Colorado Supreme Court justice finalists named; JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley to strike; Local officials accuse Xcel of causing multiple fires

Headlines Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

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    Colorado Supreme Court justice finalists named; JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley to strike; Local officials accuse Xcel of causing multiple fires KGNU News

Colorado Supreme Court justice finalists named

The Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission named three finalists for the state Supreme Court justice position this past Tuesday, after former justice, Melissa Hart, retired in January.

The finalists are Eighth Judicial District Chief Judge, Susan Blanco, First Judicial District Judge, Christopher Zenisek, and Andrea Wang, the deputy solicitor general for the state. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has until Feb. 18 to make his decision about who will sit on the Supreme Court.

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JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley to strike

The workers at JBS USA’s meatpacking plant based in Greeley, have voted heavily in favor of authorizing a strike, as they allege there has been illegal bargaining tactics and illegal conduct at the plant.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 7 claims the vote was passed by 99% of the unionized employees, with a walkout date to be scheduled in the future. The union and JBS have been negotiating a deal for about eight months, which has come to a standstill, partially over JBS’ 90-cent-per-hour wage increase offer, which union officials say does not match inflation.

This strike vote follows last year’s federal investigation into JBS by the U.S. Department of Labor, which found that children up to 13 years old were working through an outside company for JBS.

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Local officials accuse Xcel of causing multiple fires

Boulder-area fire officials claim that in December, Xcel Energy was responsible for two separate instances of re-energizing downed lines, causing fires.

The two incidents occurred in the Sunshine and Fourmile Fire Protection Districts, prompting both districts’ fire chiefs to write a joint letter of concern to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Sunshine Fire Chief Michael Schmitt claims that on Dec. 19, the same day as Xcel’s planned Public Safety Power Shutoff, he came across a downed power line on Sunshine Canyon Drive, and reported it. Xcel Energy claims that the hazard report made that day never made it to the crews re-energizing those lines, causing that line to be mistakenly powered.

The ensuing fire required 12 firefighters working for five hours to fully suppress, according to the letter. The letter asks Xcel to improve power line infrastructure in fire-prone areas, and to improve the communication errors that may have caused these fires.

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Snow drought could be worst on record

This winter’s snow drought is shaping up to be the worst on record for the Upper Colorado River Basin. The water stored in snowpack is at 60% of normal above Lake Powell.

Forecasters are predicting that even if we get above average snow in the next two months, we’ll still end the winter with below average snowpack. Seth Arens, a scientist with the Western Water Assessment, says communities in the West will really start feeling the impacts when they get to spring and summer.

“Thinking about water deliveries, wildfire, agricultural impacts, water shortages.” He says many communities and water users are planning for the worst-case scenario. “What if this year continues to go as badly as it could go? And then what if we have drought for another two or three years after that? Then what sort of conditions are we facing?”

Arens says we’ll know more in the next month or so about how much water in snowpack will actually make it into rivers and streams.

This story was reported by Rocky Mountain Community Radio.

 

Boulder County seeks input on voting drop-boxes

The Boulder County Elections Division has announced that they are seeking feedback on the placement of their always-open 24-Hour Mail Ballot Drop Boxes, as they look ahead to the 2026 election.

Officials have asked that comments regarding these locations be submitted by March 1, to an electronic survey at BoCo.org/ElectionSurvey.

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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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