Washington Park Profile January 2023

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JANUARY 2023

Choice Market

A new Choice Market has opened near the University of Denver campus. Its grand opening celebration took place on Dec. 9.

Located at 1737 E. Evans Ave., this is the fourth Choice Market to open in Denver. e others are located at 939 Bannock St. in the Golden Triangle, 1770 N. Broadway in Uptown and 2200 E. Colfax Ave. in Cheesman Park.

Choice Market is a Colorado brand, and o ers locally-sourced groceries, vegan choices and freshly-prepared hot and cold meals.

To learn more, visit choicemarket.co. Courtesy image via news release.

Teddy Cat Café

e Teddy Cat Café opened in December at 39 E. Florida Ave. in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood. e new business features handcrafted mercantile and playdates with adoptable cats. e goal is to alleviate pressure at the animal shel ter and nd more homes for adoptable cats, which wander the space at their leisure so people and potential adopters can interact with them.

Owner Sarah omas began volunteering at the Denver Animal Shelter in 2020 and eventually began fostering cats and kittens in her home. is prompted her to open Teddy Cat Café.

Playdates cost $13 per person for adults and $11 for children, older adults 60+, students and members of the military. Appointments are recommended but drop-ins are welcome.

To learn more or view the adoptable cats, visit teddycatcafe.com.

Tom Snyder for the Platt Park Post originally reported this story.

Image courtesy of Teddy Cat Café website.

Kum & Go

Kum & Go’s two fuel-free stores in Denver closed in December. e convenience stores were located at 1250 E. 17th Ave. in City Park West and 1610 Little Raven St. in the Union Station neighborhood.

According to Convenience Store News online, Kum & Go opened its rst of fuelless stores in May 2020. e only walk-up location the company is keeping open is the Des Moines, Iowa, location.

Kum & Go got its start in Iowa in 1959 and is a fourth-generation, family-owned convenience store chain with more than 400 stores in 11 states, according to Convenience Store News.

Photo courtesy of Kum & Go Facebook page.

Open Open, a sandwich shop that operated out of the Goosetown Tavern, 3242 E. Colfax Ave., closed in mid-December.

Open featured high-end sandwiches inspired by some of Denver’s big-name chefs, such as the Lee sandwich — a slow roasted beef and provolone sandwich with Sichuan dipping broth — for Tommy Lee of Uncle, which has a location in the Highlands and in West Washington Park.

According to Westword, Open owner Jake Riederer and his wife, Cecelia Jones, plan to open a market with a deli counter in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood.

Photo courtesy of Open website.

Pete’s Satire Lounge

Pete’s Satire Lounge, 1920 E. Colfax Ave. in Cheesman Park, celebrated its 60-year anniversary in December.

e Satire Lounge was the rst of the familyowned Pete’s Restaurants concepts that got started by the late Pete Contos. Next to come was Pete’s Kitchen, 1962 E. Colfax Ave., also in Cheesman Park, which opened December of 1988.

Pete’s University Park Café opened in 1996, and Pete’s Central One, 300 S. Pearl St. in West Washington Park, opened February of 1998.

To learn more about the restaurants, visit petesrestaurants.com.

Photo courtesy of Pete’s Satire Lounge Facebook.

Snowstang e Colorado Department of Transportation’s Snowstang launched for the season on Dec. 17.

Snowstang o ers roundtrip express service to the Colorado ski resorts of Arapahoe Basin, Copper Mountain, Loveland Ski Area, Steamboat Springs/ Howelsen Hill and Breckenridge.

Snowstang will operate every weekend — Saturday and Sunday — and Monday holidays through early May. All routes board at Denver’s Union Station, the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood and the Wooly Mammoth Park-N-Ride in Golden.

Snowstang coaches carry 51 passengers, are climate controlled, have Wi-Fi, a restroom, USB and power outlets and plenty of room for winter gear.

Roundtrip tickets for all destinations except Steamboat Springs cost $25 for adults and $12.50 for children age 2-11 with a ticketed adult. Steamboat Springs cost $40 for adults and there is no price change for children.

To learn more, visit ridebustang.com/snowstangmountain-service.

Courtesy photo.

Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center

Ground has broken on the National Western Center’s Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Livestock Center.

e building will be the National Western Center’s largest and will connect to the adjacent Legacy Building, the new headquarters of the National Western Stock Show. As well as hosting the annual stock show’s livestock-related events, the Livestock Center will host year-round events such as concerts, exhibitions, festivals, conventions, sporting events, trade shows and banquets, according to a news release.

e Livestock Center is will be the National Western Center’s largest at more than 350,000 square feet. It is expected that will have about 160,000 square feet for a multi-use arena to host the larger events, and about 200,000 square feet for an expo hall to host smaller events such as livestock auctions, lectures, performances, movies, educational displays and competitions.

Construction on the Livestock Center is expected to begin in February 2023 and is anticipated to be complete in 2025.

To learn more, visit nationalwesterncenter.com.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, the National Western Center Authority and partners break ground on the Livestock Center at the new National Western Center. Courtesy photo.

Namaste Solar/Energy Outreach Colorado

Namaste Solar’s community giving campaign called Keep the Lights on Colorado generated $100,000 to support Energy Outreach Colorado, a Denver-based not-for-pro t that raises funds to help low-income Coloradans a ord their home energy so they can remain safe and warm at home.

e $100,000 will help power the homes of 400 Colorado families this coming year, according to a news release.

To learn more about Namaste Solar, visit namastesolar.com. To learn more about Energy Outreach Colorado, visit energyoutreach.org.

Photo courtesy of Energy Outreach Colorado website.

OPENINGS

FROM

Ride Revolution

A new boutique cycling studio is opening in Platt Park.

Located at 1519 S. Pearl St., Ride Revolution is planning a grand opening in January, but memberships and passes are already available.

Ride Revolution is co-owned by Nicole Milstein and Jody Fidler. Fidler is owner of another South Pearl Street business, Wheelhouse Gifts, and Milstein has lived in the area since 1996. She has been a tness instructor for about seven years and has always wanted to open her own studio. Milstein’s daughter, Paige Milstein, will be an instructor at Ride Revolution and will lead the studio’s training program for new instructors.

Ride Revolution will feature rhythm-based and themed classes on stationary bikes, and is planning to o er fusion classes that entail on-and-o the bike workouts.

e concept is to o er a cycle studio that is a place of inclusion where all levels of tness can be

NONPROFIT

FROM PAGE 2

High 5 Plumbing/various metro-area nonprofits

rough its High 5 Cares program, High 5 Plumbing recently donated $21,465 to nonpro ts throughout the Denver area.

e High 5 Cares program entails High 5 Plumbing spotlights di erent nonpro ts throughout the year and donates a set amount of $500. Additional funds come from High 5 Club membership, and the business’ technicians have the option to donate their bonus.

is year’s nonpro t recipients are: Food for Hope in Adams County, the Denver Dream Center, Rooted 303, A Precious Child, Friends of Broomeld and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1 in Denver.

High 5 Plumbing is a family-owned and operated business co-owned by Levi and Cassi Torres. e small

celebrated, Nicole Milstein said.

“If you go into a big box gym, it’s unlikely that somebody will know you’re name,” she said. “Here, we’ll get

To learn more about Ride Revolution, visit goriderev.com.

Nicole Milstein, left, is the co-owner and founder of Ride Revolution.

Her daughter, Paige Milstein, right, will lead the studio’s training program for new instructors. Courtesy photo.

ON THE

COVER

business serves customers across the greater metro area out of its main location in north Denver, 850 E. 73rd Ave. Unit 4, and its Littleton location at 8000 S. Lincoln St. Unit 3.

To learn more about High 5 Plumbing, visit high5plumbing.com.

Tim Brill, High 5 outreach coordinator with High 5 Plumbing, center, gives a double high ve to Jon Hardcastle, left, and Grant Harkness, right, with the Denver Dream Center. Courtesy photo.

Families boarded a decorated plane at DIA for the special flight — over Colorado Springs and back

— before landing at United Airlines’ maintenance hangar, which was magically transformed into the North Pole. There, the families enjoyed games, treats and visits with Santa Claus and other holiday characters.

to know you and care about you.”

United Airlines/Warren Village United Airlines provided a festive flight to the North Pole for Warren Village families on Dec. 17.

Photo courtesy of Warren Village.

The 2023 Lunar New Year is the year of the rabbit. The rabbit symbolizes compassion, creativity, conflict avoidance, friendship and family bonding. Story on Page 6. COURTESY OF THE NATHAN YIP FOUNDATION

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER THE COLORADO SUN

Hundreds of the nation’s most elite athletes in indoor rock climbing just had their version of the Super Bowl in Denver.

As the Olympic sport expands across the U.S. and Colorado, USA Climbing’s national championship last month was a sort of homecoming. e governing body in 2018 moved from its longtime home in Boulder to new headquarters in Salt Lake City.

“We de nitely wanted to have a presence back in Colorado. at’s where USA Climbing got its feet o the ground,” said Ben Lowe with USA Climbing.

Sold-out crowds at e Spot climbing gym in Denver and G1 Climbing in Broom eld cheered as climbers — a mix of past and potential Olympians — tested themselves in three disciplines: 50foot sport-climbing routes, a speed competition and short, powerful boulder problems.

Athletes made it as far as they

could on routes designed to test their strength, agility and coordination.

In the sport climbing nals, only one athlete, Sean Bailey, completed a route without falling. He reached the top to raucous applause after battling a series of angled, plastic blocks screwed into the wall. e route required him to lunge toward small plastic rock holds with the tips of his ngers, hook his heels to pull his body up and swing across the wall while hanging on by only a few ngers.

e competition marked the end of the indoor-climbing season, but also provided an opportunity for new and returning climbers to begin scoring points to qualify for next year’s national team.

Once on the national team, athletes travel the world, competing in the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s World Cups. ey also get the chance to try out for the team going to the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Sean Bailey, 26, heel hooks while clipping his rope into a metal safety clasp during USA Climbing National Championships in November. Bailey won gold in the sport climbing discipline at G1 Climbing + Fitness in Broomfield.

