In The NOCO

A gathering of state lawmakers last month at a resort in Vail is drawing attention to ethics and the influence of dark money in Colorado politics.   Colorado’s independent ethics commission plans to investigate whether 16 Democratic lawmakers violated a state ban on accepting gifts. The complaints – filed by progressive group Colorado Common Cause – stem from that Vail retreat , which was funded p...

An artist in Lakewood who specializes in creating tiny books and illustrations received an unusual offer recently. An art gallery reached out to Evan Lorenzen and asked for his help in creating a book of original art – no bigger than your thumbnail – to be placed on the moon.    The Moon Gallery , based in Amsterdam, works to send cultural artifacts into space. They’ve shipped artwork to the Inter...

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...

Colorado’s program to restore grey wolves hit some surprising roadblocks recently.   You might recall that the state’s voters in 2020 passed a measure to reintroduce wolves, which forced wildlife officials to create a plan for bringing them back. That plan has encountered some challenges. So far, 10 of the reintroduced wolves have died.    And now, wildlife officials are wrestling with where the n...

Suicide among veterans is a tragic and persistent issue for the military community. That’s especially true in Colorado. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs , 178 veterans in Colorado died by suicide in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.   Colorado leaders recently created a pilot program called Next Chapter , aimed at lowering these statistics. It’s based in El Pas...

Young women are more active in sports than ever – and more visible.  Think: Naomi Osaka on the tennis court, Caitlin Clark playing hoops or Mikaela Schifrin on the slopes. And overall, young women’s participation in sports continues to increase.  But female athletes face different health challenges than their male counterparts. They may grapple with painful periods, and experience body image issue...

The Great Gatsby turned 100 this year. F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel about wealth and longing has generally been celebrated ever since it was published in 1925. But a Colorado author’s new book asks you to consider the story from a different vantage point.  Writer Allyson Reedy recently published Mrs. Wilson’s Affair . It's told from the perspective of Myrtle Wilson – a tragic character who appears...

One of Northern Colorado's most well-known figures is headed to the Smithsonian.    Temple Grandin is a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University. She's highly regarded as an advocate for people with autism, and for the humane treatment of animals. Her life and career have been the subject of two films, including a new documentary released earlier this year.   And now, her portrait...

Several years ago, an Afghan man who helped the U.S. military fight the Taliban fled Afghanistan with his family and resettled in Colorado.  Mohammad Ali Dadfar had escaped with his wife and their four children after U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. The Dadfar family made their way to the U.S. and resettled in Boulder County, with help from a group of residents who support Afghanis w...

Maybe you’ve tried yoga to de-stress and found it’s not for you. Maybe you’ve tried foam stress balls. Or a hundred other ways to unplug or relax.    Today, we’re talking about a practice that uses nature – and the five senses – to help people slow down and reset. Forest bathing is a restorative practice with roots in Japan  that sends people into the woods to immerse themselves in nature. Darlene...

An innovative new prosthetic foot dreamed up by students at Colorado State University could offer new options to amputees and other people with limb differences.   The team behind it calls it the “ Goldilocks foot ” because it serves as a middle option. It’s more comfortable than cheaper prosthetics but costs less than prosthetics built for running and other competitive sports. The design team say...

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 new 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 no...

Seventy years ago, on November 1, 1955, a man planted a bomb aboard a United Airlines plane shortly before it departed from Denver. The plane exploded in midflight over beet fields in Weld County, killing all 44 people aboard.    It was a mass murder that grabbed headlines across the country. And viewers saw footage of the trial on TV, which was unusual then.   If you've never heard of this crime,...

Owls are symbols of wisdom, and heroes of literature – from Greek mythology to Harry Potter.     But a leading conservation agency says owls are in trouble along Colorado’s Front Range. They’re losing critical habitat as cities and suburban areas expand.  The Bird Conservancy of the Rockies is about to launch what it calls the Urban Owl Nest Box program . It’s an unusual project that asks Front Ra...

It’s a snapshot of climate change in action: Plants and pollinators on the slopes of one of Colorado’s most famous mountains are falling out of sync with one another .   Researchers say rising temperatures and early snowmelt atop Pikes Peak are causing some noticeable shifts in the ecosystem and throwing off some important life cycles.    Wildflowers on the mountain are blooming earlier, and polli...

The world’s largest wildlife overpass will soon be open for use in Colorado.   Wildlife overpasses allow animals to safely cross over highways. And Western states are building more of them to cut down on the number of crashes between vehicles and animals.    The Greenland wildlife crossing is being built over a section of I-25 between Denver and Colorado Springs, just north of Monument. Some 80,00...

It was a mystery that haunted Colorado search and rescue groups for almost two decades.   In September 2005, a 35-year-old woman named Michelle Vanek went missing while hiking on Mount of the Holy Cross , a challenging fourteener in Eagle County. Vanek had been hiking with a friend, but they split up after Vanek grew tired and decided to take an easier trail down the mountain.  She was never seen...

An innovative cancer therapy inspired by the gripping power of geckos might be on the horizon.    Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder recently studied the microscopic structures on gecko toes that allow the tiny reptiles to climb walls and cling to slippery surfaces like windows.   That work inspired the development of a new material that could help chemotherapy drugs cling onto tumor...

A drive through the mountains of Colorado comes with breathtaking views, occasional glimpses of wildlife and plenty of steep, winding roads. Sometimes that becomes deadly, especially for truck drivers.  Even in good weather, mountain highways like Interstate 70 can be uniquely challenging for professional truck drivers. And there’s no specialized training required for them to drive in the mountain...

A half-century ago, a mile-long stretch of Federal Boulevard in Denver underwent a quiet transformation.  More than 10,000 Vietnamese refugees settled in that corner of southwest Denver after fleeing their home country in 1975.   Over the years, these newcomers turned the area into a vibrant hub for Asian culture. Today, it’s known as Little Saigon . The area is home to many local Vietnamese-owned...

Since Colorado began its wolf reintroduction program two years ago, wildlife officials have worked to stop wolves from attacking livestock. Wherever possible, they’ve tried to use nonlethal methods, from hazing wolves with drones to having “range riders” patrol on horseback.  One promising strategy is the use of very large dogs as livestock guardians .   Enter: the Turkish Boz Shepherd.  It's a ma...

Science is about to make it rain a little bit more over Weld County – and provide farmers with some extra moisture for their crops.  That's the goal behind a plan announced last week to allow a new type of cloud seeding in Colorado on a limited basis. Cloud seeding refers to techniques developed by scientists to make rainfall happen. The plans for this upcoming pilot project rely on using electric...

Witches are having a moment – and not only because Halloween is almost here.   A recent Pew Research survey of Americans’ religious beliefs found a growing number of people identify as spiritual but not religious. Crystals, tarot cards, and astrology apps are part of many people’s lives in 2025. And in Colorado, about 1 percent of people in that survey checked the box for “Pagan, Wiccan, or other...

On today's episode we’re talking about measles – in the sewer.   But we promise – you won’t need to hold your nose. This is actually a remarkable public health success story.  Back in August, health officials in Mesa County, on Colorado's Western Slope, fielded a report of a measles outbreak involving seven people. Measles outbreaks have been flaring up around the country this year, so health offi...

How does a community heal from the shock and grief of a mass shooting? And how can people who have lost loved ones find a way to move forward?   That’s the subject of a new podcast called Senseless . In it, journalist Erika Mahoney explores the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Boulder King Soopers grocery store in 2021. And it’s a deeply personal show, because Erika's father, Kevin Mahoney, was...