In The NoCo

Today on Colorado Edition: We explore how funding cuts related to the pandemic are affecting programs designed to keep people with unmet mental health needs out of the criminal justice system. We’ll also learn about a new software upgrade to a long-neglected state website that allows you to follow the more than $30 billion Colorado’s government spends each year. Plus, we’ll learn more about how COVID-19 can affect our senses of hearing and smell, and we get the latest on the state’s efforts to secure more resources for fighting wildfires, such as water- and retardant-dropping planes and helicopters.

This week marks one year since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Colorado. On today's episode of Colorado Edition, we reflect on the ways the pandemic has changed our lives in the past year and consider what lies ahead. We hear how a Spanish music radio station transformed into a center for community resources. We also check in with an emergency room doctor about an incredibly difficult year for health care workers, and we get advice on how to grieve the losses we’ve experienced, both large and small. Finally, we get insight into how plans were made to ensure the most equitable distribution of the coronavirus vaccine.

Today on Colorado Edition: We’ll learn about a unique program at the University of Northern Colorado that’s helping college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities prepare for life after graduation. We'll hear about the third major retail center along the Front Range to face foreclosure in just the last few months. And, we look at how pandemic-induced revenue shortfalls are renewing conversations about whether states should exempt menstrual products from sales tax.

Today on Colorado Edition: We look at how transportation has and hasn’t been factored into states’ vaccine distribution plans, and what transit options exist for residents of rural areas to access far-away vaccination sites. We’ll also take a look at how the vaccine rollout is going for educators. Plus, we’ll hear from a local high school leader on racial equity and the importance of recruiting more teachers of color, and we learn more about CTE, a degenerative brain disease commonly found in athletes.

Today on Colorado Edition: We’ll get the latest on how Colorado’s congressional districts are set to change as an independent commission redraws districts based on numbers from the 2020 census. We’ll also remember the life and legacy of former NFL wide receiver Vincent Jackson, and look back at his time as a football player in his home state of Colorado. Plus, we hear about an annual art exhibit involving Lakewood’s internationally-known Casa Bonita restaurant.

Today on Colorado Edition: We explore the history and contributions of Black cowboys in the West, and how Black cowboy culture lives on in rodeos today. We’ll also revisit a conversation with Denver-based artist Narkita Gold about her project Black In Denver, and we get the story behind a historic baseball tournament in Colorado, later dubbed “The Little World Series of the West.”

Today on Colorado Edition: We speak with Elijah McClain’s mother, Sheneen, about her son and the recent independent investigation into his death in Aurora. We’ll also get more details about an investigation into coronavirus safety measures in the country’s largest meatpacking plants, including JBS USA in Greeley, which was launched this week by federal lawmakers. Lastly, we check in on basketball at the University of Northern Colorado, which is back to playing games following a recent COVID-19 outbreak.

On today’s Colorado Edition: Whether students should take standardized tests or not during a pandemic is a thorny issue. We explore how state lawmakers are handling that and other education-related matters. We also look back in time to see how the state legislature handled the 1918 flu pandemic at the Capitol building. We’ll learn how the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library documents and displays Black history of Colorado and the American West. And, we hear from a Burmese community organizer in Colorado about his hopes and fears around the political situation in Myanmar.

Today on Colorado Edition: We examine Colorado’s existing power grid and winter contingency plans to see whether a large-scale failure could be possible here. We’ll also hear how Larimer County’s reserve officers training program is addressing growing mental health issues among its ranks. Plus, we hear from Front Range Community College’s new executive director of equity and inclusion about the issues in the current system and what it will take to change them. And we hear a report on food insecurity in the Mountain West region.

Today on Colorado Edition: We hear more about one lawmaker’s push to ban or rein-in paramedic’s use of ketamine, following the death of Elijah McClain, and more than 900 other ketamine sedations in the state. We’ll also visit a church in Aurora that’s trying to close the gaps in vaccine distribution. We’ll also speak with a local activist about the last year of protests, where she occasionally tended to protesters in Denver as a street medic, and we’ll hear a review of the new film Minari.