City Cast Denver

Ron Morales has been roasting green chiles in a parking lot at the corner of 52nd and Sheridan every fall for the past 28 years. He learned the trade from his father and hopes to pass it on to his kids one day — if any of them decide to take on the family business. But what exactly does it take to make this signature Colorado ritual possible year after year? Ron shared his story with City Cast Denver producer Paul Karolyi and newsletter writer Peyton Garcia on a recent behind-the-scenes tour of the Morales Family Chile Store. If this episode gets you in the mood to buy some fresh roasted chiles of your own, there’s a helpful list of chile roasters available at denvergreenchili.com. But really all you need to do is stop at the next stand you see on the side of the road. Want your mornings to feel as good as fresh roasting green chiles smell? Subscribe to our newsletter right here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Got a go-to green chile supplier? Let’s talk: @citycastdenver

Since 2012 when the City of Denver enacted the Urban Camping Ban, the forced removal of people from tents and other temporary shelters — commonly known as “sweeps” — have become the norm. Even as houseless neighbors and advocates protest these displacements, the Hancock administration continues to conduct them. But one recent sweep of an encampment outside the Four Winds American Indian Council in Baker challenged the status quo in a different way. Today on the show, City Cast Denver host Bree Davies talks with Four Winds American Indian Council chair Mateo Parsons about why this sweep is different and where things stand with this part of the indigenous community and the city.To hear from one of the residents of the encampment outside Four Winds, here’s a link to a video of a man talking about a confrontation he had with DPD at the camp: https://www.facebook.com/fourwindsamericanindiancouncil/videos/?ref=page_internalHere’s the full response we got from the mayor’s office:General about the cleanup:We remain focused on connecting those living in any unsanctioned encampment with services, shelter and housing that will help them exit homelessness as quickly as possible. Unsanctioned encampments pose a health and safety risk to those living in them and those living around them. The Mayor has been clear that they cannot persist when better alternatives remain available. About the meeting with Four Winds folks:Mayor Hancock and city staff meet with representatives from the Four Winds American Indian Council and the encampment that was located outside their building. The meeting was productive and alternative options were discussed for those who were in the encampment, including housing, shelter and access to safe outdoor spaces. As well, several of the individuals in the encampment were connected with housing already through outreach efforts prior to the encampment cleanup. Additional context:For further context on those who were connected to real solutions as opposed to the accusations of those who want them to stay in these conditions: there were five people from that encampment who were placed in Safe Outdoor Spaces and 10 who were provided two-week motel vouchers to help them connect with longer term services and resources. The week before the actual cleanup, the Homeless Outreach Team contacted a woman living in the encampment outside Four Winds who had three small children (including a toddler) living in the tent with her. Nobody at Four Winds or within the camp had offered her assistance or bothered to provide resources for the children. DPD was able to get her and her children out of the encampment and connected with supportive resources.And here’s the full response we got from the Department of Housing Stability (HOST): Prior to all encampment cleanups, street outreach teams are deployed on multiple dates leading up to the cleanup to connect individuals with resources, services, shelter and housing. Outreach prior to the Four Winds cleanup resulted in the following:  One family (mother plus three children) placed into family shelter and connected with services Five individuals placed into Safe Outdoor Space managed campsites 10 individuals placed, via motel vouchers, into motels for 14 days with follow-up visits provided by street outreach teams One person referred for permanent supportive housing with another successfully rehoused Three individuals completed case management steps necessary in order to be prioritized for future housing referral In addition, individuals were provided with food, vaccinations, and medical/behavioral care  HOST continues to work with individuals who were residing in this encampment. HOST has partnered with several Native American-led organizations, as well as with the Colorado Village Collaborative, on visioning efforts related to future Safe Outdoor Space sites.

