Colorado History

It’s easy to find the history of the men for whom some of Colorado’s highest mountains are named. But when it comes to places named for women, like Mount Ida, or Mount Lady Washington – it’s tough to figure out just who those women were. We talk with a Colorado author who set out to discover some of that history.

In 1955, a man planted a bomb in luggage aboard a United Airlines flight shortly before it took off from Denver. The plane exploded over beet fields in Weld County -- killing everyone on board. Now there’s a new History Colorado exhibit commemorating the tragedy. Today on In The NoCo, we hear the story of Flight 629, and a local group's efforts to create a memorial.

Crews working near Boulder spent the past few months extinguishing an unusual fire: It was an underground blaze left over from the area’s coal mining days more than a century ago. Today on In The NoCo, we find out how they put out the fire – and just how hazardous these underground fires can be.

Workers at the Rocky Flats plant northwest of Denver helped build nuclear weapons during the Cold War. The plant is gone and the land is now a wildlife refuge. A new documentary looks at the controversial history of Rocky Flats, and the memories of its employees. We talk with the director, on today’s In The NoCo.

An unusual twist on the holiday classic 'The Nutcracker' is set to open this weekend. It uses Duke Ellington’s jazz version of the famous score to celebrate the history of Five Points, which was known in the 1930s and ‘40s as “The Harlem of the West.” A conversation with the show’s director, on today’s In The NoCo.

Four decades after a white supremacist group murdered a Denver talk show host, a new movie called "The Order" revisits the story. The movie is based on a book by longtime journalist Kevin Flynn, who covered the crime and the group that committed it. On today’s In the NoCo: why “The Order” is still an important story today.

Descendants of the Sand Creek Massacre victims returned to southeast Colorado this fall to resume a tradition of healing.

Workers at the Rocky Flats plant northwest of Denver helped build nuclear weapons during the Cold War. The plant is gone now, buried beneath land that’s now a wildlife refuge. A new documentary opening at the Denver Film Festival looks at the controversial history of Rocky Flats, and the memories of its employees. We hear from the director, on today's In The NoCo.

Columbus B. Hill was a legendary figure in Colorado’s barbecue history. Back in the late 1800s, his food was so good, it was served to thousands of people at the state Capitol. But these days, not many people know his name. Today on In The NoCo, Denver author Adrian Miller shares the story of the "best barbecue man in the West.”

A new podcast explores a forgotten corner of Colorado history. The Western Slope town of Uravan helped produce uranium for nuclear weapons... and atomic energy. That is, until it was closed down and buried due to radiation. Hear more on today's In The NoCo.