Burgum defends wind and solar review rule; Drilling project near Aurora Reservoir approved; Boulder weighing FAA grants for airport

Headlines Thursday, April 23, 2026

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    Burgum defends wind and solar review rule; Drilling project near Aurora Reservoir approved; Boulder weighing FAA grants for airport KGNU News

Burgum defends wind and solar review rule

In a hearing before the House appropriations committee on Monday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the department’s policy of secretary-level reviews for solar and wind projects on public land.

Environmentalists say it’s another way that the Trump administration is propping up the fossil fuels agenda.

Rocky Mountain Community Radio’s Caroline Llanes reported this story. 

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Drilling project near Aurora Reservoir approved

Despite opposition from residents, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, or the ECMC, has voted to approve Crestone Peak Resources’ plan to drill 24 wells on the State Sunlight-Long drill pad, near the Aurora Reservoir. The reservoir is used for recreation and provides water for Aurora and surrounding communities

The oil and gas drill site was opposed by area residents through a grassroots group called Save the Aurora Reservoir, or STAR, which hired an attorney and expert witnesses to appear before the ECMC.

The oil and gas development plan was the subject of seven hearings over several days. Commissioners said it was one the largest shows of community opposition in memory. 

STAR said it, “could not be more disappointed with the ECMC’s decision.” 

The organization has raised $100,000 for legal fees and organized nearly 2,500 active members.

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Boulder weighing FAA grants for airport

At a study session this evening, the Boulder City Council will consider whether to once again accept grant money from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at Boulder’s municipal airport.

Boulder accepted its most recent FAA grant in 2020. Grant assurances require Boulder to keep the airport operating in perpetuity, with that particular grant expiring around 2040. Now the council is meeting to discuss whether to accept another FAA grant or let the current one expire in 2040.

Laura Kaplan is one of the organizers of the Airport Neighborhood Campaign, a group of residents who live near the airport and want it to close.

Kaplan said,  ” Even people who like the idea of having an airport there should be really wary of handing over our rights for 174 acres of city-owned land to the FAA forever in a decision that the voters cannot reverse. It’ll be out of the city’s hands forever.”

The group is concerned about the environmental and health effects of leaded aviation fuel, among other things.

Kaplan also said, “The grant assurances are the reason why we are still selling loaded aviation fuel at that airport, even though it is toxic and has disproportionate impacts on the people who live closest to the airport. It’s also the reason why we cannot have a noise ordinance that applies to pilots.”

If the city decides not to accept another FAA grant, airport maintenance through 2040 will cost the city an estimated $9 million, or between 6 and 7 hundred thousand dollars per year.

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CO lawmakers agree to fund TREP program for one more year

Colorado lawmakers have agreed to a one-year extension of a state-funded teacher development program that’s being phased out due to budget constraints. 

The Joint Budget Committee has agreed to fund the Teacher Recruitment Education and Preparation Program, or TREP, for one more year.

The TREP program promised to fully fund the first two years of an education degree for Colorado high school students who want to be public school teachers. The JBC ended the program in its proposed budget bill released earlier this month. 

The move abruptly upended college plans for roughly 200 high school seniors across the state who had already been accepted into the program and were relying on the money to pay for college. The extension would give those students extra time to figure out alternatives. 

The House and Senate still have to approve the committee’s final budget before it heads to the governor’s desk.

This story was reported by the Colorado Capital News Alliance.

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Boulder signs sister city agreement with Vinnytsia, Ukraine

Yesterday, Gov. Jared Polis joined the mayor of Boulder and other local leaders to sign a sister city agreement between Boulder and the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia. 

The partnership comes after years of collaboration between civic groups in both communities. Leaders say the agreement could expand cultural, economic, and academic connections.

Last year, Vinnytsia’s deputy mayor, Vlad Skalsky, visited Boulder to talk with local leaders about the importance of building those ties, especially during wartime. He described it as a form of social diplomacy.

 Skalsky said, “The battlefield for democracy and freedom is currently in Ukraine. If this support will be visible, if everybody will provide us with the understanding, with these informal connections, it gives us motivation for the future. It gives us an understanding that everything in the past was not useless. It has a chance for the future.”

Earlier this year, Governor Polis also signed a sister-state agreement between Colorado and Ukraine’s Volyn region, aimed at expanding cooperation across government, education, and business.

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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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