Cold weather brings heart risks
Winter can play havoc with health due to ‘perfect recipe’
BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
When snow blankets the streets around the Denver metro area, it’s not just roads that become treacherous — your heart might be at risk too. e combination of cold temperatures, reduced physical activity and sudden strenuous tasks can create a “perfect recipe” for heart attacks, according to Dr. Akhil Reddy, an interventional and structural cardiologist with HCA HealthONE in Denver.
Many might assume the cold itself is the problem, but Reddy clari ed that it’s not so much the temperature as it is the activity people undertake in the cold.
“ e more common scenario is people shoveling snow and exerting themselves and having an active myocardial infarction, or heart attack,” he explained.
State will oversee charter school after disagreement
Douglas County School District relinquishes control due to politics
BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A proposed charter school in Sterling Ranch will be overseen by the state’s charter institute instead of the Douglas County School District, following a split vote by the school board to relinquish oversight.
e Douglas County School Board voted 4-3 at its December meeting to release authorization for the proposed John Adams Academy charter school to the Colorado Charter School Institute, an organization that oversees charter schools throughout the state.
Releasing authorization for the school to the Charter School Institute means that the district will not be involved in the school’s creation or operations. Ellie Reynolds, the founder of the proposed charter school, said she asked for the release to protect the school from the politics of the Douglas County school board.
“We believe that this board currently is pro-charter schools and pro-classical charter schools, (but) we also realize that this board has a tendency to ip,” said Reynolds, who is also the presi-
dent of the Northwest Douglas County Chamber. “Oftentimes, when this board does ip, it becomes not charter school friendly and that pendulum swing is risking our children and my child, who I would send to this school.”
Reynolds said she preferred the Charter School Institute board for its stability because it’s bipartisan and the seats are not elected but appointed.
John Adams Academy is a classical school based in California. Reynolds’ school would be the rst Colorado location, encompassing kindergarten through high school. Reynolds said she is aiming to open the charter school in the fall of 2026.
e school’s website describes it as “restoring America’s heritage by developing servant-leaders who are keepers and defenders of the principles of freedom for which our founding fathers pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor.”
Douglas County school board members were split on the decision to release the school, with Susan Meek, Brad Geiger and Valerie ompson raising concerns about Reynolds circumventing the district’s charter authorization process and not having transparency on why the charter was avoiding district oversight.
e board also discussed the potential impacts on enrollment in Sterling Ranch.
Douglas County voters in November
approved a $490 million bond that dedicated funding to build an elementary school in Sterling Ranch, which doesn’t have any schools in the neighborhood yet. e neighborhood school is expected to open for the 2026-27 school year, the same year as John Adams Academy’s targeted opening.
“Once you four vote to do this, they will be gone forever and they will never be required to communicate with us again,” Geiger said. “We could delay this to get an (agreement) so that we can see the tra c patterns and plan around it, and so we could see where their (students) come from, so that we can make our own plans. at’s what I would prefer.”
e remaining board members were sympathetic to Reynolds’ request and didn’t raise many questions. Board President Christy Williams said she supported charter autonomy, pointing to past disagreements between charter schools and the district over policy waivers.
Most recently, Ascent Classical Academy, a charter school in Lone Tree, left the district in 2019 over its policy preventing sta from carrying rearms on school property.
“ ere have been charters that have put forth waivers, where there has been a very clear divide in who would approve and not approve them, and if this
According to the AHA, intense physical effort combined with cold temperatures forces the heart to work overtime. Blood vessels constrict in the cold, causing blood pressure to rise.
When paired with the sudden cardiovascular demand of activities like shoveling snow, this can trigger heart attacks, especially in people with pre-existing risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.
Physical exertion in cold weather can be deceptively dangerous
Shoveling snow may look like a mundane household task, but research shows it’s a workout that rivals intense cardio.
“Shoveling a little snow o your sidewalk may not seem like hard work,” said Barry Franklin, the lead author of the American Heart Association’s 2020 scienti c statement regarding exercise-related acute cardiovascular events. “However, the strain of heavy snow shoveling may be as or even more demanding on the heart than taking a treadmill stress test, according to research we’ve conducted.”
“ e movements of snow shoveling are very taxing and demanding on your body and can cause signi cant increases in your heart rate and blood pressure,” Franklin told the AHA. “Combined with the fact that the exposure to cold air can constrict blood vessels throughout the body, you’re asking your heart to do a lot more work in conditions that are diminishing the heart’s ability to function at its best.”
According to Reddy, the danger lies in the sudden increase in demand on the cardiovascular system, particularly for people who are not regularly active. e heart, especially one that hasn’t been consistently active, is not ready for sudden, intense exertion.
“When it’s cold outside, you’re more sedentary,” Reddy said. “You just don’t have the ability to understand your own limita-
Ellie Reynolds, center, a founding member of the proposed John Adams Academy charter school, speaks to the Douglas County School Board with Colorado Charter School Institute President Terry Croy Lewis about the proposal for her school. Reynolds requested the school district release authorization over the proposed charter school to the Charter School Institute.
SCREENSHOT OF DOUGLAS COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEETING
New Colorado gun law aims to shore up victim services
Tax on firearms, parts, ammunition is intended to generate revenue
BY RAE ELLEN BICHELL KFF HEALTH NEWS
Colorado’s new voter-approved gun initiative has a target unlike those of previous measures meant to reduce gun violence. e tax on guns and ammunition is meant to generate revenue to support cash-strapped victim services, and it’s an open question whether it will a ect rearms sales.
e 6.5% tax on manufacturers and sellers — including pawnbrokers — of guns, gun parts, and ammunition will generate an estimated $39 million a year. e money is aimed primarily at crime victim services, including groups that help victims of domestic violence. Some of it is earmarked for behavioral and mental health for veterans and youth, and a sliver will support school security.
Firearm deaths have been rising in Colorado since at least 2006, growing more quickly than the state’s population, and with a notable bump in homicides early in the covid pandemic, which prompted a national gun-buying spree. e tax could have public health e ects beyond generating money for social services, researchers said. But they don’t know for sure because only one other state, California, has a gun-and-ammo tax — an 11% tax that has been in e ect only since July.
Emmy Betz directs the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and wonders if the tax will change consumer behavior. “ e question is whether that will change gun sales or not,” she said. A federal tax has been levied on gun manufacturers for more than a century — currently at 10% for pistols/revolvers and 11% for other kinds of rearms, plus cartridges and shells.
Colorado state Rep. and Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Democrat, cosponsored the new law, scheduled to take e ect in April. Voters approved it in November as Proposition KK. e connection between rearms and domestic violence is stark: Nationally, every month an average of 57 women are killed by an intimate partner using a gun. Researchers have also found that 59% of mass shootings between 2014 and 2019 in the United States were related to domestic violence. Support groups for victims of domestic violence and other crimes receive funding through the 1984 federal Victims of Crime Act. ose dollars mostly come from nes and penalties from convicted federal criminals and uctuate annually depending on what cases the Department of Justice pursues. Federal prosecutions and nes have dropped, so the state’s pot of money has shrunk from nearly $57 million in 2018, when Duran was rst elected, to about $14 million in 2024 — a 76% drop.
But the need for victim support services has grown, said Duran, who is a gun owner and a survivor of domestic violence who used such services to escape homelessness.
Colorado’s new tax is what economists call a “Pigouvian” tax, which seeks to compensate nancially for the societal toll or damage a product causes. For example, people who drive cars pay a tax on gas, which goes toward repairing roads. “It’s not because you’re a bad driver
that we’re taxing gasoline. It’s because we need this money to be able to improve our infrastructure in ways that allow people to continue to use that product,” said Rosanna Smart, an economist who co-directs the Rand Gun Policy in America initiative.
She said Colorado’s gun tax is similar: It supports the social infrastructure that’s required in a society with rearms.
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people can carry a gun outside their homes for self-defense. Smart said the decision made it harder to pass laws restricting gun possession and highlighted the importance of historical precedent. Both the California and Colorado tax laws cite taxes passed by eight states and thenindependent Hawaii between 1844 and 1926.
e actual e ect of the Colorado and California laws won’t be known for some time. But should other states pursue similar policies, researchers think focusing taxes on speci c weapons or places might be more e ective at reducing harm, rather than simply generating revenue.
Smart, for example, found that if the goal is to reduce harm, a more optimal design would be to follow the lead of alcohol policies and have varying tax levels based on an item’s likelihood to cause harm.
Adam Rosenberg, a doctoral candidate in economics at Stanford University, found doing so at the national level, by rejiggering the federal tax to be 13.3% on handguns and nothing on long guns, would prevent deaths while holding industry pro ts steady.
e Colorado tax applies to rearms dealers, manufacturers, and ammunition vendors that make at least $20,000 a year (excluding sales to law enforcement or active-duty military). Neither state ofcials nor lawmakers nor industry groups
‘The question is whether (the tax) will change gun sales or not.’
Emmy Betz, director of the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative at the University of Colorado School of Medicine
could con rm what fraction of rearm businesses that represents. According to data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, about 2,200 rearms dealers or pawnbrokers and manufacturers of ammunition/ rearms operate in the state. Ammunition sellers aren’t tallied in that gure.
Some rearms businesses worry the tax will drive people across state lines to purchase guns.
“We’ve already got people saying, ‘Well, we can run over to Utah or Wyoming instead,’” said Frank Sadvar of Northwest Out tters, a gun store and pawn shop in Craig. e city is a 40-minute drive to Wyoming and 1½ hours to Utah.
“ e way it was worded on the ballots, it looked really good,” he said. But Sadvar suspects the revenue will fall short of the $39 million estimated because supporters didn’t factor in sales lost to other states.
