Bucket List Community News

The March episode of the Bucket List Community News radio show on KGNU takes listeners from the excitement of Denver’s newest professional sports team to neighborhood organizing, evolving school policies and Colorado’s role in humanity’s return to the moon. The eighth episode of the show, hosted by Bucket List editor Toni Tresca, aired Thursday, March 5, and is now available to stream on our websi...

Our February episode of the Bucket List Community Cafe radio show on KGNU covers everything from urgent citywide safety concerns to the expansion of Cleo Parker Robinson Dance to the closure of a beloved Boulder institution. The seventh episode of our radio show, hosted by Bucket List editor Toni Tresca, aired on Thursday, Feb. 6, and is now available to listen to on our website.

As Denver turns the page on 2025, the January episode of the Bucket List Community Cafe radio show offers a moment of reflection and a clear-eyed look at what lies ahead. Originally airing on New Year’s Day at 3 p.m. on KGNU , the episode brings together Bucket List editor Toni Tresca, publisher Vicky Collins and radio show editor Ryland Scholes for an extended conversation about the stories, pres...

The November edition of the Bucket List Community Cafe radio show aired this week on KGNU, marking the fifth episode of the monthly program that highlights the stories shaping life across the Denver metro. Hosted by Bucket List editor Toni Tresca and powered by a newsroom of student and early-career journalists, the Bucket List radio show weaves together reporting on veterans’ housing, neighborhoo...

The October edition of the Bucket List Community Cafe radio show aired this week on KGNU, offering another wide-ranging look at the people, places, and policies shaping Denver life. Hosted by me, Toni Tresca, and produced by our team of student and early-career reporters, the fourth episode dives into local activism, infrastructure upgrades, cultural rebirth and a celebration of the spooky season.

In this edition of Bucket List Community Cafe on KGNU we're diving into some of the most talked about developments in the city. From a massive women's soccer stadium project to federal funding cuts to the arts. We've also got coverage of a local farmers market, a new exhibit capturing the immigrant experience in America and even the unexpected world of Pokémon card scalping. All that and more comi...

The Bucket List Community Cafe radio show on KGNU brings hyperlocal storytelling to the airwaves with heart, curiosity, and a deep love for Denver. Hosted by Toni Tresca, each episode dives into the civic pulse of the city—from transportation frustrations and unsafe streets to vibrant arts festivals, neighborhood activism, and underrepresented cultural communities. With reporting from a team of em...

After courageously leaving her career in science and PhD in biology behind to become a full-time artist, Bala Thiagarajan is onto her next big journey: the Cherry Creek Arts Festival . For the first time in her career the Denver creative is getting her opportunity to shine at Colorado’s biggest arts festival from July 4 through 6. Thiagarajan sat down with us for June’s episode of the “Bucket List...

175,000 miles, 380 pit stops at National Parks across the United States and six full years of living in a van later, Sam Gennawey has done it all. The former urban planner and owner of an independent record label decided it was time to spice up his life, so he traded in his downtown Los Angeles loft for a camper van and embarked on the journey of a lifetime. After struggling with his mental health...

Within the world of journalism, Emmy award-winning Carol McKinley has done it all. McKinley has covered some of the most significant events in the country for over four decades, including the JonBenét Ramsey investigation and the Columbine and Aurora theater shootings. She also covered the Iraq War and the end of Saddam Hussein. Now, after firmly establishing herself as one of the most prolific re...

Regan Linton , a well-known actress from Denver, persevered when life threw her a massive challenge. After a life-altering car accident left her paralyzed from the waist down in 2002, she made a commitment to keep creating. On March’s episode of the “Bucket List Community Cafe Podcast,” we sat down with Linton to talk about her journey as a disabled actress, work as an activist, the inspiration be...

Raquel Lane-Arellano from the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition joined us on the podcast to talk about their efforts. As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids continue to unfold across the state, the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) has been working tirelessly to advocate for immigrant communities.  Raquel Lane-Arellano , communications manager and Colorado rapid response vol...

As climate change becomes an increasingly prevalent issue throughout the state of Colorado, the local butterflies are feeling the effects. Butterflies, as pollinators, are critical to the long-term viability of our state’s ecosystem.  Unfortunately, butterfly populations have been decreasing drastically over the past 50 years due to increased temperature across Colorado, loss of vegetation like mi...

