Tonight, we're taking yo inside the Arvada civic space, where middle school students put their knowledge of government and civic responsibility to the test.

Then we meet a Colorado artisan who's keeping a rare craft alive.

One hand carved violin at a time.

Plus a film from the Colorado Environmental Film Fes about how a visionary architects once radical ideas are becoming a roadmap for sustainable living.

We're also celebrating a local business that's been giving 50 years of style tailoring and customer service to Denver's community and beyond.

And later, a candid conversation about menopause, the symptom many women aren't prepared for, and the treatment options available today.

Stay with us.

All that and more is coming up right here on studio 12 from the Five Points Media Center in the heart of Denver, Colorado.

This is studio 12.

Hi, I' Bob Kanani, and I'm Ryan Harrer.

Thanks for joining us here on studio 12.

If you've ever wondered who the next generation of civic leaders in Colorado could be, all you have to d is take a peek inside a civics be regional competition are happening across our state, and this week we head to Arvada, where middle school students compete to answer questions about government history and civic responsibility.

Take a look.

Welcome to our fourth Civic Si here in Arvada.

We're really proud to host you all.

I think one of the things that' really special about our civics is we really focus on building community.

So out in the lobby, parents are making signs right now with our partner with Art spark.

We have pompoms on the chairs.

So we're expecting a 100 plus people here today cheering these kids on.

Today I get to judge I started school 20 students.

Middle school students, were selected from 100 and some essays.

I think that' so the experience is incredible.

And so it's encouraging to support young people who are interested in it.

And some of the solutions, issues that come up with their solutions are fascinating.

I think it's important because life is happening.

So they're seeing everything i the news and, and in the world.

And I think this is jus a small part where they can get, more opportunity to learn, and have their own opinions and understand, how the world works.

So it's really exciting t see them a challenge themselves.

And, have some success.

I don't think we ever expect that a middle schooler would be as impressive as these kids are.

The amount of knowledge that they have and their commitment to community as they share their story and what they're passionate about is something really, really special.

This evening we have, three rounds that we will be doing two question rounds.

Each round has ten questions.

And the biggest thing I learned is that civics is awesome.

So this is really fun and I can't wait to see where that takes me in my life, because it's really important in our da to day lives in our government.

And it's things that we don' realize that goes on that does.

So it's important to recognize that, well, I've grown up in a very very civically oriented house, and it's something that I thought I could do.

I am a person who feels prett confident in my writing ability.

That's one of the things I feel good about.

And I thought, let's do this.

So that is the end of round one.

Let's give a big applause.

When we presented civics to the kids, we said, this is a first starting point for you.

Take your idea, research it so that you can develop your speaking and your communication and then we're going to put these ideas in action.

So our next steps with all of our kids was to have them enter and share their ideas.

But now we're actually putting them in action over the next six months.

So it's really special.

They need to be able to say, I believe this and have somebody listen, and whether they get a yes or no on their idea, that's okay.

But they understand the process.

And because of our Constitution and the way the civics be operates, they understan how their national constitution allows them to have that voice.

Civics i really important to understand.

Breaking our Constitution and understanding how we as citizen can like and drive our community and improve our society as a whole.

Because I know a lot of kids, like especially at my school that summer with depression, we struggle with things like that, and knowing that you can mak a real change to your community is really like just the best feeling in the world.

I compliment the chamber.

They're one of the few chambers in the state that are doing this.

And having been a part of it I'm amazed at how well they do with what they have resources about.

As a chamber we believe healthy businesses, thriving community.

And we think this next generation of leaders is pivotal to that.

So from our view, this is a worthy investment because we're investing in our future.

We're investing in our community with the kids that care so much.

And it really is a bright spot in in a world that can be challenging.

And we're hearing a lot of things that aren't positive coming to a space like this and hearing all of these incredible ideas and seeing just how smart our middle school students are, is really a bright spot for our community and a worthy investment.

Thank you, Peter, and congratulations.

Thank you.

What do you think the bigges challenges are with your idea?

That's a very good question.

There's a lot of challenges that would be faced in this.

Otherwise this wouldn't be a fight that some people face every day.

The toughest part was speaking in front of the audience, and also answering the questions within the time.

So I wanted to make sure I had the best educated guess I could possibly have.

This is an incredible opportunity for our students voices to be heard.

Our students have ideas, and often they don't believe that they can actually share those effectively in the community, particularly because they may not be able to vote.