Ross Fulkerson attempts to climb a problem at the Spot Climbing Gym in Denver during finals of boulder portion of the National Championship Nov. 10.

SEE CLIMB, P5

A surge in popularity

Indoor climbing started as a way for climbers to train during the o season. Now, it’s blossomed into one of the fastest-growing Olympic sports. One that Coloradans are eating up.

In 2000, there were about 150 climbing gyms in the nation. Now, there are nearly 600, according to the Climbing Business Journal.

“It’s been a pretty massive surge in popularity, not just over the past two or three years though, it’s been seeing massive growth over the past 10 years,” said Lowe, the communications director for USA Climbing. e indoor climbing industry is rmly anchored in Colorado with dozens of gyms across the state and a host of indoor equipment manufacturers thriving along the Front Range.

“De nitely explosive (growth) here in Colorado,” said Dan Howley, founder of e Spot gyms in Boulder and Denver. e Spot has hosted several past national climbing competitions and was home to bouldering nationals at their Denver location this year.

While USA Climbing is working to grow the sport around its new Salt Lake City base, Colorado athletes and fans continue to be a big part of the sport.

“ ere’s always been a lot of really great athletes, especially young athletes, that have come out of Colorado. It’s got a long history in

competitive rock climbing,” Lowe said. “Whenever somebody starts climbing the ranks and we hear they’re from Colorado, that’s denitely no surprise.”

at’s in part because of Boulder’s enduring ties to the sport.

“In the last 20 years, the Boulder area is sort of the Hollywood of rock climbing,” said Jason Haas, founder of G1 Climbing, “and if you’ve wanted to make a name for yourself in rock climbing you’ve had to live here.”

Two athletes from Colorado, Brooke Raboutou, 21, of Boulder, and Colin Du y, 18, of Broom eld, already quali ed for the national team trials in March. Both participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the next Olympic trials have not yet been scheduled.

Members and sta from both G1 and e Spot also competed in nationals, with at least one making nals.

While it may be a few years before USA Climbing comes back to Colorado for nationals, both gyms say they hope to continue hosting other regional and local competitions. e Spot hosts four bouldering competitions every year and G1 hosts another. ere are also USA Climbing youth, high school and collegiate competitions across the state.

Indoor versus outdoor climbing e burgeoning sport is still at a point where fans can easily interact with the top athletes. During nals the weekend of Nov. 12, climbers battled the problems and routes set for them while spectators casually rubbed elbows with Olympians and

other legends of the sport.

Nathaniel Coleman, a silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, was among the crowd along with Raboutou and Du y. Kyra Condie, another Olympian, at nationals won the bronze medal in lead climbing and was fth in bouldering.

“It’s like going to the World Series but the local community doesn’t get to meet the star athletes in the NBA playo s or the Super Bowl,” Haas said. “ ey don’t get to shake hands with Peyton Manning and have a conversation with him. But in climbing we’re still at that level where you can.”

Kyra Condie completes the rst boulder during nationals at e Spot in Denver. Condie, 26, won the bronze medal in lead climbing and was fth in bouldering. (Elliott Wenzler/ e Colorado Sun)

While the sport began with a strong connection with outdoor climbing, most agree the two have started to diverge.

“A lot of the routes that are set for these pros are now incorporating gymnastic, parkour-type movements,” Howley said, “physical movement that you’re not going to nd you’re able to do safely outside.”

Indoor climbing also o ers a new, unique option for people interested in overall tness, Lowe said.

“ ere’s a lot of people out there who have a hard time going into a typical gym to run on the treadmill or lift weights for a few hours,” Lowe said. “ ey want something they can actually actively engage with and challenge themselves not

only physically but also mentally.”

Howley calls himself a “hardcore evangelist” for the sport.

“Indoor climbing has made this sport accessible and visible and popular to a larger community that maybe otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to it, and to me that’s nothing but good,” he said. “Climbing makes people better as humans, it does so much for you. … It’s really good for the individual, it’s good for your soul and it’s food for building communities that care about each other and support each other.”

Now, USA Climbing and gym owners are working to make the sport more accessible to everyone.

Haas said it’s a pivotal time to make sure the sport grows and doesn’t turn into a fad that comes and goes. He said that growth lies in accessibility to the non-rock climber.

He hopes for a day when people understand climbing like they do basketball or football.

“I should be able to turn on the television and go: who’s winning?” he said. “We have this great opportunity to show the whole world this sport and they can share it whether they physically do it as well or just spectate.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Weekly

recycling is here for all Denver solid waste customers!

Weekly composting will roll out this summer. Denver is expanding services to make it easier for you to reduce what goes to the landfill and protect the environment. The city is charging existing customers based on the size of their trash cart, so go small and save more. Go online now to create and manage your account and learn how we can be Be er Together.

Denver can celebrate Chinese New Year Party to take place Feb. 4

BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Colorado State University doctoral student Xinyi “Katya” Zhou grew up celebrating Lunar New Year in her hometown of Beijing, China. Each year to celebrate, Zhou’s family would prepare an elaborate dinner on the eve of the Lunar New Year, full of potstickers, chilled braised beef, many prepared vegetables, chocolates, nuts and wine.

Potstickers, the most important part of Zhou’s family celebration, were made with yellow chives, eggs and napa cabbage with homemade Sichuan peppercorn oil to add avor.

“Years ago, when my grandparents were healthier, we’d make potstickers together. My mom would mix the llings and my grandpa — the chief in the family — was the quality control and would tell Mom if the potstickers need more salt or any adjustments,” said Zhou. “Grandma, my mom, and sometimes my aunt, would actually make the potstickers. I would help as well, especially as I got older. My uncle either helped with the potsticker making or would make the dough and roll it into thin pieces.”

Guests would come and go from Zhou’s house throughout the several days of the Lunar New Year celebrations, sometimes bringing gifts along with them such as food and potted plants. Guests were greeted by a decorated front door, adorned with the Chinese character that means luck.

Zhou’s family will be celebrating the Lunar New Year in Beijing, but because it falls in the middle of the spring semester, Zhou will be staying in Colorado and expects to spend most of the time dedicated to her studies — writing and working on her dissertation, she said.

“I do want to nd some time to make potstickers with my boyfriend and friends from the CSU anthropology department, if I have time,” Zhou added.

Lunar New Year celebrated in many places

China is a large, diverse country with varying cultural traditions. e majority of the population celebrates Lunar New Year and it is traditionally associated with the reunion of families, homemade food and time o work. Many people hold parties with food and dancing, and towns usually set o reworks. In many areas of China, people receive seven days o of work, as preparations for the holiday start well in advance.

Lunar New Year is also celebrated outside of China in other East Asian countries such as Taiwan and Korea; in India in South Asia; in Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia in Southeast

Asia; and in parts of the Middle East and North America.

e 2023 Chinese Lunar New Year marks the year of the rabbit. Each year’s animal classi cation is a part of the Chinese zodiac and is based on the lunar calendar. e Chinese zodiac repeats on a 12-year cycle. For 2023, the rabbit symbolizes compassion, creativity, con ict avoidance, friendship and family bonding. Many Chinese people use the zodiac symbolism to help de ne the coming year.

Parties for the incoming year of the rabbit and Lunar New Year celebration will be held across the world, including one in Denver hosted by the Nathan Yip Foundation.

e Nathan Yip Chinese New Year Celebration is Denver’s largest and, according to the foundation, the most authentic Lunar New Year Party. It will take place on Feb. 4.

“ e event is going to be amazing,” said Nathan Yip Foundation Executive Director Jill Shenkel Henwood.

is year’s event will have a ChinoLatino theme, and the Colorado Mambo Orchestra will provide musical entertainment.

“We have a large Hispanic population, so it’s tting to re ect the diversity of the city and the rest of the state,” Henwood said. “We really want to celebrate the mixing of cultures with this event.”

In addition to the musical entertainment, the event will include a silent and live auction, a cocktail hour, lion dancers, a main presentation, family style dining and a post-dinner night market.

e dinner will include a traditional Chinese “prosperity” salad toss called yusheng. e tradition involves the mixing of traditional Chinese ingredients — all of which symbolize positive things such as money, luck, long life and prosperity in business. Ingredients are added to the salad one at a time and are accompanied by recited greetings of good luck.

e Nathan Yip Foundation has a rich history of improving education quality and access in remote areas of China. Now, they’ve turned their attention to Colorado, supporting teachers and students in rural school districts.

e Lunar New Year Celebration is the foundation’s biggest fundraising event of the year, and proceeds from the event will help support its mission.

“After spending years working to help schools in rural China, the Nathan Yip Foundation Board decided to look at the struggles in our own backyard and those of students in rural Colorado,” said Henwood. “We’re working to address the equity and opportunity gap that exists between education in the city compared to rural Colorado schools.”

19th

Dragon Dancers will entertain the crowd at the Nathan Yip Foundation Chinese New Year Celebration.

COURTESY OF THE NATHAN YIP FOUNDATION

Katya Zhou, now a doctoral student at Colorado State University, has fond memories of celebrating the Lunar New Year growing up in Beijing, China.

COURTESY OF KATYA ZHOU The Nathan Yip Chinese New Year Celebration takes place from 5-10:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at the Grand Hyatt Denver. Tickets cost $295 general and $195 for young professionals. Proceeds benefit the Nathan Yip Foundation. To learn more, visit nathanyipfoundation.org.

Denver native advances to petty o cer first class

BY EDWARD JONES NAVY RECRUITING COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

ties daily to protect and defend. In recognition of his Naval dedication, Electrician’s Mate Nuclear Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew W. Pluss received authorization to assume the title of and wear the uniform of petty officer first class.

Pluss was pinned by his wife, Marisol Rosado, in the presence of command members of the Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) San Antonio.

NTAG San Antonio’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Stephanie Simoni, accompanied by Command Master Chief Samuel Bernal, wel-

comed and presented the sailor with the well-deserved honor.

