In The NOCO

Today we’re listening back to a conversation with aquaponic chicken farmer Sean Short of Blooming Health Farms , located in Greeley, Colorado. And just what is aquaponic chicken farming?  Short says the farm uses aquaponics, “a fancy way of saying that we have some fish, and we use the fish water to grow plants.” In other words, aquaponics combines fish farming with hydroponics. Short is also usin...

A career in journalism wasn’t the plan for NPR’s Lori Lizarraga – at least, not until the 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 a...

It's spring… and a handful of Northern Colorado farmers markets are opening up for what's likely to be a busy season – at least, if the last few years are any indication.  We've come to expect throngs of eager shoppers waiting in long lines to buy western slope peaches by the crate, boxes of Olathe sweet corn, Pueblo chiles, and other locally grown produce. But farming in Colorado comes with a lot...

The risk of wildfire is a reality that is beginning to define life in Northern Colorado. This last weekend, tens of thousands of people in Boulder County were left suddenly without power for days when Xcel shut it off in anticipation of high winds and potential loose lines.    Today we’re listening back to an interview covering a 2023 report from the company CoreLogic, which showed that thousands...

Have you ever wondered how NPR came to be? It certainly didn’t happen overnight. The history of National Public Radio is long and convoluted, starting in the early twentieth century with university-housed stations scattered across rural areas. These stations broadcast things like cooking lessons, and how to use indoor plumbing. But with the Communications Act of 1934 came the first congressional c...

Northern Colorado’s unique weather patterns can be a challenge for backyard gardeners. The climate is dry; the growing season is hot and short. And of course, we’re no strangers to wind and hail events. But new research out of Colorado State University can help gardeners choose crop varieties that thrive in those conditions.  KUNC's rural and small communities reporter Rae Solomon spoke to the res...

On Monday, April 8 a total solar eclipse will darken the skies over 13 states, from Texas up to Maine. While Colorado is not in the path of totality, in which the moon completely covers the sun, our region will experience a partial solar eclipse .  A total solar eclipse over the U.S. is relatively rare – the last one occurred in August 2017. And cities and towns in the path have been gearing up fo...

Immigrants are the backbone of a lot of mountain communities in Colorado. That’s because many work in service industry jobs that keep these towns thriving. But for immigrants in these places, certain disparities are more pronounced, like access to transportation. In one part of Summit County, this particular issue had become dangerous in the snowy winter months. “We need to walk on the roads where...

It’s no secret there’s a crisis of shrinking local news across the U.S. And we know that in places where local news evaporates, democracy takes a hit. Government corruption tends to increase when powerful entities realize there's less media scrutiny on what they're doing.   "This year has been particularly difficult for the local media news business," says journalist Corey Hutchins . The co-direct...

Most people would agree that the immigration system in the United States is broken… but how it's broken – and how to fix it – are the real debate. As this debate persists, the stories of people caught in a messy immigration web continue to rise.  The documentary film If I Could Stay tells the story of two such people, Jeanette Vizguerra and Ingrid Encalada Latorre , two undocumented mothers living...

Temple Grandin sees the world through a different lens. The Colorado State University professor of animal science is neurodivergent, and her differences as an autistic person have been foundational to her work – especially when it comes to advocating for the humane treatment of animals. She is also an advocate for neurodivergent thinkers of all ages. Her new book for children, “ Different Kinds of...

Advocates say failing to invest in childcare is a missed opportunity to address inequity. And the lack of investment is hitting Northern Colorado families in multiple ways. For one, it leaves rising kindergartners unprepared to enter public schools.  “The achievement gap is present well before children enter kindergarten,” said Tarryn Morrisey , a professor of child and family public policy at Ame...

The cash bail system continues to face scrutiny in the U.S. Activists say it subverts the long-held American ideal that a person is innocent until proven guilty. In other words, under the cash bail system, if you can’t afford to post bail, you could end up sitting in jail for days, weeks or months waiting for a trial regardless of your innocence.  In Colorado, like other states, people of color ar...

