It’s a crisis that's quietly putting pressure on Colorado public school systems: The state's tight housing market has made it increasingly difficult in recent years for districts to hire teachers and other school employees.  

US News recently reported that Colorado ranks 48th in housing affordability – which means many teachers find it difficult to find a place to live if they accept a job in a Colorado school district with high real estate prices.  

Meanwhile, another trend has emerged for Colorado schools – and this one might help solve the housing crunch for educators. School districts have traditionally acquired more land than they need to address how their local population might grow in the future. But enrollment is dropping in many districts, and some districts are even closing schools.   

A state lawmaker has a proposal to address both of these trends. It would build housing for school employees on unused school property and rent it to the staff at affordable rates. State Sen. Jeff Bridges hopes to introduce the bill during the current legislative session. 

Colorado Sun education reporter Erica Bruenlin wrote about how school employees are feeling squeezed, and how this solution could help.  

For more on challenges making life in Colorado increasingly unaffordable, check out The Price of Paradise, a new series of stories from KUNC News. 

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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 2026 Winter Olympics are beginning their final week in Italy. And it might surprise you to learn that some of those snowy race courses in the Italian Alps aren’t necessarily a product of natural snowfall.  

At lower elevations, where cross-country and many other events take place, what we’re seeing is large swaths of artificial snow.  

 Warmer winters and less-predictable snowfall mean that winter sports must increasingly rely on machine-made snow. And while that makes it possible for the winter games to go on, the density and the feel of artificial snow is quite different from that of natural snow.   

That makes competing in events like downhill or cross-country skiing faster and – oftentimes – more dangerous.  

Keith Musselman is an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who studies mountain snow and the impact of warming winters. And Agnes Macy is a graduate student at CU Boulder and a former competitive skier.  

They wrote about how artificial snow is changing winter sports in a recent article for The Conversation. They joined Erin O’Toole to explain what makes machine-made snow different from natural snow, and how athletes and coaches are adapting.  

For more on Colorado and the Winter Games, check out our recent conversation about Steamboat Springs’ reputation for producing Olympic athletes; or our interview with Nikki LaRochelle, a skimo racer who’s providing commentary as the sport makes its Olympic debut. 

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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.

Researcher Caitlin Clark has a job a lot of people would envy. Clark is a food scientist who oversees a laboratory devoted entirely to the study of chocolate – how it’s made, what makes it taste so good, and how to make new and better varieties of it. 

She and her team, based at the Colorado State University Food Innovation Center in Denver, work to dream up new confections that hopefully will end up on grocery store shelves or, maybe, in your box of Valentine’s Day chocolates.  

Clark talked with Erin O’Toole last year about her work in the laboratory, and how her expertise in fermentation helped pave the way for her to become a chocolate researcher. We’re listening back to that conversation today. 

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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.

A landscape in decline – and a surprisingly fast rebound. It’s a story that played out in the Kawuneeche Valley recently on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.  

The willow groves and wetlands in that area had become so badly depleted that a park ecologist used the term “ecosystem collapse” to describe the surrounding environment. 

That collapse reversed itself quickly after crews installed an unusual feature – a series of artificial beaver dams along what’s known as Beaver Creek, near the headwaters of the Colorado River. And those artificial dams helped create flooding in early 2025 that appears to have had huge benefits for the surrounding area. 

Michael Booth of the Colorado Sun recently reported on the impressive rebound. He spoke with Erin O’Toole to explore how it came together and what it can teach scientists about repairing a habitat.  

Those artificial dams in the Kawuneeche Valley mirror a similar project on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park. Check out this recent episode about how manmade beaver dams could help repair an area damaged by wildfire.  

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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 sent more athletes to the 2026 Winter Games in Italy than any other state. And nearly a third of those 32 Coloradans competing in events like snowboarding, slalom, or ski jumping hail from Steamboat Springs.  

About 100 Olympic athletes live or have lived in Steamboat Springs – more than any other town in the U.S. Which got us wondering: How did Steamboat foster an environment where young athletes are encouraged and equipped to pursue Olympic gold?  

Candice Bannister is executive director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum in Steamboat Springs, which has several history exhibits that highlight the town’s legacy of Olympians. 

She points to a century of skiing culture and tradition, as well as some modern-day programs that nurture young athletes. Candice joined Erin O'Toole to talk about Steamboat’s reputation as an Olympic powerhouse and why it’s a training ground for many of those American athletes in Italy right now.

Listen to our previous conversation with Candice about Howelsen Hill and its role in shaping ski culture in Steamboat and around the state. 

For more on this year’s Winter Games, check out our conversation about ski mountaineering (or “skimo”) making its Olympic debut with Nikki LaRochelle, a longtime skimo racer who will provide commentary for the events from Italy. 

