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Last year, U.S. spending to treat obesity hit $86 billion—a figure that could quadruple as America’s waistlines keep bulging in years to come, points out Medill News Service, which cites a study finding that almost half of U.S. adults are expected to be obese by 2018. But you can’t blame Boulder for the trend.
A federal analysis of obesity rates across the nation concludes that Boulder County is the nation’s thinnest, writes the Daily Camera. That’s according to 2007 data—the most recent available—showing that less than 13 percent of people in the county are obese and just four percent reported diabetes, a health problem closely linked to obesity. Meanwhile, some counties in Alabama and Mississippi are more than 40 percent obese. Denver’s rate is about 16.3 percent.
What’s President Barack Obama doing about the problem? Taking to the airwaves on Thanksgiving Day. In a public service announcement with the NFL, viewers will see New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees toss a pass to an unseen player. Wait! It’s Barack Obama—and he’s taking on Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. And they’re playing on the White House lawn (via USA Today).
Former Congressman and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo made waves recently when he announced he “fully” intends to seek the Republican Party nomination for Colorado governor, putting his former congressional colleague Scott McInnis in the position of possibly facing Tancredo in a primary race. Tancredo’s now waffling on that “fully” quote, reconsidering his bid.
Apparently, it’s something he began pondering as he walked through a local mall. He tells Westword, “I know that for everybody who comes up and says, ‘Go, Tom, go!,’ there are probably five people who passed me by saying, ‘Go to hell, Tom Tancredo!’”
Tancredo says he might be convinced to stay out of the race if he can be assured by fellow Republicans, including McInnis, that a truly conservative agenda will be offered in the 2010 race. The Denver Post’s Mike Rosen highlights what that agenda—a platform of sorts—could look like, citing “recent meetings” between McInnis, Tancredo, GOP state Chairman Dick Wadhams, and others.
Among the subjects: a commitment to limit taxes and state spending, rescinding Governor Bill Ritter’s executive order unionizing state employees, appointing conservative judges “to balance the court and reign in judicial activism,” and “responsible development of renewable energy and Colorado’s abundant oil and natural gas resources, as well as nuclear energy.”
In Europe, skier Lindsey Vonn requires a five-bodyguard escort to leave a race, yet in the U.S., she can stand in relative anonymity at the base of a mountain without garnering as much as a “hello.”
Although Vonn has racked up a staggering number of overall World Cup titles and wins in individual races across the globe (recapped at lindseyvonn.com), she still feels a responsibility to help grow the sport on American soil.
Beyond adding more trophies to her already-stuffed shelves, Vonn tells the Vail Daily she wants to help make ski racing more mainstream in the United States. A good place to start would be next weekend’s slalom and GS races at Aspen’s Winternational World Cup Event. Vonn took fourth in both races last year and hopes to not only improve her individual performance, but to give American fans something exciting to watch in the only women’s World Cup race in the U.S. this year.
Nobody is going to hand Vonn the victory, though, and she faces stiff competition. The Associated Press reports that Germany’s Maria Riesch edged Vonn by .08 seconds at the opening women’s World Cup slalom event last weekend in Levi, Finland, with Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen coming in third. Vonn tells the AP it was nice to put the race behind her in preparation for the Aspen Winternational, an event that wasn’t confirmed until yesterday, reports The Aspen Times.
Winternational chief of race Jim Hancock assures International Ski Federation officials there’s enough snow for the race to proceed, despite the lower slopes of Aspen Mountain showing bare spots up to about a week ago. Several nights of snow-making and natural snowstorms fixed the problem, and the race will move forward November 28 and 29.
Jeanne-Claude, one half of the art team that wrapped the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin and installed 7,503 vinyl gates with saffron-colored nylon panels in Central Park, died yesterday in Manhattan, where she lived with her husband, Christo.
Jeanne-Claude was 74. She met Christo Javacheff, a Bulgarian refugee, in Paris in 1958. Christo was already wrapping small objects at that time. Three years later, the two collaborated on a temporary installation in Cologne, Germany—oil drums and rolls of industrial paper wrapped in tarpaulin.
