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1-9-2013

Coloradans are well known for their healthy, active lifestyles and the state usually ranks at the top of lists that measure the health or weight of various states’ citizens. In 2012, Colorado was given the title of the skinniest state in America, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Colorado’s governor John Hickenlooper, said at his annual State of the State Address this morning that, Colorado is in good financial health too.

The unemployment rate in Colorado has dropped from 9% in 2010 to 6.5%, which out-performed the national average and the lowest since 2008.

Over this past year, three more fortune 500 companies along with 26 other companies now call Colorado home.  One of those large companies is Ardent Mills. Cargill, CHS and ConAgra Foods announced the merger of their flour milling operations into a new firm dubbed Ardent Mills back in March of 2013, which would be the largest U.S. flour producer by far and will be based in Denver.

Even with the all the  natural disasters of the severe flooding and multiple wide-spread forrest fires that left hundreds homeless, Colorado faired ok.

The state’s budget reserves were approximately 2% in 2011, and Colorado has plans to raise that amount to 6.5% over the next year.

Colorado has  budgeted approximately $30 million in mental health programs aimed at reducing and preventing incidents like the Aurora Theater, Columbine, and Arapahoe school shootings.

In his address, Hickenlooper mentioned support for teachers, education, and wants all schools in the state to have transparent operating budgets with on-line access. “The current school’s funding is outdated and based on first day enrollments. It should be more accurate and based on an average counting”, Hickenlooper said.

Colorado also gained momentum towards even a more greener and environmentally friendly state with several bills that were introduced in the state’s 2013 legislative session. See score card link: http://conservationco.org/admin/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013-Scorecard1.pdf

The governor also referred to the recent Marijuana craze as a “Great Social Experiment”. And according to the Huffington Post, pot sales have topped over $5 million in the first week in Colorado. As more pot -shops come on-line, Colorado could have additional state revenues in the $70-80 million range annually, making Colorado even greener and leaner financially. The official state revenue records from pot sales will be available in February.

The future of Colorado looks to be greener as 2014 “will mark the second-best year of job growth in the past decade,” said Richard Wobbekind, an economist with the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, which produces the Colorado Business Economic Outlook forecast. Wobbekind predicts a gain of 61,300 nonfarm jobs in Colorado for 2014.

A recent article in the USA Today says registered nurses and retail store workers are in demand in Colorado.

For me, I’m glad to finally see some positive economical news on the home front,  and hope these predictions play-out accurately for our beautiful state.

 

Contributed by: Martin Allred  www.coloradoconcierge.com