In The NoCo

A half-century ago, a mile-long stretch of Federal Boulevard in Denver underwent a quiet transformation.  More than 10,000 Vietnamese refugees settled in that corner of southwest Denver after fleeing their home country in 1975.  

Over the years, these newcomers turned the area into a vibrant hub for Asian culture. Today, it’s known as Little Saigon. The area is home to many local Vietnamese-owned businesses – with the distinctive architecture of the Far East Center as the neighborhood’s focal point. 

History Colorado is highlighting some of the stories that bubbled up in that neighborhood over the past 50 years. A new exhibit called Big Dreams in Denver's Little Saigon features two dozen oral histories from residents, a documentary exploring the community, and art created by four local Asian American artists.  

Jane Ly is one of those artists, as well as an oral historian. She joined In The NoCo's Erin O’Toole to talk about the new exhibit, and the role Denver’s Little Saigon played in her life.  

The exhibit is open at History Colorado now through Oct. 5, 2026. 

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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.

Since Colorado began its wolf reintroduction program two years ago, wildlife officials have worked to stop wolves from attacking livestock. Wherever possible, they’ve tried to use nonlethal methods, from hazing wolves with drones to having “range riders” patrol on horseback. 

One promising strategy is the use of very large dogs as livestock guardians.  

Enter: the Turkish Boz Shepherd. 

It's a massive dog that can weigh up to 180 pounds. It's formidable enough that ranchers in Montana use Boz to protect their livestock from grizzly bears. Yet, the dog is surprisingly gentle with its owners.  

Now a new pilot program could see more Boz Shepherds protecting livestock in Colorado.  

Tracy Ross of the Colorado Sun recently wrote about Boz Shepherds, and how the U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with Boz breeders to make the dogs available to ranchers. She joined Erin O’Toole to talk about what makes the Boz so uniquely suited to help ranchers in the high country deal with wolves.  

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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.

Science is about to make it rain a little bit more over Weld County – and provide farmers with some extra moisture for their crops. 

That's the goal behind a plan announced last week to allow a new type of cloud seeding in Colorado on a limited basis. Cloud seeding refers to techniques developed by scientists to make rainfall happen. The plans for this upcoming pilot project rely on using electricity to produce more rain. 

This marks the first time this technology is being used in Colorado. And if it’s a success for farmers in Weld County, we could see more of it used to irrigate farmland across the state soon.  

Alex Hager spoke with In The NoCo’s Erin O’Toole about the science behind this plan. Check out Alex’s story about the project.  

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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.

Witches are having a moment – and not only because Halloween is almost here.  

A recent Pew Research survey of Americans’ religious beliefs found a growing number of people identify as spiritual but not religious. Crystals, tarot cards, and astrology apps are part of many people’s lives in 2025. And in Colorado, about 1 percent of people in that survey checked the box for “Pagan, Wiccan, or other ‘New Age’” belief when asked about their religious views.  

Today's guest has a unique perspective on these trends. Ann Little is a professor of history at Colorado State University. Some of her American history courses explore witchcraft in early North America.   

Ann talked with In The NoCo’s Erin O’Toole about what we can learn from the days of witch trials and why she was initially reluctant to teach a course about it. 

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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.

On today's episode we’re talking about measles – in the sewer.  

But we promise – you won’t need to hold your nose. This is actually a remarkable public health success story. 

Back in August, health officials in Mesa County, on Colorado's Western Slope, fielded a report of a measles outbreak involving seven people. Measles outbreaks have been flaring up around the country this year, so health officials were on alert.   

But the health officials in Mesa County basically detected these cases before they were actually reported through typical channels. They did that by monitoring the county's wastewater system.  

John Ingold is the Colorado Sun's health reporter. He looked into how the early detection system works, and how widespread this type of disease monitoring is in Colorado.   

He joined In The NoCo’s Erin O’Toole to explain how wastewater tracking gives public health officials an extra tool to fight disease outbreaks. 

For more coverage of measles prevention in Colorado, check out our conversation from earlier this year about vaccination rates.  

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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.

How does a community heal from the shock and grief of a mass shooting? And how can people who have lost loved ones find a way to move forward?  

