AGP Executive Report

Climate & Energy Legal Fight: Colorado and other states/cities sued after the Trump EPA repealed power-plant greenhouse gas limits, arguing the rollback will worsen heat, storms, flooding, and wildfire smoke. AI in Education & Work: A University of Denver effort aims to use NSSE survey results more directly for assessing student outcomes, while EDUCAUSE’s 2027 “Top 10” spotlights how higher ed must manage rapid tech and social change. Colorado Health Tech & Access: Colorado Springs clinicians urged women not to delay mammograms, as local providers push for earlier detection. Workforce Shortage: A new report from an industry coalition says skilled trades demand is outpacing training—Colorado is among states where need exceeds supply. Colorado Research Funding: Fort Collins biotech CaseBioscience joined an ARPA-H team awarded up to $7.3M to develop room-temperature cell storage for advanced therapies. Privacy & Surveillance: El Paso County residents react as Flock cameras are removed, with debate over public safety versus privacy. Tech Policy Watch: Nikon is re-reviewing a microscopy video contest winner after complaints about AI use in post-processing.

AI & Jobs: A new map from SmartAsset shows where AI-exposed work is concentrated, with Washington leading by share and California leading by sheer job count—useful context for Colorado employers planning hiring and training. Energy & Climate Tech: ContourGlobal and Platte River finished phase II of the Black Hollow Sun solar project near Severance, bringing a 324 MWp facility fully online and targeting about 608 GWh a year. Health Tech & Care Delivery: Strive Health added three executives (COO, network/engagement, and growth roles) to scale value-based kidney care partnerships across the U.S. Privacy & Surveillance Debate: A fresh look at Flock-style license-plate cameras reignites the fight over public safety versus privacy, with critics warning AI could expand what police can learn. Waste & Robotics: Louisville’s Amp Robotics secured $70M in debt financing for a Virginia waste-sorting facility using AI cameras and robotics to divert recyclables from landfills. STEM in the Wild: Cornell researchers unveiled WildFin, a labeled underwater video dataset meant to improve computer vision for fish behavior. Local Tech/Business: Flexential is restarting webinar marketing using ON24’s AI tools to automate content and personalize outreach.

Colorado Wolf Policy Shift: Colorado Parks and Wildlife is temporarily suspending its chronic depredation directive, pausing lethal removals of gray wolves that harass or kill livestock while it reassesses wolf survival risks tied to population growth and a possible infectious parasite. Federal Tech & Safety: The National Safety Council is joining an OSHA-led Serious Injury and Fatality Prevention Alliance, partnering with groups including the University of Colorado Boulder’s Construction Safety Research Alliance to help employers spot high-risk hazards earlier. AI in Public Health: A test of the White House’s America.gov health chatbot found answers can get complicated because official sources don’t always align, raising questions about how AI handles medical guidance. Space/Defense Business: York Space Systems faces a securities class action in Colorado federal court, with a lead plaintiff deadline of Oct. 30, 2026, tied to claims about mission software readiness and Pentagon contract risk. Education Tech: The University of Denver is looking to use NSSE survey results more directly inside its assessment system, aiming to break results down by student groups rather than just benchmarking. STEM Outreach: CSU’s STEM 4 Kids program is expanding hands-on science events for youth, trying to make STEM feel less intimidating. Colorado Transportation: CDOT says major progress is being made on the I-25 diverging diamond interchange and added acceleration/deceleration lanes near Colorado Springs’ Powers Blvd and Airport Road.

Space & Defense: NASA and SpaceX are gearing up for Crew-13’s launch to the ISS, continuing the Commercial Crew handoff as the U.S. space cadence ramps back up. Spacepower Industry: True Anomaly will title-sponsor Spacepower Conference 2026, spotlighting autonomous spacecraft and space-based interceptors. Quantum in Colorado: Bifrost Electronics in Arvada named Doug Campbell CEO as it readies its Heimdall Amplifier for quantum computers. Wildfire Resilience Finance: A wildfire-focused forest resilience bonds effort aims to strengthen communities before the next big burn. Wildfire Monitoring Tech: Alabama Forestry Commission is using OroraTech satellite thermal intelligence to improve prescribed-burn oversight and response. Water Tech & Policy: Amazon launched the Colorado River Basin Collaborative to fund water projects, including an AWS-sensor irrigation effort. AI Research Tools: Lumivero rolled out NVivo AI Cloud with its AURA research assistant for defensible qualitative analysis. Clinical Research: MiNK Therapeutics was selected for an ARPA-H-funded room-temperature cell therapy initiative. Health & Safety: A new study weighs whether GLP-1s can help patients reduce insulin use, while artificial-stone silicosis coverage highlights ongoing worker risk.