Pluss graduated from the Denver Academy in the University Hills neighborhood. He joined the Navy in 2011 and dedicated his Naval achievement to his late friend and shipmate, Brandon Dewey. Additionally, Pluss thanked the command for the recognition along with those who have mentored and supported his Naval career.

Pluss also reflected on his Naval career and life.

“The Navy has shown me a great interest in nuclear power and electrical systems,” said Pluss. “If I could go back in time, I would encourage myself to not give up and to keep learning because it would brighten my future.”

In recognition of his Naval dedication, Electrician’s Mate Nuclear Petty O cer 2nd Class Andrew W. Pluss received authorization to assume the title of and wear the uniform of petty o cer first class. Pluss was pinned by his wife, Marisol Rosado in the presence of command members of the Navy Talent Acquisition Group (NTAG) San Antonio.

PHOTO BY EDWARD JONES

BY MICHAEL BOOTH THE COLORADO SUN

The lettuce is blooming nicely on the rollaway walls.

According to the farmer’s iPad, the calibrated nutrients are flowing smoothly and accurately through the tubes.

It’s 30 degrees outside, but there’s a tantalizing garden of tangy, restaurant-ready produce inside this cozy, pristine shipping container.

Somewhere behind and among the pawn shops and the gas stations and the used tire traders and the body shops along South Broadway, on a former used car lot on Acoma Street, a couple of snazzy high-tech containers are parked to start an urban farming revolution.

Ullr’s Garden, launched a few months ago by a couple of brothers who want to save the world and sell some sustainable arugula, is growing the equivalent of a 10-acre farm on a dusty 7,500-square-foot lot. The lettuce and arugula and basil and romaine grow horizontally, while hanging from moveable walls packed inside the climatecontrolled trailers. The farmers sit at a folding table in the nearby shed and plot their next expansion: stackable farm containers.

Nick Millisor, one of the brothers behind Ullr’s Garden, still can’t believe they’re doing what they’re doing.

“We are growing local produce, in the middle of Denver, on an old used car lot, the kind you used to roll your car windows up when you drove by,” Millisor laughs.

Vertical farms don’t stint on flavor

And their stuff tastes great. The emerald green basil snaps with a hint of licorice. The arugula is

laced with a wild mustard flavor. The butter lettuce, sold with root ball intact, has an earthy flavor belying the fact the growing walls are purposefully insulated from any local dirt.

One trailer with 365 days of optimal growing conditions can produce the equivalent of a 5-acre seasonal farm, Nick and Luke Millisor say. Employing a closed loop for the water and nutrients, each trailer uses up only five gallons a day from water buffaloes they fill offsite.

“We don’t even have a water tap here yet,” Nick laughed.

And when the weather turns truly frigid, say 10 degrees from a recent overnight snow, a conscientious farmer can check on the baby bibb while sitting at home in bed with a laptop.

“If anything isn’t running optimally, the farm will literally send me a text message,” Nick said, waving his iPhone over the transplanting tables. Sensors throughout the trailer are connected to wi-fi.

Urban farming and hydroponics a great mix, experts say

Independent experts on vertical, hydroponic farming say they can’t predict the success of Ullr’s business model, but agree the revolution in well-designed shipping containers could indeed preserve the environment and extend better nutrition to remote consumers.

Rising world population, scarce water amid climate change and urban neighborhoods neglected by fresh food stores, “these are the multifaceted reasons why we’re seeing this surge in interest,” said Josh Craver, an assistant professor in controlled environment horticulture at Colorado State University.

“It’s not hard to see pretty quickly that you can produce, per square foot, way more food in these containers than you can in the field,” Craver said.

We are growing local produce, in the middle of Denver, on an old used car lot, the kind you used to roll your car windows up when you drove by.

The Ullr’s Garden name for their parking lot container farm honors the brothers’ time growing up skiing in Breckenridge, home to the Ullr Fest winter sports party. Nick Millisor comes at farming with all the technical skills of a selfdescribed liberal arts eclectic and sci-fi nerd. He’d been toiling in real estate when the strange winds of COVID and climate change turned his 2021 upside down and he went in search of a meaningful project to better the world.

There was a week where Germany flooded and the West was burning and a Canadian heat wave was cooking shellfish alive

Nick Millisor, CEO of Ullr’s Garden, inspects a head of Salanova red butter lettuce on Nov. 14 in Denver. Each of Ullr’s “vertical farms” in South Denver can grow the same amount of produce as 5 acres of farmland..

PHOTO BY OLIVIA SUN / THE COLORADO SUN VIA REPORT FOR AMERICA

Ullr’s Garden grows tangy artisanal arugula in climate-controlled trailers

in the ocean.

“I didn’t want to deal with super-rich people’s problems with real estate anymore,” Nick Millisor said. “And so I convinced my brother to join me, and then my cousin, and I was like, ‘You just want to do something crazy and start growing food in a container?’

And they said yes.”

Luke Millisor supplied the actual technical knowledge, from his experience managing a neuroscience lab at University of Colorado. Colorado’s increasing water challenges led them toward water-stingy hydroponic farming and to the equipment catalogs of storage container outfitters.

“We’re not the only ones doing this you know. I would love to say that we’re the pioneers behind this, but a lot of smarter people have basically led us to this point where this technology is almost automatic,” Nick Millisor said. “It’s so easy. I mean, I have zero experience farming, other than growing some stuff in my mom’s garden as a kid.”

Ullr’s Garden sent itself to indoor farm training

The container outfitters supplied a two-day boot camp on vertical farming.

The would-be farmers learned there’s almost zero water use in the latest designs, no contamination of runoff with excess fertilizer or pesticides, precise control of nutrients, efficient LED lighting powered by clean electricity. They have two electric vehicles to deliver produce within a 5-mile radius, boosting their effort to become carbon neutral with the overall operation. Leaving the root ball on a head of lettuce helps it last on the shelf for a couple of weeks and reduces food waste.

A fully outfitted container, with 24,000 individual LED pinpoint lights and temperature controlled at 68 to 70 degrees, costs about $170,000, Nick Millisor said. Ullr’s Garden can grow 500 varieties of produce to meet the whims of the market, and tweak the grow lights for goals as esoteric as the optimal color of a red lettuce leaf.

Accelerating efficiencies in lighting and heating have powered the surge in hydroponic container farms, said CSU’s Craver. Old grow lamps built up too much

heat, while improved LEDs produce precise photons that the plant can employ for photosynthesis.

“So we really are sitting on the shoulders of giants on this one,” Nick Millisor said.

Vertical and remote, but not out of touch

As the water drips down the wall channels and then recirculates, sensors constantly check pH and mineral levels, among other growth factors. Reserve tanks dribble in supplement adjustments to the mix at the touch of the iPad.

Key in siting the containers is pouring concrete footings at a 2% tilt to guarantee the water flow.

Most varieties started from seeds are ready in six to seven weeks. Harvesting means clean scissors trimming the walls, or pulling whole heads with root balls.

Now, about that business model. Negotiating with individual restaurants may not be the full answer, though Ullr’s Garden is in talks with a few looking for local supply and input into the varieties. The next challenge for the Millisors, joined by cousin and chief financial officer Ian Randall, is to launch a farm share program.

Other farm share subscriptions are popular in summer and fall, with buyers picking up or getting delivered a box of outdoors-grown seasonal items ranging from lettuce to tomatoes to squash. But the outdoor shares run out by late fall, where Ullr’s Garden can deliver lettuce, herbs and other greens year-round. The company has 150 shares on sale now, to be delivered within the 5-mile radius.

A prime calculation in closequarters farming, Craver said, is which plants draw top dollar for the space they take up. Corn is all fibrous scaffolding, producing a handful of kernels that sell for 25 cents an ear. Root ball lettuce is nearly 100% edible, and can retail for $5 or $6 a head.

There are large hydroponic operations in metro Denver that appear to be thriving, Craver said, and smaller operations like Ullr’s Garden are busy figuring out their costs and a workable scale.

“When you look at the business model, it definitely does work,” Craver said.

I didn’t want to deal with superrich people’s problems with real estate anymore … I was like, ‘You just want to do something crazy and start growing food in a container?’ And they said yes.

Of course, there’s a lucrative

container model selling billions of dollars of product a year in Colorado — marijuana. The Millisors, though, are adamant they want to feed the world, not medicate it.

Denver’s zoning office is well organized to approve urban farming, Nick Millisor said, but they did have to address the elephant in the container.

“I was like, ‘I’m doing a hydroponic garden,’ and you could just see it in their eyes, oh no, there’s another one, and I was like, ‘Not marijuana! Not marijuana!’ And she’s like, okay, STAMP, get out of here.’ ”

Container farms could be stackable

The Ullr’s Garden trio plots their next move from underneath the modest shed looking out on the lot. If marketing picks up and the consumer-direct shares work out, there’s room for expansion with ground space for two or three more containers.

Plus, as anyone who’s seen a modern port city can tell you, they’re stackable. Ullr’s Garden anticipates going at least a second story of vertical, and perhaps more if the zoning folks are feeling frisky.

They’re considering transforming the shed into an events and education space, knowing that schoolchildren would thrive on a cool hydro-

ponics and LED lesson. As for the produce, they’re still considering winter decorative flowers, edible flowers that could draw top dollar, and radishes. One grower figured out how to do hops indoors, another grew berries, though that may not scale up to be useful.

One constant, besides the 68 degrees inside the trailers, is how welcoming and helpful everyone in vertical farming has been in sharing tips with Ullr’s Garden, Nick Millisor said.

“Everyone has the tool. Now everyone’s kind of figuring out how best to use it,” he said. “And that’s what I think is most exciting for me.”

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Dr.

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Its been 6 years, and The Dentists on Pearl still want to get to know you! So, come on in or call today to schedule an appointment for the entire family. We will create a plan that will help you achieve and maintain a completely healthy smile! We accept most insurances and are accepting new patients!

