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Colorado News Roundup: Colorado is leanest state in US for another year (09.08.16)

PUBLIC HEALTH

DENVER — Newly released federal statistics show Colorado was the nation’s leanest state last year, a title it’s held now for more than a decade.

The Denver Post reports the 2015 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was released earlier this month.



Colorado had the lowest rates of adult diabetes and physical inactivity and the second-lowest rate of hypertension.

But health officials say there are areas where the state can improve, as 20 percent of residents are considered obese. Rates of obesity are higher among blacks and Latinos, and more than 13 percent of Colorado’s children live in households with limited access to nutritious food.



The Colorado Health Department is working to combat obesity by offering grants to community organizations fighting health disparities in low-income and racially diverse neighborhoods.

CRIME

Blind, autistic teen hospitalized with severe malnutrition

LONGMONT, Colo. — Authorities say a blind and autistic teenager was suffering from severe malnutrition, kidney failure and other problems when his father took him to a Longmont hospital last week.

The Longmont Times-Call reported Thursday the boy’s parents were arrested on child-abuse charges.

Court records say the 17-year-old weighed 88 pounds. An arrest warrant affidavit said a doctor likened his condition to a concentration camp inmate.

The affidavit says the boy’s father told doctors the teen lost about 15 pounds in two days and recently passed out. The father said the boy had the flu.

Authorities identified the parents as David and Vanessa Hall of Longmont, both 52.

Neither the Halls nor Vanessa Hall’s attorney returned telephone messages Thursday. Online jail records didn’t indicate whether David Hall had an attorney.

3 Cincinnati men held in killing of Colorado man

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Three men from Cincinnati, Ohio are suspected in the killing of a man whose body was found in eastern Colorado on Saturday.

Fort Collins, Colorado police said Wednesday that the men, all 20, were already being held in Illinois on unrelated traffic charges when they were arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Devon Smeltz of Fort Collins.

Smeltz was reported missing by his family on Aug. 26. The following day the suspects were stopped by the Illinois State Police in Vermillion County near the Indiana border.

Smeltz’s body was found in a row of trees in a rural area about 70 miles east of Fort Collins.

Fort Collins police say they won’t release any other details about the killing because it’s still under investigation.

ENTERTAINMENT

Netflix filming new movie in Colorado Springs neighborhood

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A Colorado Springs neighborhood is swarming with crew members preparing for the filming of a new Netflix movie.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that a cerulean blue house and an avocado green Victorian on West Pikes Peak Avenue will be used as residences for the film’s two main characters.

The movie, called “Our Souls at Night,” is based on a book by the late Colorado author Kent Haruf. It’s about a widow and widower in a small Colorado town who eventually develop a romantic relationship.

The film stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, who are scheduled to arrive in Colorado Springs on Monday.

“Our Souls at Night” will be available on Netflix next year.

ENVIRONMENT

Grand County opposes federal oil and gas plan

DENVER — Grand County has voiced concerns about a federal proposal to lease over 27,000 acres of land for oil and gas development near Rocky Mountain National Park.

Colorado Public Radio reports the county board of commissioners said in a Tuesday letter to the Bureau of Land Management that the plan would put a strain on the area’s natural resources.

The board says several tributaries of the Colorado River run through the proposed lease parcels, and commissioners are concerned about water resources and water quality. They say the waterways are critical to ranching and recreation in Grand County.

The board also questioned why BLM would move forward with the plan in an area found to have “low or no potential for oil and gas development.”

The agency didn’t respond to requests for comment.

NONPROFIT

Colorado governor to rappel down high-rise for charity

DENVER — Colorado’s governor is rappelling down a high-rise apartment building for charity.

Gov. John Hickenlooper will descend down the 32-floor building in downtown Denver Thursday afternoon to raise awareness for the Cancer League of Colorado.

The Democratic governor has never rappelled down a building before. Aides say Hickenlooper will start on the roof and descend 380 feet unassisted to the sidewalk below.

It won’t be Hickenlooper’s first risky stunt for a cause. Hickenlooper parachuted from an airplane in 2005 to raise awareness for a state ballot measure related to taxes. Hickenlooper was mayor of Denver at the time.

The Over The Edge fundraiser has been held since 2009 and draws notables like local television reporters and sports team mascots.

Hickenlooper had raised $1,000 by midday Thursday for the event.


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