Saturday, June 13, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1892, the silver-mining town of Creede was officially incorporated on the heels of a stretch of Wild West drama, which included a destructive fire and the killing of Robert Ford, who notoriously killed Jesse James a decade earlier. (More)

The Pentagon just dropped its third batch of UFO files, and this time, we’re not just going to report what was in the folder, but instead move to the real question: Is there intelligent life out there? We’ll give you the strongest arguments on both sides, and then reveal what your fellow Americans actually believe. Tune into our Podcast as Amy breaks down where the debate stands on intelligent life beyond earth. Tune in here!

Today’s sponsor, EnergyX, is helping meet surging lithium demand from AI, EVs, and battery technology with patented extraction tech, major industry backing, and an early-stage investment opportunity before its July 16 deadline.

Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog—your Flyover fix, anywhere.

Trump Admin Investigating CO School District

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened a civil-rights investigation into the Cherry Creek School District, alleging the suburban Denver district runs racially discriminatory programming in violation of Title VI.

The probe examines claims that the district sponsors clubs that exclude students by race and directs teachers to weigh race when assigning classes and deciding how much academic support students receive, according to the department’s announcement.

It is the third Colorado district the administration has targeted in recent months, following a March action against Jefferson County over its transgender-athlete and bathroom policies and a case last year involving a gender-neutral restroom in Denver Public Schools.

Cherry Creek has pushed back, with a district spokesperson saying it strongly disagrees with the characterization and had not yet received a copy of the complaint.

Colorado Man Dies on Yellowstone Lake

A 41-year-old Denver man has died in an apparent kayaking accident on Yellowstone Lake.

According to a park news release, the body of Brandon Rhea was spotted floating near Rock Point, on the northwest shore of the lake near Bridge Bay, by people on a passing boat the morning of Monday, June 8.

National Park Service rangers recovered Rhea’s body along with a capsized kayak and his personal belongings. The incident remains under investigation, and the park said no further details are available at this time.

Yellowstone Lake stays dangerously cold year-round and can turn treacherous fast, with storms whipping up waves of six feet or more.

Forecasters Weigh El Niño Drought Impact

There is some optimism ahead for Colorado’s dry conditions as NOAA’s seasonal outlook favors above-average temperatures and precipitation across the state for June through August, helped by developing El Niño conditions that historically tilt the state wetter.

Forecasters are also watching for a stronger-than-normal summer monsoon that could pump more moisture into the region. Even so, experts caution that a wet summer won’t necessarily end the drought, which would take repeated, soaking inch-plus storms over time.

Roughly 99% of Colorado is in some level of drought, with about a third of the state in the two most severe categories, extreme and exceptional, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor.

AI’s 80,000-Ton Battery Problem

As AI infrastructure explodes, so does lithium demand. Google’s AI data centers currently use 100M+ lithium-ion cells for reliable, always-on power.

The problem? Big Tech’s race to build massive new data center capacity has Morgan Stanley forecasting an 80k-ton lithium shortage this year.

Few companies are better positioned to benefit than EnergyX. Their patented tech produces up to 3X more lithium than traditional methods at speeds 500X faster than evaporation ponds.

Beyond the tech, they have rights to ~150,000 acres of lithium-rich land across North and South America, and they’ve just announced plans for their second lithium production plant in America. Now, they hold rights to up to 13M tons of lithium across North and South America.

Industry leaders like General Motors and POSCO have already invested. Join them as an early-stage EnergyX shareholder before the 7/16 deadline.

➤ Statewide: Water experts told a U.S. Senate committee in Washington this week that the seven Colorado River states are inching toward a court fight as they remain deadlocked over how to share a shrinking water supply ahead of a federal deadline this summer. (More)

➤ Commerce City: Three suspects have been arrested in connection with a string of copper wire thefts that have plagued the Denver-area suburb. (More)

➤ Colorado Springs: The city has added 2,288 residents between July 2024 and July 2025 in the largest one-year population gain of any city in the state, even as more than half of Colorado’s municipalities lost people. (More)

➤ Utah Border: A homeless man allegedly walking to Salt Lake City faces nine arson charges for setting a string of grass fires along I-70 near the Utah-Colorado border over the weekend. (More)

➤ Colorado Springs: Four blocks of Uintah Street east of downtown are closed for emergency repairs after crews found a void in the drainage tunnel beneath the Shooks Run Creek bridge. (More)

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➤ The Broncos rewarded head coach Sean Payton with a new five-year contract through 2030 this week. Payton led Denver to 24-10 over the past two seasons, including the franchise’s first AFC West title in a decade. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper was arrested again this week for allegedly violating the protection order from his initial domestic violence arrest on June 4. He now faces four new charges, including two counts of domestic violence. (More)

➤ Avalanche GM Joe Sakic confirmed this week that head coach Jared Bednar and his entire staff will return next season. Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy with a league-best 121 points, but were swept by the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals. (More)

➤ Altitude Sports is overhauling their Nuggets broadcast team, parting ways with longtime announcers Chris Marlowe and Scott Hastings. Marlowe’s called games since 2004, while Hastings’s been part of Denver broadcasts since 1993. (More)

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Exxon Has an Unlikely New Competitor

Energy giants like Exxon have been buying land in America’s lithium hotspot. Now they’ve got a new neighbor.

EnergyX acquired the rights to 35k gross acres of lithium-rich land right next door. It’s not just the acres turning heads, either. Their tech can recover up to 3X more lithium than usual methods.

Now they’re preparing to drill and unlock America’s next major lithium supply. General Motors and 50k+ everyday people already invested. Invest in EnergyX before their July 16 investment deadline.

➤ The Colorado Renaissance Festival opens today in Larkspur and runs weekends through August 2, providing its iconic medieval experience to guests. (More)

➤ The Colorado Psychedelic Church has moved from a private home into its first storefront near Academy and Union boulevards in Colorado Springs, where its founder says membership has grown from about 300 to 2,500 in just over a year. (More)

➤ The Telluride Food & Vine Festival runs today through Sunday with tastings, dinners, and a Grand Tasting finale in downtown Telluride. The event is billed as the “ultimate epicurean experience in Colorado’s most beautiful location.” (More)

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