Immigration Reporter
Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton
Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton is an award-winning reporter at The Denver Post covering immigration. She forged the newspaper's Denver neighborhoods beat after reporting on the business desk for almost two years, focusing her coverage on social inequities in business.
She writes for National Geographic, Better Homes & Gardens, Business Insider, Vox, Smithsonian Magazine, Delish, Eater and other publications. For two years, she chased after lawmakers on Capitol Hill as Bloomberg Government's agriculture and trade policy reporter. Megan has covered the Venezuelan refugee crisis in Peru, immigration in Colombia, socioeconomic issues in Guatemala, parliamentary affairs in England and White House press briefings in Washington, D.C. During her stint at Arizona PBS, she worked two beats: borderlands and social justice.
Megan received her master's in mass communication from Arizona State University. She now teaches Media Issues in American Pop Culture as a faculty adjunct.
She is a 2025 Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program Fellow, the 2024 Denver Post "I Heart Readers" Award winner, a 2023 Goldschmidt Data Immersion Fellow, the 2023 Denver Post "I Heart Readers" Award runner-up, a 2022 Cannabis Media Fellow at UVM, a 2020 Bloomberg Industry Group "Beltz Award for Editorial Excellence" winner, a 2020 White House Correspondents' Association scholar and a 2019 Pulliam Journalism Fellow at The Arizona Republic.
In 2025, Megan earned four awards at SPJ's Top of the Rockies, including No. 1 in a special topic series about immigration. She trained as part of IJNR's Land Back workshop about tribal issues in 2024 and Covering Climate Now's Climate at the Border initiative in 2025.
Megan is a member of the Overseas Press Club, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, the Indigenous Journalists Association, the Colorado Press Association and the Online News Association. She is proud of her Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) ancestry.
Featured Stories

After making the journey from Colombia, some migrants “feel left out” of resources for Venezuelans in Denver
Even as Denver has taken in tens of thousands of migrants from Venezuela, it's seen a smaller influx of newcomers from Colombia.

How Denver nonprofits are trying to stem the migrant crisis by reducing poverty, creating stability in Guatemala
Two Denver-area nonprofit groups that run a school and loan money to entrepreneurs in Guatemala are taking a hands-on approach to improve lives and reduce the flow of migrants to...

“Not welcome to stop for gas or food”: Decades later, Colorado’s history of sundown towns still lingers
The U.S. — Colorado included — is dotted with former "sundown towns" where people of color suffered myriad degradations: from restaurants, hotels and gas stations declining to serve travelers to...
All Stories

RV crashes into Winchell’s Donut House in Lakewood
The RV hit the front of Winchell's Donut House at Pierce Street and West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood, sending both of the people who were in the RV to the...

Abandoned motels of Colfax: Windows to the past and indicators of avenue’s potential
The vacant rooms of several dilapidated motels sitting on Denver's historic Colfax Avenue won't gather dust for much longer, as real estate developers and city officials hope to breathe new...

A beloved East Coast bagel chain plans to go west with two Denver locations
A bagel chain beloved in Washington, D.C, and Maryland is set to expand from its East Coast roots, with two outposts planned for the Mile High City.

Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk now under Horseshoe brand, changes name
Isle Casino Hotel Black Hawk is now a member of the Horseshoe brand.

Wrecking ball or food hall? Denver and Xcel weigh future of old Zuni power plant.
Xcel Energy's Zuni Generating Station in Lincoln Park is at the center of Denver community conversations, as residents want it to be transformed into a shared space like a food...

Glass panes breaking at a downtown Denver high-rise apartment building
A downtown Denver apartment complex recently has had glass panes shatter on balconies.

A new 4 million-square-foot industrial park planned near DIA
Land near Denver International Airport will soon be transformed into a 3.9 million-square-foot industrial park after it was purchased for $49.7 million.

REI to open new store in Glenwood Springs
On top of offering a selection of gear, the Glenwood Springs store will offer bike, ski and snowboard shop services with mechanics on-site.

Historic Echo Lake Lodge near Mount Evans will close for good at season’s end
Coloradans who visited Echo Lake Lodge south of Idaho Springs for homemade pie or bison stew will have to say goodbye to the restaurant and gift shop as they know...

Denver officials want to save struggling cannabis delivery businesses
Weed delivery has yet to catch on in Denver, but government officials are pushing dispensaries to drop their resistance to save the transporter businesses of marginalized entrepreneurs.