Its been 6 years, and The Dentists on Pearl still want to get to know you! So, come on in or call today to schedule an appointment for the entire family. We will create a plan that will help you achieve and maintain a completely healthy smile! We accept most insurances and are accepting new patients!

Its been 6 years, and The Dentists on Pearl still want to get to know you! So, come on in or call today to schedule an appointment for the entire family. We will create a plan that will help you achieve and maintain a completely healthy smile! We accept most insurances and are accepting new patients!

Its been 6 years, and The Dentists on Pearl still want to get to know you! So, come on in or call today to schedule an appointment for the entire family. We will create a plan that will help you achieve and maintain a completely healthy smile! We accept most insurances and are accepting new patients!

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VOICES LOCAL

I want your story ideas for 2023

FROM THE EDITOR

It has been three years since I began my journey as editor of Life on Capitol Hill and the Washington Park Pro le. rough the months, I’ve worked with our team to make editorial and design improvements.

Perhaps the most noticeable are changes to our Business Matters column, which always runs on Page 2. e page, which celebrates local restaurants, shops and other

page designers relies on robust editorial content. I enjoy hearing from local business owners and the community about business happenings. Feel free to send me a tip about your favorite — particularly milestones, which lists anniversaries in ve-year increments.

A recurring annual feature is our High School Grads Package, which began in 2020. is celebrates the accomplishments of Denver’s best. If you have a loved one in the Class of 2023, be on the lookout for my

column this spring for how to get involved. January is also a time to look forward to all the stories that will come in the new year. Again, that’s where you come in. While I have some stories already in the works for 2023, I am always on the lookout for your tips.

Everybody has a story — even you. Whatever your story may be, don’t hesitate to send it my way. I’m at csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com or 303-566-4107.

Happy New Year!

‘An honor to represent the people of Denver’

2022 was a busy year for me at the Denver City Council. I served on multiple committees, including the Business, Arts, Workforce & Aviation Committee; Finance & Governance; and Budget & Policy. I also serve on the Opioid Abatement Council and the Crime Prevention and Control Commission.

system response resulted in no arrests, no injuries and no need for police response while serving 1,396 people during the rst year of the program.

Looking forward, there is still much work to be done.

Plant lore

Lore is de ned as the knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote passed down through the ages, generation to generation. e lore of plants has long been an integral part of humanity in uencing our religion, medicinal remedies, the food we eat and even our behaviors.

Our relationship with plants is primal. Our pre-scienti c intuitions, suspicions, hopes, fears and desires involve plants as tools to ensure survival and good fortune.

Can you recall lore passed down to you by an older family member or trusted teacher like, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” or “knock on wood?” e rst referring to a good health practice, and the second to a superstition.

Speaking of wood, elderberry (Sambucus spp.) lore stories describe this woody plant as having properties of protection from witches. Early European stories describe cutting the

Denver City Council tackled gun violence early in the year with passage of an ordinance banning “ghost guns.” ere are privately made rearms with no serial number or markings. We also banned concealed-carry weapons in our city parks and leased buildings. Several measures were adopted throughout the year to address housing a ordability and to provide shelter and services to our unhoused population. e city funded numerous projects that will provide housing for people at a variety of income levels. We also adopted the Expanding Housing A ordability (EHA) ordinance requiring developers of rental properties to include a ordable units in their developments.

To increase safety in the community, I supported expanding the pilot Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program to a citywide program. e goal is to help people in crisis related to mental health and homelessness by providing appropriate intervention and connecting them with resources such as water, food, clothing and basic living support. In turn, this frees up police and emergency medical providers to respond to 9-1-1 calls where their expertise is needed. 9-1-1 can now dispatch a team that includes behavioral health clinicians and emergency medical technicians to appropriate calls instead of police o cers. Shifting to a non-criminal justice

is is my last term as city council atlarge due to term limits. I have two major policy goals to accomplish before leaving o ce. Councilwoman Robin Kniech and I are currently working on a construction careers ordinance that establishes hiring and apprenticeship goals on city construction projects. is will provide Denver residents with a career path to good paying jobs.

I will also work for passage of an ordinance I introduced this year on railroad safety. e ordinance provides Community Planning and Development and other agencies the authority to mitigate risks from operations on railways. e goal is to require developers to consider safety issues for residents and properties as development and redevelopment occurs near freight corridors.

Signi cant progress has been made in addressing potential impacts caused by the transport of hazardous material across the freight corridors in our city. is year I contributed funding for a study and risk analysis of these corridors. e report will be presented in January. e ndings and the recommendations will be incorporated into the ordinance.

Overall, I am proud of our 2022 achievements and all we have accomplished as a city during my time serving as a councilmember at-large and as the District 9 councilperson.

It truly has been an honor to represent the people of Denver.

Deborah “Debbie” Ortega is an at-large member of Denver City Council. She can be reached at ortegaatlarge@denvergov.org or 720-337-7713.

LINDA SHAPLEY

Publisher

lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA

Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com

CHRISTY STEADMAN Editor

csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

LINDSAY NICOLETTI

Operations/ Circulation Manager lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

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Columnists & Guest Commentaries

Columnist opinions are not necessarily those of the Profile. We welcome letters to the editor. Please include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone.

Email letters to csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com

Deadline 5 p.m. on the 20th of each month for the following month’s paper.

GUEST COLUMN

Councilmember Deborah Ortega

Elderberry

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS

GUEST COLUMN

Bridget Blomquist

Salvador D. Aceves is Regis University’s first Latino president

Salvador D. Aceves has assumed the role of president for Regis University, making him the school’s rst layperson and rst Latino to be in the role.

Aceves, who has a doctorate in education, brings 37 years of experience in higher education as both an administrator and faculty member. He has served at other Jesuit universities, including Fordham University in New York City and the University of San Francisco, and has been involved with Regis since 2014, serving as chief nancial o cer and senior vice president.

Aceves’ selection follows an eight-month national search conducted by a 16-member search committee comprised of the Regis University Board of Trustees, faculty, sta , alumni and students.

“I am extremely excited to welcome Dr. Aceves as our next president,” said Derek Scarth, chair of the Board of Trustees and Regis alumnus, in a news release. “Dr. Aceves understands and is committed to the importance of a Jesuit-Catholic education and the servant responsibility that comes with his new role to our entire

ABOUT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Colorado Community Media welcomes letters to the editor. Please note the following rules:

• Email your letter to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com. Do not send via postal mail. Put the words “letter to the editor” in the email subject line.

• Submit your letter by the 20th of the month in order to have it considered for publication in the following month’s newspaper.

• Letters must be no longer than 400 words.

• Letters should be exclusively submitted to Colorado Community Media and should not submitted to other outlets or previously posted on websites or social media. Submitted letters become the property of CCM and should not be republished elsewhere.

• Letters advocating for a political candidate should focus on that candidate’s qualifications for o ce. We cannot publish letters that contain unverified negative information about a candidate’s opponent. Letters advocating for or against a political candidate or ballot issue will not be published within 12 days of an election.

community. Because of the commitment and discernment of (the search committee), the path for Regis and our next phase of greatness is in good hands.”

• Publication of any given letter is at our discretion. Letters are published as space is available.

• We will edit letters for clarity, grammar, punctuation and length and write headlines (titles) for letters at our discretion.

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• Include your full name, address and phone number. We will publish only your name and city or town of residence, but all of the information requested is needed for us to verify you are who you say you are.

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TURN TO THE COLORADO SUN FOR NEWS ACROSS THE STATE

The Colorado Sun is a journalist-owned, award-winning news outlet that strives to cover all of Colorado so that our state — our community — can better understand itself.

In this way, The Sun contributes to a more vibrant, informed and whole Colorado.

The Sun, launched in 2018, is committed to fact-based, in-depth and nonpartisan journalism. It covers everything

from politics and culture to the outdoor industry and education.

Now, The Colorado Sun co-owns this and other Colorado Community Media newspapers as a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy. The Sun is CCM’s partner for statewide news.

For Colorado Sun stories, opinions and more, and to support The Sun’s misssion as a member or subscriber, visit coloradosun.com.

PLANTS

FROM

wood of elderberry plants or crafting an infant’s crib made from its wood as unlucky. According to Brothers Grimm fairy tales, it is wise to keep a bouquet of elder owers picked in midsummer on hand in case a devil wanders by.

Burdock (Saponaria o cinalis) — sometimes called soaproot — was a favorite herb of Venus and, therefore, useful in love matters. A love charm prescribes to pick a burr o a burdock plant and name it after the one you love or fancy. en, throw it against your clothing and if it sticks, the object of your a ection feels the same as you. If it does not stick, the person does not share your a ection.

Mullein (Verbascum spp.) is a commonly found plant in Denver that comes from the Greek word ego, meaning `set on re.’ Accounts of the plant describe it as used as a wick to put into lamps to burn for light — the leaves were rolled and dried and used as wicks for oil lamps and candles. Later Europeans would dip mullein stalks in beef fat and burn them to frighten o evil spirits, assigning a common name of Aaron’s Rod who used a long sta in the Book of Exodus to overcome Pharaoh’s evil sorcerers.

Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) tales are those of prosperity. Tales of nding goldenrod in the wild is a sign that buried treasure lay beneath. If it were to grow by a house door, then the inhabitants could expect great fortune.

Artemisia species, or mugwort, have been used for its medicinal purposes through the centuries and all over the world. Herbalists claim that artemisia species were an excellent comfort for the brain. Crushing its leaves and inhaling its aromatic fragrance is said to have a calming e ect.

One of my personal plant lore stories comes from growing up in Ohio exploring the woods with other children. I learned Queens Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) was picked to adorn the hair of women in the “olden days,” made popular by Queen Anne. Women also collected these owers on their wedding day to be sewed onto their dress for extra beauty and embellishment as lace.

Bridget Blomquist is the associate director of horticulture for the Denver Botanic Gardens.

STAFF REPORT

Salvador D. Aceves COURTESY PHOTO

Goldenrod PHOTO COURTESY OF DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS

Mile High Happenings is a new monthly column featuring community events throughout Denver, highlighting events that take place in the central and central-south neighborhoods covered by the Washington Park Pro le and Life on Capitol Hill newspapers.

