North Denver News

By Kathryn White It was a chilly 23 degrees when the sun rose Jan. 3 at the encampment of largely refugees and migrants that had grown to over 300 people. People lived in tents along W. 27th and along nearby streets surrounding the former Quality Inn, where recently arrived migrant families are being housed by the city. Photo by Kathryn White Before the sun rose at 27th and Zuni the morning of Jan. 3, a multi-department city operation... Read more...

City Council Rejects Drive-Thru Rezoning for 4850 Federal Blvd. By Kathryn White Timing could’ve been everything for the former Village Inn site at 4850 Federal Blvd.  City Council voted Jan. 8 to reject a rezoning request that would have allowed a drive-thru restaurant on the property. A city plan explicitly discouraging new drive-thrus on this stretch of Federal is up for final approval Jan. 22. Paul Engler grew up in a house... Read more...

By London Lyle View from the front of the Mullen Home at 3629 W. 29th Ave. Photo by Kathryn White On Dec. 21, 2023, a deal between the Archdiocese and the city of Denver went into effect with multiple migrant families moving into the Mullen Home (formerly run by the Little Sisters of the Poor) on 3629 W. 29th Ave. Seven migrant families are currently staying in the Mullen Home, and this number will gradually ramp up over the coming... Read more...

City Council President Jamie Torres and President Pro Tem Amanda Sandoval join Historic Denver and the Denver Office of Storytelling in bringing “Kesher: The West Side Jewish Connection,” a film history of Denver’s West Side Jewish community, to MCA Denver at the Holiday Theater. The free community event, which will include a reception, film screening and discussion, takes place Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. at MCA Denver at the... Read more...

By Wendy Thomas Grab a cup of hot cocoa and curl up with a copy of “With Love, From Cold World” by Alicia Thompson to add some steam to the cold winter nights. “With Love, From Cold World” by Alicia Thompson Lauren Fox is a buttoned-up bookkeeper who likes things orderly and predictable. Asa Williamson is a practical-joking, minimum-wage-earning, tattooed and blue-haired jack-of-all-trades. The only thing they have in common is that... Read more...

By Allen Cowgill Denver just ended another record year for traffic crashes.  As of Dec. 31, Denver recorded 422 serious bodily injury crashes in 2023. That’s more than any year since 2013, when the city’s Vision Zero data begins. Alongside serious injury crashes, the city reported 83 fatal crashes, which could surpass the 2021 record of 84 once year-end data is updated. By comparison, there were 292 serious injury crashes and 47... Read more...

By Erika Taylor Spoiler alert! Eighty percent of New Year’s resolutions are broken by February. We come off of the holiday season full of motivation. We firmly, passionately resolve to swap eggnog for lemon water, stem Black Friday-inspired overspending for strict budgeting, and recommit to the gym we sign up for every January. But these grandiose plans dissolve to the lure of snooze buttons and Super Bowl nachos.  Why does this... Read more...

By Kathryn White Manuel Ramos has been around the block a time or two when it comes to getting books published. He and a few other North Denverites took time with us recently to share about what they’ve learned getting book-length writing projects across the finish line. The longtime North Denver writer’s first novel, “The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz,” won the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize in 1993. The award came with a publishing deal.... Read more...

By Talia Traskos-Hart Colorado state legislators began the 2024 legislative session last week with broad goals for the year. State legislators from North Denver—Representatives Alex Valdez and Tim Hernández—have centered affordable housing and support for students among other legislative priorities. Rep. Valdez, who has represented House District 5 since 2019, said that the 2024 session may provide chances to build back from delays in... Read more...

By Kathryn White Three chapters into “Groundswell” by North Denver debut novelist E.J. Fretz, a reader could take pencil to paper and draw an accurate map of places they may never have seen: Ōhope Beach and the nearby town of Whakatāne on New Zealand’s North Island. They might feel the warm wind on their skin and salty coastal air filling their lungs as they embellish their map with features of the landscape like crimson-bloomed... Read more...