Volume 6, Issue 4 January 15, 2025 - February 14, 2025
Bakeries, breweries, Broncos: Denver is getting creative with local grains
BY MERYL PHAIR
Devin Jamroz knows there is something special about the white wheat variety known as India Jammu that is grown in Colorado.
e CEO of the company Dry Storage in Boulder said the grain made its way to the front range after being pulled from a seed vault in 2020 and passed into the hands of local baker Andy Clark at Moxie Bread Co. in Louisville.
Clark milled some but got so excited over the bread it produced that he handed it o to the MASA Seed Foundation in Boulder where it wound up with several local farmers and eventually to Dry Stor-
age as they were putting together their inventory of local grains.
“We launched it (Indian Jammu) a month ago and we’re getting it into more chefs and baker’s hands to play with,” Jamoz said. “It could potentially change the game and change the narrative around the usability of single-varietal, stone-milled ours because it is just so easy to use.”
While Colorado is known to grow highprotein winter wheat due to the temperature uctuation and a relatively short growing season, Jamroz said more than 80% of the wheat grown in the state is shipped elsewhere.
Local grains can be expensive compared to commodity our and more challenging to work with due to their unique characteristics, but the appeal of local sourcing along with heightened nutrition and taste has been bringing regional our back to Denver’s food scene.
Launched with a mission of bringing local grains back into the supply chain, James Beard Award-nominat-
115-year-old home
on Tennyson Street earns landmark status
Currie/Dryer Cottage will be preserved for generations to come
BY MERYL PHAIR SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
When Daphne Salone rst saw the small cottage on 4450 Tennyson St., with its blue walls and yellow-trimmed porch, she fell in love.
In 2006, she purchased the Currie/Dryer Cottage and operated her accounting ofce out of the Berkeley Regis neighborhood before renting out the structure as a single-family home. During that time, Salone said she witnessed the immediate neighborhood “explode” around her.
“Older houses have been scraped o and replaced with condominium complexes or multi-story homes,” Salone said.
“As buildings started getting demolished, I thought, ‘ is is tragic.’”
Salone was unaware how unique her property was until a chance encounter showed up at her door. e great-grandchildren of the cottage’s namesake paid a visit, expressing their surprise that the cottage set back from the street by a garden and the adjacent bungalow were still standing and in remarkable condition.
ed chef Kelly Whitaker and Id Est Hospitality founded Dry Storage in 2019 to create a product they were struggling to nd in the local market.
Following a successful trial with six local farms in the San Luis Valley, Dry Storage has partnered with local farms using regenerative and organic practices, milling their wheat and distributing the four to a growing number of regional partners, along with operating a cafe, grain mill and bakery based in Boulder. Similarly to many mass-produced staples such as co ee, modern mills can produce large quantities of commodity our with a consistent avor pro le, enabling identical products to be created anywhere. Stone mills like the one used by Dry Storage don’t strip away as many nutrients, maintaining the grain’s unique avor pro le.
“ ere’s an undeniable taste of Colorado,” Jamroz said. “You can tell the di erence between wheat that’s been grown here and grown elsewhere.”
SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
An artisan design on a product of Rebel Bread, which has been using Colorado-grown grains since at least last year. COURTESY OF EB PIX
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REAL ID requirements are coming in 2025
BY JACKIE RAMIREZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
As the year comes to a close and people prepare for what comes next, many things linger in their minds that can perhaps impact the way 2025 plays out.
For those who have been traveling, you have likely seen several signs at Denver International Airport announcing the upcoming REAL ID Act that will be enforced starting in May 2025. (According to e (Fort Collins) Coloradoan, most Colorado IDs have been compliant since 2012.)
According to the Department of Homeland Security, REAL ID was passed by Congress in 2005, as a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission, for the federal government to establish minimum security standards for state issued driver’s licenses and identi cation cards for travel and to access certain federal and government buildings. Forms of identi cation that don’t meet the standards of REAL ID will be rejected by certain federal agencies.
However, it’s been somewhat of a challenge to fully enforce the act. Deadline extensions have taken place due to “lack of full state compliance with the requirements for issuing the more secure driver’s licenses,” according to NBC News in 2022.
e COVID-19 pandemic also caused a delay in enforcement because it was harder for
people to obtain new identi cations through various lockdowns and sta reductions at various departments of motor vehicles. e original deadline for the REAL ID to be put in place was October 2021, before it was extended to May 2025.
While the REAL ID has been enforced for entrance to certain federal buildings and facilities, the enforcement of REAL ID will be the standard requirement across the country after the deadline.
e main concern, and the area that will be primarily a ected, is air travel. e DHS states that the Transportation Security Administration’s security checkpoints will require a REAL ID or other acceptable alternatives, such as a U.S. passport or state issued driver’s license.
To determine if your driver’s license or state photo identity cards are REAL ID compliant, they must have a star marking on it. ose who travel without a compliant form will not be permitted through security checkpoints.
E ects on the immigrant community
Because REAL IDs and Enhanced Driver’s Licenses are only issued to those who have lawful status, immigrants are concerned on how this can impact travel. REAL ID allows states to issue driver’s licenses and identication cards to those whose identity can’t be fully veri ed or their legal status hasn’t been con rmed. However, these will be considered
non-compliant forms of identi cation and must clearly indicate that they are not acceptable for REAL ID purposes and have a di erent design or color that di erentiates them from compliant cards.
Texas immigration law rm Davis and Associates stated on their website that this “will change the way undocumented immigrants present identi cation for many purposes.” e DHS wrote on their website that the “possession of a non-compliant card does not indicate that the holder is an undocumented individual, given that individuals may obtain non-compliant cards for many reasons unrelated to unlawful presence.”
“If fully implemented, the law would facilitate the tracking of data on individuals and bring government into the very center of every citizen’s life. By de nitively turning driver’s licenses into a form of national identity documents, REAL ID would have a tremendously destructive impact on privacy,” wrote the American Civil Liberties Union on their website.
For bene ciaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the act allows states to issue temporary REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and ID cards to applicants “who provide valid, documentary evidence that they have ‘approved deferred action status.’ ”
For more information on the REAL ID Act and what will come after the deadline, visit dhs.gov/real-id.
Immigration advocates prep for Trump agenda
BY CASSIS TINGLEY SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Nicole Cervera Loy, policy and campaign manager for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC), knew when former President Donald Trump won the general election in November that her organization would have to pivot.
An immigrant herself, Cervera Loy said she felt the election results personally and understood the risks a second Trump presidency posed to undocumented Coloradans. Coming out of the election, she re ected, “It felt like everyone was against us.”
“It changed our mind from, let’s try and improve our current programs and try and keep our community educated on what programs are available, to, we have to make Colorado the biggest sanctuary that we can,” Cervera Loy said.
To prepare for the incoming administration, Cervera Loy said CIRC has focused on its
“Know Your Rights” campaigns and on preparing resource packets for families at risk of deportation. She said that CIRC also plans to push for pro-immigrant measures and ordinances at the municipal level but is waiting to follow the lead of its local partners.
University of Colorado law professor Violeta Chapin emphasized the importance for undocumented immigrants to know their rights when dealing with federal immigration ocials, stressing that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) o cers use administrative warrants that do not allow forced entry into a home or private space to make an arrest.
“If you don’t let them in, they can’t come in by force, but they certainly can wait outside,” Chapin said. “One thing we did see during Trump 1.0 was an uptick of police in our courts because, even in Boulder, which declared itself a sanctuary city, (ICE) can come and sit in the courtroom and if they have a picture of you, they can pick you up.”
Intense anti-immigrant rhetoric was a key pillar of Trump’s campaign. e presidentelect’s platform promised to “stop the migrant invasion,” “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history” and “stop the migrant crime epidemic.”
According to a September 2023 report from the National Institute of Justice, the crime rate among undocumented immigrants was lower between 2012 and 2018 than the rate of U.S.born o enders. Crime rates in Aurora and Denver decreased during the in ux of Venezuelan immigrants coming to the cities starting in 2023.
Since November, Trump has also appointed former ICE head Tom Homan, who promised to “run the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen,” as his “border czar” to oversee U.S. borders and deportations.
Experts say such an operation bears longterm consequences and poses extensive logistical challenges; even Homan scaled back his initial promise of a massive deportation operation to focus on deporting threats to “public safety” and “national security” rst. One of the biggest barriers to such a hefty operation is cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE, which, according to Chapin, is far from guaranteed.