Event submissions from community members and organizations are welcome. Submissions should include brief details about the event and a photo

or event logo.

Deadline is the 20th of each month for the event to be listed the following month. Cycle for the column’s listings will typically begin on the rst weekend of the month, depending on publication dates.

Submissions can be emailed to Christy Steadman at csteadman@coloradocommunitymedia.com.

Dec. 12-Feb. 28

Jan. 13-23

Jan. 14-Feb. 18

Y/OUR Denver photography exhibit

Time: Any.

Location: Virtual.

Cost: Free.

Doors Open Denver’s annual competition returned for the fth time this year. e exhibition featuring the competition’s top entries is available on the Denver Architecture Foundation’s website.

More information/reservations: denverarchitecture.org Ernie Leyba’s “Justice Center Dome” won Best in Show in the 2022 Doors Open Denver photography competition. Photo by Ernie Leyba.

Jan. 10

“Indigo”

Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or by appointment.

Location: PlatteForum Annex Gallery, 3575 Ringsby Court #103, Denver.

Cost: Free.

Jahna Rae Church is a multidisciplinary artist and emerging muralist in Denver. Specializing in portrait painting and abstraction, she explores topics of spirituality, diversity and identity, symbolism and selfdiscovery. An exhibition opening reception takes place from 6-8 p.m. Jan. 13.

More information/reservations: platteforum.org Courtesy photo.

“Alma”

Time: Varies.

Location: Curious Theatre Company, 1080 Acoma St. in Denver.

Cost: Varies.

Curious eatre Company is presenting the regional premier of “Alma,” a funny and poetic performance that tells the story of an immigrant single mom and the wishes she has for her teenaged daughter.

More information/reservations: curioustheatre.org/event/alma

Photo courtesy of Curious eatre Company website.

Jan. 15

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Boettcher Concert Hall at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1000 14th St.

Cost: Free, RSVP required.

Known as the most prominent spokesperson and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remains one of the most inspirational gures in history for his pursuit of equal rights and his nonviolent approach to civil rights protests. e evening will feature special guest performances and will honor recipients of the 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Awards.

More information/reservations: coloradosymphony.org Photo courtesy of Colorado Symphony website.

Stories on Stage: A Hall Pass to the Galaxy

Time: 2 p.m.

Location: Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center, 721 Santa Fe Dr., Denver.

Cost: $24. is performance includes mind-blowing tales from some of science ction’s best writers. A virtual performance will be available beginning at 7 p.m. Jan. 19.

More information/reservations: storiesonstage.org. Astronaut on foreign planet in front of spacetime portal light. Science ction universe exploration. 3D render.Photo from Getty Images/iStockphoto

Colorado Symphony: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute

History Colorado’s Tours and Treks: A German History of Denver by Bus

Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Location: History Colorado Center, 1200 N. Broadway, Denver.

Cost: $135 nonmembers, $115 for members Experience German Denver through the buildings, industries and immigrant stories, and enjoy a tasty German lunch along the way. Registration deadline is Jan. 10.

More information/reservations: historycolorado.org

Logo courtesy of History Colorado website.

Capitol Hill Concerts: Megan Burtt

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: First Unitarian Society of Denver, 1400 N. Lafayette St.

Cost: $20-$25 general admission.

Megan Burtt is an international touring singer/songwriter performing Americana-Roots Originals. Capitol Hill Concerts has a mission to o er high-caliber, musically-diverse, family-friendly concerts, while also supporting local nonpro ts. A portion of the proceeds from this show will bene t e GrowHaus. e concerts will be livestreamed on YouTube for free but a donation is suggested.

LGBTQIA+ Shabbat

Time: 6-9 p.m.

Location: JCC Denver, 350 S. Dahlia St.

Cost: Sliding Scale Pricing: $12, $25, $36 is all-ages event includes a short Kabbalat Shabbat Service and Shabbat meal in a queercentered space. e meal will be kosher and vegetarian, with vegan options available.

More information/reservations: jccdenver.org

More

information/reservations: capitolhillconcerts.com Photo courtesy of Capitol Hill Concerts website.

Melanie Yazzie: “Peace Walking”

Time: Various.

Location: Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St.

Cost: Included with general admission.

Colorado-based Melanie Yazzie’s work is intended to convey wonder and peace while encouraging viewers to engage more deeply with complex Indigenous experiences. “Peace Walking” is a meditation on the Diné (Navajo) prayer, Walking in Beauty, which invites healing, balance and harmony with the natural world.

More information/reservations: Photo: “He is With Us” by Melanie Yazzie. Acrylic and mixed media, 2022.

Colorado Ballet: Lady of the Camellias

Time: Various.

Location:

ver Performing Arts Complex, 1385 Curtis St.

Cost: Varies. Romance meets turbulence to tragic e ect in choreographer Val Caniparoli’s gripping

adaptation of Alexandre Dumas ( ls)’s classic novel La Dame aux Camélias. In its highly anticipated Denver debut, this Chopinscored tale of troubled courtesan Marguerite brings a rawness to the stage you won’t forget.

More information/reservations: coloradoballet.org

Photo courtesy of Colorado Ballet website.

History Colorado’s Tours and Treks: Lost Cities of Denver by Bus

Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Location: History Colorado Center, 1200 N. Broadway, Denver.

Cost: $85 nonmembers, $65 members.

Many of Denver neighborhoods used to be cities on their own. is bus tour will include the cities that were, and those so small they often slip under our regional radar. Registration deadline is Feb. 1.

More information/reservations: historycolorado.org

Ellie Caulkins Opera House at the Den-

e Mosquito Man enters his lab with the energy of a kid bounding into a Chuck E. Cheese.

All his friends are inside. ere in one small screen-and-plexiglass enclosure is Sabethes cyaneus, a mosquito with an iridescent blue body and feathery paddles — what one researcher has called the “Hollywood showgirls of the mosquito world.” ey oat inside the box like dandelion seeds in the breeze.

But the mosquito that has his attention for the moment is Sabethes chloropterus, a colony of which he derived from mosquitoes he rst captured on an island in Panama as a graduate student. It has been a few days since this colony has eaten, he explains. ey must be hungry.

e Mosquito Man — Metropolitan State University of Denver biology professor Bob Hancock — rolls up his sleeve and sticks his right arm through a shrouded hole into their plexiglass home. e mosquitoes latch onto his hand. One. Two. Five. Fifteen. Forty.

“Oh, this is a good feed,” he says, as the mosquitoes linger on his hand, growing sluggish the more of him they drink in.

For Hancock, who studies mosquitoes, bed bugs and other insects most people would rather not spend time around, this is just another Wednesday morning. And the blood sacri ce is just part of the job for a scientist whose CV contains research titles like “Analysis of a complex vertical copulatory-courtship display in the yellow fever vector Sabethes chloropterus.”

But sitting to Hancock’s right is something extraordinary that could lead to some of the most important research of his career. It is a large enclosure that Hancock hopes will one day hold a colony of a Colorado mosquito called Culex tarsalis. Tarsalis is notable for its zebra-striped belly and for what Hancock says are “among the most beautiful mosquito larvae I know.”

ey are also notable for another reason in Colorado: ey are the primary vector for West Nile virus. And Colorado has just endured two of its worst West Nile years on record.

In fact, the state has become one of the nation’s hot spots for West Nile virus, a disease that can attack the central nervous system and be fatal or cause permanent damage. Colorado recorded the highest-number of West Nile cases in the country in 2022, as well as the highest number of neuroinvasive cases, the most severe form of the disease, which causes swelling in the brain and spinal cord. In 2021, Colorado ranked second behind Arizona.

But, despite West Nile virus being the leading cause of mosquitoborne disease in the United States, shockingly little is known about the dynamics of its spread. It takes mosquitoes, sure. But migratory birds, water, agriculture, climate change, the timing of snowmelt runo , suburban development patterns, and

human behavior all play a role, too.

“We have extensive understanding of so much,” Hancock says, “and also extensive ignorance of so much.”

So that is where the Mosquito Man and other researchers in Colorado come in.

Tracking West Nile’s history in Colorado

As its name indicates, West Nile virus was discovered in Africa — the rst known case in a human occurred in Uganda in 1937. e virus is a avivirus, a single-strand strip of RNA that hails from the same family that gave the world Zika, dengue and yellow fever.

West Nile did not pop up in North America until 1999, when a handful of cases were found in New York. By 2002, it had made its way to Colorado. But 2003 was the year that West Nile really announced its presence in the state. ere were nearly 3,000 con rmed cases that year, including 622 neuroinvasive infections, 146 hospitalizations and 66 deaths.

No year has come close to that since — and part of that has to do with a slowly building layer of protection in the state.

“We had no immunity in 2003, which is why the numbers were so high that year,” said Jennifer House, the deputy state epidemiologist and the state public health veterinarian at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

But, several thousand infections later, House said Colorado isn’t anywhere close to the kind of population immunity levels that could signi cantly dampen West Nile transmission. And that makes the

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Biology professor and filmmaker Bob Hancock, who studies mosquitoes at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, watches as Sabethes chloropterus mosquitoes feed on his hand. Hancock helps conduct field work to collect mosquitoes around various regions in Colorado to track diseases like West Nile virus. He often “self-feeds” the insects for them to access human blood, and says he sees only mild reactions afterward.

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SEE MOSQUITOS, P16

increase in the past two years all the more alarming. Colorado still has plenty of people who could potentially get very sick with the virus.

The state saw 92 neuroinvasive West Nile infections and 11 deaths in 2021 — at the time more than in any year since 2003. But 2022 topped that with 132 neuroinvasive cases and 19 deaths.

Those numbers suggest that this year’s West Nile outbreak was much, much larger. House said only about one in five people who are infected with West Nile will show symptoms. Of those with symptoms, only a fraction will develop neuroinvasive disease or need to be hospitalized.

