Headlines Thursday, June 18, 2026
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New attack ad targeting Melat Kiros marks escalation in Democratic race; Bureau of Land Management announces lease of 134 thousand acres of land in Colorado; Valmont coal ash cleanup KGNU News
New attack ad targeting Melat Kiros marks escalation in Democratic race
The Democratic race to represent Denver is growing more combative just as voters receive primary ballots. A new attack ad targeting 1st Congressional District challenger Melat Kiros marks an escalation in a race deciding whether voters want change or the experience of U.S. Representative Diana DeGette.
The ad underscores how seriously Democratic allies are taking Kiros’ challenge to the longtime incumbent in the three-way race, which includes University of Colorado regent Wanda James.
Last week, a super PAC called Mile High Accountability Project released an ad claiming President Trump “loves” Democrats like Kiros who “attack” the party. Kiros called the ad “lazy” and rejected its claims in an interview with Axios.
She also criticized DeGette’s campaign for promoting a blog post that suggested Kiros had rationalized the murder of Jews, calling the characterization “horrifically racist and dangerous.”
Meanwhile, Kiros says three venues scheduled to host a Sunday rally featuring left-wing streamer Hasan Piker canceled on her campaign because of what she called political pressure.
The rally ultimately went forward outside the Colorado Capitol. Kiros’ campaign says the event helped generate $27,000 from roughly 1,000 donors over a 24-hour period.
The haul bolsters Kiros’ argument that she can compete with DeGette’s better-funded campaign, which has received support from multiple PACs.
Bureau of Land Management announces lease of 134 thousand acres of land in Colorado
The Bureau of Land Management announced this week that it has leased over 134-thousand acres of land in Colorado, bringing in over 35 million dollars in revenue.
86 percent of the acreage put up by the agency was leased at auction — indicating a very high level of interest from fossil fuel companies.
Most of the parcels were in Northwest Colorado, with a few on the Front Range as well.
But operators are allowed to hold onto leases for ten years without drilling, which environmental advocates say creates uncertainty for valuable landscapes.
Juli Slivka says “it’s a real threat when the oil and gas industry owns public lands. Regardless of where the market’s at, regardless of what their near term plans are, they do get to hold those lands for 10 years and whenever they decide they want to drop a drill rig, they have the right to do that.”
She says the Trump administration used the One Big Beautiful Bill to create policies that favor the fossil fuels industry like reduced royalty rates and a requirement that the BLM lease any parcels nominated by the oil and gas industry.
Valmont coal ash cleanup
Colorado regulators are reviewing Xcel Energy’s final plan to clean up groundwater contamination caused by decades of coal ash disposal at the Valmont Power Station.
The project, which could begin construction as early as late summer, follows years of contamination that migrated beyond the company’s property and was detected in at least one nearby residential well.
The proposed system would pump contaminated groundwater from beneath the site and transport it for treatment, a first-of-its-kind project in Colorado.
According to the Boulder Reporting Lab, environmental advocates say the cleanup may fall short if a second coal ash landfill near the power plant is also contributing to the pollution.
A second coal ash landfill sits northeast of the power plant. Because it was no longer operating when the Environmental Protection Agency adopted nationwide coal ash cleanup requirements in 2015, it was initially excluded from federal regulations.
That changed in 2024, when the EPA expanded its coal ash rules to cover so-called legacy landfills, including the one at Valmont. The updated regulations do not establish firm cleanup deadlines, however, and Xcel has not yet proposed a remediation plan for the site. The Trump administration has since proposed rolling back those requirements.
The uncertainty surrounding that landfill has become one of the central questions hanging over the broader cleanup effort.
For the Valmont Station cleanup, Xcel still needs several federal, state and local permits, including grading, stormwater and floodplain permits from Boulder County.
It’s expected they will take five to seven months to build the infrastructure needed. Depending on regulatory approvals, the system could begin operating in early 2027.
Denver’s Juneteenth celebration returns to Five Points this weekend
Denver’s free Juneteenth celebration returns to the historic Five Points neighborhood this weekend — bigger and bolder with a three-day extravaganza.
Organizers expanded this year’s festival after scaling back some of last year’s programming when corporate sponsorship waned back amid broader DEI rollbacks.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free, and supporters say it should be viewed as an American celebration, not just a Black holiday.
President Biden signed Juneteenth into law in 2021 after Congress passed the measure with broad bipartisan support. Colorado made it a state holiday in 2022.
Trump has moved to make the holiday less prominent symbolically. He declined to issue a Juneteenth proclamation in 2025, posting on Truth Social that America has “too many non-working holidays.”
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