Centennial, CO

Just off the walking path in the open space behind the Goodson Recreation Center in Centennial, a band of actors is rehearsing. They are preparing to make their dream come true of presenting Shakespeare, outdoors, for free.

Leigh Miller came up with the idea while on a run on the Highline Canal path.

“I have run there for the last decade. We've lived in our house for 11 years and for 11 years, I on a monthly basis would tell my wife, ‘They really should do Shakespeare down there. That's such a great space. It's so pretty. It's so beautiful. Somebody should do Shakespeare,’” Miller said.

Then about three years ago, Miller called the executive director of South Suburban Parks and Recreation and made his pitch.

“‘I want to do Shakespeare in your space. What, what do I have to do to do that?’ And it was a pretty difficult conversation because he just started with ‘Yes,’ Miller said. “And then we just kept going. I was expecting more pushback, but he said, ‘We would love that, please.’"

The original plan was to open a production of “The Tempest“ in June 2020. After the difficulties of the past two years, however, Miller — founder and producing artistic director of Shakespeare in the Wild — and artistic director Sam Gregory decided to present one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies instead, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and the company of actors agreed.

“I have to tell you that, “Midsummer Night’s Dream” was the first play I ever did. And it set me on the course of a 35-year career in the theater. I love the play.” Gregory said. “And my whole concept is dictated by our budget, which has virtually no money. So everything comes out of a box that you'll see on stage. People pull out their costumes and things and put on pieces and, and launch into it.”

Gregory added that another unique idea in the production is that the play never stops.

“In other words, as soon as the last word of the last scene is spoken, the next word of the next scene is spoken … even if [the] actors aren't fully in costume yet. So that no matter what happens, that play keeps going.”

Miller said the pandemic taught the troupe lessons about what work they wanted to do next.

“And after the pandemic, it became abundantly clear that we, that I, wanted to do something with my community in which I had artistic collaborators. This is a place for artists to come and work with people they love, or they enjoy that they want to be part of,” Miller said.

Community and collaboration are sentiments repeated by the actors in between rehearsing their scenes.

“It's magical because Midsummer Night’s Dream touches anybody, even people that are not the biggest Shakespeare fans, you go, ‘What Shakespeare play do you like?’ And never fails that they say Midsummer,” said Chelsea Frye, who plays Peter Quince and Cobweb. “Because this touches everybody. It's fun. It's got fairies, it's got love, it's got mischief and who doesn't love summer and a giant, beautiful full-blown moon.”

Leslie O'Carroll was originally slated to play Bottom, but she has another show starting rehearsals — so her husband, Steve Wilson, stepped in instead to play the role.

“I love the play so much and I'd played Bottom, hmm, 20 years ago. One of the very select few roles I just love to do again. Cause it's so fun and it's great company,” Wilson said.

It’s not the first time Wilson has taken over a role for his wife: he did so once before in Tartuffe, a play by Molière.

“You know, the theater's a crazy place, but I had never heard of a husband understudying, a wife and playing the same role,” Wilson said.

The Midsummer cast is a mix of union and non-union actors, which isn’t unusual in Colorado. But, the post-pandemic spirit, Miller said, is different.

“I think I would be pretty arrogant to say that the pandemic didn't change a lot, as an artist, especially a theater artist who has spent my entire professional career in the theater, to watch all of that evaporate and watch my community struggle and watch jobs disappear,” Miller said. “And it has been profound in so many ways for so many people. My wife is not in the theater at all, and to watch her life and the way that she sees her work change, the theater, I think now ready to say, we can now approach art as artists in a different way, because we've seen the world without it.”

Director Sam Gregory is focused on the joy this project can bring for the artists and the audience.

“It's really about joy. I wake up every morning and I read the paper and what's missing in our world so much is just joy. And I know that this is something this play can deliver,” Gregory said. “And I knew that I had the ability to bring out the joy in this play. So that's the whole point to come and just have a great time.”

Shakespeare In The Wild’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream opens Friday, August 19 and plays through the weekend as well as next weekend — August 26 through August 28. Performances begin at 7:30 PM in the open space near Goodson Rec Center on University Boulevard in Centennial.

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Robert Thompson’s Angevin & Co. is riding high atop the U.S. pickleball wave. In addition to an announced project in the Globeville Fox Park development, Camp Pickle is slated to open in Centennial “just off Arapahoe Road,” about 200 yards from Topgolf in 2024, according to PR sources.

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Thompson is getting back to his roots in developing an “eatertainment concept,” which he first founded in 2012 with Punch Bowl Social, offering a unique combination of play and dining that grew into 20 national locations before the restaurateur sold out of his ownership stake (per What Now Denver).

This version of games n’ fun will be housed in a “1940s-era camp culture” setting with the ubiquitous paddle game as its centerpiece. This means 14 total pickleball courts with 11 indoors for all-season access. In addition to pickleball courts and leagues, Camp Pickle will feature duckpin bowling lanes, three karaoke rooms, and 10 dart lanes inside and an sprawling outdoor area featuring cornhole and horseshoes.

