There is a special place in Denver with all the best old junk: shelves of antique tools, a ratty old flightsuit, bright yellow bombs hanging from the ceiling (decommissioned, we hope), and all sorts of hidden nooks and crannies filled with dusty treasures of yesteryear. Surplus Tools & Commodities now bills itself as a “unique shopping experience,” but long before all the artists and scavengers discovered its secrets, Roger Cox’s grandfather opened the shop in 1947 selling government surplus. Host Bree Davies lives a few blocks away, so when she saw Roger’s note that the shop is closing later this year, she invited her friend, artist Lauri Lynnx Murphy — who has been making art out of Surplus’s goods for decades — for one last spin through the aisles. 

Wanna see photos of the treasure we found on our visit to Surplus Tools & Commodities? Subscribe to the CCD newsletter! https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Share the weirdest thing you’ve purchased at Surplus Tools with us on Twitter: @citycastdenver

If you’ve visited Denver’s Downtown Aquarium recently, you probably noticed something fishy. According to numerous current and former employees, the current owners have allowed the place to deteriorate, with issues ranging from paint chips in the stingray pool to piles of expired food for sale to not-so-subtle anti-mask messaging. So Host Bree Davies sat down with Westword reporter Catie Cheshire to talk about her recent investigation, including her undercover trip to the aquarium’s restaurant. They discuss the aquarium’s unique regulatory situation, the current owners (they run a chain of seafood restaurants!), and what, if anything, can be done to clean up this mess.

To read Cheshire’s whole cover story for Westword, find it on newsstands or online here: 

https://www.westword.com/news/aquarium-downtown-denver-landrys-stingray-fish-starbucks-employee-complaints-13300068

The Irish Snug is gone!!!!!!!! Bree lamented the loss of a Colfax favorite in our newsletter today. Read that and subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

We’re keeping it real on Twitter every day. Join us: @CityCastDenver

Too many neighborhoods in Denver lack access to fresh food. It’s an ongoing problem as the city continues to grow and become more expensive, and the mom and pop markets get put out of business by the grocery conglomerates. But this week, one Republican lawmaker decided he had a plan to solve Colorado’s food desert problem: just put groceries into existing liquor stores. Hmmm…easier said than done. For this week’s Friday chat, City Cast Denver producer Paul Karolyi chats with host Bree Davies, and Westword editor Patty Calhoun about why food in liquor stores is actually a bad idea. Plus, the three discuss the exciting proposal to turn the historic Black farming settlement of Colorado’s Wild West days — Dearfield — into a National Park. 

Like the music you heard on today’s show? It comes from the local group, Bluebook, who have a new album out soon. You can check out two of the tracks from the upcoming record on their website: https://www.thisisbluebook.com/listen

Folks can also listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/thisisbluebook

or Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/thisisbluebook

Get all the news and recommendations in your inbox every weekday morning. Subscribe to the CCD newsletter: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Connect with us on Twitter: @CityCastDenver 

Denver’s Phamaly Theatre Company doesn’t just accommodate theatre artists with disabilities, they welcome them and celebrate them — they are them. Actor, director, and advocate Regan Linton is one of the filmmakers behind the 2021 documentary imperfect that takes audiences into this “sacred space,” as she calls it, as the actors and crew members put on a production of Chicago. The documentary won the audience award for best documentary at last year’s Denver Film Festival, and today, City Cast Denver host Bree Davies talks with Linton about disability representation and affirmation, the importance of vulnerability, and why this film is for everyone.

You’ll hear clips from imperfect in this episode, but you can stream it online (for $10, which includes access to all the other films in the Slamdance Film Festival) starting today at slamdance.com. 

And find out more about Phamaly and their upcoming production, The Spitfire Grill, on their website.

Sign up for our daily newsletter, which, today, includes a local theatre round-up! https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Have a favorite Phamaly Theatre Company production? Let us know on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Vail Resorts isn’t just the biggest ski resort operator in Colorado, it’s the biggest operator in all of North America. But now, more than 40,000 skiers and snowboarders across the country are fed up with how Vail Resorts does business. A petition circulating in the ski and snowboard world aims to hold the company accountable for things like “mismanagement of the ski area, the failure to treat employees well, or pay them a livable wage, and the failure to deliver the product we all paid for and bought with hard-earned money during a pandemic.” So we called up Jason Blevins in Eagle, CO. When he’s not hitting the slopes at Beaver Creek, he’s reporting on all things outdoors for The Colorado Sun. He’s also a former ski bum, and walked City Cast Denver host Bree Davies through this skier vs. multi-million dollar corporate ski resort conflict. 

Sign up for our daily newsletter to get an even bigger head start on the news of the day: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

And we love tweets! Follow us: @citycastdenver

The mass shooting across Denver and Lakewood last month led to the deaths of five people, many of whom were leaders in the local tattooing community, including Alicia Cardenas. But as Westword's Culture Editor Emily Ferguson discovered when she was reporting on an art opening at a local parlor, the Denver tattoo community has a dark history of violence that long predates the events of December 27, 2021. Host Bree Davies sat down with Ferguson to talk about how Cardenas and a new wave of artists revolutionized the city’s tattoo scene and discuss Ferguson’s own experience of reporting on this community before and after the tragedy. 

