As President Donald Trump begins his second term, one of his promises to supporters has been to carry out what he calls the largest deportation in U.S. history. This has a number of Colorado communities on edge, especially in places where immigrants without legal status make up a large part of the population.  

It has also prompted education leaders across Colorado to prepare for how their students might be affected by immigration enforcement. The effort took on new urgency this week, after the Trump administration cleared the way for immigration arrests at schools and other sensitive locations, like churches. 

 Steve Joel was the superintendent of schools in Grand Island, Nebraska, when immigration officers raided a meat packing plant there in 2006, detaining about 250 workers without legal status.  

Those arrests in Grand Island rattled the community. And the experience taught the now-retired administrator many lessons, which he recently shared with education leaders at a conference of the Colorado Association of School Boards.  

Steve Joel joined host Erin O’Toole to discuss his advice for school leaders in the months ahead. 

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Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
Theme music by Robbie Reverb

Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Old firehoses. Used forklifts. Two-thousand sheets of acrylic plastic. 

These are the kinds of things you can find at repurposedMATERIALS in Lafayette. The company acquires discarded industrial materials and products and resells them instead of sending them to a landfill.  

Damon Carson founded the business in 2011 after running two trash companies. The repurposedMATERIALS location in Lafeyette is one of six locations across the country where he stores his unusual inventory and then ships it off once he finds the right buyer.  

Damon Carson talked with In the NoCo’s Brad Turner about how he built the company. 

Check out a recent profile of the business in The Denver Post.

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner
Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

When someone dies nowadays, their online accounts and social media profiles can become a poignant online memorial. Or sometimes, those accounts can become a hassle for grieving loved ones.   

For many people who have recently lost someone, knowing what to do with a loved one’s online accounts is a mystery.  Sometimes an account gets deleted by the organization that manages them. Sometimes the account gives the impression that the dead person is still alive. Or th account might simply sit unused.  

A new clinic set up by a University of Colorado researcher provides guidance and aid in handling digital accounts after someone passes away. It’s a free help desk called the Digital Legacy Clinic. Professor Jed Brubaker founded the clinic and oversees its operation. 
 

Brubaker joined Erin O’Toole to discuss the unusual task of managing our online accounts for after we’re gone. He said it’s a reflection of how we mourn in a more digital age. 

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

You might be getting lots of push notifications this summer – from ozone action day alerts and air quality alerts, to heat and wildfire smoke advisories. 

 So far this summer, we've seen more than 25 days with highs over 90 degrees. And federal air quality regulators say Front Range cities have racked up multiple ozone violations this year, according to the Colorado Sun. 

But how do you know which alerts to pay attention to, and what to do when you get them? 

In today’s episode host Erin O’Toole talks with Kaiser Permanente Community Health Consultant Lisa Romero about whether you should change your plans, and how to stay healthy this time of year. 

A new Colorado law that took effect on July 1st ensures that pregnant people on Medicaid will have access to doula services. Doulas can offer support and advice before, during, and after birth that complements a doctor’s guidance.  

Joy Twesigye is a trained women’s health nurse practitioner and says this new law could make a huge difference for people on Medicaid. Lower-income patients who rely on Medicaid coverage often have the most to gain by working with a doula.  

Joy Twesigye is vice president of health systems integration at Colorado Access, a nonprofit that works for better healthcare for marginalized populations. 

Two years ago, Jordan Sarazen lived a comfortable, perhaps even mundane life, working in an office as a financial planner.  

Then one day, he decided to make a change. He set out to fulfill a dream of managing a goat herd and renting their services to landowners. Today, Jordan and his wife Toni own 300 goats, and a company called Goat Bros. 

They travel around the Front Range and let the herd graze on vegetation for cities like Longmont, Northglenn, and Superior. And the goats provide a form of wildfire prevention by clearing out weeds and dense brush growth from open space land. 

Using goats to clear out dry vegetation isn’t a new idea in Colorado, but its popularity has picked up in recent years, including after the 2021 Marshall Fire burned through neighborhoods in Boulder County. 

The Sarazens live in a fifth-wheel camper that they park near where the herd is grazing. Jordan spoke with ITN host Erin O’Toole from a grazing spot near Superior. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

$70 million is the amount a utility company will pay to a community in Northwestern Colorado when it shuts down a coal plant that drives a large part of the local economy. 

Tri-State Energy plans to close its coal-fired power station, and all three coal mines, in Craig by 2028. The closure comes as Colorado moves to do away with coal-fired power and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels.  

The $70 million payment to Craig and Moffat County sets a precedent. It’s the first time a utility company that closes a coal plant will pay money to address the hole that’s left behind in the local economy.   

Host Erin O’Toole talked with Eli Pace, editor of the Steamboat Pilot & Today and the Craig Press, about how the settlement come together. He’s been covering the settlement and talked about how it creates a blueprint for Colorado communities facing similar shutdowns. 

On November 1, 1955, a man planted a bomb aboard a United Airlines plane shortly before it departed from Denver. The plane exploded in midflight over beet fields in Weld County, killing all 44 people aboard. It was a mass murder that grabbed headlines across the country. And viewers saw footage of the trial on TV – which was unusual then.  

