City Cast Denver

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

A local activist group, Rooted in Littleton, recently conducted a survey of more than 1,000 Littleton voters about housing density — and found that 49% of those polled think the city is in a housing shortage. But that same survey found that more than half of respondents oppose increasing housing density. Kyle Schlachter, the mayor of Littleton, took the survey himself, and has a lot of thoughts about preserving the charm of Littleton while making sure people have access to housing. He joins host Bree Davies to talk about the city’s current approach to “gentle density”, what could happen if Rooted in Littleton’s current petition to change land use makes it to the ballot in November, and what the effect of “protecting single family residential zoning” could have on the future of this suburb.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? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬Learn more about the sponsors of this June 25th episode: RAQC Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

The Federal Theatre joins Denver’s list of vintage movie palaces turned music venue after the folks behind The Oriental Theater recently announced they were taking over the space. Could this be a new catalyst for more business along this Northside strip? Then, after President Trump complained that his portrait at the state capitol was “truly the worst”, it was removed — but legislators and History Colorado are trying to decide if the paintings should be replaced by something different altogether. Host Bree Davies is joined by Westword editor in chief Patty Calhoun to dig into these stories, plus producer Olivia Jewell Love pops by to share listener comments on everything from flock cameras to witchcraft. Bree talked about the Federal Theatre’s fundraiser to get the old venue running again and our episode with conservative talk radio host Jeff Hunt. After our show with Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas, listener Fiona had questions about other police departments having access to Denver’s flock camera data. Patty mentioned Governor Polis’ “Colorado 150 Bridge”.  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 24th episode: RAQC Xcel Energy  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

A local law firm recently sued Google to have a nasty one-star review removed from their profile, according to BusinessDen. It sounds like a pretty terrible situation, but it reminded us just how powerful the humble user review can be! So today we’re going inside the minds of the people leaving negative reviews for local faves with another round of our famous one-star review game. Quizmaster slash producer Paul Karolyi puts returning champion slash host Bree Davies to the test against a new challenger — comedian Kate McLachlan of Dyketopia — to see once and for all: Who knows Denver’s haters best? If you are craving more of our one-star review game, check out the first time we played and the haunted edition we did for Halloween. Kate talked about the short story “A&P” by John Updike.  Have you ever left a local business a one-star review? What happened? Did the owner clap back? We want to hear about it! 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. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm Learn more about the sponsors of this June 23rd episode: RAQC City & County Denver Tech Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

City Cast hosts are on the pulse of what’s happening in our communities. So Bree Davies and all 12 other hosts sat down with City Cast CEO David Plotz to talk about creative local problem solving that might work in your hometown too and to commiserate about stressors affecting most of our cities, from unaffordable housing to bike lanes. Learn more about the sponsors of this June 20th episode: Xcel Energy Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST 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.

You know that busted old building down the street? Why does it feel like nothing’s being done about it? Turns out, there are 285 of these derelict or abandoned properties across Denver, and that number is on the rise! Westword’s Catie Cheshire has been reporting on the city’s abandoned buildings issue, and she’s on today with host Bree Davies to talk about some particularly wild stories and break down City Council’s new plan to fix the problem. We are off tomorrow for Juneteenth! So no new episode until Friday, when we’ll be back with something fun and different.  Do you have an abandoned building in your neighborhood? We want to hear about it! 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. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm Learn more about the sponsors of this June 18th episode: Xcel Energy Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Hundreds of “No Kings” rallies took place across the state over the weekend, with an estimated 20,000 people converging on Civic Center Park for marches and a “People’s Fair” put on by a coalition of progressive organizations. Producer Paul Karolyi was there to witness it all, and he’s on today with host Bree Davies to talk about where all the anti-Trump, anti-ICE energy will go from here. Plus, our local billionaires are negotiating some potentially monumental land deals, and we heard from a listener from Littleton about their local housing density debate.  We talked about Westword and Denverite’s reporting on the Rive Mile land deal and BusinessDen’s reporting on the Broncos potential interest in Denver Water’s land. Bree mentioned our episodes with Councilmember Jamie Torres about Stan Kroenke’s plans for development in the Ball Arena parking lots and Professor Geoff Propheter about the proposed public subsidies to support the construction of a professional women’s soccer stadium. Paul talked about Dr. Erica Chenoweth’s ‘3.5% rule.’ What do you think about the recent wave of anti-Trump, anti-ICE protests?Do you have a protest story to tell? 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. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm Learn more about the other sponsors of this June 16th episode: Xcel Energy Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Cozy Earth - Use code COZYDENVER for 40% off all men's apparel and more.  Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Anti-Trump protests have been escalating in Denver, especially as the president ratchets up his immigration crackdown. While no Waymos have been torched here in the Mile High, there is a still an open question about violence. Eighteen protesters were arrested last Tuesday after a confrontation with police, and one conservative talk show host was kicked. 710KNUS’s Jeff Hunt has been attending protests in Denver all year, and he caught his alleged assault on video. So host Bree Davies spoke with Jeff about the kick, his self-described “gotcha”-style videos,” the question of violence, and why, through it all, he says he still loves Denver.  Check out Jeff Hunt’s protest videos for yourself!  Here’s the one from the conservative “March for Life” This one is from the Bernie/AOC rally in March This is the one he referenced featuring protesters warning others not to talk to him And here’s the one where he gets kicked  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 Jeff Hunt's "gotcha" videos? Or the violence at the protests? 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 Grace Ramirez the Senior Manager of Xcel Energy, learn more here. Learn more about the other sponsors of this June 16th episode: Xcel Energy Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

Protestors took to the streets downtown on Tuesday in solidarity with demonstrations in LA over ICE raids, and more protests are planned across the metro over the weekend. But will protesters — and police — keep it peaceful? Then, Mayor Mike Johnston celebrated the “largest multi-year reduction in unsheltered homelessness in American history,” but the data leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Westword editor-in-chief Patty Calhoun joins producer Paul Karolyi and host Bree Davies to discuss whether the mayor should be touting such a milestone, what we saw at the protests, and wins and fails of the week.   Bree talked about Jax Gratton and Casa Bonita’s Founders Club. Paul mentioned BusinessDen’s report on the Broncos’ secret land deals, hilarious local comedian Liv Carter, the AID Center closing, Jovanina’s fight with the city, the new foie gras ballot effort. Patty talked about Juneteenth, Aurora City Council’s new meeting policy, and Stan Kroenke’s latest move on the River Mile development. We also talked about our episodes earlier this week with DPD chief Ron Thomas and AG candidate David Seligman. What do you think about the protests this week and Trump’s escalating crackdown on immigration? 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 We’re giving Neighbors the chance to win a couple pairs of tickets to Mortified Live: Pride Edition! All you have to do to enter is be a part of our membership program and send “your favorite place to celebrate Pride in Denver and why” to denver@citycast.fm by Monday morning. That’s when we’ll pick our two favorite entries. You can also leave a voicemail — if you include the email address you used to become a member — at 720-500-5418. Join now and enter at Membership.citycast.fm! 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 other sponsors of this June 13th episode: RAQC Central City Opera Denver Health Multipass Edgewater Music Festival 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