Happy New Year !!
I admit that some of my plants got shaded out last year from squeezing in more than I should- but mostly because something turned out to be shorter or taller than I guessed. I mostly took better notes about height this year - though with the new ones it is always a bit of a guess.
I haven't yet joined the Minnesota Dahlia Society - the meetings are about an hour and a half from where I live in WI - so it would be possible, but really unlikely that I would make the meetings. I didn't even make it to the shows last year, though I did go to their late show in 2014.
Liz - It will be fun to see what new dahlias you got - I hope you post pics here as they bloom next year. I would think dry CO weather would be perfect for storing tubers. From everything I have read, humidity is the biggest issue with storing, warm and humid is the absolute worst.