In The NOCO

Democrats tend to position themselves as champions of workers: pro-union, pro-labor. But a bill that passed recently at the Colorado statehouse called some of that into question – and caused a split among Democratic state legislators.    Earlier this month, lawmakers voted to scale back overtime rules for farm workers . The vote followed several days of intense debate before 11 Democrats ultimatel...

If you visit the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge northwest of Denver, you see different types of wildlife, miles of hiking and biking trails and acres of rolling prairie.   But you don’t see any trace of the astonishing history of what happened there during the Cold War: Rocky Flats was the site of a plant that made plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons until it was shuttered in the early 19...

A bill being discussed at the state capitol has lawmakers sounding like a bunch of Swifties – or at least has them talking about Taylor Swift’s music.  State Sen. Jeff Bridges referenced the pop superstar’s album 1989 when he threw his support behind a proposed law that would make it easier for artists in Colorado to do business and help protect the rights to their creative work .   Bridges told t...

Mountain Plovers are a celebrated bird species in parts of Colorado. But if you’ve never seen one, you’re in the majority.   Mountain Plovers nest on Colorado’s eastern plains and are sometimes referred to as the “prairie ghost” because their sandy-colored plumage makes them hard to spot.   The annual Mountain Plover Festival in Karval – which begins this Friday – celebrates this bird.    The fest...

When a natural disaster strikes, we often think of children as the most vulnerable of victims. Picture families forced to evacuate during a wildfire, or kids forced to take remote classes for months during the pandemic.  A University of Colorado researcher says this thinking may be too simplistic – that it overlooks the ways children help out during and after a disaster, and the importance of lett...

Colorado has been a magnet for businesses over the past two decades. In the past seven years, the state attracted dozens of companies and more than 40,000 jobs, according to the governor’s office.    But that trend appears to be shifting .    Nearly a hundred companies are thinking about leaving Colorado – or have already done so. That’s according to a recent report from the Colorado Chamber Found...

Colorado author Collin Irish writes science fiction and fantasy. And while his new book includes imaginative storylines set in space, its inspiration came from a more personal place: Collin’s writing drew from his work as a volunteer youth mentor.    Collin works with some young men to help them better understand themselves through the use of storytelling and fairy tales. It’s part of a program ba...

Just days after the Artemis II astronauts returned to Earth, we’ve got a different lunar exploration story today – one that hasn’t gotten as much attention.     Scientists have known for years that the moon holds traces of water. That water could be invaluable for future space exploration, as ingredients for rocket fuel , or perhaps by providing water for a colony on the moon one day.   But exactl...

For centuries, the Arapaho have called Colorado and Wyoming home. The tribe gave names to places like the Kawuneeche Valley, the Never Summer Mountains, and Mount Blue Sky.    But the language the Arapaho have spoken for centuries is at risk of disappearing, as fewer members of the tribe have learned the language.   A team of language experts at the University of Colorado Boulder is working to cha...

It’s been a tough winter for skiers and snowboarders in Colorado. And that’s also rippling through the local economy of nearby resort towns.   Workers in bars and restaurants, backcountry gear shops, and hotels that depend on busy ski seasons are feeling the pinch. Many businesses are coping by cutting employee hours, not hiring some seasonal workers, or cutting back on overall spending.   Journal...

A position on the ski patrol at a Colorado resort is a dream job for many people – even in a dry winter like this one. They get paid to spend their days on some of the best terrain in the U.S. And they help thousands of skiers and snowboarders have a great time in the High Country.   But that work can also take a toll. Aside from the physical demands of skiing as a full-time job, there are downrig...

Creede is a small, former silver mining town in the heart of a canyon in the San Juan mountains. It has about 300 full-time residents. Just about everywhere you look, you see reminders of the area's mining heritage – including the abandoned mines that surround the town.  One thing sets Creede apart from other mining towns in Colorado: It has a thriving local theater scene.   In the 1960s, as the s...