The need to screen students for learning disabilities is on the rise in Northern Colorado and mental health providers are having trouble meeting the demand. Marybeth Rigali-Oiler , a child and adolescent psychologist with the Health District of Northern Larimer County, says finding answers isn’t always straightforward, either. “You also have to kind of throw a broad net to see, well, is it actuall...

Water – and how to manage it – is a perennial topic in the parched American West. So today on  World Water Day , we are looking at some of the most pressing water issues of the moment and how we in Northern Colorado can better appreciate and conserve this precious resource.  "I just wish people would realize the foresight it took to build some of these water systems that we take for granted now,”...

Many of us have been told that our twenties are the best time in our lives. But some data suggests otherwise. At least one new report says 20-somethings in the U.S. are some of the most unhappy in the world.  "I have yet to meet someone who's like, ‘Gosh, I wish I could be in my 20s again,’” said Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist who specializes in this formative decade of life. “You know, your 20s...

Prisons in Colorado are severely understaffed and that is hitting workers especially hard. But the effects of this shortage stretch far past the staff. “You have not only the stress on the staff from the vacancy, you have the disruption of normal functionality for the department as a whole and, then of course, this incredible negative impact on the people who are incarcerated,” said Christie Donne...

In many communities across Colorado, teens say there are few things for them to do after school. In Summit County, as local leaders work on a long-term plan for the future, young people are asking for more affordable indoor spaces. KUNC senior editor and reporter Leigh Paterson sat down with local students to discuss why these hangout spots are so important to them and their well-being. She joined...

The launch of a passenger rail line in Northern Colorado felt a smidge closer to reality last week at Union Station. That’s when the first passenger train in decades departed from Denver to Longmont . The passengers included state lawmakers, transportation pros and Governor Jared Polis, who did the honors of calling passengers aboard. We have been dreaming about a Front Range passenger rail since...

Imagine keeping your cool with 10 crying babies in a classroom. Yes, childcare is hard work and it is crucial to our fast-growing community.  “We're not just babysitters, we just don't show up in a warehouse and play with kids all day. The work that we do is essential so that children are ready for school. To enter kindergarten, they're ready at third grade reading levels, and they're ready to gra...

Author and activist St. Clair Detrick-Jules uses words and images to capture personal stories that celebrate and center Black liberation, the immigrant experience, and women's rights.  “Historically in this country, Black people haven't been able to really control the narrative of our own stories, of our own lives and experiences,” she said. “And so I think that for us being able to share our firs...

When KUNC senior managing editor Stephanie Daniel journeyed into the mountains to work on her podcast The Colorado Dream , she met Javier Pineda, a snowboard instructor and Mexican immigrant. She was reporting on the housing crisis in Summit County, which has had a major impact on Pineda’s life. But as is often the case with journalism, telling one story led to the discovery of another.  Daniel le...

Although it is technically still winter — at least until March 19 — the flowers will soon be in bloom at Colorado State University’s Trial Garden. That is where many of the flower varieties hitting garden stores in the coming weeks undergo a rigorous, real-world testing process to see which varieties are resilient enough for Northern Colorado. The garden was started back in the 1970s on a small pl...

A national childcare shortage has its grip on Northern Colorado. It is affecting not only parents trying to hold down jobs, but also communities more broadly and local economies. The need is so great, in fact, that in February,  Larimer County had to freeze enrollment in its state-subsidized childcare program because it ran out of funds. “Childcare is this cyclical, community issue, where we need...

People of color in Denver breathe some of the area’s worst air. New research from the University of Colorado Boulder not only shows that the air in some neighborhoods is more polluted than others, it also links that disparity to an outlawed practice called redlining. In the 1930s and 40s, lenders and governments used color-coded maps to identify areas where people of color lived and deny those res...