Census could tie Larimer cities to Denver MSA

Northern Colorado Business Report

When census numbers emerge each decade from the United States government, public policy can really change.

And the face of Northern Colorado could change as boundaries for some of the most important political divisions on the map — the metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs — are revised to reflect the new count.

The designations govern how federal housing and transportation dollars, among other benefits, flow to cities and regions.

One possibility is that the numbers will call for pulling Fort Collins and Loveland, now a separate MSA, into a broader one that includes metro-Denver, Boulder and Greeley.

“Larimer County could be…