But we know that students make a true difference in our communities, and we have know that the civi space allows them to understand the rights and responsibilities they have, even as a young person in this country, whether they win or not, it is something that they put on their resume of their life and they're able to speak to it and say, I spoke for my democracy.

And this year, even more special.

It's the 150th birthday of Colorado and the 250th of our United States.

So speaking up today is pretty special.

If you don't mind, can you all give us a drum and get ready for the winner?

First place $500 is Peter.

It was this true?

Like amazing.

I was really, really excited and I was really happy to get this opportunity in the first place.

So to wi it was just a dream come true.

I felt like there were just some really incredible responses.

I was glad to get to hear from more of my fellow students too, because we can all learn from each other.

There's something I can learn from every person here.

It's not just hope that it gives me that these kids will be leaders.

I know they will becaus they are absolutely incredible and I live with a sense of pride every single year.

I'm getting chills just talking about it now because it really is impressive what these kids do.

Arvad is just one of the communities competing in the civics.

Be will feature more of the competitions from across our state.

Right here on studio 12, the top three students from each region will be will go on to compete at the State Civics Bee.

That's on July 24th at the Cable Center on the due campus.

Some artists don't just create music, they craft the instruments that make music possible.

Tonight in our heart of the West series, we meet will share from Lewisville.

He makes violins by hand right here in Colorado, carving each piece with precision and purpose.

And you'll see his work isn't just about building and restoring instruments.

It's about passing on a rare and time honored skill to the next generation.

I've been here in this location for about three and a half years.

I got into doing this because I love music.

We need more music in the world.

We need more connections with people.

My name is Wiltshire.

I make violins for a living.

It's a it's a dream, right?

You know, to be able to to be able to make something by hand or just, you know, make anything by.

And these days where we're so much of what we do is on a keyboard.

Sasha Novak, I don't know what do you what do you call me?

The school student.

I'll take it.

So I come in basically once a week.

And Will is teach me how to restore a cello.

My day job is with all computers.

I work for basically a tech company.

And being able to, you know, come here and do some hands on work building something, working with materials has been generally it's the highlight of my week.

When I started this business, I wanted my kids to be able to see that things are just not made by a machine.

That's one of the things that when you have kids, you see, you know, and they kind of get their first toys and these things just appear for them.

And you get the toys from the store, you get the thing from the store.

Nobody really, you know, kids don't usually get to see things being made.

And I wanted, my kids to, to know what I did for my.

We sell new and used instruments as well as do restoration work and maintenance for professional musicians beginners.

Hi there.

Let's take a look at this again.

I'll just make my notes.

This is a place where people come to.

Oh, right.

We have a little, little seam separation.

Find out about instruments that they may own.

Bring things that need to be restored or fixed or just maintained.

What we're going to do is glue the seam and that little tiny crack, we're going to add some glue.

These instruments are their babies to be.

I originally went to music school, but in my second year realized that I just wasn' good enough to play classically.

I started hanging around with other fiddle players and at violin shops and realized that there was more fun for me to be playing fiddle music than to be playing classical music.

And then my wife got a postdoc at University of Michigan.

We had to move and she said, what are you going to do now?

And I said, I think I'm going to be a violin maker.

And I didn't know the path to get to that point from where I was, but I knew tha it was something I wanted to do.

I was buying and selling violins and, I know what sounds good.

And because I can play a violin, it's that combination of knowing what sounds good and the voice that an instrument has, combined with, being able to see th craftsmanship in the instrument.

You know, I thought there's possibly a, you know, possible business here and a career here.

Not much has changed in the way of Ireland.

It's made in several hundred years.

I don't know, there's something about being abl to feel what you're working with and smell the wood.

Smell the varnish.

And it keeps me connected to music, too, which is something that I had previously lost after high school.

I think I was searching fo something that was meaningful.

In in my career, I can remember thinking this over and over.

I want something that's giving, not taking.

When people bring you a violin that they're in love with, they're bringing you this joy and they're bringing you a, a piece of history.

In some cases, it's sentimental.

Violin, know in its basic form, is the same as a fiddle.

And there is reall no difference between the two.

It all has to do with how you play it and your style of expression.

So you might take down one instrument off the wall and player, you know, concerto on it and it sounds great, but you might pick a different one and you say, oh, this just doesn't sound right.

It sounds more like a fiddle.

And so I don't do anything to set up violin differently for fiddle players unless they're asking for something specific.

But there really isn't there really is no difference.

There's number of ways to make a violin.

Nothing I do is automatic, automated.

Everything I do, all the tools that I use are, chisels, hand tools, gouges, planes, scrapers, very little sandpaper.