Historically, Colorado’s West Nile seasons — which run from about the beginning of June until the end of October — “sort of fluctuate all over the place,” House said. But 2021 and 2022 had the most West Nile hospitalizations of any two-year period in the state’s history.

And that makes finding out what causes bad West Nile years all the more urgent.

Unraveling the West Nile puzzle

The first thing to know about West Nile is that the virus would rather not infect us.

Humans are dead-end hosts to the virus. It can only be passed by

mosquitoes, and the likelihood of a mosquito biting a West Nileinfected human and then spreading the virus on to where it can perpetuate is extremely low. The same is true for horses, the other main victim of West Nile virus in North America.

Instead, West Nile prefers birds, which is also what the Culex tarsalis mosquito, its primary vector in the state, most likes to feast on. (Birds typically survive West Nile infections, often with little problem.)

“West Nile makes its living by being transmitted between birds and mosquitoes,” said Greg Ebel, a professor of microbiology, immunology and pathology at Colorado State University and the director of the university’s Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases.

“People and horses get sick and die when they just sort of haphazardly stumble into this thing that is happening in nature all the time.”

Nearly 1,000 mosquitoes, obtained from a light trap in Weld

County in 2014, are kept in a case in Hancock’s lab. Researchers speculate that bird migration patterns, climate change, snowmelt runoff, suburban development, irrigation, and other factors can influence the range and virulence of West Nile.

So there’s the first challenge: Because humans are tangential to the real West Nile transmission patterns, it’s tough to know what we don’t know. What factors amplify the transmission cycle? What factors diminish it? It’s possible there are massive West Nile clusters happening somewhere across the West that we have no idea about because there aren’t humans present to be infected.

Ebel, whose lab tracks West Nile across Larimer County, said the virus shows consistently mysterious patterns in the region. The first place he detects West Nile in mosquito populations each spring is in the Fossil Creek area in the southeastern corner of Fort Collins. Then it pops up in the northeastern corner. It isn’t until

much later that it shows up on the western side of Fort Collins. He has no idea why.

“I think there are a lot of things going on,” he said.

Some of the environmental and human-caused factors that would, on the surface, seem to make for ideal West Nile breeding grounds may not be what they appear.

Take water, for instance. Conventional wisdom would hold that wetter years are buggier, which would lead to more West Nile. After all, mosquitoes lay their eggs in small pools of water. But Ebel said the connection doesn’t necessarily hold true.

For starters, Culex tarsalis are not the mosquitoes most likely to be biting people in their backyards — though another mosquito that is more likely, Culex pipiens, can also carry West Nile.

“How many mosquitoes are out there isn’t that critical,” Ebel said.

Wetter years may also work against the transmission cycle because it gives water-thirsty birds and egg-laying mosquitoes a chance to spread out, Ebel said. Years with drier springs, which concentrate water in only a few places, bringing vector and host closer together, may be better for jump-starting the cycle.

Hancock, the MSU Denver professor, said too much water at the wrong time might kill a West Nile cycle before it can get going. An especially fast but full spring runoff could create a “lethal flush”

“I don’t think there’s anything di erent in the base-level ecology of Colorado. It’s the people around and what we are doing with the environment.”

Greg Ebel, a professor of microbiology

Ebel, a professor of microbiology

MOSQUITOS

that washes away mosquito larvae in wetlands.

Lastly, severe drought can hold mosquito populations in check. But Hancock said even that’s not a guarantee for a mellow West Nile season. In Colorado, when Mother Nature doesn’t provide, humans will still find ways to create precipitation.

“If we’re irrigating a lot, we’re creating other breeding sites,” he said. “So it’s really a delightfully complicated problem.”

Making a human connection

Of course, to have a bad West Nile year in terms of infections, you also need people near where these mosquito-and-bird transmission cycles are happening — and that’s where all that irrigation comes in.

Look at the top counties for West Nile cases in Colorado and a pattern soon emerges. The highest number of cases this year occurred in Boulder and Montrose counties, followed closely by Weld. Last year, Larimer County — which is the state’s all-time leader in West Nile infections — topped the list, and Delta County frequently appears near the top, as well.

All of those counties have at least relatively sizeable populations and significant amounts of irrigated farmland. Add in Colorado’s status as a major thoroughfare along the Central Flyway for migratory birds and the equation starts to come into focus. People + Water + Birds + Culex mosquitoes = human West Nile infections.

“I don’t think there’s anything different in the base-level ecology of Colorado,” Ebel said in

trying to explain why Colorado stands out among other states. “It’s the people around and what we are doing with the environment.”

When controlling the data for population size, Hancock said Delta County — home to acres of fruit orchards and sweet corn fields — has the highest rate of West Nile in the state. People in the county are 15 to 16 times more likely to get West Nile than someone living in Denver, he said.

But it’s not just proximity to agricultural operations that can drive up the chances of getting West Nile. How communities handle storm drainage can also have an impact.

Hancock said the favorite habitat of Culex tarsalis is a cattail marsh. The marshes can exist in naturally occurring wetlands. But they are also common near human-made reservoirs, along creekside bike paths, within golf courses and in stormwater containment basins adjacent to new construction.

“You can see human developments right next to massive cattail marshes,” Hancock said.

Predicting the effects of climate change

The fact that people have created so many of the environments that give rise to the mosquitoes infecting people with West Nile makes it even more complicated to predict how climate change might alter the dynamics.

Hancock is skeptical that it will. No matter how hot and dry it gets in Colorado, human intervention will likely preserve mosquito breeding grounds.

“We have made a relatively controllable mosquito factory,” he said. “So I predict climate change is going to affect every -

thing, but I predict it will impact Colorado less than other places for mosquito epidemiology.”

Instead, the bigger impacts from a warming climate appear to come down to the added time it creates for mosquitoes.

House, the state public health veterinarian, said it takes a hard freeze to kill off mosquito populations for the winter. But in years where that hard freeze is delayed, West Nile season can stretch on and on. As climate change makes fall the fastestwarming season in Colorado, that means West Nile season is poised to lengthen.

“We’re definitely seeing a late season, and the longer the season goes, the more at risk people are,” House said.

Warmer temperatures also create a hack for mosquito biology. Heat speeds up the replication of the virus inside a mosquito. That means the hotter it is, the faster a mosquito is ready to spread the virus to something else — what’s called the “extrinsic incubation period.”

“That’s really important because life is quite dangerous for mosquitoes,” Ebel, the CSU professor, said. “They get killed all the time, they get eaten. Even if it’s just one day, that’s a day when mortality isn’t hacking away at mosquitoes.”

All of these factors can make Colorado’s West Nile problem seem dizzying and unsolvable. But Ebel, Hancock and other researchers are optimistic. They talk of producing mathematical models that predict West Nile spread. Doing so would allow officials to better target prevention efforts, like spraying.

Ebel hopes to conduct more genetic sequencing of West Nile virus samples, to get a better sense of how it moves across the map.

But first, they will need to answer some surprisingly elusive questions about the mosquito that’s to blame.

Building a home for Culex tarsalis The enclosures Hancock has built to hold his delicate Sabethes mosquitoes are small, scarcely bigger than a microwave.

For his prospective Culex tarsalis enclosure, he had to go bigger. The box is roughly the size of a large refrigerator, and he might need to build it bigger still. This is because tarsalis likes to breed in airborne swarms. You need a lot of mosquitoes and a lot of space to make it work.

Hancock knows of one lab colony in existence in California. But he’s hoping to establish a colony that behaves a little more like the mosquitoes in Colorado do — and that means collecting them in the wild.

“It’s so deep and rich,” he said. “Every group of mosquitoes has their own ways.”

At times, Hancock’s ways can seem a little unique, as well. Feeding his lab colonies — he also has a growing colony of bedbugs for a different research project —with his own blood is done mostly out of convenience, he said. Besides, after years of research on blood-sucking bugs, he no longer develops welts or reacts to their bites, though getting to that point involved quite a bit of itchiness and pain, he said.

This story is from The Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support The Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. The Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

Greg

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On Sept. 4, Chileans across the world anxiously checked their social media feeds and Whatsapp group chats, wondering about the future of their country. Would Chile adopt a new constitution? e answer ashed across their phone screens that evening. In an overwhelming referendum result, about 62% of the population of Chile voted to reject what would have been one of the most progressive constitutions in the world.

In Santiago, supporters of the new constitution comforted each other in sadness while those who opposed it waved celebratory ags in the streets.

Meanwhile, Chileans in Colorado mourned and celebrated from over 5,000 miles away.

Pame Bradford, who works in Fort Collins Public Schools, was happy voters rejected the draft. An Aurora-based artist named Adolfo Romero, on the other hand, said the result felt like a deep blow to his heart.

Considering their opposing views on one of the most pivotal referendums in Chile’s democratic history, it may come as a surprise that Romero and Bradford are siblings. Although they grew up under the same roof, the two Colorado-based Chileans have di erent opinions on what will cure their country’s ailments going forward.

From Chile to Colorado

When Romero was in high school and Bradford had recently nished, their family moved from Arica, a city in northern Chile, to the capital of Santiago.

Attending high school in Santiago among politically active peers was a formative experience for Romero. Although he does not identify with a particular

party, he said his political beliefs are left-leaning.

interested in politics. She said she focused on “things with discipline” growing up, such as sports and martial arts.

When she was 25 years old, Bradford

moved to the U.S.

“It might be kind of cheesy, but I moved because I felt that I was going to nd love here,” she said. “I actually did nd it.”

After traveling for a few years, she met her husband and settled down in his home state of Colorado. In 2008, her parents moved to the U.S. Romero followed suit in 2014 to be near his family.

The social explosion

On Oct. 18, 2019, an increase in the metro fare sparked massive demonstrations in Santiago. Both Bradford and Romero watched from afar. is was the beginning of a nationwide sociopolitical movement referred to as the “estallido social” or the “social explosion.” For months, protesters demanded changes in economic and social policies that had been in place since the country’s military dictatorship, which ended in 1990.

e estallido was a frightening time for some Chileans. Bradford said she was concerned as protesters burned metro stations and destroyed private property.

