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Today's newsletter is 872 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Colorado Springs just checked into elite hotel status — twice.

Why it matters: Two new additions to the Michelin hotel guide give Colorado Springs a foothold in the competitive luxury travel market and complement its new Michelin-recommended restaurants.

Driving the news: The Broadmoor and the Mining Exchange Hotel each earned a Michelin key, the hotel guide's designation for a "very special stay."

• The two local properties — one a century-old destination resort, the other a revived downtown landmark — are the only new Colorado additions to this year's key list.

What they're saying: Michelin was wowed by the Broadmoor's sprawling grounds, European-inspired accommodations, golf courses, spa and extensive restaurant lineup.

• Reviewers praised the Mining Exchange's mix of Italian renaissance architecture, Art Deco flourishes and Victorian-inspired interiors.

By the numbers: Michelin recognized 359 hotels across the U.S. this year, including 16 in Colorado.

• Keys are Michelin's answer to its restaurant stars.
• Dunton Hot Springs, a restored ghost-town resort near Dolores, remains Colorado's only two-key hotel. No Colorado property holds three keys.

How it works: Michelin evaluates hotels using five criteria:

• Architecture and interior design.
• Service quality and consistency.
• Personality and character.
• Value for the price.
• Contribution to the surrounding neighborhood or destination.

Zoom in: Three more local properties made Michelin's broader Selected Hotels list, which identifies high-quality stays:

• Hotel Polaris, near the Air Force Academy.
• Kinship Landing, in the New South End downtown.
• SCP Hotel Colorado Springs, on South Circle Drive.

Send to an out-of-towner

Colorado's aerospace industry is flying high — but other states are increasingly trying to muscle into its airspace.

Why it matters: Aerospace is an economic powerhouse in Colorado — contributing more than $14 billion to the state's economy and supporting more than 61,000 jobs paying an average of $179,500 in 2025.

• That's nearly twice the statewide average.

State of play: A Colorado Chamber Foundation report recently found the state's aerospace and defense workforce grew 14.4% between 2020 and 2025.

• Colorado's 61,072 aerospace jobs ranked 13th nationally in 2025, while the industry's concentration here was 46% higher than the national average.
• Each aerospace job supports more than two additional jobs elsewhere in Colorado's economy, the report found.

Yes, but: Colorado's growth is showing signs of slowing as Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Utah and Ohio make increasingly aggressive plays for aerospace companies and investment.

• Core aerospace manufacturing employment fell 4.3% from 2024 to 2025, putting Colorado 43rd nationally for growth.
• Colorado also ranks 38th for cost of doing business and 40th for housing affordability — headwinds for recruiting and retaining workers.

What's next: The chamber report outlines 18 recommendations, including creating a stronger statewide aerospace brand, speeding up permitting, developing move-in-ready manufacturing sites, expanding incentives and considering an aerospace-specific tax credit.

• It also calls for expanding apprenticeships and community college partnerships and addressing housing affordability in major aerospace employment hubs.

Go deeper

🔩 Colorado Springs Utilities paid a $35,000 settlement with state regulators for a pair of improper discharges from water treatment plants.

• The service blamed it on the failure of a single brass nut. (Gazette 🔑)

💰 The state got more than $200 million in federal grants to support 250 rural health care projects. (Colorado Sun)

🚊 Six Colorado professional sports teams — the Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche, Rockies, the NWSL's Summit FC and NLL's Colorado Mammoth — endorsed Issue 7A to fund expanded daily passenger rail service along the Front Range. (Denver Post 🔑)

The chances of finding a public EV charger are better in Colorado than in neighboring states.

Why it matters: U.S. public charging options grew 13% since last year, but that hasn't been evenly distributed, according to HERE Technologies and SBD Automotive's annual ranking.

State of play: Colorado has 71 chargers per 1,000 miles of road, the best in the Southwest, but well behind California and Northeast states.

The latest: To fill system gaps, the Polis administration last week announced $23.2 million in grant awards to add 270 fast-charging ports at 35 sites across the state.

• The new locations are crucial to the administration's goals for EV adoption and net-zero emissions by 2050.

What they're saying: "Colorado is the national leader in Electric Vehicle adoption, and part of that is because we are offering a convenient network of fast chargers across the state," Gov. Polis said in a statement.

The big picture: Alaska vaulted from the bottom of 2025's HERE-SBD rankings to 25th this year by adding 60% more chargers and, in turn, raising the average power.

• New Jersey has the most chargers (626) per 1,000 miles of road.
• North Dakota has the fewest per 1,000 miles: three.

The fine print: HERE and SBD rank each state based on the number of registered EVs, public chargers and the chargers' availability and average power.

Go deeper: 2026 HERE-SBD EV index

🤠 John has this country song stuck in his head after writing about hotels and keys.

Thanks to my editor, Gigi Sukin.