Colorado elects nation’s first openly gay governor
Colorado Democratic US Rep. Jared Polis will be his state’s next governor, becoming the nation’s first openly gay man elected to a governor’s mansion.
Colorado
Colorado is home to sweeping mountain landscapes, fast-growing cities, and communities tackling big challenges in creative ways. This archive tracks progress stories from across the state — spanning clean energy, public health, conservation, education, and civic life.
Colorado voters approve Amendment 70, raising minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020
Colorado’s minimum wage got a voter-approved lift in November 2016, when Amendment 70 passed with about 55 percent support. The measure raised the state’s hourly floor from $9.30 to $12 by 2020, rising 90 cents each year, and tied future increases to inflation — a quiet structural shift with real weight for low-wage workers.
Chuck Hull patents stereolithography, launching the age of 3D printing
Stereolithography was born in 1984, when Chuck Hull, working late in a Southern California UV lab, filed a patent for building solid objects from liquid resin, one laser-traced layer at a time. He went on to co-found the first commercial 3D printing company, seeding a shift from cutting material away to building it up.