RBC | If you have heard about a new push to support mental health programs in agricultural communities, it’s probably thanks in part to State Rep. Meghan Lukens, from Steamboat Springs, whose House District 26 includes Rio Blanco County.
Lukens, a former high school teacher, took office in 2023 and so far has focused on bills related to schools and to rural communities. She said she is especially committed to helping rural communities in her district as a member of the state Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee.
As a former school teacher, Lukens said said she also works hard to communicate with the other school district leaders across the House District 26 she represents. She said she was impressed to see the renovations done with state funds when she toured Meeker School District and Meeker High School but that generally the state has one of the most underfunded education systems in the United States.
Lukens was raised in Steamboat Springs and graduated from Steamboat Springs High School. She double-majored in history and secondary social studies education at the University of Colorado Boulder. After graduating, she returned to her old high school in Steamboat Springs. She later got a master’s degree in leadership in educational organizations at the University of Colorado Denver.
She said that teaching social studies taught her about the importance about being politically engaged, and she started volunteering and getting involved in local politics. When she saw former State Rep. Dale Roberts say he was going to run for state senate, Lukens decided to launch her own campaign for the Colorado House of Representatives, feeling like she had something to offer as a school teacher.
Lukens represents people in Rio Blanco, Moffat, Routt and Eagle counties and said she knocked on 5,400 doors while campaigning. But she said she is still humbled by her work at the state capitol building.
“I have taught for so many years how a bill becomes a law, and now I’m here turning bills into law,” Lukens said “It’s just such a privilege and I still, every day, feel that that’s awesome.”
Lukens said she learned about all of the corners of her district as an ice hockey player and a swim team student when she was younger. She said the most fun swim meets she went to growing up were the Meeker and Rangely swim meets in Rio Blanco County every summer, and she still has connections with folks in Rio Blanco and around the district.
We caught up with Lukens in this Q&A, below, in an interivew done in Spring 2024 that has been updated and edited for clarity.
Tell me about bills you’re working on that relate to rural communities.
The agriculture mental health bill – SB 24-055 – creates an agricultural liaison within the state behavioral health administration, and this person would completely focus on supporting agriculture communities in addressing mental health issues, which is a huge issue in our rural areas. (The state legislature passed this bill and Gov. Jared Polis signed it into law at the end of the 2024 legislative session).
I’m also working on a bill – HB 24-1001 – that helps jump-start small businesses in rural communities. (The state legislature passed this bill and Gov. Jared Polis signed it into law at the end of the 2024 legislative session).
Tell me about bills you’re working on that relate to schools, children and their communities?
There has been a sense during the pandemic of an increase in violence against teachers. So I worked on HB 24-1320 to study why that’s happening. (The state legislature passed this bill and Gov. Jared Polis signed it into law at the end of the 2024 legislative session).
I did a school transportation bill last year, SB 23-094 (Passed by the state legislature in 2023). We have such a shortage of bus drivers, and we have a lot of school transportation-related issues in the whole state. So, this task force is studying that. I’m so excited about that.
Another bill that I’m working on, HB 24-1237, is about child-friendly communities, specifically around childcare. A child-friendly community is one in which the needs of children and families can be met close to home or work.
Availability of childcare is essential to a thriving community and economy. So, this legislation seeks to create a more favorable environment for childcare facilities. (The state legislature passed this bill and Gov. Jared Polis signed it into law in May 2024).
Lukens also has traveled to 46 different countries and taught social studies for a year in Kosovo, which is part of the former Yugoslavia.
By GRACE PTAK
This interview was done as part of a Colorado Student News Service class taught in the journalism department at the University of Colorado Boulder and supported by a $10,000 grant from the Colorado Media Project, which gets money mainly through the Gates Family Foundation in Denver. The grant-makers have no input into the articles that the students do.