Emma VandenEinde
General Assignment ReporterI'm the General Assignment Reporter for KUNC, here to keep you up-to-date on news in your backyard. Each town throughout Northern Colorado contains detailed stories about its citizens and their challenges, and I love sitting with members of the community and hearing what they have to say.
I was formerly KUNC's Reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau — a regional reporting collaboration between several NPR-affiliate stations across the West. Before coming to Colorado, I worked for Arizona PBS and KJZZ, the NPR-affiliate station in Arizona — so public media is running through my veins.
My sound-rich spot work on the Great American Beer Fest recently won first place at the 2025 PMJA Awards. The feature I contributed to our Unseen But Everywhere series about housing insecurity and education among Colorado youth won top honors at the 2025 Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, the 2025 Colorado Broadcasters Association Awards and the Top Of The Rockies Awards hosted by the Society of Professional Journalists. I've also been recognized at the National Hearst Championship and the BEA Festival of Media Arts.
When I’m not reporting on your stories, you can find me sinking a disc golf putt, sipping my second cup of black tea or handmaking my own greeting cards.
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Fort Collins is getting a taste of Turkey with the fourth annual Colorado Turkish Festival. From copper etching to coffee cup readings, organizers hope attendees enjoy and understand their culture. -
The Larimer County Farmer’s Market recently held a poster art contest with one rule — no AI. But several people voiced concerns that some entries were AI-generated. Now organizers are sharing proof. -
Colorado residents are being asked to submit photos, letters and other objects to a giant time capsule. Organizers want to document the details of life right now for people to see in 2076. -
Boulder city council was rocked by a sudden resignation this month, plus record turnout numbers for the primary election and a first-of-its-kind marmot adoption. -
Last year, Colorado launched a partnership to create a wildland fire mitigation crew with AmeriCorps and the state National Guard. It continued this year because it was so successful. -
A church in Steamboat Springs found a unique way to connect with local youth — providing ministry at a skate park. But this beloved safe space for youth might have to close its doors after two decades. -
It’s been three weeks since the Yampa River closed for commercial and recreational use. It’s the earliest Steamboat Springs has closed the river since 2012. Local businesses are feeling the impacts. -
Colorado's Rocky Mountains are a hotspot for travel. But they used to be the state's biggest barrierCrossing Colorado's Rocky Mountains was once a huge challenge. It would take Indigenous ingenuity, cutting-edge construction, and a fight for gender equality to change how people traveled to the Western Slope. -
Nordic combined is an extreme winter sport that has been an Olympic event since 1924. But earlier this week, the International Olympic Committee announced it’s eliminating the sport from the 2030 Olympics. Hear why that’s heartbreaking news for some Colorado athletes, and what that means for the future of the sport. -
Enjoying a clear, starry night sky is the look Breckenridge went for when it achieved Dark Sky certification last August. But a year later, lights at hundreds of properties are still non-compliant.