“I was really distraught… I mean, we are really connected to the country and when you see bad things happening, it a ects you here,” she said. “I know we could have come up with better ways to do it… the reasons might be good, but not the way it was presented.”

Romero, unlike his sister, said he was hopeful when the demonstrations

Protesters climb a statue in Santiago’s central plaza under the watchful eye of a military helicopter.

PHOTO BY NINA

Bradford, on the other hand, was less

CUT OUT: Adolfo Romero with his sisters Pame Bradford, right, and Leslie Romero, left. COURTESY

began. After being involved in community movements for most of his life, it felt like his country was nally awakening to its problems.

“One of the conversations that I used to have with my friends was, ‘Damn, when are the people gonna be awake? When are the people gonna react to these conditions in this country?’” he said. “Finally, it happened in 2019.”

Although he wishes political change were achievable through “just talking,” Romero said it’s sometimes necessary for people to take to the streets.

But Chileans who went to the streets were met with excessive force from police, according to the Human Rights Watch. From Oct. 18 to Nov. 20, in 2019 almost 9,000 protesters and bystanders were injured and 26 people died, according to the organization.

For Romero, the police response to the protests was the most tragic part of the situation.

“It was very sad… to see how many people got injured… by the police,” he said. “I felt very powerless.”

The road to referendum e demonstrations during the social movement of 2019-2020 covered a wide range of issues, including wages, social security, water rights, education, healthcare, environmental concerns, gender inequality, indigenous rights and more.

As the movement continued, protesters started turning their attention toward a document that could address all of these problems at once: the constitution.

“ at was the core of everything. at is the core that supports the model, that holds the entire system,” Romero said. “So when (the protestors) chose that point, it to me was nally the right pathway to get a change.”

Chile’s current constitution was written in 1980 under military dictator Augusto Pinochet, who held power from 1973 until 1990. After ousting socialist President Salvador Allende in a U.S.-supported coup d’etat, Pinochet implemented vast neoliberal economic reforms.

Under Pinochet, the availability and a ordability of health care, social security, education and even water were largely driven by the free market. e 1980 constitution, despite modern amendments, maintains a role for private sectors for these services.

ese neoliberal decisions bolstered Chile’s economy but did so at the expense of extensive human rights abuses during the dictatorship. More than 3,000 people were killed or “disappeared” under Pinochet’s regime and over 27,000 more were victims of torture, according to Chilean commission reports.

Still, some applaud the dictator for the economic growth during his reign. Others condemn his human rights abuses and point to his economic policies as the root of Chile’s devastating inequality.

About a month after the protests began, then-President Sebastián Piñera agreed to hold a nationwide referendum to vote on the possibility of rewriting the dictatorship-era

constitution. On Oct. 25, 2020, 78% of voting Chileans approved the decision to rewrite a new charter.

Voters also determined that a convention of elected citizens would draft the new document. In a global rst, the constitutional body was required to have gender parity. In addition, 17 seats were reserved for indigenous populations, according to the National Library of Congress of Chile.

In May 2021, voters elected a constitutional convention made up of 67% independent candidates, many of them part of left-leaning movements, according to Universidad de Chile professor Claudia Heiss.

e nontraditional makeup of the body gave some Chileans hope when the process began, but polls showed a decrease in voter con dence in the convention as time went on.

After one year of the convention’s work, the draft faced its fate in a referendum in which all Chileans were required to vote. e earlier votes in the constitutional process had been voluntary.

According to the Chilean Electoral Service, Chileans abroad voted to approve the draft but the overall population overwhelmingly rejected it.

Both Bradford and Romero would have had to travel to another state to vote, so neither was able to cast a ballot due to logistics.

The draft

“Chile is a social and democratic state of law,” started the new constitutional draft. “It is ‘plurinacional,’ intercultural, regional and ecological.”

e 388-article charter included universal health care and rights to education, housing, pensions and water. Along with vast environmental protections, it implemented gender parity rules for governing bodies. It also restructured the country’s legislative model and established parallel justice systems for indigenous groups.

Supporters of the document praised its progressive character while opponents stressed the farreaching and unachievable nature of the constitution’s goals. Some opponents wanted to keep the 1980 version. Others said they desired a new constitution, just not this one.

In Bradford’s opinion, the members of the convention tried to take on too many topics.

“I do agree with some changes for the environment and things like that. But I think this proposal was covering way too many things and it became unreliable — people realized that,” she said.

But Bradford’s biggest concern about the new constitution was that it did not address what she sees as Chile’s main issues. Speci cally, Bradford said she was concerned about danger and crime in Chile, which she attributed to a lack of control over immigration.

“I still have all my extended family members (in Chile) and I hear every day what they’re su ering. And those real issues are not getting addressed,” she said.

She also opposed the idea of making the state “plurinacional,” which means recognizing the coexistence of multiple national groups within a country.

“We are a united country there. I

don’t believe that we should start calling each other something di erent,” she said.

For Romero, identifying the country as such was one of the biggest strengths of the draft. He said it was important to recognize indigenous nations.

“When we talk about ‘plurinacionalidad,’ we are talking about the recognition of their territory and their cultural autonomy, and that they are asking for the right to organize themselves in some way,” he said. “For me, that’s good. It’s the minimum that can be o ered after years of colonization — the minimum.”

Romero also applauded the draft’s inclusion of rights to healthcare and education.

“ e right to health care exists in various countries, and it works well,” Romero said. “It’s the same with the right to education… e people ignore it because they simply haven’t lived (that) reality.”

Romero added that he thinks many people who voted against the new draft were in uenced by misinformation campaigns about its contents. Bradford said she knew people who read the draft itself and still rejected it.

Delightful di erences

For Bradford, the new constitution was not the right move for Chile. But in Romero’s eyes, there is still hope for a new constitution in the future. “ e process isn’t over in Chile,”

he said. “It’s a battle that was lost, but the people are going to continue ghting.”

Despite their di erences, Romero and Bradford say they are close. Adding their parents, younger sister and extended family into the mix, they are surrounded by a wide range of political opinions.

“We tease each other, we laugh, but we know we’re not gonna change our views — and we don’t want to change our views,” Bradford said. “We accept each other how we are and we love each other regardless.”

She compared their political differences to other di erences she and her siblings have, such as the ways they like to relax and their tastes in music.

“You put priorities in life and family’s the rst priority. Love — love for your family,” she said.

According to Romero, his family’s di erences represent the diversity that should exist in a healthy society.

“If I expect that all my friends think exactly the same as me, it will be me (who is) the problem,” he said.

Even when an entire new constitution is on the line, he says di erences are valuable.

“ is is the base of a society, what society should be,” he said. “It’s a plus when you have a di erence.”

Editor’s note: Some sections of this story have been translated from Spanish. Parts that remain in Spanish are designated with italics.

PHOTOS BY NINA JOSS

Small drop unlikely to reverse skyrocketing home prices

Sellers, buyers play waiting game

BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Danielle and Stephan Storinsky “saw the writing on the wall.” It foretold how the housing market might change. So, earlier this year, the married couple sold their Arvada townhome. ey timed it just right. ey capitalized before concerns about in ation took center stage. ey sold their home when the metro area was gripped by historically high housing prices.

ey bought their townhome about ve years ago for $285,000. ey sold for $521,000.

“ at part’s pretty nice because now we have a decent amount of money to put down on something,” Stephan Storinsky said.

But now, on the other side of cashing in, they nd themselves playing a waiting game. Even with the tidy pro t they hauled in, they are struggling to nd a home at a good value.  Houses on the market today “are just not worth the price that people are asking,” said Stephan Storinsky.

e couple are living with parents, constantly keeping their eyes open for a good deal.

e couple isn’t alone. While the number of available metro area houses shot upward in a year, so has

the number of days those homes are sitting on the market until they sell, according to the latest report by the Colorado Association of Realtors.

One sign of the cooling real estate market are For Sale signs outside homes, an indication realtors are no longer overwhelmed by prospective clients.

e shift comes as mortgage rates — the amount of interest people pay on their home loans — ticked steadily upwards in recent months, making housing that’s been rising in price for the better part of a decade even costlier. e only light at the end of the tunnel lately could be a slight drop in interest rates. But a drop in home prices might not be in the cards, one metro-area realtor says.

“I think it’ll be a small increase throughout the rst half of the year and then potentially a small decrease the last half of the year,” said Andrew Abrams, a real-estate broker in Denver who has rental properties in Je erson County.

But, overall, home prices are expected to keep going up, Abrams said.

As it is, the market is stagnating. Not only are there buyers like the Storinskys playing a waiting game, but many prospective sellers don’t want to leave behind the cheaper mortgage payments they clinched before, likely on mortgage loans with lower interest rates.

“Sellers are hesitant to sell at a lower price than their neighbors

from last spring and leave their low interest rate behind, and buyers are afraid what the future will bring in terms of interest rates and home prices,” opined Kelly Moye, a Realtor in the Boulder and Broom eld area, in a statement.

A short break in price hikes

A deeper dive into the data shows that the median, or typical, price of a Denver area single-family home has seen a seven-month decline.

A sign calls attention to a home for sale Dec. 5 in southeast Denver.

PHOTO BY ELLIS ARNOLD

e price sat at $587,500 in November — still eye-catchingly high, but just a 1.3% increase from a year earlier, according to the Realtor association’s December report.

By contrast, in December 2021, the change in median home price was up a whopping 18.3% from a year earlier.

Something to keep in mind is that fall months typically see a slowdown in price growth and home sales each year. But the degree of the slowdown since March “has been more dramatic than normal seasonality, and I think that is dictated by interest rates,” Abrams said.

It’s a calculation that means big changes for families looking to buy homes. Take, for example, a $600,000 home with a 20% down payment.

If the mortgage interest rate sits at 6.5%, the family’s monthly mortgage payment would be about $3,700, Abrams said. On the other hand, at the 3.5% rate locked in by buyers in years past, the mortgage monthly payment would be $2,800.

