We are ringing in 2025 with a fabulously decorated set (thanks to our crew!), party hats, noise makers and of course, sparkling cider for the last Colorado Inside Out of 2024. I put our Insider panel to the test, asking each of them to choose the Colorado Person of the Year, much like Time Magazine chose Donald Trump as its Person of 2024. The panel didn’t pick any mayors or governors, but I will say, the local city council member Patty Calhoun chose really made a huge mark on Colorado with a spotlight on Aurora for the entire country to see.

2024 Persons of the Year

• Patty Calhoun: Aurora City Councilmember Danielle Jurinsky, for raising awareness of the Venezuelan gang story which became a national news story and huge talking point in the Presidential Election.
• Krista Kafer: Norma Anderson, former state legislator and lead plaintiff in a failed lawsuit to keep former President Trump off the Colorado Presidential Primary ballot, citing a clause in 14th Amendment.
• Eric Sondermann: The trio of Coloradans on the US Women’s National Soccer Team: Lindsey Horan, Mallory Swanson, and Sophia Smith, who were instrumental in securing a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
• Alton Dillard: Matt Crane, Executive Director of the Colorado County Clerk’s Association for his leadership in a big election year.
• My suggestion: Miss Peggy, the inspirational and lifelong University of Colorado super-fan who turned 100 years old during the exciting CU Buffs football season.

2025 Predictions

Colorado Politics in 2025:
The panel forecasts the new balance of power at the federal level with four Republicans and four Democrats representing Colorado in Congress. Denver Post columnist Krista Kafer praised the end of the Democratic supermajority in the Colorado legislature. She suggests this could lead to a “more balanced, less left-leaning legislature.”

Operation Aurora:
Westword Editor Patty Calhoun recognized the uncertainty of what the proposed mass deportation plan might look like.

Budget Issues in 2025:
Colorado Politics columnist Eric Sondermann expects the end of COVID relief funds combined with slower economic growth to cause budgetary problems for the state, and for local municipalities.

Impact of the increasing minimum wage on restaurants:
“I’m concerned about the restaurant scene going into 2025 for a variety of reasons, and the restaurants that either close or move out of Denver due to the high minimum wage,” said Alton Dillard. Beginning January 1, Colorado’s state minimum wage increases from $14.42 to $14.81 per hour and Denver’s minimum wage goes up from $18.29 to $18.81 per hour

New Colorado Lawstake effect January 1st.
Although there are a host of laws going into effect, the Insiders focused mainly on one that affects us all:

• It will no longer be legal in Colorado to hold mobile phones while driving. It will be a secondary offense, which means officers will only be able to issue a ticket if someone is holding their phone while speeding or running a red light, etc. Krista Kafer expresses concern about potential misuse as a pretext to target specific communities, while Eric Sondermann supports the measure as a necessary step to address the dangers of distracted driving.
• Colorado Psilocybin Healing Centers to open in 2025:On December 31st, the Natural Medicine Division, a branch of the Colorado Department of Revenue will start accepting applications for psilocybin healing centers, with the plan that they could open by Summer 2025. The State of Colorado will regulate the use of these medicinal mushrooms unlike marijuana, where rules are managed by local governments. The panel acknowledged the logistics that need to be worked out for the centers as well as the therapeutic potential of psilocybin. “Doctor Clarissa Pinkola Estés, a Denver-based psychoanalyst and post-trauma specialist, has worked with veterans on PTSD issues and the success she has had with psilocybin treatment is amazing,” Patty Calhoun Krista Kafer isn’t as optimistic. “My concern is that we’ve gone from having one addictive substance (marijuana) that we’ve made into a big business in Colorado to now mushrooms that are being pushed on people who, you know, could end up having a hard time.”