If you've never heard of this crime, though, you're hardly alone. There's no marker at the site of the crash, near what is now Firestone.  

A local nonprofit group hopes to change that. The Flight 629 Memorial Committee wants to create a memorial to honor the lives lost in the tragedy, as well as the nearby residents who turned up to try to search for survivors. They hope to complete it before the 70th anniversary, which will happen in 2025.  

Andrew J. Field is a retired Staff Attorney for the Colorado Supreme Court, where he specialized in criminal law. He’s the author of Mainliner Denver: The Bombing of Flight 629. He spoke with host Erin O’Toole about the bombing and its legacy for modern air travel. 

The Flight 629 Memorial Committee plans to hold a number of fundraising events leading up to the 70th anniversary, including a concert at the Rialto Theater in Loveland on August 3.  Read more in the Greeley Tribune here.  

Donations can be made to the committee’s GoFundMe page.

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Boulder, like many cities in Colorado, has an ongoing shortage of housing for the middle class – which means many people who work in Boulder can’t afford to live there.   

One local group is proposing an unconventional solution: They want to decommission Boulder’s municipal airport and turn that city-owned land into a neighborhood with around 2,000 homes.  At least half of those homes would be designated affordable.   

That group, the Airport Neighborhood Campaign, organized the two initiatives that, if approved, would put this plan into action. They’ve collected enough signatures to place them on the November ballot, although the idea faces opposition from organizations like the Boulder Chamber.  

Laura Kaplan, one of the group’s organizers, sat down with host Erin O’Toole to discuss what they want to accomplish by repurposing the municipal airport. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Summer in Northern Colorado means the return of an old-school mode of transportation -- in the form of a ride on the Fort Collins Trolley. Electric streetcars were once a common sight in the streets of Fort Collins, at least until the early 1950s, when car ownership rose and fewer people relied on public transportation. In the late 1970s, a group of dedicated volunteers began to restore the aged trolley cars and to reinstall the track. 

This season marks 40 years since the restored trolley began once again to take passengers on a leisurely journey along Mountain Avenue into Old Town. Host Erin O’Toole hopped on board earlier this year, where she learned some of the trolley's quirky history – including the time the old depot became a victim of the CU-CSU football rivalry… and how a group of people opposed to bringing the trolley back nearly derailed the restoration. 

You can learn more about the trolley's history and find schedule and fare information here. 

Thanks to depot agent Kathy Mabry and conductor Kevin Mabry for sharing their stories. They co-authored and illustrated a children's book about the trolley (available at the depot). And a huge thank you to motorman Bethany O'Brien for sharing both her historical knowledge and her expert driving skills. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Adjusting streetlamps and other exterior lights to allow the stars to shine more brilliantly – that's part of the process for becoming a certified Dark Sky community. More than 200 places in 22 countries around the world have this designation. Advocates say limiting light pollution helps preserve expansive views of the night sky, and helps nocturnal creatures thrive. And the Colorado Tourism Office believes the Dark Sky designation helps attract visitors. 

Town leaders in Grand Lake recently took the first steps toward becoming an official Dark Sky community. They would join five other towns in Colorado that already have that designation. About two dozen more Dark Sky places are in the pipeline, including communities and parks across the state. 

Aaron Watson is with the group DarkSky Colorado. He joined host Erin O'Toole to discuss the problem with light pollution, and why a growing number of Colorado towns are taking this idea of dark skies so seriously. We’re listening back to that conversation, recorded in May. 

Read more about the overview effect that Watson mentions near the end of the conversation. And check out a list of great places to stargaze in Colorado here.

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Colorado has some of the best camping in the country, and Coloradans love their weekends in the wilderness. But does a night in the outdoors become daunting when kids are in the picture? 

Boulder author Helen Olsson doesn’t think so. She just rereleased her book The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids. It’s full of unexpected tips on things like how to curb whining, along with fun anecdotes from her own family adventures.  

In The NoCo host Erin O’Toole spoke with Olsson about being in the wilderness with her brood and why she thinks more families should embrace camping. 

Not that long ago, some doctors would use lobotomies as a treatment for mental illness... or insomnia... or severe headaches. That wouldn’t happen now. But modern medicine has taken some weird, often tragic turns to get to where it is now. 

Author Wesley Marshall argues that there’s a similarity between the science behind our transportation systems and these outdated practices in medicine and psychiatry. And, he says it’s time for a wakeup call.  

Marshall, who teaches civil engineering at the University of Colorado Denver, thinks the way our streets and highways are designed contributes to tens of thousands of unnecessary crashes and deaths each year.  

He recently published his research and ideas in a provocatively titled book, Killed By a Traffic Engineer.

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News

Colorado teachers say their students are missing something that helps determine their academic success. Call it grit.  

If a student who struggles with math studies hard and performs well on their math test, that’s grit. If they complete a homework assignment that was tough to finish, that's also grit.   

