Colorado
In the first part of this series we covered the History, Geography and Weather of the state of Colorado.
Colorado’s huge differences in altitude and weather make for an interesting array of plants. The plains grasslands contain over 500 species of wildflowers. The mountains offer heavy forest on the west and shrubs and berries on the east.
The state boasts 700 nongame mammal species and over 100 game species including Antelope, Black Bear, Cougar, Rocky Mountain Sheep, Mountain Goats, Moose, two species of deer and Elk.
Birds abound in Colorado including the endangered Spotted Owl, White Pelican and Bald Eagle. Grouse and Dove are common to the whole state, and 28 species of Ducks have been sighted there.
The multitude of lakes and rivers are home to over 100 species of fish including the iconic Golden Trout which is being supplanted by non native fish.
In the last 40 years Colorado has become much more diversified. In the most recent census Whites are listed at 81% (all totals rounded) but that includes a Hispanic/Latin population of 21%. Blacks make up 4% of the population, Asians 3% and Native Americans 1%.
Most of the Hispanic population is Mexican American with a significant fraction tracing their heritage back to the Spanish/Mexican rule. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the state after English and their is one Native language still spoken here. There was a significant number of German immigrants to the Front Range and the Great Valley from the 1850s to the 1900s. Many of today’s farmers in Colorado claim German or Mexican ancestry.
Colorado has the lowest rate of obesity in the US, and the longest life span of over 80 years on the average.
The state became the second state to legalize recreational marijuana use (Washington) and so called ‘Cannabis Tourism’ has become a thing. Colorado is carefully scrutinized for it’s pot usage with many studies done and under way. Colorado also became the first state in the union to legalize assisted suicide.
Colorado follows the standard three part state government structure: Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches.
The elected members of the Executive Branch include Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer and Auditor.
The Legislative branch includes the typical House and Senate. All terms are 4 years with half the legislature up for election every two years.
The judicial branch is topped by the Colorado Supreme Court that can overturn or reinforce the results from any of the various Appeals, Criminal, Civil and local courts.
Mining drove the opening act for the State of Colorado. The extraction of Silver and Gold populated the state. Then came irrigation water to the fertile soil of eastern and western Colorado starting in the 1850s. By the dawn of the 20th century the state was a powerhouse in agriculture and mining.
Farming and Mining are still major assets to Colorado. It’s a hydrocarbon rich area with coal, oil and natural gas. But the real driver of today’s economy is government and tech. Colorado has so many Government agencies headquartered here it is a little like Washington DC west.
NORAD, NOAA, NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), National Bureau of Standards, USGS (Geologic Survey), the Air Force Academy, the Denver Mint, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and a Federal Supermax Prison are all based in Colorado. Add in 3 Air Force Bases, 4 National Parks, National Forests, and BLM ground and 37% of Colorado is Federally controlled and managed.
Median Household income is just over $70,000 good for 8th in the nation while per capita income was almost $52,000 good for 11th place in the nation. Colorado is rare in that it has a 4.63% flat tax for state income tax regardless of income.
Education
Colorado funds and administers Kindergarten through 12th grade education and there are more than 50 public and private colleges and universities in the state.
The State funded University system is extensive and (relatively) inexpensive for state residents, particularly the junior college system which offers tech and job training as well as transferable college credits.
Most people move in Colorado by car. The state is served by two major freeways: I-70 runs east and west and I-25 runs north and south. The state highway system is extensive and very good. Colorado could write the book on winter time snow removal and road conditioning. They get lots of practice.
Denver International Airport is the 5th busiest in the nation and is a ‘hub’ airport for several major carriers.
Railroads in Colorado are extensive and very good. It is a very central key in the movement of rail freight in the northern tier of the US. Amtrack has two trains that serve Colorado.
Public transportation is primarily under the jurisdiction of Cities and Counties, under the state’s direction. Public transportation in the major cities is quite good.
One may not mutilate a rock in a state park.
It is illegal for liquor stores to sell food or grocery stores to sell any alcohol except beer that is at most 3%.
I hope you enjoyed this synopsis of Colorado. Next up in the series is Connecticut.
The words and ideas are mine but I used Wikipedia Colorado as the source for the information.
All images in this post are properly licensed and used. Unsourced photographs are courtesy of the author.
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