Headlines Tuesday, June 23, 2026
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Bear interaction causes JeffCo park closure; NASA selects CU Boulder mission concept; Denver Affordable Housing Plan expedited KGNU News
Bear interaction causes JeffCo park closure
A Jefferson County park remains closed today, and is not expected to reopen until a threat from bears has passed.
Apex Park in Golden closed early yesterday because of what was termed “aggressive bear activity” in the area.
A bear followed a hiker for more than half an hour on Sunday afternoon, after it grabbed her backpack and made contact with her leg. She evaded the animal, but it reportedly followed other hikers, too.
Apex Park is about eight hundred acres, and has more than ten miles of trails that are popular with hikers and bikers.
Colorado wildlife officials have warned that the state’s ongoing dry conditions can deplete food sources for area wildlife, making bears and other wild animals more likely to venture into populated areas.
That includes the Boulder area, where residents were warned in April to use bear-resistant trash containers.
Last month, bears were spotted in Louisville, Arvada, Wheat Ridge, and as far east as Keenesburg.
NASA selects CU Boulder mission concept
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has chosen a mission concept led by CU-Boulder to study the Earth’s space weather systems.
The Dynamic Atmosphere-Ionosphere Explorer mission, or DAPHNE, now goes to Phase B of its development, according to a CU press release. Phase B includes planning and design for flight and mission operations.
The mission is still subject to a confirmation review next year. But as it’s currently planned, DAPHNE will use identical satellites to study how changes in the earth’s lower atmosphere influence the upper atmosphere. That, in turn, could help to answer questions about how the Earth interacts with the sun.
The mission has been called a low-risk, high-return investigation, and was a top priority in a National Academy of Sciences survey.
Its major partners include BAE Systems in Boulder, and the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
Denver Affordable Housing Plan expedited
The City of Denver has introduced a plan that could speed up the time it takes to build new affordable housing.
New affordable development projects that meet specific eligibility criteria can apply for plan review and permitting, and can have them approved in ninety calendar days.
That’s according to a press release issued yesterday.
In announcing the ninety-day review process, Mayor Mike Johnston said Denver should be a place where everyone who wants to work and live, can afford to do so,
Pueblo County wildfire under investigation
The cause of a wildfire in Pueblo County Sunday remains under investigation. The fire began Sunday night and burned several homes before firefighters were able to bring it under control around 11pm.
The exact number of homes that burned in the Applewood fire along I-25 south of Pueblo is not currently known.
Residents of a mobile home park were forced to evacuate. An evacuation order was lifted on Monday morning.
There have been no reports of fatalities or injuries.
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