Erica Breunlin covers education for The Colorado Sun. Since the pandemic, she says teachers have told her they’re seeing less grit in the classroom. And that’s leading to lower test scores for K-12 students.  

Breunlin recently wrote about grit, and the strategies some educators and parents have developed to build more of it in their kids. She joined host Erin O’Toole to share what she learned.

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

People who come to Estes Park marvel at the sights they see... Longs Peak on the horizon... the Stanley Hotel above town... herds of elk just about everywhere.  

And on Elkhorn Avenue in the heart of downtown, curious onlookers gather on the sidewalk to watch the hypnotic movements of the mechanical taffy puller in the window of The Taffy Shop.  

Now, more people are checking out the iconic shop after it was named Best Candy Store in the country by USA Today in June. 

The independent, family-owned store has essentially made one type of candy since it opened in 1935. The original saltwater taffy recipe is a closely guarded secret -- and is still used today, said Mark Igel, who bought the business in 2014 from the original owners. 

“It’s funny, because my first impression was, how can there be a saltwater taffy shop in a Colorado mountain town?” Igel recalled about his first visit to the store as a customer. “Until you know what saltwater taffy really is, and that we can have the best saltwater taffy in the country, here in Colorado. It’s not salt or water, it's not the ocean; it's the way that you make the candy.” 

Mark Igel joined host Erin O’Toole to share more about what it's been like to be recognized nationally... and why tradition is such an important ingredient in everything they do. 

We mention The Taffy Shop’s online taffy cam at the end of the episode – you can find that soothing livestream here. 

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Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Rodeo is a popular sport all summer long across Colorado and the West. There are large events like the Greeley Stampede or Cheyenne Frontier Days in June and July. And lots of other towns have their own rodeos, from Estes Park to Granby to Steamboat Springs.  

Of course, anyone can buy a ticket and head to the rodeo – but what else should you know if you’re new to this world?   

To help answer that question, we reached out to Abe Morris.  Abe is a former professional bull rider who lives in Denver. He also spent nine years as a broadcast commentator for Cheyenne Frontier Days. And he encourages people who are on the fence to just go and experience the rodeo – no cowboy boots or hat needed. 

“I think once you go to a rodeo and you see a good bull riding event or something like that, you're going to keep going. You're going to become a fan for life.” 

Abe Morris joined host Erin O’Toole to share his perspective and insights on rodeo culture. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

For many veterans, Independence Day can be a hard day.   

Celebrating America’s birthday typically comes with booming, colorful blasts of fireworks. We don’t talk about it a lot, but for veterans with PTSD, that can be a struggle. It can remind them of combat or other traumatic experiences from their time in the military.  

“We often have veterans who describe, regretfully, dreading this time of year,” says Dr. Mandy Rabenhorst-Bell, PTSD program manager with the VA healthcare system serving Eastern Colorado. “Although they love the celebration and maybe used to find this a very joyful time of year, now they don't -- and find that they no longer kind of approach it with the same sense of joy and wonder as they once did.” 

She joins host Erin O’Toole to give a glimpse at what the Fourth of July is like for those with PTSD – and how friends, family and neighbors can help support them.   

Find more information and resources for PTSD from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs here. 

Limiting the carbon emissions of a new home or office, long before anyone lives or works in it -- that’s the goal of a key piece of Boulder’s new energy code that will take effect later this year.   

Typically, people looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their home might install a heat pump or add solar panels. But those improvements could take years to substantially reduce a building’s carbon output. That’s why Boulder officials looking to fight climate change are embracing a concept called ‘embodied carbon.’ 

Embodied carbon looks at the components that make up a new building or major renovation project -- things like concrete foundations and insulation. And the concept considers the carbon emissions created by manufacturing and delivery of those materials.   

Boulder City Council member Lauren Folkerts is an architect who pushed for the new guidelines. She joined Erin O’Toole to discuss the impact she hopes they’ll have in Boulder – and on a larger scale.   

Read more about the embodied carbon incentives from the Boulder Reporting Lab here.

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Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org

Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

There’s no getting around it: it’s really, really hot on Colorado’s Front Range right now.  

According to the National Weather Service, the Denver metro area typically sees about 45 days each summer when the temperature hits 90 degrees or hotter. And that’s when many homeowners wish for a more resilient lawn. 

Allisa Linfield is a horticulturist with Colorado State University extension. She and the other lawn and garden experts there spend a lot of time researching the science of creating a more drought-tolerant yard.  

A lawn makeover is a daunting project for most homeowners to tackle all at once, so Allisa joined ITN’s executive producer Brad Turner to share some guidelines for creating a more resilient yard – one small step at a time. 

There are dozens of climbing routes on the famous Flatirons in Boulder. Until recently, all of the routes on those monumental rock formations were installed, or mapped out, by men. That changed recently when two female climbers collaborated to install a new route on a section of the Flatirons known as The Maiden formation. 

Lynn Hill and Sasha DiGiulian are at very different points in their climbing careers, but they came together to create this unprecedented route.

The route, and why it matters to the climbing community, is also explored in a new documentary called Here to Climb, focused on DiGiulian's developing career.

