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Happy hump day, Longmont! Your dream of playing in the NBA is still alive. The Denver Nuggets G-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, are hosting an open tryout this weekend for local basketball players in Denver. Unfortunately, it does cost $168 just to enter. But if your pro career was derailed because of that ACL tear or unwieldy high school/college coaches, here lies your chance. On an entirely different note, if you don’t hear from Longmont Brief again, there’s a good reason.
Today — Landline Doughnuts permanently closes, highlights from last night’s city council meeting, and a potential expansion for a beloved pizza shop.
Let’s dive in.
TOP STORY
🌎 City council sends public safety tax hike to the ballot, approves short-term rentals change
Just like the ketchup bottle in most refrigerators, this November’s ballot for Longmont voters is nearly finished.
In last night’s Longmont City Council meeting, members voted in favor of sending another question on raising taxes to the ballot. Following a 6-1 vote, locals will be asked to approve a measure raising property and sales taxes to fund new jobs for Longmont Public Safety.
Big picture:
LPS needs funding for 86 more jobs through 2036 to alleviate understaffing. The tax is expected to generate more than $20 million.
If approved, Longmont sales and use tax will rise by 0.33%. That means Longmont residents’ total sales tax rates will be 9.195%. Property taxes will jump about $75 on a $500,000 home.
Councilmember Diane Crist was the lone opposing vote who has long opposed raising sales taxes and saturating ballots with an excess of questions.
Longmont City Council was also slated to vote on three resolutions, each of which would urge residents to vote “Yes” on ballot issues. In essence, city council would tell voters where they stand. The issues included a property tax hike to fund childcare subsidies, the aforementioned public safety tax, and strengthening protections for open spaces.
Wrench, incoming…
Despite an impassioned plea from Mayor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring, and strong support for the issue from councilmembers, city council voted not to take a stance on the childcare tax after a narrow vote. However, they will urge voters to approve the public safety tax and the open space measure.
So, what happened?
Councilmember Jake Marsing recused himself from the vote because of a conflict of interest — Marsing is apart of the Brighter Start Boulder County initiative leading the charge to get the issue passed. This resulted in a 3-3-1 vote, with councilmembers Matthew Popkin, Alex Kalkhofer, and Diane Crist in opposition.
Popkin noted many locals were dissatisfied with the high number of questions asking voters to raise taxes set.
Since the Front Range Passenger Rail District is deciding on Friday whether to ask voters for funding of Phase 2 of the Colorado Connector project, Popkin and Kalkhofer wanted to table the vote until they know the full scope of taxpayer impact from ballot initiatives.
Crist, on the other hand, is fully opposed to city council telling people how to vote on any topic.
Since Marsing returned to the table for the votes on the public safety tax and open spaces protections, he was able to tip the scales enough to secure city council’s public support for the other ballot issues.
In other news…
City council unanimously voted to approve changing rules to Longmont’ laws regarding short-term rentals. The city will officially test drive a new license that expands who is able to rent out their homes during special events as Longmont anticipates a surplus of demand for lodging during the 2027 Sundance Film Festival. This means…
Primary residences, apartments (with property owner approval), accessory dwelling units, are eligible to be rented out on short-term bases.
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Headlines
3 Big Things
Hotel Longmont hosts ribbon-cutting: Hotel Longmont has officially completed its entrance into Longmont. The hotel, along with its parent company, IHG Hotels & Resorts, the Longmont Chamber of Commerce, and dozens of community members, cut the ribbon on the massive addition to downtown Longmont. Several Longmont City Council members, including Mayor Susie Hildago-Fahring, were in attendance, as well. The hotel’s general manager is Hayley Hunt, a Longmont native, who previously served as the GM at Westminster’s Origin Hotel. Hotel Longmont first opened its doors on June 12.
Longmont Public Safety pushes for overdose prevention: In a social media post yesterday, LPS reported that its agency recorded 27 drug overdoses (18 of which were from fentanyl) across May, June, and July of 2026. Six of those cases ended in a death. The agency says substance use can affect anyone, and asking for help should never be a source of shame. LPS is urging locals to educate themselves on the resources available, and how to treat & prevent substance abuse.
Antonio’s is mulling another expansion: Antonio’s Real New York Pizza, one of Longmont’s most renowned slice hubs, is considering expanding into a fourth location. This time, into Denver’s Central Park area. Antonio’s already has three locations: Estes Park, Loveland, and, of course, Longmont. The pizza shop began its journey in 2012 in Estes Park, and they’ve been growing ever since, including expanding to Longmont in 2024. Have some advice for Antonio? The pizza guru is looking for suggestions on the company Facebook page.
Check this out
Goodbye, Landline Doughnuts
It’s the end of the landline.
Landline Doughnuts closed permanently on Tuesday after more than four years in downtown Longmont. The owners, Jodi and John Mowery, are moving to Washington state to be closer to family.
Landline made its entrance into Longmont on June 25, 2022. Locals quickly became infatuated with their potato-based doughnuts and nostalgic interior decor — the walls of which were littered with antique landline telephones.
The final day:
Landline Doughnuts opened at 8 a.m. yesterday and just 90 minutes later, were sold out of doughnuts. At one point, the line to buy a doughnut extended out the door and across multiple storefronts down Main Street. The eagerness of locals to delay work on a Tuesday morning for a final taste of Landline is a testament to the rapid impact a business as ordinary as a doughnut shop can make on a city with love to spare for its local businesses. Owners John and Jodi Mowery said it’s not easy to leave town.
“We absolutely love Longmont, we love the community, we love the business owners,” Jodi said, adding that they wouldn’t be leaving Longmont if it weren’t for family.
During their time in town, Landline amassed…
4.8/5 stars from nearly 750 Google Reviews.
6,000+ followers on Instagram and 3,400+ followers on Facebook.
Named “Best Doughnut in Longmont” by the Times-Call in 2025.
Looking forward:
Since announcing their closure in June, the Mowery’s said they’d be putting their building on the market and signaled they’d be willing to sell their business and doughnut recipe. In an interview with The Longmont Brief, Jodi said one party is buying the building while another is interested in the recipe…
“We’re still in negotiations. Someone’s buying the building — That’s happening. As far as the business, that’s still in negotiations.”
Jodi added, “They want our equipment and our recipes.”
Jodi was able to hint that whoever is filling Landline’s space, “It’ll be a public space.”
As for Jodi and John, while they’re not interested in building another brick-and-mortar space, they are interested in Washington’s farmers markets. But for the Mowery’s, the time for change was ripe…
“We’re ready to sleep normal hours,” she said while lamenting what they’re leaving behind. “We’re really going to miss the people,” Jodi said.
For one final taste of Landline (just not their doughnuts), the shop is hosting a sale on Saturday where you can buy their vintage kitchenware, phones, tables, toys, and more.
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Last Call
Today’s Longmont forecast is mostly sunny, a high near 86 degrees, and a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3 p.m., per the National Weather Service.
Gas prices in the Longmont-Boulder area remain stagnant. The average today is $4.45 per gallon; a three cent drop from Monday.
A Longmont couple continues to recover weeks after a natural gas explosion at their home.
The Times-Call released its 2026 “Best of Longmont” awards.
Longmont Humane Society found homes for a whopping 63 animals in two days, but some critters are still looking for their next landing spot.
Real estate experts ranked Longmont as one of the best small cities in the U.S. to move to right now, according to this Travel + Leisure article.
300 Suns has returned its famous fried cod sandwich to the menu.
The lobby at the Safety and Justice Building is now closed through September 8 to complete another stage of construction. There will be no public access to the building during this two-week period.
Until Friday,
The Longmont Brief
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