To establish an artistic brand, they used only Christo’s name, but in 1994 they retroactively applied the joint name “Christo and Jeanne-Claude” to their outdoor and large-scale temporary indoor works, according to The New York Times.
In an online statement, Christo says he is saddened by his wife’s death but remains “committed to honor the promise they made to each other many years ago: that the art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude would continue.” That means completing their controversial “Over The River” installation project on the Arkansas River in Colorado. But even with Christo’s determination to finish the $50 million project, it has many hurdles to clear.
The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing the artists’ proposal and is assessing the environmental impacts, the Colorado Springs Gazette points out, after Cañon City-based Rags Over the Arkansas River stated its opposition to the project. Christo and Jeanne-Claude first visited the Arkansas River Valley 14 years ago, notes The Pueblo Chieftain, which interviews the couple’s local independent consultant.
The quarterback situation for the Denver Broncos is apparently much worse than the team has been letting on since its humiliating 27-17 loss to the Washington Redskins last weekend.
Yahoo! Sports reports that Kyle Orton didn’t practice yesterday because of torn ligaments in his ankle, but that he’ll try to push through and play against the San Diego Chargers this weekend at Invesco Field at Mile High.
The Associated Press points out that Orton (left) has played through leg injuries before, most notably last year, when he led the Chicago Bears to a 6-2 record before getting hurt. After injuring his right ankle in a November 2, 2008, game against the Detroit Lions, he racked up interceptions and saw his passer ratings drop. The Bears eventually shipped Orton to Denver with a handful of draft picks in exchange for Jay Cutler.
Backup Broncos quarterback Chris Simms has been taking most of the snaps in practice this week, but after last week’s dismal performance in the second half against the Redskins, many fans would rather see a banged-up Orton play. Simms completed just three of 13 passes and was often wildly off the mark, but he tells AP that more practice time with the starting unit will help. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, Bleacher Report questions whether the team’s culture has actually changed, or if it’s all a mirage. Last year, the Broncos needed to win one of its last three games to make the playoffs and couldn’t find a way to do it, even though they played the woeful Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills—both at home. This year, the Broncos took a three-and-a-half game lead heading into November after beating the Chargers in San Diego, but they haven’t won a game since.
Popular Colorado photographer John Fielder is zig-zagging the state after spending a year with ranchers.
He’s touring to promote his latest book, “Ranches of Colorado,” which includes a stop for a slideshow and book signing tomorrow night on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins—an event that will help support the Legacy Land Trust, a nonprofit land-conservation organization, notes the Northern Colorado Business Report.
The ornate book is Fielder’s “most beautiful innovation so far,” writes the Estes Park Trail Gazette, with 232 pages and 375 color photographs of working cattle ranches. The book is meant to bring attention to the rapid loss of ranchland in Colorado to development. As Senior Editor Luc Hatlestad wrote recently for 5280, Fielder has focused his lens on the outdoors for more than three decades. Now, he’s beginning to recognize the value of putting people into the frame.
As the U.S. Senate rolled out an $849 billion health-care-reform bill yesterday, you may have missed the other big policy story of the day. In an impassioned plea that fell on many deaf ears, Colorado Democrat Mark Udall argued that something needed to be done about credit card gouging. He asked his fellow senators to support a House bill meant to put the reforms of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act into place two months early.
“The last thing our families need are higher interest rates and extra fees, especially on consumers who are already playing by the rules,” Udall said (via the Fort Collins Coloradoan).
But his calls for a vote, which would have frozen credit card rates and fees until stricter regulations go into effect in February, were shot down by Republicans. Senator Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican, delivered the death blow “on behalf of several senators on this side of the aisle.”
Half of Americans report that their interest rates have been raised in the past six months while Congress has considered limits on them, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey (via Deseret News). A majority of Americans, 77 percent, think credit card companies are taking advantage of consumers with their interest charges. McClatchy Newspapers, meanwhile, tries to figure out what you can do about high credit card rates. The answer: “Not much.”
