City Cast Denver

Battles over bike lanes, the uncertain future of Welton Street’s light rail line, and questions about the historic Rossonian hotel ever reopening again — these debates playing out in Denver’s District 9 are a microcosm of issues happening citywide. Councilman Darrell Watson has been representing this district, which covers neighborhoods from Globeville to South Park Hill, for nearly two years. He joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to talk through all the big topics, plus share his thoughts on impending city layoffs, his staunch stance on the flavored tobacco ban, and his mayoral ambitions.  Come see us live at the Colfax Indie Bash on July 10! We’ll be on stage on the patio at Champagne Tiger, and tickets are FREE. All you need to do is RSVP and come out for some good food, great people, and a live podcast. RSVP here.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm What do you think about Councilman Watson? We want to hear from you, especially if you live in District 9! Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 Learn more about the sponsors of this July 9th episode: Denver Botanic Gardens Regional Air Quality Council Denver Film Multipass Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

There’s been talk about layoffs at the city for weeks, but information on just how many jobs are on the chopping block and when these layoffs are suppose to happen has been vague. One city worker tells us there a lot of concerns internally about how Mayor Mike Johnston has been approaching the city’s budget shortfall. Then, TRVE Brewing is the latest brewery to close up shop. Is South Broadway a victim of its own success? Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi dig into these stories, plus more chatter about the potential end of the Underground Music Showcase. Bree mentioned John Moore’s piece on his co-founding of the UMS in The Denver Gazette and our episode last week on the topic. Come see us live at the Colfax Indie Bash on July 10! We’ll be on stage with Mayor Mike Johnston on the patio at Champagne Tiger, and tickets are FREE. All you need to do is RSVP and come out for some good food, great people, and a live podcast with the mayor. RSVP here.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 If you enjoyed this interview with Kelsey Simpkins from Regional Air Quality Council, learn more here. Learn more about the other sponsors of this July 8th episode: Denver Botanic Gardens Regional Air Quality Council Denver Film Multipass City & County Denver Tech Cozy Earth - use code COZYDENVER for 40% off best-selling temperature-regulating sheets, apparel, and more Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Denver’s beloved Colfax Avenue has seen better days… but it’s also seen worse days. The notorious street has been through plenty of ups and downs since it became one of the city’s main thoroughfares back when it was Route 40 — a little bit of bus rapid transit construction isn’t gonna change that! But it is changing a lot. So ahead of our live podcast recording with our sponsors at the Colfax Ave BID this Thursday at Champagne Tiger, we invited their executive director and longtime friend of the show Frank Locantore to take us for a walk and show us everything new on Colfax. Come see us live at the Colfax Indie Bash on July 10! We’ll be on stage with Mayor Mike Johnston on the patio at Champagne Tiger, and tickets are FREE. All you need to do is RSVP and come out for some good food, great people, and a live podcast with the mayor. RSVP here.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm What do you think about Colfax these days? Have you been lately? How was it? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: Colfax Ave BID RAQC Denver Film presents Cinema Q Multipass Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Bree Davies and all 12 other City Cast podcast hosts (from Austin, Boise, Chicago, DC, Houston, Las Vegas, Madison, Nashville, Philly, Pittsburgh, Portland, and Salt Lake City) compete head-to-head in a high-stakes showdown to answer the question that’s been burning up our company-wide Slack for weeks: which city is the best for a summer weekend trip? From naked bike rides to ‘the country’s best farmers market,’ pickle festivals to Elvis impersonators driving pink convertibles, our hosts are bringing the best of the best of what their city has to offer. Did your city win? Take our interactive quiz to see which city best fits YOUR vibe! Learn more about the sponsors of this July 3rd episode: City & County Denver Tech Elizabeth Martinez with PorchLight Real Estate - Do you have a question about Denver real estate? Submit your questions for Elizabeth Martinez HERE, and she might answer in next week’s segment.

Huge news for local music lovers broke on Tuesday: The Underground Music Showcase is ending “in its current form” after this year. The festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary later this month with three days of live music and the usual debauchery on South Broadway, and it’s unclear what exactly led to this decision. Host Bree Davies has been hearing from musicians, business owners, promoters, and UMS insiders since the news broke, and she’s on with producer Paul Karolyi for a bonus episode to dissect the news and the rumors of what’s really going on.  What do you think about UMS ending? We want to hear from you! Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 Come see us live at the Colfax Indie Bash on July 10! We’ll be on stage with Mayor Mike Johnston on the patio at Champagne Tiger, and tickets are FREE. All you need to do is RSVP and come out for some good food, great people, and a live podcast with the mayor. RSVP here.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