We get a block of wood, create a mold, and then bend the outsides of the violin around this mold.

And that gives us the basic shape.

And this is all coming fro a pattern, everything by hand.

But the only way to really make a violin is to do it by hand with old fashioned tools.

So what I do is a I guess it could be considered a classic craft.

But no, what I do i from scratch from the beginning, the only to the only modern tool that I use is a bandsaw.

The business has been in existence for up since 2015.

Previous to the Marshall fire, I my shop was in my house.

We our house was destroyed by the fire, so, I had to salvage what I could and, you know, quickly get back to doing what I love and, and reopen the shop.

And that's when I opened up down here on Main Street.

I really enjoy seeing somebody fall in love with a new or old instrument and have that be a part o their identity and who they are, and knowing that they're going to take this instrument and use it for as long as they do.

And and it will eventually get played by somebody else in the future.

For more information on Will and his beautiful violins, you can go to Scherrer violins.com.

Tonight, through our partnership with the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, we're bringing you a powerful fil called Journey Beyond the Grid.

The Hawaii off grid story.

The film follows an architect whose unconventional vision for sustainable, self-sufficient livin was once considered impractical.

But when devastating wildfires destroyed the historic town of Lahaina many of the ideas he championed suddenly became essential to rebuilding that community.

It's an intimat look at innovation, resilience, and what it means to prepare for an uncertain future.

We're pleased to bring you Journey Beyond the Grid, the Hawai'i off grid story.

I grew up as a mechanic.

Families than an automotive repair.

That's what I know.

Working with my hands.

Working with tools.

Building stuff, fixing things, inventing stuff.

You know, working on racecars as a kid.

So, needing to make money for college, I used that skill set and went to Alaska, where I can make the most amount of money and the least amount of time.

I was 19 years old, and I just vividly remember coming into the town of Valdez and seeing the snow capped mountains and there's bald eagles.

After about an hour of chasing bald eagles, I realized that they were everywhere, and it was just so impressiv how beautiful and how powerful that place is and how muc that impression leaves on you.

It makes you respect things a little bit more.

All of a sudden I'm working on fishing boat, which I had no idea.

You know, I've never, never done that before.

Working on generators and water systems and, you know, battery systems, you know, lead acid batteries system and wastewater system.

And then we also had to collect our own trash.

It was a microcosm of of what you need to sustain life.

As I'm becoming a fisherman and we're out on the water and I look in the distance and I see this beautiful sailboat, and it's just frame in the horizon, and it's going past these snow peak mountains with glaciers on it, and we're spewing out diesel smoke, and there's it's vibrating and it's loud.

That boat so quiet sleep.

And I just, you know, that's a better way.

In my early 30s, I got fortunate enough to be hired to come to Hawaii and help conserve the nature here.

And I look around and I see that the majorit of our electricity is produced with diesel fuel.

It' just like the old fishing boat.

When you make power from fuel oil, you're only actually harnessing about 30% of the energy contained in it.

Most of it escape through the smokestack as heat.

When you combine that with shipping it from another part of the world, it doesn't make sense on any level.

There has to be a better way.

And when you kno there actually is a better way and there's just not the will to do it, it's frustrating, but it's also motivating.

So for a number of years, I've been wanting to make a stand and just say, okay, we're only going to do this.

And we had this client, and the client is a good friend now, but can be abrasive.

The whole team the way off grid.

We're in the conference room wher we're meeting with the client, and I just wasn't sur if we wanted to work with them.

I wanted to find out if our ideals aligned.

And so I just said, you know, we require all of our new buildings to be net zero at a minimum, preferably off grid.

And we're going for sequestering carbon and stop for a second.

It's like.

Okay, fine, I'm okay with that.

It's like, okay, great.

The meeting ends.

Client leaves.

We're all sitting in the conference room and somebody on the team goes.

We require that.

Like we tell the clients they have to do that.

I was like, well, I guess we do now.

And that was it.

From that point on we just start the conversation that way.

Just want to let you know if we're going to build a new building, it has to be net zero.

And no one has ever said no.

If, well, this has been a year in the making.

We were supposed to have completed this on August 9th.

We were supposed to have net of 2023.

Was that that day?

I remember you saying you're in Lahaina.

And the winds were really heavy.

I remember that morning my wife woke up early making coffee, and then she just starts screaming to have the access, coffee.

She has the fire trucks window, the black smoke and the flash.

And I think the power anger is growing.

How did the nation that was built morning.

And so I jump out of be and I'm like, what's going on?