Redistricting is important. We swear. Every ten years, our elected officials fight over how and who will elect them next time -- or not. Which groups will be overrepresented? Or underrepresented? Who knows! Fortunately, we're doing a feed-swap this week with the Get More Smarter podcast, which is hosted by a couple of guys who have been around Colorado politics for a long time: Ian Silverii, formerly of ProgressNow Colorado, and Jason Bain, of ColoradoPols.com. They talk about Lauren Boebert and the state GOP primary to take on Michael Bennet, then go deep on redistricting with Evan Wyloge, a veteran redistricting reporter with coloradopolitics.com.Also, and this is for podcast fans, how cool is it that they have a theme by Breakmaster Cylinder?Here's their description of this episode:This week, our favorite Colorado insurrectionist joins the US Senate Republican Primary and we're taking bets on how badly this ruins GOP chances to beat Michael Bennet in 2022. Our 7th favorite congressperson from Colorado makes us ask, once again, “What the hell is wrong with our 7th favorite congressperson from Colorado?” The Colorado Republican Party doesn’t know the first rule of fight club, so the break the hell out of it. We have another edition of MAP MADNESS, where we discuss the brand-new redistricting and reapportionment process in Colorado AND we interview Evan Wyloge, reporter for the various Gazettes and ColoradoPolitics.com who has had the distinct pleasure of covering this public-political-cartography process not once, but twice!Follow Evan on Twitter: @EvanWylogeSome of Evan's redistricting articles mentioned in the interview- Coordinated persuasion efforts emerge in Colorado redistricting commissions’ public comments (9/20/21)- Challenge to congressional map plan over minority protections announced already (9/30/21)- Newly revealed interactions added to redistricting lobbying complaint (9/27/21)- Colorado nonprofit targeted with redistricting lobbying complaint helped draft others’ map proposals (8/30/21)-------This week, we're doing a feed-swap with our friends at City Cast Denver, Denver's only local daily news podcast. They make terrific content, and you'll find their recent episode about Casa Bonita in our feed. Subscribe to the City Cast Denver podcast and newsletter.-------Hosts: Jason Bane | Ian SilveriiProducer: Ethan BlackIntern: Taleen SampleMusic: Breakmaster CylinderFollow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Visit our website at getmoresmarter.com.

It’s Friday, which means the City Cast Denver team chats about some of the craziest news items from the week. Today on the show, Producer Xandra McMahon sits down with Newsletter Writer Peyton Garcia and Host Bree Davies to discuss the Boulder Daily Camera’s removal of its front page 9/11 anniversary story and the journalism drama that followed. Plus, the crew takes Conde Nast to task for proclaiming Aspen the “Best Small Town in America” (ever heard of Estes Park?) Oh, and Chowdermeister — the festival claiming to bring clam chowder and Jägermeister together. But the whole thing got canceled, because apparently, Jäger can’t take a joke. Whatever, we thought it was funny. Want more news in your inbox every weekday? Subscribe to the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Be our friend on Twitter! @citycastdenverTell us about your favorite small town in Colorado — leave us a voicemail: (720) 500-5418‬

It’s tough to talk about, but we’ve got a problem. There are 20,000 people on Colorado’s sex offender registry, including many whose offenses date back to when they were under 18 and many others whose offenses were as minor as peeing in public. But what exactly is the problem with the registry and the way we deal with sex offenders? And is there anything we can do to fix it? Host Bree Davies talks with psychologist and professor Dr. Apryl Alexander about an issue most of society doesn’t want to talk about — sex offenders and their rights. Along with being an associate professor of psychology at the University of Denver, Dr. Alexander is on the board for the Colorado Juvenile Defender Center and has spent much of her career working with both survivors of sexual assault and youth sex offenders in treatment programs.Want more news delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Have an idea for the show or just want to say hi? Tweet at us: @citycastdenver

In this morning’s episode, Bree went deep on what makes Casa Bonita special with David Thomas, “professor of fun." But their conversation didn’t end there! So here we are with an afternoon bonus episode with Bree and David putting Casa Bonita up against two other fun Denver spots: Meow Wolf’s new Convergence Station and Lakeside Amusement Park.If you haven’t heard this morning’s episode, go listen to that one first! 