In Cortez, which is a half-hour drive from New Mexico, Jesse Fine said he’s heard people say they’d rather drive there
to buy a gun than pay the tax in Colorado — even though they’d face a seven-day waiting period there.
Fine, who manages Goods for the Woods, an outdoor gear shop carrying a range of rearms and hunting equipment, said he believes the tax discriminates against gun owners who are exercising their civil rights.
“It makes it hard for a mom-and-pop shop to stay in play,” he said. “We’re going to take the biggest hit because we’re not a big corporation.”
Victim services organizations said they will be in a tight spot nancially until the new tax’s revenue starts to fully ow in 2026.
Courtney Sutton, public policy director of the Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance, said most victim service agencies in the state, many of which are members of COVA, “heavily, heavily rely on” the federal funds that have been ballooning up and down.
“We did get $6 million from the state budget, but that’s not very much across 215 programs,” she said, referencing the state’s four victim services coalitions. e new tax is estimated to bring in $30 million a year to such groups.
Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center executive director Emily Tofte Nestaval said she hopes the new tax revenue will help the center restart a program for people sorting out protection orders, housing issues, and name changes, among other things. Nestaval said that, for now, crime victims in Colorado are on their own.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism.
Colorado has a new gun law that applies a tax to fund victim services.
NAR’s 2024 Survey of Buyers and Sellers Provides Some Interesting Insights on the Market
Every year the National Association of Realtors (NAR) publishes a “Profile of Buyers and Sellers” which contains some useful data and insights on the real estate market.
The 2024 survey was just released and contains some interesting trends which I’ll summarize here.
The image at right is an example. In the posting of this week’s ad at http://RealEstateToday.substack.com you’ll find the full highlights of the report on the following topics:
Characteristics of home buyers
Breakdown of homes purchased
Use of real estate professionals
The home search process
How homes are being financed
The experience of home sellers
Use of listing agents by sellers
For Sale by Owner statistics and trends
Here’s just one of those highlight pages, to give you an idea the detail provided. This is the one about FSBOs (for sale by owner):
Here are some of the key take-aways from the other chapters;
Characteristics of Home Buyers: The median age of home buyers surged in 2024 over the prior year — 56 vs. 49. The median age for first-time buyers jumped from 35 to 38, and for repeat buyers jumped from 58 to 61. 73% of buyers had no children under 18 in the home, and 17% bought a multi-generational home. First-time home buyers constituted 24% of home sales, down from 32% in 2023. This was the lowest percentage since NAR started doing these surveys in 1981.
Characteristics of Homes Purchased: 15% of buyers purchased new homes from a builder. Among those who purchased existing
homes, the typical home was built in 1994, compared to homes built in the 1980s in two prior surveys. The typical home was 1,900 square feet, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The median distance of the new home from the previous home was 20 miles, compared to 50 miles in 2022. (That was the height of Covid, spurred by remote work.) PreCovid, the median distance was typically 15 miles. 16% of 2024 buyers purchased in an urban area or central city, the highest such percentage since 2014, spurred perhaps by the end of some work-at-home arrangements. Proximity to the home buyer’s job was important to 34% of buyers, down from 52% in 2014. The top consideration this year was the quality of the neighborhood (59%), followed by proximity to friends and family (45%).
Home Buyers & Real Estate Professionals:
88% of home buyers used the services of a real estate agent. Looking at buyers of existing homes, that percentage rose to 92%. Only 63% of new home buyers were represented by an agent. 80% of first-time buyers said that their agent’s assistance in understanding the home buying process was “invaluable.”
40% of all buyers and 51% of first-time buyers found their agent through a referral from their friends, family or personal network. Most buyers only interviewed one agent — it was 71% for repeat buyers.
Although 88% of buyers said they would use their agent again or recommend him/her to others, only 21% of buyers actually used the same agent they had used before. Of those who purchased in 2024, 61% have already recommended their agent to others.
The Home Search Process: 43% of buyers said they started the process by looking at homes on the internet, with 21% first contacting an agent. 69% of buyers searched for homes on their mobile or tablet devices.
Open houses were deemed “very useful” by 23% of buyers. About 40% said they valued photos and detailed listing information, while 31% appreciated floor plans. The typical buyer spent 10 weeks house hunting and saw a median of 7 homes, 2 of them online only. 51% found the home they bought through their own online searching. 55% said that finding the right home was the most difficult part of the process.
59% of buyers said they were “very satisfied” with their home buying experience, and another 33% were “somewhat satisfied.”
Financing the Home Purchase: 91% of first-time buyers and 69% of repeat buyers financed their home purchase with a loan. These percentages were down from 92% and 81% respectively from last year. The overall percentage was 74%, meaning that 26% of all home buyers paid cash — an all-time high.
The median down payment was 9% for first-time buyers and 23% for repeat buyers, That’s the highest down payment percentage for first-time buyers since 1997 and the highest for repeat buyers since 2003. 25% of the first-time buyers used a gift or loan from a
relative to finance their down payment, but savings was the biggest source at 69%.
In 2009, 55% of first-time buyers used an FHA loan, but that has dropped to 29% now that there are many conventional loan offerings requiring minimal down payments and no mortgage insurance premium. In 2024, 52% of first-time buyers took out a conventional loan.
Home Sellers and Their Selling Experience:
The median age of home sellers in 2024 was 63 — the highest ever recorded. 69% of the sellers were married couples, the first increase in this statistic in four years. Of all the homes sold in 2024, 77% did not have any children
under 18 living in the house -- empty nesters! 66% moved within the same state, 16% within the same region. (Note: These are national statistics.) Roughly one-third bought a bigger house, one-third bought the same size house and one-third bought a smaller house. 52% bought a newer home, with the rest split equally between the same age or older home.
The single most common reason for moving (23%) was to be closer to friends and family. The median number of years that a seller owned their home was 10 years, a big drop from 6 years in 2000 to 2008.
Median time on market in 2024 was three weeks, up from two weeks in 2023.
68% of sellers were “very satisfied” with the selling process. 22% were “somewhat satisfied.”
Home Selling & Real Estate Professionals: 90% of sellers hired a listing agent, up from 89% in 2023. Only 6% were FSBO (for sale by owner), a record low percentage. Of those sellers who did not know the buyer, 95% used a real estate agent. Two-thirds of sellers used an agent who was referred to them or that they had used before. 81% interviewed only the one agent they hired. 71% of sellers who bought within 10 miles of their home used the same agent for both transactions. The most important criteria in selecting the listing agent were the agent’s reputation (35%) and the agent’s honesty (21%). 58% of sellers offered open houses.
Again, the full reports of each of the above sections can be found on our blog, http:// RealEstateToday.substack.com
Is a Reverse Mortgage the Best Option for You?
If the idea of not paying principal and interest for the rest of your life and possibly drawing a lump sum from your home’s equity to help you with taxes and insurance, sounds like something you’d like to explore, let me tell you about “reverse mortgages.” They are officially known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM). They can be used to purchase a home or to refinance your current home.
Many seniors are in a situation where they have substantial equity in their home but don’t have quite the amount of income they need to live on day-to-day or month-tomonth. If you are still paying on your mortgage, a HECM allows you to reduce that monthly expense by the amount of your principal and interest payment. That alone may be enough to improve your monthly cash flow, but you can also draw on your surplus equity to have additional money for living expenses or discretionary expenditures such as travel.
If downsizing is in your plans, the HECM can also be used to purchase a home that better fits your senior lifestyle.
Here’s the nitty gritty. You have to be 62 or older to qualify for a HECM. The amount of down payment or equity you need to have is based on your age and life expectancy, because the lender wants to know that you’ll outlive the equity which is going to be used up by not paying principal and interest until you die.
That down payment requirement (or equity requirement if you are refinancing into a HECM) ranges from 45% to 70%. A HECM
loan is FHA insured, which covers the possibility that you live longer than expected and drain all your equity by not paying those monthly principal and interest payments. When you die or move out, the home can be sold, and the FHA insurance means that the proceeds of the sale don’t need to cover the mortgage payoff.
If you’re married, only one of you needs to be over 62, and if the qualifying senior dies, the surviving spouse can remain in the house until he or she dies, even if that means the equity is exhausted.
You retain title to the house, just like with a conventional mortgage. You can sell at any time and pay off the loan balance with your proceeds at closing.
Because it’s an FHA loan, the closing costs of the HECM loan are greater than for a conventional loan, but, depending on your cash flow situation, it may be worth it.
Eligible property types include 1-4 unit properties, so long as you live in one of the units. It can include FHA-approved condos and townhomes, and properties that are titled in a living trust.
If you’re purchasing a home with a HECM, the seller can provide a concession for up to 6% of the purchase price to cover those higher closing costs.
If you’re not a senior but have parents who own their own home but are struggling with monthly expenses, you might want to explore with them the benefits of a reverse mortgage.
Our in-house lender, Wendy Renee, is an expert on this product. Give her a call at 303868-1903 to get your questions answered.
Why Centennial Water and Sanitation District rates were increased
Breaking down the charges on bills sent to ratepayers
BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Centennial Water and Sanitation District customers will see an increase in water costs this year and are encouraged to be mindful of water usage.
While wastewater costs will undergo small adjustments – some will remain unchanged – there will be an increase in both xed and variable costs for residential and commercial customers in Highlands Ranch and Solstice.
“We understand rate increases are dicult,” said Sam Calkins, Centennial Water and Sanitation District’s general manager. “ ese decisions are never made lightly, but they are necessary to ensure we can deliver the same great service today while responsibly investing in the future.”
e district held a public hearing regarding the proposed rate increase in late November, but no one attended. e board of directors then adopted the 2025 budget and rates at a Dec. 10 board meeting.
