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Week of December 1, 2022
DENVER, COLORADO
A publication of
VOLUME 96 | ISSUE 2
Small-town football: A different game, a different level of interest BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
On the Eastern Plains, football is a special breed of cat. Or eagle, as the case may be. Tucked away north of Interstate 70, an hour or so east of Limon and two or so stops away from the Kansas state line sits the town of Stratton. It occupies half a square mile of land and is home to 658 people and 175 businesses. More than 450 people work in town. Some of the larger industries in town? Pumpkin patches, professional services and crop preparation services. There are Realtors and dentists, a post office, a bank and a hotel. There’s an auto parts store, three restaurants and a combo inn and winery. An RV park occupies space on a county road. One-tenth of 1 percent of the town’s population plays at any one time on the high-school football team, one that residents, parents and alumni have rallied around for years. SEE FOOTBALL, P6
Proposition 123 was approved by Colorado voters BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
same time, gasoline was nearing an average of $5 a gallon in Colorado, the Federal Reserve had made its first of four (so far) threequarter-point interest rate hikes, and the U.S. had just hit its largest inflation rate increase in 40 years. Still, it was still a tough decision for the company, which aims
Few issues affect Coloradans as much as rising housing prices. The state will take a step toward addressing the problem — to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year — as officials implement Proposition 123 approved by voters in November. In just 12 years, the median cost of a single-family home in the Denver area jumped from about $200,000 to three times that amount, according to the latest report by the Colorado Association of Realtors. The trend was similar statewide. Under Proposition 123, state officials are required to set money aside for more affordable housing and programs to help Coloradans acquire homes and stay housed. Though the measure didn’t raise tax rates to fund those programs, it will, eventually, reduce the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, refunds that Coloradans receive — by $86 per taxpayer for 2024, for example. Yet voters in November also sought to reduce their taxes and, taken together, the changes could lead to difficult decisions down the road, said Scott Wasserman, who leads the nonprofit Bell Policy Center, which advocates for economic mobility for Coloradans. He called the passage of the measure “bittersweet.”
SEE EGGS, P4
SEE HOUSING, P8
Stratton’s Charlie Tagtmeyer puts an end to this rushing attempt by Otis’ Tayte Smith during the early stages of the teams’ semifinal round game in the six-man playoffs Nov. 19 in Stratton. The top-seeded Eagles won easily and will play in next week’s finals in Pueblo. PHOTO BY STEVE SMITH
Why the price of eggs went up Avian flu hits state’s egg-laying hens BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
In July, Natural Grocers reluctantly raised the price of free-range eggs by a dollar for
INSIDE: CALENDAR: PAGE 11 | VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14
Affordable housing initiative could face rocky future
members of its loyalty program. But as signs posted around the egg shelves reminded shoppers at the time, “Even at $2.99, they are still priced less than they are at other stores.” The Lakewood-based grocery chain received little pushback from customers, said Katie Macarelli, the company’s spokeswoman. Likely because around the
AT THE HOP
For lessons or just to dance, Denver swings P14