Axios Denver

February 14, 2025
♥️ Happy Friday and Valentine's Day! We love that you start your day with us.
- Today's weather: Partly sunny with a chance of rain. High near 53.
🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Denver member Logan Hurst! And an early happy birthday to members Carole Goodwin, Matthew O'Brien, Alison Leard and Kathleen Lofgren!
📆 Programming note: We're off Monday for Presidents Day, but we'll be back in your inbox first thing Tuesday. Enjoy the long weekend!
Today's newsletter is 917 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Other districts may join DPS immigration suit
Denver Public Schools this week is believed to be the first district in the nation to sue the Trump administration over immigration enforcement in schools — but it's likely not the last.
The latest: DPS officials have heard from "several" school districts across the country that are interested in joining its lawsuit or pursuing similar action, spokesperson Scott Pribble told Axios Denver.
- Pribble declined to name them but confirmed they are large, urban districts like DPS.
State of play: The move comes after the Trump administration rolled back long-standing federal policies that restricted immigration enforcement in sensitive locations, such as schools.
- The lawsuit also follows a wave of immigration raids in the metro area last week that led to the brief detainment of four students from Place Bridge Academy in the Washington Virginia Vale neighborhood, Pribble said, and prevented school buses from picking up children.
Zoom in: DPS' lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security argues the immigration crackdown has significantly lowered school attendance and is jeopardizing state funding, which is tied to enrollment.
- The district says it has been forced to divert resources from education to prepare for potential immigration arrests on school grounds.
- DPS also filed for a temporary restraining order that would reinstate the sensitive-locations policy and prevent schools from becoming "hunting grounds for suspected undocumented immigrants."
What they're saying: "In many classrooms, students have become fearful if someone they don't know enters the classroom," Pribble told Axios Denver.
- "No child should have to weigh the risk of enforcement over the right to an education," DPS superintendent Alex Marrero wrote yesterday in an op-ed for the Denver Post. "No family should have to question whether school remains a place of refuge."
The big picture: Colorado's largest school district is joining a growing legal pushback in the state and nationwide against Trump-era executive actions.
- If successful, DPS' lawsuit could set a precedent for other districts looking to shield students from immigration raids.
2. 🌹 Denver is a singles hotspot

Denver's dating scene can get a bad rap, but data shows there are plenty of fish in the Mile High sea.
By the numbers: 61% of people ages 20 and older are unmarried in Denver, significantly higher than the 49% national rate, per the latest census data.
- Locally, the figure is just slightly higher for women (61.2%) than men (60.5%).
The intrigue: The rates drop when measured by the metro area — Denver, Aurora and Lakewood — with the unmarried rate reaching 49% regionally, a much closer figure to Colorado's overall rate of 48%.
How it works: These figures include people who have never been married, plus those who were married at one point but have since gotten divorced, separated or have been widowed.
Zoom out: Denver isn't close to having the highest rate of singles in the country, however.
- Baltimore (74%), the Bronx (72%) and Washington, D.C., (69%) have the highest rates of unmarried 20-and-older residents across U.S. counties with at least 25,000 such residents overall.
3. 📺 Colorado's "SNL" connection
"Saturday Night Live" celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend.
Zoom in: One of its brightest stars, Bowen Yang, grew up in Colorado.
- Yang — "SNL's" first Chinese-American cast member — has become a breakout performer with viral sketches like the talking Titanic iceberg and pygmy hippo Moo Deng.
- Before his rise at Studio 8H, he was a student at Smoky Hill High School in Aurora.
Zoom out: Colorado's connections to the sketch comedy show run deep. Leslie Jones, a cast member from 2014 to 2019, attended Colorado State University.
- Charles Rocket, who joined in 1980, once worked as a news anchor in Pueblo.
- "SNL" has also repeatedly poked fun at the state, with its most recent targets including Coach Prime, U.S. Rep Lauren Boebert and the "Mile High Burger Challenge."
What's next: Yang is expected to appear in "SNL's" massive anniversary special.
- The live show will air Sunday (not tomorrow) and span three hours with a stacked lineup of former alumni and musical guests.
4. Mile Highlights: Springs cannabis saga ends
🗳️ Colorado Springs will no longer add a question on its April ballot to repeal a recreational marijuana sales measure after appealing to the State Supreme Court, which has refused to weigh in on the case. (The Gazette 🔑)
💎 Denver's airport is getting a $3.6 million, 60-foot-tall tree made of roughly 30,000 crystals by famed sculptor Donald Lipski, one of the most expensive public art installations in the city's history. (Denverite)
🏛️ State lawmakers agreed to free up $3 million to address Colorado's massive backlog in rape kit testing, which they aim to cut to 100 days over two years. (Colorado Sun)
🍺 Denver Beer Co. is joining Wilding Brands, which owns Stem Ciders and Howdy Bee, in the latest shakeup for the struggling local craft brew industry. (Denver Post 🔑)
📍Iconic sports bar Blake Street Tavern in Denver's Ballpark neighborhood will reopen after two years under new management and a new name — Tavern on Blake Street — by Rockies Opening Day in early April. (Westword)
Upcoming events
📡Get these events on your radar
Flower Film Festival at Green Spaces on Feb. 22: Get ready for an evening filled with beautiful films by Dru Smith, Andrew Han, Jose Saenz, and your host Austin Nay. We will also have drinks, bites by Shrimp Daddy Burgers, and sounds by DJ Macc. $12.51.
Promoting your event? Email [email protected].
5. 💔 1 final salute
Captain America — a beloved and beautiful fixture at the Denver Zoo, who we introduced you to in 2021 — has flown across the rainbow bridge.
Why he matters: At 24 years old, he was not only the oldest bird in the zoo's Lorikeet Adventure exhibit but its only blue-streaked lory.
What happened: Earlier this month, he was humanely euthanized after experiencing neurological issues, marking what zoo staff called "the end of an era" in a heartfelt social media tribute.
What they're saying: "Captain was truly one of a kind — bold, charismatic and deeply loved by volunteers, staff and guests alike," the zoo shared.
🫡 The bottom line: Fly high, Captain. We'll miss you.
Our picks:
✌️ John is OOO.
🛍️ Alayna is checking out Vivienne Mercantile, a vintage store she's heard is a hidden gem on Larimer Street.
🇵🇷 Esteban is interested in playing Bad Bunny lotería at Cervecería Colorado on Sunday.
Thanks to our editor Gigi Sukin.
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