“ e board increased rates because our operations and maintenance costs have increased,” Calkins told the Highlands Ranch Herald.
Understanding the water bill
With the rate increase, the estimated water and wastewater bill for a typical single-family residence on a 7,500 sq. ft. lot will be about $1,286 in 2025. is is broken down into six charges in six billing cycles:
• Water usage: $500
• Service availability fee: $230
• Wastewater usage: $256
• Wastewater xed fee: $180
• Infrastructure Improvement fee: $90
• Street Light fee: $30
OPENING JANUARY 2025
e water usage charge is water based on gallons of water used, multiplied by the water rate. e increase is 11%, meaning customers will pay $5.32 per 1,000 gallons of water when they stay under their water budget.
“We applied the highest increase to the variable water rates so customers can keep their water bills lower by using less water,” Calkins said.
e service availability charge, a xed rate increase of 5%, covers costs to provide services such as customer service, repairs and replacements as well as xed cost of interest payments on debt related to construction.
e wastewater charge has a 5% increase. It’s a combination of a xed fee and wintertime usage. e charge covers the cost of operations, debt services and maintenance among others.
e stormwater charge, which covers the cost of design, construction and maintenance of stormwater facilities, will be unchanged, according to the district. Additionally, it’s projected to generate nearly $923,595 in revenue, slightly higher than what was projected in 2024.
Increased to $7.50 per month in 2024, the Infrastructure Improvement fee will remain the same in 2025. e xed fee is designed to ensure the district can fund future infrastructure capital projects.
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e fee that may be confusing to customers is the xed Street Light fee. Unchanged this year, the fee is collected on behalf of the Highlands Ranch Metro District, which is responsible for maintaining the street lights in Highlands Ranch.
“By combining it with the water and wastewater bill, we only have to send one bill to our customers,” said Calkins. “ is saves us money in administrative costs and saves our customers time and e ort.”
Calkins added that the increase to the xed fees was lower this year than in the past, which the district hopes will help customers on xed incomes.
e adopted 2025 rates will not be on the residential accounts until March 4, 2025, which is cycle one.
A downloadable PDF of the cost breakdown is available at tinyurl.com/
nfth8zwy.
Where does the money go?
e district has ve primary sources of revenue, according to the 2025 budget. Since the district does not collect property taxes, it’s mostly funded by water rates. e rates are established by the district’s board of directors and are based on the cost to deliver water to customers and taking the water to be treated when customers are done using it.
Similar to the reason behind last year’s increased rates, the increase can be attributed to increased construction, and operating and capital costs, according to the district. Some of the biggest increases the district saw were surface water leases and water and wastewater treatment chemicals, said Calkins. e water rates fund operations and maintenance, which includes sta , utilities, repairs, water acquisition, debt services and treatment chemicals.
Revenue from water rates also goes towards capital projects. e district has been undergoing renovations as part of its 10-year capital improvements, and these are aimed to address the aging infrastructure and to improve e ciency.
Currently, there are two projects in progress.
One involves upgrades to the Joseph B. Blake Water Treatment Plant. Since the district operates on a conjunctive system — using surface water and groundwater — upgrades will allow the district to treat and deliver water during peak summer months without relying on nonrenewable groundwater.
To meet updated state and federal regulations and to improve water quality, improvements are also being made to the Marcy Gulch Wastewater Treatment Plant, and these are anticipated to be completed in 2025.
“(It) is part of our broader strategy to ensure we continue to meet service demands, maintain infrastructure and improve water delivery systems,” Calkins wrote in a guest column that the Highlands Ranch Herald published in November.
The forebay is where water from the Chatfield, South Platte and McLellan reservoirs get pumped into and mix before going to the pretreatment building of the Joseph B Blake Water Treatment Plant of the Centennial Water and Sanitation District. PHOTO BY HALEY LENA
State mulls stricter rules for police licensing
Standards board asks to add 31 misdemeanors to disqualifying list
BY ALLISON SHERRY CPR NEWS
Child abuse, animal cruelty, theft, fraud, invasion of privacy for sexual grati cation.
In Colorado, a person can be convicted of these crimes — plus dozens of others — and still qualify to be a licensed peace o cer responsible for dealing with people at their most vulnerable moments.
e state agency in charge of licensing the state’s law enforcement o cers wants that to change.
e Peace O cers Standards and Training Board voted unanimously to ask the state legislature to add another 31 misdemeanor crimes to the existing list of 44 as “decertifying to be a peace o cer.” at means if the legislature agrees, a law enforcement o cer convicted of any of these crimes will also be decerti ed.
e state already bars anyone convicted of any felony from being able to serve as a law enforcement o cer.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose o ce manages the POST board, said that adding to this list of disqualifying misdemeanors is long overdue.
“Over a decade ago, the POST Board had recommendations for additional categories that should merit being decerti ed. e legislature failed to act,” he said. “It’s important that the public have full condence in law enforcement, and conduct in these misdemeanor categories is unacceptable and should prevent someone from serving in law enforcement in Colorado.”
Currently not included in that disqualifying list is violating a protective order –something state o cials hope the legislature adds.
Julia Stahnke was an Aurora police of-
CHARTER SCHOOL
cer who, in 2021, was found to have violated a protective order, after she was charged with domestic abuse and a colleague drove her back to her house to pick up a car.
Stahnke was going to get red for that, according to news reports at the time, but she resigned before getting red.
She ended up getting decerti ed in September 2023, but not for violating a protective order. She was found to have been untruthful and the POST board pulled her certi cation.
“It’s horrifying that these are not already violations that would decertify an o cer.
ese are the people the state entrusts to protect civilians in the most vulnerable times of their lives,” said Mari Newman, a Denver civil rights attorney who has sued law enforcement agencies on behalf of clients dozens of times. “We really should expect better from our o cers. If the state tolerates obviously bad behavior from law enforcement o cers, none of us should be one bit surprised when they engage in misconduct that endangers members of our public.”
e Colorado Association of Police Chiefs declined to comment on the proposal, saying they were still studying it. Since the pandemic, law enforcement agencies have complained about how difcult it is to nd quali ed o cers given a slew of retirements and low morale between 2020 and 2024.
board was of a di erent group, then some of those may not have passed and I think that takes away charter autonomy,” Williams said.
e state’s voters in November approved a $350 million grant, paid for by state dollars, to help agencies recruit and retain o cers, though how that money will be spent is still unclear.
Hashim Coates, an Aurora community advocate who has been critical of police misconduct, said he supports tightening regulations on who is quali ed to become a police o cer.
“Sometimes these are the least educated and least experienced people who have the greatest amount of control over someone’s future and so I think they should be held to a higher standard,” Coates said.
Colorado’s Peace O cers Standards and Training Board is asking the General
“Child abuse, theft, these are things they arrest on on a daily basis and the fact someone could be a police o cer after being convicted of these things is troubling.”
Tom Raynes, the executive director of the Colorado District Attorney’s Council, said that the state’s DAs support adding any criminal o ense to the decertifying list where the conduct “clearly exhibits a lack of integrity, is morally wrong or of evil intent.”
e state’s Fraternal Order of Police said
they haven’t seen the full list of proposed changes but will review them with an open mind.
“We always welcome conversations to ensure we maintain the highest level of integrity and public trust in our o cers,” the group said.
is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t public broadcaster serving Colorado. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.
“If released to the (Charter School Institute), John Adams will enjoy the freedoms denied to district schools and the students they control,” Peck said, calling the vote highly political.
Some Sterling Ranch residents who spoke at the meeting opposed the charter school because of a lack of transparency from the process and worried the charter would negatively impact a neighbor-
During public comment, a number of prominent Republicans — including Douglas County Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle; Darcy Schoening, the Colorado GOP’s director of special initiatives; Steve Peck, chair of the Douglas County GOP; and Heidi Ganahl, the former GOP candidate for Colorado governor — spoke in favor of the charter’s release.
hood school. Other community members questioned why the charter is able to circumvent the district’s process.
“( e request) is outside the charter cycle and they have not submitted an application or shown demand,” Jason Kassay, a Sterling Ranch parent, said. “Circumventing the process sets a precedent for future charters to operate in counties that don’t align with local goals.”
Under the oversight of the Charter School Institute, John Adams Academy will have to present funding for the school’s budget, letters of intent to enroll
and a curriculum plan that aligns to state standards.
Terry Croy Lewis, the executive director of the Charter School Institute, said the organization has strict standards to authorize charters to open, including requiring the schools to serve all students and be in compliance with state and federal laws. She said about half of the applications the Charter School Institute receives are denied.
“ e expectation is that if you’re coming to (Charter School Institute), you will serve all students,” Croy Lewis said.
Assembly to tighten the requirements to be a law enforcement o cer in the state. SHUTTERSTOCK
BY SARA WILSON COLORADO NEWSLINE
State forecast shows smaller deficit than anticipated
Colorado lawmakers will still need to cut a considerable amount of spending during next year’s budget making process, though probably less than the nearly $1 billion anticipated in 2024. e budget de cit could be around $672 million, the Legislative Council Sta and the Governor’s O ce of State Planning and Budgeting told lawmakers during the quarterly economic forecast on ursday morning.
“We are a little better o , or rather a little less worse o , than we were before,” said OSPB Director Mark Ferrandino. “We are still looking at a very di cult budget.” e number revision primarily comes from a change in the revenue cap set by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, which is determined by population and in ation and
COLD WEATHER
tions. It’s like asking a Toyota Camry to race on a NASCAR track. You’re not going to do well,” he said.
Reddy emphasized that even those who don’t have symptoms of heart disease should consider getting a stress test before starting new, intense physical activities.
