Hope House Colorado hosts ribbon cutting for new Early Learning Center
Over 100 youngsters will have a new place for early childhood care, as Hope House Colorado held the ribbon cutting for its $5.4 million Early Learning Center.
Aug. 15 — leaving plenty of time fornal touches to be taken care of before the rst day of school, which is set for Aug. 26. e facility will serve 50 kids aged six weeks to 5 years old this year, before expanding to its full capacity of 100 children next year, according to a
Preference for the childcare spots is given to Hope House moms — the nonpro t primarily serves teen and young moms — and sta members’ children.
Two arrests made in near-fatal shooting outside of Arvada Village apartments
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Two suspects have been arrested in connection to a shooting that took place last month outside the Arvada Village apartments near the corner of Ralston Road and Pierce Street.
e shooting took place around 5:40 p.m. on July 30 and left one victim with serious injuries. e victim — who has not been identi ed by Arvada Police — was rushed to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive, according to APD.
On Aug. 7, APD announced that they had arrested two suspects believed to have been involved in the shooting; 18-year-old Juan Mendoza Castillo and a 16-year-old suspect who has not been identied because he is a minor. e 16-year-old is the main suspect in the shooting, an APD spokesperson said.
Arvada Mayor Lauren Simpson cuts the ribbon for the Hope House Early Learning Center opening.
COURTESY OF HOPE HOUSE
New Image Brewing launches Table, a new farm-to-table restaurant concept in Arvada
“This is a place to come for dinner just as much as it is a place to come for beer”
BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Badger ame beets, dragon tongue beans, bronze fennel fronds — these may not be ingredients you’d expect to nd on a brewery’s menu, but New Image Brewing Part-Owner Brandon Capps and new Head Chef Russ Fox are hoping to change that.
Capps and Fox are heading up New Image’s revamped dining concept, which will bring a new palate to the Olde Town dining scene: fresh, innovative, farm-to-table cooking that prioritizes quality over pretentiousness, according to Capps. While some of the ingredients stray from typical bar food fare, the unfussiness of the preparation is re ected in the concept’s name: Table.
To that end, Capps and Fox have worked to create a concept that emphasizes local sourcing that supports Colorado agriculture — they said they have direct relationships with 15 local farms and ranches — and a presentation that’s worth the trip but won’t break the bank.
“I’m a T-shirt kinda guy,” Capps said. “I’m not super into really stu y experiences, but I like really wellexecuted, super high-quality stu . So, it’s like, ‘How do we match that friendly, casual atmosphere with really elevated food and beverage?’” e answer seems to lie in creating an atmosphere that works equally well for a date night and a quick drink with friends.
e Arvada location of New Image — which also has a separate taproom in Wheat Ridge that will continue to serve a wood- red pizzabased menu — will see its interior i split into two sections: the bar side, with high-top tables and the dining room side, which has more intimate seating and a dreamier ambiance.
Across both sides of the concept, a DIY spirit persists; Capps built the new dining tables himself by repurposing the brewery’s older, picnicstyle tables.
at principle is re ected in Fox’s food as well. e Apple Blossom and Coperta alum has exclusively worked in farm-to-table restaurants for the past 13 years and said that the creative bent of that cuisine drew him to New Image.
“What I really love about farm-totable cooking is that you get to create experiences for people and show them food that they probably aren’t used to,” Fox said. “Seeing cool varieties of vegetables, working with local purveyors — and yes, it tastes great too — it’s stu that you’re not used to seeing on the plate together.
“I think showcasing those (elements), especially at a brewery where people aren’t really expecting that, is pretty exciting to me,” Fox continued.
Fox also brings years of experience working with di erent farmers, many of whom will see their produce worked into the Table menu. He’s also constantly on the lookout for new connections, stopping by farmer’s markets and scanning the rows for his next source of inspiration. (“I just started using a new mushroom guy,” Fox says with excitement).
Capps said he chose Fox to head up the concept because they share a similar ethos.
“I’ve always been really impressed by people that can take literal trash and turn it into a high-end feel because most people just lack that creativity,” Capps said. “(Some people) throw an enormous amount of money for stu that just looks contrived and inauthentic. Everything we do is pretty darn authentic because we just don’t have an in nite budget.
“So, you spend the money on the things that are a priority, and then everything else you do with elbow grease,” Capps continued.
When he rst opened New Image in 2016, Capps’ original vision for the brewery was “a higher-end experience that’s still casual and accessible,” but the Olde Town of
nearly a decade ago wasn’t quite ready for small plates and ne dining, he said. Now, after the success of restaurants like Stone Cellar Bistro, the tides seem to be turning.
“Anytime I try to look up farm-totable restaurants, or even just places that are just a little bit higher end with sourcing standards and stu , there’s really not much on this side of Denver,” Capps said.
“We want to bring that to Olde Town,” Capps continued, “and be
an addition to what Stone Cellar is already starting to do, which is building a legitimate food scene that’s here to come nd — not just because it’s convenient, but because there’s a good enough menu that you’re going out of your way to seek it out.”
Fox said his goal has been to craft a menu that matches New Image’s award-winning beer program.
New Image Brewing is debuting their new food-to-table concept, Table.
PHOTOS BY LILLIAN FUGLEI
From left: Parisian gnocchi, tres leches panna cotta, badger flame beet salad.
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As the Real Estate Market Shifts, We’re in Uncharted Territory Thanks to NAR Settlement
Sunday was the deadline for one very significant change in the practice of real estate, as the result of a March 15th settlement between the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and a group of Missouri home sellers who claimed that the sharing of listing agent’s commission with the buyer’s agent was somehow a violation of anti-price fixing laws and just plain “unfair.”
Although I, along with most Realtors (and, in fact, NAR), disagreed, the parties agreed to a settlement in which MLSs may no longer display how much a buyer’s agent will earn if he brings a buyer to the table.
Real Estate, we’re not so worried.
Below is a picture of the yard sign that in front of the solar-powered listing featured at the bottom of the page. Do you notice anything new about it? Yes, it has a sign rider telling both buyers and their agents that the seller will pay a 2.5% commission to an agent who represents the buyer of this home.
The brochure in the brochure box has that same information. You could say that “nothing has really changed,” and you’d be almost right. What has changed is that we are not “splitting” our listing commission with the buyer’s agent. Ra-
ther, the seller has agreed (at my suggestion) to incentivize agents to bring their buyer, knowing that their client will not have to pay him, because the seller will. The sellers who sued to end the practice of commission splitting will finally recognize that compensating the agent who represents their buyer is a practical way to sell a home. They had hoped that buyers would now have to pay for their own professional representation, but if, as I expect, the vast majority of home sellers agree to compete with each other for the buyer’s business, which home do you think the buyer will offer to buy?
That’s how I see these coming weeks
and months shaking out. Some sellers will say, “Hey, I don’t have to offer compensation,” and a few may succeed with that strategy. But one thing is for sure: the universe of potential buyers will be smaller, because a significant percentage of buyers can’t afford to pay for representation on top of the other fees I listed in last week’s column. I do expect that many buyers will feel they should only deal with listing agents directly, but when they see our sign rider, they may do the right thing for themselves, which is to have a professional working in their best interest instead of the seller’s. Stay tuned!
MLS Now Has Fields for Audio & Video Recording
That change took place at midnight last Thursday and many real estate professionals are concerned about how it will affect them personally. At Golden
Do You Know or Care Where Your Realtor Stands Politically?
Real estate is not the only profession where the “rule” is never to talk politics or religion. I agree about religion, but in today’s divisive political climate, I feel differently about revealing my political leanings, which are liberal. As a seller, I would not be comfortable hiring an agent who was a Trump fan. Someone else may prefer hiring a fan of Trump.
Recently, a Denver agent referred a Golden seller to me. When I told him that his home would be advertised next to my weekly real estate column, he said, “I don’t read newspapers anymore because they’re all fake news.”
Okay, we’re not a fit — and that’s okay with me.
