🏳️‍🌈 Help save Denver’s only queer gym

✊🏽 Meet the New House District 4 State Rep

Community activist, local educator, and lifelong Northsider Tim Hernández is the new state representative for Northwest Denver. “The people of Denver’s Northside and Westside deserve a representative who has lived experiences with our community’s struggles,” Hernández said. His main focuses are education, gun violence protection, and housing. [Denverite]

• Hear from Tim: He recently joined the City Cast Denver podcast crew to help us break down everything going on at McAuliffe International, plus chat about other Denver news. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🍄 Who Should Really Be Leading the Psychedelics Charge?

Colorado Indigenous community members are pushing back against the state’s recent, voter-approved decriminalization of psychedelics. They worry commercialization will make it harder for Native communities to access the plants that they have used in cultural practices for centuries. Despite the state’s new Natural Medical Advisory Board including two Indigenous representatives, some Native advocates say it’s not enough. [Denver Post 🔒]

• Dive deeper: Check out the four-part mini-series we produced last summer, before Prop 122 passed, that digs into the many ripple effects that legalizing psychedelics could have on the medical industry and local Indigenous communities. Here’s episode 1. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

💸 You can Help Save Denver’s Only Queer Gym

Metamorphosis Fitness, the only gym in Denver owned by and designed for LGTBQ individuals, is at risk of closing its doors. After a new landlord took over the property in 2021, gym owner Styler Ells says their rent jumped $2,500, which easily outpaces the gym’s monthly revenue. Staff have started a GoFundMe to try to save the business. [KDVR]

• Learn more: We had Styler on the show last spring to learn more about the only queer-affirming gym in the city. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🦁 Zoo Week | All Week

Today through Sept. 4, Great Divide Brewing Co. is hosting Zoo Week at both North Denver taprooms. Try their exclusive Zooski lager and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Denver Zoo. [Five Points; Prices vary by order]

🎤 Telling Tales | Tuesday | 7-9 p.m.

Local videographer and poet Gwylym Cano is reviving a fan-favorite Mercury Cafe event that invites the community to come share stories of all kinds with one another. [Five Points; Free]

🎶 Beats on the Creek | Tuesday | 6-10 p.m.

Reserve a spot on the patio at Coohills restaurant for a front row seat alongside the creek listening to grunge/alternative cover band, Anavrin’s Day. [Union Station; reservations required; $65 food/drink minimum]

🎞️ Cinema Azteca | Tuesday | 7 p.m.

This week for the MCA’s Spanish language summer film series, the Holiday Theater will screen “La Yuma,” a story about a young woman from an impoverished neighborhood in Nicaragua pursuing her dreams of becoming a boxer. [Highland; GA $15, Student $5]

An Activist Turned Legislator, Micro-Communities, and More for Our Visitors Guide

Today on the City Cast Denver podcast, host Bree Davies is joined by state politics correspondent and fan-favorite guest Justine Sandoval. Together, they break down the local stories making waves this week, including new House District 4 representative Tim Hernández and Mayor Johnston’s housing plans, plus respond to some comments from listeners.