“A lot of state law enforcement across the country have said, ‘We’re not going to stand in anybody’s way, but also, we want to make sure that people here, regardless of their immigration status, can call the police,’” Chapin said. “We need victims to call the police. We need witnesses to be able to call the police, and if people believe that local police are going to just turn them over to immigration o cials, then that is a problem.”
Immigration remains a federal issue, with policy dictated by federal law and enforced by ICE, a federal agency. However, local law enforcement has greater access to identifying information of undocumented residents, which would make detention and deportation much easier for ICE should local law enforcement choose to cooperate.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston hit a bunch of his 2024 goals — and missed a few as well
BY KYLE HARRIS DENVERITE
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston presented a report card Monday morning to the press in his o ce, grading his administration’s performance 2024 performance.
What he described as an average “middle-school grade card” showed what the city’s goals were, where his administration met them, and where they missed the mark.
e administration’s year was de ned by his attempts to address unsheltered homelessness, boost the downtown Denver economy, make headway on the 16th Street Mall construction project and reduce gun violence.
Johnston acknowledged: ere’s still a lot of work to be done.
But the story he told of 2024 in Denver was largely one of success.
e number of people shot in the city is down 23 percent and gun homicides are down by 25 percent. Customer satisfaction with the cops is up more than 15 percent, according to surveys the police conducted about their performance. In November, an overwhelming number of downtown voters approved a $570 million loan for the Downtown Development Authority to turn the rest of the city center into what Union Station has become — a “vibrant” place with a ordable housing, retail and open space, Johnston said. e city created and preserved more than 3,000 units of income-restricted housing. By the end of the year, 2,233 people ex-
periencing homelessness on the streets were brought inside since he took o ce — and 82 percent are still indoors. e city hit its goal of expediting the permitting process for residential construction,
dropping the time it takes to secure a permit by 37 percent. e time it takes to replace recycling, composting and trash bins has dropped by 31 percent. More than 200 people dealing with addiction
were connected with treatment through his Roads to Recovery program.
The Johnston administration did miss a few goals.
While the city’s commercial permitting process is 17 percent faster, it still lags behind the goal. While the city is completing 90 percent of its solid waste routes, it missed its goal by 3 percent. He planned to have a deal over the embattled Park Hill Golf Course secured with Westside Investment Partners by the end of 2024. He missed that deadline. His ambitious plan to use a sales tax to fund the creation and preservation of tens of thousands of a ordable housing units was squarely rejected by voters in November, leaving him in a tight spot trying to gure out how to create another 3,000 units in 2025 — a goal that’s already shy of the 4,500 a year he says the city actually needs.
What about immigration?
Much of Johnston’s focus in 2024 wound up being redirected by the arrival of thousands of new immigrants, many from Venezuela. He said the city spent around $45 million on the issue — a number that was a fraction of the $180 million he initially projected. is year, he plans to spend $12 million on new immigrant support.
Mayor Mike Johnston speaks to a group of reporters Jan. 6 from his o ce regarding the goals his administration met, or didn’t, in 2024. The mayor plans to release his plans for 2025 on Jan. 29.
PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ
AG Weiser declares for 2026 governor’s race
BY MEGAN VERLEE CPR NEWS
As Coloradans returned from the New Year’s holiday, the state’s top elected lawyer announced a major resolution: to run for governor in 2026.
Democrat Phil Weiser is midway through his second term as attorney general. Over his six years in o ce he made a name for himself ghting the rst Trump administration in court, as well as suing opioid manufacturers and social media companies.
Attorney general is Weiser’s rst elected o ce. He previously served as dean of the University of Colorado
IMMIGRATION
is type of collaboration is controversial, and Colorado passed its own legislation signi cantly limiting state and local cooperation with ICE in 2019 and 2023.
e 2019 bill prohibits any law enforcement or parole o cer in the state from detaining residents based on their immigration status and from sharing their information with ICE, while the 2023 bill prohibits state and local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE to detain people in any for-pro t detention centers, like the ICE detention center in Aurora, which is run by GEO Group.
However, Cervera Loy pointed out, these policies are not always followed, especially in rural areas where immigration lawyers are hard to come by and local government and residents tend to lean conservative.
Cervera Loy pointed to Douglas County’s lawsuit against the state of Colorado in protest of the aforementioned bills, saying, “the rural counties have really stuck it in Denver’s face.”
“A lot of (rural) community members know that they are not close to resources,” she said. “ ey know that a lot of their community members voted for Trump.”
Chapin noted that, even in areas where local government and residents are more conservative, cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement can have longterm consequences. Formally known as
law school. He also held posts in the Obama administration, including deputy assistant attorney general in the anti-trust division and as an advisor to the national economic council.
With Gov. Jared Polis term limited, political watchers expect a long list of Democrats to enter the race to replace him.
e left-leaning group Healthier Colorado, and right-leaning Magellan Strategies recently surveyed 630 Democratic and una liated voters on four of the potential primary candidates.
Twenty percent of those polled said they’d support congressman Joe Neguse in a theoretical Democratic
the 287(g) Program, this cooperation has been met with opposition and criticism from local leadership for racially pro ling Latinos and undermining community safety and trust.
“When an entire segment of your community stops cooperating with the police, that’s challenging for everyone, not just for the immigrants,” Chapin reected.
While the execution of Trump’s campaign promises regarding deportations and immigration remains to be seen, his self-proclaimed “America rst” rhetoric was able to tap into deep-seated anti-immigrant sentiments in millions of Americans. Addressing these trends, Cervera Loy said, would take discussion and hard look at research surrounding immigration.
“One immigrant commits a crime, and all of a sudden we are all on the line for it,” Cervera Loy said, noting that sensationalism often overshadows fact in discourse around crime and immigrants. “Bringing that reality forward and going past the sensationalism is what we need to start doing.”
To Chapin, these cultural trends also come down to individual choices.
“When you see somebody or meet somebody who’s di erent from you, you have choices to make,” Chapin said. “You can be curious about them or you can be afraid. I think where we’re seeing a lot of the conservatism is from people who are afraid of di erence … and I think when we’re curious, we learn things that we wouldn’t otherwise know.”
primary, 16% went for Secretary of State Jena Griswold, 11% for former Interior Secretary and U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and 8% for Weiser.
On the Republican side, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, and outgoing 4th Congressional District Rep. Greg Lopez, who was selected to ll out the last few months of Ken Buck’s term, are potential contenders.
Other than Weiser, none of those potential contenders has yet conrmed they’re interested in the o ce. is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t public broadcaster serving Colorado. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.
Minimum wage rises to $18.81 an hour to start 2025
BY ERNEST GURULÉ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Paychecks for Denver minimum wage workers are set to get a little fatter in the new year, thanks to the Denver City Auditor.
In 2025, Denver’s minimum wage will rise to $18.81 an hour from the current $18.29 rate, a boost of 52 cents an hour.
“All workers performing a job within the City and County of Denver“are entitled to the city’s minimum wage,” said Michael Brannen, executive director of communications and government relations for the Denver Auditor’s o ce.
e only exception, he said, are workers whose pay is supplemented with tips. For example, if an employer can prove a food server earns at least $3.02 an hour in tips, they would qualify for only $15.79 per hour, Brannen said. e two gures would equal the city’s $18.81 rate.
In 2019, the State Legislature authorized municipalities to set their own minimum wage. Denver City Council then created its own minimum wage table and set starting pay at $12.85 per hour. Since then, pay for minimum wage workers has increased by nearly fty percent to $18.81, 2025’s new hourly rate.
“I know people who work full-time, and it means a lot to them,” Li Li Ross said.
For Ross, who works part-time at an o -north Tennyson Street restaurant, the job ends when she returns to Omaha and Creighton University where she attends college. Still, she said of the pay boost, “it’s something.”
Across town on Gaylord Street, sidewalks are crowded two days after Christmas. On one corner, people are lulling outside the Washington Park Grille waiting for a table; at the other end, people are just strolling into the Devil’s Food Bakery.
On this day when the holiday is now a memory, it’s doubtful customers are even thinking about Denver’s new year’s pay scale or, perhaps, don’t even know. But store owners certainly do.
