Headlines Tuesday, June 16, 2026
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BoCo Commissioners declare data center moratorium; JeffCo Schools refute Department of Education allegations; Gun group challenges new state law KGNU News
BoCo Commissioners declare data center moratorium
County commissioners have passed a temporary moratorium on both data centers and detention facilities in unincorporated Boulder County.
At a meeting on June 2, commissioners agreed upon a six-month moratorium on the planning and construction of data centers and detention facilities.
Planning applications for these facilities will be instantly denied during this period, as Boulder County looks to amend its Land Use Code.
Commissioner Marta Loachamin said, “The natural resource and climate impacts of data centers and detention centers across the country are concerning. The county’s Land Use Code may need a prohibition on data centers and detention centers, so this use isn’t left up to future interpretation.”
JeffCo Schools refute Department of Education allegations
The Jefferson County school district is refuting an allegation by the Trump administration’s Education Department that there are sixty-one boys competing on the district’s girls’ sports teams.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights made that charge in March, claiming that the district was in violation of anti-discrimination laws.
But in a letter to the community, the school district said last week that no boys were playing on the teams that the Education Department cited. Some of those teams, they explained, had male managers, trainers, and mascots, but not athletes.
They also said that they were never asked to clarify the situation before the Education Department made their allegations public. Since then, the district’s letter said, they have repeatedly asked the government to address their mistake, but they have declined to do so.
Under the Trump administration’s Office for Civil Rights, school districts with policies that protect transgender students are being targeted, according to Chalkbeat, which said the Education Department has not answered their requests for comment.
Jefferson County schools were first targeted by the Trump administration a year ago, when the Education Department investigated the district’s sleeping arrangement policy for transgender students during overnight school trips.
The government last week threatened to withhold federal funding if the district doesn’t change its policies.
The Jefferson County School District is the second-largest in Colorado. They have said all along that they are in compliance with the state’s anti-discrimination law, which, they added, “directly contradicts” the Trump administration.
Gun group challenges new state law
A firearms group has filed a lawsuit challenging a new state law that tightens regulations for Colorado gun dealers.
The new law requires firearm dealers to hold a federal and a state license to operate. It also allows the collection of additional fines, increases record-keeping requirements, and regulates some aspects of how gun shops are set up.
Rep. Steven Woodrow, who sponsored the bill establishing the law, said it builds on the state’s permit-to-sell policy to prevent firearm theft and protect Coloradans from gun violence.
The executive director of the Colorado State Shooting Association, which is now challenging the law in court, said, “Colorado’s leaders continue to pass laws that burden the rights of responsible citizens while failing to address the criminals who actually commit violent offenses.”
Bad tick season ahead
We could be in for a worse-than-usual tick season this summer.
State health officials say this year’s mild winter, coupled with a warmer-than-usual spring, are combining to give tick season a head start.
Ticks are parasitic arachnids that attach themselves to mammals and suck their blood. They are known to carry diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which are rare but serious.
Officials say that ticks live all over Colorado. They advise that whenever you’re outdoors, especially when you’ll be hiking in the woods or through tall grass, wear insect repellent — in particular, one that is Environmental Protection Agency-registered.
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