The new year in Colorado brought new restrictions for people who vape in Denver. As of January 1, a voter-approved ban on flavored nicotine products is now in effect in Denver, prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products within city limits.

Just outside the Denver border, vape shops say they’re already feeling the ripple effects.

At Tokerz Head Shop in Aurora, located about a block and a half from the Denver city line, owner Gordon McMillon says customers are beginning to trickle in from Denver.

“I was in shock it passed, to be honest,” McMillon said. “Just because of how many people vape in Denver. But we’re hoping to take care of everybody that doesn’t get their needs met over there anymore.”

One of those customers is Justin Morrison, who lives in the Denver area and vapes daily. He stopped by the Aurora shop a day after the ban went into place.

Morrison says the ban won’t stop him from vaping. It will just change where he buys his products.

“I’m going to have to come all the way to Aurora to get them,” he said. “It’s pretty inconvenient. I smoke flavored vapes every day.”

The goal of the ban, according to public health advocates, is to reduce youth vaping.

Morrison said flavored vapes helped him quit smoking cigarettes, an argument frequently raised by adult users and vape retailers who oppose flavor bans.

“It helped tremendously,” he said. “I stopped liking the flavor of cigarettes. The taste was nasty, the smell was nasty. I switched all the way over to vapes, and it helped me stop smoking cigarettes completely.”

McMillon worries bans like Denver’s could push some former smokers back to cigarettes.

“If they can’t get their vapes, some will go back to cigarettes, for sure,” he said. “I’ve asked people myself, and it’s about 50-50.”

While McMillon acknowledges it will bring more business to shops outside Denver, he says the ban wasn’t something he wanted.

“Even if it helps me over here in Aurora, I’m against it,” he said. “I feel like adults should have the rights if they want to vape or not.”

More than 500 retailers in Denver removed their flavored products. For many, they accounted for the majority of their sales. Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment says it will begin issuing fines and suspensions to retailers found selling flavored tobacco products.

Both McMillan and Morrison say they’re concerned the ban could spread to other cities. For now, Aurora vape shops remain legal alternatives for Denver customers.

Despite the added drive, Morrison says quitting isn’t on the table.

“It’s an addiction. You’re going to find a way to get it. That’s why I don’t see the point of banning it here,” Morrison said.

Denver will be the site of the United States’ first-ever American Indian Cultural Embassy.

Funding for the project was approved by Denver voters in the Vibrant Denver Bond measure.

The vision is for the embassy to welcome Native people back home to Colorado.

On the snowy day of CBS News Colorado’s visit, Rick Williams observed the buffalo herd at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

“These animals are sacred to us,” said Williams, who is Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne. “This was our economy. They provided everything we needed to live a wonderful lifestyle.”

Williams is president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy.

“‘Homeland’ is a special term for everybody, right?” Williams asked. “But for people who were alienated, for American Indians who were alienated from Colorado, they don’t have a home, they don’t have a home community that you can go to, this is it. And I think that’s sad.”

The First Creek Open Space — near 56th and Peña, near the southeast corner of the Arsenal — is owned by the City and County of Denver and is being considered for development of the embassy.

“To have a space that’s an embassy that would be government-to-government relations on neutral space,” said Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, who represents northeast Denver District 11. “But then also supporting the community’s economic development and their cultural preservation.”

Gilmore said $20 million from the Vibrant Denver Bond will support the design and construction of the center to support Indigenous trade, arts, and education.

“That sense of connection and that sense of place and having a site is so important if you’re going to welcome people back home,” added Gilmore.

“What a great treasure for people in Colorado,” Williams said as he read the interpretive sign at the wildlife refuge.

He said the proposed location makes perfect sense: “Near the metropolitan area, but not necessarily in the metropolitan area, we would love to be near buffalo. We would love to be in an area where there’s opportunities for access to the airport.”

The Denver March Powwow could one day be held at the embassy.

Williams dreams of expanding the buffalo herd nearby and having the embassy teach future generations Indigenous skills and culture.

The concept for the embassy is one of the recommendations emerging from the Truth, Restoration, and Education Commission, a group of American Indian leaders in Colorado who began to organize four years ago to study the history of Native Americans in our state.

And the work is just beginning.

“We have to think about, ‘how do we maintain sustainability and perpetuity of a facility like this?’” Williams said. “So there’s lots of issues that are going to be worked on over the next year or so.”

Williams added, “One day our dreams are going to come true, and those tribes are going to come, and we’re going to have a big celebration out here. We’re going to have a drum, and we’re going to sing honor songs, and we’re going to have just the best time ever welcoming these people back to their homeland.”

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s staff sent the following statement:

“We are excited about the passing of the Vibrant Denver Bond and the opportunity it creates to invest in our city’s first American Indian Cultural Embassy. We are committed to working hand-in-hand with the Indigenous community to plan and develop the future embassy, and city staff have already been invited to listen and engage with some of our local American Indian groups, like the People of the Sacred Land. We are not yet at the stage of formal plans, but we are excited to see the momentum of this project continue.”

The Broncos are in prime position.

They didn’t wow many people Sunday, but they controlled a 19-3 win against the Los Angeles Chargers from start to finish and in the process secured the AFC’s No. 1 seed, a first-round playoff bye and homefield advantage as long as they’re in the tournament.

They are two home wins away from playing in Super Bowl 60.

Head coach Sean Payton after the game did as much shrugging off of an offensive o-fer in scoring position as he’ll ever do.

Players were business-like, but they can feel the inbound rest already.

As they arrived home Sunday night, there are 14 teams still playing in the NFL.

By the time they next take the field, that number will be eight.

Now the fun really begins.

Here are 7 Thoughts following Denver’s dominant defensive performance and a remarkable 14-3 regular season.

1. Bo Nix asked Sean Payton for more urgency early in Sunday’s game. Afterward, he said he should have provided it himself.

Broncos quarterback Bo Nix looked to the sideline.

Early in the second quarter, Denver’s trudging offense finally found a bit of a spark.

Tyler Badie had just taken a third-and-13 swing pass for 16 yards and a first down.