Colorado sues Trump admin over energy funding; New congressional districts proposed; Western voters support environmental protections

Headlines Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

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Colorado sues Trump admin over energy funding

Colorado and thirteen other states are suing the Trump administration after it canceled eight billion dollars in federal energy funding. That includes more than six-hundred million dollars for energy projects in Colorado. The funding supports research on carbon storage, methane reduction and next-generation solar technology at various Colorado universities and state agencies. The Trump administration says it’s ending “Green New Deal” spending. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser argues the cuts are politically motivated and an overreach of Presidential power.

 

Flu cases on the rise

Flu cases have been on the rise across the country this winter. Boulder County Public Health data shows that for the past two years, hospitalizations for Flu-like illness have peaked at 5.8 and 5.5 instances per 100,000 people. But this flu season, the peak was 7.9, an almost 44% increase. Hospitalizations for RSV and Covid-19 were down this year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that 15 pediatric influenza-associated deaths in early January bring the national total to 32. 90% of deaths have been in children who were not vaccinated for influenza. Carrie Godes with Garfield County Public Health said, “We’ve seen a pretty bad year for influenza, especially among our pediatric population, but in Garfield County, we were looking back at our numbers and it’s pretty much double what it was last year for the same time period.”

Officials are expecting a second spike in influenza rates in February, and Godes says it’s not too late to get the shot.

“So every year the efficacy rates of the vaccine are a little bit different, and this year it actually does seem to be a fairly good match. We never seem to get it perfect, and there is no such thing as perfect. But this year, the efficacy has ranged between 72 and 75% for children 60% for adults. That doesn’t mean that you’re not gonna get the flu. It can, you know, maybe keep some people from getting the flu, but really what it’s designed to do is keep you from having severe outcomes, which would be severe illness and death, so it lowers your risk for those things.”

The vaccination rate in the county has recently risen from 24 to 25.8%. Godes says this is likely in response to the severe season. This story was reported by KDNK’s Lily Jones for Rocky Mountain Community Radio. 

Information about vaccines for respiratory illness can be found at bouldercounty.gov/families.

 

New congressional districts proposed

A proposed ballot measure announced Wednesday would ask voters in November to let Colorado draw new Congressional districts. The proposal would favor Democrats to win seven out of the state’s eight districts – up from the four they hold now. It would also temporarily override Colorado’s independent redistricting process. And, if voters approve the measure, the state would join the wider redistricting battle playing out across the country. 

But it has a long way to go before it’s actually on the ballot. For that to happen, supporters have to collect about 125,000 voter signatures. A new organization called Coloradans for a Level Playing Field is behind the effort. This organization seeks to combat Republican-led redistricting efforts across the nation. Colorado’s current congressional map was drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission in 2021.

Boulder County’s district could be impacted dramatically, as the proposed plan lumps it with historically red counties in western Colorado, such as Moffat and Garfield. 

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Western voters support environmental protections, says poll

Western voters support protections for federal public lands, clean air and water, and wildlife habitat, according to polling data. Colorado College’s annual “Conservation in the West” poll surveys over 3-thousand voters across eight Western states, conducted by Democratic and Republican polling firms.

Across the region, 76% of voters surveyed would like to see their elected officials put more emphasis on protecting recreation and wildlife habitat than on mining and drilling on public lands… a slight increase from 72% last year.

That number is 78% in Colorado, 75% in Utah, and 62% in Wyoming. Miranda Everitt, one of the pollsters who worked on the report, says 70% of voters surveyed were opposed to fast-tracking fossil fuels projects with limited opportunity for public review and comment.

“Very clear indication here that people not only oppose selling national public lands for this oil, gas and mining development, but also that they want to have a say in how these plans are made,” said Everitt. Voters also had major concerns about drought and water scarcity, as well as rollbacks to environmental laws like the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

This story was reported by Caroline Llanes for Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

 

Avalanche danger in the high country

Most of the central mountains will get 1 to 2 feet of snow this week, with some areas getting over 3 feet of snow by Friday morning, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC). The center began warning backcountry travelers Tuesday of destructive avalanches coming this week. 

The snow from last week’s storm will allow more snow to pile up before the snowpack gets pushed past its tipping point this week, increasing the likelihood of dangerous avalanches, per the Colorado Sun. The CAIC has reported 32 backcountry travelers caught in 29 avalanches this season, resulting in eight snow burials and three injuries. No one has died in avalanches this winter. 

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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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