It’s official: Trey Parker and Matt Stone have purchased Casa Bonita. So, now what? Will the Lakewood landmark stay the same, or become a fully South Park-themed eatertainment destination? While the iconic restaurant’s future hangs in the balance, we wanted to know: What really makes Casa Bonita fun? Host Bree Davies and Producer Paul Karolyi took an official tour of the still-closed-for-dining immersive eatery with David Thomas, the “Professor of Fun.” David explains why Casa Bonita is more than just a theme restaurant — it’s an architecturally designed masterpiece that invites play, stirs imagination, and ensures that all who visit will be transported to another place and time for an experience that can be hard to put into words. The City Cast Denver Crew joined Westword Editor-In-Chief Patty Calhoun for the Casa Bonita tour, too — you can read her take on CB and the concept of fun in this week’s Westword. Get Denver news delivered straight to your inbox every weekday by signing up for the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Got a favorite Casa Bonita memory? Share it with us on Twitter: @citycastdenverOr, give us a ring and leave us a message: ‪(720) 500-5418‬

Back in March, Black Lives Matter 5280 posted an account of alleged sexual assault by Denver Public Schools board member Tay Anderson. Then, a woman claiming to speak on behalf of more than 60 students testified at the Colorado state legislature, bringing dozens of sexual assault allegations that were eventually connected to Anderson. In September, after a five-month investigation, all sexual assault accusations against Anderson were found to be unsubstantiated (the investigators did find evidence of other, less serious allegations). But during the intervening months, many journalists published the allegations without any effort to verify them or figure out what was really happening. One of the few voices to question the allegations’ credibility was Colorado Sun columnist Theo Wilson. So today, Host Bree Davies sits down with Wilson to talk about what, exactly, the rest of us seemed to miss about this situation with Director Anderson. For more from Theo Wilson, check out his organization Shop Talk Live, which is dedicated to the education and empowerment of and improvement of human rights for Black people, and his column in the Colorado Sun. Like news? Check out and subscribe to our weekday newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Find us on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Denver has been in a housing and homelessness crisis for many years, and the pandemic only increased the need for more shelter options. In response, one of the City of Denver’s temporary solutions was to rent underutilized hotels and motels and convert them into a new kind of shelter. But as City Cast Denver Producer Xandra McMahon discovered, this temporary housing solution is leaving a lot to be desired. Today on the show, Xandra talks with Host Bree Davies about what she saw at one of these new shelters, what she’s learned from activists and the unhoused community, and how the City and its partners are working to improve this program — and maybe even make it permanent. For more, here’s Marshall Zelinger’s full report for 9News on the widespread vacancies at these temporary hotel/motel shelters: https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/denver-hotel-rooms-homeless-empty/73-3dd22a0a-b274-4d1b-9088-d5aa7e58b918Got something about Denver to share? Leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood: (720) 500-5418.Want more news in your inbox every weekday? Subscribe to the City Cast Denver newsletter:  https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/Find us on Twitter: @citycastdenver

It’s the City Cast Denver Friday chat with Producer Paul Karolyi, Newsletter Writer Peyton Garcia, and Host Bree Davies. This week, the discussion centers on outgoing Westword Culture Editor Kyle Harris’s cover story, which asks: “With Culture Becoming a Commodity, Is There Room for Real Creativity in Denver?” Plus, with temps dropping and October approaching, the team shares their favorite fall activities, and Peyton talks extensively about her love for all things pumpkin. (Warning: This episode contains multiple mentions of Pumpkin Spice Lattes.)Ray Mark Rinaldi’s review of Meow Wolf for the Denver Post/New York Times: https://www.denverpost.com/2021/09/29/review-meow-wolf-denver/Kealey Boyd’s commentary on Meow Wolf for Hyperallergic: https://hyperallergic.com/678101/meow-wolf-expands-its-immersive-schtick/Want more news every weekday? Sign up for the City Cast Denver newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/