In The NOCO

Summer in Northern Colorado means the return of an old-school mode of transportation -- in the form of a ride on the Fort Collins Trolley . Electric streetcars were once a common sight in the streets of Fort Collins, at least until the early 1950s, when car ownership rose and fewer people relied on public transportation. In the late 1970s, a group of dedicated volunteers began to restore the aged...

Adjusting streetlamps and other exterior lights to allow the stars to shine more brilliantly – that's part of the process for becoming a certified Dark Sky community. More than 200 places in 22 countries around the world have this designation. Advocates say limiting light pollution helps preserve expansive views of the night sky, and helps nocturnal creatures thrive. And the Colorado Tourism Offic...

Colorado has some of the best camping in the country, and Coloradans love their weekends in the wilderness. But does a night in the outdoors become daunting when kids are in the picture?  Boulder author Helen Olsson doesn’t think so. She just rereleased her book The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids. It’s full of unexpected tips on things like how to curb whining, along with fun anecdotes...

Not that long ago, some doctors would use lobotomies as a treatment for mental illness... or insomnia... or severe headaches. That wouldn’t happen now. But modern medicine has taken some weird, often tragic turns to get to where it is now.  Author Wesley Marshall argues that there’s a similarity between the science behind our transportation systems and these outdated practices in medicine and psyc...

People who come to Estes Park marvel at the sights they see... Longs Peak on the horizon... the Stanley Hotel above town... herds of elk just about everywhere.   And on Elkhorn Avenue in the heart of downtown, curious onlookers gather on the sidewalk to watch the hypnotic movements of the mechanical taffy puller in the window of The Taffy Shop .   Now, more people are checking out the iconic shop...

Rodeo is a popular sport all summer long across Colorado and the West. There are large events like the Greeley Stampede or Cheyenne Frontier Days in June and July. And lots of other towns have their own rodeos , from Estes Park to Granby to Steamboat Springs.   Of course, anyone can buy a ticket and head to the rodeo – but what else should you know if you’re new to this world?    To help answer th...

For many veterans, Independence Day can be a hard day.    Celebrating America’s birthday typically comes with booming, colorful blasts of fireworks. We don’t talk about it a lot, but for veterans with PTSD, that can be a struggle. It can remind them of combat or other traumatic experiences from their time in the military.   “We often have veterans who describe, regretfully, dreading this time of y...

Limiting the carbon emissions of a new home or office, long before anyone lives or works in it -- that’s the goal of a key piece of Boulder’s new energy code that will take effect later this year.    Typically, people looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their home might install a heat pump or add solar panels. But those improvements could take years to substantially reduce a building’s carbo...

There’s no getting around it: it’s really, really hot on Colorado’s Front Range right now.   According to the National Weather Service, the Denver metro area typically sees about 45 days each summer when the temperature hits 90 degrees or hotter. And that’s when many homeowners wish for a more resilient lawn.  Allisa Linfield is a horticulturist with Colorado State University extension. She and th...

There are dozens of climbing routes on the famous Flatirons in Boulder. Until recently, all of the routes on those monumental rock formations were installed, or mapped out, by men. That changed recently when two female climbers collaborated to install a new route on a section of the Flatirons known as The Maiden formation.  Lynn Hill and Sasha DiGiulian are at very different points in their climbi...

Who is allowed to vote in a resort town’s election when a large chunk of the town’s homeowners are not full-time residents? And how does it change the equation if many of the town’s homes are owned by private companies, rather than individuals?  These are questions that periodically come up in resort areas like Aspen or Vail. And leaders in Mountain Village, located above Telluride, are debating t...

You’ve probably seen 3D printing used to create objects out of plastic – things like toys or chess pieces. A company that recently moved its headquarters to Greeley thinks that one day your new home might be created with 3D printing. And they want Greeley to be a major global hub for this approach to construction. Alquist 3D was founded by Zack Manheimme . Alquist is the first company in the U.S....

