🤔 Could the mayor hire migrants himself?

🇺🇸 What Johnston Discussed in D.C.

With the ongoing migrant crisis exhausting resources of local governments, Mayor Mike Johnston joined 300 other mayors from across the country in Washington D.C. last week to meet with federal lawmakers. The group pushed for expedited work permits for migrants and additional funding for border security and FEMA. [Denverite]

• Mayor Johnston’s thoughts: “What we see is people here who want to work, people here who want to hire them, and a federal government who stood in the way.”
• But can he do more? Today on the podcast we talk with an immigration lawyer about an innovative idea: What if the city hired the migrants? [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🏨 Another Old Colfax Motel Sold

The old Royal Palace Motel off Colorado Boulevard near Colfax is slated to be replaced by a six-story apartment building. Laramar Group real estate firm finalized the purchase of the property for $7.3 million last week. Notably, the project will be grandfathered out of Denver’s affordable housing mandate. [Denver Business Journal 🔒]

• Dive deeper: The 1960s motel is just the latest in a recent string of old Colfax motels to be bought and slated for redevelopment as housing and shelter. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

⚰️ Fraudulent Funeral Home Case Heads Toward Trial

A Colorado judge has ruled that the criminal case involving a Fremont County funeral home owner accused of improperly storing hundreds of corpses and distributing fake ashes to grieving families may go to trial. The suspect is facing 260 counts of corpse abuse, money laundering, forgery, and theft. This case isn’t exactly unique in Colorado, the state with some of the most relaxed mortuary regulations in the country. [KRCC; Denver Post]

• Have questions? Us too. We’re calling up a local mortician to get some answers. What questions would YOU want to ask them? Let us know 📧

What if Mayor Johnston Hired All the Migrants Himself?

More than 36,000 South American migrants have arrived in Denver since 2022. Since then, the Johnston administration has scrambled to find the resources to support these visitors in transition, many of whom are just looking for jobs. But could Mayor Mike Johnston be doing more? One Immigration lawyer has an innovative idea: What if the City of Denver hired all the migrants?