WEEK OF MARCH 27, 2025
VOLUME 80 | ISSUE 23
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Taking on American Ninja Warrior and type 1 diabetes
Thornton’s Katie Bone has set high standards in competitive climbing
State unemployment was worse than previously thought in 2024
BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Scrambling up a sheer climbing wall or tackling a grueling American Ninja Warrior obstacle course are all challenges 19-year-old Katie Bone have taken on and mastered. It’s not a surprise then that her type 1 diabetes has just won more barrier Bone has battled and beaten. Bone said when she was first diagnosed with the disease at age 11, she hardly blinked and decided the news was not going to slow her down. “The first question I had for the doctor was can I climb again?” the Thornton woman said. When the doctor said yes, Bone quickly turned to “I am going to figure out how I was going to manage this,” she said. Bone went onto become a nationally-ranked speed climber, earning a spot on the prestigious Youth National Climbing Team – USA. She also made history as the youngest champion in American Ninja Warrior’s Women’s Championship. The Ninja Warrior competition fed Bone’s need to compete in an environment that encourages both courage and athletic skill. The Ninja obstacle courses as also just plain fun to take on, Bone said. “The movements are so cool, there you are flying through the air, it’s just super fun,” Bone said. “There are also different movements, and they are scary, but they push you hard. It pushed me as hard as I have ever been pushed.” Bone has suffered plenty of physical setbacks including an injury to her ACL and MCL. That did not stop her from returning to American Ninja Warrior Season 17, which will be aired in June. She also barely missed qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics in speed climbing. SEE BONE, P14
Rough labor report for Colorado BY TAMARA CHUANG THE COLORADO SUN
Colorado’s unemployment rate increased by a tenth of a percentage point nearly every month last year. Then in January, the increase shot to 4.7%, up three-tenths of a point. While it may seem like something changed in January, it wasn’t as big of a jump as you’d think. Blame the increase on data revisions. As it does every March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revises the data when new information comes in, such as “new population controls, re-estimation of models, and adjustment to new census division and national control totals,” said Tim Wonhof, program manager for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s division of labor standards and statistics. Still, Wonhof added, this was pretty noteworthy. “It was a large revision,” he said in an email. “The January 2025 unemployment rate of 4.7% is elevated compared to a year ago, but it is still below the state’s historical average of ~5.2%.” SEE LABOR REPORT, P18
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VOTE NOW Thornton’s Katie Bone takes on a climbing wall. COURTESY KATIE BONE
VOICES: PAGE 8| CULTURE: PAGE 10 | SPORTS: PAGE 14
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