She's like, Lahaina is gone.

And I was like, what are you what are you talking about?

She's like burned up.

I was like, no, you know, that's not possible.

You know it's not I can't.

No, that's an exaggeration.

The day after the fire, we immediately started to think about what should our response be?

Should we have a response?

What family life center does in the community is we find people housing.

We end people's homelessness.

And so within about a week, it became obviou what the level of devastation.

And we really thought we have to do something.

August 9th we had an all hands meeting and we, we we gathere in our conference room and just I just tried to rally our team and I said, listen, in the next years, this is going to be everything that we're doing, and it's going to take every ounce of your determination, your will.

We have a responsibility to help people because if if it was the other way around and we needed help, we would hope that people would be there for us.

We've had a relationship with Hawaii off grid for probably 7 or 8 years.

David has helped us with other projects, so I jus gave him a call and said, David, what can you do to help us?

And then it just it was a flurry, a just a whirlwind betwee our civil engineer, structural engineer, all of our architects and it just it was the fastest, most intense, stressful, but most satisfying project that we've ever undertaken.

When we look back on it, it's just unbelievable what we were able to accomplish.

When people are motivated an they care and they want to help David in Hawaii off grid, their expertise is off grid living.

So he was uniquely situated and gifted and talented in designing a village that could be off grid.

We would have to harness the wind, the sun.

We have to think about how we're using the site.

We have to be careful.

Everything is oriented for maximum solar gain, maximum shading, maximum harvesting of the wind, for cooling the buildings an keeping them pleasant to be in.

And so it was lik we had been preparing for this our whole lives.

And can't imagine what the bills should be for David's services.

We haven't paid him a dime.

We are so grateful that he has just done this pro-bono and has given so much of his time.

Before the fire, everything was really like just going fantastic.

Our team was growing, our projects.

We're we're getting better.

The people who we ar working with, collaborating with were my heroes and then everything just stops.

We need to get people back into houses.

We need to rebuild a community.

And you couple that with climate change both globally and locally.

And that's somethin that we've been involved with.

And, you know, always thought, well, this is something far away.

We just need to do our best right now to deal with it.

But now it's here.

It's right here, and it's happening everywhere.

It's a monumental task.

And I see it's just it's the rest of my career and every architect moving forward like, this i what you're going to be doing.

And if you haven't dealt with it yet.

You're you're likely to.

I think about my grandparents, both my grandmother and grandfather, that I was very close with were both in the Navy.

When duty called, when the world needed them, when their community needed them, they they went, they did it.

They put their lives on hold and they did what they had to do.

And I feel like this is the opportunity for our generation.

And there's going to be people that step up and there's going to be people that try to take advantage of the situation.

And I know that we can't not step up.

We want to be part of the solution.

But think back now about standing on that diesel powered fishing boat, looking across the water at that sleek sailboat, movin effortlessly with no emissions.

Quiet.

Beautiful.

That's what we've done with houses and buildings we designed to harness the wind and the sun.

We use recycled materials to reduce carbon emissions and landfill waste.

We use solar panels to harness the energy from the sun to not just power the house, but to power your car, collect all the water that you need, not just taking care of the people in that house.

We're taking care of the entire community.

And if we do that enough over and over and over, that's how we make a difference.

I mean, if there's anything that Lahaina has bee in, it's been a call to action that we have to do this now that this isn't something that's a nice to have.

It's a necessity.

And it no longer feels like what we're doin is providing a luxury to a few.

It's something that we have to push forward for everyone.

It can be more self-sufficient, more resilient.

It can be economical, and it can do what we have to do to deal with what is at our doorstep.

So the question is, do you feel like we feel good?

Do you feel like the time is now?

If you do, let's work together and let's make a difference.

That was just one of the many impactful films you will see here on PBS 12, with the support of our partners from the Colorado Environmental Film Festival.

To watch all of our films from the festival, go to PBS 12.org/cff.

Two weeks from tonight we will know who Colorado voters have chosen to go on to our state's midterm elections in November.

That's right.

June 30th is primary day in Colorado.

Will voters op for a new generation of leaders?

Or will they keep with the more established leaders who they believe can deliver results, regardless of age?

Let's check in with Kyle Dye to see what her panel has to say on Colorado inside Out.

Hi, Bisi and Ryan.

You know, as you get closer to the primar election day here in Colorado, I can't get our insiders to leave.

The conversations are going so long, it's great.

They're so engaged and hopefully our voters at home are as well.

You know, one, word that keep coming up this primary season, aside from the economy or affordability, is age.