DiGiulian began her career in climbing gyms when she was six and quickly began winning many competitions at a young age. Lynn is a veteran climber, who became famous as the first person – male or female – to scale an area on Yosemite's El Capitan called The Nose, unassisted.

Who is allowed to vote in a resort town’s election when a large chunk of the town’s homeowners are not full-time residents? And how does it change the equation if many of the town’s homes are owned by private companies, rather than individuals? 

These are questions that periodically come up in resort areas like Aspen or Vail. And leaders in Mountain Village, located above Telluride, are debating these issues now.  

The town’s charter already allows people who own property in Mountain Village, but don’t live there year-round, to vote in municipal elections. It’s currently the only town in Colorado that lets nonresidents have a say in local races on issues like new regulations or taxes. Now the town board is studying whether Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) – which own hundreds of homes in Mountain Village – should also get to vote. 

Jason Blevins has been covering the debate for The Colorado Sun. He joined host Erin O’Toole to unpack the issue – and what it says about the tension between residents in resort towns and the tourism business that traditionally shaped the local economy. 

You’ve probably seen 3D printing used to create objects out of plastic – things like toys or chess pieces. A company that recently moved its headquarters to Greeley thinks that one day your new home might be created with 3D printing. And they want Greeley to be a major global hub for this approach to construction.

Alquist 3D was founded by Zack Manheimme. Alquist is the first company in the U.S. to build a lived-in 3D printed home. They use a process called concrete printing construction,  meaning they build houses one thin layer of concrete at a time. 

Alquist says it’s faster, and should eventually cost less, than traditional homebuilding, which makes it a potential strategy to reduce housing shortages. 

Alquist already has a location in Greeley. Starting in August, the company will partner with Aims Community College on a new program to train students in the design and manufacturing of concrete printing construction.  

Zack Mannheimer spoke with host Erin O'Toole about his company’s unique construction process, and how his creative background led him to think about solutions to the housing crisis. 

Fifty years ago in June, a small group of friends and activists from the gay and lesbian community gathered in Denver's Cheesman Park to be together and celebrate their identity. It was the first iteration of what's now known as Denver PrideFest. 

The event has evolved over the years, growing during good times but also during times of adversity and challenge for the LGBTQ community.  

This weekend, Denver PrideFest celebrates its 50th year. To help put those five decades into perspective, we spoke with Phil Nash, a longtime journalist, LGBTQ activist, and author of the new history book LGBTQ Denver. 

Find a schedule of events for Denver Pride’s 50th anniversary here. 

When she’s onstage, comedian Zoe Rogers talks about what she knows best: her kids. Her standup centers around her identity as a mom. She jokes about the difference between the proper mom etiquette she carefully displays to her children, and her internal monologue. 

Offstage, Zoe appreciates a standup routine that’s a genuine reflection of the comedian’s perspective. So, in addition to her own standup act, Zoe focuses on booking comedy shows in Boulder that bring in comedians from all different backgrounds.

Zoe organizes the The Dairy Arts Center’s monthly comedy performances and the annual Boulder Comedy Festival. This year’s festival kicked off on Wednesday, June 18 and continues through Sunday, June 23.

An electrical grid on the moon. 

It’s an idea that could eventually power a small lunar colony and help take space travel to a new level.  

And research by two Colorado School of Mines graduate students may help make it a reality. 

Chris Tolton and Ken Liang built a prototype of that lunar grid and presented it during a recent competition run by NASA. The prototype worked – and Chris and Ken won a half-million-dollar prize to continue developing their idea.  

Their vision ultimately includes mining minerals found on the moon to fuel lunar habitats, rovers, and spacecraft heading to more distant points in the solar system. They’ve also launched a company, Orbital Mining Corporation, to pursue their goals. 

Tolton and Liang joined host Erin O’Toole to share more about their work, and how the future of space travel may be just a step closer than we think.

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

An exhibit at the Museum of Boulder illuminates the stories of Black Coloradans, highlighting their influence on the region's history and their impact on the future. 

Proclaiming Colorado's Black History centers on places like the once-bustling farming community of Dearfield; and notable people like businessman Barney Ford and philanthropist Julia Greeley, a formerly enslaved person who is presently a candidate for Catholic sainthood.

It's about sharing the lives and stories of people who aren't necessarily in Colorado's history books, said Adrian Miller, co-Project Director and lead curator for the exhibit.

"It's important because we're in a time now, across the country, where Black history is actually being vanished, where there are laws being passed and other things to discourage giving a more comprehensive view of our history," said Miller.

The project was several years in the making, and was shaped with a lot of community input and collaboration, Miller said. It includes a variety of installations, collections of oral histories, and an art display that delves into Afrofuturism. The exhibit will be open through September 2025. 

Miller joined host Erin O'Toole ahead of the exhibit's launch. We're listening back to that conversation today, in celebration of Juneteenth - also known as Freedom Day.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like our conversation with CSU Professor Ray Black. He led a Juneteenth bike ride in Fort Collins to illuminate and celebrate the city's Black history. 

