Rural & Small Communities

With the election less than two months away, political rifts in Grand County mirror those across Colorado and the rest of the country. Changing demographics are exacerbating political differences and making it hard to focus on the issues that matter, even when Republicans and Democrats agree on them.

Help may be on the way. State lawmakers recently formed a committee to work on legislative solutions to the lack of cell service in parts of the state. Committee members hope to introduce three proposals during next year’s legislative session.

Rural Northwest Colorado will soon lose its coal-fired power plant. It could be disastrous for Craig and Moffat County, but a $70 million deal between the community and the utility company could reduce the impact on the local economy -- and help Craig prepare for the future. In The NoCo asks how a groundbreaking agreement came together.

Reliable, high-speed internet access has long been a challenge in rural parts of the West. Recently the Western Governor’s Association sent letters to Congress to encourage efforts to improve the situation.

NPR has a long and winding history, beginning in the early 20th century with scattered rural stations that featured 'educational' programming like cooking lessons or music performances. CU Boulder professor Josh Shepperd has a new book out, which chronicles NPR's early years. Today on In The NoCo he discusses the book, and how Western states like Colorado helped create the NPR name.

Conversations around the state’s energy future often focus on opportunities for job development in sectors like wind, coal and nuclear. But what happens when there aren’t enough people to teach skills like construction or welding in the first place?

Youth homelessness is a big problem in Colorado. But in rural areas, where resources are scarce, social stigma heightened and transportation limited, kids struggle more to get help.

Kevin Stansbury, the CEO of Lincoln Community Hospital in the 800-person town of Hugo, Colorado, is facing a classic Catch-22: He could boost his rural hospital’s revenues by offering hip replacements and shoulder surgeries, but the 64-year-old hospital needs more money to be able to expand its operating room to do those procedures.

The Biden administration is kicking off a barrage of visits to promote federal spending packages like the Inflation Reduction Act – and the rural Mountain West is a big part of the itinerary.

The four cannabis stores, which opened after the passage of a 2016 ballot measure, have changed the fortunes of a town that made repeated losing bets on other commodities before finally hitting the jackpot with marijuana.