Colorado Avalanche backup goalie Peter Budaj hasn’t had many opportunities in the net this season, thanks to the stellar play of goalie Craig Anderson. And last night, Budaj proved there’s been a good reason for that. The Avs lost to the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 after taking a 4-2 lead late into the second period. The Denver Post pins most of the blame on the hapless Budaj, with the caveat that the Avs wasted two five-on-three opportunities.
Those wasted chances are a big deal and could have been the difference in the game, but Budaj simply seems to lack the confidence of a successful NHL goalie. He gave up five goals on 32 shots, costing the Avs two points in the standings on a night when they had a chance to put more distance between Colorado and the rest of the Northwest Division.
A peek at goalie statistics at NHL.com shows Budaj has given up 10 goals on 69 shots for a less-than-mediocre .855 save percentage. That’s good enough to get him ranked 55th in the league out of 65 goalies. Anderson’s .927 save percentage, on the other hand, is tied for fourth-best in the NHL. Anderson has played 20 games so far this season, more than any other goalie in the NHL. Mile High Hockey calls Budaj one of the most divisive players on the squad.
Thankfully, the Avs are good despite their backup goalie. JustBet.com calls the team “officially the surprise of the 2009-10 NHL season,” adding that the Avs are a good bet for gamblers.
Sarah Palin’s appearance on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” may or may not have put the former Republican vice-presidential candidate on the comeback path, but it doesn’t really matter. Palin’s promotional blitz is just getting started, as her book tour makes its way around the country.
Approximately 1,000 people will receive wristbands to line up with their copies of Palin’s memoir, “Going Rogue,” on December 8 at the Chapel Hills Mall in Colorado Springs, according to the Gazette. If you’re feeling left out, the National Review Online is keeping tabs on the tour’s stops with its Rogue: The Sarah Palin Book Blog.
Although Palin avoided Oprah’s inquiries about a run in 2012, Mother Jones points out that as the tour began, Palin’s political action committee encouraged supporters to pony up $100 for a signed copy.
Of course, the jacket price is just $14.50, but for the curious non-readers, Jezebel has compiled a free hit list of quotes (or “insults”), including some predictable jabs at Katie Couric and Levi Johnston, as well as some unexpected blows (such as the one thrown at animal-loving Ashley Judd). (more…)
Twenty years ago, Bredo Morstoel died of heart failure. His body was put into a steel casket, the casket was put into a Tuff Shed in Nederland, and each month Bo Shaffer piles dry ice onto it to make sure Morstoel stays nice and chilly—more than 100 degrees below zero.
Morstoel, who is cryonically preserved in his box, is the celebrated “frozen dead guy” of Nederland’s annual Frozen Dead Guy Days. And while he does a lot for the local economy, this is about as exciting as Morstoel gets in a story by Longmont’s Daily Times-Call.
Yet, in some far-off, sci-fi future, the idea is that Morstoel will be defrosted, rub his eyes and rise from his icy tomb. Let’s hope a Norwegian translator is on hand when it happens. Morstoel was a public servant from Norway, who was whisked by his grandson, Trygve, to a California cryonics lab before being laid to rest in the Tuff Shed.
Trygve had hoped to ride the cryonics wave and start a clinic in Nederland, just west of Boulder, but it never happened. Trygve’s visa expired, he was deported, and Shaffer, “The Ice Man,” became caretaker, notes 7News. Shaffer, who is working on a book about the experience, says Trygve funds the deep freeze with his mother’s pension, sending $800 per month for dry ice and labor.
To hear the story put to song, watch the following video, produced by the Nederland Chamber of Commerce.
The Denver Nuggets cruised to a surprisingly easy 130-112 win over the Toronto Raptors last night at the Pepsi Center. The first half was a classic slug fest, with both teams scoring in bunches and finishing knotted at 64. But the Nuggets turned on the defense and the offensive power in the second half, led by Carmelo Anthony’s 32 points (via The Denver Post).