This is an encore of our podcast from Sept. 28, 2023.

In Colorado, about 3,000 people go missing each year, according to the state's Search and Rescue Association. And when someone goes missing in the backcountry, every hour counts. 

Cold, dehydration and exposure to the elements make a person's survival less likely as time ticks by. Rescuers also deal with rugged mountains, steep canyons, dense tree cover, and extreme temperatures at high elevations. All this makes it more difficult to locate someone quickly.

But now, a new technology could give search and rescue teams a powerful new tool. It's called Lifeseeker – and it effectively turns a helicopter into a moving cell phone tower, able to detect a missing hiker’s mobile phone.

A Durango-based company, Colorado Highland Helicopters, is testing the new technology as it seeks FCC approval in the United States. Dr. Tim Durkin coordinates search and rescue programs for them. He joined host Erin O'Toole to explain how Lifeseeker works, and the potential impact it could have in Colorado.

Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when the last of the enslaved people in our country learned of their freedom. It has been a federal holiday since 2021 – and a state holiday since 2022 – observed on June 19.   

People celebrate Juneteenth in different ways. Some head to music festivals – like this long-running celebration in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. Some go to community gatherings – including a three-day event in Fort Collins. Others make a point to frequent Black-owned businesses. 

An associate professor teaching African American studies at Colorado State University will host a unique celebration this Saturday morning. Dr. Ray Black leads a bicycle ride through a historic Black neighborhood in Fort Collins. He joined host Erin O’Toole to share more about the meaning and significance of Juneteenth... and why a bike ride is a perfect way to experience history. 

Professor Black says the bike ride is a relatively easy 5-mile route and open to anyone. It begins at 7:30 Saturday morning at Lee Martinez community park and ends at Foothills Mall where Fort Collins’ Juneteenth community celebration takes place this weekend. 

The Patton Veterans Project is a three-day film workshop designed to give veterans, who may be suffering from PTSD or depression, a communal space to process their trauma. 

Vets who participate learn a “narrative therapy” approach to dealing with emotional trauma. At the end of three days, these vets walk away having made a short film about their personal story. 

The latest three day workshop included veterans from the Greeley, area. Their films will be screening tonight, Thursday, June 13 at 6 p.m. in the Aims Community College Welcome Center. 

The Patton Veterans Project was created by Benjamin Patton, grandson of the famous World War II General George S. Patton. Patton joined us along with Mike Leeman, Veteran Coordinator and former participant, to talk about the program. 

If you listen to music at all in 2024 it’s clear that female artists are a dominant force. From Taylor Swift to Beyonce, Dolly Parton to Billie Eilish, women are some of the top-selling artists in the business.  

But behind the scenes? It’s a different story. 

Statistics show only a small fraction of people in the music industry are women – not on the performing side, but in behind-the-scenes jobs like engineering and production. 

A new nonprofit called Project Traction has a mission to create opportunities for women and non-binary music producers.  It was founded by Jim Eno – the drummer for the band Spoon. He hopes to boost the number of women in these important industry roles by providing mentorship and hands-on studio experience. 

And the latest iteration of Project Traction is focused on Northern Colorado. 

Briana Harris, a singer and saxophonist in Greeley, is one of the musicians participating in Project Traction. She got to fine-tune her studio skills alongside Eno, producing a new music track from Denver-based indie rock band Barbara. She joined host Erin O’Toole to discuss the project – and why it’s important to elevate women in all roles across the music industry. 

Project Traction Volume 2 is accepting applications until Friday, June 14, 2024.  

Hear Briana Harris’ solo work here – and check out her work with The Burroughs here. 

“For Good Measure,” the Barbara track Briana co-produced is out now. Listen here: 

Barbara: "For Good Measure" (co-prod. Briana Harris) - KUTX 

The future of the Colorado River is in the hands of seven people who represent the states that use its water. And right now, they can’t agree on a set of new rules to share the shrinking supply - despite a quickly approaching deadline. 

Those negotiations typically happen behind closed doors, rather than in a public setting. But last week, representatives from Wyoming to California met at the University of Colorado Boulder for an annual water law conference. About 300 people with an interest in the future of the Colorado River were in the audience to hear what leaders had to say. 

KUNC's water reporter Alex Hager was there, too. He joined host Erin O'Toole to share some details from that conference.  

Pets give us companionship and keep us healthier. They can give us a reason just to get out of bed in the morning. 

Unfortunately, some people have had a difficult time being able to keep their pets in recent years. The cost of housing is up. Inflation makes it harder to afford veterinary care, pet food and other supplies. Eviction moratoriums and financial assistance programs that helped people during the pandemic have largely gone away. 

As a result, many shelters are at or near capacity. Now the people who run those shelters are turning to creative ways to help keep pets in their homes – with their owners. 

To learn more about these approaches, host Erin O'Toole talked with Mouse Jewell, a client intake specialist with the Longmont Humane Society, and Judy Calhoun, CEO at NOCO Humane, which serves Larimer and Weld counties.