That’s the subject of a new podcast called Senseless. In it, journalist Erika Mahoney explores the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Boulder King Soopers grocery store in 2021. And it’s a deeply personal show, because Erika's father, Kevin Mahoney, was one of the ten people killed in that shooting. 

Over the course of the eight-part series, Erika speaks with others who lost loved ones that day, as well as police, prosecutors, and members of the community.  

Erika has been a guest on In The NoCo before to talk about the trial – which ended in guilty verdicts and ten consecutive life sentences for the gunman.  

She spoke with Erin O’Toole earlier this year about why she felt driven to make this podcast, and about the impacts of gun violence that linger after the news coverage has faded away. 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.

For almost 30 years, a little-known program inside a Colorado prison quietly helped wild mustangs find new homes – and helped incarcerated men find new purpose.  

The wild horse program at a Cañon City correctional facility paired horses rounded up from Western rangelands with incarcerated people who learned to care for, train, and prepare the horses for adoption.  

The project helped the Bureau of Land Management protect the wild horses it oversees. In a news release, the Colorado Department of Corrections says it gave inmates “unique vocational and rehabilitative skills.” 

But now, the federal government has announced that it will end the program, citing rising costs.  

Colorado Sun reporter Jennifer Brown recently wrote about this unusual collaboration. She joined Erin O'Toole to talk about what the program accomplished, and what’s next for Colorado’s wild horses.  

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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.

Victorian Death Experiences is a Halloween attraction with a historic twist.  

The program takes place in the historic home which houses the Center for Colorado Women’s History in Denver. Visitors see rooms decorated for mourning. They hear stories of death in the Old West. And they see fascinating artifacts, like hair jewelry made partly from the hair of a deceased loved one.  

Above all, the program highlights the central role that women have traditionally played when a loved one died – preparing bodies for burial, hosting wakes, and other acts that allowed people to mourn at the end of life. 

“Death, for Victorian women, was a deep and sacred act. Women, regardless of race or class, have long been the arbiters of life and death,” said Cat Jensen, education coordinator for the center. 

Cat spoke with In The NoCo’s Erin O’Toole last October about the program, which is now in its third year. We’re listening back to that conversation today. 

Victorian Death Experiences takes place on selected Thursday and Friday evenings throughout October. Find more information and tickets 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.

Denver composer Nathan Hall’s new album of percussion music focuses on some unique instruments: They’re hand-carved from stone and date back several millennia.  

Lithophones are polished, resonant rocks shaped like baguettes. Archaeologists say that Indigenous people used the stones somewhere between 2,000 and 6,000 years ago near what’s now Great Sand Dunes National Park.  

Nathan wrote a series of pieces to be performed on the stones and recorded the music with a Colorado group called Perc Ens. The resulting album, called Gentle Worship, is out now. 

Nathan talked with In The NoCo's Erin O’Toole about collaborating with Marilyn Martorano, the Colorado archaeologist who studied the lithophones. The music he wrote combines the ancient stone instruments’ sounds with modern instruments like woodblocks and timpani. 

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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.

When school leaders in Colorado work to prevent shootings and other violent incidents – like the one last month at Evergreen High – they have a tool that officials in many states don’t have.  

Under Colorado’s so-called “red flag” law, teachers and other educators are among those who can request that someone’s access to firearms be suspended if they appear to be a threat to themselves or others.   

But as Chalkbeat reported recently, there’s little evidence that educators have used this tool in the two years since Colorado lawmakers gave it to them. And that lack of use is striking, given that police say that the shooter at Evergreen High showed warning signs months before he shot two other students, and then died by suicide, using a gun he got from home.   

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser thinks part of the problem is that teachers don’t know about this tool – or how to use it. So he is launching new training courses for teachers to help them better understand how and when to use what are called Extreme Risk Protection Orders.  

Weiser – who is running for governor, but launched this initiative in his current capacity as attorney general – spoke with In The NoCo’s Erin O’Toole about why he’s optimistic this new teacher training will make a dent in the problem.  

This conversation contains mentions of suicide. 

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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.