As we pause this week to honor and thank the men and women who have served our country, there is also a lot of attention on what is ahead.

Newly elected leaders are gathering and making plans for what's to come when they take office in January.

And national Democratic leaders are looking even further down the road as they meet here in Denver for the What's Next summit.

We'd also like to know what's next.

And there's also plenty happening in the here and now.

So let's get started with this week's Colorado Inside Out.

Hi everyone I'm Kyle Dyer.

Let me get right to introducing you to this week's insider panel.

We start with Patty Calhoun, founder and editor emeritus at westward.

Krista Kafer, columnist with the Denver Post.

Luigi del Pueblo, editor at Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics.

And Alvina Vazquez, advocacy leader and member of the PBS 12 Community Advisory Board.

There is a lot of forward, forward thinking activity right now in Colorado following last week's election.

The newly elected members of Congress have been in Washington for orientation.

Here at home, legislative leaders are being selected at the state capitol.

And governor elect Phil Weiser is beginning to assemble his new administration and wiser.

Very first cabinet appointment is already sending a message nominating Republican State Senator Cleve Simpson of Alamosa to serve as Colorado's next Commissioner of Agriculture.

Simpson is a fourth generation farmer and rancher, and wiser choice could signal a new era in the relationship between the state's agricultural community and state government, a relationship that has been strained during the eight years of the administration.

What does this tell us about the kind of Governor Phil Weiser intends to be?

Patty.

So far, so good.

It's what it tells us.

You know, last week I mentioned some of the people who were overseeing or were there in honorary positions like Governor Roy Romer.

Pena.

Alan cells are working with the group.

This is the first cabinet announcement was really exciting.

I moderated a panel Cleve Simpson was on last year.

He is a down to earth, literally with with his farming background.

Guy who worked well with the Republicans, worked well across the aisle.

Now he'll be working in the cabinet.

And it really signals a major shift in listening to rural concerns.

So does really Jenni aunt, who has also been nominated to the cabinet.

Former mayors of mayor of Fort Collins.

We are getting outside the it's Denver centric group in the cabinet.

We've seen other Denver centric.

We do have Dominic coming.

Moreno coming from Johnston's cabinet.

Johnston's cabinet.

He's moving over to the state.

He's a really good legislator who will be over there.

So we're seeing a lot of hands across, across the water.

What we're also seeing are some complaints already.

There's a petition out there to talk about the transgender bills that passed, and wiser assertion that they may need some legislative repair work because of how they're structured.

You know, you've got 176 school districts that are all going to be coming up with their own transgender policies.

So there's a lot of work to be done.

And already we're seeing some people take sides.

But in the cabinet so far so good.

What do you think, Krista?

I feel hopeful.

I'm hoping that he has listened to the voters, which is, I think, what we hope all politicians do when they get elected.

And in this case, he was listening to rural Colorado saying, we don't feel like we've been represented over the last eight years.

And he picked somebody who has not only the ranching and farming background, but also a water background.

He's on the Rio Grande Water Commission, so he he knows things.

He's smart.

He works well with others.

And to have, you know, listened to the voters in this case, he's listening to rural Colorado.

And a lot of folks out there didn't feel that polls had done that.

His picks for the Parks and Wildlife Commission.

The thing with the wolves, the issue perennial issue of water.

Rural Colorado really wants to feel represented.

And I think listening to the voters more closely to say that people really want centrists.

This this last, this last election really wasn't about rejecting Republicans.

It was rejecting Trump and the extreme right and saying, we don't want that.

We want the center.

We want people to compromise.

We want people to work together.

We want people to be sensible.

So I hope that he's hearing the voters, and I hope to to to Patty's point with the initiatives.

I hope he listens to the people there as well, that people have voted.

They don't want boys and girls sports.

Now, do we need to fine tune it?

Okay, I'm open to that.

But this does not mean repeal it and dismiss the voter.

I think.

And politically, it's a very smart move.

The leader of the Republican Party in the state legislature effectively is now a member or going to be a member of a Democratic governors cabinet.

It signals to people that Phil Weiser indeed wants chains.

And as Patty and Chris had noted, the change is to try and heal this very fractured relationship between the ag community and the state under Governor Polis for now, eight years.

Phil Weiser certainly saw that with a 28.29 point victory margin over his Republican rival that many Republicans have voted for it remains to be seen if he's going to govern as a centrist or if he's going to go more as a progressive, he will have to deal with a state legislature that has gone way more progressive than it did this year.

