In The NoCo

 A bit of regional science news may have slipped past you last week.

You could be forgiven if you missed the Trump administration's announcement that it's removing federal protections from a bird species known as the lesser prairie-chicken. 

It roams the southern Great Plains, including southeast Colorado. It makes a sound known as “booming” when it dances as part of its distinctive mating ritual.  

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s decision to remove threatened and endangered species protections for the bird comes after farming and oil and gas trade groups complained about those restrictions.  

Sometimes it can feel a little abstract when you hear about a threatened species having its protections downgraded. But today, we thought we'd offer a primer on what’s special about this unusual bird, and why its numbers have declined in recent decades. 

David Pavlacky is a senior research scientist with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies who studies and works to preserve lesser prairie-chicken populations. He joined Erin O'Toole to talk about the bird, and why many find it fascinating. 

This episode includes lesser prairie-chicken audio by Andrew Spencer, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Macaulay Library. 

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Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: [email protected]
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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.

Greeley has been one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country in recent years, according to U.S. Census data. Since 2000, the city has grown from around 76,000 residents to nearly 114,000.   

An ambitious, nearly billion-dollar plan to develop 800 acres on the west side of the city would have continued that growth streak.  

The project, known as Catalyst, would include homes, a luxury hotel, an indoor water park, and a new arena for the Colorado Eagles hockey team.  City leaders pointed to new jobs and sales tax revenue the development would create  – and also promised it would not raise taxes. 

But a group called Greeley Demands Better opposed the project and collected enough signatures to put it before voters. In a special election on Feb. 24, Greeley voters repealed the zoning for Catalyst. That stalled the project – and calls into question the city’s reputation for being friendly to developers. 

Reporter Dan England has covered the ups and downs of the project for the Colorado Sun. He joined Erin O’Toole to talk about how Greeley got to this point – and what it might say about growth along the northern Front Range.  

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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.

Climate change is a threat to the state's ski industry. Warmer winters mean shorter seasons and less snow at resorts around Colorado – and presumably, less revenue for the companies that run them. 

But those companies take different approaches to advocating for measures that could slow climate change, or offset it.  

As Colorado’s ski industry limps through one of the driest winters in decades, today's guest recently reported on the different stances these companies have taken.  

Elise Schmelzer of the Denver Post wrote about businesses like Aspen Skiing Company that openly lobby for climate change legislation – and several ski companies who simply wouldn't talk about climate change on the record.

Erin O’Toole talked with Elise about her reporting, which was part of a Denver Post series on climate change and the ski industry. 

Who should we interview next? We always like hearing suggestions and news tips from our listeners. If you have an idea for us, email [email protected].  

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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.

We often think of destructive wildfires in terms of their size and the damage they cause: the number of acres burned or buildings destroyed.  

But emerging research says not all major wildfires belong in the same category.   

Some wildfires ignite and spread explosively. They move so swiftly that firefighting crews simply can’t keep up. The 2021 Marshall Fire, which scorched about a thousand homes in Boulder County, is one recent example of what experts call a “fast fire.” 

And this more destructive type of wildfire is becoming more common in a hotter, drier and more densely populated American West. 

Virginia Iglesias is an environmental scientist and director of Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder. She studies fast fires. She joined Erin O'Toole to talk about what makes fast fires especially dangerous – and how we might respond differently to them. 

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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.

If you're a homeowner in Colorado, there are a few types of natural disaster that might threaten your home. One is wildfire. Another is a severe hailstorm. 

Hazards like these are the reason people buy homeowners insurance. But a new analysis released this month says that hailstorms and wildfires have very different impacts on what Coloradans pay for insurance. As you might expect, the threat of wildfires drives up premiums in areas prone to wildfire. The threat of hail, however, increases insurance costs just about everywhere in the state. And as real estate prices climb, the cost of insuring homes against hail damage is also soaring. 

The report by the Colorado Division of Insurance, which is a state agency, looks at what shapes your monthly premiums if you own a home – and it raises questions about what might help lower those costs.  

Rachel Cohen is KUNC’s Mountain West News Bureau correspondent. She joined Erin O’Toole to walk through the report, and some potential relief for homeowners that state lawmakers are working on. 

Homeowners’ insurance is just one element of life in Colorado that’s seeing rising costs. For more, check out the KUNC News series The Price of Paradise. 

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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.

Listeners of a certain age: Do you remember how great Colorado’s craft beer scene used to be? 

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw hundreds of small breweries and taprooms spring up in communities across the state. But in the last five years, around 140 breweries, taprooms and brewpubs have closed -- including 40 that shuttered in 2025 alone.  

And while that still leaves more than 400 breweries across Colorado, the trend has many wondering if the market for craft beer is going flat.  

Our guest today views this as a sign of an industry maturing and settling into its next phase. Jeff York is a professor of entrepreneurship at CU Boulder's Leeds School of Business, and he co-hosts a podcast about craft beer called Creative Distillation.  

He joined Erin O'Toole to talk about how Colorado's local brewers can adapt to the changing landscape – and why it ultimately could be a good thing for beer lovers.  

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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.

Even in a milder Colorado winter like this one, short days and cooler temperatures leave many people with the winter blues. In fact, it’s a medical condition. Seasonal affective disorder is a form of depression some people feel during the fall and winter months.    

Our guest today offers a form of relief for the winter blues – if we’re willing to step outside, give our phones a rest, and tune into our surroundings.   

Rachel Juritsch is a 4-H health and wellbeing specialist with Colorado State University extension in Adams County. In a recent article, she explores how sketching and writing in a “nature journal” can help us appreciate the coldest months a bit more.  

Rachel joined Erin O'Toole to talk about the benefits of a nature journal – and shared some tips on how to get started.   

For more advice on how to slow down and connect with nature, check out our recent conversation about the practice of forest bathing.

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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.

In the late 1960s, a new movement of Black music grew out of the end of the civil rights era. Black artists proudly declared their Black power and rocked the airwaves with the sound of funk.    

Funk music was more than just a genre with excellent grooves. It had a deeper social and political meaning. Funk began as a reaction to tumultuous times and would ultimately lay the foundation for the hip hop and R&B we listen to today. 

That’s the argument Reiland Rabaka makes in his recently published book The Funk Movement: Music, Culture, and Politics.  

Rabaka is a professor of African, African American, and Caribbean studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is also the founder and director of the Center for African American Studies at CU, and hosts a podcast called The Cause. 

He spoke with Erin O'Toole last year about the importance of funk, and why it deserves respect for its singular impact on music and culture. We’re listening back to that conversation today. 

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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.

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. 

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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. 

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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.