Anthony is one of the NBA’s best players and a possible MVP candidate, notes the Los Angeles Times. He’s third in the NBA in scoring at nearly 30 points per game, having six games with 30 or more points and two 40-plus-point nights.
Anthony has to remind the media and Denver fans, who have known him for years, that he’s just 25 years old and is just getting started in terms of learning what it takes to continually perform at an advanced level. He’s led the Nuggets to an impressive 8-3 record, despite the team playing without J.R. Smith for seven games while he served a suspension, and, as InDenverTimes notes, despite four sets of back-to-backs.
It helps that Melo’s surrounded by talent, including rookie point guard Ty Lawson, who’s averaging more than 10 points per game and has logged more than three assists in his first handful of games at the pro level.
The Canadian Press points out that Lawson’s transition to the NBA has forced coach George Karl to give him quality playing time, something Karl is typically loathe to do for rookies. Karl says Lawson makes the Nuggets even better than last season, when they took the Los Angeles Lakers to six games in the Western Conference finals.
We’ll learn today whether the Baseball Writers Association will name Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy the National League Manager of the Year. Troy Renck of The Denver Post believes it’s almost a foregone conclusion given Tracy’s accomplishments this year.
He was the bench coach when former manager Clint Hurdle was fired on May 29 and the Rockies were sitting at 18-28. At the time, it seemed like another wasted year for Denver baseball, but Tracy solidified the lineup, and the team went 74-42 under his command. The turnaround was one of the best course corrections in the history of baseball, and it earned Tracy and Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd the Sporting News’ top manager- and executive-of-the-year honors, respectively.
Renck says both men are still working out deals with the team, but both are expected to sign three-year contracts.
Meanwhile, Purple Row predicts how well many of the returning players will play this season. The projections, while somewhat confusing, point to great depth for Rockies in 2010, but lowered expectations for Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and outfielder Carlos Gonzales, which seems surprising, considering Tulowitzki’s borderline-dominant play last season and Gonzales’ ever-increasing contribution to the team. Either way, Tulowitzki and Gonzales will be the main horses in the Rockies’ stable for years to come.
In the meantime, the team will enjoy a brand-new training facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the beginning of the 2011 season, MLB.com reports, noting that the Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks, which will share the training facility, broke ground Monday on the project. It will try to re-create the fan-player interaction that was synonymous with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida.
State Senator Dave Schultheis’ tweet—the one that led to an outpouring of criticism claiming that he’d compared the hijackers of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to President Barack Obama—just won’t go away.
To recap, Schultheis had written: “Don’t for a second think Obama wants what is best for U.S. He is flying the U.S. plane right into the ground at full speed. Let’s roll.” The “let’s roll” statement is where the controversy lies: A victim of the flight that went down in Pennsylvania declared the same words before ambushing the cockpit to recapture control of a jetliner.
The Denver Post editorial board slammed Schultheis with a series of tweets, mocking his claims that his words were misunderstood: “Don’t think we buy your claim you didn’t mean to equate the president with terrorists. No one is buying it.”
And: “To believe that the American people elected a president intent on destroying the U.S. is hateful and absurd. Such debate is debasing.” As well as: “Casting Obama as a terrorist trying to destroy the U.S. only hurts legitimate critics concerned about growth of gov spending and meddling.”
Meanwhile, Schultheis, who has said his remark was taken out of context, continues to defend himself, including on Peter Boyles’ radio show, saying that Obama is “taking this country down fast;” trying to take control of every facet of government (via The Colorado Independent). “It is fascism and Marxism,” Schultheis says.
Jane Norton, the former Colorado lieutenant governor who is now running for the U.S. Senate, has cast herself as a Washington outsider. But as the left-leaning Huffington Post recently noted, she has nonetheless been cozy with D.C. insiders—particularly those who are helping her fill her campaign coffers.
