In The NoCo

Experts at History Colorado have been thinking of different ways to help commemorate Colorado’s 150th birthday this year. One idea they pursued was to track down the earliest known photograph of Colorado.  

And what they uncovered is striking: It’s a daguerreotype from 1853, taken during an expedition across the West more than 20 years before Colorado became a state in 1876. 

The image depicts a Cheyenne village with two people facing the camera, near what is now Lamar, Colo. 

For the curators at History Colorado, the photo also revealed the fascinating story of the photographer – a man named Solomon Nunes Carvalho, who traveled the West with a bulky camera and captured some of the earliest photos of the region.  

Erin O’Toole spoke last fall with Sam Bock, History Colorado’s director of Interpretations and Publications, to learn more about the search for the oldest photo and what it tells us about Colorado’s early history.  

We’re listening back to that conversation today as part of a week of special episodes kicking off Colorado’s sesquicentennial year.  

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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.

In an era of high-speed gondolas and sprawling ski resorts, it's easy to forget how some of Colorado's smaller mountains shaped ski culture as we know it today.
 
Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs is one of those mountains. It's a fraction of the size of the resorts in Aspen or Vail – or the bigger resort across town.

But Howelsen Hill made a huge impact when it opened back in 1915. The hill bears the name of its founder, a champion ski jumper from Norway named Carl Howelsen. Over the years, Howelsen Hill got more people skiing, and eventually served as the training ground for dozens of future Olympians.

Candice Bannister is the executive director of the Tread of Pioneers Museum in Steamboat Springs, which has plenty of Howelsen-related artifacts in its collection.  

She talked with Erin O’Toole about Howelsen’s legacy – and why Howelsen Hill is still an important place today. It’s part of our weeklong look at some of the people and places who shaped Colorado, as the state kicks off its 150th birthday year. 

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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.

Colorado's Rocky Mountains have always drawn tourists. But for Black Americans in the 1920s and 30s, segregation and discrimination severely restricted where they could travel and take a vacation.  

Which is why, in 1922, Lincoln Hills emerged as a mountain resort created by and for African Americans. It sits near Rollinsville, northwest of Denver, and was the largest resort of its kind west of the Mississippi River. It drew visitors from all over the country until the 1960s. 

And it offered a rare opportunity for Black Americans to feel safe and welcome in the outdoors, during a time when access to such spaces was often limited because of racial discrimination. 

History Colorado in Denver recently unveiled a newly expanded exhibit called Lincoln Hills: Mountain Sanctuary. It features photographs, displays of recreational clothing, and recently collected oral histories.  

Erin O’Toole spoke with Acoma Gaither, History Colorado’s assistant curator of Black history, in June to learn more about what made Lincoln Hills so important during an era of segregation. We’re listening back to that conversation today – as we continue to share fascinating stories from Colorado history to mark the state’s 150th birthday year.  

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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 1895, Leadville city leaders faced a dilemma. The silver mining industry had made the town quite wealthy. But then the silver market crashed, and the city's fortunes cratered right along with it. Residents were leaving in droves to seek better opportunities. 

So, city leaders came up with an unusual idea to draw tourists to Leadville, entice people to live there, and give the remaining residents a sense of pride: 

They decided to build a giant palace of ice.  

What followed is a remarkable story of innovative engineering that drew visitors from thousands of miles away – at least for a few winter months, until the inevitable spring melt. 

Windsor-based author Afton Rorvik paints a vivid picture of all of this in her book for kids and adults, The 1896 Leadville Ice Palace. Her research drew from the collections of the Heritage Museum and the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville.  

She spoke with Erin O’Toole recently about why she finds this history fascinating – and why the story of the Ice Palace still resonates today. We’re listening back to that conversation today to mark the start of Colorado’s 150th birthday year. 

We’ll share more fascinating stories from Colorado history later this week on In The NoCo. 

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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.

For centuries, the Arapaho have called Colorado and Wyoming home. The tribe gave names to places like the Kawuneeche Valley, the Never Summer Mountains, and Mount Blue Sky.   