Fifty years ago, in 1974, a pair of car bombings in Boulder killed six people.  Five of the six were University of Colorado students and alumni who had been part of a Chicano student activist group on campus called UMAS. 

Their names were Una Jaakola,Reyes Martínez, Neva Romero, Florencio Granado, Heriberto Terán and Francisco Dougherty. They were known as Los Seis de Boulder. 

At the time, the police said the activists likely blew themselves up with their own explosives – a claim that’s still met with skepticism today. The case remains unresolved.  

City officials recently unveiled a memorial in downtown Boulder. Artist Jasmine Baetz designed it to commemorate the tragedy. We spoke to Baetz about how she learned of Los Seis, and the artwork she created.

When we see weeds start to pop up in the yard or the garden, the first instinct for many of us is to figure out how to get rid of them. 

But here's the thing: Many plants we might regard as ugly or invasive are, in fact, edible. 

Orion Aon learned this in his early years growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He would go on camping trips with family and friends – who gave him some of his first lessons in finding food in the wild. 

Today, he is the owner of Forage Colorado. He began the business in 2015, initially as a way to create a community with fellow foragers to share stories and knowledge. 

"It turns out that there weren't that many people doing that, at least online, and sharing about it at the time," Aon says. "So it quickly turned into me teaching other people what I knew."

Now, he shows clients how to connect with nature by finding and and preparing wild foods like dandelions, tumble mustard, and curly dock. 

Here at In The NoCo, we like to talk to folks with unique businesses. Orion was kind enough to take host Erin O'Toole out on a foraging lesson along a trail in her neighborhood.

You can read Orion's tips on harvesting and preparing lambsquarters; aka wild spinach. In 2023, he spoke with KUNC about the potential harm from AI-written foraging guide books, which you can read here.

There is a deeper link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease than doctors may have previously understood.

New research at the University of Colorado could point the way to changing how, and when, doctors screen for Alzheimers. Dr Allison Shapiro, assistant professor of Pediatric Endocrinology at CU’s Anschutz Medical Campus, led a study that looked for biomarkers that are typically found in older adults with Alzheimer's, in young people with diabetes - specifically people in their teens and twenties. 

The results were surprising, but also confirmed the deep connection between brain and body.

These shorter, colder days over the midwinter holiday are the perfect time to break out that bag of roasted Pueblo chile peppers some of us have kept stashed in the freezer since the fall. They're just waiting to be turned into a big batch of spicy green chile.  

And for many pepper aficionados, only the Pueblo chile will do.   

But the popularity of these Colorado-grown peppers is a relatively recent phenomenon. Farmers in Pueblo and other parts of Colorado have been growing different kinds of peppers for decades, but the state didn’t really have its own signature variety of chile until the early 2000s.  

That’s when Dr. Michael Bartolo, an agriculture professor with Colorado State University, developed the unique Mosco variety of the Pueblo chile. And in a few short years, they’ve become a regional rival to New Mexico’s more famous Hatch chiles. 

Host Erin O’Toole spoke with the now-retired Bartolo earlier in the year to learn more about why chiles are such a point of pride for some people. It was one of our favorite science-related interviews of 2024, which we’re revisiting this week.

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

The sugar beet industry began in Colorado right around 1900. Today it's only a small part of the state's economy, but through the early part of the 20th century, beets were the most significant agricultural product grown here. They were so important to the economy that people  referred to sugar beets as 'white gold.' During this time, thousands of Hispanic and Mexican people came to Northern Colorado to work in the beet fields. Many of them eventually settled in Fort Collins - predominantly in what would come to be called the Tres Colonias – three neighborhoods that surrounded the Great Western Sugar Company.

Betty Aragon-Mitotes is something of an expert on the legacy of the families who settled in this area. She has been a longtime community leader, advocating for Hispanic and Latino communities. She co-founded a cultural center spotlighting the Tres Colonias neighborhoods, and is the founder and president of the nonprofit Mujeres de Colores, which educates and provides support to working-class and low-income families. 

Last October, she was awarded the 2023 Polly Baca Raíces Fuertes Community Leader Award from Rep. Joe Neguse in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

She sat down with host Erin O'Toole to share more about the people who settled in the Tres Colonias – and their indelible contributions to Northern Colorado history. We're listening back to that episode, which originally aired Dec. 1, 2023.

Betty's foundation runs several charitable events every year in the Tres Colonias, including The Backpack Program which helps provide school supplies to students from working-class and low-income families. This event takes place the first Tuesday in August.

It was a shocking crime.

In January, thieves in Wichita, Kansas allegedly stole and destroyed a bronze statue of Jackie Robinson, the trailblazing baseball player and civil rights hero. Only the statue's bronze shoes were left behind. The statue had stood near ballfields used by League 42 – a youth baseball league named after the number on Robinson’s uniform. 

News of the crime generated an outpouring of support, including more than half a million dollars in donations to replace the statue. And the work to create the new statue is happening in Loveland. 

Art Castings of Colorado, which was started in 1972, specializes in bronze sculptures. The company worked on the original Jackie Robinson statue. Now, the staff at the foundry is creating the replacement, which League 42 plans to dedicate later this year..  