“If you haven’t exercised in a while, that’s a reason to see a doctor and ask, ‘Is my heart OK to do this?’” he said.
The role of hypothermia in heart health
While heart attacks from exertion are the most common winter concern, Reddy also discussed the dangers of hypothermia, which occurs when the body’s core temperature drops.
He explained that prolonged exposure to cold weather, particularly if someone is wet or underdressed, can lead to dangerous changes in heart rhythm.
“Hypothermia can lead to bradyarrhythmias, a condition where the heart beats too slowly,” he said. “You can end up passing out or having a cardiac arrest.”
How to recognize the warning signs of a heart attack
dictates how much the government can spend before returning money to taxpayers. Economists predict that the state will collect less revenue subject to that cap, freeing up budget space.
e projected budget de cit, caused by factors including rising Medicaid costs and slowing in ation, will still make it a di cult year for the Joint Budget Committee as they wrestle with where to cut spending while preserving core state services.
“Due to TABOR, our state resources remain tight and we have our work cut out for us to balance this budget,” JBC Chair Sen. Je Bridges, a Greenwood Village Democrat, said in a statement. “Everyone will have to work together, across party lines, to protect essential services for the people of Colorado and continue e orts to make our communities safer and housing more a ordable
Gov. Jared Polis will submit a revised budget request the rst week of January ahead of when the Legislature reconvenes. His original request from November recommends a series of spending cuts and changes, including some Medicaid provider rate cuts that could become a primary point of tension between lawmakers and his o ce.
ursday’s economic forecast did not account for Proposition 130, which requires lawmakers to spend $350 million for law enforcement recruitment and retention. e Legislature does not, however, have to implement that this year and nd room for it in the budget.
e Legislative Council Sta ’s TABOR surplus estimates for the current scal year went down by $14 million from September. ey estimate a surplus of $356 million this scal year, $844 million next year, and $1.2 billion the year after that. It
would trigger the six-tier sales tax refund and various property tax refunds next year.
Expected general fund revenue for the next two scal years were revised upward compared to the September forecast from both OSPB and LCS.
“Today’s forecast shows that Colorado’s economy remains strong, with excellent wage growth, slowing housing costs, and healthy reserves,” Polis said in a statement ursday. “While this economic forecast shows potential challenges could emerge, Colorado’s budget environment remains tight, and the reality is that the legislature must make di cult decisions to deliver a balanced budget.”
is story is from Colorado Newsline. Used by permission. For more, and to support the news organization, visit coloradonewsline.com.
“If you’re shoveling snow and you feel o , that’s not the time to push through,”
2. Get a stress test before new exercise: If you plan to start a new activity like running, CrossFit or even shoveling snow, consider a stress test. is step is particularly important for people with risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes or a family history of heart disease.
3. Dress warmly to avoid hypothermia: Protect yourself from extreme cold by wearing layered clothing, gloves and hats. e AHA emphasizes that keeping your head and extremities covered prevents heat loss. Stay dry if you’re planning outdoor activities since wet clothing increases the risk of hypothermia.
4. Know your limits when shoveling snow: Break up snow shoveling into smaller sessions, and don’t be afraid to ask for help. e AHA recommends using a smaller shovel to avoid lifting heavy loads of snow, which reduces strain on the heart. Take frequent breaks and stay hydrated.
e AHA agrees, noting that women often experience heart attack symptoms di erently than men. Instead of classic chest pain, women may feel fatigue, nausea, or back and jaw pain. People with diabetes may also have “silent” heart attacks without obvious chest pain.
Reddy highlighted the importance of
Recognizing heart attack symptoms early can mean the di erence between life and death. Reddy noted that while most people know to watch for chest pain or tingling in the left arm, symptoms for women and people with diabetes can be he said. “ is can include shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain. If you’re noticing activities you normally do without symptoms are now causing shortness of breath or other symptoms, that’s your red ag to seek care.”
With cold weather here for the next few months, you can take proactive steps to safeguard your heart health. Here’s advice from Reddy and the AHA on how to stay safe:
1. Stay active year-round: e best way to avoid cold-weather heart strain is to maintain regular physical activity throughout the year. “Try to be active at home, like going up and down stairs, doing jumping jacks or using an indoor bike,” Reddy suggested. Keeping the heart conditioned prevents it from being “shocked” by sudden, intense activity like snow shoveling.
5. Schedule annual health checkups: “If you’re over 40, you should be getting yearly checkups,” Reddy advised. A physical exam can detect heart murmurs, a potential sign of valve disease and identify other cardiac risk factors. If a doctor hears a murmur, they may recommend an echocardiogram or further testing.
6. Recognize heart attack symptoms: Watch for classic heart attack signs, but don’t overlook subtle symptoms like nausea, lightheadedness or back pain. Women may experience heart attacks di erently from men. If symptoms occur during physical exertion — even if they seem mild — seek medical attention immediately.
A look back at 2024 in DCSD
So far, the 2024-2025 school year has been absolutely incredible in the Douglas County School District! In addition to the many academic accomplishments of our teachers and schools — here’s a quick look at some celebrations from the rst half of this school year.
Sta retention rates improve thanks to 2023 MLO
e mill levy override (MLO) passed by voters in 2023 is having a positive impact! e MLO allowed our school district to increase teacher and sta pay, making it more comparable with pay in our neighboring school districts. As a result, we have seen teacher and sta turnover rates decrease, and morale and job satisfaction increase. In addition, our school district is seeing more job applications for vacant positions, including for bus drivers. We were able to restore six bus routes (including two in Parker), meaning those routes will no longer have a rotating cancellation week schedule. We are working to train additional drivers to restore even more routes in early 2025!
Safety and security
Also thanks to the passage of the 2023 mill levy override, DCSD has hired campus security specialists at each of our elementary schools and added additional school resource o cers at the middle
EDUCATION CORNER
During the special season of appreciation and gratitude marked by anksgiving’s thankfulness and Christmas’s hope, peace, love and joy, many of us re ect on the gifts we exchange with loved ones. But what if we embraced a di erent gift that costs nothing but holds immeasurable value? What if we gave the gift of encouragement? Imagine receiving a call from someone you trust, love, and respect. ey call to tell you how much you mean to them, to express their admiration and appreciation for your presence in their lives, and to thank you for your love, advice, and support. Picture how that would feel. Even now, just reading these words, you may feel a warm glow, joy and a rmation.
Now ip the scenario. Imagine being the one to make that call, to reach out to a friend, family member, or colleague with a heartfelt message of encouragement. Envision their reaction and the connection that becomes strengthened. at same warm glow you imagined feeling. You might experience it intensely when encouraging when receiving it. Our world has experienced division fueled by contentious debates and heated arguments for years. Families and friendships have been strained, sometimes broken, over di erences of opinion or perspective. In such an environment, words can become weapons used to criticize, dismiss, or tear down. But words can also build. ey can inspire, uplift and heal. ey are the tools of either demolition or construction. We have the power to choose. In this season that emphasizes love and joy, what if we
and high school levels. ese amazing individuals are making a tremendous impact — not only on safety but also on our students!
Artificial intelligence pilot
In order to help us thoroughly understand and research the possibilities of AI in our classrooms, DCSD entered into a partnership with Khan Academy. Khan Academy o ers a new AI tool, Khanmigo, built speci cally for education. 18 of our schools are participating in a Khanmigo pilot this school year and we are hearing very positive feedback about how the tool is helping our teachers save time (so they have more time to focus on our kids) and assisting students in the learning process with personalized learning (including tutoring!). At the same time, Khanmigo is a perfect springboard for helping our principals, teachers, students and families alike in safely and ethically utilizing AI in a school setting. We have exciting things coming up in 2025 too, including next steps with the bond and strategic plan meetings.
2024 bond next steps
We have hit the ground running get-
ting ready to spend the 2024 bond money exactly as intended by voters. You can see estimated completion dates for bond projects at each of our schools at www.dcsdk12.org/funding. Additional data and information will continue to be added to the funding website so our voters can watch as the money gets spent exactly as promised.
Our Citizens’ Oversight Committee (Mill Bond Oversight Ad-Hoc Committee) is seeking parent representatives from Castle Rock and Parker. Visit our website to learn more and apply (www. dcsdk12.org/funding - go to “Accountability and Transparency”).
Strategic plan meetings
We will soon be hosting a series of engagement opportunities for you to contribute to our upcoming strategic planning process. It is always our goal to be the best school district in Colorado and to ensure that our students receive the best public education possible. We hope we can count on you to join us to IMAGINE what we want our school district to look like in 2035 and beyond and DREAM of the possibilities for our students and graduates.
We wish you a very happy new year and can’t wait to see what 2025 brings! is guest column was written by Erin Kane, the superintendent of the Douglas County School District.
Gift of encouragement is timeless treasure
all consciously choose to be builders, using our words to encourage and uplift those around
Giving the gift of encouragement is not always easy. It requires courage, sincerity and a foundation of kindness and grace. It asks us to set aside ego, bitterness or judgment and o er words a rming and
Encouragement is powerful because it meets people where they are. It acknowledges their struggles, celebrates their victories, and reassures them of their value. Whether someone is pursuing a dream, overcoming a challenge or simply navigating the complexities of daily life, encouragement can provide the boost they need to keep going. It’s easy to criticize or dismiss others. But o ering genuine encouragement takes e ort and a sincere heart. It requires us to step into a construction zone, rolling our sleeves to build others up rather than tearing them down. Encouraging doesn’t have to be complicated or grand. Small, thoughtful gestures can have a profound impact. Here are a few ideas: Reach out to someone and express gratitude for their presence in your life. Tell them how much they mean to you and why you admire them for their creativity or courage. A handwritten letter or card can be a treasure someone has kept for years. Take the time to articulate
We need interstate highways for electricity
IBIG PIVOTS
your appreciation and encouragement. If someone is pursuing a goal or facing a challenge, acknowledge their e ort and cheer them on. Sometimes, simply listening and being there for someone is the most tremendous encouragement you can o er.