For people in much of the world, snakebite is a life-threatening condition.    We don't think about it much in Colorado — though it may be more top of mind this spring, since the warm winter is prompting rattlesnakes to emerge from their dens a little earlier than usual. Here, a nasty rattlesnake bite might send the occasional hiker to the emergency room.    But the World Health Organization estim...

Just a note - today's episode touches on themes of depression and suicide.   Ten years ago, Colorado writer Becky Jensen’s life seemed great. She was raising two sons and engaged to be married. Yet, she was struggling quietly with depression and thoughts of suicide – although she didn't know why.   Hoping to find clarity, Becky decided to take a bold step: She shouldered a backpack and set out to...

Steam powers much of the modern world. It drove the Industrial Revolution , and is still widely used to generate electricity, to sterilize equipment used in food production and medicine, and to heat and cool large buildings.     However, the traditional method of making steam hasn’t changed in more than 150 years. It involves burning fossil fuels like coal or natural gas to heat water in a boiler...

Climate change in Colorado isn’t just an abstract idea. We can see the effects now.    Cities have already imposed summer watering limits. Snowpack is at record lows, and some ski resorts are closing early this season. Governor Jared Polis recently activated the state's drought task force with a warning that Colorado is in the middle of its warmest year on record.   Colorado Sun environment report...

The Colorado Rockies play their first home game of the season on Friday. It’s a fresh start for the team after last season, which was the worst in franchise history.   Today, we’re talking about a rather bold  idea that might hold potential to change the team’s fortunes moving forward.  A routine part of the Rockies’ misfortunes is the fact that Coors Field sits a mile above sea level. Baseballs f...

It’s a positive development in a grim trend we rarely talk about.    Across Colorado, fewer pregnant women and new moms are dying from accidental overdoses. The number of maternal overdose deaths dropped from 20 in the year 2020 to 8 deaths just three years later. That's a 60% reduction in the most recent years for which data is available.   Why that's happening isn’t totally clear. But a doctor w...

A stolen idea for a novel, an angry social media post – and an online backlash that engulfs the main characters. These are the elements of an intriguing novel by Colorado author R.L. Maizes .    The writer says it draws on some of her own experiences. And the novel raises thorny questions about who gets to own an idea, who has the right to tell a particular story, and the tension of writing a nove...

A poison control center is the place to call if your child accidentally swallows something dangerous, like paint or a detergent pod.    But the Rocky Mountain Poison Center based in Denver also tracks the things that poison Coloradans. It monitors prescription drug misuse, tracks new substances Coloradans might ingest, and helps hospitals treat venomous snake bites.  Dr. Richard Dart has led the c...

A recent discovery by paleontologists working in Colorado is giving scientists a slightly revised history of primates. That’s the group of mammals that includes apes – and humans.   Scientists working at Corral Bluffs near Colorado Springs recently discovered tiny teeth and bone fragments belonging to a species called Purgatorius .   Purgatorius was an early and distant cousin of humans. It thrive...

Mysterious, unsolicited packages are showing up in people's mailboxes in Colorado and several other states.    They appear to be sent from another country, often China. Labels on the packages suggest there’s a small piece of merchandise inside, like jewelry or some kind of wire connector.    Instead, recipients find packets of seeds inside – with no indication of what the seeds are, who sent them,...

Drive through some communities in Colorado, and your movements may be monitored by a network of cameras that track your license plate.    A company called Flock Safety operates dozens of these cameras in Boulder, Denver and Fort Collins. They’ve quietly photographed millions of cars over the last year.  And right now, these cities are grappling with the question of whether these cameras help fight...

Young women are more active in sports than ever – and more visible. Think Naomi Osaka on the tennis court or Caitlin Clark playing hoops. Colorado’s first-ever women’s professional soccer team, Denver Summit FC , just played its inaugural match on Saturday. And overall, young women’s participation in sports continues to increase.  But female athletes face different health challenges than their mal...

Back in 1948, the U.S and other countries created a unique coalition:  The World Health Organization was established to address global health challenges including disease outbreaks like the COVID-19 pandemic.     At the start of this year, the Trump administration formally withdrew the U.S. from the WHO.  That withdrawal creates uncertainty over how the U.S., and individual states like Colorado, w...