Feeling priced out

And so the Storinskys’ strategy to cash out while the market was at a high has come with a down side. ey were “originally looking at around $650,000, but interest rates the way they are, we’re probably down into the max $600,000. But probably, more realistically, $550,000 to $575,000 is where we’ll

end up,” Stephan Storinsky said.

e Storinskys are scouring the north and west metro area for a home – Lakewood, Arvada, Wheat Ridge and part of Westminster.

Danielle Storinsky, 31, a legal assistant, and Stephan Storinsky, 35, a utilities technician, said they’ve been more fortunate than many people in the market.

But the homes he and his wife have seen don’t seem worth it. e listed pictures of a place may “look great,” but in person leave something to be desired, he said.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve seen what houses have sold for,” Stephan Storinsky said. “So

for me, it’s just not worth it.”

“It’s hard to compete with people from out of state who come from California” and bring large sums of cash, he added. “Seems like you’re pricing the locals out of market.”

The Colorado Association of Realtors defines the seven-county Denver metro area as Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties. The association’s latest report is based on November data.

Long-term price drop unlikely, Realtor says

Abrams takes issue with predic-

tions that raise the specter of a housing market crash.

“I disagree pretty strongly, and I think the practices that were done before the Great Recession are dramatically di erent than the market today,” Abrams said, adding that “the lending practices back then were just not nearly as strong.”

Before the Great Recession, banks were giving loans to people they knew couldn’t keep up with them, Abrams said.

Another di erence: Fewer houses are on the market today, Abrams said.

In metro Denver, there were about 7,300 homes on the market as of Nov. 1, but in 2006, there were about 3 1/2 times more homes available, Abrams said.

ough it’s tough to predict the market amid concerns over in ation and interest rates, the metro Denver housing market could behave in a more stabilized way in 2023.

A sign marks a home for sale Dec. 5 in southeast Denver.

PHOTO BY ELLIS ARNOLD

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‘If the calendar was open, I always said yes’

CBS4’s Jim Benemann reflects on career, retirement

BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Back in May, longtime CBS Colorado — KCNC-TV, Channel 4 — news anchor Jim Benemann announced his retirement, bringing a close to his 44 years in TV news, including 36 years in the Denver market.

Denver’s Benemann has served as the face of CBS Colorado’s evening news since 2002, anchoring the program alongside Karen Leigh since 2008.

KCNC sports anchor Michael Spencer, who began working at CBS Colorado in June 2016, will replace Benemann as anchor of the CBS Colorado news at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

In December, Gary Shapiro, who began anchoring 9NEWS Mornings in 1989, retired. He intends to stay on part-time, and will occasionally be seen on the air for some stories and specials, 9NEWS reported.

In his retirement, Benemann is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Karen, their eight children and five grandchildren, and also traveling at a more leisurely pace than reporting the news demands. With only about three months left before he retires, Colorado Community Media visited with Benemann to learn more about his career and retirement plans.

Q&A with Jim Benemann

What will retirement look like for you?

Like a full-time move up to the mountains. We have a little place in Eagle that we really enjoy. We’ll be spending a lot of time up there.

But also, we have some kids here in Denver … we’ll be visiting.

We have not done an awful lot of travel. It’d be nice to go places where you can be free and easy.

One place we want to get to is New Zealand. You need three weeks to discover (everything there). And Slovenia is an undiscovered gem.

What are you most proud of as you review your television career?

I would say the No. 1 accomplishment was working hard enough — and (being) dedicated enough — so people in Colorado trusted what I was reporting on and felt I had journalistic integrity. Someone who could be trusted with the information, and (when) they tuned in, got it straight down the middle. (Being) someone the audience could trust (to) get information fairly presented and professionally gathered.

What were some of your favorite assignments?

One of the most rewarding was the 40th anniversary of the DDay invasion. My dad was a tank sergeant in World War II. He went into Normandy on June 8, led a tank crew all the way to Czechoslovakia. Many of the GIs who were there during the war returned (for the anniversary). A big contingent went to battlefields, cemeteries and the small towns they had fought their way to get to. Seeing how the locals had this tremendous love and admiration for what the GIs had done over there was really moving.

When I was covering Washington, D.C., I was only 26 (or) 27, and sitting down with people like Sen. Gary Hart. I was working for all the Gannett-owned stations. We

had some clout. What a tremendous opportunity to meet some of these people.

And when I was at Channel 9, I covered the Sydney Olympics.

Let’s say you’d like to take a mulligan on something in your career. What would it be?

For my last week, the station prob-

ably has been saving up all the bloopers that they’ll roll out again.

What are some of the changes you’ve seen come to Denver?

e explosive population growth and the issues it presents. When my wife and I rst moved here after college in 1980, it was so much sleepier than it is today. Denver’s gone from a big, manageable city to a really big metropolis with a lot of pressing issues.

What was rewarding about being involved with the community?

It could be reading Dr. Seuss to some kids, black-tie fundraisers, Kiwanis lunches. If the calendar was open, I always said yes. I met some of the most generous and cool people, whether at a luncheon or a big gala, … who make Colorado what it is.

Big shoes to fill

BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

Michael Spencer said it has been tough containing his excitement for his new role.

Come March, Spencer will be moving into the CBS Colorado’s news anchor spot being vacated by Jim Benemann.

“I’ve known for a long time and couldn’t say anything,” said Spencer, who has been serving as CBS Colorado’s sports anchor since June 2016. “I am very much looking forward to working with Karen Leigh and serving the community in a di erent role. It’s a fantastic opportunity.”

Spencer, 34, started his career at the University of Missouri and has worked for KMID-TV in Midland, Texas; KAMR-TV in Amarillo, Texas and WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee before joining CBS Colorado.

Spencer’s rst assignment in Denver was covering the Broncos’ win over the New England Patriots to advance to Super Bowl 50, which the Broncos also won.

Spencer said Benemann has been a great mentor and friend, and that assuming his role will “be some big shoes to ll.”

“I’m delighted Michael will be taking over the anchoring duties that I’ve been honored to have over the years,” Benemann said in a news release. “He’s smart, dedicated to getting things right and a great guy to be around. I know our viewers who’ve followed Michael’s sports reporting will enjoy watching him in his new role.”

Michael Spencer, right, will be moving into the CBS Colorado’s news anchor spot being vacated by Jim Benemann, left, who is retiring this March.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CBS COLORADO

A behind-the-scenes photo of Jim Benemann on air at this year’s Together 4 Colorado Toy Drive. Benemann is retiring from a 44-year career in television news this March.

A history lesson in a film

BY BRUCE GOLDBERG SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

e creators of a new lm that will premiere this spring hope it will help the state’s residents and leaders better understand what the state needs to thrive in the future.

Set to premiere on April 6, “ e Five States of Colorado” is a production of Denver-based HaveyPro Cinema and Colorado Humanities, a nonpro t dedicated to promoting humanities education through community-based programs.

It’s a follow-up to Jim Havey’s 1989 lm that was the original “Five States,” which was Havey Productions’ rst historical documentary production. e new version will be his last, as Havey plans to retire.

e lm focuses on Colorado’s history, how it came to be and where it’s going.

“We could probably make a lm just about what happened between 1990 and today,” said Nathan Church, partner in HaveyPro Cinema who also serves as its art director and editor. “But we’re trying to look at the whole history of Colorado. ere’s a lot to cram in there. We can’t cover everything, but we hope to get a good overview.”

e U.S. Congress set Colorado’s boundaries in 1861, from four di erent territories.

“ ese straight lines represent no river, no mountain range, no tribe or language group - yet within the state are many divides both geographic and human,” Colorado Humanities said in a news release.

e organization points out that the “ ve states” model reveals Colorado’s regions and each has its own

history, geography and economy. According to Colorado Humanities, “each region engenders a certain loyalty from its citizens and has some common ideas how things should be done.”

“ e ve-state model is based on the idea that Colorado’s borders are a square. It was drawn arbitrarily,” Church added. “It was closed within one square that way to protect the gold-bearing regions for the Union, as this was right around the Civil War.”

A partial look at the regions entails: Southern Colorado includes Pueblo and the San Luis Valley; Western Colorado covers mountain ranges, including North, Middle and South Park; the Eastern Plains include the Front Range north of the Arkansas River; the Front Range includes a dense population from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs; and Metropolitan Denver has its own region because of its in uence in politics and the economy.

“Some of the issues we face today are things we’ve been dealing with in Colorado in time immemorial, all the way back to the ancestral Puebloans,” Church said. “ ere was a major drought in the 1200s, and evidence shows the Puebloans moved out likely because of that. e

entire Southwest is now in a megadrought that has been going on for the better part of a decade.”

e state’s recent rapid growth in population is another topic of concern.

“ at connects with climate change, which is changing the water picture throughout the state,” Church said. “ ese topics touch all the regions.”

Colorado Humanities recruited 26 scholars and community leaders to ensure that the new version of “Five States” ensures accuracy, inclusiveness and relevance in the lm.

“One thing that gives us comfort is (they’re) advising us about topics to cover,” Church said. “ ey’ll review the script and the lm. We’re counting on those scholars to guide the development of this lm. “We really hope it will both educate people about the history of the state and inform them about current issues with that historical perspective.”

“The Five States of Colorado” premieres on April 6 at the Denver Botanic Gardens’ Sturm Family Auditorium, 1085 York St. Start date for ticket sales has not been announced yet.

Colorado Humanities will distribute the new documentary to schools and libraries throughout the state after the premiere. The organization will also take it on tour, o ering screenings and conducting panel discussions about critical issues with regional figures as well as community conversations available for the general public.

To learn more, visit fivestatesfilm.com.

For its influence on politics and the economy, Metropolitan Denver is considered its own region as one of the five states of Colorado.

A still from “The Five States of Colorado,” a documentary that will premiere this spring.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HAVEY PRODUCTIONS

‘The Five States of Colorado’ to premiere this spring

A still from “The Five States of Colorado,” a documentary that will premiere this spring.