Given political and economic tensions, however, one wonders if these efforts, however commendable, face the same task as Sisyphus, the tragic figure of ancient Greek myth rolling an immense boulder up a hill, watching it fall down and repeating the action for eternity as punishment for his transgressions.

FORBES: Pumping Muscle into U.S. Manufacturing

This fall, for instance, the Boulder Theater, near the University of Colorado, will host the Psychedelic Furs, Aimee Mann, and Dinosaur Jr.

CNN: America's cool college towns

Some rain did fall Wednesday on a separate fire burning near Boulder, Colorado, according to the National Weather Service.

CNN: Crews go on offensive against growing Colorado wildfire