thanks to a record-breaking warm and dry winter.

“The warmth will maybe last five to seven days in, in that really extreme level, but it doesn’t look like it’s gonna really cool off or get real snowy the week after that either. So it is not a great outlook coming up for the snowpack,” he said.

Schumacher says the heat could lead to a very early melt, which would be bad news for the outdoor recreation economy and wildfire conditions.

This story was reported by Caroline Llanes for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

 

 

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.

Picture of KGNU News

KGNU News

Search

Now Playing

play_arrow

Live Broadcast

Recent Stories

Upcoming Events

KGNU PARTNERS

Want to help us build a better radio station?

We’re conducting a survey to help us understand how our listeners are using new technology. Please spend 15 minutes to let us know what you think.

Public media moves forward because you listen, watch, share and support. Thank you for being part of this community — and for helping us continue the journey during Public Media Giving Days.