Going into the 2024 year, many national, state and local storylines revolved around the November election.

The second presidential term of Donald Trump could shape much of the news in 2025 in Colorado, one of the few states to move further to the ideological left in the November election.

The state and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis could be in Trump’s crosshairs, and the University of Colorado of Boulder and local climate scientists wait to see what four more years of Trump will bring.

Whether or not the incoming president carries through on his election promises could impact everything from the state and local economy to immigration.

But even without a new president to consider, 2025 will have plenty of stories for Boulder County and Broomfield residents to follow.Boulder

Early this year, the Boulder City Council is expected to vote on a site review for the controversial St. Julien hotel expansion as well as some zoning changes that could mean more affordable housing development.

Over the course of the year, the council is expected to work on a major update to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, a broad visionary document that guides development in the area. Council members will also contemplate whether to urbanize the Area III Planning Reserve, a nearly 500-acre tract of land just northeast of U.S. 36 between Broadway and Jay Road.

Boulder officials could reevaluate the city’s partnership with Xcel Energy in 2025. Although voters approved the city’s franchise agreement with Xcel in 2020, the city has reserved the right to revisit the option of municipalizing its energy. Local frustrations with Xcel grew stronger last year amid a wind storm and massive planned power outage in April, but it’s not clear yet whether that frustration could fuel renewed enthusiasm for municipalization.

Boulder’s new minimum wage, which council members approved this fall, is set to take effect in January. It will raise the city’s minimum wage by 8% each year in 2025, 2026 and 2027. So, this year, the minimum wage will go from the state minimum of $14.42 per hour to $15.57. How the new wage may impact workers and local businesses remains to be seen.

City officials have several major projects in the construction pipeline for 2025, including the South Boulder Creek flood mitigation project and the Alpine-Balsam development. One of the larger projects, Williams Village II, may begin construction within the next year, but an exact time frame hasn’t yet been made public.

There also may be developments on a few court cases involving the city or high-profile city residents. Former City Council candidate Steven Rosenblum’s defamation case against local organizer Eric Budd is set for trial in May. A lawsuit filed by Lisa Sweeney-Miran against the city over her removal from the Police Oversight panel is still pending, as is the city’s lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration over issues surrounding the municipal airport, but it’s uncertain whether either of those cases will go to trial in 2025.

An ACLU lawsuit against Boulder’s camping ban has been dismissed, but the plaintiffs may appeal it. And Boulder may appeal a judge’s ruling in a lawsuit from Yellow Scene magazine that the city cannot charge fees for the release of police body camera or dashcam footage under Colorado’s Law Enforcement Integrity Act.

A few new facilities are expected to come online in 2025, including a new Gunbarrel library branch. Boulder is also in the running to host the Sundance Film Festival starting in 2027, with a decision possibly coming early this year.

Finally, Boulder will hold City Council elections in the fall of 2025 — the last time the city will have its municipal elections in an odd year. The city is transitioning to even-year municipal elections starting in 2026.

Longmont

Longmont will have a new council member to represent Ward 2. The new appointee, replacing Marcia Martin, is scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 28. That seat will be up for election in November, as will the mayor’s seat and two at-large seats.

From a proposed park-N-ride and multiple family development along U.S. 287 on the city’s north side, to a mixed-use residential/commercial/parking garage on the south side of downtown, the city’s online active development log shows development plans for every corner of the city, including multiple apartment complexes.

Workers began construction in August on Ascent at Hover Crossing, an affordable housing development. The development will feature an onsite early childhood education center operated by the Longmont-based Wild Plum Center for Young Children and Families. Wesley Townhomes, another low-income residential development, will be run by local nonprofit The Inn Between of Longmont. The Inn Between aims to have the 11 townhomes completed by December.

Even a Bohn Farm project proposal could be in front of the City Council again. The 5.8-acre property at 1313 Spruce Ave. was planned to have 63 residential units before going up for sale almost a year ago.

Meanwhile, the court battle over a proposed development on the southwest edge of Longmont continues following an appeal of the decision that would allow the Kanemoto Estates Conservation Easement to be terminated.

Longmont’s downtown skyline is changing. The target opening date for Hotel Longmont, at Third Avenue and Kimbark Street, is November.

Complaints about Longmont’s Vance Brand Airport led to police being called to one meeting in 2024 and show no signs of letting up in 2025.

About a year after the closure of Bright Horizons child care center, a new center, The Nest, is expected to open in late spring, providing care for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years.

The year also comes with some important anniversaries for Longmont institutions. Calvary Church, which is set to sell some of its land to Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley, will celebrate its 70th anniversary.

Burger fans have reason to rejoice, as an In-N-Out had a site plan approved for a location on Harvest Moon Drive. But doughnut fans still have a hole in their hearts and stomachs, as Winchell’s Donut House in downtown Longmont remained vacant all year, with no re-opening date on the books.

A man accused of shooting his ex-wife before leading police on a chase in Longmont and Lyons is set for his arraignment on Jan. 31. Brandon Allen, 46, is charged with attempted first-degree murder, vehicular eluding, possession of a firearm, violation of a protection order, two counts of child abuse and driving under the influence.

Nicki Douglass-Johansen survived the shooting but still faces several significant medical issues as well as the emotional impact the shooting had on her and her twins who witnessed the shooting.

