Red Rocks Amphitheater is an iconic Colorado music venue. But the state’s musical legacy extends far beyond that. From the “Harlem of the West” to the first destination recording studio, the Centennial State has had a lasting impact on music heard around the world. This is episode five of The Colorado Dream: Happy Birthday podcast.

Colorado’s workers helped build the state in mines, fields and factories, often through immense struggle and sacrifice. Their stories stretch from the Ludlow Massacre and northern Colorado’s sugar beet fields to labor debates still unfolding at the state Capitol.

Crossing 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.

The Colorado constitution includes a provision that told the state legislature to care for the forests. But not many people know it's there. This is episode two of The Colorado Dream: Happy Birthday podcast.

Colorado will celebrate its 150th birthday on August 1. But the road to statehood wasn’t easy. It was a 17-year journey filled with stolen land, racism, and protest, but also perseverance, thoughtfulness, and determination. This is episode one of The Colorado Dream: Happy Birthday podcast.

One day, a fourth generation of family members will run Lenz Farms in Yuma County on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. They plan to bring back innovative ideas and implement new things to help the farm continue to grow. But will these fresh ideas be enough to offset a shrinking water supply?

Lenz Farms in Yuma County, Colo., was started by a father and his four sons in the 1970s. They created a unique business model that keeps management and ownership in the family. This has allowed Lenz Farms to survive and thrive over the decades unlike hundreds of thousands of other family farms.

Family farms have been disappearing across the country for decades. From extreme weather to fluctuating crop prices to water scarcity, building a business off the land is hard. But row by row and harvest after harvest, one Eastern Colorado family is bucking that trend. This is their story.

Colorado’s small but thriving LGBTQ+ Ballroom scene embraces and celebrates people for who they are. The houses often serve as a support system for queer people, an acceptance many do not receive from their own families.

In the final story in our series, “The Colorado Dream: Ending the Hate State,” we ask Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a police chief and a long-time legislative aide: Where does Colorado stand today with the "Hate State" label?