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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Small-Town CO: Improving the Health of People and the Economy

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Wednesday, July 16, 2014   

WALSENBURG, Colo. - Healthy living is often last on the list for people in southern Colorado's Huerfano County, where 1 in 5 residents live below the poverty line.

And that's landed the county at the bottom of state rankings for health outcomes for the past five years.

Cindy Campbell is charged with changing that. As the LiveWell Coordinator for Huerfano County, one of the first places she looked to for support was the Walsenburg Downtown Revitalization Committee.

"We're working together," said Campbell, "because we know that those two are interconnected, and promoting one improves the other."

Campbell is working with downtown businesses to develop a park and farmer's market.

Colorado has 28 other LiveWell communities, including Summit County, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo. Last year, LiveWell Colorado awarded more than $2 million to 24 communities across the state.

April Mora, owner of April's Attic in Walsenburg, and a member of the Downtown Revitalization Committee, said she's excited by the cooperation and support she's seen between other businesses and the LiveWell Huerfano program.

"We're seeing a positive effect of getting together entities to work together," said Mora. "In the past, it wasn't so much. We've seen the community come together more."

Increasing recreational opportunities benefits more than people's health. Thousands of vehicles pass through Walsenburg every year on their way to the Spanish Peaks. Campbell said the town and county are perfectly positioned to become a place for tourists to stop and rest.

"It's really beautiful here, but in Walsenburg for example, there are no bike routes at all," said Campbell. "The parks aren't well-maintained because of poverty, revenue from taxes is low."

Since 2005, the LiveWell program has directly benefited more than a million Coloradans through policy and environmental interventions critical to making healthy eating and active living accessible and easier choices.

Read how other communities in Colorado are making health a priority in Health Elevations Journal.



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