Colorado
Colorado health officials brace for layoffs amid loss of federal funding from Trump administration
Colorado’s health department is bracing for several layoffs early next month for workers focused on cancer and heart disease prevention, thanks to the apparent loss of nearly $2 million in federal grant funding and the state’s own bleak fiscal outlook.
The Department of Public Health and Environment initially said 11 positions would be eliminated through layoffs in its health data and prevention services divisions “because of delays and uncertainty” related to funding for the jobs. Federal money underwriting the positions hadn’t been released, CDPHE spokeswoman Vanessa Bernal said, and the layoffs will become effective on July 8.
Colorado WINS, the state employees’ union, said it had also received notification of another imminent layoff in the state Department of Agriculture. The agency did not respond to an email seeking comment Friday afternoon.
Bernal said some of the money — related to diabetes prevention — had been released earlier this week, but the terms attached to the grant were under legal review by the state. Still, if the money does become available, that would mean the state receives $850,000 in funding that it was otherwise set to lose. That funding would save two of the 11 positions slated for elimination in the health department.
The state is still expecting to initiate layoffs for programs in cardiovascular health, colorectal cancer screening, and a broader one for cancer prevention and control, amounting to nearly $1.9 million in total. Some of the state employees in those positions may be moved elsewhere in state government.
“If the federal funding does not come through, Colorado will lose critical staff and services that prevent disease and reduce long-term health care costs,” Bernal said in an email. “This is about uncertain federal funding — not the value of our employees. We are doing everything in our power to minimize workforce impacts. But these changes, if required, won’t just affect our staff — they will affect the health of people across Colorado.”
The cardiovascular funding supported a program that trains pharmacists to deliver “disease management programming,” and it provided training so community health workers could help people with chronic disease. The colorectal cancer fund helped screen older adults for the illness, and the broader cancer program promoted health choices that lowered the risk of illness and improved early detection.
Cancer and heart disease were the state’s leading causes of death in 2023, Bernal said.
Though the money represents a relatively small amount in a $16.7 billion general fund budget, the state couldn’t afford to backfill it, Bernal said. Colorado budget writers trimmed spending by $1.2 billion earlier this year and are already bracing for more reductions next year.
That outlook could worsen still — including for the state’s health programs — if federal cuts to Medicaid and food assistance are signed into law.
Bernal said the “work required by these specific grants cannot continue” without the federal funding. Shelby Wieman, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jared Polis, said in a statement that the “reality is we cannot backfill the funding lost.”
“We continue to closely monitor federal funding that is threatened by the (Trump) administration to understand its impacts on Coloradans, our communities, and state employees,” Wieman wrote.
Hilary Glasgow, the executive director of Colorado WINS, said in a statement that she feared the specter of more layoffs caused by lost federal funding. The union said nearly 3,700 state employees’ jobs are fully or partially paid for using federal dollars.
“We know they’re going to hurt our members and Coloradans,” Glasgow said. “Unfortunately, most people who rely on state workers for critical services like these don’t realize the feds are shutting them down until they’re gone.”
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The Town of Windsor has closed a Northern Colorado lake to motorized boating for 2026 as officials project rapidly declining water levels in the months ahead.
Windsor Lake, a popular destination for outdoor recreation, is currently full. However, town officials say that is expected to change quickly as water is sent downstream for irrigation and other uses.
“With the unknown water levels we are going to have at Windsor Lake, we didn’t feel it was safe to have any kind of motorized boating,” said Kendra Martin, the town’s operations and facilities manager.
The town’s recreation department made the decision to prohibit motorized boating because of concerns surrounding projected low water levels throughout the season.
“We love activity on this lake; it is a super bummer for those who have been on motorized boats on Windsor Lake,” Martin said.
Despite the lake appearing full now, officials say much of the water currently visible is not expected to remain through the summer.
“Due to the low snowpack this year, when water wasn’t yielding in here, only water would be coming out,” said Leif Lesoing, water resource manager for Windsor.
Lesoing said Windsor Lake operates in coordination with the New Cache La Poudre Irrigation Company and plays an important role in irrigation deliveries.
“We operate this reservoir with the New Cache La Poudre Irrigation Company. It is used to equalize their ditch deliveries,” Lesoing said.
According to officials, much of the water currently near the top of the reservoir is already expected to be drained in the coming weeks.
“While it does look full, their water is on the top of the reservoir,” Lesoing said, adding, “This reservoir works every day to make replacements for augmentation and return flows.”
Lesoing said the lake is expected to continue dropping throughout the irrigation season.
“This isn’t in here for the summer. It will be drawn down to make irrigation deliveries through the season,” Lesoing said.
With projections showing more water flowing out of the reservoir than into it for the remainder of the season, town officials said the lake’s boat ramp would not be safe for motorized boating operations.
Colorado
From home insurance to vacancy taxes: Bills that passed — and failed — this legislative session that western Colorado should know about
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Colorado
Colorado wildfires: Evacuations ordered for 13,000-acre wildfire burning on Colorado-Oklahoma border
Southeastern Colorado residents were ordered to evacuate Sunday afternoon as the rapidly growing Sharpe fire in Oklahoma spread across the state line, according to emergency officials.
As of Sunday afternoon, the mandatory evacuation zone included the town of Campo in Baca County and an area bordered to the north by County Road J, to the east by County Road 36, to the west by County Road 24 and to the south by the Colorado-Oklahoma border, according to Baca County Emergency Management officials.
Emergency officials announced the fire had crossed into Colorado from Oklahoma at 12:47 p.m. Sunday and first issued mandatory evacuations at 2:06 p.m.
The Sharpe fire sparked Friday evening in Oklahoma’s Cimarron County and was estimated to have consumed roughly 3,500 acres as of Sunday morning, according to a daily incident report from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.
By Sunday afternoon, the burn area had exploded in size to an estimated 13,198 acres, according to maps from the National Interagency Fire Center. It’s unknown how many of those acres are in Colorado.
A roughly 70-mile stretch of U.S. 287 was closed between Lamar and the Oklahoma-Colorado border for the fire, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Heavy smoke from the fire created low visibility and unsafe conditions on the highway, state transportation officials said.
“Oklahomans in the Panhandle are facing active wildfires, and our state is mobilizing resources to respond,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a statement on social media. That includes sending air support to fight the Sharpe fire, he said.
Southern Colorado was under red flag warnings for critical fire danger on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. The warnings included parts of Baca, Crowley, Fremont, Huerfano, Kiowa and Otero counties . Another round of red flag warnings was forecast for the southern state on Monday .
“Elevated fire danger is expected,” the warnings stated. “Fires will catch and spread rapidly and erratically.”
Videos posted by Denver7 of the fire showed walls of smoke stretching up into the sky from a dirt road as trucks from the volunteer-based Springfield Fire Department responded.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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