“This has been just an enormous distraction,” Dr. Stein said in an interview from the district’s foothill-framed headquarters. “It has added a lot of stress to the system and to the kids who are being targeted here.”

What the district cast as a practical decision is viewed as a rare counterstrike from public schools, universities and hospitals in support of a transgender rights movement that has been on its heels under President Trump after a decade of hard-fought successes in school board rooms and courts.

Colorado voters will decide on two initiatives focused on transgender youth. 

Both measures were validated by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office this week and are backed by Protect Kids Colorado, a conservative advocacy group based out of Colorado Springs.

The first measure, Initiative 109, would require students to compete on teams that match their sex assigned at birth, and not their gender identity. The initiative received 169,000 valid signatures, roughly 44,000 more than required to qualify for the ballot.

If approved, the measure would require all youth athletic teams, including K–12 and college programs, to be officially designated as male, female, or co-ed. It would prohibit transgender girls from competing on girls’ teams. 

The proposal would effectively override current policies that allow students to play on teams consistent with their gender identity — setting a statewide standard for how schools and athletic programs classify and regulate participation.

The second measure, Initiative 110, was approved on Tuesday by the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and would prohibit certain gender-affirming surgical procedures for minors in Colorado. It received 165,000 signatures. 

If approved, the initiative would make it illegal for healthcare providers to perform these surgeries on anyone under the age of 18 — establishing a statewide ban regardless of current medical guidelines or parental consent.

Lakewood: the "Fuck you I got mine" city

The staff of Sheridan School District No. 2 have been on strike for 7 DAYS and the superintendent and school board in this town have barely even acknowledged that there are fewer than 25% of students in class. They’re ignoring the community they’re elected and paid to serve. These administrators are batshit insane and need to be recalled now.

The move is the latest in a series of actions Colorado has undertaken amid shakeup in federal health policy

DENVER — Colorado has been accepted into a network of more than 360 institutions as the state seeks to stay ahead of emerging public health threats following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization earlier this year.

“We are thrilled to join the World Health Organization’s GOARN network, especially during a time when federal public health guidance is becoming less consistent,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday. “Disease does not stop at borders, and this partnership helps ensure Colorado is better prepared to protect people and respond quickly to emerging threats.”

The WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert Response Network, or GOARN, is a global partnership established by the international public health body in 2000. Its goal is to facilitate data sharing and expertise from hundreds of institutions “for rapid identification, confirmation of and response to public health emergencies of international importance.”

The move is the latest in a series of actions Colorado has undertaken amid shakeup in federal health policy

DENVER — Colorado has been accepted into a network of more than 360 institutions as the state seeks to stay ahead of emerging public health threats following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization earlier this year.

“We are thrilled to join the World Health Organization’s GOARN network, especially during a time when federal public health guidance is becoming less consistent,” Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday. “Disease does not stop at borders, and this partnership helps ensure Colorado is better prepared to protect people and respond quickly to emerging threats.”

The WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert Response Network, or GOARN, is a global partnership established by the international public health body in 2000. Its goal is to facilitate data sharing and expertise from hundreds of institutions “for rapid identification, confirmation of and response to public health emergencies of international importance.”

Thousands of striking workers at one of the nation’s largest meatpacking plants will extend their walkout to a third week as they push for higher wages and better health care.

Industry experts said it’s too early to know if the strike that began March 16 at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado, will impact retail beef prices that already had soared to record levels.

“The workers know the value of their labor,” union President Kim Cordova said Friday. “This could be a long, drawn out fight.”

Owner JBS USA said Friday that it’s operating the plant at limited capacity and has shifted beef production elsewhere to meet customers needs.

It’s hotter, it’s drier, the plants are stressed, the air is choked, and the trees are in big trouble. It’s bad. But it’s not too late.

The three measures are:

• Initiative 108, which would make child sex trafficking punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole.

• Initiative 109, which would prohibit transgender kids from participating in gendered sports that do not align with their biological sex. It would also apply to collegiate sports in Colorado.

• Initiative 110, which would prohibit surgery on a child for the purpose of altering their biological sex characteristics and also prohibit the use of state or federal funds, Medicaid reimbursement or insurance coverage to pay for that type of surgery.

Delegates described using Airtable, a business workflow app that is not designed to run elections, to register their votes.

The software struggled to handle the high volume of users throughout the process, and finally crashed toward the end of the day on March 14.