In The NoCo

Leaders in Colorado are grappling with how to respond to the Trump administration's immigration policies that might affect students.  State lawmakers last week gave initial approval to a bill that would limit cooperation between federal immigration officials and public schools. 

And for months now, education leaders have been gathering advice on how to respond if immigration raids affect students in their schools.  

One person they got advice from was Steve Joel. He 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 spoke with Erin O’Toole in January about his advice for Colorado educators in the months ahead.

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

Friendships are an essential part of our well-being. Mental health experts say that loneliness is an epidemic that harms mental health and even physical health.   

So, if you want to build better friendships – and strengthen the ones you already have – you might be wondering how to go about it. 

Fortunately, there’s a bona fide “friendship expert” at Colorado State University.  

Natalie Pennington is an assistant professor of communication studies, and she co-leads the American Friendship Project – an ongoing research study of the state of connection in the U.S.  

Natalie spoke with Erin O’Toole in January and offered practical tips on how to build friendships – or reconnect with friends we haven’t seen for a while. 

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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
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.

A lot of young skiers and snowboarders nowadays want to break into an especially daring form of competition called freeskiing. It’s all about performing jumps and other stunts on camera, often in the backcountry. Freeskiers build huge followings on social media and win endorsement deals.  
 
But breaking into this sport is dangerous. 

Last week marked one year since the death of 21-year-old Colorado skier Dallas LeBaue. He died while attempting to jump across U.S. Highway 40 on Berthoud Pass near Winter Park. Dallas had dreamed up the stunt to win a contest that would have netted him $30,000 and greater exposure on social media.  

After that accident, his friend and mentor Bob Holme decided freeskiers like Dallas need a new kind of training. 

Bob is a retired Olympic ski jumper who’s now maintenance director for Winter Park Resort. And he recently launched a class to teach young skiers and snowboarders how to attempt these tricks more safely. He called it Dallas’ Class. 

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
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.

Nuclear energy is now clean energy in Colorado. That’s according to a new law recently signed by Gov. Jared Polis.  

The law adds nuclear power to a list of clean energies like wind and solar. Colorado leaders have set a goal of using only clean energy to power the state by 2040.    

The law didn’t pass without pushback from critics who point out that nuclear energy produces radioactive waste. But in the end, the Democratic-controlled state legislature approved it.  

So, what’s behind these shifting attitudes toward nuclear power in Colorado – which currently has no nuclear plants?  

Parker Yamasaki wrote about this for The Colorado Sun. She joined Erin O'Toole to explain how the new law could change Colorado’s energy sources in the decades ahead. 

This isn’t the only recent development in nuclear energy in Colorado. KUNC investigative reporter Scott Franz has reported extensively on a proposal to store the nation’s nuclear waste near Craig, in northwest Colorado. You can find his series 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
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 are many types of mental health therapy you can access these days: talk therapy, art therapy, even music therapy. 

Jen Ikuta leads sessions in what's called cuddle therapy. It’s a growing field.  

Jen works with clients who want to learn to be more comfortable with another person’s touch. Many of her clients have experienced physical trauma, and many have autism.  

Jen usually works with clients in one-on-one sessions but also organizes what she calls “community cuddles” for groups at her Arvada office.  

Erin O’Toole talked with her about the emerging field of cuddle therapy and what Jen remembers about her first experience as a cuddle therapy participant. 

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
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.

Researchers have proposed a plan to transform empty high-rise office spaces into living spaces to reduce the housing shortage in the Denver metro area. Denver is one of many American cities with a tight housing market and a glut of unused office space. 

A recent study by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the architecture firm Gensler calls for converting high rise offices to shared residential spaces similar to a college dorm.  Tenants would share kitchens, bathrooms and workspaces with people in neighboring units.

And some real estate developers also see opportunity. Earlier this week, a development company announced it purchased two office buildings in downtown Denver in hopes of converting them into affordable housing. 

Alex Horowitz is the Project Director of Housing and Project Initiatives at Pew Charitable Trusts who oversaw the study.  

He spoke with In the NoCo’s Brad Turner last November about why he thinks these low-cost, dorm-style units in skyscrapers could help cities where attainable housing is hard to find – and could even dramatically reduce the rate of homelessness in the U.S.

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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
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.

Egg prices in Colorado and across the nation remain stubbornly high. If you’ve been grocery shopping lately, it won't come as a surprise that the cost of eggs shot up 40 percent over the last year. 

Some experts have blamed outbreaks of avian flu, which forced farmers to cull millions of chickens and turkeys across the country. And while that is certainly one factor, a Colorado professor says that the systems we use to produce and deliver eggs are actually the root of the problem.  

Jack Buffington teaches supply chain management at the University of Denver. In a recent article, he wrote that those high egg prices are an avoidable problem – but fixing it will require the U.S. to think differently about egg production. 

He spoke with Erin O’Toole about why we’re seeing cracks in the U.S. egg supply chain – and what a more resilient system might look like.

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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
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.

A few weeks back we talked about how many Coloradans are planting native plants in their yards. And about how native plants are hardier, use less water, and can support bees and other pollinators in our ecosystem.  

We also invited you and other listeners to share your questions about native plants. And you sent us loads of responses. 

In this episode of In the NoCo, Erin O’Toole visits again with native plant expert Tommy Roth. He’s a home horticulture coordinator from the Colorado State University Extension, which advises homeowners on landscaping and many other plant-related matters.  

You can find lists and fact sheets about native plants and grasses at CSU Extension’s website 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
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.

If you spend time in the mountains, you’re probably familiar with sitting in traffic on I-70. 

That congestion is annoying – and costly.  

Colorado officials estimate the state lost nearly $320 million in revenue last year from delays on I-70. Some leaders in mountain towns blame these losses on semis that cause accidents or hold up traffic.  

So one veteran railroad employee has pitched an idea he thinks will eliminate much of the aggravation and economic losses. He calls it “truck-by-train.”  

Truckers would load their tractor-trailers onto a train on one side of the Rockies and ride the railway over the mountains, keeping the I-70 corridor less congested for other travelers. 

It’s the brainchild of retired Amtrack conductor Brad Swartzwelter. He played a role in reviving the ski train from Denver to Winter Park a few years back. 
 

Brad told Erin O’Toole about how his “truck-by-train" vision would work – and why taxpayers should consider supporting the idea. 

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
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 trial of a driver accused of hitting and killing a promising young competitive cyclist has made headlines in recent days. Seventeen-year-old Magnus White was struck and killed in 2023 while riding his bike on Highway 119 between Boulder and Longmont. 

Today we’re sharing a conversation about technology that might prevent similar tragedies. 

Magnus White’s parents and other cycling safety advocates have called for more regulations to make bicyclists safer on our roads – including better bike lanes and stiffer penalties for careless driving.  

Their demands also include a federal requirement that all new vehicles be equipped by the year 2029 with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) systems that can sense bicycles. For example, if your car drifts into the shoulder where a bicyclist is riding, the car would automatically brake or be nudged back into its lane. 

All of this got us wondering – how well do advanced safety systems like AEB or V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) work? And how feasible are these technologies right now?   

Today we revisit our conversation from last summer with Bryan Reimer with the Center for Transportation and Logistics at MIT to learn more. He researches driver behavior, and how humans interact with automatic braking systems and other advanced vehicle technologies. 

Bryan spoke with Erin O’Toole about the potential and the limitations of this new technology.  

 
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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
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.