Are voters signaling that they want a new generation of leaders, or are they simply focused on getting people in office who can deliver results regardless of age?

Here's a listen to our conversation about this on Colorado Inside Out.

You know, one comment from last week's gubernatorial debate is still generating conversation.

When asked who might fill his U.S.

Senate sea if he is elected to be governor.

Senator Michael Bennet didn't name any names, but said it would be good for Colorado to have a senator who is under the age of 50.

That comes as a new pol finds 8 in 10 Americans support both H caps and term limits for members of Congress.

David, your father entered th legislature in his 30s, right?

And he served for over two decades.

Stand up.

Yes.

Well, I thin Michael Bennet is being smart.

And it's also a more trivial thin he's saying, because, yes, he's going to appoint somebody under 50.

The obvious choice for a no vacant Senate sea if he becomes the next governor is the goose from Colorado' second Congressional district.

He's a proven vote getter, not just in Boulder and Fort Collins with the college kids, but in rural areas.

And that is partl because he has a very effective, bipartisan, widely respected lawmaker and especially on public lands issues.

He could hold this seat for 42 years, conceivabl winning election after election, because he's such a strong candidate.

Bennet himself was 44 when he was appointed to the U Senate, so Neguse is very close to that age, and he would be one of Colorado's youngest senators at the start of what will be a many decades long career.

Gary Hart was 38, in 1974.

Cory Gardner was 40 in 2014.

And let's not forget Simon Guggenheim, who was just a little bit older in 1906.

Okay.

All right.

All.

Yeah.

Bennet really sort of stirred the hornet's nest just a little bit and always have to get on the record that I am a member of the AARP State Executive Council.

Okay.

And so there are some people who consider that remar to be a little on the ages side.

And like you mentioned, the Marist poll says that 80% of people in the country think there should be age or term limits.

So just think about everything from the 2024 presidential debate.

Think of Mitch McConnell going into screensaver mode when he's standin in front of a press conference.

Chuck Grassley is 92.

But then we have a presiden who's getting ready to turn 80, who has fled into the zone t the point where every political ad all the way down to dog catcher mentions his name.

So putting just a number on it, I don't think is necessarily ages because everyone loses their fastball at different rates.

But, you know, but also the fact that some people have been in office for a certain amount of time using the CD one debate, we have a generational argument being made there.

And so it's going to be interesting to see between, you know, the youn Ethiopian woman and the 61 year old veteran and the 68 year old incumbent congresswoman.

Which way that's going to break?

Really.

One thing I just want to highlight is everyone's talking about this one appointment.

But as a governor, whoever it is will appoint thousands of people to positions throughout their term in government.

That is judicial nominees.

It is boards and commissions.

It is the leadership of key agencies in Colorado.

And these have widespread everlasting impacts on the state of Colorado.

So when I think about the appointments he's making it is interesting to think about who is going to fill the seat and set this in it.

But I'm also really thinking a lot about who is going to be leading the Colorado Energy Office and who is going to step in and take the reins at the At at the, health car Policy and Financing department, who is going to have to figure out how to right the ship when it comes to Colorado's Medicaid situation?

So there are a lot of positions that are really critical that he is going to make appointments to, or whomever is the governo is going to make appointments to that are really front of mind for me to point that out.

And Patty, well, thanks.

Applaud.

There aren't term limits at this table, but it's really fascinating to watch because when he came out with the it'll be under 50.

That rules out Polis, who was quite young when he went to Congress, but so he didn't have to once again bash the governor.

He had already said he wasn't going to appoint, but it did immediately bring the eye on to Nichols, the name I've heard.

One of the crazier theories has always been tha he would appoint Mike Johnston, which I couldn't believe in a million years, although I've got a couple of bets out on that one, but it is much more an issue.

I think people are tired of seeing the same old or young faces.

Younger faces.

I mean, Diana DeGette is 68, which is spring chicken compared to Donald Trump, but she has been there a very, very long time, as he predecessor, Pat Schroeder, was.

No one would ever have argued that Pat Schroeder was too old to serve.

She had just been there for a long time, but was remarkably efficient.

So that is one of the things you lose with term limits, both in the state House an in Congress, which is you lose people who might be very, very good public servants and really get things done.

On the other hand, you'll also los people who are really out of it.

I wasn't kidding you about the insider is still waiting to sa and discuss.

They're still here.

That was just one of our four topics we had on Colorado Inside Out.

You can check out our whole show on the YouTube channel, the PBS passport app, or on PBS Twelve's website.

And if you're into podcasts, you can hear all these voices on Spotify and Apple as well.

Now for the upcoming issue.

Krista Kafer is going to be filling in for me, so join Krista and the Insiders Frida at eight right here on PBS 12.

In tonight's Business of Colorado, we're suiting up with a family business that's been helping Denver look its best for 50 years.

Ted's clothiers has been a staple for style and service since 1975.

Known for hand tailored suits, personalized customer service and a dedication to hard work.

In honor of their 50th anniversary, Frannie Matthews sat down with Ted and his son Chris to hear about their history and how they have stood the test of time.

Take a look.

Here we are, a staple of Utah.

We've been here for 50 years.

Yeah.

See this?

We would just shorten the sleeves and then just take this in.

I never used a tape.

I neve my salesmen used tape and stuff, but I used the tapes from so long, so many years.

And as soon customer walked in, I say, no, you belong to the bi and tall size or you belong I. Yeah, I know what size it.

Well, you walk in here, someone's there to greet you, with a friendly voice.

And they listen to you and they're here to help.

To have a smile on the customer's face is a reward in its own and we maintain to try to keep that.

People.

They trust you.

Fine.

See, I put the ties away.

Let's the people they put, and I go to the thigh rack.

And I found the perfect tie for the outfit.

And the customer say, oh, my gosh, this is.

That's it.

So you feel that is.

Yes.

Yeah.

People, come in word of mouth.

We're looking for a product, but they find us and they're happy that they found us here.

People that care about, you know, what we have around.

If it's the clothing, if it's family, if it's themselves trying to help them.

That's how Ted was.

He?

He treated me like I was his best friend on the very first day I met him.

And it hasn't changed since.

Do you think we can cut this, shrink this lapel down to fit here?

We don't charge extra for tailoring.

You come in and you buy the suit.

We make it perfect for your party.

No extra tailor.

The tailor shop really is our backbone of the business.

Without providing that expertise, craftsmanship to mold the final product, we wouldn't be any better than other big box corporate stores or places like that.

I hire Maria, 40, 46 years ago, and she's still here.

I mean, we had good health.

I start from nothing, but I manage.

I met my wife in, Greece, in Athens, 72.

Yeah.

That's me and Angie.

Before we had family.

And, I was a police officer.

I make a decision, and I went to, American Embassy.

I took my paperwork and I arrived in Denver in June.

73, Father's Day, the second day arrived in Denver.

I started working at two, first years.

I work, very hard.

I walked all the way down to Broadway, catch the bus, and I come, Broadway and get on.

It used to have a small clothing store, and whatever he sells during the week, I come down south the first summer, and then I go out of state where that one morning he said, Ted, I'm going to retire.

I want to see how to get the business.

And if, say, can, I don't have a lot of money.

I have only $50,000 in savings.

My come.

And you say to me what you have, and then you pay me when you can't, you know, paper to sign or anything.

Yeah.

And that's how I started.

I came here with a dream.

Yes.

One way on business someday to own my own coffee.

Okay.

And if you work hard here in the States, you can have everything.

No problem.

So being able to see what, he's done.

Right, coming as an immigrant with nothing and, being able to provide for all of us, my brothers, sisters, his wife, or, you know, we had we had a roof under our home.

We had food on our plate.

We had clothes on our back.

All those things, it's something that I look up to, right?

And, if I can, you know, show that way to my kids, then I've done it.

The other ones got a little bit of, wool and cashmere attached to it, too.

So this is also very soft.

They come from miles around just to see Ted.

You can try to see if you like that idea.

Otherwise, you know, I like the bamboo on you.

It's got that same idea here.

It's got that little teal in there, which is a great color for the season, too.

And now Chris is right, has learned at Ted's ankles for all those years.

And and Chris is just as good.

What you wan to, appear is, you want to be, happy place that people want to come in and see you to, give back.

And those those, you know, levels of happiness or feelings of happiness.

It's rewarding that you can share it with, customers.

You can share it with, employees, you can share it with, you know, the world.

You can you know, you can.

They mean a lot.

They mean a lot.

And hopefully it's, you know, reciprocated.

Yeah.

I' very fortunate.

I'm very lucky.

Okay.

My son came to the business almost 20 years ago.

He used to play basketball up at Chadron State, Nebraska.

And he got injured the beginning of, the third season.

And they put him in, ager reserve.

And he said, he called me up.

He said, daddy, I don't want to stay up here anymore.

I'm not going to be an NBA player.

I want to come down.

I drove up there, I brought him down.

He came down.

You say, daddy, can I work at your store?

Part time.

And then I'll go down to Metro to finish my college.

I say, sure, the realization of the percentage of people really going to playing professional sports, is very little, which in turn brought me back here and finished up, college, finished up school and brought me back to working part time, going to school for the other part time, and then working full time here.

He came to the store.

He loved it.

He finishes college dow the metro, you know, business.

And, then the time came.

He purchased a business and the rest of the story, that's it.

Here's a big question.

Yeah, you got a lot of lessons because you've been around this man for a long time.

What's one of the biggest lesson My wife, she tries to get me to not work as hard and work smarter, and I totally understand and I don't know any different.

You know, I've been trained by machine himself.

If anybody knows what he's gone through.

And to be able to look around and say, hey, this is the fruit of what you built, it's us.

And for every one of me, there's other people around in the state, in the countr that have had that same success story.

Both me and my wife, we still working.

We still have a payroll check couple weeks, a couple weeks.

But we're very fortunate.

It goes to the grandkids people.

They're still they still need clothes.

People are still dressing up.

People are still getting married.

And so we're excited to be able to service and continuing to service those for three generations, for generations.

And o if I can provide that for either my kids or my nieces and nephews to continue that, lineage, to be here for the next 50 years plus, we've done our job.

As long I can move, as long I can think I can.

Okay, I'll be around.

Nobody's not going to forget who Ted was, who Chris was.

We would alway maybe have that going forward.

And we can only hope to keep that generational store or what?

What it may be to continue in the next.

Like I said, 50 years, you know, funding for the Business of Colorado on PBS 12 is provided in part by Collegiate Peaks Bank.

I bought up and from the generous support of viewers like you.

Thank you.

To learn more about Ted's Clothiers, you can go to their website at Ted's clothiers.com.

Menopause is something every woman will experience, but for many, the conversation around it still feels confusing, isolating, or even taboo.

And while hot flashes may be th symptom most people recognize.

Experts say hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause can affect nearl every part of a woman's health.

Kyle Dyer sits down with docto Katie Rust to see to break down what women should know about the realities of menopause.

Why so many symptoms often go overlooked, and how treatment options have evolved in recent years.

The changes that come for women as we get older.

Perimenopause beginning in our 40s and menopause following in our 50s.

They're not being talked about enough.

And that really should chang because many women don't realize there are options that can help with the brain fog the anxiety, sleep disruption, weight gain, night sweats, mood changes, all of that that come with hormonal shifts.

Doctor say these symptoms are treatable and women do not simply have to tough it out.

And one of those doctors is Doctor Katie Russell to see who is a senior director with Intermountain Health and Reproductive Health in all things thankfully, menopause at.

Yes.

Thank you so much for having me today.

This is one of my most favorite topics to discuss and it's exactly what you said.

We have for many, many years been downplaying the impact of perimenopause and menopause, as a health care system.

The average age of menopause in the United States is 51.

Okay, but that's an average, right?

So there can be women who go through menopause, as defined by a yea from your last menstrual period much earlier, sometimes even in their 30s.

And wome who go through this much later, sometimes in their 50 and even into their early 60s.

So it really is a spectrum.

Perimenopause can last up to ten years before that final menstrual period.

Okay.

Which that's another piece of this.

Where in your 40s, when this is statistically most likely to be happening.

There are a lot of women who are going through, career changes, high stress jobs, children who are getting older, right, having to fund college, you know, change in relationships, friendships, things like that, that can all add stress and I think can make it a lot harder to recogniz what these symptoms really are.

What are some of the symptoms in that first phase of perimenopause?

Because there are two, right.

Yes, there is the the part toward the end where women are starting to skip periods and having those hot flashes and night sweats.

And I think that's what we all consider it to be more traditional perimenopause.

But the earlier phase of perimenopause really can be characterized by feeling like you're almost a teenager again acne, mood changes, bloating, weight gain, feeling all of those PMS type symptoms is really characteristic and classic for that early phase of perimenopause, and that could feel really frustrating, right?

You've gone through your whole reproductive life and you're pretty used to what your cycles are like, and then you get into this period of time where it almost feels like you don't have control over your body anymore.

It's just doing all of these crazy things.

And what we have learned over the past 15 or 20 years is that actually, there are things we can do, as a really hearing our patients, understanding what they're going through and then helping to offer solutions, I think is so important.

Okay.

So when does the hormone replacement therapy conversation happen in perimenopause or after that?

Ten years when the menopause sits in a menopause means you're no longer having any periods, right?