“I’m all for it,” said one business owner who asked his name not be used. “People have to live, pay rent, buy food,” he says before waxing nostalgically about an era when “people could actually a ord a home on a single paycheck.”
hired help, the city’s 2025 wage scale is not making for a happy new year. Paying workers more—an estimated 45,000 workers—it’s going to be costly. And the cost will be passed on to consumers. e 45,000 gure, said Brannen, comes from a Rutgers University study commissioned by the Auditor’s O ce. e study said at least that many workers in Denver were paid below the minimum wage in Denver between 2020 and 2024. at number of workers, Brannen said “has increased signi cantly since 2020.”
To that end, the Denver Auditor’s O ce has gone after employers who underpaid workers and has collected more than $2 million illegally withheld from them in the last year. e gure—a record amount—is double what the auditor collected in unpaid wages in 2022. All of the recovered money from the past year, the auditor said, will go back to an estimated 4,500 people.
“Every case is important,” City Auditor Timothy O’Brien said in a news release. His o ce’s work in targeting employers, he said, “is a national example of how to do this work the right way—by engaging both workers and businesses in pursuit of shared positive outcomes.”
One target of O’Brien’s o ce has been city strip clubs, some of which he said were misclassifying performers as nonemployees to skirt paying the legal minimum wage along with overtime.
But perhaps the o ce’s biggest catch was the nonpro t Urban Peak, a youth homeless shelter. Because Urban Peak used more than $2,000 in public funds, it was required to pay the city’s set wage scale. Urban Peak received more than $16 million from the city as part of its upgrade.
e auditor’s o ce said the project was classi ed as “residential” rather than a “business” upgrade thus allowing workers to be paid less. Because of the misidenti cation, some workers were paid at a rate as much as 40% lower than they should have been.
Urban Peak was cited, O’Brien’s o ce said, because it used more than $2,000 in city funds. In fact, the city committed more than $16 million for the shelter upgrade.
Of course, unlike his neighbors who will be paying the new wage, he has no sta . But for business owners who do have
Urban Peak contends the pay error was not intentional. It said the mistake was caused by a miscommunication between two Denver agencies.
Democrat Phil Weiser is midway through his second term as attorney general.
FILE PHOTO BY CHRIS KOEBERL
Denver teachers union rallies for better compensation, work conditions
BY LONDON LYLE SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
A chant rang out through Riverside Church in Je erson Park during a December meeting as the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) rallied to launch their bargaining campaign for the 2025 scal year.
“Who’s got the power? We’ve got the power! What kind of power? Union power!”
It’s been three years since the DCTA has last bargained with Denver Public Schools (DPS), and despite the evening’s snowy weather, supporters were more red up than ever before.
Educators, students, activists and community members donning bright red clothes to signal their support for the union lled nearly every seat in the auditorium of Riverside Church, demanding fair wages, more manageable workloads, smaller class sizes and equitable treatment for DPS employees.
DCTA President Rob Gould outlined the union’s priorities in simple terms.
“We’re here tonight because DCTA bargaining is starting in 2025, and we understand the importance of standing united for the schools our students deserve,” Gould said. “One job should be enough for our committed, dedicated educators who show up and give their all to support students every day.
“We shouldn’t have to walk out of the school building at the end of the strenuous day and hop into their car to drive for Uber, or put on an apron to work at the coffee shop,” he continued. “One job should be enough.”
e rally brought together educators from across the district who shared their personal struggles with underfunding, overwork and alleged discrimination.
“I’ve seen teachers being pushed out of this district, especially teachers of color,” said Brian Weaver, a sixth-grade math teacher and bargaining team member. “Equity for our students and retention for our educators are at the heart of this ght.”
Colorado Community Media has reached out to DPS for comment.
Valerie Henderson, an early childhood education teacher at Sandra Todd-Williams Academy and a bargaining team member, explained that the families and students that DPS serves experience systemic inequities due to socioeconomic, racial and political factors.
“ e Denver Green School absorbed 200 new-to-country students in just 18 months, while other schools maintained classes of just 22 students. is isn’t a coincidence. is is systemic racism in action,” she said.
Special education teacher Alicia Lerose described the burden of excessive workloads on those who work with students with complex IEP (Individualized Education Plans) or 504 learning plans; despite actually needing resources to spend more one-on-one time with her students who need specialized care. “I’m doing the job of at least three people. Crisis is at an alltime high,” she said.
Henderson pointed to the challenges of growing class sizes for educators working with students with disabilities.
“We’ve seen special education classrooms, which are supposed to be small by design, ballooning to sizes of 30 or more students,” she said.
Notably, the United Federation of Teachers recommends a sta ng ratio of no more than 12 or 15 students per teacher, depending on grade level, for special education classrooms.
Other educators echoed her concerns about large class sizes and limited resources.
“With 35 students per class, if I spend just 90 seconds with each student, that’s my entire class period,” said Michelle Horwitz, teacher and co-chair of the DCTA bargaining team. “We cannot give our students what they need in this situation.”
Students themselves were in attendance, many of them there to support their fellow classmate and the rally’s only student speaker, Phoebe Davis, the senior class president at East High School. Davis highlighted the impact of teacher turnover on students like herself and her peers.
“When teachers leave, our students lose the mentors, trust, and champions who inspire them,” she said. “Call the board. Write Marrero. Show up at the rallies. Teachers cannot sustain this ght alone.”
Superintendent Alex Marrero received criticism throughout the evening for the $17,326 bonus he received in 2024 due to meeting 80% of his annual goals based on his most recent performance evaluation, bringing his salary to $363,855.
While initially told they would receive a 5% bonus in 2024, DPS teachers received just under 2% due to budget constraints, an obvious pain point for some attendees who chanted “Five percent! Five percent!” throughout the evening each time a speaker mentioned administration onstage.
Some Denver Public School teachers can’t a ord to live in Denver, instead opting to live in cheaper suburbs like Westminster or Arvada. e district does not compensate them for their additional commuting time or gas mileage, saving potential tax write-o s, union members argued.
Healthcare and compensation were central themes of the evening. A teacher from South High School shared, “My spouse and I both have degrees, yet we can barely a ord to live in Denver. I avoid going to the doctor because I can’t a ord the bills.”
Another teacher explained how the delay in cost-of-living adjustments a ected highly personal decisions. “ e delay has caused my husband and me to postpone our plans for starting a family,” they said. “ is impacts every aspect of our lives.”
Teachers onstage said they struggle to maintain a work-life balance due to their workloads, often staying after school grading papers until the evening. Alicia Lerose noted how short her planning periods actually were.
“ e lack of time impacts everything we do. It’s impossible to teach e ectively under these conditions.”
Teachers, however, weren’t the only DPS employees feeling fed up with the administration. Ashley McMullen, a school nurse, said she faces unrealistic expectations at work and feels undervalued by an out-of-touch administration.
“I’ve never had a planning period,” she said. “When I asked for support, the response was, ‘Why do you need planning time?’”
e crowd closed out the evening with another chant, reciting in unison, “Respect us. Pay us. Value us.” But voices were softer this time, with a noticeable hint of exhaustion that wasn’t present when the evening began.
Union leaders from beyond Colorado, some of whom belong to chapters that have seen remarkable success in recent years, were in attendance to express their solidarity with Denver educators.
Cecily Myart-Cruz, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, shared advice in a virtual message.
“Ask for the moon, the sky, and the stars
because your students, your community, and parents deserve it,” Myart-Cruz said. “Stay strong. And stay united.”
Gould encouraged attendees to remain steadfast, even when the going gets tough.
“We need every one of you to show up, spread the word, and hold the district accountable,” he said. “When we ght, we win.”
Members of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) met Dec. 12 at Riverside Church in Je erson Park to discuss what they want in their collective bargaining agreement.
PHOTO BY LONDON LYLE
The Sway Test can help unlock healing
Despite out-of-pocket costs and long waits for appointments already being a statewide issue, the truth is the citizens of northwest Denver are blessed to have more therapy options per capita than almost anywhere else in the state of Colorado.