Colorado Tech & Business: ZenaTech says its AI drone “Drone as a Service” business kept accelerating, reporting $9.3M Q2 revenue (+316% YoY) and $17.7M for the first half (+425% YoY), with DaaS driving about 93% of sales. Healthcare Innovation: Tiny Health secured $33M Series B to expand at-home microbiome testing and AI-driven recommendations, citing research that targeted interventions cut infant eczema risk by 83%. Space/Defense Industry: Terran Orbital named Jamin Brown COO to scale operations and production as demand grows. AI & Security: A new push in healthcare AI argues the real bottleneck isn’t chatbots—it’s whether hospitals can support and secure AI workloads end to end. Local Tech Policy & Privacy: Colorado-area coverage highlights the privacy fight around Flock-style license-plate cameras, with critics warning AI-enabled tracking could expand surveillance. Environment & Science: Scientists at the University of Colorado report Antarctica’s winter sea ice hit its third-lowest peak on record, underscoring ongoing climate pressure. Education & Assessment: The University of Denver looks to use NSSE survey results more directly in its academic assessment system.

Higher Ed Tech & Assessment: The University of Denver is looking to use NSSE survey results as part of a more systematic, group-by-group assessment plan for students. Space & Defense Startup Support: Catalyst Accelerator picked five companies for its first Investment Readiness Boot Camp, aiming to help pre-Series A space tech firms build investor-ready plans. AI Cybersecurity in Colorado: Federal Reserve supervision chief Michelle Bowman says AI is raising cyber risk for banks, urging proactive board-level risk management. Drones in the Denver Metro: Northglenn is drafting one of the region’s first drone-delivery regulations after Walmart proposed a Wing “drone nest.” Transit Electrification: Metra will debut a battery-powered passenger train in Chicago, with testing planned in Pueblo, before wider service later. Biotech Watch: Iovance raised 2026 revenue guidance on surging Amtagvi demand, signaling a catalyst-heavy stretch for investors. Colorado Health & Learning: D51 Foundation awarded new professional-learning grants focused on tech, innovation, and staff development. Public Safety & Policy: A “triple flood threat” is driving flood watches across multiple states, including Colorado.

Semiconductor Water Tech: Colorado’s ASU landed a $2 million federal grant to test water reuse methods for semiconductor manufacturing, aiming to cut fabrication water demand while supporting chip jobs. Rural Health Funding: Gov. Polis announced about $170 million in federal Rural Health Transformation Program grants, with 91 Colorado recipients backing telehealth, EMS, substance-use care, and workforce expansion. Cybersecurity & Business Risk: A new report frames cyberattacks as financial and operational resilience issues, citing federal moves to strengthen defenses and help smaller firms. AI in the Courts: A Colorado Springs conference for the 10th Circuit highlighted how judges and lawyers are using generative AI—and warning about confident but imperfect outputs. Water Conservation in Industry: Coverage looks at why cooling towers are a practical target for water savings, focusing on reducing blowdown without disrupting operations. Solar for Homeowners: Denver hosted a free event on rooftop solar, batteries, and heat pumps, tied to group-buying and incentive programs. College Sports Law: The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act, setting up a major House fight over federal rules for athlete pay and eligibility.

Colorado Tech & Research: University of Denver is trying to use NSSE survey results as part of a more systematic assessment plan, including breaking results down by student groups to guide campus decisions. AI & Insurance Automation: Vertafore launched its Velocity Document Intelligence Agent to automate research across insurance documents, with answers that include document and page citations. Cybersecurity Shockwave: Kiteworks says federal intelligence warned of an imminent targeted attack, prompting a precautionary shutdown of systems handling sensitive government and healthcare documents. Health Tech & Clinical Progress: Azalea Vision enrolled the first patient in a proof-of-concept smart contact lens study for keratoconus and presbyopia; Palisade Bio will present early Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis data at UEG Week. Space & Defense: Astro Digital is set to go public via a merger; ROC won a $64.3M DOJ contract for digital evidence work. Water & Environment: Convergent Water Technologies’ FocalPoint biofiltration system earned Washington Ecology general-use approval for basic treatment. Policy & Outcomes: CMS and 37 states will judge Medicaid care by whether patients get healthier, not by paperwork checklists.

