Headlines Tuesday October 21, 2025
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Longmont rejects compost site plan, SNAP cuts, Boulder Airport to transition to no-lead gas, UndocuAmerica monologues come to CU Boulder KGNU News
Boulder County Compost Facility will not be housed in Longmont
The Boulder County composting facility has been tabled indefinitely by Longmont City Council, who voted seven-to-none against the facility being placed in Longmont Open Space. While city council officially ended negotiations with construction firm Amrize two weeks ago, the Boulder Reporting Lab says the city still plans on building the facility elsewhere.
The proposed plan was considered a landswap, where the Distel open space would be considered a city utility and would be converted for municipal use. The only contracted composter for the county is A1 organics, but the county favors a municipal facility that gives them more oversight over Boulder county’s waste.
Longmont Mayor Joan Peck said that previous evaluations considered that the Distell site had less environmental impact compared to the Tull site. 20 years ago, Boulder county set a goal to reach zero waste by this year, and has not met their goal.
Colorado SNAP cuts
Cuts to Federal food assistance SNAP-Ed program cuts could result in less nutrition education for Colorado students and families. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has an education component called SNAP-Ed. It was created to teach kids healthier eating habits.
It appears to have been effective: U.S. Department of Agriculture research shows that every dollar spent on SNAP-Ed saves up to $10.64 in health care costs by teaching students and families about nutrition and health, according to Chalkbeat.
The federal government provided Colorado more than $6 million annually for SNAP-Ed programs to educate children and adults across Colorado. But this support ended on September 30th because of federal budget cuts.
The SNAP-Ed cut forced the lay off of 25 employees who supported school gardens where students learned to grow and taste their own food. These employees also advised cafeterias on healthier meal options, promoted classroom activities that helped keep kids active, and even reinforced proper handwashing techniques, educating participants how to stay healthy during the flu season.
Proposition MM, on the November 4th ballot, is asking voters for more money for school meals and food programs such as SNAP-Ed to offset these federal cuts.
Boulder Airport to transition to no-lead gas
The City of Boulder is drafting a plan to transition Boulder Municipal Airport fuel regulations to include unleaded gasoline.
Under current regulations, small piston-engine planes flying from Boulder Airport are allowed to use leaded aviation fuel. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration want to eliminate the use of leaded fuel in small planes by 2030, due to their threat to public health.
Colorado lawmakers passed a measure last year requiring unleaded aviation fuel. That law applies to Boulder Municipal Airport, as well as airports in Longmont, Erie, and Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. The changes involve new equipment at the airport.
The city’s plan for making the switch to unleaded airplane fuel is supposed to be delivered to the Colorado Department of Transportation by the first of the new year. City officials say they’re working through the transition details, according to Boulder Reporting Lab. Leaded gasoline has been banned in cars since 1975.
Leaded fuel car ban:
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UndocuAmerica free event at CU this Wednesday
You may have heard a few weeks ago on KGNU’s morning magazine about Motus Theater and how they lost their federal funding for their work, which uses first-person stories to talk about issues like immigration and the trans experience. This week you have a chance to see some of these stories performed followed by a panel conversation featuring local journalists from the Colorado Sun, 9News, and Colorado Public Radio. Nabil Echchaibi, one of the event organizers, said their goal is to uplift community voices, especially around the issue of immigration. The event will be at 6pm this Wednesday, October 22, in CU Boulder’s chancellor’s hall.