From a glut of private practitioners to culturally responsive clinics such as Clinica Tepeyac (not to mention the free, 24-7 Colorado Crisis line, accessed by dialing 988), mental health help is there for those who seek it out.
at’s important because as we head into the holiday season and the winter months, mental health and wellness is more important than ever. Yet many folks don’t know there are simple techniques we can try in the privacy of our own homes to explore our own psyches and develop insight. One of my favorite techniques to do so is called the Sway Test.
e Sway Test was developed by Dr. Bradley Nelson, an author and expert in the eld of energy psychology. Dr. Nel-
son’s theory is that there is intelligence within our entire body, not just our brain. He developed a technique from his years of clinical experience as a chiropractor who expanded into the eld of holistic medicine. e Sway Test is a method of gathering information from our subconscious mind, and it is very easy to learn and does not require the assistance of anyone else. To do the Sway Test, you simply must be able to stand on two feet.
Here’s how: Start in a standing position, feet rmly planted and shoulder-width apart, being sure not to lock your knees, and with your arms by your sides. Let go of all conscious thoughts and close your eyes if you are comfortable doing so. You’ll notice it’s impossible to actually stand still— your body typically sways almost imper-
ceptibly. en make a statement: When you vocally make a positive true statement, your body will begin to sway noticeably forward, Nelson’s theory being that a gentle sway forward represents a true or correct statement, while a gentle sway back on your heels represents a negative, untrue or incongruous statement. Try this experiment: Take the Sway Test stance and make a statement you know to be true, for example your name. If your name is Alex, for example, and you say, “My name is Alex,” your subconscious mind knows the statement to be true and you’ll sway forward gently because your body is drawn to congruence and truth. Try it again with a false name, and you should feel your body begin to sway backward within a few seconds. Your body’s response time will shorten the more that you practice this phenomenon. e most challenging form of this testing of our subconscious mind is that it requires our conscious mind to give up control for a few moments allowing our body to re-
Trials, tribulations abound in
‘God
ICHECK IT OUT
Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer’
n a level-one trauma center in Philadelphia, Iraq War veteran and former Army medic Joe omas observes the lives around him and spends his downtime writing about them.
spond innately. We can implicitly trust the wisdom of our subconscious mind to help inform decisions large and small.
While it’s not a crystal ball, the Sway Test could be useful in a wide range of scenarios, like whether to enroll in a class, rekindle a friendship or pursue a side gig. It’s particularly useful in exploring the murky world of emotions, which often drives us to engage in behavior that’s befuddling.
May the Sway Test hold the answers to the emotions or subconscious thought patterns that are presenting barriers to you achieving the goals that you seek? Plant your feet, ask your questions and let your body’s sway speak.
Erin Olyer Rohlf is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), professional therapist and founder of Denver Couples Clinic. Call her at 720-644-1400 or nd her at www.denvercouplesclinic.com to learn more or to suggest ideas for future columns.
infected wounds created by the athlete’s foot products he was paid to test in prison. He has no idea who Joe is.
People from his life come and go from the emergency room, including his estranged father, addicted mother and dying uncles. Amid the blood, grit and humanity, the simple joy of chocolate Otis Spunkmeyer mu ns weaves through the narrative.
“God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer” by Joseph Earl omas pays tribute to the little things that get you through the day.
Joe is a single father of four, works 16-hour-plus days when he can get away with it and attends grad school. While he doesn’t get to spend as much time with his kids as he’d like, the playfulness with which he refers to them tells a story of deep a ection. Joe’s relationships with the mothers, as well as with coworkers and friends, are casual and transitory, with everyone sleeping with everyone else and spending an inordinate amount of time in family court over custody.
Among the emergency room patients are a regular stream of men from Holmesburg State Prison, many of whom are connected to Joe through blood or personal relationships. His estranged father is there, su ering from painful,
One of Joe’s uncles is there, dying of high blood pressure, and another community elder is there after having his ngernails pulled o in another prison trial to see if a gel would stimulate regrowth. His mother, addicted, manipulative and needy, is there in restraints after standing in the street screaming and biting sta as they tried to help her.
Told in stream-of-consciousness observation, the timeline is uid between the Iraq War, Joe’s current life and his memories of growing up in his North Philly neighborhood. e rhythm and intensity of the prose echo the intensity and rhythm of the lives being lived. Humor frequently surfaces as Joe gives voice to the agony and absurdity of the human condition, Otis Spunkmeyer mu ns and all.
Immigration of cultures to the Northside, part 1
This month I will look at how immigrants become Americans. is will include looking at places and people, and presenting the ideas behind understanding immigration history. Over the next few months, I will focus on our Latino residents.
A work of literary excellence, this is not an easy read but well worth the investment. Check out “God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer” at a Denver Public Library branch near you.
Black History Book Buzz
Black History Month is in February, and what better way to celebrate than reading about the Black
experience? Join us for Black History Book Buzz from 6-7 p.m. on Feb. 12 and come prepared to add to your TBR (to-be-read) list as we explore books about the various aspects of the Black experience, historically and today. Light refreshments will be served.
Wendy omas is a librarian at the Smiley Branch Library. When not reading or recommending books, you can nd her hiking with her dogs.
Immigrants moving to the United States have made decisions about how to become Americans. Some jettisoned their traditional cultures as quickly as possible so that they could better t in. is pattern, called assimilation, was for generations the main way that many people saw the process.
But assimilation is often more e ective for those who are native English speakers when they arrive, who look more like the dominant culture, and who have education and nancial resources that bu er the change.
Other immigrants follow a pattern called acculturation, which is a blending of original culture and language with new American ways. is allows for a more gradual process of tting in. Children going to American schools are the rst to pick up the new language and culture. eir parents learn on the job but also from their children. Sometimes elders retain most of the old ways because the rest of their family can bu er them from the new culture. e rst two waves of European immigration in our neighborhoods brought in the Irish and Italians. I have covered their in uence in previous columns. e next wave was Hispanos from northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, and Mexican immigrants who began arriving as early as the 1910s. ey arrived just as the Italians aged out of the neighborhood.
North Denver’s Irish, Italians and Mexicans worked through the acculturation process in similar ways. ey settled in enclaves where they established churches, businesses and societies that allowed them to control the pace of their adjustment to American society. ey developed a multi-class community that had almost as many di erences as commonalties. e Italians within 20 years of their arrival became a political presence in Denver.
HISTORY COLUMN
Rebecca A. Hunt
Wendy Thomas
Erin Olyer Rohlf
holistic of
Finding that spark of happiness
The word “resolution” comes from the Latin word “resolvere,” which means “to loosen, undo, release.” Resolutions, or commitments to our wellness in general, should simplify and add to our lives, not make them more complicated.
So whether you are a resolver or just want to be sure self-care stays in your todo list, here are a few ways to give yourself a bit of simple loosening in 2025.
1. Get outside
Similar to meditation, spending time outdoors bene ts the brain. Being outside in nature also makes us feel more alive. Visiting an area with more green space (i.e., parks and gardens) is associated with greater life satisfaction. It boosts mental health, and it may decrease tension, anger and depression. It doesn’t need to be much, just walk fast enough to boost that heart rate a bit and you will reap the rewards.
2. Pay it forward
HEALTH & WELLNESS
We all know that happiness feels good, but it’s also great for our health. Feeling happy may even prevent disease, including heart disease. But being happy is easier said than done, right? Turns out there’s actually a simple way to feel more upbeat: Just crack a smile! Tell yourself you feel happy and eventually yourself will start to
By helping others, we actually help ourselves too. Lending a hand not only boosts mental health, but it may also lead to a longer life. Volunteering also positively a ects self-con dence, selfesteem and general well-being.
3. Breathe
We know that breathing techniques can help us relax. But it’s not necessarily the technique that sows the magic seeds. It’s the breath! Looking for a simple health habit to add to your new year? e next time you feel your shoulders creeping into your ears or your focus wanes, stop what you are doing for 30 seconds and breathe. Magic.
4. Be happy (even if you have to fake it at rst)
Meditation is proof that it doesn’t take a ton of time to do a mind and body good. Just a few minutes of quieting your mind can help relieve stress. e best part? Its bene ts continue even when we’re not meditating. Start small, notice you are breathing. You’re doing it! It’s the trying that is the key. Like exing a muscle, the more you try the better it gets.