Art Castings owner Tony Workman joined host Erin O'Toole to share what makes the statue so special.

A tiny parasite is an emerging threat to honeybees globally. And a scientist at the University of Colorado is sounding the alarm. 

Dr. Samuel Ramsey is an entomologist, someone who studies insects. Dr. Sammy, as he is also known, is assistant professor of entomology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado Boulder and talks about science on his YouTube channel.

The tropilaelops mite -- or as Ramsey likes to call them, tropi-mites -- have devastated bees in Asia and are spreading to Europe. Ramsey is studying how we might prevent this species from spreading to North America and becoming a honeybee pandemic. 

Ramsey is a gay, Christian, Black scientist who attributes much of his research success to his unique perspective. We talked with him about what tropilaelops could mean for honeybees, as well as how a diversity of viewpoints makes for better scientific research.  

Each spring, the Front Range endures miller moth season. Even in relatively mild years like this one, the tiny winged visitors enter our homes, annoy us and even frighten us. 

But they’re also fascinating.

So we asked Karim Gharbi – an insect expert and horticulture specialist with Colorado State University Extension – to help us unpack the mysteries of the miller moths. 

Where do they come from? Where do they go when they leave? Are they dangerous? And why does Erin’s dog seem to love the taste of them? 

The answers may surprise you – just like a miller moth darting out of your medicine cabinet first thing in the morning.

For many of us, Memorial Day is the first day of the year we get to fire up the grill. We make hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks - all foods that taste good with a bit of a char and that added smoky flavor. 

They’re also all meats. 

So what if you want a plant-based Memorial Day cookout, but you don’t want that frozen veggie patty from the grocery store? Today on the show: some easy ideas for a meat-free or vegetarian-friendly barbecue. 

To help with those plans we spoke with Justice Marcellus, owner and manager of The Mighty Vegans - a food truck serving all plant-based options. The Mighty Vegans just had their grand opening in Longmont this week. 

You can see Justice’s recipe for her Smokin’ Herb Burger on our website at KUNC.org.

The phrase "gardening season" may bring a few images to mind: large beds of colorful wildflowers… rows of neatly staked tomato plants… big bags of mulch stacked up against the side of the house. Or perhaps your mental image of gardening looks a little more modest. As in, potted herbs growing on a windowsill. 

That's the case for KUNC digital producer Natalie Skowlund. She recently decided to research and write an introduction to gardening for novices. And she lives in an apartment, so she wanted to focus on the benefits of starting small as you work on your green thumb. 

She joined In The NoCo host Erin O'Toole to commiserate over all the basil plants they've allowed to die over the years... and to share some of the tips she's learned – including why it's important to branch out when choosing drought-tolerant plants. 

Adjusting street lamps and other exterior lights to allow the stars to shine more brilliantly – that's part of the process for becoming a certified Dark Sky community. More than 200 places in 22 countries around the world have this designation. 

Advocates say limiting light pollution helps preserve expansive views of the night sky, and helps nocturnal creatures thrive. And the Colorado Tourism Office believes the Dark Sky designation helps attract visitors.

Town leaders in Grand Lake recently took the first steps toward becoming an official Dark Sky community. They would join five other towns in Colorado that already have that designation. About two dozen more Dark Sky places are in the pipeline, including communities and parks across the state.

Aaron Watson is with the group DarkSky Colorado. He joined host Erin O'Toole to discuss the problem with light pollution, and why a growing number of Colorado towns are taking the idea of dark skies so seriously.

Read more about the overview effect that Watson mentions near the end of the conversation.

Danielle SeeWalker is a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta artist living and working in Denver. Her work incorporates traditional Native American materials and themes. 

This past January, SeeWalker was approached and offered a residency by the town of Vail. The residency would have included SeeWalker creating a public mural. However, on May 9, town officials backed out on that plan. They stated a concern about the politicization of their public art program. 

Vail officials pointed to SeeWalker’s recent  social media posts sharing a painting she had created, called "G is for Genocide." The piece is a statement on the conflict in Gaza. The painting depicts a person wearing a keffiyeh – a traditional Palestinian scarf – as well as a braid, a feather and other traditional Native American imagery.

The rescinded offer became a social media firestorm for both SeeWalker and the town. Vail released another statement on May 14. They apologized for inconveniencing SeeWalker. But they also defended their decision, saying they could not “support messaging that targets one group of residents or guests over another.”

SeeWalker spoke with host Erin O’Toole about why she painted “G is for Genocide,” her ideas for the mural she had planned for Vail and whether this experience will change her approach to art.

One of the most definitive signs that spring has arrived is the sound of lawnmowers filling the neighborhood. But this month, that rumble may be a little quieter than usual. That's because of a recent trend in yard care called "No Mow May." 

The idea is simple: wait until June to mow to allow flowers like dandelions and clover to grow and support bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

The concept was started in 2019 by Plantlife, a UK-based conservation organization, in response to declines in pollinators and their natural habitat. It's since become a popular movement among some gardeners and conservation advocates in the U.S. – propelled, perhaps, by the catchy name and the #NoMowMay social media hashtag.

