ICYMI: Hickenlooper Tours Northern Colorado, Discusses Bird Flu, Touts Federal Funding He Secured for Workforce Development

In case you missed it, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper recently visited Northern Colorado to discuss the impact of the bird flu outbreak in Colorado, highlight the federal investments he helped secure to expand apprenticeship programs, visit a carbon sequestration facility, and celebrate space innovation in Colorado.

In Fort Collins, Hickenlooper met with local dairy and poultry producers, leading researchers, and industry leaders to discuss the coordinated response to prevent future spread of the bird flu outbreak in Colorado. They also discussed how the federal government can best support managing the disease and preventing future outbreaks.

Hickenlooper then toured BioChar Now's facility in Berthoud with climate leaders to discuss carbon negative strategies and other innovative ways to fight climate change and reduce our carbon emissions. BioChar Now transforms carbon-emitting waste wood into solid carbon that can be used for improving soil quality for farmers, remove nutrients in algae bloom watersheds, and bind toxins from oil and gas well sites.

In Broomfield, Hickenlooper visited Albedo Space for a behind-the-scenes look at the Clarity 1 satellite going to space early next year! Albedo's Clarity-1 Satellite will capture high quality images.

Afterwards, Hickenlooper toured A Precious Child, a Broomfield nonprofit dedicated to supporting children and families in need, and celebrated the federal funding he secured to boost their apprenticeship programs. Hickenlooper helped deliver $400,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for their Precious Pathways Apprenticeship Workforce development program that'll offer on the job training and essential skills. Hickenlooper has long advocated for apprenticeship and workforce development programs to equip young adults with vital workforce skills.

Check out the headlines below:

CBS Colorado: Northern Colorado agriculture workers meet with Sen. John Hickenlooper to discuss avian flu

Avian flu continues to impact agriculture workers and their operations, causing some companies in Northern Colorado to spend millions of dollars to combat further spread.

On Monday morning, local agriculture leaders, experts and more gathered with Sen. John Hickenlooper to discuss how the avian flu continues to impact Northern Colorado and beyond.

"We have seen an outbreak of this rapidly transmitted poultry virus," Hickenlooper said.

While meeting with the panel at a Colorado State University facility, Hickenlooper learned the avian flu not only causes birds to get sick, but also humans and more.

"We have this virus in poultry; now, it looks like it can be transmitted to cattle," Hickenlooper said.

…"It is a great urgency that we prevent that infection from occurring," Hickenlooper said. "Colorado already has begun isolating herds and whole buildings with poultry, and looking at how it is communicated."

…Hickenlooper said Colorado can lead the nation in finding solutions through conversations like the one held at CSU.

"We have this reliable abundant source of poultry and eggs but nothing is always safe," Hickenlooper said. "It's a team effort, and it was great to see everyone here working together."

KUNC: Sen. Hickenlooper meets with Northern Colorado egg and dairy producers to address avian flu concerns

U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper met with local poultry and dairy producers in Fort Collins on Monday to discuss ongoing issues with the avian flu outbreak.

…Officials like veterinarians and agriculture producers are calling for a bigger coordinated national effort to better test and contain the disease. To do so, the problem needs more funding for enhanced testing. Sen. Hickenlooper plans to request more money from the federal level.

"They need to add roughly 50% to the laboratory budget to make sure that there's sufficient capacity to address any evolution, any change in the challenges that they're already facing," said Sen. Hickenlooper. "As we get the Ag bill done, we'll make sure that it has that extra money for laboratory capacity."

WATCH: CBS: Hickenlooper meets with Northern Colorado producers to discuss avian flu concerns

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