8. Eat more fruits and veggies
Adding more fruits and veggies to our plate is a great way to practice self-care all throughout the day. Eating berries boosts brain health while noshing on peppers prevents Parkinson’s. And in case we needed another reason to load up on nature’s goodness, lling up on seven portions of fruits and veggies per day might make us happier. 10. Get it on
Another one you may not want to talk to mom about. ere are tons of awesome things about sex, even apart from the way it makes us feel. Getting busy can boost the immune system, help to reduce stress, and it may even relieve migraines
What the world needs now is grit, true grit
Educators have observed a decrease in students’ ability to demonstrate grit, according to a recent Forbes magazine article. I would entertain that this diminishment of student grit has to do with a combination of parenting trends and the prevalence of social media replacing face-to-face interactions.
But we have so much going on in the world today, how do we cultivate grit in our kids to help them cope?
e book “Grit, e Power of Passion and Perseverance” recently caught my eye at a library. e author, Angela Duckworth, is an award-winning psychology professor who has advised folks in the White House, the NFL and beyond. rough her research she has studied extremes in parenting and actually found a corroboration for successfully raising gritty children on either extreme of the parenting spectrum. It seems the sweet spot lies between the attributes of “tough love” and “permissive” parenting. e commonality in these styles is the wise parent who has the intentional forethought to parent with knowledge and experience.
but they also need opportunities to begin guring things out on their own in safe spaces. Duckworth advises that gauging your child’s personality and individual idiosyncrasies is key when forming expectations. When we advise them while also listening to and honoring their needs and desires, we can achieve that happy medium that blends the freedom of letting them make their own choices with solid guidance from caring adults. Duckworth summarizes this as “love, latitude and limits.”
and other chronic or acute pain. And that’s just to name a few of its health bene ts. I could go on about this one all day. But maybe that’s best saved for another time. Even if you are going to “go all the way,” cuddling is good for you. Studies show that physical contact reduces stress and releases a hormone called oxytocin that boosts happiness.
11. Get between the covers
See, it’s not just me with a one-track mind. Contrary to what some middleschool bullies believe, reading is cool, and it’s really good for our health. Reading on a regular basis keeps the mind sharp as it ages, and reading ction in particular makes for more creativity and a more open mind. Cracking open a book may also improve sleep and make us more empathic. Bookworms unite!
13. Get some Zs ere are tons of things that can sabotage our sleep, whether it’s a late night at the o ce, a wild night with friends or just catching up on “Game of rones.”
Skimping on shut-eye can hurt job productivity, make us choose to eat larger portions and make other questionable choices, and may lead to diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
15. Pound the pavement
Not only do walking and running torch calories, both are great mood-boosters that can help reduce anxiety. Both may even provide pain relief. Exercise in gen-
eral is linked to decreasing symptoms of depression, so lace up your sneakers the next time you need a mood lift.
18. Unplug ese days, it feels like everyone’s glued to a phone, laptop or both at the same time. Deliberately taking a break from social media, e-mail, blogging and so on can help us recharge and give our brain the downtime it needs to work at an optimal level.
Remember, the magic bullet is the practice. Finding your optimal mix will take time and will change depending on your needs and the world around you. Learning to keep looking for that right mix of self-care practices and making the commitment to stick with them is the answer. And you deserve it. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you take steps on this non-negotiable part of your tness journey. I’d love to hear from you!
Erika Taylor is a community wellness instigator at Taylored Fitness, the original online wellness mentoring system. Taylored Fitness believes that everyone can discover small changes in order to make themselves and their communities more vibrant, and that it is only possible to do our best work in the world if we make a daily commitment to our health. Visit facebook.com/erika.taylor.303 or email erika@taylored tness.com.
And what is grit, really? Duckworth describes it as a progressive evolution, establishing an intentional purpose in life. It is preferable, she says, if that purpose can grow to support the common good. Seeking to encourage “interest, practice, purpose and hope in the people you care for” leads to ful llment and overall happiness in life, she adds.
Many view the cultivation of grit as a form of withholding praise or as a trait that can only be developed through hardship. Perhaps, but the more lasting avenue for cultivating grit is through varied and active life experiences.
Kids need boundaries and guidance,
Here are some characteristics of grit: Courage, knowing that failure is part of success and not to fear it but to use it as a tool.
Conscientious, working hard to achieve a goal.
LETTERS FROM MISS JILL
Rebel Bread on South Broadway has had the unique experience of transitioning its beloved neighborhood baked goods to new recipes derived entirely from local grains. Since beginning to work with Dry Storage in 2023, the small-batch, artisan bakery initially introduced the Sonoran sandwich loaf from a variety of Colorado rye our and has incorporated it into their popular favorites such as the charcuterie sourdough, kimchi squash and cheddar sourdough and e Nonna G sourdough.
“After operating the bakery for a few years, we learned how important our sourcing could be, both for the nutrition of the product as well as for the role that we then play in local economies and sustainable agriculture,” said Zach Martinucci, founder and baker at Rebel Bread.
As a baker, Martinucci said working with a single variety of our produced from a local mill makes for a more intentional process all around as the bakery has to pay closer attention to the nuances in the our.
“We have to pay attention to hydration, the amount of water we’re adding, and our fermentation reactions are more active. ey happen more quickly,” Martinucci said. “ e depth of avor is incredible and the product tastes fresher. It tastes like we baked it earlier.”
Perfecting the new recipe was an undertaking as Rebel Bread sought to come up with a nished product that tasted the same if not better than their original loaves. Despite the challenge a transition to local grains can present for existing businesses, Martinucci said he’s been excited to see more businesses in the Denver metro area like Odell’s Bagel embracing local grains from day one.
Serving Denver’s Highlands neighborhood out of the old Denver Bread Company building on Irving Street, Odell’s Bagel has embraced the use of locally sourced grains along with other ingredients since opening its doors in October.
“I have always strived to use local ingredients and when we opened this place, that was not going to change,” chef Miles Odell said. “It’s nice to know where our grains are coming from and that our farmers are being supported. It’s a small ecosystem that is sustainable.”
Since launching the bagel shop, Odell’s has been whipping up an assortment of hand-rolled and naturally fermented bagels. Along with the use of local grains, the shop focuses on incorporating as many locally sourced ingredients as possible such as seasonal jams, currently o ering a plum jam and will soon be moving into marmalades for the winter citrus season.
e use of local grains not only aligned with Odell’s philosophy as a chef, but he said it enabled the shop to deliver a delicious locally derived produåct with a unique taste.
“It’s impossible to replicate the avor we’re going after if we’re not using these grains,” Odell said. “ is is not an East Coast bagel. We made the recipe and we baked them here. It’s a Denver-style bagel.”
e enthusiasm for a more local taste has been working its way onto the heart of Denver, fueling the over 100 restaurants including six Michelin Star restaurants that use Dry Storage’s grain along with bakeries, pizza shops, breweries and distilleries.
New Image Brewing in Arvada is currently experimenting with local wheat for their core beer recipes while a scratch kitchen at the Empower Field is che ng up pancakes sourced from local wheats for the Denver Broncos.
Because locally sourced wheat can
cially for the schools, receiving positive feedback from students.
With more businesses experimenting with local wheat, this year the mill saw its rst renovations since opening, but Jamroz said moving forward Dry Storage will have to be creative about how they scale to stay true to their local-focused mission.
facilities in di erent regions that are big enough to produce a competitively priced our but each being region speci c and working with a network of local farmers,” Jamroz said. “We’re leaning into local grain economies and the unique wheat that can be grown in di erent places around the country.”
Golden Prairie Organics cleaning White Sonora wheat in Nunn, Colorado. COURTESY OF DRY STORAGE
Chicana/o license plates are now avaialble
BY JACKIE RAMIREZ SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Earlier this year, State Sen. Julie Gonzales and Rep. Tim Hernandez saw the legislative approval of the “Creating the Chicano Special License Plate” bill.
After two previous unsuccessful attempts in 2016 and 2018, the Chicano License Plate will now see the light of day from the fronts and backs of cars for Colorado drivers who wish to sport their heritage.
“Being a Chicano is about consciousness,” Hernandez told Colorado Community Media in March 2024. “It’s about the consciousness of understanding our heritage, but the willingness to be able to do something about it… Being a Chicano, Chicana, Chicane, or Chicanex person means that you have a willingness to not just be conscious of our history but a willingness to do something about it, to advocate for our communities today.”
According to Exploratorium, a public learning laboratory in California of
CARSTENS
Follow through, the ability to commit long-term.
