City Cast Denver

Ask diners. Ask servers. Ask restaurateurs. You can even ask the governor! They’ll all tell you it's time to talk about the crisis happening in Denver’s restaurants. But everyone defines it a little differently. Some are sick and tired of paying $20 for a mediocre cheeseburger. Others point to recent reports of restaurants closing — more than one in five since 2021 — and no one can agree on what t...

In an email sent late Friday, the RiNo Art District announced that cars would be returning to the 2900 block of Larimer Street, ending a nearly five-year experiment born early in the pandemic. So as the pedestrian-friendly open space went back to traffic as usual over the weekend, urbanists organized a protest, and producer Paul Karolyi was on the scene. He joins host Bree Davies to talk about who...

Denver’s economy boomed in the 2010s, thanks in large part to a thriving community of local tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, which produced a handful of companies that have grown to rival some Silicon Valley giants — iBotta, HomeAdvisor, Guild Education, etc. But many of those success stories turned sour over the past 18 months, with layoffs, remote work, and cancelled downtown leases dominating...

Mayor Johnston released his big, new goals for 2025 this week, but is he going to have any time to work on them when the Trump administration is focusing so much of its new immigration crackdown on the Denver metro? Denver7 reporter Brandon Richard joins producer Paul Karolyi and stand-up comic Joshua Emerson to talk about what he learned at Johnston’s press conference yesterday, and break down al...

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it doesn’t have to be any less awesome. Survive the winter doldrums with our monthly guide to Denver! In this episode, we’ve got expert tips and recommendations that you won’t hear anywhere else, from a suburban pretzel shop with unforgettable architecture to a brand new short film on Max created by Denverites and shot right here in Denver. If yo...

Amid last year’s national hysteria over Tren de Aragua — the Venezuelan gang that had allegedly “taken over” several apartment buildings in the Denver metro — then-presidential candidate Donald Trump came to Colorado to announce his plans for a massive crackdown on immigration, dubbed “Operation Aurora.” Now that Trump is in office, social media is rife with stories of ICE raids, security breaches...

It’s been three years since more than 8,000 grocery workers went on strike across the Denver metro area, but the contract they ultimately won has already expired! Negotiations on a follow-up are at a standstill, so will we see another King Soopers strike? Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are previewing the strike authorization vote King Soopers workers are set for later this week and bre...

As the Mile High deals with high rental and housing costs, an increasing number of Denverites are finding creative and innovative ways to live here affordably. Recently, the Boulder Housing Coalition purchased a historic mansion in Capitol Hill with plans to convert what was once a single-family home into a collaborative living space for up to 22 people. Host Bree Davies recently toured the elegan...

As President Trump plots the end of federal subsidies for electric vehicles, Denverites are buying Teslas, Nissan Leafs, Chevy Bolts, and other EVs at record rates. Will Trump’s plans impact our state’s love affair will gas-free cars? Then, voters approved the reintroduction of gray wolves in 2020, but now that 29 wolves are ranging across our state, the program has sparked conflict between ranche...

Sometimes it feels like the local restaurant scene runs on hype. Just yesterday, the James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for their prestigious 2025 awards, including a bunch of local favorites. But especially as inflation pushes up the cost of going out to eat, do any of those accolades matter to eaters? Writer and former fine-dining server Jake Browne wrote a biting critique of one...

Now that Donald Trump has been sworn back in as president, Denverites are bracing for change, especially on the issue of immigration. The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that the president is getting to work on his mass deportation plan, with ICE raids potentially happening in Denver as soon as this week. So host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are talking about how the mayor,...

In the spring of 2022, baristas at the Starbucks on Rock Creek Circle in Superior became the first Colorado location to unionize. Liza Nielsen was on the front lines of that union battle as a barista and shift organizer. Fast forward to today — she’s taking the cause to the Colorado Senate where she will be testifying in favor of the Worker Protection Act. Host Bree Davies sits down with the forme...

