📊 How Denver rents compare nationally

💸 ‘Restaurant Relief’ Bill Passes First Vote

A controversial new bill proposal that would lower minimum wage for tipped workers — and theoretically bring much-needed financial relief to restaurant owners — cleared its first committee vote 11-2 following five hours of testimony from the ~180 people who signed up to speak on the matter. [CO Sun]

• Confused? We asked a major proponent of the complicated measure to help us break it down. [City Cast Denver 🎧]
• Explain it like I’m 5: We also whipped up this tipping law glossary to help you navigate the industry jargon.

🪫 Denver Federal Center to Remove EV Chargers

The hub for locally based federal workers is reportedly planning to shut down all 22 eclectic vehicle charging stations on its property. The move is just the latest in the Trump administration’s shift away from vehicle electrification priorities, which new federal leadership has deemed “not mission-critical.” [CPR]

🤫 What’s Your ‘Toxic Colorado Trait’?

Being a Denverite is the best — we can all agree on that. But that doesn’t mean us Mile Highers don’t have a few, well, cringey qualities we could own up to, like bringing your dog to the bar or hoarding reusable water bottles. So it’s confession time: What’s your most “toxic Colorado trait”? [City Cast Denver 🎧]

📊 How Does Denver Rent Compare Nationally?

According to a new report from Redfin, $2,000 in monthly rent can get you roughly 923-square-feet of living space in the Denver metro. That falls a little behind the national average of 1,103 square feet for that same price. But hey, at least it’s not San Jose, California, where two grand only nets about 537 square feet 😳 [Axios Denver]

• But why?! Apartment construction in Denver is on the rise, so why isn’t rent going down faster? We asked the landlords. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

Earlier this month, President Trump proclaimed via social media that making pennies was a waste of government resources and that production should be halted. He’s not wrong — it costs roughly 3.7 cents to make and distribute the one cent currency. The Denver Mint is one of only two mints in the country still producing the penny, contributing more than a billion and a half of what’s in circulation, which means the end of the little copper coin would also signify the end of a long Denver era.

The Original Mint on Market Street

Founded in 1860, Denver’s first “freelance mint” was the Clark, Gruber & Co. Bank and Mint located at the corner of 16th and Market streets. The bank, assayer's office, and money factory was built out of necessity — precious metals were flowing into the region from mining exploits in the Rocky Mountains and folks were using bags of literal gold dust as currency. Customers could deposit that gold with Clark, Gruber & Co., who would mint it into coins and, eventually, paper currency as well.

While the company helped establish financial norms in the area during this busy time for a growing community, an official U.S. mint would be created through an act of Congress in 1862. Clark, Gruber & Co.'s minting portion of the business would be purchased by the government, and turned into the Denver Mint Assay Office in 1863. Though the city now owned the machinery to make the coins, it wouldn’t actually start currency production immediately. In fact, for the first few decades of its existence, the Denver mint was just an assay office — a facility where precious metals like gold and silver were tested for purity and quality.