Variety Show

Part of the joy of editing a publication like 5280 is the breadth of stories we produce each month in the magazine—and daily at 5280.com. This month’s issue is no exception: In our cover feature (“8 Things You Might Not Know About Pet Ownership in Colorado”), managing editor Jessica LaRusso not only highlights Insta-famous furballs, but also how to be more responsible when adopting a new family member and the options owners have when the end inevitably comes. Assistant editor Angela Ufheil expertly curated our holiday gift guide, “How to Use Colors to Impress Your Loved Ones This Year,” which is guaranteed to bring a little more reflectiveness to your giving this year. And freelance journalist Kate Siber penned a thought-provoking reported essay (“Are Growth and Development Threatening Our Last Quiet Places?“) about the value of noiseless landscapes in Colorado in our increasingly clamorous times. Of course, one cannot reference this turbulent moment in history without bringing up the issue of hate—and features editor Kasey Cordell recognized that intolerant rhetoric had been ratchetting up, as had the number of actual bias-motivated crimes in Colorado. Her exploration of those phenomena (“Hate Rising: A Special Report on Colorado’s Increasing Animosity”) is a must-read as our state’s population grows and our beliefs and perceptions shift. Finally, we are one year out from the 2020 election, and the Republican Party in Colorado is trying to mount a comeback after a drubbing here in the 2018 midterms. Senior editor Spencer Campbell’s deep dive into the GOP’s efforts to regain ground in the state (“How Republicans Plan to Retake Colorado in 2020”) is a fascinating look at a party coming to terms with Colorado’s demographic and social changes—and a perfect story to round out this wide-ranging issue.