Lyons

Trick-or-Tater: Why Homes Are Handing Out Potatoes This Halloween

Denver – October 15, 2026 -- Households across the U.S. are dropping whole potatoes into their Halloween candy bowls, and Potatoes USA is backing the trend with three new "spooky spud" recipes for October.

The trend is called Trick-or-Tater. Some families have handed out potatoes for more than a decade, and more join each year. The Wall Street Journal said it "started as a lark has gained steam in recent years," and NBC Nightly News called potatoes "the new star of spooky season."

Kids are asking for the potato house

Maren from Virginia offers trick-or-treaters a choice of a full-size candy bar, a small toy, or a potato. She ran out of potatoes in her second year after word spread. Last year she went through about 25 pounds, up from 16 the year before, and she is planning for a lot of "tater-or-treaters" with Halloween falling on a Saturday this year.

Boulder County Turns Wildfire Prep Into Public Art With Two New Murals

Boulder, Colo. – September 18, 2026 -- Two new murals have gone up in Nederland and Lyons, Colorado, part of a campaign urging homeowners to treat wildfire mitigation as routine home upkeep rather than an emergency response.

Wildfire Partners commissioned the artwork to reach residents directly

The murals, funded by Boulder County's Wildfire Partners program, are located at Nederland Feed and Pet on CO-72 in Nederland and on Broadway between 4th and 5th Ave. in Lyons. Artists Taylor Shaw and Rachel Dinda designed the pieces, each carrying the campaign headline "Home Sweet Mitigated Home" alongside embedded images of properly mitigated homes -- including examples of removed juniper plants, a highly combustible landscaping choice near many county houses.