Your Daily Guide

🪲 Get Ready for a Summer Filled with Ticks

You can thank the warmer-than-usual winter for an uptick in the vampiric bugs across Colorado. Normally, cold temperatures early in the year kill off ticks, helping keep the population under control once summer rolls around. But since this winter wasn’t very cold, and we saw an earlier tick population boom thanks to a very wet year in 2023, the little suckers are hashtag thriving. [PBS]

• Why do ticks suck? 30 kinds of ticks live in our state, and they can carry a variety of diseases, including Colorado tick fever, which causes symptoms like fever, chills, headache, body aches, and feeling tired, and can have weeks-long impacts like fatigue and weakness. Tularemia and soft tick relapsing fever can also occur in Colorado, as can Rocky Mountain spotted fever, though that’s more common in the Eastern US, despite its name. If you see any signs of inflammation or a bullseye on your skin, contact a doctor ASAP. [Denver7]
• What about Lyme disease? This illness is on the rise across the U.S., but the ticks that cause Lyme disease — blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks — don’t live in Colorado. However, Lyme was still the most common tick-related illness reported in our state in 2025, primarily because people who visited Eastern states, where the disease is more common, contracted it and then traveled back to Colorado. [Colorado Sun; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]
• How do I prevent tick-related illness? Ticks like to hang out in tall grasses and along bush-lined trails, where they’ll wait for a host, like you or your dog, to pass by. Prevent this by applying tick repellent to long pants and shirts, and always wear tall socks. Get into the habit of checking for ticks after spending time outdoors, since they don’t start feeding for hours after attaching to you. My suggestion: Make the process more fun by listening to this throwback while you do it. [Colorado State University; YouTube]

📈 Denver Inflation Highest in Three Years

Metro Denver inflation hit 5% in May, the highest since 2023, driven by surging energy and gasoline costs following the U.S. attack on Iran. Food, clothing, and alcohol prices have increased, too. (But rent prices are down, so that helps!?) Denver’s inflation has also outpaced national rates, raising concerns over how much harder it’s become for people to afford to live here. [Denver Post 🔐]

🧑‍⚖️ Billy Strings’ Brother Convicted of Murder in Denver

In a local court last week, the jury found Patrick Lee Apostol, the half brother of bluegrass musician Billy Strings, guilty of second-degree murder. Apostol, 48, was on trial for shooting and killing Zackary Smith, a guitarist in the Denver band Autonomix, in 2020. The prosecution argued that Apostol killed Smith after discovering he was having an affair with Smith’s then-girlfriend. He will be sentenced in September. [Westword]

👋 Is DPS’ Superintendent Getting Ready to Leave Town?

Alex Marrero confirmed that he is one of 21 finalists to run the Miami-Dade County School District. His contract with DPS doesn’t end until 2028 and the superintendent says this potential move is “not a decision I made lightly.” This isn’t the first time there’s been talk of the district leader looking elsewhere for work — last year, Marrero was reportedly one of two finalists for the CEO position for Chicago Public Schools and there were rumors he could be the next head of New York City Public Schools, both claims he has denied. [Chalkbeat]

🥵 How to Beat This Incoming Denver Heat

The National Weather Service is predicting a warm and wet summer for Denver, and it’s happening fast! What do you do if your swamp cooler has seen better days, your friend with a pool won’t text you back, or you just want a creative way to cool off? We’re revisiting a past conversation where we give you our best out-of-the-box ideas for beating the heat around the Mile High. [City Cast Denver 🎧]