But is it a good idea for our region?

Before you decide whether to break out your lawnmower this weekend – or leave it idle – we asked for advice from our friends at Plant Talk Colorado at CSU. Extension professor of horticulture Alison O’Connor joined us to explain whether No May May is backed up by science.  

If you have questions about plants or yard care that you’d like us to ask our friends at Plant Talk Colorado, send us an email at noco@kunc.org.

Just off Highway 34 outside of Greeley sits a ghost town dotted with a couple of deteriorating buildings and a sign. In the early 1900s, this area was home to Dearfield. The thriving agricultural community founded by O.T. Jackson was Colorado’s largest Black homesteading site. 

At its peak there were around 300 residents, and Dearfield boasted a number of businesses including a grocery store and a blacksmith shop, plus a school, several churches, and a dance hall. Settlers grew corn, winter wheat, melons and strawberries, and the community enjoyed great prosperity – until drought, the Dust Bowl, and the Great Depression forced most to leave and seek work elsewhere.

“I think it's been very, very important to have Dearfield be an example of what Black people could do and have done – and the future of what Black people could do,” said George Junne, a professor of Africana Studies at University of Northern Colorado who has studied Dearfield for decades. 

Junne sat down with In The NoCo’s Erin O’Toole in February to discuss the community's importance, as the National Park Service announced it is studying Dearfield for potential inclusion in the park system. We're listening back to that conversation in today's episode.

This Saturday, May 18, the Dearfield Preservation Committee holds its annual conference on Dearfield from the Michener Library on the UNC campus. Attendees can participate in person or virtually.

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science made an exciting announcement this year: A new species of cave-dwelling pseudoscorpion had been discovered in the foothills outside Boulder. Researchers named it Larca boulderica – a nod to the city of Boulder – and say the only place on the planet where you’ll find it is in just two caves near the Boulder Flatirons.    

We reached out to David Steinmann, the research associate with the Museum of Nature and Science who found the new species. We thought he’d want to talk about his once-in-a- lifetime discovery. Instead, he told us that for him, it wasn’t a singular event at all. In fact, he kind of specializes in hunting for new species, and says he’s found at least 50 of them.  

Steinmann joined host Erin O’Toole to talk about his unusual work, and what exactly a pseudoscorpion is. As we listen back to some of our favorite science-related interviews of 2024, we’re revisiting this one today. 

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

Patients in Colorado feel the brunt of a growing healthcare crisis every day. Most Colorado counties have a shortage of primary care doctors and other healthcare workers – and that has an outsized impact on low-income and rural communities.

And that shortage is projected to get even worse as physicians near retirement age. About a third of doctors in the state are 60 or older, according to a recent report from the American Association of Medical Colleges.

On May 1, Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation to help address the shortfall. A new medical  school – just the third one in Colorado – will open in 2026 at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The new College of Osteopathic Medicine has a price tag of around $200 million, and will eventually graduate 150 new doctors each year.

The college's first dean, Dr. Beth Longenecker, joined In The NoCo to discuss how the new school will make a dent in a statewide and national shortage of doctors.

Access to a great education – and finding a way to pay for it – was a common thread running through some of the most notable bills Colorado lawmakers introduced at the state capitol in recent months. 

The 2024 legislative session wrapped up last week with lots of new laws on the books, including one that offers two years of free community college to some state residents. Another bill, designed to make sure rural K-12 schools are funded properly, marks the first major overhaul of the state's public education funding formula in 30 years.

KUNC's statehouse reporter Lucas Brady Woods followed these and dozens of other bills during the session. He joined In The NoCo to highlight a few of the most notable legislative accomplishments.

We want to hear from you! What questions do you have about Colorado laws, state politics – or something else entirely? Send us your burning questions, and we might look into some of them! Email us (or send us a voice memo) at NOCO@kunc.org

Springtime in Northern Colorado means the return of a quintessential summer pastime. The Fort Collins Trolley resumed service last weekend. This season marks 40 years since the restored trolley began once again to take passengers on a leisurely journey along Mountain Avenue into Old Town.  

The electric streetcars were once a common sight in the streets of Fort Collins, at least until the early 1950s, as car ownership rose and fewer people relied on public transportation. In the late 1970s, a group of dedicated volunteers began to restore the aged trolley cars and to reinstall the track. 

Host Erin O’Toole took a ride and got a personal tour, where she learned some of the trolley's quirky history – including the time the old depot became a victim of the CU-CSU football rivalry… and how a group of people opposed to bringing the trolley back nearly derailed the restoration.

The Fort Collins Trolley operates weekends and holidays through Sept. 29, 2024. You can learn more about the trolley's history and find schedule and fare information here.

Thanks to depot agent Kathy Mabry and conductor Kevin Mabry for sharing their stories. They co-authored and illustrated a children's book about the trolley (available at the depot). And a huge thank you to motorman Bethany O'Brien for sharing both her historical knowledge and her expert driving skills.