Welcome to Briefly, Colorado Politics' daily news briefing. Here's what's happening today:
Lt. Gov. visits South Korea, Taiwan
Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera recently visited the countries of South Korea and Taiwan along with officials from the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and a group of economic development professionals. The trip focused on exploring opportunities for collaboration in technology sectors such as aerospace, quantum computing, agriculture and semiconductors.
"South Korea and Taiwan are strong Colorado partners that support our agriculture sector and share our commitment to developing the technologies of tomorrow, including quantum, semiconductors, and space," said Primavera. "Growing our relationships represents an opportunity to boost investment into our state and create good-paying jobs for Coloradans, and I am thrilled to help build new partnerships in South Korea and Taiwan."
The visit included meetings, networking events, and site visits to further understand the countries' economies and highlight Colorado's strengths in the tech industry. The Lt. Governor also visited the National Museum of Korea, which recently provided a $900,000 grant to the Denver Art Museum. Primavera also met with South Korea's Second Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs to present letters on behalf of Gov. Polis and state leaders requesting the establishment of a Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Aurora.
U.S. Reps. Petterson, Caraveo introduce bill to tackle housing shortages
Colorado Democratic U.S. Reps. Britanny Petterson and Yadira Caraveo announced the introduction of their Innovative Housing Solutions and Affordability Act aimed at addressing housing shortages in Colorado and other states.
The bill, which is modeled after Colorado's Innovative Housing Incentive Program, would establish a $75 million pilot grant program within U.S. Housing and Development (HUD).
Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most.
Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters.
"Housing affordability is one of the most urgent issues facing families in Colorado and across the country," said Caraveo. "he Innovative Housing Solutions and Affordability Act takes an innovative approach to address the problem by supporting businesses that are rethinking how we build homes. By investing in prefabricated and other innovative housing solutions, we can reduce costs, speed up production, and ultimately make housing more affordable."
U.S. Sens Bennet, Hickenlooper, call on DOT to provide federal support for bridge repairs
Democratic U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper are calling on U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to provide federal funding to assist with repairs to the Blue Mesa bridges between Montrose and Gunnison.
Earlier this week, one of the bridges officially reopened after being closed since April for emergency repairs. The senators are requesting the DOT provide financial support for repairs to a second bridge on U.S. Highway 50.
According to the senators, the bridge's closure meant Western Slope residents faced six hours of travel time for a drive that normally took just over an hour.
"The need for these repairs are critical to the mountain communities that rely on transportation reliability to access necessities," the Senators wrote in their letter to Buttigieg. "We welcome the opportunity to work with you to identify and deploy all available DOT resources to tackle the challenge."
The full letter can be found here.