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Untitled Ainsley Coogan
Positive West Nile in Denver
Denver and Jefferson County have confirmed their first human cases of the West Nile virus in 2025.
Jefferson County Public Health announced that three people in the county have tested positive, but all are recovering at home. The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment didn’t provide any information about the Denver resident who was confirmed to test positive.
Fourteen people have tested positive for West Nile in Colorado this year. Three have needed hospital care, according to The Denver Post, and one, identified only as a person in Lafayette, has died.
West Nile virus is transmitted through mosquito bites. In severe cases, it can cause paralysis, coma, or death. People can help protect themselves from bites by wearing long sleeves and pants, wearing insect repellent with DEET and avoiding outdoor activities near dawn and dusk.
Wildfires
The Elk fire on Colorado’s Western Slope has burned 3,000 acres and, as of yesterday, was at zero containment. It has destroyed three buildings so far. That’s according to the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado.
The fire started from a lightning strike southeast of Meeker in Rio Blanco County. Meeker is about 70 miles northwest of Glenwood Springs and 40 miles north of Interstate 70.
Firefighters are targeting areas of the fire where it jumped parts of White River. Evacuation orders remain in effect for both sides of County Road 8 between mile marker 11 and mile marker 16.
The Grease fire, 12 miles west of Meeker, has grown to 1,000 acres with zero containment.
Lee fire, 20 miles southwest of Meeker, is at 700 acres with zero containment.
Neither of those fires required any evacuation notices.
The Coulter Creek fire is now at 100% contained.
That’s all according to the Denver Post.
Colorado food insecurity
State officials are warning that reductions in federal funding to food assistance programs could have a devastating effect on Coloradans who have relied on them.
Colorado Department of Human Services Director Michelle Barns told the state’s Legislative Council that combined reductions to administrative funding and groceries, both through the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, could top more than $200 million.
And that, she said, could profoundly affect food insecurity in the state. She added that for some people it would be, in her words, a “double whammy,” because of the impact of Medicaid losses on their health care.
As of June 2025, more than 330,000 Colorado households were getting monthly SNAP benefits. About 25,000 of them are in Boulder County, according to Boulder Reporting Lab.
The reductions in federal funding are being made through the Trump administration’s new federal spending bill approved by Congress last month, according to Colorado Politics. Some of its provisions go into effect on October 1.
Denver’s Vibrant Bond On Ballot
Denver voters will decide whether to approve a plan to take out $950 million in obligation bonds, to pay for a series of municipal projects.
The City Council approved the ballot questions at its meeting yesterday. If voters approve it in November, the new debt, a package called the “Vibrant Bond,” would pay for about 60 projects, including improvements to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a new park at the old Park Hill Golf Course, and road repairs.
The bond debt would be repaid through property taxes.
Luis Garcia ruling
The family of a slain East High School student is planning to appeal a judge’s ruling that Denver Public Schools are not liable for their son’s death.
Denver District Court Judge Kandace C. Gerdes ruled last month that because sixteen-year-old Luis Garcia was in his car on a public road when he was shot, the school district is not liable for his death, according to Chalkbeat.
The East High junior had just dropped off his cousin at the school when he was shot on February 13, 2023. He died from his wounds about two weeks later.
In dismissing the family’s wrongful death lawsuit, Judge Gerdes said a state law that says school districts can be held liable for not providing reasonable care in protecting students and staff does not apply, because the road where Luis was parked when he was shot is not on school property.
A lawyer for the family said they respect the judge’s decision, but will appeal. Authorities said afterward that the investigation into Luis Garcia’s murder is open and ongoing.
Boulder County National Night Out
Tonight is National Night Out in Boulder County, an annual event aimed at building community.
It’s hosted by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, and is being held at five locations. Each location will have different activities, according to a press release, but they’ll all have free food, safety demonstrations, local vendors, and activities for kids.
They all start at 6 p.m.
In Boulder, it’s scheduled for the San Lazaro Park Properties, at 5505 Valmont.
In Lyons, it’s at Bohn Park at 199 2nd Avenue. There’s one in Nederland in Chipeta Park at 101 Lakeview Place. It’s at Murray Street and 2nd in Niwot, and in Superior, it’s in Community Park on Coalton.
All of Boulder County National Night Out events are open to the public.