Content warning: Ferguson recorded an interview with Cardenas 12 days before the shooting. This episode includes clips from that interview. 

For more on the Denver tattoo story, we highly recommend Ferguson’s story, including some pretty epic photos of 1970’s tattoo artists: https://www.westword.com/arts/denver-tattoo-murders-history-alicia-cardenas-peter-poulos-13222137 

Remember last week’s episode when City Cast CEO David Plotz came on to ask his embarrassing Denver questions? Our producer Paul Karolyi dove deep into the question of baking at altitude in our newsletter today, and your next focaccia will thank you for reading. Subscribe and read that issue here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Join us on Twitter for more Denver chit-chat: @citycastdenver

Ten days after more than 8,000 grocery store workers across Denver walked out on strike, Kroger-owned King Soopers and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 announced a tentative agreement on Friday morning. Union president Kim Cordova said that the new three-year contract would address "the company's unfair labor practices and ensures that our members will receive the respect, pay, and protection they warrant.” But really, that’s for the workers to decide, and a vote is scheduled for today. So producer Paul Karolyi called up someone who’s been through this before. Miguel Jimenez worked for King Soopers from 1984 through 2006, including during several contract negotiations and strikes, and he shares his perspective on today's pivotal vote. 

At one point in this conversation with Jimenez, Paul mentioned Ernie Duran Jr. He was Kim Cordova’s predecessor as president of the UFCW Local 7, and his tenure ended with quite a flameout of controversy. For the whole story, we recommend this deep dive into the tense 2009 union presidential election by past City Cast Denver guest Melanie Asmar: https://www.westword.com/news/can-a-mild-mannered-bakery-clerk-solve-the-grocery-workers-labor-strife-5106281

Just how bad is crime in Colorado? Here’s the Denver Post article Paul referenced with a deep dive into the data: https://www.denverpost.com/2022/01/23/colorado-crime-rate-homicides-shootings-assaults/

Is the King Soopers strike of ’22 ready for the history books? Or will workers reject the contract and return to the picket lines? No matter what, we’ll have the story in our weekday morning newsletter. Subscribe here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/.

Hang out with us on Twitter @citycastdenver.

For this week’s Friday news roundup, City Cast Denver host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are joined by Westword editor and founder, Patty Calhoun, to discuss a couple legacy businesses in the city that are undergoing some big changes. First, in a lengthy investigative piece, Denverite found that some employees of Denver’s largest independent bookstore, Tattered Cover, are less than satisfied with the new owners who took over in 2020 and started aggressively expanding the business. Then, Denver Business Journal revealed this week that Tom’s Diner on Colfax might be coming back from the grave as…a 1970s-era Las Vegas-style cocktail lounge? 

By the way, we want to find the best fried chicken in Denver, and we want your help! Email your pick to [email protected] or leave us a voicemail explaining why at 720-500-5418. 

Subscribe to the CCD newsletter for great food recommendations around the city: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

You can also talk to us about fried chicken on Twitter: @citycastdenver

People have been moving to Denver since, well, Denver became Denver. And it’s no secret, this tension between longtime residents and new folks is kinda the crux of our struggle as a city. So we thought, what better way to help get new Denverites acclimated than to bring in our boss David Plotz. He’s a lifelong Washingtonian, but as CEO of City Cast it’s part of his job to get to know all the cities that are part of our network: Chicago, Houston, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, and of course, Denver. So today on the show, David asks City Cast Denver host Bree Davies and producer Xandra McMahon some of his most embarrassing Denver questions, like: “What the heck is Red Rocks and do you actually get to sit on the rocks?” and “Does the altitude really affect your life that much?”

City Cast is growing and we’re hiring in a lot of cities! Check out the list here: https://citycast.fm/jobs/

Get all the Denver news and recs you need in your inbox every weekday morning. Subscribe to the CCD newsletter here: https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

How would you answer David’s questions about Denver? Let us know on Twitter: @citycastdenver

Denverites are slowly returning to public buses, trains, and light rail, but ridership is still far below pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, bus drivers have been leaving the fleet in droves, and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) is still paying off huge loans from major projects of yesteryear. So why is now the right time for RTD to propose the biggest overhaul of bus routes since the 1970s? Colorado Public Radio’s transportation reporter Nathaniel Minor is back on the show to connect the dots. All of them. No matter how dispersed they are across the metro area.

For more on this new RTD proposal, check out Minor’s article laying out the details: https://www.cpr.org/2022/01/12/rtd-bus-network-overhaul/

At the end of the episode, Minor suggested that listeners who want a say in this route overhaul should get in touch with their RTD director. You can find yours and their contact info here: https://www.rtd-denver.com/board-of-directors

We’ve got even more Denver news in our newsletter. Subscribe now and get your first edition tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. https://denver.citycast.fm/newsletter/

Talk transit to us on Twitter: @citycastdenver