This competition, of course, will be supplemented by drinks and dishes. And the food won’t just be typical bar fare, either. James Beard Award Semifinalist Chef Manny Barella will serve as culinary director of Camp Pickle (as well as for another Thompson “smaller footprint” eatertainment project, Jaguar Bolera). Fittingly, the Monterrey, Mexico-born chef will be charged with combining wood-fired cooking techniques with Mexican-influenced eats.

“I’ve even had the awesome opportunity to stage at Loro, an Asian smokehouse meets Texas barbecue spot in Austin, where James Beard Award winners, Chef Tyson Cole of Uchi and Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue balance both cuisines in very well executed dishes, despite the seemingly tremendous difference,” Barella told What Now Denver.

Currently in the “brainstorming phase” of menu creation, Barella said that people should “be ready for smoked proteins and crave worthy items.” Barella joins Camp Pickle after several national posts at luminary restaurants including at the celebrated Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder. Fortunately for Coloradans, Barella has been enjoying the state ever since. Now, he will have to sharpen his pickleball skills as well as his knives.

“I’m a competitor, so I’ll definitely be practicing,” Barella said.

A Colorado-based company may be the nation's best hope of lessening our dependence on foreign countries for minerals and metals that are critical to our economy and national security.

NioCorp Developments, a company with less than 10 employees in Centennial, announced Monday that the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., a government agency that helps fund certain projects, is interested in potentially providing up to $800 million in financing for a first-of-its-kind project. It involves drilling 1,500 feet underground and building a 60 acre mine.

"It's basically farm country so you got corn and soybeans," says NioCorp CEO Mark Smith, who plans to turn farmland near Elk Creek, Nebraska, into the nation's first mining operation for three of the world's most critical minerals, including niobium. The steel alloy is used in cars, bridges, military vehicles and wind turbines, among other things, to make them stronger and lighter. Smith says it is also revolutionizing electric vehicle batteries.

"It allows a car to go 400 or 500 miles per charge. The battery will last 5 to 8 times longer than the current lithium ion technology and, the best news of all? You can charge this in less than 10 minutes."

Smith says the mine could supply half the niobium the U.S. needs. We import all of it now, along with scandium, which is a mineral that makes the aluminum used in planes, ships, and vehicles stronger and lighter.

"There's only 20 to 25 tons of that material produced in the entire world today, so one truckload," says Smith. "We're going produce 5 truckloads."

That is about 100 tons of scandium a year.

The mine will also produce titanium and rare earth metals. Titanium is vital to the military and yet it's produced primarily by Russia. Rare earth metals are essential to everything from cellphones to EVs and yet it's imported from China.

Smith says NioCorp has been laying the groundwork for the mining project for nearly 10 years.

"We have all of our permits in place. We have our technical feasibility study done. We've done all the drilling to define the mineral resources."

He says the company will know in the next 6-9 months if the Export-Import bank's financing will come through. It will take about 3 years, he says, to build the mine, which will employ 400-500 workers. NioCorp also plans to open a manufacturing facility with the mine to convert the minerals and metals into useable products like magnets.

Smith says, NioCorp already has buyers lined up for the niobium and scandium.

"We have a ways to go but the good news is people are starting to see this and are taking steps to make those changes. We've been preaching this for a long time without an audience. (Now) we have an audience."

Shaun Boyd

Shaun Boyd is the Political Specialist at CBS News Colorado. Read her latest reports or check out her bio and send her an email.

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FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, May 9, 2023

CONTACT: U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Ben Kimball, 720-847-9435, 140wg.pa.org@us.af.mil

Colorado Air National Guard heritage flight honors Colorado aviation centennial By 140th Wing Public Affairs 140 Wing

BUCKLEY SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – Following the 100 Years of Aviation in Colorado celebration, May 7, 2023 at BSFB, the 140th Wing, Colorado Air National Guard, flew as part of a past, present, and hopeful future formation, over the skies of Colorado, representing the historical legacy of aviation in the Colorado Air National Guard, May 8.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Joshua “Ratt” Burger, pilot, 120th Fighter Squadron, 140th Wing led the formation flying an F-16 Viper, sporting an anniversary paint design created by members of the 140th Wing.

“It’s a privilege to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the squadron's service to our nation and state by leading the formation throughout Colorado,” Burger said. “The F-16 showcases a tremendous effort from airmen throughout the 140th Wing to design and execute a paint scheme that represents our pride in Colorado, the significant heritage of our organization, and the critical role the Air National Guard plays in the United States Air Force.”

Burger was joined in formation by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Rob “Voodoo” Bielanski, pilot, 120th Fighter Squadron, also flying an F-16 Viper, Mark Bingham of Lakewood, Colorado in a P-51 Mustang, representing the 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron of 1946 and Lt. Col. Phil “Catfish” Francis, pilot, 315th Fighter Squadron, 158th Fighter Wing, Vermont Air National Guard in an F-35 Lightning II, representing the COANG’s hopeful aircraft upgrade of the future.