Archive of Past Columns Is Online
Over the past two decades, this column has appeared in local weeklies and the Denver Post, and during that time I’ve written about every conceivable topic related to real estate. You can find and search that archive online at www.JimSmithColumns.com
New: Solar-Powered Green Mountain Home
$795,000
The seller of this 3-bedroom/2½-bath home at 14038 W. Amherst Ave. provided this springtime picture of their crabapple tree in bloom. Not visible from the front is the seller-owned 5.98-kW solar array which reduces the Xcel monthly electric bill to under $10 year-round. The oversized garage has an extra 5'x18' workshop/storage area with natural light. The workbench, shop light and pegboards are all included. There’s another workshop area in the unfinished basement, plus a 10'x11' wood laminate dance floor! The cul-de-sac location makes this home a quiet place to enjoy life with friendly neighbors. The 8'x25' composite deck off the eat-in kitchen is half-covered, with stairs down to the backyard with its lush grass, garden beds and linden tree. The other half of the deck is shaded by the house itself in late afternoon. The 6'x8' front porch is also covered. Visit www.JeffcoSolarHomes.com to view a narrated video walk-through and drone video, plus magazine-quality photos and floor plans. The seller replaced the windows on the first floor and most of the second floor with high-end Marvin windows. The windows are energy efficient double-paned windows with aluminum clad wood frames. The frames are powder-coated white, requiring no routine maintenance. Come to the open house Saturday, 11-1, or call broker associate Kathy Jonke at 303-990-7428 to see it. Note: Seller offers 2.5% buyer broker compensation.
With surveillance systems becoming more and more common in American homes, buyers can never be sure that what they say to each other and their agent during a showing isn’t being monitored remotely by the seller.
Personally, I advise my buyers to assume that everything they say is being heard by the seller and to monitor their conversation accordingly. There are any number of things a buyer could say while
touring a home that would disadvantage them when it comes to negotiating a contract or inspection issues.
REcolorado, Denver’s MLS, now has fields for indicating whether there is audio and/or video recording inside and/or outside the listing, but buyers should not count on privacy if those fields are not checked. I recently sold a home where the fields weren’t checked but cameras (and Alexa) were definitely present.
Just Listed: 20-Acre Apple & Peach Orchard
Our former broker associate, Kim Taylor, is now an independent broker in Cedaredge and just listed this interesting agricultural property nearby. With 4.8 shares of surface creek water, the meticulously managed fruit is thriving again this year, and there is a leased rental house that was recently remodeled. The orchard contains blocks of apples and peaches and has been a successful producer for over 20 years. The property also has a 1500 sq. ft. cooler with loading dock, a tractor barn with electric, and two 30-amp electric and water hook ups for RVs. Located in the county, this agricultural property sits literally on the edge of Cedaredge city limits, only 1/2 mile from town center. Property taxes run less than $500/year. Come take a closer look! The Cedaredge area is a great location for the outdoor enthusiasts! Just 20 minutes away is the Grand Mesa, the largest flat top mesa in the country with over 300 lakes for fishing, lots of space for camping, hiking and biking, miles of groomed Nordic ski trails, Powderhorn Ski Resort, snowshoeing, and miles of snowmobiling — not to mention that the Gunnison River is only 15 minutes south, and the greater area is Colorado wine country, with an airport just 45 minutes away! Seller also has 10 more acres with blocks of apples, peaches and grapes that would make a great addition to this property. Learn more at www.OrchardCityHome.info, then call Kim at 303-304-6678 to arrange a visit.
$850,000
HOPE HOUSE
A spokesperson for Hope House said that the early learning center will remove one of the main barriers for teen moms who sometimes struggle to nd a ordable childcare. e spokesperson said that Arvada is considered a “childcare desert” because the city does not have enough childcare spots to meet the needs of families.
Hope House Director of Early Childhood Education Lisa KirkPlowman echoed those sentiments.
“ e Hope House Early Learning Center will remove one of the top 3 barriers our teen moms face when striving toward personal and economic self-su ciency,” Kirk-Plowman said. “Colorado is deemed a childcare desert with only 1 childcare spot for every 3 children who need one, that gap widens for families who qualify for CCCAP (Colorado Child Care Assistance Program).
“ is early learning center will allow our teen moms to reach their self-su ciency goals sooner, ultimately creating a brighter future for themselves and their children,” Kirk-Plowman continued. “In addition, providing care for the children of our sta will enable us to recruit and retain quality sta to walk alongside our teen moms in their selfsu ciency journey.”
Arvada Mayor Lauren Simpson attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and said the Early Learning Center is a great addition to the Arvada community.
“Research is clear that investments made in early childhood — emotional comfort, nutritious food, and, yes, high-quality, age-appropriate education — can have positive impacts on a person throughout the course of their life,” Simpson said. “With this facility, Hope House will be supporting the children to lead better, healthier lives just as it does with their mothers.”
e Early Learning Center will also host a summer camp for children up to 12 years old, set to open in 2026.
Exterior of the Early Learning Center.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOPE HOUSE
Professional artists emphasize joy, creative process at Golden Fine Arts Fest
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLOROADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Art is for everyone, but the artist’s life is not.
Whether it’s packing up hundreds of pieces and driving across the country to attend art shows every weekend, or quitting a full-time job to make a living o the creations they spent hours perfecting, an artist’s life has unique challenges not everyone is equipped to handle.
Still, Golden Fine Arts Festival participants said all the ups and downs are worth it because they love their craft and the community of fellow artists and art enthusiasts they’ve met along the way.
An artist’s life for them
The Thornton resident recalled quitting his job to become a professional artist.
He said he started about a decade ago when he was trying to ll an empty wall in his new house. He came up with a design and made it out of cardboard, which he said wasn’t ideal. He later tried it with wood, which worked much better. He then spent two years learning everything he could about how to make wooden sculptures, and now he’s adding kinetic acrylic sculptures to his repertoire.
Kvande said he enjoys working for himself and on his own time. He doesn’t have to commute to an o ce every day or ll out a timecard.
However, he continued, the artist’s life isn’t for everyone. It requires a lot of work and travel, and he acknowledged that some artists prefer having studio spaces, so they can separate their work from their home life.
Around 100 artists participated, showcasing their jewelry, paintings,
On Aug. 10-11, the Golden Chamber of Commerce hosted the 34th annual festival along 11th Street. Last year’s event drew approximately 9,000 attendees, according to city crowdcollection data, and organizers were expecting similar numbers this year.
photographs, sculptures, bers and more. About 55 artists were Colorado-based, including several from the Denver metro area like kinetic sculpture artist Ryan Kvande.
To anyone who’s considering becoming a professional artist, he said, “Just do it. Go for it. Don’t wait.”
Highlands Ranch’s Erika Smith tries on a sweater at fiber artist Godelio Palomino’s stand Aug. 11 at the 34th annual Golden Fine Arts Festival. Smith said she loves attending the event every year to visit her favorite artists and meet new ones.
PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
“ ere’s plenty of places around town to grab a burger and nachos, you know?” Fox said. “I think bringing something a little more elevated that also matches with the beer side of things for our company is something that we’re excited about.”
After sampling some of Table’s o erings, that concept seems to ring true. e dishes pair unfamiliar ingredients — citrus lace marigold and garlic-milk foam, to name a couple — with familiar preparations like gnocchi and osso buco at a reasonable price point.
Table’s small plates average about $16, while the entrees tend to hover around the $28 mark. So far, nothing on the menu costs more than $34.
e locally sourced basis of Table’s menu means that the menu can and will change often to accommodate
di erent farmer’s stocks. Capps said he also plans to revamp New Image’s cocktail menu to create even more food and beverage pairing options that are dictated by the seasons.
Supporting local farms and ranches isn’t just in the best interest of serving fresh cuisine, Capps said, but also in doing his part to ensure Colorado’s agricultural network thrives.
“We have a precious ecosystem here (in Colorado) that’s currently capable of producing food that we’re able to process into meals as well as beverages,” Capps said. “We’d like that to remain true, so we’re trying to support as many people who are using regenerative practices, who are reinvesting in the long term of Colorado’s agriculture so that we get to continue to have that as a state.”
Table’s soft opening was set for Aug. 14, with a more o cial grand opening on the horizon in about a month or so, Capps said. Reservations will be incorporated sometime, but not at the start.
A spokesperson for APD said that the victim and the suspects knew each other. Both suspects have been placed in detention centers.
New Image’s hours at its Arvada location will be 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through ursday; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. e brewery and restaurant will be closed on Mondays. New Image and Table are located at 5622 Yukon St. in Arvada.
Mendoza-Castillo was jailed on suspicion of 2nd-degree assault and is being held on cash-only bond for $7,500. e 16-year-old suspect is being held in a juvenile detention center on suspicion of 1st-degree assault and 1st-degree attempted murder. He is being held on a bond of $25,000.
REVERSE MORTGAGES MADE EASY
New Image and table are located at 5622 Yukon Street. PHOTO BY LILLIAN FUGLEI
Westminster Council cautious of airport runo letter
Councilor wants Je co to help identify water problems from RMMA
BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Westminster City Councilors this week nixed sending a letter penned by a fellow councilor to Je erson County Commissioners asking for cooperation in detecting and containing contaminants allegedly streaming from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport into local water supplies.
e letter from Councilor Amber Hott asks the commissioners to engage with the council in a “strategy of detection and containment of contaminates from RMMA.”
