Blurring county lines may offer solutions to Northern Colorado’s most pressing issues

We hear it mentioned a lot – that this region is growing quickly. And that increasing population puts pressure on a lot of different areas of life – things like housing, healthcare, schools, and transportation. But love it or hate it, growth is inevitable – so how do we make sure it happens strategically, equitably? One solution is to stop making so many distinctions between Weld and Larimer counties — and start bringing these communities together. That’s what a new report from the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado suggests. It presents data from across the region to show how issues like housing and healthcare intersect across county lines — and how coming together might just be the smartest way to alleviate these problems. "Nobody really had assembled the data in a way that allowed us to look at the health and well-being of the entire region," said Kristin Todd, NoCo Foundation president. "We want to promote solving really big, challenging issues as a region. We feel like we're better together; and so we're promoting regionalism as a way to solve some really challenging issues."The report was more than a year in the making, and Todd believes it provides a new way of understanding Northern Colorado's interdependence. "My hope is that this report can inform conversations. It can inform philanthropists, inform policymakers, and provide some common language and a launching pad so that we're all starting from the same place."She joined host Erin O'Toole to unpack what's in this first-of-its-kind report. NOTE: The NoCo Foundation is hosting a launch event for the report Tuesday, Feb. 6 in Loveland.