Resilience, getting back up after falling and reassessing a situation. Excellence, giving your very best. Guy Roz interviews successful entrepreneurs on his podcast “How I Built is.” At the end of each show, he always asks the entrepreneurs how much of their success was luck and how much was hard work. Most of the interviewees will acknowledge that luck, mostly in the form of timing and circumstance, came into play for their success, but hard work was always the greater percentage of their perceived success.
e above ve characteristics will look di erent in each individual. Parents must remember that our kids might not tackle adversity the same way we do, but as long as they are facing it they will be able to move forward.
HUNT
It took the Mexican-Americans longer, but they also succeeded in the political arena. Both groups acquired access to public employment and elected their members to city and state o ces. By the 1940s, North Denver, the neighborhood between I-25 and Zuni, became more rmly Mexican-American. To the west was Highland, which was a middle- and upper-middle-class section that had been the bulwark of Anglo-centrism since the 1860s. Increasingly some of the more prosperous and established Mexican-American families moved into houses left by Anglos who had moved to the suburbs. ese newer Highland families established businesses, sent their children to Denver schools and got involved in neighborhood politics. Between the 1940s and the 1990s, Highland, Sunnyside, Je erson Park and the new neighborhood of Cha ee Park were heavily Latino. Rents, housing prices and taxes were low, which also allowed more
science, art and culture, “Chicano” or “Chicana” is used to describe someone who “is native of, or descends from Mexico and who lives in the United States.”
However, with the diverse culture of the Spanish-speaking community, the term can take on a di erent meaning for every individual.
To be eligible for the special license plate, drivers must make a $50 donation to El Movimiento Sigue either online or in person. e donations will be used to “help youth leadership programs and facilitate the well-being of Colorado’s Chicano communities,” Denise Torrez, the president of El Movimiento Sigue, explained on Colorado Public Radio.
After the donation, folks will be emailed a PIN number from the collective to be able to order their Chicano License Plate for their car or motorcycle from the DMV, either in person or online. e donation is a one-time fee, but a PIN number is required for each vehicle receiving plates. e reminder states that the license plates are print-on-demand, so it can take around four to six weeks to receive them.
I am certain my 26-year-old son developed a great form of grit. is happened for him through a wide spectrum of experiences. How have I cultivated it as his mom? When I asked him, he cited our modest, low-income household was a big in uence.
He witnessed the need to be resilient when we might not be able to a ord to repair things. I prioritized what was critical, putting healthy food on the table and providing a safe and happy home. If the washing machine broke, we went to the laundromat. If the old door knob broke, we jerry-rigged a solution. He even saw me use a paper clip jammed between the terminal and cable of my corroded car battery when it wouldn’t take a charge (it worked!). Duct tape was used to repair many a broken household item.
All in all, despite those challenges, he assured me that he had a good childhood and that he does not view our struggles as a bad thing but part of de ning his character. rough those lean years, I also learned a trait that I did not read
new immigrants to live there. is began to change by the early 1990s. New young families and enterprising entrepreneurs bought up many of the a ordable houses and began to gentrify the area.
Since the late 1990s there has been both gentri cation and displacement. Developers have torn down huge swaths of North Denver and replaced older immigrant housing with apartment buildings and boxy mid-century-style homes.
Rising prices and taxes have forced working-class, often immigrant residents out and limited the number who can afford to move there. New migrants, often young professionals from the Midwest, take up both new and old housing stock, mostly as renters. But as these changes have happened, the neighborhood has continued to be multi-ethnic, multi-age and multi-class.
Dr. Rebecca A. Hunt has been a resident of North Denver since 1993. She worked in museums and then taught museum studies and Colorado, Denver, women’s and immigration history at the University of Colorado Denver until she retired in 2020.
“Don’t get me wrong: a license plate is only a symbol. Symbols and symbolic victories will not be enough to save us from the jaws of poverty, violence, corporate power, and white supremacy in a state that denies us housing, education, and healthcare for all,” Hernandez wrote in a La Cucaracha article. “ Symbols do, however, inspire us to think, study, and build di erently for ourselves. e Chicana/o Special License Plate is a symbol that invites us to invest in the cul-
about in the grit research: preparation. I tend to prepare for the worst and expect and hope for the best. Perhaps this trait is a part of resilience. I include resourcefulness in being prepared, kind of like having a pocket of tricks at the ready. If you work with young children like I did for so long, you must have backup plans. I have observed my son make do, nd things in his garage he can use when he doesn’t have the money to purchase new and change direction on projects when a metaphorical wrench is thrown. He is
tackling his degree in engineering with purposeful zest.
Launching our kids is one of the hardest yet most satisfying parts of parenting. Let’s do our best to help them navigate those challenges in life with grace, passion and, yes, true grit!
Jill Carstens taught for 30 years and now enjoys writing about that time here and in her recently published memoir, “Getting Over Vivian.” Find out more at www.jillcarstenswriter.com.
The Chicano/a license plate design.
COURTESY OF THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
In collaboration with Historic Berkeley Regis and the Landmark Preservation Commission, Salone dug into the history of 4450 Tennyson St. at process ultimately resulted in a vote by the Denver City Council in December to approve granting the 115-year-old house landmark status, preserving the Currie/Dryer Cottage as a slice of local history in the growing northwest Denver neighborhood.
e property was constructed by Canadian carpenter Arthur Wellington Currie, who built the Denver structure in 1909. His family lived in the back cottage — known as an “ally house” — while they built the front bungalow.
When the family moved into the front house, they rented out the cottage, which was a common form of a ordable urban housing during that time, for additional income. Following the death of his wife, Mary Currie, in 1912, Arthur left Denver and sold both properties to Joseph and Josephine Dryer, who continued to use the back house as a rental.
“ e Dryers rented to a variety of tenants, providing a signi cant source of affordable housing for various groups in the community,” said Abigail Christman of the Landmark Preservation Commission during a public hearing on the site before the City Council. “ ey continued to be open and diverse about who they rented to even when it may have con icted with their own beliefs.”
One example was renting to Nathan Arenburg in 1918. Arenburg was a Russian Jewish immigrant and Socialist Party candidate for state Senate, who was opposed to World War I while the Dryers’ son was
enlisted abroad. e family also continued to rent to minority groups while the KKK had an active presence on Tennyson Street.
“When you take it all collectively, it’s amazing how many people had refuge there,” Salone said. “During that time, if you were not in the community, you were not necessarily welcomed with open arms.”
Housing a steady stream of tenants including widows, laborers and seniors, the small building served as a stalwart provider of a ordable housing in northwest Denver, which it continues to do today.
“It shows the multicultural history of the Tennyson corridor where more than 10% of neighborhood residents were immigrants when the property was built along with the Dryers’ welcoming attitude toward diversity,” Christman said.
In a corridor that has seen much demolition and reconstruction over the years, Christman also noted the house was a “rare surviving residential property from this period” and indicative that Denver residents have long struggled with issues of density and a ordability.
One member of the Berkeley Regis United Neighbors, a registered neighborhood organization, voiced opposition to the preservation of the house during the public hearing with concerns that the landmark status could slow attempts to place more a ordable housing units in the neighborhood. Alejandra Castañeda recommended the possibility of moving the structure to another location where it could be open to the public.
“I’m not against preserving some historical structures for public enjoyment,”
Castañeda said. “It would serve a much better community purpose if it continued to honor its history of providing an a ordable housing opportunity to a variety of
people. Please don’t vote to down-zone this property at a time when we desperately need more housing in Denver.”
With the vote before the board, the Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval thanked Salone for bringing the application to the city, emphasizing the importance preserving the structure has for the changing character of the Tennyson Street corridor due to development.
“Tennyson has a lot of mixed-use redevelopment occurring on it right now,” Sandoval said during the hearing. “I’ve gotten lots of complaints about Tennyson during my entire life living in northwest Denver.”
Following the hearing, the Council unan-
imously approved the landmark designation. e status only applies to the back cottage; although connected historically, the front bungalow is currently owned by real estate agency Green Door Living and the lots are separated.
Not much will change for the historic cottage on 4450 Tennyson St. besides insurance that the little building will exist in perpetuity. For any changes to occur on the property, future owners would need to undergo an arduous process to reverse the landmark distinction.
“If someone in the future wants to get it demolished, now they’re going to have to go through the city,” Salone said.
The Currie/Dryer Cottage sits on Tennyson Street, set back from the street by a front garden and adjacent bungalow.
PHOTO BY MERYL PHAIR
National Western Stock Show returns through Jan. 26
BY ERIC HEINZ
Another year of the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) is here and with it comes a variety of rodeos and entertainment.
Taking place through Jan. 26 at the traditional National Western Center, the events draw hundreds of thousands of people to the area.
Paul Andrews, the CEO of the National Western Stock Show, said this is a year of new beginnings.
“We’ve got about maybe a dozen, maybe a little more than that, new vendors in the trade show hall that have some really interesting products that people will enjoy,” Andrews said. “It’s kind of the year of the baby around here. We’ve got lots of baby animals that have been born, and in fact one is the baby Scottish Highland cows that will be here up in our expo hall, and they’re going to be available to take pictures with.”
Andrews said there is also a new baby Clydesdale horse that will be at the stock show. e Clydesdale horses are large creatures who pull the wagons during the rodeos. Andrews said there will be about 130 rodeos throughout the stock show.
So far, Andrews said the early indicators, including ticket sales, show there could be as many as 700,000 people who visit the Stock Show. In addition, there are participants from all 50 states and other countries who will participate in stock show events. is contributes to what the NWSS estimates is a $171-million economic impact in the Metro-Denver area during the 16-day event.
“ at’s only the second time in my tenure that I can say that, and I’ve been here for 15 years,” Andrews said. “Our ticket sales are signi cantly ahead of any other year on this same date. If Mother Nature holds up on the weather for us, and we don’t get some 20-inch snowstorm or something of that, yeah, that will impact ticket sales. We’re feeling very good about (ticket sales).”
A full schedule of events can be found at nationalwestern.com/schedule/.
e NWSS also redid its menu in the steakhouse this year, including the addition of a 48-hour braised short rib “that is as big as my arm,” Andrews said.
“Like always, there’s something new at the Stock Show. But there’s also the same great traditional things that people love,” he added.
About 600 temporary workers were hired this year to enhance the events. Many have been on site since December, and some will work into February.
CEO change coming
Andrews has been a stalwart of the NWSS for decades. Having been its CEO for 15 years, he’s nally ready to pass the torch to another person.
However, the NWSS has not named a replacement at this time. e organization is going through a national search to nd someone who can ll Andrews’s boots. Andrews said he will stay on as the CEO until the NWSS can nd a replacement.
“I’ll be down here all the time at the next year’s show, and the show after that, and the show after that, God willing,” he said.
Andrews has sentimental value in the things he will miss most as CEO of the NWSS.
“Really, it’s been the smiles that I get to see every day in January,” Andrews
said. “I so look forward to watching all the families coming through the exhibits that we have here, seeing the animals in the petting farm where the kids are actually in there with animals.
“I’ll also miss the sta ,” Andrews continued. “I’ve become very close to both our sta and our volunteers, and I can tell you that our sta and our volunteers and our committees and our board are some of the best people on planet Earth, and I will miss them.”
e good news, Andrews said, is that he lives in nearby Arvada, so popping over to the NWSS is just a short drive.
National Western Center upgrades
e National Western Center is in the midst of its largest overhaul since the Stock Show came to Denver in 1906. Although no new buildings are open for this year’s events, the Sue Anschutz Rogers Livestock Center will be open for the 2026 National Western Stock Show.
A favorite at the National Western Stock Show is the stagecoach entrance. Pulled by six magnificent horses, this replica is a reminder of how people, mail and goods used to cross Colorado.
FILE PHOTO
National Western Stock Show CEO Paul Andrews is stepping down after this year’s events, but he said he will stay at the job until a suitable replacement is found. COURTESY OF
NATIONAL WESTERN STOCK SHOW
Archdiocese of Denver submits plans to repurpose Mullen Home in West Highland
Work on new senior-living facility expected to begin in 2027
BY ERIC HEINZ
With the recent closure of the over ow shelters for incoming immigrants, the campus operated by Little Sisters of the Poor, Mullen Home, is slated to become a new senior-living community, the Archdiocese of Denver recently announced. e transformation will preserve the chapel and other historic buildings on the campus.
“ e former Mullen Home, located at 3629 W. 29th Ave. in the West Highlands neighborhood, was deeded to the Archdiocese when the Little Sisters of the Poor discontinued their more than 100 years of services to low-income, older adults and closed the campus in late 2022,” the Archdiocese stated.
Plans now include redeveloping the site into a fullcontinuum, senior-living community that includes independent-living apartments, memory care, assisted living, a town center and future brownstone homes. e project will preserve the “old main” building, where the chapel is located. e Archdiocese stated it has partnered with Senior Housing Partners, based in Minnesota; the development arm of Presbyterian Homes and Services; and Denver-based nonpro t
Christian Living Communities to provide management of the community.
According to documents led with the city of Denver, the property went through a large development review in early 2024, which is a multi-agency process that applies to sizeable parcels, usually ve acres or more, “to ensure that appropriate infrastructure planning and community impact are considered.”
e project proposes to renovate a portion of the existing structure, demolish another portion, and construct a new ve-story building with 213 units to be used as the senior-living facility, along with a parking garage.
Construction is estimated to begin in the rst quarter of 2027, according to the Archdiocese.
As e Denver North Star reported in 2022, the tenants of the Mullen Home were slated to leave the facilities in October of that year, after the organization announced it was closing the facility.
“It was a crisis that emerged we had to respond to,” he said. “So it wasn’t on our report card of goals. But I think when we look back at it, we feel great about where
happy new year & thanks for a great
And crime?
Father Mark Cregan, a representative for Little Sisters, told the newspaper at the time that the elderly living facility was closing because the convent didn’t have enough sta nationwide and it has been closing facilities throughout the last decade.
we’ve come over the last year.”
Denverite reviewed the Denver Police Department’s crime database.
Crime as a whole is slightly down, according to department data.
Meanwhile, drug- and alcohol-related crimes are up far higher than in previous years.
Violent crime has risen slightly to 6,568 incidents
Auto theft has dropped from 2023 to 2024. eft from motor vehicles has dropped, too.
So what about 2025?
e mayor plans to release this year’s goals on Jan. 29. While he’s not ready to detail those yet, there are a few things he’s willing to talk about.
STOCK SHOW
“We are currently working with the (National Western Center Authority board) and a development partner to build out an equestrian center, hotel and parking garage,” said Marcy Loughran, the chief communications o cer for the Denver Mayor’s O ce on the National Western Center. “ e current timeline for that is anticipated for either Stock Show 2028 or 2029.”
ere’s also the land known as the “triangle,” an area that includes the Denver Coliseum and several other buildings.
Discussions with local organizations that want to see the land repurposed for housing and other community uses are ongoing. e GES Coalition, a nonpro t that works with the Globeville, Elyria and Swansea neighborhoods, has been trying for years to make use of the land that would bene t the neighboring communities.
Loughran said the city is planning to meet with the coalition and community members in the near future to determine the best uses of the land.
Johnston anticipates the 16th Street Mall construction wrapping by Memorial Day. Requests for proposals for the $570 million in downtown projects will be open later this month.
A deal on the Park Hill Golf Course should be announced by the end of the month.
Denver had a 2024 goal of 5 percent engagement in city employee feedback on how things are going under Johnston. Survey results will be released toward the end of January.
e administration is preparing for Donald Trump’s presidency and various possible futures for a city dependent on signi cant federal funding for its housing initiatives, bus rapid transit projects, and other social services.
After voters shot down the sales tax that would have funded the construction and
preservation of tens of thousands of new housing units, Johnston has had to go back to the drawing board to gure out how to fund new housing.
“We have to use public-private partnerships, use public land, and use the ability to do rental subsidies in some units to make them a ordable,” he said. “A ordability continues to be a top priority for us.”
He also spoke to why he wants downtown Denver to have more residential space.
“ e most safe and active downtown is a busy downtown,” he said. “For any downtown, the busiest downtown is one that’s actually 24 hours a day.”
He also says he’s considering moving the State of the City address that takes place in July to January to align with the city’s scal year. is year, though, he’s keeping it in July.
Sister Joseph Marie stands in the Cathedral of the Little Sisters of the Poor Mullen Home in September 2022. She was with the property for decades and said her mother was one of the first full-time cooks at the convent.