Encouragement is not a one-time gift; it has a ripple e ect. When we lift others, they are often inspired to do the same for someone else. A single word of encouragement can create a chain reaction, spreading positivity far beyond its initial source.
As we re ect on the spirit of this season, let us remember that encouragement embodies the essence of hope, peace, love and joy. It strengthens relationships, heals wounds and brings light into the darkest corners of our lives.
So, this year, alongside the physical gifts we may exchange, let’s give the gift of encouragement. It costs nothing but can change everything. Let’s use our words to build, lift and inspire. As we offer this gift to others, we may nd that it is also the greatest gift we give ourselves. May this season be one of connection, kindness and encouragement. I would love to hear your encourager story at gotonorton@gmail.com. Remember that we all have something to give one another, the gift of our true feelings, making it a better-than-good life.
Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.
nterstate highways have transformed Colorado and America altogether. People growing up in the 1950s rarely had fresh fruit or vegetables in winter. Now, broccoli beheaded yesterday in a eld near Yuma, Ariz., can be on a store shelf in metro Denver within a day or two. Much of that journey will be on an interstate highway. High-voltage transmission lines are our four-lane highways of electricity. ey worked well enough when giant coal plants provided most of our electricity. Now, as Colorado and other states strive to replace fossil fuels with renewables, new connections must be built to knit us together across broader areas.
A federal agency this week delivered cause for cautious optimism. e Department of Energy has picked three transmission corridors among 10 national candidates for advanced work. One of them, the Southwestern Grid Connector Corridor, would begin in southeast Colorado near Lamar, and work south into New Mexico and then somewhat west.
e 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorized the Secretary of Energy to designate any geographic area as a national interest electric transmission corridor. e energy department has found that the absence of transmission harms consumers. With more transmission, we can share low-cost renewable generation across broader areas. We need an electric grid larger than one weather system and covering more than one-time zone. e existing transmission network is akin to our highways of 50 to 60 years ago. We have transmission, but it’s as if Interstate 70 stopped at the state line. In fact, transmission lines do. Colorado is in the Western electrical grid of 10 states and some adjoining areas. is grid, however, is better understood as a collection of 34 di erent islands connected by narrow causeways.
“A cautious hurrah,” said Mark Gabriel, the CEO of United Power when I asked his reaction. e Brightonbased electrical cooperative supplies 113,000 members from the foothills to Weld County’s oil and gas elds, including many new industrial centers along I-76.
“Anything that promotes additional transmission is a good thing,” said Gabriel. “However, the challenge remains in actually getting something constructed in a reasonable period of time to make a di erence.”
Erin Kane WINNING
Allen Best
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I also am an American
In response to the “I am an American” letter in the Dec. 19 editions: I have almost eight decades on this earth. I grew up on farms and in cities. I have dedicated my heart to our American ag. I watched American politics intently from a very early age. Patriotism surges in my heart when I salute the ag. I have numerous awards for my lifetime protecting my foster children and all foster children. I have never experienced an election that put us in such grave danger as this last. I also am not like Trump: racist, sexist, bigot, Nazi, a fascist.
I cannot begin to understand how someone who claims patriotism can vote for a braggart candidate who is all of these things. Trump made fun of disabled reporters, supports swiping money from children with cancer, brags about grabbing women’s intimate parts, speaks idolatry about Nazis and white supremacists, is responsible via negligence for thousands of COVID deaths, steals secret documents from our government, continues a friendship with traitors, and planned an attack against our country, etc. at so many Americans cared more for their pocketbooks than about our freedom is appalling. MAGAs do not recognize the strong patriotism of those of us who fear traitors such as Trump and his ilk. We love being the ones with compassion and generosity (“woke”) to the vulnerable, as Jesus asks us to do. Please learn and recognize the caring within us; we are those who continue to try to hold this country together after your dangerous vote.
Adoree Blair, Highlands Ranch
Urban wildfire risk needs attention
Great article from the Colorado Sun
by Jerd Smith in the Highlands Ranch Herald on 12/2/2024 reporting on progress being made in protecting aquifers and saving water in residential communities. Hopefully, these di cult changes and future e orts will deliver enormous bene ts and allow the Front Range to continue to sustain growing populations in coming decades.
Another extremely serious threat to this area is urban wild re. Colorado is one of three highest rated risk states for urban res, and Je erson and Douglas counties are at the top of the risk lists for destructive urban wild re.
First Street, a risk analysis company, rates our home in Highlands Ranch as “severe risk” for re damage/destruction, South Metro Fire rates it “very high risk” and Xcel Energy Wild re Risk Zones map looks like an even higher rated risk.
Gabriel pointed out that more than $40 billion in transmission projects have been announced. “Only a fraction are actually being built.”
Permitting has been the bane of many transmission projects. For example, it took 18 years before the TransWest Express Transmission project that will ferry wind-generated electricity from southern Wyoming to Utah and West Coast markets nally broke ground in 2023. It nicks the corner of northwest Colorado.
A bill being negotiated in Congress would ease federal permitting requirements to allow more rapid creation of transmission lines. Other provisions of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 would also bene t oil and gas extraction.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission, the wholesale provider for 17 of Colorado’s 22 electrical cooperatives, pointed to the need for streamlined permitting in its reaction to the transmission line in southeastern Colorado.
Transmission doesn’t come cheap. And just as interstate highways have their unsavory aspects — my companion and I can routinely hear I-70 roaring a mile away — transmission lines have their downsides. Who wants one in their backyard?
Some want to believe nuclear energy will solve all of our problems. e Pueblo City Council, while saying nice things about nuclear, intends to scrap a goal of 100% renewables by 2035. Maybe nucle-
Highlands Ranch and many Front Range communities were designed in the 1970s before we knew we were headed for serious water and re issues. A lot more information and research is available today, stu that needs to be incorporated into plans.
Residents need to call on our state, local and neighborhood leadership organizations to address urban re threat.
Douglas County’s acquisition of a helicopter for re ghting is a great move: Now governing organizations need to leverage their authority to lower the serious risks.
Denver Post, August 15, 2023, “More than 322,000 homes at risk.” Colorado Sun May 19, 2022, “1 million buildings are threatened by wild re.”
Where will the Front Range experience the next Marshall Fire in Colorado?
Jim Remley,
Highlands Ranch
ar will be an answer, but recent projects have had eye-bulging costs. Natural gas has problems, too, as was evident in Winter Storm Uri of February 2021 when costs soared.
Chris Hansen, as a state legislator from Denver, sponsored key legislation to push transmission planning in Colorado. Now in Durango as CEO of La Plata Electric, he has started working on guiding his electrical cooperative to 97% emission-free electricity in the next decade. Transmission, he says, will be crucial. e capacity of existing transmission lines can be expanded by reconductoring and other technology. But we all together need to be better connected east and west, north and south.
One crucial question, says Hansen, is whether Denver-based Chris Wright, the choice of Donald Trump to be secretary of energy, will support continued transmission planning. His Colorado-based career has been in oil and gas. Wright sees renewables as a distant solution.
Southeastern Colorado brims with renewable energy potential. Baca County has Colorado’s best wind, according to a 2017 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It also has strong solar. at’s why corn grows so well there — assuming it has water. e water of the Ogallala Aquifer won’t last, but the solar and wind almost certainly will. What it lacks now is a farm-to-market transmission highway.
Allen Best publishes Big Pivots. If you’re interested in the transitions in energy and water provoked by climate change, check it out at bigpivots.com.
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TikTok and timeouts: How I took my life back from social media
“Hold up! You’ve been scrolling for way too long now. Maybe get some food, get some water, and then come back later.”
Annoyed, I rolled my eyes at the TikTok Man and kept scrolling. TikTok’s algorithm will occasionally interject one of these “time to take a break” videos into your feed, supposedly when you’ve been on the app for over an hour. But I thought the algorithm to be a bunch of baloney. I hadn’t even been scrolling for that long!
Or… had I? I closed the app to check my “screen time,” a feature on the iPhone that monitors your usage of di erent kinds of apps. e apps are grouped into categories such as “social media,” “productivity” and “navigation.” Feeling smug, I was certain the majority of my screen time that week was spent on something worthwhile. Something in the “productivity” category, surely.
“TikTok: 3 hours 53 minutes,” my phone read. I had been scrolling on that darn app for almost four hours. Four hours!
My most used category? Social media. e Information and Reading category came next. Navigation was third. (I am 100% dependent on Google Maps so this came as no surprise.) e Productivity category didn’t even make my top ve. My average daily screen time was 8 hours, 27 minutes, over an hour longer than the average Gen Z-er, and I already knew my generation spends an absurd amount of time on screens. We’re not quite iPad kids (that’s Gen Alpha) but we are absolutely “chronically online.”
I was stunned. Was it true? Was I doomscrolling my life away?
Desperate, I quickly devised a plan. In my Notes app. Hopefully doing so would raise my daily average in the “productivity” category. at felt important. To be frank, the amount of time I was still spending on X (formerly Twitter) despite it being a terrible app ever since Elon Musk bought it, was downright embarrassing.
GUEST COLUMN
way that keeps you scrolling. And scrolling. And scrolling. As a result, young Americans’ attention spans have gotten shorter over time. ere is a growing amount of popular books, documentaries and TedX Talks on the subject, such as Atomic Habits, Scroll Zombies, e Social Dilemma, Dopamine Nation and more.
Not to be dramatic, but my reliance on those little dopamine hits throughout the day felt a little bit like an addiction in its own right. I was worried about what my “withdrawals” might look like. So as I put together my plan, I knew I needed to nd other things to do when I craved these digital drugs.
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I decided to name my plan “No More Brain Rot”. “Brain rot,” ironically, is a term I learned on Xitter. Urban Dictionary de nes brain rot content as “the various ‘short’ type-videos (typically a YouTube short, a TikTok, an Instagram reel etc.) that swarm social media feeds. It’s very easy to get sucked in and watch one short after another without even noticing. is lack of stimulation (or more correctly, empty stimulation) ‘rots’ the brain because of its self-repetition and low quality.”
As I began to draft my plan, I was reminded of something my dad used to tell my brother and me when we were kids. He told us that watching too much TV can turn your brain into soup. I fear he was on to something. While Urban Dictionary and dad jokes are great in their own right, they’re not exactly reputable sources. So I did a little bit more research. I could spend hours on TikTok or Instagram without even noticing, let alone remembering any of the content I took in. When I watched a movie, however, or read a long-form article, I retained virtually all of it. Why is that? I wondered.
CORRECTIONS
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Email linda@cotln.org if you notice a possible error you would like us to take a look at.
It turns out that short-form content like TikToks or reels on Instagram and Facebook give us an instant dopamine release in the brain’s reward pathways. Scientists say this makes dopamine levels spike to way above baseline. When you watch a movie or read a book, the dopamine release is a slow burn. You have to practice delayed grati cation to get the most out of the experience.
We live in an attention economy, meaning human attention has been commodi ed. Modern marketing tactics aim to “buy” your attention. Social media companies know this, and have designed their algorithms in a
I thought back to what I used to do before social media. Tapped into my inner child. I used to spend more time outside. I used to read more books. I used to call my grandparents more often.
Suddenly, the prospect of a digital detox seemed a little less scary.
No More Brain Rot was a minimalistic program. It only had three steps.
Step one: Delete, delete, delete e rst step was deleting all of my social media apps. Not my accounts, just deleting the apps o of my phone. While I had worries about missing the next “demure” joke, “Moo Deng” video, and other viral moments, I put my pride aside. What’s more important, being up-to-date on all the latest lingo and online trends, or improving my mental health and quality of life? If I had to be out of the loop for a beat, so be it.
Step two: Timeout timeline
e next step was to come up with a timeline. I had no idea how long a digital detox should last. I decided to shoot for 70 days because that’s how long Amy Winehouse said rehab takes, and this is basically the same thing. (Also, fortunately, I do have 70 days to work on this!) I also decided to make a goal of cutting my screen time in half. at meant I would allow myself 4½ hours of screen time a day. is step was important because without setting goals related to my screen time, I risked replacing my social media usage with Reddit or Candy Crush. Sticking to it for 70 days ensured I had enough time to form new, healthier habits.
Step three: Touching grass
Once I had a clean (app-free) slate and a rough timeline to work with, I was ready for step three, which I called “touching grass.” I thought of things I’d like to do more in my day-to-day life, and then when I wanted to go on my phone, I did one of those things instead. Reading, calling a friend, working out, meditating, journaling, pondering over the meaning of life … there are endless possibilities. I didn’t do all of these things every day, but it helped to have a lot of options.
My takeaway
One of my goals for 2024 was to read ve books. It might sound like a low bar to clear, but up until I began this challenge in late September, my 2024 book count was a whopping two. And one was an audiobook, so does that really count? Determined to avoid yet another failed New Year’s resolution, I picked out a stack of books and got to work. I couldn’t believe I had abandoned my love for reading for hours of doomscrolling on social media. And while I still have one to go, I can con dently say it was a success.
My average daily screen time was 8 hours, 27 minutes, over an hour longer than the average Gen Z-er, and I already knew my generation spends an absurd amount of time on screens. We’re not quite iPad kids (that’s Gen Alpha) but we are absolutely “chronically online.”
One of the interesting things about giving up social media is you remember who your reallife friends are. My real friends and I still texted and hung out like normal. Sure, they couldn’t send me funny TikToks or memes for 10 weeks, but we still communicated. is made me examine the people on my social media. I realized I was following so many people I don’t talk to anymore, which made my social media experience all the more overwhelming at times.
Whether it was a classmate from high school, or someone I met at a party during undergrad, it all felt like unnecessary clutter. It’s nothing personal; it’s just that I don’t need to know Chad from eta Xi’s thoughts on cryptocurrency. I vowed to unfollow quite a few of these folks once my digital detox ended.
I wasn’t perfect every day, but I was reminded of one of my former editor’s favorite quotes, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.” Focusing on the good, the results of my 70-day digital detox are pretty rad. I got back into reading, learned how to do a pulIup, spent more time outside, and felt more present in my day-to-day life. I even inspired my stepdad to join in on the challenge with me. It was helpful to have someone else to go through the process with. And he’s actually still going!
So, what now?
While part of me thought I could keep going forever, it didn’t feel realistic for me to never return to social media, both as a young reporter and an Enjoyer of Memes. But the process has changed my approach to social media. I don’t use it as a distraction from real life anymore. Instead, I try to use other habits for escapism, like listening to podcasts, going out for a walk or getting lost in a book. Since I’ve unfollowed a lot of people, I notice that spending time on social media doesn’t make me feel bad about myself the way it used to. Comparison is the thief of joy, and comparing myself to in uencers was not serving me in any way.
rough my research while on the break, I learned about a lot of tools people use to limit their social media usage. Once I returned, I set up controls on my phone that “time me out” of social media usage. It’s like using parental controls on a kid’s iPad, except I’m doing it for myself. ere are tons of apps out there that can help you limit your social media use.
I’m proud to say that if you look at my screen time report today, the ‘productivity’ category has taken rst place.
London Lyle is a freelance reporter for the Denver North Star and La Ciudad newsletter.
LONDON LYLE
London Lyle
Thu 1/09
Beyond Laser Light Experience @ 4pm Denver
The Panhandlers TX: Gothic Theatre @ 7pm Gothic Theatre, 3263 S Broadway, En‐glewood
Born Innocent: The Redd Kross Story
Screening
@ 7pm
Alamo Drafthouse Sloans Lake, 4255 W Colfax Ave, Denver
The Temptations & Four Tops
@ 7:30pm
Paramount Theatre Denver, 1621 Glenarm, Den‐
ver
Soneffs @ 8pm
Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver
Ravenscoon
@ 8pm
The Black Box, 314 E 13th Ave, Denver
Julius Rodriguez @ 9pm
Dazzle Denver, 1080 14th Street, Denver
Fri 1/10
Hog Mob Ministries: Hog Mob & Kingdom Muzic LIVE @ 7pm
Church in the City - Denver, Co, 1580 N Gaylord St, Denver
Club 90s Presents Justin Bieber
Night - 18+
Dirty Side Down Band: Dirty Side Down @ Sports Lounge Off Broadway @ 8:30pm
Sports Lounge Off Broadway, 44 W Centennial Blvd, Highlands Ranch
Sat 1/11
Hog Mob Ministries: Hog Mob & Kingdom Muzic LIVE! @ 12pm
Church in the City, 1580 N Gaylord St, Denver
American Aquarium @ 6pm Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St, Denver
Mark Battles & DJ The Rapper Live In Denver @ 7pm The Roxy Theater, 2549 Welton St, Denver
Colorado Symphony OrchestraMozart and Now @ 1pm
Boettcher Concert Hall, 1400 Curtis Street, Denver
Joe Anderies: Anderies Generations Quintet @ 6pm
Wed 1/15
KSE Venue Ball Arena Walk-In Tour @ 1pm Denver
Blue Herron Elementary @ 2:45pm / $360 Jan 15th - May 14th
Blue Herron Elementary, 5987 W Dorado Dr, Lit‐tleton. 515-708-0433
@ 8:30pm / $15-$23 Summit, Denver
Richard Bona presents Asante Trio
@ 8:30pm
Dazzle Denver, 1080 14th Street, Denver
PAUZ PRESENTS: PROMISCUOUS - A 2000's Club Bangers Throwbacks Party @ 9pm HQ, 60 S Broadway, Denver
Cedric Gervais (18+ Event) @ 9pm Club Vinyl, 1082 Broadway, Denver
Sun 1/12
Club Level Seating: PWHL TAKEOVER TOUR @ 1pm / $47 Ball Arena, Denver
Nurse John: The Short Staffed Tour @ 7pm / $35-$45 Paramount Theatre, Denver
Dazzle Denver, 1080 14th Street, Den‐ver
Tue 1/14
Colorado Avalanche vs. New York Rangers @ 7pm / $63-$999 Ball Arena, Denver
Tribute to Dr Martin Luther King Jr @ 7:30pm
Boettcher Concert Hall, 1400 Curtis Street, Denver
Denver Nuggets vs. Houston Rockets @ 7pm / $20-$1965 Ball Arena, Denver
Buddha Trixie @ 7pm
Lost Lake Lounge, 3602 E Colfax Ave, Denver
Nebraska Omaha Mavericks at Denver Pioneers Mens Basketball @ 7pm Hamilton Gym, 2240 Buchtel Boulevard South, Denver
Thu 1/16
The Cookers @ 6:30pm Dazzle Denver, 1080 14th Street, Denver
Man Cub & MEDZ @ 7pm Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St, Denver
TAUK @ 8pm
Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Denver
Death By Dub @ 9pm
Ophelia's Electric Soapbox, 1215 20th St, Den‐ver
Experts give insight on how to stick to your New Year’s resolutions
BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Afew years ago, Randi Smith received an Italian accordion as a gift from her husband.
For years, it had been her goal to learn how to play the instrument. She planned to start learning once she retired, but her husband encouraged her to start before that.
But, despite resolving each new year to become an accordion player, Smith still hasn’t learned to play.
“I set myself up, because my goal to learn to play the accordion — it wasn’t speci c enough, and it certainly wasn’t attainable enough,” she said. “Whatever I did have in my mind was a fantasy rather than an achievable, measurable, stepwise map towards progress. It was just like, ‘I’m gonna learn how to play the accordion this year!’”
Smith, a professor of psychological sciences at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, said her story is a common one. Research shows that people tend not to stick to
their New Year’s resolutions beyond a few weeks, with some articles stating the failure rate is as high as 80% by February. rough her research and her work as a licensed psychologist and a licensed clinical social worker, Smith has seen that many people do not achieve their goals for a variety of common reasons. Whether people are making New Year’s resolutions or setting goals at another time of year, there are tips everyone can keep in mind when aiming to build new habits.
One strategy, Smith said, is to set realistic and measurable goals. Unlike her goal to learn to play the accordion, she said good goals should be speci c, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Many experts refer to these goals by the acronym “SMART.”
For learning to play the accordion, a smart goal could be to play 20 minutes per day, ve days per week and master the song “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” by February, Smith said.
A man scrolls on his phone in his bed at night. SHUTTERSTOCK
BOTTOM LEFT: Exercise groups can be one way to find social support to help you toward
TOP LEFT: An accordion gifted to Randi Smith by her husband. COURTESY OF RANDI SMITH
RESOLUTIONS
“It’s speci c,” she said. “I think it’s achievable. It’s time-bound because it just gives me one month to get that far. And, I can certainly measure it and see whether I’ve been able to do that.”
Smith said it can also be helpful to write goals down. Putting goals on paper encourages the goal-setter to think about how to make the objective more structured, and also helps a person track their progress. It’s critical, however, to make sure that you aren’t too hard on yourself if you falter, Smith said. She said one roadblock to reaching a goal is “developing this all-ornothing thinking around it.”
“As soon as there’s something that is not counted as success toward the goal, the person feels like, ‘I’m a failure, I blew it — better try again next year,’” she said. “Obviously, that’s not good, and that’s why so many resolutions fail within the rst couple weeks or couple months.”
Smith said many people think they need to be hard on themselves in order to keep themselves accountable, but that strategy can actually back re.
“Sadly, the inner-drill-sergeant approach doesn’t really work, because then failure seems so total,” she said. “ e truth of the matter is — and it’s born out in the research, and I certainly see it in my own psychotherapy practice — that you’re actually creating more space for success if (you choose) to be more exible and kind to yourself.”
Cindy Morris, a clinical psychologist, said there are also things to keep in mind when deciding which habits to build for yourself. She is the clinical director of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus’ Behavioral Health and Wellness Program, where her team trains organizations around the country to help them help patients and clients change their behaviors.
Speci cally, her program trains healthcare organizations, mental health organizations and community and public health groups to help their clients live nicotine-free, practice self-care and improve sleep habits, nutrition, physical activity and more.
Morris said self-awareness is the most important step to changing behavior. First, she said it’s important to re ect on your emotions, especially when you feel guilty or bad about something you have done or continue to do.
“It’s important to listen to it and see what the emotion is telling you,” she said. “Is it,‘I feel bad because I have a rule in my mind, a thought, a belief that tells me this is bad to do?’ or is it that it actually isn’t right for me? Once you get a sense of what’s going on — what is it that you want or don’t want — then you can focus more on the behavior.”
When a person decides they want to change a behavior or build a healthy habit, Morris said, it’s helpful to re ect on the triggers or cues that lead to the behavior they’re trying to change, what their current routine is and what the reward is.
“As people are aware of this kind of habit loop, then they can choose a new, di erent behavior, or di erent habit that they want to practice, and then they can replace the routine,” she said.
For example, if a person nds themself going to sleep late because they always stay up scrolling on their phone, they might recognize that this happens in the lull in the evening after they nish cleaning up from dinner, Morris said. ey might try to replace their mindless phone use at that time of night with reading a novel or taking a relaxing bath — something that can still let them get the reward of turning their brain o for a little bit before they go to sleep, without keeping them awake all night.
Morris said practice is an important part of habitbuilding.
“It’s not like anyone does anything like, say, plays a sport or something (and) the rst time you do it, you’re
“It just feels good to not only be thinking about yourself but to have other people in mind and wonder how they’re doing on what they wanted to be accountable towards.”
incredible and you’re going to the Olympics,” she said. “It’s incremental. And so, we want to be gentle with ourselves.”
Morris and Smith both said having social support is a helpful environment when you are practicing new habits.
“( ere’s) good empirical support for having social support when we’re working on a new goal,” Smith said. “If my goal is to lose 30 pounds in 2025, having a partner who is engaging with me — maybe somebody I meet with to have some regular exercise, or joining a support group to improve my nutrition and master my overeating... We know those things are helpful.”
For Lakewood resident Ty Preizler, having social support is helpful when working towards goals. at’s why he started the Denver Healthy Habits Accountability Group, a community for people to come together to support each other in building new habits.
“I nd that I’m I’m way more motivated when I know that there’s going to be a group of people in a few weeks that I’m going to sit there and talk with about this,” he said. “Just having that companionship makes it a lot easier to stick to to the habits that we want.”
His group, which he launched in October, generally meets once a month. ey discuss their goals and sometimes do guided meditations or journaling sessions to re ect. With a variety of ages and backgrounds, the group members are working towards goals related to tness, nutrition and nding purpose in life.
Learn more about the group at https://www.meetup. com/denver-healthy-habits-accountability-group/.
So far, Preizler said his favorite part of the group has been getting the chance to help people, hearing their challenges and nding a community of people who understand and encourage self-improvement.
“It just feels good to not only be thinking about yourself but to have other people in mind and wonder how they’re doing on what they wanted to be accountable towards,” he said. “It just feels good.”
Psychology professor Randi Smith says it can be helpful to write down your goals. SHUTTERSTOCK
Ty Preizler, Lakewood resident
Castle Rock setting strict regulations on psychedelics
Town council decides against exemption allowance for existing practices
BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Castle Rock Town Council approved regulations limiting the potential locations and operations of businesses facilitating the use of psilocybin and other natural medicines.
e council voted 5-2 to pass the rst reading of an ordinance to restrict natural medicine businesses and healing centers to light and general industrial-zoned areas, and to require them to be at least 1,000 feet away from schools, childcare facilities and residences.
e ordinance also restricts business hours to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, as well as sets guidelines for building security measures, containing odors and proper disposal of medicine byproducts and waste.
e council had delayed voting on the ordinance after hearing from a few local practitioners who said the law would prevent them from treating existing patients and advocated for lighter regulations.
While the council considered allowing existing businesses to apply for exemption from the regulations, the council backtracked on that plan at the Dec. 17 meeting, voting to not include exemptions in the ordinance.
Without the exemptions, at least two local businesses will not be allowed to o er
natural medicine services at their existing locations due to the geographic restrictions.
“We need to be very careful here, so strictest regulations absolutely, because I can see the state turning this around and legalizing it in some other fashion and then we have opened the door for this,”
Mayor Pro Tem Laura Cavey said.
While some council members would have preferred to ban natural medicine businesses in town, state law prevents that but allows municipalities to regulate operations.
State law legalized natural healing centers where people use natural medicines under facilitation, and natural medicine businesses for cultivation, manufacturing and testing. Selling psilocybin or other
natural medicines is still illegal.
During public comment, local practitioners encouraged the board to move forward with the exemptions, sharing stories of their patients who would or have bene tted from natural medicine.
Adam Graves, owner of Colorado Natural Medicine, said he works with veterans experiencing mental health issues, such as post traumatic stress disorder, to help them heal through therapy and the facilitated use of natural medicine.
“ ere’s already stigma to get help, there’s stigmas against anxiety and depression. Why put extra stigma on it by making them go someplace that doesn’t feel safe or feels more stigmatized,” Graves said. “I know this is a weird new medicine, but I don’t think the 20 veter-
ans who shot themselves today have 20 or 30 years to wait for the pharmaceutical industry to realize this is revolutionary and groundbreaking medicine.”
According to a 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Veterans A airs, roughly 18 veterans died by suicide every day in 2022.
e comments provoked Councilmember Tim Dietz, a Navy veteran, to admonish the providers.
“It’s disgusting the way you abused the use of veterans tonight,” Dietz said. “I do not run into very many veterans who want to use mushrooms all the time and the overuse of that tonight – you lost me.”
Other public commenters voiced support for strict regulations, raising concerns about the lack of research into natural medicines and their side e ects.
“We don’t know what the long-term effects will be from the use of magic mushrooms, that will take years of research,” Castle Rock resident Susan MacAfee said. “Every person reacts di erently to drugs based on their age, genetics, body composition and other drug use, so no one knows how any particular person will respond to psilocybin.”
Only council members Max Brooks and Mark Davis voted against the ordinance, with Brooks saying he feels the regulations are too restrictive.
“It’s not a retail establishment, there’s no walk-ins,” Brooks said. “It’s a microdose used in a therapeutic setting under physician control. Any of the narrative around how that’s going to be a gateway to other illicit drug use, I just don’t see the connection there.”
e council will vote on a second reading of the ordinance before it takes e ect.