Education

Naropa University plans to sell its main campus in Boulder and appoint a new president in 2025. The university expects to finalize the campus sale in 2025, but does not plan to vacate the campus before 2027.

The new Naropa president is expected to begin this summer. The university’s online programs continue to grow, but administrators say they are not moving away from an in-person student experience.

The roughly $130 million Limelight Hotel and Conference Center on the northeast corner of Broadway and University Avenue is expected to open in August. The university also plans to hire new administrators and campus leaders, including a new provost, a new chief operating officer and a new police chief.

Boulder Valley high schools, starting in January, will need to manage the school district’s new ban on cell phone use during school hours. Along with cell phones, the policy restricts students from using smart watches and headphones, with a goal of reducing distractions and boosting mental health.

Also in January, students at Boulder’s New Vista High School will move into a much-anticipated new building. The $47.2 million building is part of a $350 million capital construction bond issue approved by voters in 2022.

While the bond issue is allowing the district to address its facility needs, operating budget discussions this spring could prove challenging. Gov. Jared Polis has proposed cost-saving changes to the state’s 2025-26 budget that, if implemented by the state Legislature, could mean several million dollars less than anticipated for Boulder Valley. Declining enrollment is another factor in the district’s budget challenges. In February, the school board is expected to hear its second enrollment trend report. So far, Heatherwood Elementary north of Boulder is the only school that’s fallen into a category of declining enrollment that led to a change. The school district plans to launch a new environmental STEM focus at the school in the fall in a bid to increase enrollment.

As in Boulder Valley, the governor’s budget proposal could mean less money than expected for the St. Vrain Valley School District. St. Vrain, which expects its enrollment to grow in future years as new home building picks up, is adding five new buildings through a $739.8 million capital construction bond issue that was approved by voters in November. The district has already started design work for its new buildings and additions, which will allow it to break ground on projects in the spring and summer.

Boulder County

A large commercial and housing development could be built in Lafayette, across the street from the Nine Mile development in Erie. The 35-acre parcel, in the southwest corner of Arapahoe Road and U.S. 287 is expected to include 350 apartments, 115 townhomes, a large retailer and 160,000 feet of additional retail space.

The parcel is currently located in unincorporated Boulder County, and will need to be annexed by Lafayette if development is to continue on its current track. The Lafayette City Council is expected to review an annexation petition by Kensington Development Partners at the Jan. 7 meeting.

Another construction project started last year that will continue into, and beyond, 2025: the CO 119 Safety, Mobility and Bikeway Project. A joint effort by Boulder County, the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Regional Transportation District, the project brings mobility improvements and upgrades to the Diagonal Highway between Boulder and Longmont. These include a new commuter bikeway and Bus Rapid Transit stations. The project isn’t supposed to finish until 2027, so Diagonal Highway drivers can expect construction along the corridor throughout 2025.

The jury trial of a woman accused of killing 17-year-old Magnus White in 2023 is set for March 31. Yeva Smilianska, 24, is currently out of custody ahead of her five-day trial for vehicular homicide. Since his death, White’s parents have made numerous efforts to bring awareness and improve cyclist safety through the launch of their non-profit The White Line; a memorial ride; and a recent bill introduced by Rep. Joe Neguse called the Magnus White Cyclist Safety Act.

Broomfield

In March 2024, Superior and Boulder County filed a lawsuit against the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, 11755 Airport Way in Broomfield, over the noise concerns caused by the touch-and-go flight operations. The lawsuit asked that airport owners Jefferson County “abate the public nuisance caused by piston-engine aircraft performing ‘touch-and-go’ operations.” While Jefferson County filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Boulder County filed a motion to bring the lawsuit back to the state court where it will be held. Superior and Boulder County are now preparing to bring the case to court.

This year, the demolition of the now defunct 1stBANK Center is expected to wrap up. The $135 million event center was marked for closure and demolition in 2022 after years of underperformance. Demolition, slated to cost an additional $4 million, began in the fall and is expected to take six months.

The land and the event center it stands on has been broken into two parcels, and are slated to be developed separately. Final plans for what will be built on the parcels are still in the works, but mixed-use development is expected.

Broomfield’s new trash hauling system is set to go into effect March 30. New rules require any resident without a waste hauler to use county-contracted waste services or to pay a $10.50 opt-out fee. The trash hauling company Waste Connections is expected to do weekly trash pick-up and every-other-week recycling pick up at no additional charge.

CU Buffs

In his second year at the helm of the CU Buffs football team, Coach Deion Sanders delivered a bowl season. Though the bowl game itself was a dud, the fact that CU was in the postseason marked a remarkable turnaround for a team that eked out only one win in 2023.

Two-way star Travis Hunter cleaned up during awards season, including winning the school’s second-ever Heisman.

But in 2025, Sanders will have to try and replicate that success without his son, Shedeur, and Hunter, both of whom are expected to be high picks in this year’s NFL draft. Sanders has already lost a few assistant coaches and could lose defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, who is expected to get attention from other programs after helping turn around the Buffs defense. But with heralded recruit Julian “JuJu” Lewis coming to Boulder, things are still looking Prime for the Buffs.

On the hard court, both the CU men’s and women’s basketball teams have begun their return to the Big XII conference. Both teams are trying to return to the NCAA tournament despite losing key pieces to graduation and the pros, including a newly minted WNBA champion.