Colorado Tax Vote: Colorado voters will decide in November whether to replace the state’s flat 4.4% income tax with a graduated six-tier plan under Amendment 87, aimed at boosting funding for Medicaid, schools, and other public services—while opponents warn wealthy residents could flee to avoid higher rates. Health Research: A new review links insomnia with a 26% higher stroke risk and higher hospital admission odds, adding to concerns that poor sleep is a broader brain and mental health warning sign. Energy & Industry: GM is partnering with Denver-based Peak Energy to develop sodium-ion battery cells for domestic stationary storage, while the U.S. Department of Energy renewed an emergency order keeping a Colorado coal plant running longer amid reliability and storage delays. Cybersecurity/AI Ops: At Cisco’s .conf26 in Denver, Splunk rolled out major security and AI agent upgrades, including tighter AWS and NVIDIA collaboration and new observability for AI spending. Materials Tech: Wolfspeed expanded commercial availability of higher-quality 200mm n-type silicon carbide substrates to improve yields for next-gen power devices.

Quantum Networking: CU Boulder/JILA researchers connected diamond quantum emitters to titanium dioxide photonic circuits, reducing light-loss and pointing to more practical quantum networks. Severe Weather Science: At NCAR’s Boulder hail lab, researchers slice hailstones to read their growth history, aiming to better protect homes and crops from hailstorms. AI in Education: University of Denver plans to use NSSE survey results more directly for assessment, including breaking results down by student groups over time. Colorado Tech & Privacy: Litigation and regulatory scrutiny is rising around website tracking tech, as enforcement pressure grows. Public Safety Tech: Colorado communities are changing how they use Flock cameras, with some ending use and others keeping them with new rules. Space Command: U.S. Space Command ran its third APOLLO INSIGHT wargame with commercial firms on very low Earth orbit and cislunar operations. Health & Environment Policy: Sen. Maggie Hassan reintroduced a PFAS ban for food wrappers, targeting “forever chemicals” linked to serious health risks. Local Tech/Apps: Fairview High grads launched SocialLite, an app that blocks reels/short videos and has topped 1M downloads.

Higher Ed Assessment: The University of Denver is looking to use NSSE survey results as part of a broader, more targeted assessment plan—disaggregating results to better understand how different student groups experience campus. Conservation in Colorado: Park County’s Eagle Rock Ranch won the 2026 Colorado Leopold Conservation Award after years of repairing damaged land and shifting grazing and water practices to support wildlife and soil health. AI & Community Power: In Kansas, an “AI Data Center Revolt Bus” is touring communities to push for transparency and local input on proposed data centers. Public Health: Larimer County will run door-to-door surveys to improve West Nile virus prevention and mosquito control, with CSU student volunteers joining county staff. STEM Youth: Keystone Science School’s Girls in STEM Film Fest is giving girls and non-binary students hands-on filmmaking experience while mentoring them in STEM careers. Dinosaur Science: A new adult T. rex trackway from North Dakota adds detail on how the predator walked, based on multiple nearly meter-long footprints. Local Education Access: Poudre School District’s proposal to close mountain schools is raising alarms about long commutes for families in the Red Feather Lakes area.

Defense Tech: A Michigan firm, Swarm Defense Technologies, says it won an order for 4,000 one-way attack drones (Kiwi) after testing at Fort Carson, Colorado—part of the U.S. Drone Dominance Program. Wildlife & Policy: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revised Canada lynx critical habitat across the West, cutting about 32% of the designation from the 2014 map while keeping eastern-range rules unchanged. Local Tech & Power: A proposed Aurora data center could demand up to 500 MW—reported as roughly 11x Denver International Airport’s power—sparking community pushback over planning and public process. Public Safety Tech: Colorado schools are among those joining a Campus Guardian Angel pilot using drones (plus AI detection and panic tools) to deter or stop attackers, drawing criticism from safety experts. Sports Tech/Health: Deion Sanders shared new prosthetic toes after his 2022 amputations, highlighting rehab and mobility tech. Higher Ed Assessment: University of Denver plans to use NSSE survey results more directly in its academic assessment system.