Hott, in her letter, notes the rapid expansion of the airport and that it lies about two nautical miles uphill from Standley Lake.
e lake is the primary water source for the nearly 300,000 residents of Westminster, ornton and Northglenn, Hott said.
“I believe it is the responsibility of the City Council to protect this precious resource,” Hott said.
She said she met with new airport director Erick Dahl and Je erson County Development and Transportation Director Abel Montoya. e three said that proactively dealing with potential water contamination from the airport was the best method of protecting downstream water consumers.
“Mr. Dahl, Mr. Montoya and Councilor Hott agreed that methods of contaminant detection and containment at the site, rather than nding and removing them from water as it is delivered to thousands of residents, made the most sense,” Hott’s letter states.
‘Work with our partners’
Other Westminster councilors this week declined to sign the letter. Most said the letter should be reviewed by city sta members who could determine the vulnerability of the city’s water supply.
e letter could then be amended before it is sent to the commissioners, they said. Councilors also said the airport director should talk to the entire council about airport concerns.
“…As a majority we want to work
with our partners,” said Councilor David DeMott, who told Hott, “I fully support what you are trying to get at.”
“I still would like us to meet with new airport director and address our concerns,” DeMott said. “We have a very capable sta , and I would like to understand the sta ’s point of view.”
Hott said she was disappointed in the council’s reaction to her letter. “It was just a simple request on how (ofcials) plan on detecting a potential contamination and what kind of containment would be put in place,” Hott said.
Hott, in her letter, pointed to several potential contaminants from airport activities, including PFAS chemicals from re ghting activities, leaks from fuel tanks and leaching from runways contaminated with leaded aviation gas and other petroleum products, especially for the crosswind runway that is fast deteriorating.
Her letter also notes the potential contaminants from a plane painting
operations and lead contamination from the exhaust of piston engine aircraft ying over Standley Lake. ere is no indication when the council will take up the issue of water contamination from RMMA.
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A Google Earth view looking southwest over Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, on the bottom right, and Standley Lake in the upper left. Westminster Councilor Amber Hott said she is concerned about polluted runo from the airport reaching Standley Lake, the water supply for Westminster, Northglenn and Thornton.
COURTESY GOOGLE EARTH
Trial & error
Farther down 11th Street, Arvada painter Jessica Mahan’s booth featured dozens of acrylic and oil paintings, with Mahan describing how she loves depicting natural scenes like owers, lily pads and aspen trees. She said she particularly loves painting patterns and “pushing color to its limit without doing too much.”
Mahan, who’s been an artist for almost 20 years, recalled how she was always sketching when she was in school but was afraid to add color. When she was in college, she learned how to add color to her works, particularly what colors to put next to each other to help the paintings pop.
While she previously taught art in public schools, Mahan now teaches part-time for art centers in Evergreen and Arvada. She loves being able to share what she’s learned over the years, she described.
“I want people to have joy when they’re painting at home,” she said.
Denver’s William Mantor, a ceramics artist for 14 years, said he dabbled in other media and art forms, but “ceramics just stuck.”
He added that he liked how tactile it is as an artform, saying that he hand-throws all his pieces. Mantor, who’s part of the Arvada Ceramics Art Guild, said makes mostly functional pieces — cups, jars, plates and vases.
While some artists prefer to showcase their pieces in galleries, Mantor said he prefers to participate in art shows. He enjoys traveling and
meeting other artists, explaining how everyone in the community looks out. ey give each other advice about other shows, destinations, audiences and so on.
Ultimately, Mantor said, showcasing at art shows is like making the art itself: “ ere’s a lot of trial and error.”
Depending on the region and/ or show, audiences may prefer one type of media over another, or one style of ceramics over another, he said.
“It’s interesting to see how di erent styles are popular in di erent places,” Mantor continued.
‘What it can add to your life’ Mahan encouraged anyone, re-
gardless of whether they’re an artist, to “practice creativity every day.” She hoped people would nd an outlet to help them through their frustrations, joys, lulls and highlights, whether that was writing, movement or something else.
“I’ve learned so much about myself through the creation of my work,” Mahan continued. “When I’m painting a piece, I see how it can apply to my life. … Art is important for everyone to participate in … because you don’t know what it can add to your life until you practice (it).”
And for those who are artists, Mahan and Mantor encouraged them to keep going.
“People often get discouraged and burnt out,” Mantor said. “You should try di erent things. ere’s something for everybody, but you have to keep at it.”
Mantor said something that beneted him was rst working for other professional artists, whether individuals and/or studios. He explained how it was a great way to practice his art while also learning about how to run a business.
Still, whether people are creative as a hobby or as a career, Kvande said they shouldn’t forget that artistic spark that rst inspired them.
“Sometimes you have (a piece) in your mind, and you just want to see it,” he said of his creative process. “I want to see what’s in my mind and show it to other people.”
On Aug. 11, a Golden Fine Arts Festival attendee tests out a wooden toy by artist Kris Kratz. The Nebraska-based woodworker was one of 45 out-of-state artists featured at the event, which was held along 11th Street.
PHOTOS BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
Owl paintings by Texas-based artist Steve Hunsicker are on display Aug. 11 at the Golden Fine Arts Festival. Hunsicker was one of 45 out-of-state artists featured at the Aug. 10-11 event.
O -duty Je co Sheri ’s K-9 bites child, parent in Castle Rock
BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A Je erson County Sheri ’s deputy has been placed on administrative leave after his K-9 attacked two people while o -duty.
e incident, which happened Aug. 11 near the deputy’s Castle Rock home, is still under investigation, both Castle Rock and Je co Sheri ’s personnel con rmed.
Around 4 p.m. Aug. 11, Deputy Zachary Oliver and K-9 Ragnar were o -duty at their Castle Rock home when Ragnar jumped the 5-foot fence into a neighbor’s backyard. Ragnar then bit a child and
their dad, who intervened, the Jeffco Sheri ’s O ce stated in an Aug. 14 press release.
When Oliver became aware of Ragnar’s escape, he was able to regain control.
JCSO con rmed Oliver was placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing, and K-9 Ragnar is being quarantined from other animals and people, except for Oliver, for 10 days.
Meanwhile, the two victims were taken to local hospital immediately after the Aug. 11 incident and are now recovering at home, JCSO stated.
CRPD spokesperson Taylor Tem-
by was unable to share the child’s age or the extent of the victims’ injuries, clarifying that the case is still under investigation. More information is expected in the coming days.
Meanwhile, JCSO spokesperson Jacki Kelley con rmed the o ce is cooperating with CRPD while also conducting its own investigation into the incident. JCSO is also reviewing K-9 Ragnar’s future as an active member of its organization.
“We’re absolutely devastated that this incident occurred at all,” Kelley said. “We must ensure that this does not happen again.”
As of 4 p.m. Aug. 15, no additional information has been released as
the case is still under investigation, Kelley added. She clari ed that JCSO won’t take any additional action on its end until CRPD has concluded its investigation.
Oliver was previously a handler for K-9 Gra t, who was killed during a February 2023 suspect-apprehension call on the Colorado School of Mines campus.
Last summer, Oliver received a new partner in K-9 Ragnar thanks to the Sheri ’s O ce and the community’s support, and has continued to advocate for increased penalties for those convicted of hurting or killing K-9s and other working animals.
More Colorado children will get state-funded full-day preschool classes this year
BY ANN SCHIMKE CHALKBEAT COLORADO
State o cials say over 11,000 Colorado children will get free full-day classes through the state’s universal preschool program this year, more than double the number last year. e increase means progress towards one of the state’s original goals for the preschool-for-all program: extra hours for 4-year-olds with the greatest needs, like those from lowincome families, as well as kids who are learning English, have special education plans, are homeless, or in the foster care system.
It’s a signi cant contrast from last summer, when the state backpedaled on plans to cover full-day preschool for every child with one of those ve risk factors. So many families applied for half-day seats in the new program that Colorado didn’t have the money to fund as many fullday seats as it had hoped. State ocials noti ed thousands of families that were expecting to get free fullday preschool about the pullback just weeks before the start of school. at left many parents in the lurch and angered preschool providers. Several school districts stepped up to cover the full-day preschool costs themselves last year, but expressed frustration about the budget hit. Some districts cited the state’s last minute decision to limit full-day preschool in a wide-rang-
alleging broken funding promises, among other things. (A Denver district court judge dismissed the case in early July.)
Not every 4-year-old with one or more risk factors will qualify for free full-day preschool this year. But at least 6,000 more will qualify compared with last year, and that number could rise as more families apply for universal preschool in the coming weeks.
Dawn Odean, director of the universal preschool program, said the increase shows progress toward the state’s goal of serving students equitably: “We’re really excited.”
Two factors helped pave the way for more children to qualify for fullday preschool this year.
First, the state has more money for it. at’s because voters approved about $24 million in additional preschool funding in November.
Also, state o cials rewrote some of the program’s rules last fall to more carefully target the children from the lowest-income families for full-day preschool.
Colorado’s universal preschool proved popular immediately, serving about 39,000 4-year-olds in its
inaugural year — about 62% of that age group in the state. Most received 10 to 15 hours a week of tuition-free preschool, but some received 30 hours a week, which the state considers full-day preschool.
When state leaders were rushing to plan the program in the year before its launch, they decided to o er full-day preschool to children with certain risk factors. e idea was to provide more learning time to children facing extra challenges.
But one risk factor captured a particularly large group of kids: the low-income category. at category covered children in families with household incomes up to 270% of the federal poverty line, or about $84,200 in annual income for a family of four.
Last July, as the program was about to begin, 15,000 children with at least one of the ve risk factors had joined. But there was only enough funding to serve a fraction of that number with full-day classes. e shortfall triggered a provision requiring students to have both the low-income risk factor and a second risk factor in order to get full-day preschool.
More Colorado children in poverty will get tuition-free full-day preschool classes this year.
PHOTO BY JIMENA PECK/CHALKBEAT
Voters to decide fate of mountain lion hunting
The last wildlife management question that went to voters was the reintroduction of wolves
BY JASON BLEVINS THE COLORADO SUN
Colorado voters will get a chance to ban mountain lion hunting in November.
e Colorado Secretary of State on Wednesday con rmed that the campaign to end mountain lion hunting in Colorado had gathered enough signatures to get Proposition 91 on the November ballot. e initiative asks voters to declare that “any
trophy hunting of mountain lions, bobcats or lynx is inhumane, serves no socially acceptable or ecologically bene cial purpose, and fails to further public safety.” e measure would ban any shooting or trapping of wildcats but allows killing cats that are threatening livestock or people.
Representatives with the Cats Aren’t Trophies group submitted 147,529 valid signatures, more than the 124,238 that were required for ballot access.
Samantha Miller, the manager for the Cats Aren’t Trophies campaign, said the organization has 900 volunteers who will now transition from signature gathering to outreach and advertising.
4,400 mountain lions in the state. e agency has managed lion hunting for decades with annual caps on how many cats hunters can kill. In 1980, hunters took 81 mountain lions.
In the 2022-23 lion season, 2,599 hunters spent 1,635 days hunting lions and killed 502 animals, including 298 males and 204 females. at was below the annual limit set by the agency, which is updated daily during lion hunting seasons. Colorado Parks and Wildlife requires hunters to take an online class and exam before securing a license to hunt mountain lions.
“Our message remains, Coloradans know that the cruel and inhumane trophy hunting and fur trapping of Colorado’s wild cats has no place in our state, and many of them have been outraged to learn this practice continues despite measures in the ’90s that stopped leg-hold traps, hounding of black bears and spring bear hunting,” Miller said in an email. e Cats Aren’t Trophies group has raised $414,000 since the beginning of the year — with the largest contributor, Washington D.C.-based Animal Wellness Action, providing $147,000 — and spent $335,000, according to the group’s Aug. 1 ling with the Colorado Secretary of State.
California is the only state in the U.S. where voters have banned mountain lion hunting.
e last time voters weighed wildlife issues was in 2020, when a narrow margin of Coloradans required Colorado Parks and Wildlife to reintroduce wolves on the Western Slope. Before that, voters in 1992 approved a constitutional amendment that limited black bear hunting, and in 1996 voters approved an amendment that banned leg hold and instant-kill traps.
Hunting advocates challenged the ballot initiative last year, arguing the wording of the measure was misleading and the state’s Title Board erred when approving it for signature gathering. e Colorado Supreme Court in January denied the challenge and a rmed the Title Board’s decision.
Two years ago animal conservation groups supported legislation that would have banned the killing of mountain lions and bobcats in Colorado. Hunting groups opposed the bill and ooded lawmakers with opposition statements. e bill’s top sponsors pulled their support before the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources committee rejected the legislation in February 2022.
CPW has managed lion hunting since 1965
Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimates there are between 3,800 and
Colorado Parks and Wildlife rarely takes a side in political issues and the agency did not take a position on Initiative 91. But the agency supports mountain lion hunting as a tool for managing populations.
“For many people, hunting is a continuation of the hunter-gatherer traditions and a way to connect to nature. It also helps maintain healthy wild animal population,” reads a statement on the agency’s website. “ ere is no evidence of managed hunting leading to the extinction of any species in Colorado, or of well-regulated hunting negatively a ecting the population stability of the state’s mountain lions.” e agency this year held public meetings to update its management plan for lions on the Front Range, where development into mountain lion habitat is increasing human-lion interactions. e Front Range management plan — which was last updated in the mid-2000s — mirrors 2020 updates to the West Slope Mountain Lion Management Plan.
In January, Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioners cut the 2023-24 lion hunting season — which typically runs from December through March with a second season in April — by eliminating the April season. Commissioners also voted to prevent hunters from using electronic calls to lure lions in the two hunting areas on the Western Slope where calls were allowed. e changes came as animal advocates decried a slightly higherthan-average number of female cats killed in the early portion of the season.
A ranger found a mountain lion in a cottonwood tree in Garden of the Gods about 6 a.m. April 29, 2023. The adult mountain lion stayed in the tree all day, feet from unsuspecting hikers on Ute Trail and climbers in the Snake Pits, a popular bouldering section of the park, likely after feasting on a deer.
LIONS
Hunting groups and others behind the Colorado Wildlife Conservation Project have worked against the hunting ban, arguing that voter initiatives can sidestep management by state wildlife biologists. e groups point to healthy mountain lion populations in Colorado since 1965, when Colorado Parks and Wildlife began managing wildcats as big game. Opponents of Proposition 91 will continue an educational campaign “to let the conservation-minded public at large know why mountain lion hunting is important and what this hunting ban is bad for science-
PHOTO BY CODY BEAR SUTTON / SPECIAL TO THE COLORADO SUN
based management in Colorado,” said Bryan Jones with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.
“We will certainly talk about ballotbox wildlife initiatives and how they can be a negative for wildlife management in Colorado,” said Jones, who expects the opposition campaign will include the challenges that followed the introduction of wolves to the Western Slope this year. “We can see there have been problems and mistakes that have put folks at odds with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and we don’t want to see that again.”
is story was printed through a news sharing agreement with e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned nonpro t based in Denver that covers the state.
VOICES
Get to know the Democrat presidential candidates
Democrats in Je erson County and across the country are excited and energized by our new presidential candidates. We know that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz will take this country forward to the future we all want to see. Maybe these names are new to you. Let’s get to know them a little.
As the daughter of parents who brought her to civil rights marches in a stroller, Kamala Harris was inspired to tackle injustice from an early age. She took that mission to county courtrooms, the California Attorney General’s ofce, the United States Senate and the White House. Now she is running for President of the United States to continue protecting our freedoms, delivering justice,and expanding opportunity so that every American cannot just get by, but get ahead.
FROM THE LEFT
What’s the problem?
bringing violent crime down to a near 50-year low; passing the largest-ever investment in tackling the climate crisis; and appointing the rst Black woman to the United States Supreme Court.
Vice President Harris has proudly represented the United States on the global stage in meetings with over 150 world leaders and bolstered vital alliances against tyranny abroad — and she is just as committed to stopping would-be authoritarians and dictators at home. She is leading the charge to protect fundamental freedoms, including the right to an abortion and the right to vote.
Splashed across every newspaper headline, highlighted on every TV and radio report and covered on every internet and social media site are the “problems” of the day. Remember the old adage, “if it bleeds, it leads?”
So, let’s take a minute to ask ourselves, what’s the problem? Is it the Democrats’ policy of open borders or an absurd energy policy based on the unscienti c “green” agenda? Maybe its antisemitism and supporting a proxy war with Russia through Ukraine? Perhaps it’s Democrat control of the Governorship and Colorado’s state legislature that has led to ine ective action to reduce our una ordable Property Taxes? Why do the Democrat Je co Commissioners want to take away our TABOR refunds? e list seems endless and there can be no argument, these are some big problems!
FROM THE RIGHT
As vice president, she’s been a trusted partner to President Joe Biden in their work to take on the powerful and make change for the people — from standing up against extremists to defending reproductive freedom to taking on Big Pharma to bring down prescription drug costs and cap the price of insulin at $35 a month for our seniors.
e Biden-Harris administration has achieved a historic record of accomplishment, including: bringing our economy back from the brink of disaster to create nearly 16 million new jobs; investing over $1 trillion in infrastructure projects like repairing roads and bridges, removing every lead pipe in America, improving public transit, and expanding access to high-speed internet; strengthening the A ordable Care Act and lowering health insurance premiums to save millions of Americans an average of $800 per year; expanding health care for veterans exposed to toxins; enacting the rst meaningful gun safety reform in decades and
Minnesota Gov. Walz is a champion for America’s working families. He enlisted in the Army National Guard when he turned 17 and served for 24 years, rising to the rank of Command Sergeant Major. After attending college thanks to the GI Bill, Tim Walz served his community as a high school teacher and football coach – taking his team to the state championship for the rst time in the school’s history. He became a member of Congress in a Republican district by representing the needs of farmers and rural America. As governor, Tim Walz cut taxes for working families, lowered the cost of insulin and eliminated junk fees, and protected women’s right to choose. As the election draws closer, we encourage Je co voters to go to the Je co Dems website www.JeffCoDems.org for up to date information on candidates and ballot measures.
Kathryn Wallace is the Chair of the Je erson County Democratic Party.
But here’s the real “biggie” – runaway government spending! In blue states like Colorado, at every level of government, there is an insatiable appetite to get and spend more tax money!
Why does government demand so much money? Do elected o cials care that citizens are struggling to make ends meet? Are they indifferent to the huge number of small business closures?
e answer is simple, government is doing way more than it should. In simplest terms, the role of government is to provide services that cannot be privatized because the scale of providing those services is impractical. Would it be realistic to support the military or highway systems without public oversight? Not really. Could public safety be maintained? Look at the amazing job the brave re ghters did this month to contain multiple wild res. ank these sel ess individuals when you meet them!
Consider giving freebies to illegal immigrants in sanctuary cities like Denver. Did we direct our government to provide free housing, cash on debit cards, and cell phones? We don’t even do that for our struggling veterans! How about a destructive welfare system that has cre-
Don Ytterberg
ated generational dependence on free money? Remember President Clinton’s “workfare” program? It was a terri c idea to reward working. So, the problem is that the government is sucking up too much money!
e Federal government overspends by a trillion dollars every 100 days. is is the primary reason for in ation. No Mr. Biden, it’s not “greedy corporations” – it’s greedy government! At the state level, Democrats have changed the name of taxes to “fees” to get around constitutional spending limits. e state Balanced Budget requirement and the TABOR (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights) Amendment protect us from even higher taxes at all levels.
Wait a minute, what about Je co? Well, in a clear con ict of interest, the three Democrat commissioners have hired a political consultant to try to convince us to give up our TABOR refunds so they can spend more tax money. So far, they have spent more than $300,000 of our tax money to construct a ballot measure, probably with really confusing language, to pretend that “with no increase in taxes” they will do something good with our money. Unfortunately, a politician’s promise of better “anything” for more money rarely comes true.
We need a sea change in Je co, Colorado and nationally. Elected o cials need to perform their job of protecting and assisting us, not controlling us through bigger government and social engineering. On Nov. 5, 2024 let’s select candidates who will reduce government spending!
Don Ytterberg is a former four-time chair of the Je co Republicans and former two-time Vice Chair of the Colorado Republican Party. He has been a candidate for the Colorado Senate and the U.S. House. He and his wife Kim have been residents of Je erson County since 1987 where he has been a business owner since 1990.
Kathryn Wallace
Wildlife Olympics: There’s no contest!
The Olympic Games present a thrilling glimpse into the world of extremes.
Athletes have varying heights, musculatures, skin colors and genders. At any Olympic event, there may be many languages spoken and a variety of cultural norms observed. Despite these seemingly wide disparities, only one species is present: homo sapiens.
In the world of wildlife, such a test of superiority would be a much more intriguing albeit complex event. How does one compare the winged vs the scaled, the furry vs the shelled, the hoofed vs the pawed?
Perhaps judging the Wildlife Olympics is less about choosing which creature should earn the highest honor of gold, silver or bronze but rather a recognition of the ways in which our non-human animal cousins have blossomed into spectacular and unique adaptations and skills which outshine our own. Yet, there are some clear gold medal winners. You may be surprised by who has earned the respect and praise of scientists who are the true judges of the Wildlife Olympics.
What would be the measure of an Olympic category for eyesight? e eye of a mantis shrimp, a crustacean the size of your pinkie nger, has 16 photoreceptors compared to a paltry 3 photoreceptors for humans. Researchers believe that the quantity of photoreceptors of the mantis shrimp’s eyes may allow visual information to be preprocessed by the eyes instead of the brain. Scientists have already awarded the mantis shrimp the gold medal for the most complex eyes of any species in the animal kingdom.
e mantis shrimp is lauded for a second characteristic. Appendages which are folder under the animal’s carapace (giving the shrimp an appearance similar to the mantis insect) can smash prey with the power of a .22 caliber bullet. To compete with the shrimp, a human would have to punch through steel (and walk away with an intact hand).
Elephants may be the gold medalist, but the silver goes to our neighbor, the black bear. eir sensitive
INSIDE THE OUTDOORS
noses can follow a scent for miles. Bears can smell your burger on the grill from the next town over. Bears are about to enter “hyperphagia” which means packing on 20,000 calories per day. e usually shy creatures become bold during this time. Keeping trash, bird feeders and other attractants out of sight and securely locked is imperative.
In Colorado, bears are under a “two-strike” policy-the rst infringement will earn a bear an ear tag and relocation. A tagged bear breaking into a home may be killed by wildlife o cers due to the risk to human safety. A tragedy that is completely avoidable, killing of habituated bears is the worst outcome for the o cers, homeowners, and bears.
If wildlife put their heads together (the ones that have heads), they might award the Gold to the humble tardigrade, the most magni cent animal you didn’t know exists. Also called water bears, the tiny creature, 0.059 inches, survives conditions that make the rest of us whine (or die).
Exposure to extreme temperatures, radiation, starvation, dehydration, and astoundingly high and low pressures does not stop this diminutive micro-fauna in its quest to outcompete every other species. Related to nematodes, tardigrades can suspend their metabolism and live without food and water for more than 30 years. e animals can later rehydrate and continue with the business of living.
Bonus — at least 17 species of tardigrades live in Colorado! Found in lichen and moss, these animals can be seen under a microscope! You could have little moss pigs living right outside your door.
Congratulations to our medalists and a huge round of respect and awe for the countless and priceless beings whose superpowers have yet to be discovered.
OBITUARIES
gardening. Dewey is survived by his wife Mary, sons Bi (Ken), Troy (Susan) and 5 grandchildren. Celebration of Dewey’s life was held July 12, 2024, at the Arvada Elks GEISER
Dewey Geiser
Dewey Geiser age 90 passed away June 25, 2024. Dewey was a lifelong resident of Arvada. He served with the Army in Korea. As a charter member of the Arvada Elks Dewey enjoyed helping with committees and bingo. His passions were family and
obituaries@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Christie Greene
THE POWER OF MUSIC
Arvada nonprofit aims to create bridges through collaboration, exploration and fun for kids in the metro area
BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Studies on music’s bene ts repeatedly show its positive impact to mental and physical health. Research also shows it can build bridges.
Children who participate in group music activities exhibit more cooperation than kids who don’t, according to the journal “Evolution and Human Behavior.” Furthermore, researchers found children who regularly play music, sing and dance together can more easily empathize with others. at’s something today’s world needs more of, believes ornton resident Dustin Olde, and that he hopes his music school can foster. A lifelong musician, Olde runs Colorado AMP (After-school Music Program), a low-cost, nonpro t kids’ music school in Arvada. e three-year-old business draws students from the heart of Denver and throughout the suburbs.
“Kids can take music lessons online anytime,” he said. “ e whole point is we want them in-person, working together. We’re trying to get people to get along. at’s where we as a society are struggling. How can we all get along and understand each other? e music is just the gateway, the language by which they communicate.”
His students’ words suggest Olde is having an impact.
“When I thought of music before, I really thought more about, this note is A or B,” said Westminster’s Cullan Wright, 13, who’d played French horn in his school band before enrolling at Colorado AMP. “Now I understand it’s more about chords, how di erent things meld together.
“Before when I was playing, I was only thinking about my part,” he continued. “I would use someone else as a cue to come in. But for the most part, I wasn’t listening to other kids.”
Olde also discovered the power of music while playing with his peers. As a teen at Littleton High School, he experienced bene ts that went far beyond music’s immediate psychological rewards.
“At 15, I formed a band with some friends; that was a huge piece of what got me through high school,” Olde said. “ ose were my best friends, and the band was a fundamental part of my selfesteem. It gave me the con dence I needed to get through high school.”
ose bonds went so deep that 35 years later, Olde is still playing with one of his high school bandmates in the group Trouble Bound. e band recently played at Evergreen’s Aug. 3 Mountain Music Fest.
Olde was a college music major and early in his career, worked with at-risk kids as an AmeriCorps teacher. at experience sparked his interest in a music school open to children from families of all income levels.
“We were teaching anger and con ict management skills to kids,” said Olde, a father of two. “I learned that the time when kids get in the most trouble is between when school ends and when Mom and Dad get home from work. at’s the time I want kids to be doing something positive.”
Colorado AMP is designed for children ages 10 to 15 who love music. Skill level or family income
is not a factor. e school o ers sliding scale fees and full scholarships. Drawing kids from di erent backgrounds is key to ful lling Olde’s mission.
“My vision has always been that we’d have a kid from Sterling who likes country and one from Aurora who likes hip hop,” he said. “In real life, the two would never meet. But here, they hear one another’s music and play together. You start to understand somebody else’s perspective.
“It’s not hugely di erent from School of Rock,” he continued. “But our goal is to get to those kids who can’t a ord School of Rock.”
While Colorado AMP was intended to be primarily an after-school program and o ers individual lessons, specialty workshops and after-school programs, its summer music camps generate the highest turnout.
During the camps, kids practice in small groups for two weeks and then do a live performance. Students can choose to play guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards or sing. Olde typically contracts with teachers to instruct the summer programs.
Broomfield’s Davis Maurney, 11, focuses during an end-of-camp performance at Colorado AMP.
PHOTO BY LINDA MAURNEY
MUSIC
Westminster parent Kerstin Wright’s two sons have gone to Colorado AMP’s summer camp for two years running.
“I was a little skeptical when we went the rst time that by the end of two weeks we’d be attending a concert with them playing these instruments,” she said. “My kids had never had any experience with playing a bass guitar, an electric guitar or drum set. I was astonished. It was such a huge fun surprise to see them up on stage that rst time.”
Not only did her sons learn to play the instruments, they created a band name and logo, and produced a promotional video.
“ ey just had some very cool and di erent experiences they’d never had anywhere else,” Wright said. “ ey met some new kids, and some really awesome adults who have a passion for music and kids. at was also a win.”
Cullan Wright said it’s changed the way he listens to music.
“Whenever I’m listening to a song now, I can hear the piano part or the bass part,” he said. “I really do appreciate how much time they have to put into everything.”
Eleven-year-old Cooper Wright also saw his musical world expand after the summer camps.
“It’s opened up some more music genres,” he said. “(Before) it was kinda like whatever is on for me. I knew about bands like Nirvana and Green Day. But once we played a Nirvana song, I really got into it. Now I think I listen for more genres than just whatever.”
Cooper played both drums and guitar during his two Colorado AMP summer camps.
“ ey’re really good at simplifying things to make it kid-friendly,” he said. “I like the other kids there, and just getting to play and learn new instruments is pretty fun.”
It’s been fun for their mother, too, who said she now hears them talking in the car in great detail about a song playing on the stereo.
“So much of what kids do nowadays is screenbased; I feel like they don’t get a lot of opportunity to get creative,” she said. “For me, it’s important to create those opportunities that are meaningful and interesting to them.”
Broom eld’s Linda Maurney and her son and daughter had a similar experience. Son Davis, 11, has done the summer music camp for three years. Davis already owned a guitar but before Colorado AMP, he said he barely touched it.
“Now I’ve learned new things and it’s more fun to play guitar,” he said. “It really helped me practice.”
Davis said his favorite moment at each camp is the nal performance.
“It’s fun to play on a stage,” he said. “You come together as a band, and it’s fun to see how you sound.”
Linda Maurney said she’s watched her children’s musical con dence grow with each camp experience.
“My son’s talking about starting his own band,” she said. “He brought two of his friends to camp,
LEARN MORE ABOUT COLORADO AMP
Address: 8141 N I-70 Frontage Road, Unit 7B, Arvada, CO 80002.
You can apply for camps and classes or make a donation online.
and now they do it together. ey’re engaged with other kids, for a common purpose. ey’re listening to and reading music, trying to gure it out. You can almost see that their brains are more activated.”
So far this summer, about 60 students have participated in Colorado AMP’s summer camps. While this basic formula’s been a winner, Olde is experimenting with alternative ideas, too. Earlier this year, the school hosted a Taylor Swift workshop, a four-Saturday program in which students learned and performed three Swift hits.
As the program has evolved, so too have its participants.
“ is year I had a student who was missing a hand,” Olde said. “In that same camp, I had a kid with a speech disability. We’ve had kids with autism. …I think a lot of kids on the spectrum gravitate toward music. ey can nd their voice through it. So that’s been cool.”
For Olde, the best moment of any program comes at the end — when students take everything they’ve learned and showcase it to friends and family.
“ at last day of camp when they do their performance is my favorite,” he said. “We try to have as polished a performance as we can. at sometimes means we as teachers are in there playing with them. We want them to think, ‘Whoa, this sounds really good.’ ey feel so proud of themselves. Everything’s worth it for that day.”
Students rehearse at Colorado AMP during a summer music camp. They include Julian Luby from Wheatridge on piano, Anya Beneski (wearing glasses) from Wheat Ridge on vocals, Molly Roman from Lakewood on vocals, Isaac Press from Lakewood on bass, and Khalil Foster from Arvada on guitar.
Cooper Wright and Davis Maurney show o their Colorado AMP IDs during a recent summer camp. COURTESY PHOTO
PHOTO BY JANE REUTER
Colorado once again breaks tourism records
State sees 31% increase in travelers in the last decade
BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
e Colorado tourism industry is still on a tear. Since 2010 — minus the global meltdown in travel during the pandemic years — Colorado has hosted record numbers of visitors leaving record-setting amounts of cash in their wake.
A total of 93.3 million travelers in Colorado spent $28.3 billion in 2023. Both those numbers are all-time highs. For reference, that compares with what was then a record in 2014, when 71.3 million visitors spent $18.6 billion in Colorado.
ere are more travelers spending more in Colorado than ever before, according to Longwoods International, a visitor research rm that began tallying the impacts of U.S. tourism in the 1980s. Colorado was the rst state to engage Longwoods to survey visitors in 1986.
“It’s great to keep it moving in the right direction,” said Tim Wolfe, the head of the Colorado Tourism O ce. Longwoods’ 82-page 2023 report identi es travelers who came to Col-
orado after seeing an ad campaign or promotional materials promoting the state as a vacation destination.
e Colorado Tourism O ce spends $12.7 million a year on media advertising, with $11 million of that directed toward the state’s 12-year-old “Come To Life” campaign and the
remaining spent on the o ce’s “Do Colorado Right” ads, which this year, for example, focused on how to stay safe in Colorado with messages that promote life vests around the state’s lakes and re safety when camping.
In 2023, travelers responding to marketing booked an estimated 21.6
million overnight trips in Colorado, down 4% from the previous year, while travelers staying with friends and family stayed 14.8 million nights in 2023, a new high, up 14% from 2022.
Tubers hike down the stairs at Clear Creek Canyon Park’s Gateway Trailhead Aug. 5. These tubers and others took the Adventure West shuttle to the trailhead rather than walking along the Clear Creek Trail through downtown Golden. PHOTO BY CORINNE WESTEMAN
SEE TOURISM, P21
Thu 8/29
Jack Frost: Afton Show @ 7pm
Leatherwolf @ 7pm
Mon 9/02
Wed 9/04
The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver
The Roxy Theater, 2549 Welton St, Denver
BRAINRACK
@ 7pm
Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St, Denver
Birdhouse View @ 7pm
Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver
Fri 8/30
Lee Youngji @ 7pm
Ogden Theatre, 935 E Colfax Ave, Denver
Elder Grown @ 8pm
Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway, Denver
Sun 9/01
Cardenales De Nuevo Leon @ 7pm
yungatita @ 6pm
Summit Music Hall, 1902 Blake St, Denver
Tue 9/03
Sydney Sprague @ 7pm
Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St, Denver
Quiet Winter @ 7:30pm
Skylark Lounge, 140 S Broadway, Denver
Tenia Nelson: w/ Larry Davis Vernec Trio @ 7pm
National Western Complex, 4655 Humboldt St, Denver
DaBaby @ 9pm
Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop St,, Denver
Glass Animals @ 7:45pm
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison
Roxy on Broadway, 554 S Broad‐way, Denver
eyedress @ 7:45pm
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 W Alameda Pkwy, Morrison
Violet Chachki @ 8pm
The Oriental Theater, 4335 W 44th Ave, Denver
CHARLIEONNAFRIDAY: The Onnafriday Tour @ 8pm
Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom & Other Side, 2637 Welton St, Denver
Ann Hampton Callaway - Finding Beauty: Inspired Classics and Originals @ 9:30pm Dazzle Denver, 1080 14th Street, Denver
Calendar information is provided by event organiz‐ers. All events are subject to change or cancella‐tion. This publication is not responsible for the ac‐curacy of the information contained in this calendar.