New Yorkers shocked the country last week when they picked a Democratic Socialist TikTok star as the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor. So could a Zohran Mamdani-type phenomenon happen here? Our politics contributor Deep Singh Badhesha joins producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies to talk about how our local politics are different. Plus, a food influencer shared a traumatizing and seemingly racist experience at Morning Story in DTC and our wins and fails of the week.  Come see us live at the Colfax Indie Bash on July 10! We’ll be on stage with Mayor Mike Johnston on the patio at Champagne Tiger, and tickets are FREE. All you need to do is RSVP and come out for some good food, great people, and a live podcast with the mayor. RSVP here.  UPDATE: After we recorded this episode, the owners of Morning Story released another statement with more details about the incident with @UnfocusedFoodie. Bree talked about ⁠UMS’s⁠⁠ big announcement⁠, ⁠Bar Bar’s wall⁠, and ⁠Bruce Brown’s return to the Nuggets⁠. Paul mentioned ⁠this Colorado Sun story⁠ about budding local entrepreneurs, ⁠9News’ recent interview⁠ with DOTI director Amy Ford, the ⁠NYT's interview with Trump's border czar Tom Homan⁠, and the ⁠sword of Damocles⁠. Deep discussed the Boulder attack victim ⁠who passed⁠ this week and ⁠his personal restaurant guide⁠ to Denver. What do you think about a Zohran Mamdani-style candidate emerging in Denver? Could it happen here? Who might that be? We want to hear from you! Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Watch the Friday show on YouTube: youtube.com/@citycastdenver Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/Denver Learn more about the sponsors of this July 2nd episode: City & County Denver Tech Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

July is here, and it’s a hot one! From cooling down in the lazy river at Pirate’s Cove to sitting on perfect patio with misters, we’ve put together a fun list of the best ways to enjoy this sweltering summer month in the Mile High.  If you're new here, welcome! We’ve put together a starter pack for you, with episodes and articles to welcome you to the City Cast Denver community.  Come see us live at the Colfax Indie Bash on July 10! We’ll be on stage with Mayor Mike Johnston on the patio at Champagne Tiger, and tickets are FREE. All you need to do is RSVP and come out for some good food, great people, and a live podcast with the mayor. RSVP here.  For even more tips on how to make the most of July in Denver, check out our newsletter Hey Denver’s take on what to do this month.  Our monthly guides are brought to you by Multipass! If you enjoyed the sponsored interview with Andy Cambron, the CEO of Multipass, learn more here and check out all the events he recommended in this episode: Colorado Burlesque Fest  LingeRave Colorado Bassheads Nova Studios City Cast Denver is also made possible by our awesome sponsors, like City & County Denver Tech and Cozy Earth, and we’re powered by our members, who enjoy an ad-free version of the show. Find out more membership.citycast.fm about how to become a member of City Cast Denver. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info here citycast.fm/advertise.  Got questions or comments about this episode? You can reach us at denver@citycast.fm  Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

When 9News’ Kyle Clark was on the podcast last week talking about Governor Jared Polis’ new proposal to build an elevated pedestrian walkway outside the Capitol, he said that the most telling weakness of the proposal was the fact that no one was making a good argument for it. So we found two people who are really excited about the project to make the case. Host Bree Davies sits down with local AAA spokesperson and Capitol insider Skyler McKinley and Bree’s friend, artist Moe Gram, who is contracted for community engagement work on the bridge project.  Skyler mentioned a proposal for a different kind of pedestrian bridge in Civic Center Park from back in 2006.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 Learn more about the sponsors of this June 30th episode: City & County Denver Tech Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

The latest battle in Colorado’s age-old power struggle between the state government and local municipalities played out in Douglas County this week, with surprising results! A vast majority of residents opposed the conservative county commissioners’ bid for “home rule” authority, but what does that vote mean for the rest of the Denver metro area? Former DougCo politics reporter McKenna Harford joins host Bree Davies and one of our favorite regular guests, Keith Garcia, artistic director for the Sie FilmCenter, to talk about the shocker in DougCo, as well as the drama around PrideFest this weekend, and share their wins and fails of the week.  Are you celebrating Pride this weekend? Where? How? We want to hear about the highlights, lowlights, and all your Pride weekend stories! Save the City Cast Denver hotline in your phone now — 720-500-5418. Call or text this weekend, and you might hear your message on the show! Bree talked about the Federal Theatre. Keith mentioned Rosenburgers and the Pride parade being rerouted. McKenna talked about teens in Northfield and the Denver Animal Shelter. We also mentioned our guide to Pride this year.  For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Watch the Friday show on YouTube: youtube.com/@citycastdenver Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm/Denver Learn more about the sponsors of this June 26th episode: RAQC City & County Denver Tech Elizabeth Martinez with PorchLight Real Estate - Do you have a question about Denver real estate? Submit your questions for Elizabeth Martinez HERE, and she might answer in next week’s segment. Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Governor Polis wants to build a bridge — a long winding walkway that will stretch from the steps of the State Capitol, over four lanes of traffic on Lincoln Street, and all the way to Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park. And he wants it built before Colorado’s 150th birthday next summer. But how much will it cost? Who will pay for it? Will it match the classic architecture and City Beautiful Movement-era park design? And does anyone else besides the governor want this walkway in the first place? 9News’ Kyle Clark tried to answer these questions and he joins host Bree Davies to share what he found — and how he feels about the governor’s plans for a legacy project.For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm.Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenverChat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenverSupport City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fmWhat do you think? Is Governor Polis’ big bridge idea a good one? Shoot us a text or leave us a voicemail, and you might hear it on the show! 720-500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsors of this episode: RAQC Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise