Looking Back on 2024. Looking Forward to 2025.

If I write a retrospective and it’s still January, it counts, right? It is still the first month of the new year.

But man, these years are zipping by, this new one already included. I kept saying that 2024 was on 1.5 speed playback. Like I saw all the things happening, but I surely missed a few important things as time flung itself in the front door and out the back every day with maximum velocity.

Somewhere in that turbulence, I spent time reading. A lot. Like so much so that I sometimes feel ashamed telling people how many books I read last year because it means I couldn’t have possibly been using my time very efficiently. 

Sometimes I even google “jobs that pay you to read books.”

But then I remind myself that I’m a writer and an editor and reading books is really just research in honing my craft, and I feel better. Plus, I love escaping into a new world on the pages and in my head (especially during weeks like this one).

That doesn’t mean I don’t love this world. We humans have a lot of good things going – even amongst the tragedy and drama of it all – and I’m looking forward to highlighting more of the progress and positivity we see in the Driftless (and beyond) throughout 2025.

But first, let’s look back on 2024 and our progress and positivity last year!

2024 Inspire(d) Magazine Themes:

While our 2023 themes centered around “you” phrases, our 2024 themes tackled “we” statements, connected to a trait anchored in humanity.

Spring: Patience: We all bloom in our own time

We reminded readers that it’s never too late to try something new, and like waiting for all things spring, sometimes we must be patient for progress.

Spotify playlist: Spring in Your Step

A big thank you to cover artist Anne Butera for kicking off our year of artists!

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Summer: Compassion: We are all seeking happiness.

We reminded readers to interact with others with kindness as they head out on their summer adventures – and we offered some great adventure ideas along the way!

Spotify playlist: Summer Vaycay

Amazing cover art by Jennifer Drinkwater of The What’s Good Project

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Fall: Resilience: We must keep standing up

We encouraged readers to stay resilient (and hopeful) during These Turbulent Times, and we reminded folks that we need to keep standing up, keep showing up, and keep supporting local businesses and positive forward motion.

Spotify playlist: Fall (Then Get Back Up Again)

We loved this cover with Eddie the Fox by Waukon artist Valerie Miller 

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Winter: Connection: We are all in this together

We asked readers to remember that we all hold a spot in our communities and within humanity, and when we work together, we are stronger, more caring, and yes, more connected to one another.

Spotify playlist: Winter Connection

Artist Laura Demuth’s weaving created a great cozy vibe for our Winter 2024-25 Inspire(d)

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With this year of “we” themes, I wanted to remind our readers that we are all bound together in our humanity. We all have brains, and hearts, and bones, and internal organs. We all have the same basic needs for survival: food, water, air, shelter, sleep. In fact, when we meet someone out in the world, I feel like dropping our compassion down to this lowest level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – “Is this person getting the basic needs for survival?” –  is perhaps the key to relating to one another. To coming together. 

And boy, do we need to come together. Do you feel the urgency? I’m going to take this feeling as a sense that there is movement, and that is a good thing. If everything felt stagnant, that would mean there was no change ahead, and that is synonymous with death. The only constant in life is change, and the direction of that change is up to us and how we interact with our fellow humans.

This year, we’re going to encourage people to think more about our places in this beautiful, complex world. We hope 2025’s Inspire(d) Magazines inspire you to create some brightness in the dark, in whatever way you can.

We started this experiment in positive news in 2007. This is our 18th year of making Inspire(d)! And I will tell you – we are literally never without story ideas. Good things are happening everyday. How will you contribute to that in 2025?

Thank you for reading and supporting Inspire(d), friends. We appreciate you and your bright, shining lights! Here’s to making this a year of positive change in our communities.

Looking forward,

Aryn Henning Nichols

P.S. If you want to join the Positive News Movement, become a Member of Inspire(d) right here!