But the language the Arapaho have spoken for centuries is at risk of disappearing, as fewer members of the tribe have learned the language.  

A team of language experts at the University of Colorado Boulder is working to change that. They’re compiling an online database that includes recordings of the Arapaho language and can be used as a learning and teaching tool.  

Andrew Cowell is a linguistics professor at CU, and faculty director of the Center for Native American and Indigenous studies. He helped launch this project more than two decades ago.   

He joined Erin O’Toole to talk about how he hopes the digital database helps future generations learn and continue to speak the Arapaho language.   

You can access the Arapaho Language Project here. 

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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.

Somewhere in the vast reaches of the universe, there may be an Earth-like planet that could be a second home for humanity.  

Although that may sound like science fiction, astronomers at the University of Colorado Boulder are part of a new project designed to help find that planet.  

And their efforts will soon get a major boost, as researchers from CU Boulder, in collaboration with NASA, prepare for a new space telescope to come online. The telescope, called the Habitable Worlds Observatory, is expected to launch in the 2030s.   

Kevin France is a professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences at CU and was recently appointed to the project. He spoke earlier this year with Erin O’Toole about how this new observatory could help us reimagine our place in the universe. 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.

Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program has been contentious from the start. It’s seemingly created a divide between rural ranchers worried about their livestock, and urban Front Range voters who supported reintroduction.  

But there’s one effort that might help bridge that divide. It’s a specialty Colorado license plate with a drawing of a wolf, and a tagline that says “Born to Be Wild.” 

The idea for the plate came from an advocacy group called the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project. They wanted to get ahead of the inevitable conflicts between wolves and the ranching community by raising funds to help pay for nonlethal services that prevent wolves from preying on livestock. That includes range riders, who patrol ranchland on horseback to scare away wolves that might attack sheep or cattle. 

Colorado Sun reporter Tracy Ross says the license plates have raised just over $1 million since they became available in January 2024. She joined Erin O'Toole to talk about how this specialty plate has taken off, even in areas that voted against wolf reintroduction at the ballot box.  

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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.

With the holiday season here, we’re right in the middle of a very busy time at Denver International Airport. But the airport isn’t just busy – it's also noisy.  

And that can be tougher for travelers than you might realize.  Research suggests that exposure to noise can trigger stress in a traveler’s brain and body, which doesn’t help people already tense from trying to get through those crowded security lines. 

Which is why, earlier this year, Denver airport officials launched a campaign to turn down the noise. The goal is to create a calmer and more peaceful airport experience. 

Jamie Banks is a health and environmental scientist, and the founder and president of Quiet Communities, an organization that works to reduce noise pollution – from restaurant interiors to noisy neighborhoods. 

She joined Erin O'Toole to talk about how a quieter airport might help tame some of the anxiety of travel. 

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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.

Owls are symbols of wisdom, and heroes of literature – from Greek mythology to Harry Potter.  
 
But a leading conservation agency says owls are in trouble along Colorado’s Front Range. They’re losing critical habitat as cities and suburban areas expand. 

The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies recently launched what it calls the Urban Owl Nest Box program.  It’s an unusual project that asks Front Range residents to create nesting spaces for eastern screech owls in their backyards. 

Marion Clément is a senior avian ecologist with the Bird Conservancy. She spoke with Erin O'Toole about why owls are so important to our ecosystem, how to get involved and why the organization says it’s prioritizing these nocturnal birds with the new program.  

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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 December in Colorado. Snowflakes are flying. And ski resorts are open in the High Country.  

If you're like a lot of skiers and snowboarders, you’ve been eagerly anticipating that first trip to the mountains this winter. But you might not have put much energy into staying in shape during the off-season. My guest today specializes in helping people stay in shape for the ski slopes — and avoid, or recover from, injuries. 

Sherrie Ballantine-Talmadge is a primary care sports medicine doctor with the CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Boulder. And she says a little prep work might help prevent some of the injuries she often sees at her clinic.  

She walked In The NoCo’s Erin O’Toole through some of her best advice – including helpful exercises, proper hydration and how to ease into that first day on the slopes. 

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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.