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VOLUME 33 | ISSUE 21
WEEK OF MAY 25, 2023
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Middle schoolers join council for a day State sees
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growth in smaller communities Larger cities level off, Census Bureau finds
The actual council members and seven junior council members voted to amend an ordinance in the Fort Lupton municipal code prohibiting minors from possessing cigarettes or Tobacco products. Currently, the City of Fort Lupton policy requires a young person under 18 charged with possessing a tobacco product to answer a summons and appear in county court. With the policy change individuals under 18 will appear in Fort Lupton local court to answer those summonses. Jeanelle Andersen, Municipal Court
Colorado’s smaller cities and towns saw the greatest growth from 2020 to 2022, new U.S. Census Bureau estimates show, while the state’s largest cities and ski towns saw declining or stable populations. The changes come as Colorado’s population ages and people search for more affordable housing, state demographer Elizabeth Garner said. Keenesburg, a Weld County town along Interstate 76 about 40 miles northeast of Denver, logged the most growth with a 65% population explosion over two years. That town grew to 2,080 in 2022 from 1,258 in 2020. In Elbert County, the population of Elizabeth rose from 1,717 to 2,285 from 2020 to 2022, a 33.1% increase. The census estimates released Thursday are based on births, deaths, people moving in and out and the number of housing units, Garner said. So they aren’t based on survey data like the census taken every 10 years or the annual American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
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The twelve National Junior Society students received a Youth in Government Day award from the City of Fort Lupton government. PHOTO BY BELEN WARD
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A group of middle school teens got to see how local government operates firsthand, helping to conduct a Fort Lupton City Council meeting. “It was a great opportunity for them to see how the town runs and who makes the plans. It was an eye-opener for all of us. It’s an amazing experience for these kids and learning something about it,” said Barbara Miles, an English Language Development teacher at Fort Lupton Middle School. “The students have been participating in the Youth in Government for about eight years and it’s my 10th year as advisor for the National Junior Society,” Miles said.
The Fort Lupton Middle School National Junior Honor Society students participated in the Youth in Government program, taking over a Fort Lupton City Council meeting and learning how to conduct council business and pass policy. Miles said the twelve students learned how the government makes policy and also toured the city’s planning office. The school has offered the Youth in Government program for eight years, and Miles said she’s been an advisor to the National Junior Honor Society for ten years. Miles said some of the kids took it as a chance to talk about how they would like to see the town expand and what they knew about it. They also got the opportunity to present policy that is
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important for youths. Tobacco ordinances changed
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