This is the fifth episode of a special, limited-run podcast series, Lauren Boebert Can’t Lose, from City Cast Denver. Catch the first four episodes on our website: denver.citycast.fm! When Lauren Boebert announced late last year that she was moving to run for Congress in a whole new district, the experts all thought she was toast. But here we are on the eve of Colorado’s Republican primaries on June 25, and she is the clear frontrunner to win. She’s polling 35% ahead of her closest opponent, and...
Jun 22, 2024•25 min
It’s Friday, and we’re digging into the biggest stories of the week. First, Barnes & Noble put in the most competitive bid to purchase Tattered Cover, which is facing bankruptcy after more than 50 years as Denver’s most iconic, independent bookstore. Plus, as Denver Pride celebrates 50 years this weekend, we wonder: Is this celebration of a revolution too corporate? Host Bree Davies is joined by Kate McLachlan of the Dyketopia podcast and the Sie FilmCenter’s Keith Garcia to talk big money influ...
Jun 21, 2024•49 min
How did an entire amusement park, one complete with a zoo, a steamboat on Sloan’s lake, and death defying stunts, seemingly disappear out of Denver’s memory? Manhattan Beach opened in 1890 and set the groundwork for the parks we love today like Elitch Gardens and Lakeside. Host Bree Davies sits down with David Forsyth, author of “The Amusement Park at Sloan's Lake: The Lost History of Denver's Manhattan Beach,” to chat about Manhattan Beach in its heyday, the fierce amusement park rivalries of t...
Jun 20, 2024•23 min
RuPaul’s Drag Race has rocketed many drag performers from primetime TV to international stardom — including multiple queens from right here in Denver. In their new book, “All About Yvie: Into the Oddity,” RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 11 winner Yvie Oddly explains how growing up in the Mile High City as a Black queer kid played into their formation as an artist, musician, and performer. Yvie will be appearing at the Tattered Cover to talk about their new book this Thursday, June 20; (it’s currently ...
Jun 18, 2024•26 min
Summer is heating up, so it’s the perfect time to pack up your bag and get out there! Even if it’s just to part of the city you’ve never been to before. Host Bree Davies is joined by politics and green chile correspondent Justine Sandoval, as well as local comedian and outdoor educator Eeland Stribling to recommend some epic outdoor adventures to take this summer, from the best spot to kayak on the South Platte downtown to hiking through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Eeland mentioned his “Co...
Jun 17, 2024•22 min
This is the fourth episode of a special, limited-run podcast series, Lauren Boebert Can’t Lose, from City Cast Denver. Don’t miss the first episode, “The Escort Rumors,” the second, “How The Boebert Brand Was Born,” or the third, “The Pueblo Problem.” It all started because Congresswoman Lauren Boebert got caught in a lie. She said that all she did was dance and sing too loud during Beetlejuice: The Musical. She joked about getting kicked out and missing the end of the show. But when people saw ...
Jun 15, 2024•27 min
It’s Friday, and we’re digging into the biggest stories of the week. First, local multimillionaire Kent Thiry is bankrolling a new campaign to reform Colorado’s elections, and the signature-gathering kicked off this week. Will you give the DaVita founder’s ideas your John Hancock? Plus, public transit riders face “mounting disruptions” as RTD struggles with outages and maintenance issues, according the Denver Post. Colorado Newsline senior reporter Chase Woodruff and our politics and green chile...
Jun 14, 2024•42 min
Most Colorado voters have received their primary ballots already and the local race for the city’s next District Attorney is certainly one to watch. Two Democratic challengers are facing off over growing concerns around gun violence, police misconduct, fentanyl-related crimes, and more. Host Bree Davies chatted with both candidates individually ahead of the upcoming election. Today, meet candidate Leora Joseph, a former prosecutor who currently runs the Office of Behavioral Health at the Departm...
Jun 13, 2024•24 min
Primary ballots are officially out and Denverites will be voting on the city’s next District Attorney. Two Democratic challengers are up for the task, which includes addressing growing issues around gun violence, police misconduct, fentanyl-related crimes, and more. Host Bree Davies chatted with both candidates individually ahead of the upcoming election. Today, meet candidate John Walsh, a longtime Denver resident and former U.S. Attorney for Colorado. Tomorrow, hear Bree chat with candidate Le...
Jun 12, 2024•29 min
The Denver Art Museum is under scrutiny after the Denver Post reported that members from the vast Indigenous community recently claimed the institution "does not seem they are willing to work with tribes,” in regards to returning stolen artifacts. This isn’t the first time the museum has been in hot water for an alleged unwillingness to repatriate artifacts — back in April, Alaskan tribes came to the museum to claim lost relics, but left empty handed. Navajo tribal member and comedian Joshua Eme...