Four stabbings along the 16th Street Mall last weekend left two people dead and put downtown back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Was the tragic violence just another sign of an increasingly unsafe city? Or an outlier on the path back to a vibrant, thriving downtown? Former mayoral candidate and criminal justice reform advocate Lisa Calderón joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Kar...

Boulder is currently one of three finalists to become the new home of one of the most famous and influential cultural events in the world: Sundance Film Festival. Governor Jared Polis and his allies in the legislature are reportedly hoping to lure the fest with millions in tax incentives, but film lovers up and down the Front Range are divided, and no one is sure what the impact on Boulder would r...

Colorado’s Governor Jared Polis is term-limited, and the election to replace him is still 23 months away. But that didn’t stop Attorney General Phil Weiser from jumping in to the race to replace him! Just a couple weeks off his campaign announcement, Weiser returns to the show today to talk to host Bree Davies about his early-bird strategy, how he’d bring a Denverite’s perspective back to the gove...

The mayor is in the final stages of negotiating a future for the Park Hill Golf Course, according to CBS Colorado. But would a major land swap change much for the neighbors living around this 155 acres of dead grass? Then, City Council voted on some big changes to needle exchange sites in Denver last night, but the mayor still has final say. It’s Tuesday, and Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Kar...

The many esteemed lawmakers of Colorado’s 75th General Assembly returned to the Capitol last week for four months of high-stakes legislative action! So we’re looking ahead to the biggest stories to watch, fights to come, and potential triumphs of the session — plus a few predictions and inside scoops. Politics contributor Deep Singh Badhesha joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to talk...

The Broncos are headed to the playoffs for the first time in nine years. But do they deserve a new stadium? And should taxpayers pay for it? It’s Friday and we’re looking back at the biggest news of the week, starting with an investigative series from the Denver Post digging into the economics and politics of big stadium projects. Then, beyond Blucifer and the big blue bear, is there a third big b...

The National Western Stock Show is a Denver tradition — for 119 years, this event highlighting our livestock and agriculture industry has been bringing farmers, ranchers, and cowfolk from all over the country to the Mile High City each January. But once upon a time, this crucial economic and cultural legacy almost pulled up stakes and left for good. Last year, producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree D...

What will 2025 yield for Denver? When it comes to new trends, spicy predictions, and future forecasts, there’s a lot on the horizon for the Mile High City. Will psychedelic-assisted therapy finally go mainstream? Are immersive art experiences played out? Will local politicians stop embarrassing themselves on Twitter? Host Bree Davies and producers Olivia Jewell Love and Paul Karolyi lay out what’s...

What’s the best way to make a change in your community? You could gather signatures and put a question on the ballot, like some animal welfare activists did last year. Or, you could put on a mask, grab a bullhorn, barge into a local restaurant, and demand they stop serving foie gras, a French delicacy made from fattened duck or goose liver. That’s exactly the tactic a new group of animal lovers ha...

If it seems like Denver’s skyline has been full of cranes lately, it’s not just you. The city has seen record construction of new apartment buildings over the past two years. But according to data from CoStar and the Apartment Association of Metro Denver, the average rent is either stagnant or falling slightly by $16 per month. So today we’re trying to understand what’s happening in the local rent...

The new year is not yet a week old, and there are already tons of local stories to catch up on. Westword editor Patty Calhoun joins producer Paul Karolyi to speculate about Mayor Mike Johnston’s new hire to help shape the future of downtown, Bill Mosher, including his connections with the Colorado Convention Center scandal of 2018. They also preview the 2026 governor’s race now that AG Phil Weiser...

Welcome to the new year in Denver! From warming up with a coffee flight to a hot tip on a discount for electric snowblowers, we’ve got some great recommendations for how to make the most out of your January in the Mile High City.  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.  Get your tickets to...

Back in October, one of the Mile High’s most popular social media influencers, The Denver Foodie, found himself at the center of perhaps the biggest local scandal of the year. Restaurants claimed that he had ripped them off, while some of his fellow influencers came forward with allegations of content theft. At the height of uproar, host Bree Davies talked with 9News investigative reporter Jeremy...