🛣️ Polis sets his sights on RTD

🚒 Wildfire Updates

As three wildfires continue to burn along the Front Range, thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes, and at least one person has died. Here’s the latest on the fires as of the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 11. [CO Sun]

• Alexander Mountain Fire (near Loveland): 8,089 acres; 1% contained
• Stone Canyon Fire (near Lyons): 1,548 acres; 20% contained
• Quarry Fire (in Jeffco): 341 acres; 0% contained
• 👉 Dive deeper: We brought CSU climate geographer Lauren Gifford on to the City Cast Denver podcast today to discuss the role of climate change in Colorado’s apocalyptic week. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🏉 Denver to Get Professional Women’s Rugby Team

The Women’s Elite Rugby league announced this week that Denver will be one of the first three U.S. cities to get a professional women’s rugby team starting next year. Fun fact: The CU women’s rugby team claims to be the oldest college team in the country. [Axios Denver]

🛣️ Gov. Polis To Weigh In On RTD Elections

Gov. Jared Polis is zeroing in on transportation for his second term in office, promising to closely follow the upcoming RTD board race and even offer endorsements to some candidates. [CPR]

• Why it matters: This comes after Polis backed an effort to reform RTD earlier this year as he drums up support for his legacy project, the Front Range Passenger Rail. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🇺🇸 Ranked Choice Voting Has the Numbers

The hotly contested initiative to adopt ranked choice voting for statewide elections (and eliminate party primaries) is well on its way to the November ballot. Backers submitted 213,000 signatures to the Colorado secretary of state — quite a bit more than the required minimum of 124,238 signatures. [CO Newsline]

• The RCV lowdown: What is it and how exactly does it work? Here’s the TLDR. Plus, we talked to experts to get the case for and against this proposal. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

This summer, Hey Denver is partnering with Bike Streets to bring you the 2024 Denver Bike Scavenger Hunt, an eight-week challenge to get to know the Mile High from two wheels!

How to play:

• First, sign up at bikestreets.com/scavenger
• Then, every Friday check back here in the Hey Denver newsletter for a new clue to a different Denver destination.
• Solve the riddle, bike to the place, send in a selfie proving you did it to [email protected], and you’ll be entered into that week’s raffle for a chance to be featured right here in Hey Denver! 👇
• 🎁 Then, keep playing for your chance to win one of our four grand prizes at the end of the series:
  • A free customized Bike Streets group tour to your favorites spots in Denver
  • A prize package from Evo
  • A jersey and free entry into the Denver Century Ride
  • A spot in one of Bikes Together’s bike mechanic classes.

Last Week’s Winner

The answer to last week’s clue: The Wizard’s Chest on South Broadway!

🏅 Congrats to Johnathan B., who solved the riddle and was the winner of last week’s raffle! We asked Johnathan to share some of the things they love most about biking in Denver.

What did you enjoy about the secret destination and/or the ride over?

“I enjoyed that it's enroute to my favorite coffee shop (The Molecule Effect at Logan & Alameda).”

What’s your favorite thing about biking in Denver?

“The best thing about biking in Denver is that the entire city is accessible on two wheels!”

🧙 In the market for fantastical trinkets and epic cosplay materials? Take the official Bike Streets cyclist-friendly route to The Wizard’s Chest 👇 The Bike Streets mobile app offers quiet, scenic, routes on residential streets to get you around Denver. Join the Bike Streets Club now.

Week 4 Clue

🔎 Know where to go? You know what to do! Snap a photo of you (and your bike) at the secret location, then email it to [email protected] no later than midnight on Monday, August 5. We’ll randomly select a winner from our pool of correct guessers to be spotlighted in next Friday’s newsletter.

Fires on the Front Range, a Chocolate Heist, and Hundreds of Dead Fish

Since Monday, multiple wildfires have ignited across the Front Range, exacerbated by the region’s seemingly impenetrable heat streak. On top of that, hundreds of dead fish floated to the surface of Sloan’s Lake last weekend, and experts say the weather is to blame for that as well. Climate geographer Lauren Gifford joins the City Cast Denver podcast to break down those stories and all the other big news of the week.