Fifty years ago in June, a small group of friends and activists from the gay and lesbian community gathered in Denver's Cheesman Park to be together and celebrate their identity. It was the first iteration of what's now known as Denver PrideFest .  The event has evolved over the years , growing during good times but also during times of adversity and challenge for the LGBTQ community.   This weeke...

When she’s onstage, comedian Zoe Rogers talks about what she knows best: her kids. Her standup centers around her identity as a mom. She jokes about the difference between the proper mom etiquette she carefully displays to her children, and her internal monologue.  Offstage, Zoe appreciates a standup routine that’s a genuine reflection of the comedian’s perspective. So, in addition to her own stan...

An exhibit at the Museum of Boulder illuminates the stories of Black Coloradans, highlighting their influence on the region's history and their impact on the future.  Proclaiming Colorado's Black History centers on places like the once-bustling farming community of Dearfield ; and notable people like businessman Barney Ford and philanthropist Julia Greeley , a formerly enslaved person who is prese...

In Colorado, about 3,000 people go missing each year, according to the state's Search and Rescue Association . And when someone goes missing in the backcountry, every hour counts.  Cold, dehydration and exposure to the elements make a person's survival less likely as time ticks by. Rescuers also deal with rugged mountains, steep canyons, dense tree cover, and extreme temperatures at high elevation...

Juneteenth commemorates the day in 1865 when the last of the enslaved people in our country learned of their freedom. It has been a federal holiday since 2021 – and a state holiday since 2022 – observed on June 19.    People celebrate Juneteenth in different ways. Some head to music festivals – like this long-running celebration in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood. Some go to community gatherings...

The Patton Veterans Project is a three-day film workshop designed to give veterans, who may be suffering from PTSD or depression, a communal space to process their trauma.  Vets who participate learn a “narrative therapy” approach to dealing with emotional trauma. At the end of three days, these vets walk away having made a short film about their personal story.  The latest three day workshop incl...

If you listen to music at all in 2024 it’s clear that female artists are a dominant force. From Taylor Swift to Beyonce, Dolly Parton to Billie Eilish, women are some of the top-selling artists in the business.   But behind the scenes? It’s a different story.  Statistics show only a small fraction of people in the music industry are women – not on the performing side, but in behind-the-scenes jobs...

The future of the Colorado River is in the hands of seven people who represent the states that use its water. And right now, they can’t agree on a set of new rules to share the shrinking supply - despite a quickly approaching deadline.  Those negotiations typically happen behind closed doors, rather than in a public setting. But last week, representatives from Wyoming to California met at the Univ...

Pets give us companionship and keep us healthier. They can give us a reason just to get out of bed in the morning.  Unfortunately, some people have had a difficult time being able to keep their pets in recent years. The cost of housing is up. Inflation makes it harder to afford veterinary care , pet food and other supplies. Eviction moratoriums and financial assistance programs that helped people...

Fifty years ago, in 1974, a pair of car bombings in Boulder killed six people.  Five of the six were University of Colorado students and alumni who had been part of a Chicano student activist group on campus called UMAS .  Their names were Una Jaakola,Reyes Martínez, Neva Romero, Florencio Granado, Heriberto Terán and Francisco Dougherty. They were known as Los Seis de Boulder .  At the time, the...

When we see weeds start to pop up in the yard or the garden, the first instinct for many of us is to figure out how to get rid of them.  But here's the thing: Many plants we might regard as ugly or invasive are, in fact, edible.  Orion Aon learned this in his early years growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He would go on camping trips with family and friends – who gave him some of his first lesson...

There is a deeper link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease than doctors may have previously understood. New research at the University of Colorado could point the way to changing how, and when, doctors screen for Alzheimers. Dr Allison Shapiro , assistant professor of Pediatric Endocrinology at CU’s Anschutz Medical Campus , led a study that looked for biomarkers that are typically found in o...

The sugar beet industry began in Colorado right around 1900. Today it's only a small part of the state's economy, but through the early part of the 20th century , beets were the most significant agricultural product grown here. They were so important to the economy that people  referred to sugar beets as 'white gold.' During this time, thousands of Hispanic and Mexican people came to Northern Colo...