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Today's newsletter is 980 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Evan Dreyer, Mayor Johnston's deputy chief of staff, is back in familiar territory: leading the city's effort to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention after helping land the 2008 convention.

Why it matters: History may repeat itself.

• Denver is one of three finalists — along with Boston and Philadelphia — to host the convention, party leaders announced yesterday.

Zoom in: The city's roughly 15,0o0 hotel rooms, the A-Line from DIA and an expanded Convention Center are among its biggest upgrades since the last time it played host, Dreyer says.

• Ball Arena would hold prime-time events, while the convention center would hold delegate work, he adds.

State of play: The event — Aug. 7–10, 2028 — could generate up to $400 million in economic impact, the Colorado Democratic Party estimates.

What's next: A host city is expected to be named later this year.

• If selected, a Denver host committee would enter into a contract with the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) to outline event responsibilities, Dreyer tells us.
• Members are still being determined. Dreyer says the committee will operate independently from the city, which itself may enter into an agreement to host DNC-related events on city venues.

What they're saying: DNC chair Ken Martin calls the 2028 convention "a critical step on Democrats' path towards retaking the White House."

• The event is a chance to showcase "leaders who protect our freedoms, lower costs and give working people a fair shot," state Democratic Party chair Shad Murib said in a statement.

The bottom line: As the sole Western city named a finalist, the pressure is on — even amid questions about whether Colorado's safely blue politics could hurt Denver's bid.

• "We believe that we have everything that decision-makers are looking for," Dreyer tells us.

With three cities now battling to play host, naturally, Axios reporters in each have opinions.

💭 Axios Denver's John Frank: The political importance of Pennsylvania in 2028 makes it an obvious pick, but Denver offers the Democratic Party a vision for its future — something it's struggled to capture.

• Colorado's home to young, exciting fighters in elected office, the type that voters are demanding, including U.S. Reps. Jason Crow, Brittany Pettersen and Joe Neguse, and candidate Melat Kiros.

🥊 The other side: Our colleagues were quick to rebuttal.

💭 Axios Philadelphia's Mike D'Onofrio: Philly is the clear frontrunner.

• Nominating Gov. Josh Shapiro to lead the ticket in his home state could be too good to pass up, and it may be the only thing to boost turnout in Philly to prevent the party's repeat of 2024.

💭 Axios Boston's Mike Deehan: If Boston can manage hordes of Scottish football fans, we can certainly handle a bunch of Democrats.

• Though, it could get awkward when the Democratic Socialist of America-types realize the Commonwealth isn't exactly the People's Republic of Massachusetts they may think it is.

A Colorado judge took the rare step of dismissing a felony case after finding the state's failure to stop wrongdoing by former DNA analyst Yvonne "Missy" Woods' amounted to "outrageous government conduct."

Why it matters: The ruling could give defendants in other Woods-linked cases grounds for dismissal even without proof she manipulated evidence in their individual cases.

Driving the news: Weld County District Court Judge Vincente Vigil on Aug. 2 dismissed a felony child sex assault case involving Woods' DNA work.

• Vigil found that Woods' misconduct and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's failure to identify and address it amounted to “conduct that violates fundamental fairness," adding it's "shocking to the universal sense of justice," the Denver Post reported.

Yes, but: The judge didn't find that Woods manipulated evidence in this case, but found the "the scope and breadth" of the scandal warranted the ruling, per the Post.

Context: A 2024 internal CBI investigation found Woods mishandled DNA testing in at least 1,045 criminal cases during her 29-year career.

Go deeper

💸 Coloradans' residential electric bills are poised to rise an average $5 after the state's utility commission approved Xcel Energy's $157 million electricity rate hike. (Colorado Sun)

⚡️ Denver's one-year moratorium on data centers could be extended as a working group considers regulations. (DBJ 🔑)

👩‍✈️ United Airlines completed the initial expansion for what it calls the world's largest pilot training facility in Denver, capable of training up to 860 pilots daily. (CBS Colorado)

🤭 A downtown street sign that misspelled California as "Califorina" was quickly taken down. Mayor Johnston quipped: "We'll leave spell check on next time." (Denverite)

Colorado's hottest brewery right now is Tivoli, thanks to its Outlaw Light brand of light lager.

Why it matters: The venerable brand's growth leads a pack of brewers defying the craft industry's downward slide and rebounding in a tough market with increased production to meet demand.

State of play: Tivoli is the state's second-largest brewer, producing 115,000 barrels in 2025, according to an analysis of the latest data from the Boulder-based Brewers Association.

• The company shuttered its Auraria campus brewhouse in Denver and moved to La Junta's larger Gold Buckle Beer facility, where it brews Outlaw Light, one of the fastest-growing beers in the nation.

Other Colorado beer leaders are smaller.

• Goat Patch Brewing in Colorado Springs increased output 77% with the acquisition of Pikes Peak Brewery, while Lariat Lodge Brewing in Evergreen increased production 49%.

By the numbers: Of the 43 Colorado breweries tracked year-over-year, about half grew or remained neutral — a notable upswing from 2024.

Full story

👀 John is reading this profile of Colorado U.S. Rep. Jason Crow.

🥒 Alayna wants to check out this pickle festival at WestFax Brewing.

🤠 Esteban is excited to see Grupo Frontera at Red Rocks tonight.

Thanks to our editor, Gigi Sukin.