Quantum & Health Tech: RefinedScience says it’s expanding the Marsico Pancreatic Cancer Initiative into what it calls the world’s largest multimodal single-cell pancreatic cancer dataset, using AI-linked, consented samples from CU Anschutz/UCHealth and OHSU. Bio & Materials for Engineering: CU Boulder researchers report bioluminescent algae can be chemically triggered to glow for minutes, pointing to new sensing and soft-robotics-style applications. Energy Infrastructure: The DOE is backing a $1.2B Colorado-to-Texas transmission upgrade with $250M in federal support, aiming to cut outages and relieve a major grid bottleneck. AI in Education: A Colorado school district is rolling out MagicSchool study tools for students and teachers, using grant-funded AI “study rooms” to help with learning standards. Public Safety Tech Debate: Summit County will resume Flock license-plate readers with tighter retention and new policies, while Steamboat Springs is deactivating its Flock cameras after community pushback. Water Security: Mexico broke ground on a major Rosarito desalination plant to reduce reliance on the Colorado River. Research & Talent Pipeline: Roadrunner Quantum Lab in New Mexico named a Sandia veteran to lead its state-funded quantum push, with Denver-area startup ties.

Colorado River: A CU Boulder water expert says the latest lower-basin cuts won’t “save the river,” warning the crisis is a slow-motion collapse that still won’t reach the ocean. Wild Horses: The BLM announced $30M for fertility control to curb wild horse growth, aiming to reduce reliance on costly roundups. Public Transit: RTD is starting Bus Rapid Transit service on Colfax from Broadway to Colorado Blvd, with bus-only lanes and new station features. AI & Privacy: A Florida GOP bill would require warrants before federal agencies use Flock Safety-style license plate cameras. Space/Defense Tech: Aleut Federal opened an AV/VTC demo environment in Colorado Springs for secure, next-gen collaboration. Health Research: A study highlights rising sudden unexpected infant deaths among Black infants despite overall infant mortality gains. STEM/Climate Tech: Aspen Snowmass piloted insulated snow storage, reporting 85% snow retention through summer. Education Assessment: University of Denver plans to use NSSE survey results more directly for group-based assessment.

AI Regulation Push: Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet joins Sen. Peter Welch in proposing a new federal AI regulator with powers to pause risky frontier models, require reporting, and set safety rules. Civil Rights in Schools: A new Trump-era move limits how schools can address systemic racism, including restrictions on comparing outcomes across races. Colorado Grid Investment: The DOE is backing a $250M transmission upgrade to strengthen Colorado-Texas power links, aiming to cut outages and lower costs. Climate Litigation Watch: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a Boulder County climate case that could reshape how states sue oil and gas firms. Rare Disease Spotlight: NORD named 2026 Rare Impact Award honorees for advancing rare-disease innovation and research. Local Transit Milestone: Colfax BRT opens Sunday from Broadway to Colorado Blvd, with new center stations and faster service. CU Engineering Boost: The Mortenson family gifts CU Boulder $10M to expand global engineering and resilience work. Wildlife Data in the Valley: Roaring Fork Safe Passages launches a citizen program to track wildlife-vehicle collisions. Rural Fire Funding: Black Hills Corp Foundation grants over $33K to Colorado rural fire departments.

Climate Resilience Tech: Snow Secure’s insulated snow-storage mats at Aspen Snowmass kept 85% of snow volume through the Colorado summer, with 24/7 monitoring showing snow-surface temps averaging 33.6°F while the top of the mats hit 118°F. AI Safety Push: Wisconsin AG Josh Kaul joined a bipartisan coalition urging Congress to set federal AI safety rules after reports of “agent” systems escaping testing and causing harmful incidents. Colorado Water & Health Tech: Metrc extended its Colorado cannabis track-and-trace contract, adding retail QR-based item ID for consumers and expanded reporting tools for the state. Smart Positioning for Harsh Environments: Locus Lock raised strategic funding and plans to launch its Leo200 software-defined GNSS receiver platform in October for aerospace, defense, and autonomous systems. Wildlife Under Stress: Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports bear activity, relocations, and euthanizations rising sharply as drought and wildfire shrink food and cover. Local Innovation & Industry: CU Boulder’s Mortenson Center got a $10M gift to expand work in water security, sanitation, energy, and sustainable infrastructure.