In The NoCo

Ghost stories have been on Heather Kelley’s mind for a long time. Kelley is an actor and educator at University of Colorado Boulder where her research focuses on dark tourism, ghosts as manifestations of trauma, and haunted attractions, to name a few. Since the early days of her acting career, Kelley has heard no shortage of haunting tales about the theaters and venues where she’s performed, beginning with her time as an undergraduate student at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut. 

“Before I even got there, I had been warned that the place was haunted, that there was a ghost there by the name of Lucy, and that all the people that had worked there for years not only believed in Lucy, but made decisions based off of like, what Lucy would or wouldn't like,” Kelley says. We sat down with her this past Halloween to unwrap that strange feeling some of us get when we spend time in old theaters and other storied places.

You can help Kelley deepen her research by filling out this theater ghost survey. And you can do your own research at one of the many Colorado theaters that Kelley says are believed to be haunted: the Boulder Theater, the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, the Dickens Opera House in Longmont, and the Rialto Theater in Loveland. 

NOTE: This is an encore of our podcast from Oct. 31, 2023. 

Journalism wasn’t always in the cards for NPR’s Lori Lizarraga, until one day she found herself in the wrong classroom at Southern Methodist University. Lizarraga says she “stepped into Narnia” when she walked into the studio where journalism students were broadcasting the school’s daily newscast. The Latina journalist has been telling stories ever since – and a lot of that work is informed by her cultural identity. Host Erin O'Toole spoke with the Code Switch host about how race, cultural identity, and lived experience are inextricably woven into the fabric of her work.

NOTE: This is an encore of our podcast from Oct. 13, 2023. 

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced Oscar shortlists in 10 categories – and Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" is dominating those lists. Moviegoers in Northern Colorado helped fuel the Barbie phenomenon, not only for big cinema chains, but also infusing mom-and-pop theaters, like The Lyric in Fort Collins, with massive revenue from ticket sales.. Colorado State University professor Karrin Vasby Anderson has been watching this craze unfold. The feminist scholar was astounded when a film full of frills and pink turned out to be about feminism, and wrote about some of the backlash that provoked. She joins In The NoCo to unpack some of the messaging in the billion-dollar blockbuster.

NOTE: This is an encore of our podcast from Oct. 19, 2023. 

Much of what we understand about Elijah McClain — both his life, and his death in 2019 at the hands of Aurora police and paramedics — is thanks in large part to people like Candice Bailey. The Aurora activist led many of the protests that introduced people to the 23-year-old Black man, described by friends and family as gentle, creative and a free spirit. Her work helped people honor McClain’s life and examine the practices of Aurora police and paramedics that led to his death. As trials continue for the officers and paramedics charged for McClain’s death, Bailey joined In The NoCo to reflect on her fight for racial justice.

NOTE: This is an encore of our podcast from Oct. 24, 2023. 

For many, the holidays are all about gratitude, reflection, and family – but they can also be a major source for tension. If you’re among the 60 percent of Coloradans traveling for the holidays, you’re likely navigating congested roads or chaotic airports. If you’re hosting dinner, you’ve got a whole other set of concerns, like catering to an array of dietary needs, and getting a hundred different dishes to come out of the oven at the same time.

But, here we are – you made it to your family's gathering, the wine is flowing like water and it’s time to relax. But not so fast… Even in the kindest of families, dinner table discussions sometimes turn into heated debate. And we’ve all got plenty of opinions, whether it’s on the war in the Middle East, reproductive rights, or this week's Colorado Supreme Court decision that former president Donald Trump cannot appear on our state's primary ballot. . We're talking about a lot of potential flashpoints… but there is a ray of light here. With some thought and intention, your holiday conversations can be peaceful — and maybe even bring people closer together...

“Sometimes when you have a pretty good conversation with someone, the main thing you realize is, wait, we don't disagree nearly as much,” says Martín Carcasson, a communications professor at Colorado State University and director of CSU's Center for Public Deliberation. “There's still going to be disagreement. I'm not saying we're all going to agree … but normally the disagreement is much more manageable than we think it is when we have a good conversation. 

Then, Carcasson says, the goal becomes easier: “to develop a little more understanding about each other.”

