CO Supreme Court orders Children’s Hospital to offer gender-affirming care to transgender youth; Trump administration releases $47 million for CO water projects after long delay

Headlines Tuesday, May 19, 2026

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    CO Supreme Court orders Children’s Hospital to offer gender-affirming care to transgender youth; Trump administration releases $47 million for CO water projects after long delay KGNU News

CO Supreme Court orders Children’s Hospital to offer gender-affirming care to transgender youth

The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered Children’s Hospital Colorado to restart gender-affirming care for transgender youth. This comes as the hospital decided to pause services such as hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers for gender-affirming purposes in January.

This decision was made by Children’s Hospital Colorado, UCHealth and Denver Health amidst threats from the Trump Administration to cut funding. UCHealth and Denver Health have not faced lawsuits.

Families of four children sued, citing that the Children’s Hospital continued to provide the same services to cisgender youth while pausing them for transgender youth based on discrimination.

A spokeswoman for Children’s Hospital Colorado said the hospital was examining the ruling yesterday morning and could not yet comment. In 2025, Children’s Hospital Colorado treated 257 kids with puberty blockers and 549 with hormone replacement therapy for gender dysphoria.

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Trump administration releases $47 million for CO water projects after long delay

The Trump administration has released $47 million in long-awaited federal funding for four crucial Colorado water projects aiming to fight the Colorado River Basin’s prolonged drought. The grants were frozen for nearly a year and a half under an executive order reviewing Biden-era spending, leaving local water managers uncertain.

The money represents about a third of the funding originally promised to Colorado to restore ecosystems, repair aging infrastructure, and improve watershed health on the Southern Ute Reservation. While local officials welcome the sudden release following a historically dry winter, they note it will still take several months to finalize federal contracts before the money reaches the state.

Roughly $92 million remains frozen under federal review, leaving several major conservation projects in jeopardy, including a $40 million purchase of Colorado River water rights. Colorado lawmakers from both parties say they will continue pushing federal agencies until the remaining funds are released.

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Douglas County adult dies from hantavirus unrelated to MV Hondius

State public health authorities have confirmed that an adult from Douglas County has died from a hantavirus infection, marking Colorado’s first death from the disease since 2024. Officials emphasize that the death is unrelated to the high-profile cruise ship outbreak making global headlines, but it is instead linked to local rodent exposure.

While a separate strain of hantavirus has sickened passengers at sea, Colorado’s local infections stem from the “Sin Nombre” strain, which is carried by deer mice and does not spread person-to-person. Health officials note that spring and summer are prime seasons for exposure as residents encounter infected rodent droppings during seasonal cleaning.

The state health department assures the public that the current risk to the general community remains low, though Colorado historically ranks second in the nation for human hantavirus infections. Federal health experts urge anyone cleaning up after rodents to use disinfectant and gloves rather than sweeping or vacuuming, which can spread the virus into the air.

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Broomfield Town Square vote delayed as discussions continue

A Broomfield City Council vote regarding the highly watched Town Square project was postponed to later this year amid a request from the developer team about financing for the potentially over-$200 million development.

The planned Broomfield Town Square development could be a 39-acre site north of 120th Avenue and east of Main Street. It may include hundreds of apartments, some townhomes, along with retail, dining and work spaces.

The developer team requested an extension on their approved tax-increment financing. This financing returns sales, property, and use tax revenue to the developers. The vote has been postponed to continue discussing an extension of the agreement from 2044 to 2050. This extension would add about $14 million to the city’s financial contribution.

The team also requested to delay a deadline related to the site development plan. Developers have not been issued building permits within the 3-year window required by Broomfield’s municipal code. If the project does not meet that deadline, the council could revoke the plan and halt the project. The extension would give the developers until mid-March 2028 to be issued building permits.

Any formal decision would go to the council at a meeting where public comment would be taken before any vote is made on extending the site development plan or tax-increment agreement.

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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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