The formation could be seen over the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak, Buena Vista, Salida, Leadville, Mount Evans, Denver, Empower Field at Mile High, Broomfield, and Boulder, Colorado.

“Taking command of the 140th Wing this past weekend while also celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Aviation in Colorado is an immense and humbling privilege,” 140th Wing Commander Col. Jeremiah “Weed” Tucker said. “Today’s Heritage Flight caps off not only a well-earned celebration, but an observance of a monumental achievement. As we have long maintained the vanguard of air power, we will also outpace our adversaries in the dominions of space and cyber warfare, as we move into the future of state and national defense. This heritage flight was the representation of our long-standing defense of this nation and our continued commitment in the next generation of fighter aircraft.”

The 140th Wing flies and maintains F-16C+ Fighting Falcon aircraft under Air Combat Command and stands alert 24/7 to protect the central U.S. from airborne threats. The COANG has been a pioneer in leveraging aviation as the state and national defense for a century and has continually adapted and innovated this technology to remain Always Ready, Always There.

For more background on this historical event, click here.

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, known for their roles together as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in the Netflix series "Breaking Bad," will be signing bottles of their new mezcal brand Dos Hombres at Total Wine & More in Centennial Saturday.

After Breaking Bad’s six seasons and spin offs like "El Camino," Cranston and Paul took their acting partnership to another level, including a Super Bowl commercial for PopCorners. Cue the Never Ending Tour — a traveling bar van that will be serving Dos Hombres cocktails and more, according to the tour’s website. The two have created a mezcal from “the finest Espadin agave, hand-selected from the hillsides of a small village in Oaxaca, Mexico,” according to the Dos Hombres website.

Colorado launches mediation program for consumers, businesses

There are eight awards for the spirit listed, including the USA Spirits Rating. The Espadin varietal comes from 6-year-old Espadin agave, while the limited edition Tobala varietal comes from 25-year-old Tobala agave.

A Reddit board discussing the arrival of the tour in the Denver area has over 100 comments on it as of March 10. According to several sources and published media reports including the Lamar Ledger, Cranston and Paul were at Hazel’s Beverage World in Boulder on Friday and will be at Total Wine & More from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, 9505 E. County Line Road in Centennial.

A bottle of Dos Hombres in the Espadin varietal cost $59.99 at Total Wine & More according to the company’s website. The Tobala varietal is not available here, however, but it is for sale on the Dos Hombres website for $349.

Total Wine’s media relations team didn't respond by press time to information regarding the number of bottles available for sale for the Saturday event. The store opens at 8 a.m., but the event will not start until 10 a.m. according to published reports.

What sport do Coloradans like to bet on most? According to the Colorado Division of Gaming, it's NBA basketball.

Colorado gaming officials Friday released a list of the top 10 sports Coloradans wager on as the state passed the three-year mark of legalized sports betting.

Coloradans have bet more than $2.9 billion on the NBA over the last three years, the report showed. The NFL came in second with $1.9 billion in wagers, and MLB was third with $1.2 billion in bets placed over a 3-year period.

1. NBA Basketball - $2,983,203,214.76

2. NFL Football - $1,920,111,799.83

3. MLB Baseball - $1,219,539,301.70

4. NCAA Basketball - $792,253,640.55

5. Tennis - $509,938,581.16

6. NHL Hockey - $468,373,838.29

7. Soccer - $451,884,763.56

8. NCAA Football - $434,010,179.18

9. Table Tennis - $255,762,465.20

10. Golf - $145,411,609.17

The NBA is likely to extend its lead in Colorado sports betting this month as the Denver Nuggets play in the NBA Finals — and Coloradans are betting at a strong pace this year.

Colorado took in $417.8 million in bets in April 2023, according to figures released Friday by the Colorado Division of Gaming. Although that was 15.5% less than in March 2023, it was 6.5% more than last April.

So far this year, there have been $4.48 billion in sports bets made in Colorado, an 8.17% increase over this time last year.

Colorado has collected $22.9 million in taxes from sports betting so far in 2023, 118.07% more than at this time last year.

Every day the Denver Gazette sports staff will publish its best bets:

1. Heat (+7.5, -110) at Celtics: Boston is on the verge of history but I think this game is close no matter what.

2. Heat-Celtics under 203 points (-110): This will be one tense Game 7. Could see a low-scoring affair.

3. Golden Knights at Stars (ML, -128): Dallas is favored at home and I think they tie this series at 3.

-Odds from SuperBook Colorado

(Chris Schmaedeke's Best Bets record ATS: 141-127)

Every day the Denver Gazette sports staff will publish its best bets:

1. Matthew Tkachuk to win Conn Smythe (+375): He has been clutch all playoffs for Florida. If you believe in the Panthers, he would be a good choice to get now.

2. Max Homa to win U.S. Open (+2000): Homa loves playing in California and the tournament is at Los Angeles Country Club this year.

3. Broncos over 8.5 wins (+105): With Sean Payton in charge, Denver should reach nine wins.

-Odds from SuperBook Colorado

(Chris Schmaedeke's Best Bets record ATS: 141-127)