Colorado Lightning Safety Awareness Week concludes today, with wildfires being the final topic.

During the past week we have presented lightning information and safety rules. Although wildfires are not an actual weather phenomenon, wildfires are directly related to lightning and other weather elements.

Normally, the wildfire threat in Colorado increases significantly after the middle of June and usually peaks in early July, and remains high through August and early September. Colorado averages about 2500 wildfires each year.

Serve Colorado, the Governor’s Commission on Community Service, is now accepting nominations for the 2017 Governor’s Service Awards. These awards are presented in appreciation to individuals, community and civic leaders, various organizations, and AmeriCorps members for outstanding contributions to volunteerism and service throughout the State of Colorado.

Nominations will be accepted through July 18, 2017. The awards will be presented during a special awards ceremony at the State Capitol September 7.

Attorney General Cynthia H. Coffman has announced that Eddie Raymond Tipton of Flatonia, Texas, has pled guilty to theft by fraud, and computer crime charges related to his role in defrauding state lotteries in Colorado, Wisconsin and Iowa. Tipton was prosecuted in Wisconsin, as part of a multi-year, multi-state fraud case, and faces a total maximum penalty in Wisconsin of 13.5 years of incarceration.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Thursday the suspension of all imports of fresh beef from Brazil because of recurring concerns about the safety of the products intended for the American market.  The suspension of shipments will remain in place until the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture takes corrective action which the USDA finds satisfactory.

New research from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and its partners shows that treating prairie dog colonies annually with a flea-killing dust or an oral vaccine can prevent their complete collapse when confronted with plague.

In a three-year study conducted in northern Larimer County, dusted or vaccinated prairie dog colonies survived during plague outbreaks while nearby untreated colonies were devastated. Neither treatment was completely effective at preventing plague, but some prairie dogs did survive in the colonies treated prior to plague outbreaks.

Funds help finance energy and water savings for irrigators, dairies, greenhouses, nurseries and cold storage facilities

A cold front that continues to drop across eastern Colorado will bring cooler temperatures for the weekend.

Friday’s highs will be mainly in the mid-60s to mid-70s across the eastern plains. Light rain is expected across the mountains and plains through midday, with some potential for thunderstorms later in the day.

This week at Lamar Theatre

Starts Friday

Wonder Woman, 6:45 p.m. daily

Baywatch, stars Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, 9:20 p.m. daily

Coming Soon

Cars 3

The Mummy

Regular pricing Thursday for Wonder Woman

Beginning July 1, the fee for a Colorado driver license will increase by $1—from $26 to $27. Other fees are unchanged. 

This increase was a result of House Bill 16-1415, intended to offset the cost of providing Division of Motor Vehicles driver services. 

The fee for a driver license under SB-251 - the Colorado Road and Community Safety Act - will not change, since the cost of providing the service is already fully recouped. 

The Colorado Legislature passed a bill that was signed into law recently that has far-reaching implications for our state.