In fact, since officially entering the race in early September, Norton has raised $510,000. That’s more money in that amount of time than fellow Republican Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, as well as both Democrats in the race: sitting U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, reports The Denver Post.
Between September 10 and 30, when the race became competitive, Bennet raised $364,000 to Romanoff’s $181,000 among individual donors giving $200 or more. Joelle Martinez, a spokeswoman for Romanoff, explains that Romanoff didn’t start raising money in earnest until the last 10 days of the month. Buck pulled in $159,000 for the period.
First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Denver today with an entourage of A-list celebrities and officials for a whirlwind tour meant to highlight the need for mentoring in young women’s lives.
You might recognize a few of the mentors, such as actresses Susan Sarandon and Traci Ellis Ross, or Colorado’s first lady, Jeannie Ritter, and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis (via Politico).
Denver was chosen for the visit because of its diverse population. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 34.4 percent of Denver is Hispanic, 10.1 percent is African-American, and 3.4 percent is Asian-American.
“Mentors can have an enormously positive impact in the lives of young people,” Congresswoman Betsy Markey, a participant from northern Colorado, tells the Fort Collins Coloradoan. “The first lady’s mentoring initiative is a powerful step in the right direction for our schools and our communities, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Obama will visit with women leaders at a luncheon at the governor’s mansion today. In the afternoon, the women will fan out to different schools to discuss their careers and speak with students. Obama plans to visit South High School, where 30 students were selected by teachers for their leadership skills to enjoy a private audience with the first lady, according to 9News, which is planning to host a live Webcast of the luncheon event at noon.
Nicole Fox, an 18-year-old University of Colorado sophomore from Louisville who describes herself as “just the girl next door,” is the state’s first finalist on the popular reality television show “America’s Next Top Model,” in which aspiring models attempt mega-success via Tyra Banks’ model-making machine.
Fox, who is studying fine arts, will square off against rival Laura for the final showdown, which, for those who haven’t watched previous seasons, includes a television commercial and a runway show. Cycle 13 of the show is unique in that it’s the first contest for petite models, but the winner, as her taller counterparts have in the past, will walk away with a $100,000 CoverGirl Cosmetics contract, representation by Wilhelmina Models, and a cover and six-page spread in Seventeen Magazine (via Boulder’s Daily Camera).
The finale airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. on The CW. Westword’s Michael Roberts, who’s been following Fox since her debut this season, scopes out the competition, comparing Laura to former American Idol favorite Kellie Pickler. But Roberts is sticking with his home-state girl, saying Fox deserves to win.
It’s amazing how quickly perceptions can change in the NFL. The Associated Press compares Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels to his Washington counterpart, Redskins head coach Jim Zorn, in discussing this weekend’s game.
Anyone who follows the NFL at even a cursory level knows that’s anything but a compliment, given that Zorn was recently stripped of his play-calling responsibilities and likely won’t make it to a third season in D.C.
Unfortunately, the parallels are there: Zorn started last season 6-2 as a rookie head coach, with rumors of Coach of the Year swirling. The Redskins are a dismal 4-12 since then, with many critics saying Redskins owner billionaire Dan Snyder treats the team as his own fantasy team, spending as much as he can on the sexiest free agents without creating a cohesive team atmosphere.
After Denver’s surprising 6-0 start, the Broncos have been outscored 58-10 over the last two games, with just one offensive touchdown in the two embarrassing losses.
But let’s pump the brakes. McDaniels is in no danger of losing his play-calling role, and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen is nothing like Snyder.
This weekend’s game may be just what the doctor ordered for the Broncos, however, with CBS Sports noting that the Redskins are in a tailspin and looking to avoid five consecutive loses for the first time in eight years.
McDaniels was smart enough to realize the Broncos’ offensive line has been awful the last two games, barely giving quarterback Kyle Orton time to think. In response, McDaniels has demoted left guard Ben Hamilton, replacing him with backup Ross Hochstein, reports The Denver Post (free registration required).
Hamilton has started every game for the Broncos since 2002, with the exception of 2007 (when he was out with concussion issues) and one game this season, when he was out with a hamstring injury.