‘Waitress’ o ers a musical slice of real life
Few things in life are as satisfying as a good piece of pie, especially when you’re feeling blue. ere’s something about it that just feels warm and comforting.
at same energy is delightfully conjured in “Waitress,” the musical opener of the Arvada Center’s 2024/2025 season.
“It’s a musical about nding yourself, about friendships, about making mistakes and coming to terms with them,” said Anne TerzeSchwarz, who plays the lead character, Jenna. “It’s really a journey of hope that we’re taking audiences on and we want them to cry, laugh and feel something.”
Based on a lm of the same name, “Waitress” runs at the center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., from Friday, Aug. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 13. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 1 p.m. on Wednesday and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Directed by Lynne Collins, featuring a book by Jessie Nelson, and music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, the show follows Jenna, a waitress and top-notch pie-maker stuck in a small town and an unhappy marriage. When Jenna discovers she’s pregnant, she worries she really has no options left. But her friends, a baking contest and a handsome
COMING ATTRACTIONS
doctor show her there’s still sweetness left in life. “ e show is very human and I love that Jenna is so real,” TerzeSchwarz said. “She’s just one of those people who is taking life day by day and trying to gure it out. She never loses her kindness and lets life inspire her while she’s guring out her next step. She gets a little lost, but her choices help her to nd herself in the end.”
e show is a true ensemble piece, Terze-Schwarz added, and thanks to Bareilles’ writing, audiences are constantly swept away by truly beautiful and moving music. Songs like “When He Sees Me” and “You Matter to Me” are sure to be audience favorites.
While many musicals tend to be larger than life, what makes “Waitress” such a unique experience for audiences is that they can see themselves in so many of the characters. At a time when so many of us are just looking to connect with others, shows like this are more necessary than ever.
“At one point, Jenna says she
hasn’t felt anything in a long time, and we want the musical to make audiences feel something,” TerzeSchwarz said. “No matter what your life experience is, you’re going to come away with something from the show.”
More information and tickets can be found at https://arvadacenter. org/events/waitress.
Town Hall Arts Center Goes All Out for Ovation Gala
Littleton’s Town Hall Arts Center, 2450 Main St., is hosting its largest fundraising event of the year with its Ovation Gala, from 5:30 to 9:30 on Saturday, Aug. 24.
For the event, a portion of downtown Littleton’s Main Street will be shut down so attendees can sample specialty cocktails and a sumptuous dinner, enjoy live entertainment and bid in a live and silent auction.
e gala is a great opportunity to support all the work the center does in celebrating and promoting the arts and the Littleton community. Get tickets at https://townhallartscenter.org/event/ovation-gala-2024/.
Q BBQ Fest Brings Savory Deliciousness to Denver
BBQ is one of those foods that just tastes better outside and with people. Which means attendees at the Q BBQ Fest, held at Civic Center Park, 101 W. 14th Ave. in Denver, ursday, Aug. 22 through Saturday, Aug. 24, are in for a treat.
e event will feature pitmasters from all over the country cooking, smoking and grilling more than
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30,000 pounds of brisket, chicken, pulled pork and ribs for families and BBQ connoisseurs alike. In addition to the food, there will be live music, BBQ tutorials on the Weber Cooking Stage and games and activities for all ages.
Tickets include all-you-can-eat food, access to grilling demonstrations, a meet and greet with Tyler Florence and a signed copy of his new book, “American Grill.” Tickets are available at https://qbbqdenver. com/.
Clarke’s Concert of the Week
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Glen Hansard at the Paramount Theatre I’ve been fortunate enough to see a lot of concerts in my time and I can con dently say that Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard has put on one of the best I’ve ever seen. His live show is full of joy and passion and just top-notch musicianship. On record and as part of the Oscar-winning group, e Swell Season, his music can seem kind of laid back and soothing, but it’s quite something to behold in person. In support of his most recent album, last year’s lovely “All at Was East Is West of Me Now,” he’ll be coming to the Paramount eatre, 1621 Glenarm Place in Denver, at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24. e show will be an evening of musical joy and I highly recommend you don’t miss it. Get tickets at www.ticketmaster.com.
Clarke Reader’s column on culture appears on a weekly basis. He can be reached at Clarke.Reader@hotmail. com.
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Clarke Reader
TOURISM
Overnight visitors spent $22.9 billion, while an estimated 53.8 daytripping visitors in 2023 — a record number of people taking day trips to or within the state — spent $5.5 billion, which was nearly evenly split between in-state residents and outof-state visitors.
About 5 million of those overnight trips were booked by vacationers coming to Colorado to explore the outdoors. About 2.7 million overnight trips were from people in Colorado for special events and 1.1 million visited resorts. e 2023 Longwood reports show about 2 million overnight trips involved people staying in cities and 1.3 million overnight trips were for people visiting Colorado’s casinos.
An economic review of tourism in Colorado by Dean Runyan and Associates, which also has been studying the state’s tourism travelers for decades, showed visitor spending of more than $28 billion employed 188,000 workers in 2023, up 5% — or 9,450 jobs — from 2022. And those workers earned $9.9 billion in 2023, up 13% from the previous year. State and local tax revenue paid by tourists grew to $1.8 billion in 2023, generating the equivalent of $800 for every Colorado household.
PRESCHOOL
Initially, only 3,700 students qualied for full-day classes, though that number grew to 4,800 by the end of the school year, according to o cials at the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, which runs the universal preschool program. Many of the children who lost out on full-day preschool were from low-income households but did not have a second risk factor.
“We heard from many families and many providers … that we were missing our most vulnerable, or speci cally those families living in poverty,” Odean said.
For year two, which starts in August for most preschools, state ofcials decided to add a sixth risk
Business travel to Colorado still waiting for a rebound
Business travel has yet to rebound following the pandemic, with Colorado logging 3 million overnight trips from those travelers. at’s up slightly from 2022, but well below more than 25 years of annual business tra c to the state reaching more than 4 million overnight trips.
e Colorado Tourism O ce recently distributed $4.8 million in Tourism Recovery Marketing Grants to seven regions of the state through the federal Economic Development Administration. About half of that went to Front Range communities that have been slow to rebound from the pandemic declines, especially with business travelers.
But the grants to communities in metro Denver, the northern Front Range and around Colorado Springs were not necessarily focused on rebuilding business tra c, which has seen a decline as part of an overall business shift toward remote work and online meetings.
“I wonder if there would be a huge return on investment trying to bring business travel back,” Wolfe said. “So now we are seeing people thinking about how they can replace that business traveler, maybe by boosting leisure travel.”
e largest expenditure for visitors to Colorado is lodging, accounting for $6.2 billion in spending, followed by transportation, dining, recreation
and retail. Spending in those four categories climbed in 2023. e average cost per person for an overnight trip to Colorado was $580, up from $550 in 2022. Daytrippers spend about $101 per person.
Colorado ski resorts reported about 14 million skier visits in the 2023-24 ski season. While Longwoods counts yearly tra c and resorts count seasonal visitors, the discrepancy between these tallies indicates the size of the daytripping skier market, with Colorado residents heading up to ski for the day accounting for the vast majority of skier visits. ( e Colorado resort industry does not release demographic information about its skier tra c.)
Longwoods reported that about 13% of overnight visitors booked their trips through short-term rental web platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo. at is up from 10% in 2022. e Runyan economic analysis shows 2023 visitors spending $15 billion on hotels and motels across the state and $2.5
billion on short-term rental homes. at compares to $14.6 billion spent on hotels and motels in 2022 and $2.3 billion on short-term vacation rentals.
Right now Wolfe’s tourism o ce is working to grow international tra c — which has never recovered from the pandemic decline — as well as extending the length of stay of overnight visitors. e average stay for Colorado vacationers in 2023 was 4.4 nights, the lowest in six years and below the long-term average.
“If we could ll those resorts with six- to seven-night stays through the winter, it would be much easier for those communities and the environments,” Wolfe said, noting how shorter visits stress lodging sta with more turnovers while longer stays provide more revenue with fewer impacts. is story was printed through a news sharing agreement with e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned nonpro t based in Denver that covers the state.
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factor to ensure that children from the lowest-income families were not passed over for full-day preschool. is “poverty” risk factor captures children whose families have household incomes up to the federal poverty line, which this year is $32,100 for a family of four.