With a consequential election on November 5 looming, voters’ voices are more important than ever. Even outside of the presidential contest, a slew of other pivotal issues will be voted on in Denver. As the landscape and demographics of the city evolve, Generation Z voters are more important than ever and want their voices to be heard. On October’s edition of the Bucket List Community Cafe podcast...

With a pivotal election fast approaching, it’s more important than ever to be engaged. The future of the country is in the hands of voters, who will decide America’s direction on November 5.  No one knows that better than the former chair of the Democratic Caucus of the Colorado House of Representatives and local political legend Polly Baca . Ryland Scholes caught up with Baca in this month’s epis...

For a city whose metro area has grown by nearly 500,000 people in the last 10 years, Denverites should be seeing new bike pathways, better sidewalk infrastructure and improved public transit systems, but according to advocates that’s not happening fast enough. They are calling for more improvements in pedestrian and cycling safety. In this month’s episode of the Bucket List Community Cafe podcast...

As Coloradans from around the state flock to the mountains and beaches during summer vacation season, one Denverite has gone above and beyond with his travels. Daniel Zimny-Schmitt is the newest member of the Extra Miler Club , making his way to all 3,143 counties across the United States. He recently finished his cross-country journey and sat down with Bucket List for the July edition of our podc...

Johnny Nichols, Jr., the artistic director of the Denver Gay Men’s Chorus isn’t your average conductor. He just celebrated his one-year anniversary with the group, and his mission in Denver is clear: build bridges in the Mile High City. Originally aspiring to be a politician, he shifted gears after he realized his true calling was in choral music.  “It was hard for me to grasp pride at the very be...

When Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald arrived at our publisher’s house to record our podcast last week, his first instinct was to greet our feisty three-and-a-half-month-old canine correspondent, Daphne. She can be a bit of a talker, as you’ll hear on the podcast, but she was instantly soothed by the 72-year-old veterinarian’s peaceful demeanor. But Kevin isn’t just a dog whisperer. Given a microphone and an...

Denver’s outgoing district attorney Beth McCann, who is leaving office after two terms, has made a lasting impression on the city. Many will remember her for a legacy of legal reforms, community safety initiatives and her steadfast commitment to justice. This Women’s History Month, she sat down with us for the Bucket List Community Cafe podcast to reflect on her tenure, the challenges she has face...

He’s been called the “ Don Draper of Pot, ” a “Jewish Pot Activist, ” and “ Marijuana’s Top Evangelist. ” In 2012, he paid a protestor to dress up in a chicken suit and follow then-Gov. John Hickenlooper around the streets of Denver with a sign that said, “Hey Mayor Chickenlooper, What’s So Scary About Marijuana?’” Hickenlooper, who voted against Amendment 64, has since said he “was wrong” to oppo...

Award-winning author Twist Phelan didn’t always want to be a writer but she always knew how to tell a story. Phelan started her professional career as a lawyer in one of the only all-women law firms in Arizona. She wasn’t known for her law skills but for her ability to capture the jury in her closing statements. After retiring from the world of law at 30 years old, Phelan bought a yacht and began...

Over 30,000 migrants from Venezuela and other Central American countries have made the grueling journey to Denver in the past year and thousands are here to stay.  Denver Public Schools (DPS) has had more than 2000 new students enroll.  “What I always focus on as a community organizer, is making sure that there are very few barriers to entry, creating a very inclusive environment for folks to help...

After almost 40 years of storytelling for Denver’s channel 7, Anne Trujillo is retiring–or as she calls it reinventing.  Already her fans and community are missing her. Trujillo has received a multitude of thanks and well wishes in her last week on air. Her social media comments are flooded with love and support. Trujillo grew up in Colorado, and didn’t know she wanted to be a journalist until her...

This month on the Bucket List Community cafe podcast, our Mimi Herrick speaks to Rep. Brianna Titone about her journey, working in the state legislature and trans activism. Titone was elected in 2019 to Colorado House District 27 in Arvada and became the first openly transgender person in the state legislature. But entering politics was not originally in Titone’s plans. In fact, she was a geologic...