And typically, what happens when you have a supermajority, which we now have in the state will have in the state legislature, is the party fractures?

It is going to be his job to try and keep that party together and govern at the same time.

And Alvina.

I want to highlight Dominic's appointment and how important that is.

Not only is he been at the legislature, at some of the most pivotal legislation in the past 30 years of our state, but he also has represented and worked in the school board, the legislature in Adams County, which represents urban and rural, and the the identities that those hold and the Latino and a family person.

So I think that's an important role that we need to highlight that he's in that role because he knows from the like from a household how the economy impacts them and how that's going to impact the state budget and the legislature.

So I'm really happy about that to Luigi's point about keeping the party together, I think that's flawed thinking, because the Republicans have followed Donald Trump down every bad road.

And I think the fact that Democrats and within the Democratic Party have differing views is okay.

It's good.

That's how you govern.

When you follow somebody blindly down a road of despair, that's when you get what happened this election cycle.

So I don't want to think, I don't want us to have the mindset that it's bad when we disagree.

It's bad when Democrats disagree.

It's the fracturing of a party.

People are falling apart.

Those are good things.

Those are good discussions.

What's bad is when people walk away from those conversations.

Yeah okay.

All right.

So what is next?

What's next?

That's the name of a summit taking place in Denver right now.

And it is a who's who of the National Democratic Party, a coming together of longtime leaders and those who were just elected in pretty competitive races.

So insiders, what does this say that this meeting is here in Denver?

Chris, I start with you.

Well, indeed, it's the who's who, but it's also there's there's the who's not Bernie Sanders.

Isn't there a o c isn't there?

I don't think the DSA has been invited that Democratic Socialists of America.

It is the centrists, the people who are a little more on the moderate side of that party.

And I think that that bodes well for the party.

It also says that, you know, Republicans aren't the only ones struggling with insurgents, extremists on the right.

We we hope, as centrists to regain to regain our party, of course.

And I think the Democrats want to stave off what has happened to the Republican Party and making sure that those extreme voices stay to the fringe and don't move to the center.

So I think in general, it's good that that they're having this meeting.

It's good that they're here.

I also think they have this is a great place for Democrats to celebrate.

They had a huge win.

Not only did they win what they thought they would win.

They also took out several people that were considered safe just a couple of months ago.

So it's a great place to celebrate, a great place to to to think about what's next.

But also, I think, to heed some of the warnings that they've seen in there in the other party and the Republicans.

There's also a sense of what not to do, and I hope they discuss that.

Okay.

All right.

Luigi.

Yeah.

It really is a fascinating choice of place for them to come to Denver.

And of course, the state has gotten more and more blue over the well, I think the six last six election cycles, the fracturing within the Democratic Party is real.

It is happening.

We have a pretty progressive wing of the party that is ascendant, and that's expressed through the desert candidates winning many of these races.

The question for the Democratic Party is how do you, at the federal level with the Republican president at the state level, how do you go when you're so dominant?

Is the first bill that's going to show up on Governor Weiss?

Or the death would be the Labor Peace Act bill, which has been a contentious piece of legislation pushed by progressives and some centrists, of course, within the the Democratic Party, but certainly stopped by a centrist like Governor Phil Weiser.

then if the first few bills that land on his desk are bills that he's going to veto, what does that governance look like for the Democratic Party over the next four years?

I think it represents a change just like it did in 2000, 2008.

It's just a change of people coming together.

Intersectionality of tech ag rural.

We have young people moving here.

We have people leaving now because it became too expensive.

You know, my dad came here in the 70s.

There's a big tech boom with Mountain Bell and Bell Labs and they were building up.

So I think it represents kind of the future in a way that is not so superficial that it can be on the other coast, but in a real, like, authentic way.

And how technology and these old ways of doing things come together to, to, to build a future.

I'm proud of our state.

I think it's great that we're highlighted in this way.

Yeah, and it's a great weekend.

Patty, how you press pass?

I do.

So I was there for the opening.

Mike Johnson spoke on the opening yesterday.

It's going to be a really interesting thing that compare contrast with the DNC in 2008, and we know this was planned.

By the time this was planned, Denver was a finalist, one of three finalists for the DNC.

But we didn't have the results of this election.

It was planned a couple of months ago, and they were going to be in town seeing what how this town has changed since 2008, when Colorado was just turning blue because of some really concerted efforts by wealthy Democrats who really wanted to change it.

