💔 Denverites rally after another killing in MN

💔 Hundreds Rally After Second Minneapolis Killing

Despite freezing temperatures, several hundred demonstrators gathered at the State Capitol Building this weekend to protest federal immigration agents’ fatal shooting of a protester in Minneapolis on Saturday — only two weeks after the killing of Renee Good. The victim, 37-year-old Alex Pretti, was an ICU nurse. His parents live in Colorado. [CO Newsline; CO Sun]

• 💬 Mayor Mike Johnston called on Congress to “hold this president accountable” and pull ICE out of American cities, in a statement released Saturday. “Donald Trump’s occupation of Minneapolis is … costing innocent people their lives.”

😮‍💨 Colorado Child Care Funding is Safe For Now

A temporary order blocking the Trump administration from withholding child care subsidies and other social services funding from Colorado (and four other Democrat-led states) has been extended by two more weeks, according to a ruling from a federal judge on Friday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was stopping funding over concerns of fraud. A challenge is moving its way through the courts. [Denver Post 🔒]

• What does it all mean for Colorado? We talked with Mathangi Subramanian, director of Early Childhood Policy at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, to better understand what this could all mean for Colorado’s families, child care providers, and the state’s economy for years to come. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

⚖️ New Legislative Session Brings Back Old Debates

The legislative session is in full swing and lawmakers are set to discuss a full slate of issues — some old, some new. While revisiting last year’s debates over labor union power, AI concerns, and trans rights , plus diving into new examinations of data center construction and land use, we’re looking at just some of the legislative fights of 2026. [City Cast Denver 🎧]

✈️ Is Frontier Airlines Actually the Worst?

According to the Wall Street Journal’s annual airline scorecard analyzing nine major U.S. airlines on metrics like delays, cancellations, baggage handling, and customer complaints, Denver-based Frontier Airlines ranked dead last in four of seven categories. Southwest — which has been expanding its footprint at DEN — had the strongest showing. [Denver Post 🔒]

🛴 A Cheaper (Better?) E-Scooter

Veo — the new micromobility company that will soon be the sole provider of electric scooters in Denver — is promising rates at half the price of what Denverites were previously paying for the same services from Lime and Bird. For low-income riders, it will be even cheaper. Veo also says riders will have to pass a quiz on Denver’s scooter laws before their first ride. Contract negotiations between Veo and the city are still underway. [Westword]

• Have thoughts? Veo wants to hear them. The company is soliciting feedback from the community before its big Denver deployment.

Time for Front Range Passenger Rail?

Gov. Jared Polis’ years-long campaign to create a passenger rail service linking Front Range cities from Trinidad to Fort Collins may soon go to voters. Negotiations on a track-sharing deal with BNSF should be done “very soon,” according to Polis last week. That would leave only the question of money, which rail boosters say could go to voters as early as November in the form of a proposal to raise taxes, but only if RTD kicks in some money first for a “starter service.”

“We’re not going to refer something to the ballot if RTD board members push back,” said Front Range Passenger Rail District General Manager Sal Pace in an interview with The Denver Post last week. “If they push back, it will kill Front Range Passenger Rail for Colorado Springs, for Littleton, for Fort Collins, for everybody,” he said.

As we reported in December, RTD is already projected to rack up a multi-billion dollar budget deficit by the early 2030s, and the agency has a long list of deferred maintenance projects and lagging ridership numbers. So the question for RTD’s board is simple: How good do you look in that dress?

🎧 ICYMI: We spoke with RTD’s CEO and general manager, Debra Johnson, about how RTD got into this mess and her plan to get out of it.