Colorado marks its 150th birthday this Saturday, Aug. 1.

Experts at History Colorado have been thinking for a while of different ways to help commemorate the state’s anniversary. One idea was to track down the earliest known photograph of Colorado.

And what they uncovered is striking: It’s a daguerreotype from 1853, taken during an expedition across the West more than 20 years before Colorado became a state in 1876.

The image depicts a Cheyenne village with two people facing the camera, near what is now Lamar, Colo.

For the curators at History Colorado, the photo also revealed the fascinating story of the photographer – a man named Solomon Nunes Carvalho, who traveled the West with a bulky camera and captured some of the earliest photos of the region.

Erin O’Toole spoke last fall with Sam Bock, History Colorado’s director of Interpretations and Publications, to learn more about the search for the oldest photo and what it tells us about Colorado’s early history.

With Colorado's 150th just a few days away, this is the first of several conversations about the state's history we'll reshare in the days ahead.

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Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

It was one of the deadliest disasters in Colorado history: Fifty years ago, a flash flood swept through Big Thompson Canyon between Estes Park and Loveland. It killed at least 144 people on July 31, 1976.

A torrential rainstorm that formed suddenly unleashed more than a foot of rain on the area that evening. Emergency crews rushed to warn people. Many residents and tourists hurried to safety. But many others were caught off guard.

That disaster changed how emergency responders operate in Colorado. It helped underline the need for better emergency alert systems. And lessons from that event still come into play when a disaster strikes Colorado today.

To learn more about the impact of the Big Thompson flood, we spoke with Lori Hodges, director of Larimer County's Office of Emergency Management. She told Erin O'Toole that she thinks about the flood often, including during emergency planning drills held a few months ago.

Larimer County will hold a commemoration event this Friday afternoon at the Pulliam Community Building in Loveland. And the Loveland Museum is showing an exhibit marking the 50th anniversary of the disaster, with an opening reception Friday evening.

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

When a wildfire breaks out in Colorado, scores of emergency responders help fight the blaze and protect residents: wildland firefighters, pilots for air tankers, and law enforcement to help evacuate people.

There's one job you don't hear about as much — but it plays an integral role in how crews respond to a fast-moving wildfire.

A team of incident meteorologists with the National Weather Service dispatches weather experts to disasters like wildfires, hurricanes and blizzards. They help emergency crews plan their response based on how weather conditions are likely to change.

Juan Hernandez is an incident meteorologist who’s currently stationed in Pueblo, near the Aspen Acres fire that has scorched more than 100,000 acres and more than 850 structures over the past month.

He spoke with Erin O'Toole on Thursday about the unusual work he's been doing there, and how he helps crews fight a wildland blaze.

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Sign up for the In The NoCo newsletter: Visit KUNC.org
Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email us: NOCO@KUNC.org
Like what you're hearing? Help more people discover In The NoCo by rating the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks!

Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.