U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper visited Grand Junction on Monday, August 21st to see the new construction at Grand Junction Airport and hold a town hall at Colorado Mesa University. Grand Junction Airport Sen. Hickenlooper's first stop was at the Grand Junction Airport where he toured the ongoing airport construction. The airport is building a new runway with funding from the Federal Aviation Administration's Airport Improvement Plan. The new runway is going to be massive, CEO of the airport Angela Padalecki said construction crews are moving enough dirt to fill Ball Arena, home of the Denver Nuggets, eight times. Sen. Hickenlooper told reports he hopes the new airport expansion will help Grand Junction expand, and he expects the project to be done in six to 10 years. Town hall at Colorado Mesa University A few hours after touring the Grand Junction Airport construction site Sen. Hickenlooper held a town hall in the Union Center Ballroom. Dozens of people attended, with one person traveling from as far away as Montrose. Attendees asked questions ranging from China and Tawain relations, climate change, and government officials profiting in the stock market. The whole event lasted for just over an hour. After stops in Grand Junction, Sen. Hickenlooper continued his Western Slope tour. In Rifle he stopped at Habitat for Humanity, visiting the Wapiti Commons housing project—which was funded by fiscal year 2023 federal appropriations bills. In Craig Sen. Hickenlooper attended the ribbon cutting for Commercial Kitchen. Finally, the Senator held another town hall in Steamboat Springs at Colorado Mountain College's Allbright Auditorium.