PHOTO BY ERIC HEINZ
Carly Allison, 9, from Aberdeen, South Dakota, showed a miniature Hereford in 2024 that originated from England in their small stature, then over time, they were bred to develop into the larger Hereford.
PHOTO BY BELEN WARD
Denver now allows ADUs in all residential areas
BY COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA STAFF
e Denver City Council recently passed a measure to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in all residential zoning areas of the city.
e citywide ADUs measure was sponsored by Councilmembers Sarah Parady, Chris Hinds and Darrell Watson, in partnership with Mayor Mike Johnston and the Department of Community Planning and Development (CPD).
“In every corner of our city, the cost of housing is top of mind for Denverites, and simple improvements to our policies like this make a real di erence for working families,” Johnston stated. “As we continue to push to create thousands of units of a ordable housing, giving residents the option to build an ADU will not only make it easier for families to stay in Denver long-term, but will put us one step closer to tackling the challenge of housing a ordability.”
Accessory dwelling units are self-contained, smaller living spaces with their own kitchen, bath and sleeping area that are an extension of an existing prop-
erty, either attached or detached. ey are often called “mother-in-law suites,” “granny ats,” “casitas,” “backyard cottages,” “garage apartments” or “basement apartments.”
e measure allows ADUs on 70% of Denver’s land, compared to 36% before the new zoning rules were passed, which went into e ect Dec. 16.
e measure also implemented state legislation that requires Denver to allow accessory dwelling units in all residential districts, overriding rules by homeowner associations that prevent them and requires updates to Denver’s owner occupancy requirement for single-unit zone districts.
Prior to passage of this measure, requirements dictated that if an owner didn’t live on the property, the ADU was not allowed to be used. e new rules allow an ADU to be used even if the owner later moved o the property.
“By streamlining the ADU process, we’re removing barriers that have made it challenging for homeowners to improve their properties and strengthen our communities,” Hinds said. “ is pol-
Colorado Indian Market & Southwest Art Fest is Jan.
25-26
icy change would eliminate navigating Denver’s complex zoning code to build an ADU, and the city will save valuable time by eliminating the need for lengthy rezoning processes. is change not only simpli es the permitting process but also accelerates the timeline for residents to build what they need, ultimately making Denver a more livable, accessible city for everyone.”
e ADU measure also followed the city’s plan of updating building standards for ADUs to make them better t in di erent neighborhoods.
A report from the Joint Center for Hous-
ing Studies of Harvard University found that ADUs “have the potential to address a variety of housing-related challenges like a ordability, equity, and environmental issues. Moreover, because ADUs generally are small in ll units, they can achieve these gains without signi cantly altering the character of existing residential neighborhoods.”
ADUs can serve as a separate space where elderly parents or kids living at home can still have independence, a space that can be rented out to generate income, or just to rent a smaller, more affordable space.
BY COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA STAFF
Now in its 43rd year, e Colorado Indian Market & Southwest Art Fest will transform the Mile High Ballroom at the Colorado Convention Center on Jan. 25 and 26, making it a colorful celebration of visual and performing arts.
e event features a juried selection of 150 artists and craftspeople representing a wide variety of traditional and contemporary Native American, Southwestern and Western arts. is year’s artist lineup will showcase painters, sculptors, photographers, potters, jewelers and much more, representing 14 states and 24 Native nations.
e Colorado Indian Market & Southwest Art Fest o ers a selection of artwork for sale directly from artists, alongside live entertainment, live birds of prey and authentic Navajo cuisine. e show’s dates coincide with e National Western Stock Show, o ering Denver visitors the chance at a world-class art experience while they’re in town.
e festival’s stage is the ideal place to take in a wide variety of performing arts. Attendees can take a break from shopping to enjoy live western music by the acclaimed Syd Masters & the Swing Riders, an Eagle Dance performance by world-champion dancer Larry Yazzie, modern ute performances by social media sensation Inka Gold, and powwow-style dances in colorful historic regalia from local and regional tribes. Performances will take place both days.
e event includes special attractions such as the chance to take photos with live hawks and bald eagles as well as sample specialty foods. Face painting will also be available for kids.
e market and art fest takes place 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 25 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan 26 at e Colorado Convention Center, Mile High Ballroom, 700 14th St. Admission is $16 for a day pass. e event is free for children under 12. More information can be found at dashevents.com/productions/coloradoindian-market.
The Colorado Indian Market & Southwest Art Fest takes place Jan. 25-26 at the Colorado Convention Center. COURTESY OF DASH EVENTS
Add ltered water. Cook with love.
Filtra tu agua. Cocina con amor.
Si tu casa está inscrita en el Programa de reducción de plomo, asegúrate de utilizar la jarra de agua provista con su ltro cada vez que vayas a cocinar, beber o preparar fórmula para biberones. Recuerda que hervir el agua no elimina el plomo, primero debes ltrarla.
If your home is enrolled in the Lead Reduction Program, be sure to use the water pitcher and lter provided for drinking, cooking and preparing infant formula. Boiling water does not remove lead, so lter rst. Learn more at denverwater.org/Lead Obtenga
Denver moves recycling pickup to accelerate compost rollout
BY ALLEN COWGILL
SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
e Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) is accelerating its rollout of the citywide compost collection program. All Denver neighborhoods will start getting compost pickup by March.
To accelerate the rollout, DOTI is making a trade o , eliminating the weekly pickup of recycling. Denver residents will instead get recycling pickup every other week. Compost pickup will be weekly as will trash pickup.
Another change to make the accelerated compost rollout possible is largeitem pickup will only come once every nine weeks. DOTI’s goal is to divert 50% of all waste from the land ll by 2027. By the end of this process the department projects to have around 115,000 compost customers and 180,000 recycling and trash customers.
Denver residents who do not yet have compost service should have gotten a letter with more details on selecting their compost cart size. More details are available at: Denvergov.org/CompostRollout.
Compost carts can handle any kind of food waste including food scraps, egg shells and even bones. ey can also handle yard debris like weeds, grass clippings, leaves, and small tree branches. Denver no longer accepts paper prod-
ucts or products labeled as compostable such as cups or plates in compost bins as of April 2023, since the state’s largest compost processor stopped taking those items.
DOTI stated it was comfortable going back to recycling pickups every other week as weekly collection o ered in 2023 and 2024 has not yielded “a signi cant increase in recyclables collected, while trucks circled the city twice as often.” e department said residents should break down their cardboard boxes to maximize space in their compost bins. If people need extra space, DOTI will take requests for a second compost bin sometime starting in the second quarter of this year online or at 311. Residents are also reminded that plastic bags are not permitted in recycling bins.
Residents can see their own recycling or large item pickup week online and can also download the smart phone app to see the schedule and get reminders at Denvergov.org/TrashSchedule.
At a Denver City Council Budget and Policy Committee meeting in November, DOTI presented an update on the program to the City Council. DOTI mentioned that the changes will allow the department to move their illegal dumping clean up team from eight hours a week to a full-time crew at 40 hours per week.
Councilman Kevin Flynn said it would be helpful if DOTI allows residents to have
the option of the small compost bins because many residents in townhome communities don’t need the larger bins and often can’t t them in their garage.
DOTI indicated that is not an option as they have a low supply of the smaller bins, and they also have found that residents tend to overstu their bins, which is why the department is only o ering the larger compost bins.
Council President Amanda P. Sandoval, representative for North Denver, questioned why DOTI was dropping weekly recycling when the council members who sponsored the legislation to move to volume-based trash pricing in 2022 had made it clear that the move to weekly recycling was very important.
“It feels ba ing to me that you all are coming back saying that you didn’t have it in the program to do weekly recycling,” Sandoval said to DOTI leadership in the committee meeting.
Sandoval also expressed disappointment with the change to recycling every other week and also noted that her family has full recycling bins every week.
Councilman Paul Kashmann also noted it was very clear to him that weekly recycling was part of the volume based trash program during the process to pass the legislation. Councilman Chris Hinds, also expressed frustration that DOTI did not have a stakeholder process around changing to biweekly recycling.
In response to some of the comments, DOTI Director Amy Ford said research shows that while recycling is good from a reuse perspective, increasing compost is more bene cial from a greenhouse gas emissions perspective.
Start composting
Compost bins from the city of Denver sit on a curb.
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