Jun 11, 2024•22 min
It’s no secret — Denver is a tourist destination. But knowing which attractions are worth your time and money can be tricky. If you want to really wow your friends from out of town, which destinations are just tourist traps, and which ones are the real gems, you know — the tourist treats? Last year, host Bree Davies, newsletter editor Peyton Garcia, and producers Paul Karolyi and Olivia Jewell Love built a list of their can’t-miss and definitely-pass attractions from downtown D-town to the ski t...
Jun 10, 2024•28 min
This is the third episode of a special, limited-run podcast series, Lauren Boebert Can’t Lose, from City Cast Denver. Don’t miss the first episode, “The Escort Rumors,” or the second, “How The Boebert Brand Was Born.” As a first-term member of Congress, Lauren Boebert made a name for herself by doing exactly what the conservatives of rural Colorado sent her to Washington to do: Confront Democrats. She accused a fellow representative of being a terrorist, attempted to impeach President Joe Biden,...
Jun 08, 2024•32 min
It’s Friday and we’re rounding up the news of the week. First, Kyle Clark’s stellar performance as a moderator for the Congressional District 4 debates caught the attention of Jimmy Kimmel, so we had to ask him about it. The 9News anchor also joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to talk about the Colorado GOP’s weird week involving the slandering of Pride and a friendly nod to the Westboro Baptist Church. Then, an epic city council sidewalk disappointment, a celebration of the zipper...
Jun 07, 2024•56 min
This week, the Colorado GOP sent out an email with the subject line, “God Hates Pride.” The email, containing a picture of a laser-eyed Jesus over a pride flag with the phrase “God Hates Flags”, saw a lot of pushback online — even from within the party. One of the most outspoken critics of the email is Valdamar Archuleta, a gay Republican running to represent Denver in Congress. In a video posted to X, Archuleta condemns the email and rejects the Colorado GOP’s endorsement of his campaign. He jo...
Jun 06, 2024•23 min
For two summers in a row, RTD ran its “Zero Fare for Better Air” free transit promotion to combat emissions. This year riders won’t be so lucky, with state funding for the program going elsewhere. That could be the least of Denverites’ worries however, with multiple central light rail lines downtown being shut down over the next few months for maintenance. And what about Governor Polis’ dream of a Front Range Passenger Rail? CPR growth and transportation reporter Nathaniel Minor joins host Bree ...
Jun 05, 2024•24 min
Some residents living within smelling distance of the Nestlé Purina PetCare plant in Elyria-Swansea have had enough, and have filed a class action lawsuit against the global enterprise. Could the operation’s odiferous offenses be bad enough to be considered unlawful? Then, Governor Polis signed HB 1051 into law last week, taking aim at the predatory towing practices of Wyatts Towing in particular. Host Bree Davies is joined by Westword editor Patty Calhoun to talk the gentrification of stinky ai...
Jun 04, 2024•23 min
Primary ballots hit mailboxes this week! A record number of incumbents are having to defend their seats, and fundraising numbers are through the roof. Some interesting patterns are emerging too, as both the Democrats and Republicans are seeing more division within their own parties. Colorado Politics statehouse reporter Marianne Goodland joins host Bree Davies to talk about the hottest primary battles to watch, where the money is coming and going, and why so many politicians are eager to oust co...
Jun 03, 2024•23 min
We are excited to share a bonus episode with you this weekend. It’s the latest from friend of the show David Sirota and Lever Time, the flagship weekly podcast from The Lever. Sirota founded The Lever a few years ago as a fully subscriber-supported, independent news organization, and they’ve already made a splash in DC. The Lever’s reporting has helped lead to new protections for airline refunds and increased scrutiny and oversight over the tragic rail disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. This epis...
Jun 02, 2024•23 min
This is the second episode of a special, limited-run podcast series, Lauren Boebert Can’t Lose, from City Cast Denver. Don’t miss the first episode, “The Escort Rumors.” In the fall of 2019, Beto O’Rourke was the politician to watch. An energetic young Dem who gave Ted Cruz a run for his money in the 2018 Texas Senate race, Beto ran for president on a strong gun control message! Then one day at a rally, a woman shows up to confront the candidate with a gun on her hip. On the second episode of th...