Correct?

Correct.

Over the last 20 years or so, our understanding of what hormone replacement therapy can offer for women in the earlier phase of perimenopause, when they're still having periods, really has expanded quite a bit.

And we now recognize that some of these hormones really can have a tremendous impact for women, even if they are still having spontaneous periods.

So definitely something to consider.

Talk with your doctor about because there are treatment options.

Why is there such confusion over or over what hormone replacement therapy is?

And some people just stay away and some people call as soon as they can.

Yeah, yeah.

So a study came out, in 2002 called the I study.

At the time that that stud came out, doctors said, enough, we're stopping this.

There's too much risk.

And everyone was taken off their hormones.

So a lot of the concern around hormones really stems from that study that came out and really kind of turned the table on how we were treating women with hormones.

Unfortunately, it turns out, on reevaluation of that data that came from that study, that wasn't the whole story.

So because we were using synthetic hormones and because we were starting women on them much later in life, that really skewed the data.

So women, we found that the women who were getting these cardiovascular issues, and some of the increase in breast cance really stemmed from being older.

So subsequent data really showe that if we were starting women on hormones around their late 40s or early 50s, in fact, that got rid of all of the cardiovascular increased risk.

So we really have kind of flipped our thinking on this and are much more readily offering hormones to women.

That really, though, explains wh we have two subsets of patients, some that that really feel lik these hormones are pretty risky and some that are like, you know, based on newer data, we should we should be off.

So talk to your doctor.

Right.

If you do have a history of cardiovascular or any breast cancer talk with your doctor.

Everyone is so different.

I want to talk about what is showing these are positive impacts.

Estrogen is the big thing that we're losing right as we age.

And estrogen has a really important protective factor for many different areas of our body.

Estrogen does have protective effects throughout your body.

There are, demonstrated protective effects on the cardiovascular system, on th the brain and neurologic system, certainly on your bones.

We know that that estrogen plays a tremendous role in maintaining bone health, but something great with Intermountain Health is you have now expanded care to have menopause specialists who can meet one on one with patients.

Why?

How how do you find these people?

Yeah.

Great question.

So we realized at Intermountain, maybe about five years ago or so, that we had a disconnect in what we could offer women for menopause care.

As the data has shifted.

We've got these these physicians and apps out there who are very well-meaning are telling patients what they learned.

And it turns out that the data has has really evolved.

And so being able to keep pace with that and have providers that are really well versed in what the data shows today, not what it showed 10 or 15 years ago, but what does it show today so that we can meet patients where they are?

I think the message really should be one of hope.

We've got so many options to treat women, and we spent a lot of time talking today about hormones.

But there is a whole host o non-hormonal treatment options.

So if we've got patients who maybe have breast cancer or who have had a cardiovascular event and they really still want treatment for these things, absolutely come in.

We have got options that are hormones.

We've got options that are not hormones.

There's actually some really good options nowadays that are then non-hormonal.

And so really everyone should have an opportunity to talk about their symptoms, understan what the treatment options are and then have access to those options.

There is a website through the Menopause Society where you can search for menopause certified practitioners in your area or through your insurance.

So, this is a database where they keep tabs on all the people who have passed the certification exam and who have this additional expertise.

Finding someone on that list to see specifically for these symptoms is my best advice.

I am really optimistic about where we are in women's health right now.

I think 20 years ago this was a little bit more hopeless, right?

It was we can't treat you with hormones because they're dangerous.

And so you're just going to have to live through this.

This is a new day, right?

We have really come around to understand so much more about the impact of hormones and their ability to help treat women through this midlife period of time.

They're in their 40s, their 50s, their 60s.

And so I'm really, really excited about where we are right now and with just absolutely to offer hope to women.

If you're having symptoms, if you're struggling, make an appointment.

Come in, let us help you.

Okay.

Doctor.

Katie, thank you very, very much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

Appreciate it.

Yeah, absolutely.

Doctor rest as he says, access to education, care and open conversations about menopause can help women feel healthier, more informed and better supported through every stage of the journey.

To learn more about menopaus and find a health care provider, you can visit Menopause Talk.

Whether it's through education, the arts, small business, environmental innovation or health care, there are incredible people making a difference here in Colorado every single day, and we are so proud to brin their stories and voices to you right here on studio 12.

We're grateful you spent this time with us tonight.

And for more stories, interviews and special programing, visit PBS 12.org, our YouTube channel and the PBS app.

I'm Bob Kainani and I'm Brian here.

Thanks for joining us tonight.

We'll see you next time.