COVID-19, Climate and Casa Bonita: Highlights from the 2022 State of the State Address [Video]

DENVER — From the floor of the Colorado State Capitol, Governor Jared Polis delivered his fourth State of the State Address on Jan. 13.

Just as he did in 2021, Polis began his speech with a somber reflection on the Coloradans we’ve lost in the past year from COVID-19 to natural disasters to violence.

When Polis delivered the 2021 State of the State Address on Feb. 17, 2021, about 5,700 Coloradans had died from COVID-19. That was before the vaccine was widely available, but it was also before highly contagious variants of the virus spread rapidly throughout the state. Today, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 in Colorado has nearly doubled since Polis’ 2021 speech; nearly 11,000 Coloradans have died from COVID-19.

The governor also spoke about the recent Marshall Fire, which destroyed more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County: “We learned that the words ‘fire season’ don’t apply when the most destructive fire in Colorado history happens on …