Megan Verlee

Burro racing began in the 1940s as the offspring of another Colorado industry: tourism. It has fewer participants than almost any other sport out there. On Sunday, the world champion of pack burro racing will be crowned in Fairplay, Colo.

The artist famous for works measured in miles wants to drape long, billowing panels of silvery fabric over sections of a Colorado canyon. Not everyone is excited; some residents say art is no excuse for the damage it could cause.

The nearly 200-year-old writing system may be meeting its match. Smartphones and screen-reading software are making Braille less and less necessary. Today, the National Federation for the Blind predicts that only one in 10 blind people can actually read it.

The once sleepy role of secretary of state is rising in profile and controversy as the business of conducting elections has become more and more contentious over the past decade. From Maine to New Mexico, secretaries of state are making activism their trademark.