🪐 Happy Monday! Today, we pour one out for Pluto, which on this day 20 years ago was declassified as a planet.

• This of course messed up all of the planet mnemonic devices I learned as a kid that ended in "pizza."

🌧️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny with highs in the 90s and a chance of afternoon storms.

🚲 Situational awareness: Colorado e-bike rebates up to $1,300 off reopen today for the first time since 2024. Registration goes live at 11am MT.

Today's newsletter is 638 words — a 2-minute read.

Several Boulder County communities are poised to collect millions of dollars each year from the Front Range Passenger Rail District (FRPRD) to build out the areas around their future stations.

Why it matters: The areas see the stations as catalysts for new housing, businesses and public spaces, not just a spot to catch a train.

The latest: Boulder and Longmont could each receive $3.3 million annually for 25 years to develop their station areas into community hubs if voters approve a November ballot measure.

• Broomfield could get up to $2.75 million annually, while Louisville could see up to $2.2 million.
• That's on top of FRPRD's investment in the essential infrastructure, including platforms, canopies and ADA access.

Zoom in: Boulder has spent years trying to turn its Boulder Junction area into a hub, with plans including an arts and entertainment district.

• "With Sundance right around the corner, Boulder can use these funds to incorporate first- and last-mile solutions, showcase local artists, and direct visitors to some of our fantastic local attractions," Mayor Aaron Brockett said.

What they're saying: "The [FRPRD's] Local Return Program ensures communities don't just get a train — they get direct investments," FRPRD general manager Sal Pace said.

What's next: Known as CoCo, the train will connect 12 Front Range communities starting in 2029.

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📸 Boulder's search for a new Automatic License Plate Recognition provider is on pause as it examines its options. The city will continue operating month to month with Flock. (Daily Camera 🔑)

• Elsewhere, more than 300 people have signed a change.org petition urging Lafayette officials not to renew its Flock contract in 2027.

🏨 Boulder City Council voted 7-1 to approve an agreement for a 110-room boutique hotel on what's now a downtown parking lot. Councilmember Taishya Adams was the lone dissenting vote. (Daily Camera 🔑)

🪵 County commissioners gave Riverside Cabins near Lyons more time to meet operating requirements, rejecting a staff proposal to revoke its special-use approval. (Daily Camera 🔑)

🗳️ Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters is considering a return to election administration three months after Gov. Polis freed her from prison. (Axios Denver)

Sundance and CU are creating programs to connect students with filmmakers when the festival comes to town next year.

Why it matters: CU students will get year-round access to industry experts, internships and hands-on experience as the film fest puts down roots in Boulder.

Driving the news: Sundance representatives will make classroom visits and participate in capstone projects, research events, student programs and campus symposiums through June 2027.

• Plus, students get discounted festival tickets, free campus screenings, conversations with filmmakers and other festival participants.
• At least 100 students can volunteer at the January festival, and at least 30 will serve on a Student Advisory Board helping shape the campus experience.
• Sundance and CU plan to pilot internships for at least eight students and give qualifying student journalists opportunities to secure festival press credentials.

The intrigue: The partnership extends into research, with students in the Masters of the Environment program developing a framework to measure the festival's greenhouse gas emissions and explore ways to shrink its footprint.

Read more

🏝️ Mitchell got his first birdie of the season. And then a bunch of, um, non-birdies.

Thanks to Gigi Sukin for editing.