🔎 Mystery billboards explained

⚽ Denver Summit FC Nabs Global Soccer Superstar

Just ahead of its debut season kickoff, Denver’s brand-new professional women’s soccer team announced the signing of 31-year-old Golden native Lindsey Heaps — a World Cup winner, Olympic gold medalist, three-time CONCACAF champion, and captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team. The Denver Summit’s highly anticipated first game is scheduled for March 28 at Empower Field. [Denver7]

🚘 Pedestrian Traffic Deaths Spike

While Denver homicide rates dropped significantly from 2024-2025, the same can’t be said for the city’s traffic fatalities. During that same time period, pedestrian traffic deaths jumped 35%, making last year one of the deadliest on record for Denver’s streets and moving the city further from its goal to eliminate traffic deaths by 2030. [Denverite; Axios Denver]

🛒 Move Over, King Soopers

Discount grocer Aldi announced this week that it is expanding to Colorado, with plans to open nearly 50 stores in Denver and Colorado Springs in the next five years. Could fresh competition for existing chains like King Soopers, Trader Joe's, and Walmart mean better prices for consumers? [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🕵️ Mystery Billboards Explained

A suspiciously simple billboard near Park Avenue in Five Points is drawing attention. The mysterious message on it reads “Where is all the money going?” and directs readers to a URL titled E470EXPOSED.com. But rather than the conspiracy theory you might be expecting, the website is actually a cheeky awareness campaign meant to “clear up misconceptions” about the tollway. [Denverite]

🇺🇸 Mayor Johnston Confirms DNC Bid

After months of remaining mum on the rumors that Denver is vying to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention, Mayor Mike Johnston has finally confirmed the claim. The Mile High City last hosted the event in 2008 when former President Barack Obama was nominated. [Denverite]

• The implications: We chatted with Denver Post City Government Reporter Elliott Wenzler last week to talk through why — or why not — Denver would be a good candidate for the DNC. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

A recent study from FinanceBuzz reports that the Centennial State’s favorite fast food chain is ……. Qdoba??

According to data from Google Trends, Coloradans plug Qdoba into their search engines more than any other fast food restaurant (which is circumstantial evidence at best if you ask me 👀), beating out our other beloved homegrown burrito joints, Chipotle and Illegal Pete’s. City Cast Denver executive producer and resident Chipotle fanatic Paul Karolyi decided to put Qdoba to the taste test himself — check out our socials for his verdict.

But we want to know: Who gets your vote? Can we believe the data? Or is it just a flavorless fluke? Here are some of the spiciest reactions from our readers and listeners on social media ⬇️

“Honestly, I’ve always liked [Qdoba] the best out of ALL the fast casual Mexican places in Colorado. Plus, they do breakfast burritos 😉” — @lefthandrightbrain (aka friend of the show JD Lopez)

“Not possible. I don’t know one person that eats at Qdoba” — Colban Redd Irving

“Get a splash of the tortilla soup in your bowl next time! It’s amazing.” — @tuffluke

“I’ve never had a Qdoba burrito that wasn’t rolled sideways so I’m eating it one ingredient at a time.” — Ryan Borthick

“Quality and value... Qdoba is WAY better! They don't charge for add ons and the options are more extensive than Chipotle by far.” — Finnley & Lacey Frenchies

“Ewww. At the very least should be Illegal Pete’s” — @gabrieleface

“Can we go back to your conversation with Pete Turner? I was honestly frustrated by how out of touch he seemed, and now this makes me think maybe I should just boycott and become a Qdoba fan.” — @soniac38

“qdoba has more veggies and 3 kinds of cheese which is why its superior to chipotle” — @LittlestNico

“Fake news. Internet searches do not equal popularity! 😂” — @kayekavanagh

“Qdoba running laps around chipotle, food is seasoned better and portions are better. Chipotle low key sucks anymore.” — JustSomeGuy

“The Qdoba on Market Street downtown had a bar and they had the best happy hour deals. After class we would get lit on cheap beers and then eat Qdoba. Never has it disappointed! LOL” — @justajus86 (aka friend of the show Justine Sandoval)

Take the debate deeper with the official City Cast Denver taste test we did a few years ago 🎧