Colorado Business Roundtable President Jeff Wasden isn't just a prominent advocate for the state's business community; he's arguably its all-around go-to guy. And he seems to be everywhere. You'll find him convening civic summits on pressing policy issues like immigration; you'll hear him on the radio and via podcast interviewing the state's policy leaders; you'll read his views on Colorado Politics' opinion pages. And of course he's on Twitter. 

Wasden is, above all, down-to-business. You might say his mission is one and the same as that of the business roundtable itself - to help create a climate conducive to business. So, on the heels of historic, pro-business tax reform passed by Congress, we checked in with Wasden for his take on the new federal tax code and its implications for Colorado. He expounds on that and much more in the Q&A. 

Lawmakers in both parties said Sunday that the immigration debate should focus narrowly on efforts to legalize young immigrants known as "dreamers" and beef up border security, suggesting that President Trump's demands to slash legal immigration levels are likely to sink a deal. 

A leaked draft of President Donald Trump's long-awaited plan to boost infrastructure spending nationwide has some bad news for Colorado. 

The six-page draft proposal - obtained this week by Politico and Axios - doesn't have dollar figures in it, but about half the money is dedicated to an "Infrastructure Incentives Initiative" fund that states can compete for. 

While Republicans and Democrats in the Colorado Legislature say that increasing transportation funding is a priority, a bill to sell as much as $3.5 billion in bonds will enter its first hearing Tuesday as a very partisan piece of legislation. 

Colorado saw 117,648 new businesses register with the secretary of state's office last year exceeding the 109,526 businesses that filed paperwork with the state in 2016. 

According to data collected in the most recent Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators Report published by the University of Colorado Boulder's business research division, business license filings over the final three months of 2017 outpaced filings over the final quarter of 2016 by 10 percent, helping 2017 beat out the preceding year for business growth. 

Business Roundtable this week released a study that concludes that withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would eliminate U.S. jobs, cut exports and slow the economy in the first year after withdrawal. Prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide, LLC, "Terminating NAFTA: The National and State-by-State Impacts on Jobs, Exports and Output" found that withdrawal would re-impose high tariff costs on U.S. exports and imports, immediately resulting in the net loss of 1.8 million jobs, a 17.4 percent drop in exports to Canada and Mexico, and a 0.6 percent decline in U.S. GDP. "We urge the Administration to take into account the potential damage of withdrawing from NAFTA, and to focus instead on modernizing the agreement so that it remains a cornerstone of American prosperity," said Business Roundtable President & CEO Joshua Bolten in a release. Business Roundtable also released state-by-state fact sheets, an important resource for ongoing advocacy on NAFTA and trade. 

The U.S. economy expanded by 2.6 percent in Q4 2017, bring GDP growth to 2.3 percent for the year, the best since 2014. Only net exports and private inventories subtracted from growth this quarter. For more analysis, see The Top Line appended and online. 

Registration is now open for the ReadyNation Global Business Summit on Early Childhood, November 1-2 in New York City. This event convenes business people, policymakers, funders and other leaders to learn how to strengthen the economy and workforce through investments in early childhood. This is the only business-to-business gathering that inspires and equips executives from companies of all sizes and industries to promote solutions that prepare young children to succeed. In addition, special pre-and post-conference sessions for non-U.S. participants will help them start developing networks of business champions in a variety of countries. 

Be part of EARTHx, the nation's largest earth day environmental expo, conference and film festival, taking place April 20-22 in Dallas. The weekend event brings together 120,000+ people, including leading national companies, elected officials, media and not for profits involved in environmental issues. The Colorado Business Roundtable and Denver's Office of Sustainability, along with other key Colorado institutions and businesses, are supporting EARTHx. 

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Richard Eidlin at 303-478-0131 or [email protected]. 

In the basement of the Engineering Center at CU Boulder, a group of researchers is working to create the next generation of robots. 

But instead of the metallic droids you may be imagining, these robots are made from soft materials that react to applied voltage with a wide range of motions. Such soft robots contain tremendous potential for future applications as they adapt to dynamic environments and are well-suited to closely interact with humans. The soft devices can perform a variety of tasks, including grasping delicate objects, such as a raspberry and a raw egg, as well as lifting heavy objects.