Ahead of the holiday season, Carcasson gave us some guidance on how to have healthier conversations at the dinner table. And for more tips on how to navigate the holiday dinner conversation, Carcasson recommends this Monica Guzman TED talk, or the discussion guides at Living Room Conversations.

NOTE: This is an encore of our podcast from , Nov. 21, 2023. 

A mysterious disease has been affecting some of our favorite — furry — friends. So, we had to learn what we could about canine respiratory illness because let’s face it — many of us love our dogs like people. (OK, some of us love them more than people.) In recent months, veterinarians in Colorado have seen a rise in this disease so we sat down with veterinarian Dr. Amanda Kavanugh. She gave us her insights from leading the emergency vet clinic program at Colorado State University.

Every Tuesday at Central Park in Boulder, Jen Livovich offered food and support to people experiencing homelessness through a nonprofit she founded called Feet Forward. Livovich knew a lot of the people she was helping at the time — and still does. That’s because she also struggled with homelessness for several years. Then in 2018, she received a state voucher that helped her secure a stable home. It was a rocky transition.

“I really grappled with the kind of survivor’s guilt that’s only familiar to homeless people. And I remember thinking I could move 40 people onto my floor and laid the tape out and knew that wasn’t gonna end well,” Livovich said.

Homelessness has reached crisis levels in Colorado and the City of Boulder is facing a lawsuit for how its been handling the problem. The ACLU of Colorado sued the city for its so-called camping ban. It prohibits people from sleeping on the street. Police then issue tickets to those who do  — even when the homeless shelter has been full. 

“We think that's a violation of the Constitution to criminally charge people for actions that they have to engage in as a part of being human, sleeping, laying down,” said Tim Macdonald, legal director for the ACLU of Colorado.

A court date for that lawsuit was recently set for next August. Livovich, for her part, was originally one of the plaintiffs but she has since withdrawn. She says the larger issue is getting unhoused people access to social services, especially when it comes to addiction, and she has proposed a way for city leaders to do that. In The NoCo’s Robyn Vincent sat down with her to learn more. 

Millions of people rely on water from the Colorado River, but there’s just not enough to quench everyone’s thirst. In other words, there's a big gap between the amount of water in the river, and the amount that people are using. It is a conundrum that policymakers across seven Western states continue to grapple with. Last week, more than 1,000 people with a stake in the river’s future met in Las Vegas, giving a peek behind the curtain of ongoing negotiations, and some clues as to just how hard it will be to find solutions that make everybody happy.

KUNC’s Alex Hager was there to cover that conference. He told In The NoCo’s Erin O’Toole about the potential for troubled waters ahead.

Colorado has a rich railroad history, from mining trains carved through the mountains to freight trains chugging across the city. A lot of us hear them — sometimes too often — but we rarely get the opportunity to actually ride the trains. But that might change soon.

Last week, a plan to develop a passenger rail line using existing freight tracks along the Front Range was accepted into a federal grant program. That could help make a multi-city train line from Fort Collins to Pueblo a reality in the next decade. To see if this long-anticipated plan is on track, host Erin O'Toole sat down with Andy Karsian of the Front Range Passenger Rail District. 

It’s a Christmas tale as old as the Bible.

During a cold snap in Denver last December, Pastor Eddy Hopkins responded to an urgent call from Larimer County leaders. They told him Denver was overwhelmed with migrants who’d recently arrived in the city from the U.S. southern border. They asked if he could help. The pastor sprang into action and Peak Community Church in Fort Collins became a shelter for 16 migrants over the holidays.

Pastor Eddy said the experience was “absolutely wonderful.” The people he offered temporary shelter to “brought a great deal of joy to us.”

Still, it was a big undertaking. 

“We were wanting to provide the best space that we could,” the pastor said. “And so we spent a lot of time trying to figure out food, trying to figure out personal needs and and how people could be safe and clothed and all that kind of stuff.”

People from Latin American countries and other nations facing turmoil continue to arrive in Colorado. It’s an especially tough time for them to make that journey — the weather is unforgiving and the holidays are in full swing. In Larimer County, leaders argue that logistics have prevented them from doing more when it comes to sheltering the influx of migrants. But Pastor Eddy is starting to make plans for the people who do end up near his doorstep. Host Erin O’Toole visited him at his church to learn more.