Castle Rock Town Council has approved regulations limiting the potential locations and operations of businesses facilitating the use of psilocybin and other natural medicines. PHOTO BY ARIA MARIZZA
Colorado cyclist returns from 5-year trip around the globe
Ted Eliason details circumnavigating the world on his bicycle
BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMNMUNITYMEDIA.COM
After over ve years pedaling across 56 countries spanning ve continents, Ted Eliason is back in time for the holidays and enjoying the creature comforts of his Westminster home.
On Dec. 14, Eliason, 57, turned the nal corner of his neighborhood bordering Westminster and Arvada on his Surly bike to return at last to his wife, Kendra, and the welcome sight of his friends, family and food he’d missed for a half-decade.
It only took 51,164 miles and 1,379 days.
Eliason had always planned to climb the Himalayas. To prepare for this bucket-list goal, he moved to Colorado in 1999 with the idea of using the Front Range as a training ground for tackling the tallest peaks in the world. He and Kendra had lived a life together of rock climbing, ice climbing, mountain climbing and all sorts of mountaineering adventures (including summiting all of Colorado’s 14ers), from the Rockies to the Alps to the Andes and in Canada.
But one day a mountaineering accident broke Eliason’s foot. To help in his recovery, he took up cycling, but could never have guessed the places it would take him.
“I had started watching people on Instagram doing this kind of cycling, and realized the money that I would spend on one guided peak in the Himalayas was enough to fund me for about three years on a bicycle instead,” Eliason said. “And so I sort of changed my lifetime goal at the last minute. Instead of taking three months with a 50% chance of success at one mountain, how about we take three years and try to go through 50 countries around the world in one trip? And so I was at a point in my life where I decided, if I’m ever going to take a shot at this, this is when I need to do it.”
Part I: Hitting the open road … and quick roadblocks
After weeks of planning and plotting, he set out on his expedition in 2019, pulling his loaded-up bike out of his garage to trek across the country to Newfoundland, stopping during nights to set up camp and nd at ground for his tent. In the beginning, it was easy to overthink, and to overdo just about everything, he said.
“Absolutely there were a lot of doubts,” Eliason said. “I started by over-planning, over-gearing, over-spending. And it’s funny. e longer that I’ve been doing this, the more my executive
thinking about, ‘OK, where do I have to be tomorrow? Where am I going to eat, sleep, you know, what can I a ord?’ And over time, I just got better at it.”
He rode his momentum down to Providence, Rhode Island, where he’d y across the pond to start his European stint. After landing in Dublin, Eliason powered up to Scotland before turning south for Brindisi, Italy, to wind around the Alps to the east.
A ferry took him to Greece, where he biked east through Croatia to the Danube River.
Following the ancient waterway from Serbia to Bulgaria, Eliason quickly learned that this trip wouldn’t be possible in just three years. e COVID-19 pandemic would halt his journey and the world over.
for the Turkish border to open, which it never did.”
Discouraged and antsy, Eliason reluctantly made for the So a International Airport, ashing his passport to guards through highway checkpoints and nally being let through.
Getting home was an expensive roadblock in his journey, costing him both his nances and his time.
Upon his return, Eliason quickly discovered (unsurprisingly) that he wasn’t satis ed sitting around waiting for the Earth to reopen. Before he knew it, he was back on the bike.
So
“I missed the Turkish border from Bulgaria by a day,” Eliason said. “ I got to Bulgaria, and then basically the whole country just locked down. Which, you know, if you’re going to get stuck, Bulgaria is a good place. It’s the least expensive country in the EU. I had a very comfortable one-bedroom apartment on the Black Sea. I wound up staying there for three months waiting
“When I got home, I wasn’t ready to stop,” he said. “My wife suggested I bike out to Oregon and see my brother, and I had always wanted to do the West Coast bicycle route down Highway 1. My COVID loop was up to Glacier, over to the U.S.-Canada border, down the West Coast to Tijuana. And back at that point, I was in California spending $8 on a box of Triscuits, and just was like, this is not the priority for spending. So I went home, and I kind of rotted for a year and a half and waited.”
Ted Eliason poses in front of a sign depicting the longest road through Australia. He biked from Perth to Sydney on his journey.
COURTESY PHOTOS
The map above details Ted Eliason’s final stretch from South America back to Colorado. It also details his trip during COVID-19 to Oregon and down the West Coast.
Part II: Getting back in the saddle
By April of 2022, Eliason nally felt borders had opened enough to pick back up where he left o . But this time, Kendra was coming along, if only for a bit.
e adventurers went back to Greece for Round Two. ey enjoyed parts of Greece and Turkey together for two weeks before Kendra returned to the U.S. and sent him o for Central Asia. A bus took her to the airport in Istanbul.
As for Eliason, he made it into Turkey this time and followed a path across Georgia and Central Asia to the Chinese border.
Rather than go through China, which was still closed due to the pandemic, he traveled to Almaty, Kazakhstan, to y rst to Dehli, India, before connecting to Leh, one of the northernmost points of India and a key historical trade point also known for stunning views and cultural signi cance.
After enjoying a week of backpacking in the area, Eliason continued his journey down the west coast of India around the peninsula to Chennai on the eastern side. Kendra ew to meet him again in Bangkok in January 2023.
All the way from Bangkok to Nha Trang, Vietnam, the two cycled across Cambodia together for ve weeks. It was an experience the two will relish forever and was the favorite stint of the long journey for both riders.
“South Asia was freaking amazing. I would go back,” Kendra said. “ ere’s not many places I would say I would go back. e riding was so amazing. ere’s always a huge shoulder (to bike on), and they’re all on two wheels. You’d see families of six on one motorcycle. It was so crazy exhilarating to go through South Vietnam. e tra c was just insane. We had kids chasing us and cheering us on (and) little kids racing us on bicycles. It was like a bicycle culture.”
From there, Kendra went home while Eliason looped up through Vietnam solo to the Chinese border before wrapping around Laos to get to ailand. He moved south through Malaysia before hopping over to Indonesia to bike from Java to Bali, concluding the Asian stint of his journey.
Another ight took him to Australia, where he’d trek across the outback from Perth all the way to Sydney before taking to New Zealand. While this portion of his trip was undoubtedly beautiful, Eliason said Australia and New Zealand, much like the U.S., can be di cult to navigate. “ e U.S. and Canada together, as well as Australia and New Zealand, are geared around cars, and how you travel through them is just very di erent from how you travel in the rest of the world,” Eliason said. “ e rest of the world is, in general, much easier. I mean, there are towns everywhere, there’s food everywhere (and) it’s more a ordable.” ere would be long stretches of highway between cities or towns that would make him push harder to reach a food source, or often camp for the night and survive on what he already had on his person.
After ve weeks in New Zealand, it was time to go back to the Americas.
Part III: Back to the Americas
Landing in Santiago, Chile, the nal stretch up South America back to Colorado was underway. But rst, he’d loop down the Carretera Austral highway to Ushuaia, Argentina, dubbed the “end of
the world” at the southernmost point of South America on the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.
Most of 2023 had passed since Eliason had seen Kendra. But she decided to y south for the winter in December to explore ve South American countries with him.
ey met in Calafate to cycle through Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande Do Sol Brazil, Paraguay and nally Bolivia to La Paz where she ew home again ve months after she’d arrived.
us began the last leg of his transcontinental journey. It began with Peru, which Eliason said was the beginning of his travel burnout.
“Peru was absolutely the most di cult for me,” Eliason said. “ e Himalayas are easier because the roads are like the Front Range — like (here). In Peru, they are not. ey are up and over repeatedly. So you’re doing 3,000-meter climbs, which can take two days, and then going down and doing it again. It’s very safe.
e people are very nice. e dogs are a bit aggressive. But getting through the Peruvian Andes for me was just really, really grueling.”
He continued up through Ecuador and Colombia before taking a sailboat to Panama. Central America took him through Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala before he broke through to Mexico.
e American Southwest was beckoning, and Eliason was anxious to chase it. He longed for his wife, his bed and some Taco Bell.
He nally broke through to Arizona, riding the desert up to Utah and cutting across to Colorado. Just a week from home, a snowstorm would hit Colorado, delaying his nal homecoming. He camped in Parker before making his way to Denver, stopping at the REI at Con uence Park downtown.
Local cyclists and friends joined him there to make the nal stretch back to his Westminster garage. Eliason was welcomed home with a party, a makeshift “ nish line” to break through, and lots of food he’d been missing.
After six sets of tires, countless ats, seven broken chains, eight sets of brake pads, over 20 spokes, four rim/wheel repairs, ve pairs of pedals, 3½ saddles and over 10 ights, he pulled into the garage he’d embarked from ve years ago.
Dismounting from his trusty Surly Disc Trucker, he fell into the arms of his wife while friends and family cheered, ready to celebrate his return. It was sunny and 50 degrees, and for the rst time, Eliason didn’t have to set up camp or worry about what tomorrow’s road would bring.
“ ere’s far, far less to fear about most countries in the world than I ever expected,” Eliason said, re ecting on a lifechanging journey. “ e vast majority of countries will greet a foreign traveler on a bicycle, even an American traveler, like a long-lost relative. I mean, people are just generally good, curious, kind, hospitable people.”
For more photos and to experience Eliason’s journey mile by mile, visit @ bikingthebluemarble on Instagram, and stay tuned for his experience in his own words in a forthcoming book he plans to begin soon.
THERE’S MORE ONLINE!
See more photos at https://coloradocommunitymedia.com/2024/12/17/ colorado-cyclist-returns-from-5-year-triparound-the-globe/ and read answers to four more questions we asked Ted Eliason.
Pictured is a campsite Ted Eliason from Colorado set up along Peru’s grueling highway through the Andes mountains.
Ted and Kendra Eliason pose for a photo as they cross into Brazil.
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