Jun 01, 2024•36 min
In a press conference earlier this week, head of the Civil Service Commission Niecy Murray blamed Mayor Mike Johnston for pressuring the Denver Police Department to lower standards for law enforcement applicants. But just hours after her public statements, Murray was fired. On the other side of town, Morrison’s new cameras have ticketed more than 9,000 drivers for speeding along the town’s main strip in less than two weeks. Are more cameras the answer slowing traffic down? Producer Paul Karolyi ...
May 31, 2024•47 min
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. We are finally in the days of late sunsets and warm weather, and the City Cast Denver team has lots of ideas for how to spend your long summer days and nights. From hitting up the hottest Pride parties to crushing a cold glass of sangria, get ready to make this June the best one yet! For even more tips on how to make the most of June in Denver, chec...
May 30, 2024•27 min
With the weather warming up, it’s a great time for Denverites to escape the heat of the city and hit the trails. Whether you’re looking for a stunning view or a physical challenge, we’ve got tons of great hiking options for the outdoor novice to the expert adventurer. Last summer, newsletter editor Peyton Garcia joined producers Paul Karolyi and Olivia Jewell Love to help narrow down our favorite hikes near the Mile High. Here are links to all the hikes we mentioned: South Loop Trail at Elk Mead...
May 29, 2024•27 min
A new survey shows that both the mayor and city council’s approval ratings are well below 50%. But Denver’s at-large council members, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and Sarah Parady, say there’s some context missing in the media’s presentation of the data. The council members join host Bree Davies to dig into the survey, plus talk about how the Denver Police Department handled the protester arrests at Auraria Campus, why city council approved a contentious shelter funding contract with the Salvation ...
May 28, 2024•28 min
This week Mayor Johnston rolled out a new program that would pay teens extra money for working a summer job. Will the infusion of cash be an effective way to curb youth violence? Meanwhile, the Colorado GOP sent a letter to families encouraging them to pull children out of public schools before they “turn more kids trans” — but the political benefit of this maneuver remains to be seen. Then, the Mile High’s new compost program was supposed to do wonders for our waste, but it seems more like hot ...
May 24, 2024•46 min
This is the first episode of a special, limited-run podcast series, Lauren Boebert Can’t Lose, from City Cast Denver. Between heckling President Biden’s State of the Union address in 2022 and her big night out at a production of “Beetlejuice” last year, Lauren Boebert is perhaps the most infamous member of Congress. But alongside the headlines, there are a million salacious stories swirling around about her personal life. On the first episode of this limited podcast series, we track one of the m...
May 23, 2024•35 min
At first glance, Riverside Cemetery’s parched plots might appear to be abandoned — but a closer look reveals the graveyard is actually ahead of the curve when it comes to water conservation. The dusty burial ground is also the city’s oldest-operating cemetery, home to headstones for some of the Mile High’s earliest and most important figures — including Clara Brown and Silas Soule, and the most Civil War veterans of any graveyard in the state. As Memorial Day approaches, Skyler McKinley went dig...
May 22, 2024•23 min
It’s Tuesday and we’re rounding up the big stories of the week. First, the anti-war protest camp that ran for more than three weeks on Auraria campus was dismantled over the weekend, but questions remain over what led to the decision. Then, is violent crime a growing issue for Colorado? According to a new report from US News and World Report, we’re the 3rd most dangerous state in America — but a closer look at the data reveals a more complex picture. Finally, the City of Denver says sales of ill...
May 21, 2024•25 min
From Whole Foods in Cherry Creek to Costco in Arvada, the Denver metro area is home to many terrible parking lots. But which ones are the absolute worst to navigate, and what makes them so bad? Host Bree Davies is joined by Denver Post neighborhoods reporter Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, who went on a mission to find out what makes the parking lot predicament so messy in the Mile High. Plus, readers and listeners share their thoughts and feelings about their least favorite parking situations in the c...
May 20, 2024•22 min
Without leading scorer Val Nichushkin, will the Avs be able to take the Stanley Cup again? This week the team’s forward was suspended for six months, continuing his path in an NHL player support program to address undisclosed issues. Then Regina English, a democratic representative from Colorado Springs, voted against gay marriage in a state where it has been legal for a decade. Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are joined by politics and green chile correspondent Justine Sandoval to di...
May 17, 2024•50 min
The Stanley Hotel has been a tourist stop in Estes Park for decades since the iconic place appeared in Stephen King’s The Shining. But back in December of 2023, it looked like the hotel was getting a new owner and a new lease on life — except that big real estate deal never came together, leaving lots of questions about the fate of the historic property. After months of speculation, renewed interest in the building and its grounds becoming a hub for filmmakers, and potential plans to amp up its ...
May 16, 2024•21 min