And now it's a solidly blue state.

And you see, it's it's on Brighton Boulevard.

It's at the Mission Ballroom.

It's in areas that really didn't exist that have been completely built up in the last 18 years.

So how different Denver looks and feels will be part of this All right.

Well, we'll see as our state and local leaders prepare for what is ahead.

There's one fact that really cannot be ignored.

Colorado's population is getting older.

A new report from the Common Sense Institute shows the number of Coloradans aged 65 and older grew by 46% between 2015 and 2025.

And as our population changes, so do the needs of our families and communities here.

We've learned a lot about the so-called.

We've talked a lot about the so-called sandwich generation, where adults are caring for both their kids and their parents who are aging.

But CPR reported on another scenario this week that really caught my attention.

According to the Colorado Alliance for Caregiving Youth, nearly 1 in 5 middle schoolers helps care for an older family member.

Nearly 1 in 8 high schoolers helps out with older relatives, and the highest percentage of young caregivers are in rural school districts.

So what does this tell us about the changing needs of Colorado families, and are we prepared for the what's next?

I think the short answer is no.

We have more than a million older residents living in the state.

As you noted, their number grew by 46% within ten years.

That means it's going to just going to keep growing.

More young people are leaving the state than coming here.

Net migration is practically flat in the This is a real problem because it has ramifications for our workforce.

And as the CPR story pointed out, as ramifications for how we care for families.

Now, I grew up in a culture where if you're young, you care for the older people.

It's not a natural.

And I look at the article and, and mentioned that it's created a mental strain.

I think that if you grow up and you're caring for older people, you're actually connected to your family in a way that you can never have.

Otherwise, I think that you grow up to be more responsible.

And I think that for all the good reasons, that to me is not a bad scenario.

That to me is a really good scenario for young people.

But that said, it will have ramifications for our future workforce if we cannot draw young people to come to Colorado where this the state go in ten, 20, 30 years.

It's not a good scenario for us.

You layer in the fact that the cost of living here is pretty high.

You layer in the fact that businesses are potentially not coming here.

So the short answer to your question turned out to be a pretty long one.

No, we're not right.

I have been working with home care workers since 2015.

They've been sounding the alarm for a very long time.

There's not enough home care workers, especially in rural parts of the state.

Funding keeps getting cut at our hospitals and our medical facilities.

Doctors are not moving to these spaces.

And so this is something that has been going on for a long time, that has been ignored with the pressures of the federal administration continuing to starve states of funding for those medical needs in rural communities.

It's just going to exacerbate who's actually taking care of our of our older generations.

But it's not news.

This is what we've known for a long time, and nobody was paying attention when the home care workers and when families were asking for help.

Okay, Patty.

Well, I was at that Common Sense Institute gathering this week where they talked about the population.

And one of the things that's fascinating is it's not just that over 1 million Coloradans are 65 or older.

That's grown 46% in a decade.

But there are more people over 65 than there are children.

And that's a real issue.

So it's not just that people with children are moving.

People aren't having children, or that's just the way it is right now.

There aren't that many kids, which means where is the workforce coming from?

Last week, there was also a demographic release from the state and the population is growing.

It's just how it's growing is different.

It's growing slower.

I think anyone who's been through Colorado in the last 50 years isn't upset that it's growing slower if we can balance things, but you look at where the money is going to come now with and with 87 with more money.

If we're paying more for education, we have fewer children to educate.

How do we make sure they are getting the best education that that money is being spent wisely?

We've got health care.

That's another issue.

And child care, but you have a changing demographic of who's going to need this and how many people are going to need it.

And Kristen.

I really agree with everyone around the table.

I think to Luigi's point, it's great to see families engage with families and be part of that team, but also think there are there are roles both for government and also for churches and communities to come alongside families to help with care, to provide opportunities for an aging population so that people aren't lonely.

So they have things to do.

So they have purpose.

I also think that it's important that we push our lawmakers at the federal level to make sure that Medicare is and Medicaid are well funded.

We have a marvelous, albeit expensive medical system in this this country.

People are living longer.

They're able to help people with all kinds of conditions.

People are surviving cancer.

They're living with chronic illnesses.

They're living with cancer, even thanks to medicine.

But these these these treatments aren't inexpensive.

And so we want to make sure that we've got adequate funding.

Also, we've got to to the degree that they can find a way to compromise on immigration.

We need work permits so that people can come into the state and serve as caretakers, nurses, doctors, skilled nursing assistants.

A lot of those folks come from overseas, and it's very important that they be able to come here legally, that they're respected, that they are kind of brought in with open arms, because without them, I don't see that we'll be able to take care of our aging population.

All right.

A much talked about gate expected to go up any day now is headed to court.

The town of Beaumont wants to restrict access to some of its streets, saying cut through traffic and speeding have gotten way out of hand.

And residents are really worried about their safety.

But Denver and Littleton have filed a lawsuit asking a judge to stop the gate from being installed.

These two cities argue that it would push traffic to surrounding areas, potentially causing new traffic and safety problems over there.

They also question whether Bomar even has the legal authority to restrict access to public roads.

We'll see what is decided in court, but I wonder where a community's right to address its own safety concerns and and its responsibility to its neighboring communities.

Begin.

I'll let you start with this.

I mean, this is people looking for a fight.

I just don't like when we're just talking about seniors not having the right care and kids going home from school to give their grandparents medicine.

This doesn't seem like a real problem.

It seems like, these people in Beaumont don't understand.

There's a lot that goes into city planning.

You can't just put one gate up and think that everything is going to be fine.

Everything is connected.

Everything is intersectional.

And they might close the gate here, and then something's going to happen over there, and then they're going to want to get involved over there.

There's a science to city planning, and you can't just make up a solution to something that's bothering you.

Additionally, I mean, everybody's mad about flock cameras.

You got flock cameras, I get flogged camera tickets, like, for two miles over an hour.

Like, there's other resources to to like to bring down the the speeding.

You know, whatever's happening over there.

I don't live there, so I don't want to make any big judgments.

But I think it's just a problem that doesn't need to exist right now in our world.

What do you think?

Well, they could make very pretty stop signs.

More stop signs for the millionaires and billionaires who live in Boma.

This is not the only little, small, little town we have in the metro area.

You've got lakeside, you have Mountain View.

I mean, what happens if everyone decides they're going to put up barbed wire fences or a moat is more appropriate, probably around a bomber.

It's just not what you do when you're part of a metro area.

You have to figure out how to work with others.

And this has been going on for a long time.

The back and forth, the back and the fourth.

What a waste of resources paying legal fees for this be insane.

What do you think, Krista?

Let's talk about being entitled.

I mean, come on, you're not a gated community.

You're a town.

These are public streets.

People have a right to drive through.

If they're speeding, if they're messing around, littering, whatever.

Pull them over, take.

You know, that's a good way to make some tax money is to get the revenue through through the people who are doing the wrong thing.

But you can't just put up a gate and be like, no, you can't come in here.

I mean, that's ridiculous.

And Bowen was a beautiful it's a beautiful town and beautiful homes.

But I think this is sort of putting a black stain on them, living in one of the adjoining communities.

It just seems really snooty and entitled to When the story broke, we didn't have a reporter, so I went down and did the reporting.

Oh, yeah.

So I read all the the I read the lawsuit, I read all the back and forth.

I went to the town and drove around just to have a feel of what it's like to be there.

I think there are legitimate arguments from both sides, from the town of Beaumont.

They're saying, look, we've had problems with people speeding and having crashes and what have you.

I can see from their point of view where if people are disregarding certain things and getting crashes as a result, that's the claim.

Anyway.

It's going to be an issue.

Imagine if that's happening in your street, for example.

That's going to be a problem I so I see they're legitimate concerns.

On the other hand, I think there are also legitimate legal, concerns raised by the city of Denver and Logan.

These are public roads.

These are paid.

I mean, they got a grant, I don't know, $400,000 or so to, I think, repave one of the roads there because of the traffic that they're getting.

That's their justification for getting the grant.

So it is a public road.

It's also one of the major streets in contention here is what's called a collector street.

That's a street that doesn't back into a, a houses garage, but it's just a street that collects traffic from certain places and delivers that traffic into major arteries like Sheridan in that bomber area is exactly that kind of a road.

What about cutting off the community right next to it, not having access to it?

There are questions about people's ability to get to the nearest medical facility, which is an urgent care, and a mile away or so.

I think there are legitimate arguments from both sides.

A litigation is very expensive, and I think Denver and Littleton, which of course, are among the biggest and cities in the in the state with Denver for one, has a lot of money to fight this community of 300 houses, if you will.

I think it's these two cities saying, look, we're litigating.

You're not.

It's going to be expensive for you.

Let's find some compromise here, okay.

All right.

Let's go around the table and talk about some of the highs and the lows that we saw this week.

We'll start with a low note scene on a good note.

How do you start please.

A rough start for ski season, especially at Wolf Creek where you are still experiencing the flooding.

So poor that area of southern Colorado still in trouble, and the town of Nederland, which wants to buy Eldora, that is really hitting tough times because of that plan.

Okay.

I want to say shame on those that want to undo the election.

And I'm talking about propositions 133134135 to protect children.

There are people who want to push the legislature to repeal those.

And shame on them.

They're the first to go out and say, oh, you know, look what the voters said about Trump.

And, you know, they're right about that, but yet they're not willing to listen to the voters when it comes to something they they don't agree with.

Okay.

was the funeral procession of a young Lakewood officer who was killed in the line of duty last week.

It's a grim reminder that this is a profession in which they accept the risk.

And the risk, unfortunately, is that you might not come home to your family.

And it's very heartbreaking, very young officer.

And, my condolences to his family.

All of us.

And he has a one year old, right?

He'll never know his dad.

So sad.

You know, the Republicans made some cuts to veterans funds The president has also made no plans about ending a war that has taken lives of our veterans.

it.

So I think it's just disappointing to be at this point with this war following Veterans Day, making more cuts to veterans.

When you claim to be standing up for them, it's just it's hypocrisy.

All right.

Let's talk about something good.

All right.

Well I'm coming off.

It's not necessarily good.

Fresh from not getting impeached Pete.

That gets in trouble for making noise.

The tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Let's remember tomorrow is the day that people will celebrate Veterans Day around town with parades and different events.

So you can go out and give veterans the time and attention they deserve.

Unlike Pete.

I'm going to say congrats to Congressman Jeff Herd of the third Congressional District.

He was one of just a handful of Republicans that joined Democrats in opposing the tariffs.

He did the right thing on behalf of his district, and he was the the one that survived the, the, the, the election that took everybody else out.

So he's a good congressman and congrats.

Okay.

All right Luigi.

Yeah.

So I was looking at our trees and all the leaves that are now on the ground.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to take care of this thing at some point, but it made me realize that life is all about seasons.

And you have to put in the hard work because the season is changing and that ultimately is a good thing.

I'm so happy.

It's like 70 degrees and sunny today and it's been like that for a couple, you know, days now.

And if you're in Arizona, well, you know, your time will come.

You know that weather to just have to wait.

So with the nice weather are you raking?

I am definitely I'm putting my boy to work, too.

You're making your son do it.

Something good.

Alvina.

You know, I wasn't here last week to congratulate our county clerk's.

I think we forget that our county clerk's are local people who are committed to this process in the most up, like, the most respectable way.

They are public servants.

I work with a lot of them, true to the heart.

And they face so much criticism and and and questioning and, and, you know, some folks even have the lives threatened and their family and they just did such a great job, you know, Colorado elections safe and secure, as always, but only because it's in the hands of very pure public servants who really care about the state.

And they're still working in the aftermath, workers still doing it.

Okay.

My high came earlier this week when I traveled to Alamosa for a video shoot with Humane Colorado, formerly the Dumb Friends League.

Many of us know the organization from its work along the Front Range sheltering animals, providing veterinary care, helping them find homes, and supporting pet owners.

But Humane Colorado also operates the San Luis Valley Animal Center, where stray animals are cared for, reunited with their owners, or adopted into new families.

They also provide their procedures that are affordable, like spay and neuter and vaccinations.

And on Monday, I got to see something especially heartwarming.

Local pet owners receive free pet food from a monthly distribution organized by the Colorado Pet Pantry, which partners with Humane Colorado, San Luis Valley Animal Center and some of the families have been dealing with the recent flooding in the valley and knowing that they can keep their pets fed with nutritious food at no cost is such a gift to these families.

And you know what?

That's Colorado people coming together to help one another and our pets as well.

Right?

Okay.

Remember that Denver and Littleton, we can work together.

Thank you, insiders, for joining us this week.

I appreciate all of you.

Thank you for joining in and watching or listening to our podcast.

I'm Kyle Dyer.

I will see you next week here on PBS 12.

Tb12 believes in the power of original local programing.

Help us bring more shows like the one you just watched by donating at PBS's World Dawgs Program support today.