A long-vacant Arapahoe Avenue site just off 28th Street will reopen as an upscale sports bar later this year.

Why it matters: Boulder's sports bar scene has thinned over the past decade, leaving a gap the new concept aims to fill.

Driving the news: Owner Joe Manzanares of Denver is partnering with chef Oscar Padilla to open a to-be-named bar at 2860 Arapahoe Ave.

The intrigue: Padilla won Food Network's "Chopped" in 2023 and is the chef behind Gaucho Parilla in Arvada and Toro in Cherry Creek.

• While menu specifics haven't been released yet, it'll almost certainly feature the Latin flair for cooking Padilla learned growing up in Mexico City.
• "We just want to make sure we have a nice place with good food," Manzanares told us.

Catch up quick: The building was originally a Big Boy location in the 1960s and then a Hooters in the '90s.

• The site might best be remembered as home to the sports bar Harpo's from 2004-2018.
• A sports bar called Ralphie's opened in early 2019 but closed that same year.

State of play: The building, owned by Tebo Properties, has sat vacant since then and needs repairs before the new team can open.

The vibe: Manzanares describes it as "Aspen lodge" meets University of Colorado Boulder sports memorabilia.

• Yes, but: The spot and menu won't necessarily cater to students, but to residents and visitors, he said.

Between the lines: Since 2018, Boulder has seen Harpo's, Ralphie's, Lazy Dog and now even the Dark Horse close, leaving the city with a dearth of sports bars.

• Many eateries have struggled with high rent, hiring problems and the seasonal nature of the city's student population.

What's next: Manzanares said the dream is to open by summer, but depending on what fixes the building needs, September might be more realistic.

• "We feel like we're going to be around for a long time, so we want to have a good product right out of the gate," he said. "We really wanted to give something back to Boulder."

Pass it on

If you ask Peri Rigler, a sugary treat and death are a perfect pair for a conversation.

Why it matters: The Erie resident's Death and Donuts events offer a space for those curious about death to discuss what some consider taboo.

How it works: It's not about grief or what's next so much as a rumination on death itself.

The death cafes bring together a dozen or so people at virtual and in-person events, mostly in Boulder County, to learn and make connections.

• Today, her organization is hosting a free online session to learn about Colorado's Medical Aid in Dying Law.
• A week earlier, a group met at Natural Funeral Home in Lafayette to discuss environmentally friendly burial practices.

🍩 The donuts "lower the intensity," says Rigler, who also hosts the podcast, "Mostly Death Stuff."

• "There's just a lot of folks searching for meaning and to have an impact in the world. And so it's kind of natural to think about your death when you think about those things," Rigler, 47, told us in an interview.

The big picture: Death Cafes are hardly new, but death — and related topics like living better and longer — are trendy right now.

• More than 11,000 death cafe groups are listed in the U.S., according to the Death Cafe site.

Zoom in: Rigler, who works full-time in advertising, said Death and Donuts came from her own curiosity and quest for community.

• "You know that we can talk a lot about how we disagree and we're divided as people, especially in the United States right now, but death is something that we all have in common," she says.

🧊 CU Boulder scientists believe that the moon's oldest and darkest craters contain ice likely accumulated over billions of years, according to a release.

• But still no sign of cheese, apparently.

✍️ Gov. Polis signed an updated red flag law, effective immediately, allowing more people to seek court orders to temporarily prevent people deemed a danger from possessing firearms. (DenverPost 🔑)

🏈 CU Buffs quarterback Dominiq Ponder had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit when he died last month in a single-car crash near Boulder, according to an autopsy report. (ESPN)

🚨 A man arrested on a murder charge in a Longmont shooting last week told police he only meant to fire a warning shot. (Daily Camera 🔑)

Artemis II's four astronauts have officially gone where no one has gone before, setting a new distance-from-Earth record for human spaceflight on Monday.

Why it matters: Artemis II broke Apollo 13's 248,655-mile record, set over 55 years ago on that ill-fated ship's emergency flight home.

• Upon crossing that mark, Artemis II mission commander Reid Wiseman named a lunar crater "Carroll," after his wife who passed away from cancer in 2020.

Driving the news: The lunar quartet has further to go yet.

• They'll reach their maximum distance (252,760 miles) just after 7pm ET tonight.

What they're saying: Apollo 8 and 13's Jim Lovell, in a message to the Artemis II crew recorded before his 2015 death: "Welcome to my old neighborhood!"

• "It's a historic day and I know how busy you'll be, but don't forget to enjoy the view."