💰 Minimum wage is increasing again

🔥 Fires Near Meeker Remain Massive and Fast-Moving

Two wildfires in northwestern Colorado near Meeker have reached critical condition. As of Thursday morning, the fires had burned nearly 60,000 acres in total. Gov. Jared Polis called in the National Guard for help. Both fires were sparked by lightning last weekend. [Colorado Sun]

• Stay up to date: At the time of this writing, both fires remained uncontained. You can check the current status of the fires here.

💰 Denver’s Getting a New Minimum Wage

Beginning Jan. 1 2026, the minimum wage rate in the City and County of Denver will increase from $18.81 per hour to $19.29. The tipped minimum wage rate will go from $15.79 to $16.27. Denver’s minimum wage rates must be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners. [9News]

• The math: The difference between the two wages is 48 cents per hour. But if you’re looking at a 40-hour work week, that increase is $19.20 a week. Over a 4-week month, that’s an increase of $76.80 monthly. And if you’re looking at a 12-month year, that’s roughly $921.60 more in wages annually. Using those numbers, for a restaurant with 10 employees, that’s almost $10,000 against a restaurant’s bottom line 👀

📹 Was Denver’s Flock Data Used by ICE?

According to audit logs from the Denver Police Department, between June 2024 and April 2025 data from the city’s Flock Safety license plate reader cameras was frequently accessed — roughly 1,400 times — by other law enforcement agencies across the country for “ICE- or immigration-related” searches. Denver decided to disable the national access function on the cameras’ system back in April over concerns that data could be used for immigration enforcement. [CO Newsline]

❌ Council Rejects Nonprofit Expansion Requests

This week, Denver City Council unanimously rejected a rezoning request from nonprofit Focus Points — which supports low-income and immigrant families in the Globeville and Elyria Swansea neighborhood — in order to expand its headquarters. Council called the nonprofit’s plan vague, confusing, and “clear as mud,” then told Focus Points to go back to the drawing board.

• What’s interesting: Focus Points is in the middle of a labor investigation after several former workers at the now-closed Comal Heritage Food Incubator (operated by Focus Points) alleged wage theft and discrimination. [Westword]

Last week’s answer: This photo was taken inside Mutiny Information Cafe and features the work of local artist, Ravi Zupa, hanging above the rows of comic books. The iconic Denver coffee shop / event venue / bookstore moved from its looooongtime location in Baker roughly 4.5 miles down the road to Englewood last fall. (It was part of the South Broadway mass exodus of 2024.) Shiny new space, same edgy vibes.

📣 A special shoutout for this week’s correct guessers:

• Tiffany O. was the first to write in with the correct answer!
• But Katie W., Lauren L., Nico D., Robin F., and Alan B. weren’t far behind!

This Week’s Photo:

🕵️ Do YOU know where to find this retro concessions counter? Be among the first to respond with the right answer and you’ll get a special shoutout in next Friday’s newsletter!

📸 Want to submit a photo? Send me a snapshot of somewhere in Denver, and I’ll consider it for an upcoming photo trivia segment!