Counterpoint: Fort Collins, Boulder deserve rankings as West’s best cities

Suddenly, CNN flashed the Money Magazine ratings for Best Places to Live on my hotel-room TV screen in Fargo, ND. The announcer proclaimed Seattle as the best big city in the West, Boulder as the best midsize city and Fort Collins as the best small city.

But wait. Fort Collins’ population is 109,000 compared with Boulder’s 95,000. Occasionally, even CNN makes a mistake.

Upon my return to Colorado, I picked up back issues of the local newspaper. Sure enough, there is a front-page graphic proclaiming Fort Collins as best in cities with populations from 100,000 to 250,000, placing…