When state Senator Josh Penry dropped his bid for the Republican gubernatorial primary earlier this week, it seemed his former boss, Scott McInnis, was closer to a clear shot at taking on Bill Ritter without a costly and politically taxing primary.
Enter McInnis’ former congressional colleague Tom Tancredo, the 2008 presidential candidate who ran on the single issue of battling illegal immigration and who recently walked off the set of an MSNBC talk show when a prominent liberal blogger offended him. Tancredo says he’s going to run for governor.
“I fully intend to run,” he tells Westword. But, Tancredo has yet to file formal paperwork. “There are a whole bunch of things we have to put together to get to the point of filing. We’re not there yet, but we are looking,” he tells Fox31.
McInnis calls Tancredo’s announcement an “awkward situation:” He considers Tancredo a friend, writes 7News. McInnis also praises Penry for exiting the race to avoid a primary: “Obviously he took a bullet for the party. He led by example and that’s Josh Penry.”
Tancredo’s view is different: “I’m not part of the Republican establishment. My allegiance is more to a philosophy than to the GOP.”
If anyone is making a comeback this year, it’s Colorado Springs pastor Ted Haggard, who says he was “trying to go low” with his open-to-the-public prayer meeting last night at his house, his first time leading fellow Christians since he resigned from New Life Church in 2006 amid allegations of a sex-and-drugs scandal (via The Associated Press).
Haggard nevertheless captured the spotlight as he welcomed more than 110 people to his home Thursday, calling it a “Kumbaya moment,” writes the Colorado Springs Gazette.
“People here tonight believe in resurrection and me,” he proclaimed as visitors said they came to be with Haggard out of grace and forgiveness.
“Christians are to forgive, and I have forgiven Ted,” says the Reverend Alan Hawkins, of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
While Haggard tells the AP he isn’t trying to build a new New Life Church, the Gazette reports Haggard might have to hold worship at a larger Colorado Springs venue because of the turnout. The gatherings, he admits, may “evolve” into a formal nonprofit church.
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Former Congressman and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo made waves recently when he announced he 
In Europe, skier Lindsey Vonn requires a five-bodyguard escort to leave a race, yet in the U.S., she can stand in relative anonymity at the base of a mountain without garnering as much as a “hello.”
Jeanne-Claude, one half of the art team that wrapped the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin and installed 7,503 vinyl gates with saffron-colored nylon panels in Central Park, died yesterday in Manhattan, where she lived with her husband, Christo.
The quarterback situation for the Denver Broncos is apparently much worse than the team has been letting on since its humiliating 27-17 loss to the Washington Redskins last weekend.
Popular Colorado photographer John Fielder is zig-zagging the state after spending a year with ranchers.
Sarah Palin’s appearance on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” may or may not have put the former Republican vice-presidential candidate on the comeback path, but it doesn’t really matter. Palin’s promotional blitz is just getting started, as her book tour makes its way around the country. 
The Denver Nuggets cruised to a surprisingly easy 130-112 win over the Toronto Raptors last night at the Pepsi Center. The first half was a classic slug fest, with both teams scoring in bunches and finishing knotted at 64. But the Nuggets turned on the defense and the offensive power in the second half, led by Carmelo Anthony’s 32 points (via 
State Senator Dave Schultheis’ tweet—the one that led to an outpouring of criticism claiming that he’d compared the hijackers of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to President Barack Obama—just won’t go away.
Jane Norton, the former Colorado lieutenant governor who is now running for the U.S. Senate, has cast herself as a Washington outsider. But as the left-leaning 
First Lady Michelle Obama will be in Denver today with an entourage of A-list celebrities and officials for a whirlwind tour meant to highlight the need for mentoring in young women’s lives.
It’s amazing how quickly perceptions can change in the NFL. 
When state Senator Josh Penry dropped his bid for the Republican gubernatorial primary 
If anyone is making a comeback this year, it’s Colorado Springs pastor 