Your Daily Guide

What’s With the Extra Traffic at Broadway and 20th?

Beginning last Friday, one of Denver’s busiest downtown intersections was turned into a car-commuter’s traffic nightmare. The four-lane stretch of Lincoln Street that turns onto 20th Street and then turns into two lanes northbound onto Broadway (pictured above) has been reduced to a single lane while construction work is underway.

• What’s being done? An official from Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure told us the work is phase 2 of the Wastewater Management Division’s 2024 pipe and manhole rehabilitation project.
• How long will it be like this? DOTI says the current work at this intersection is expected to be finished by April 16, but additional construction is needed further north on 20th, which they plan to conduct at a later date “when the Rockies are not playing.”
• Is there an alternate route? The intersection is part of a heavily commuted route to get to I-25, especially during end-of-day rush hour. For those in the area, another option could be to make your way to Park Avenue and take that all the way to the highway, but you’ll likely need to brace for delays all the same.

🇺🇸 Does Denver Have What It Takes to Host the DNC Again?

Mayor Mike Johnston thinks the city has a chance at bringing the Democratic National Convention back — last week he joined Congressman Jason Crow, State Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib, and three members of Denver City Council on a trip to New Orleans to sell the national party on the Mile High City. So, what sets Colorado apart from other heavily Democratic states? Could Denver again attract the 84,000 people who showed up for former President Obama’s nomination at the DNC nearly 20 years ago at Empower Field? [City Cast Denver 🎧]

🤝 JBS Employees Tentatively Approve New Contract Following Strike

One month after thousands of meatpackers at Greeley’s JBS facility walked off the job and staged a three-week strike, union members have ratified a new two-year contract with the company. The agreement secures wage increases, a one-time bonus, and additional vacation days, plus caps health care costs and requires the company to pay to replace old and worn personal protective equipment. [9News]

🎬 Former Chez Artiste Building Faces Demolition

The owner of the strip mall that used to house the long-running Chez Artiste movie theater in the University Hills neighborhood is now proposing to tear down the old film space as part of a larger redevelopment project to “modernize the center.” Chez Artiste opened in 1972 and shuttered in 2024 with its sister movie house, the historic Esquire Theatre. [BusinessDen 🔒]

🇺🇸 Colorado GOP Names Its 2026 Primary Contenders

At the Colorado GOP assembly this weekend, Republicans selected the candidates that will appear on their party’s primary election ballot in June. While there are still GOP candidates vying for a spot on the ballot using the signature-gathering petition route, here’s who made the cut so far: [Axios Denver]

• U.S. Senate race: Sen. Mark Baisley
• Governor race: Rep. Scott Bottoms and first-time candidate Victor Marx
• Attorney General race: El Paso District Attorney Michael Allen and Denver attorney David Wilson
• Secretary of State race: Former head of the Libertarian Party of Colorado James Wiley
• State Treasurer race: Former state Senate president Kevin Grantham

🤖 Elon Musk Tries to Hinder CO’s New AI Law

The billionaire’s xAI company has filed a lawsuit against the state in an attempt to halt its new AI antidiscrimination law, a first-of-its-kind safeguard meant to regulate “high-risk” AI systems set to go into effect June 30. The complaint called the law too vague, saying it would encourage AI systems (including Musk’s AI chatbot Grok) to abandon the “disinterested pursuit of truth and instead promote the State’s ideological views on various matters.” [CO Sun]

• Tell me more: The implementation of the new law (Senate Bill 205) has already been delayed once before so lawmakers could “tweak” the policy, which has been highly controversial and hotly debated — even at a national level — from the start.