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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 first sanctioned walkout at a major American meatpacking plant in decades appears to be unfolding in Northern Colorado. It’s happening during a particularly tense moment for U.S. immigration policies.   

The workers at Greeley’s JBS meatpacking plant voted overwhelmingly last week to move forward with the strike. The workforce there, which is made up of a large number of Haitian refugees, are pushing for safer working conditions. The strike could begin in the next few days.  

The vote took place within days of a ruling by a U.S. District Court judge last week that halted plans to revoke the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for thousands of Haitian refugees in the United States.  

Reporter Ted Genoways covered the situation for Mother Jones and the Food & Environment Reporting Network. He joined Erin O’Toole to discuss his reporting on the strike vote and the tenuous status of many of the refugee workers involved. 

After this interview was recorded, KUNC News received a statement from JBS, saying the company “has presented a comprehensive offer that reflects the national agreement reached with [the union] UFCW International and accepted at our other large processing facilities throughout the U.S.” 

Ted has appeared on In The NoCo previously to discuss his investigation into the lives of immigrant JBS workers in Greeley and the grueling, dangerous work they do.  

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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.

Scenes of ICE agents on the streets of Minneapolis have dominated headlines and news footage in recent weeks.  

Those images also raise concerns about immigration enforcement in Colorado. The state saw a surge in arrests since President Trump took office a year ago – and some people are worried that what happened in Minneapolis might play out here.   

Today, we talk with an elected official who’s working to place stronger restrictions on how ICE operates in Colorado and nationally.  Democratic Congressman Joe Neguse, and other lawmakers, are working to negotiate new rules for ICE agents.  

Rep. Neguse is also the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security about guaranteeing members of Congress access to ICE detention centers. He and Rep. Jason Crow made an unannounced visit to the ICE detention facility in Aurora on Thursday – a day after he spoke with Erin O’Toole about some of the reforms he’s pursuing.  (The introduction to this episode was updated after it was initially published to add a mention of that visit.) 

This conversation was part of a longer interview with Neguse. On Thursday, he spoke about efforts to prevent the dismantling of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. Listen to that interview here. 

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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.

One of the world’s leading climate research institutions – the National Center for Atmospheric Research, or NCAR – has been headquartered in Boulder since the 1950s. Scientists there research everything from hurricanes and wildfires to how changing climate patterns affect our communities. NCAR's Mesa Laboratory in Boulder employs around 800 people.  

In December, the Trump administration ordered the National Science Foundation, which provides funding for NCAR, to explore how it might dismantle NCAR.   

This has raised alarms for members of Colorado's congressional delegation, especially in light of the Trump administration's targeting of other climate research, including NOAA and the National Weather Service.   

Colorado Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse, whose district includes Boulder, is leading efforts to keep NCAR intact – and the scientists who work there in their jobs.  

He joined Erin O’Toole to talk about his strategy to protect NCAR –  and the political fight he says the Trump administration is picking with Colorado.  

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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.

A pretty major shakeup could be on the horizon for Colorado’s cannabis-related businesses – and their profitability.   

President Trump in December issued an executive order calling for the reclassification of marijuana, which is currently a Schedule I substance, to the less severe category of Schedule III. Cannabis is currently illegal according to federal regulators, even if states like Colorado say it’s legal to sell and use it.   

The current Schedule I status also creates major limitations for dispensaries and other cannabis-related businesses. Taxes and fees from those companies are a major chunk of Colorado’s economy – generating about a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue last year. So a shift in federal law could have big economic impacts on those taxes and fees in states like Colorado.  

University of Colorado law professor Sloan Speck examined the potential impacts in a recent essay in The Conversation. Sloan studies how tax laws change the way businesses operate.  

He joined Erin O’Toole to talk about some of the unusual ways that tax law and cannabis interact, and to dig into some big questions about what could be next.  

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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 2026 Winter Olympics begin this week, and a growing winter sport is about to make its Olympic debut in the coming days.   

Ski mountaineering, often referred to as “skimo,” is a type of endurance racing that sees competitors ski uphill, climb uphill with skis on their backs, and then ski downhill multiple times in a race. Which sounds thrilling – and maybe exhausting, too. 

Nikki LaRochelle, who lives in Breckenridge, is one of skimo’s most visible ambassadors. She’ll provide commentary for ski mountaineering events during broadcast of the winter games from Italy. She’ll be heard on Olympic Broadcasting Services, which beams the different events around the world. 

Nikki was on the U.S. national skimo team about a decade ago. She joined Erin O’Toole to explain her passion for ski mountaineering, and what she’s excited to watch for in the upcoming Winter Games. 

* * * * *

Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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
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.