Because such families are also covered by the “low-income” category, they have the two factors needed to receive full-day preschool.
So far this year, the majority of students eligible for full-day preschool — 63% — have the poverty risk factor. e rest are in the higher-earning tier of the “low-income” category and have one or more additional risk factors.
is story was printed through a news sharing agreement with Chalkbeat Colorado, a nonpro t news site covering educational change in public schools.
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eaddenbrooke@ColoradoCommunityMedia.com
‘Don’t be daunted’:
Expert tips on where to start, breaking misconceptions and more
SPORTS
Why climbing in Colorado is for everyone
when rock climbing.”
with a preconceived notion with what they’ve seen recently with Net ix movies, like the Alex Honnold movie (‘Free Solo’) or some of the older Hollywood ones like ‘Clihanger’ with Stallone or “ e Eiger Sanction.’” Coryell said. “And it’s really a beginner-friendly activity. ere are routes that can be catered towards any skill no matter where you’re at as an absolute beginner to have been climbing for 30 years.”
He describes Golden Mountain Guides as a “holistic mountain guiding company.” at means guided hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, backcountry ski tours and more. ere are also classes for beginner climbers, self-rescue classes, wilderness rst-aid and avalanche education.
After working in the business along the Front Range for years, Coryell said he was fed up with bad business ethics and not following proper legal
very welcoming community.”
For more from Coryell, read the brief Q&A below.
and safety procedures through other companies. His wife encouraged him to go out on his own.
“So, I picked up one permit and I picked up a small insurance premium, and the rst six months of being open I took out 192 di erent trips myself. ree trips to the mountains a day,” he said. “I pretty quickly hired somebody after that. You could say I underestimated the current market need for it. It’s just been pretty steady growth since then.”
Now it’s a steady in ux of people wanting more of the outdoors. Coryell said roughly 30% of his customers are rst-time climbers or hikers.
e other 70% are people focused on learning or getting better, whether they’re breaking ground on previ-
ously daunting or di cult routes or taking an avalanche safety class.
But climbing intimidates people, Coryell said. ey build it up in their head and feel it’s more intimidating than it has to be.
“I think there are misconceptions about how strong you have to be to do it. It’s de nitely not an arm activity; it can be if you do it the wrong way. But it’s all legs. So I think people come into it with kind of this misconceived notion of what it really is,” he said. “It can be mentally challenging, physically challenging, emotionally challenging … but I think that’s our job as professional guides to help mitigate some of those struggles that people are inherently going to face
Colorado Community Media: On guided climbs, do you take beginners to easier mountains to climb or just easier routes on those mountains?
Coryell:North Table Mountain just out the window here is kind of the classic example. It’s one big solid cli band and there’s routes ranging from beginner all the way up to advanced, all next to one another. at being said, our job as professional guides is to read the room and see where people are at. Oftentimes we don’t follow what the guidebook says. We kind of tell the guidebook where the routes are because we have the technical skills and the knowledge to be able to facilitate that.
A climber ascends a frozen waterfall in the winter. Golden Mountain Guides provides guided rock and ice climbing, as well as mountaineering, regular hiking and tackling 13ers and 14ers. COURTESY OF GOLDEN MOUNTAIN GUIDES
CLIMBING
CCM: What’s an example of needing to abandon the guidebook in favor of your expertise?
Coryell:For example, oftentimes ‘beginner climbs’ aren’t truly beginner climbs. ey might be a little bit too hard for folks. With all of our guides, we undergo rigorous training so that we can look at that piece of terrain and put them on something even easier than the easiest thing that the guidebook says. Because nobody wants to feel defeated … Climbing should be fun and you should feel successful at the end of the day.
CCM: Aside from the packing list you provide, what should people bring to a guided rock climbing outing?
Coryell: I think the big thing folks should show up with is a willingness to learn, a willingness to be vulnerable because climbing makes us inherently vulnerable. We’re not programmed as humans to be hanging on the side of a cli . In terms of gear, we can provide all that for folks. In terms of personal gear or personal kit, just the willingness to learn how to take care of yourself in the outdoors in a medium you might not have ever been in. When we climb, we tend to exert a little bit more mental energy. So oftentimes having little creature comforts, like chocolate bars or a thermos full of warm tea, can help to recharge the mental batteries.
mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually … and it’s just more fun.
CCM: What are the bene ts of going with a guide rst instead of friends, etc.?
CCM: Should people start climbing indoors before tackling mountains?
Coryell: It just boils down to the person. When I rst started climbing, we didn’t have gyms. I think we had like two in the entire state of Colorado. And we just learned outside. at’s just what we did. I think the bene t of learning outside is that it really puts things into perspective with your entire look at climbing,
Coryell: Hiring a guide nowadays is probably the most economically bene cial way you’ll ever go about doing it. e day is catered towards you. It’s just a guide and you working on the skills, so you get a lot more time in the driver’s seat. You get a lot more of the industry standard best practices behind things. You get the hundreds and hundreds of guiding collective years that we’re all trained with that stand behind the decision-making process we’re giving to people.
CCM: What should people know or achieve before climbing on their own?
Coryell: Every person learns at
their own speed. Some of us are kinesthetic learners. Some of us are auditory or visual learners. I think it really boils down to the person. ere are a lot of things that could potentially go wrong in climbing. I think having that foundation in terms of knots, in terms of movement, in
Golden Mountain Guides opened in 2016 in Golden and takes interested customers on guided hikes, rock and ice climbing ventures, outdoor education courses and more. Here, a climber makes their way up a cli face.
terms of technical skills such as belaying and anchoring. I think those are the foundations that need to be solidi ed before folks start to branch out on their own.
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REAL ESTATE & RENTAL
Dogs
Colorado counted fewer start-ups this year
Research notes sharpest decrease in new businesses since 2005
BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
A 21.7% dip in folks ling to start a business in Colorado during the second quarter was largely attributed to the end of a program more than a year ago that reduced ling fees to $1, according to the latest quarterly data from the Colorado Secretary of State’s O ce.
“It was the sharpest decrease year-over-year in the state (that) we’ve been tracking since 2005. at’s both in percentage terms and absolute numbers,” said Brian Lewandowski, executive director of University of Colorado’s Business Research Division, which analyzed the data for the Secretary of State’s O ce.
New business lings reached a second-quarter high last year at 54,940. e fee returned to $50 in June 2023 and now, one year later, lings dropped to 43,029 for the quarter. at’s still above prior years, including years before the pandemic.
Lewandowski called it “a normalization of activity because of that somewhat anomalous growth we
experienced with that fee reduction a year ago,” he said during a recent news conference.
e new-business decline, however, coincided with a higher number of companies delinquent in renewals or ling proper documents. e number of delinquencies is up by almost 91,000 from a year ago. Overall though, the state has more companies in good standing to 963,373, up 17,500 from a year ago.
“Colorado businesses are staying in business,” Secretary of State Jena Griswold said. But, she added, “ e cost of renewing a business just went up and that is because the state legislature two years ago passed increased reimbursements for county elections without funding it from the general fund.” at means her o ce has to come
up with extra funding, so it’s tapping business registration fees to support the reimbursements, the o ce said. Filing fees for a company’s periodic reports are $25. It’d been at $10 since 2006.
e quarterly report also pointed to positive data in a weaker economy. While Colorado’s job growth has slowed from last year, the number of new jobs added is up 1.4% through June and ranked near the middle of all U.S. states for job growth. e number of job openings for every unemployed Coloradan is no longer two per unemployed worker, but dropped to 1.4. However, that’s better than the national ratio of 1.2 openings per unemployed worker. Colorado’s GDP also improved 2.3% between fourth quarter 2023 to rst quarter this year, ranking the state
18th nationwide.
But some other nancial data is concerning, said Richard Wobbekind, faculty director of CU’s Leeds School of Business who works with Lewandowski. It’s about consumer spending slowing and their rising debt.
“We are seeing increased delinquencies on auto loans and credit cards at this particular point in time,” he said. “ ere seems to be a slowing of use of credit cards even by the higher income folks who still have excess savings and the wherewithal.”
Interest rates are still high and there’s still in ation. But ultimately, the two economists are not translating the indicators as signs that the economy is receding.
“Our o ce does not believe the U.S. is currently in a recession. We also don’t believe that one is imminent,” Lewandowski said. “Seeing GDP growth, seeing continued employment growth, albeit slow, seeing growth in income, seeing the labor force growth, seeing the in ation really moderate — all of this we think is good news and it doesn’t really signal that we’re on the precipice of a sharp downturn in economic activity.”
is story was printed through a news sharing agreement with e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned nonpro t based in Denver that covers the state.
