Axios Denver

April 06, 2026
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Today's weather: Mostly sunny with a high near 66.
Today's newsletter is 725 words — a 2.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Community rallies around City Park bandstand
Donations are pouring in to rebuild the City Park bandstand and save this summer's City Park Jazz, with tens of thousands of dollars raised so far.
Why it matters: After a devastating loss, the fundraising effort signals strong support for the historic bandstand and for keeping this year's weekly Sunday music event on track.
State of play: Denver Fire called the 97-year-old bandstand a "total loss" following the late March blaze. Fundraising efforts have since drawn more than $28,000 from 700-plus supporters as of Sunday evening.
- The Denver Park Trust, City Park Alliance, City Park Friends and Neighbors and the city's Parks and Recreation Department are collaborating to raise at least $75,000.
The latest: Anchor Kyle Clark this week said that 9News' Word of Thanks Fund, which raises money for local causes through micro-giving, will contribute $40,000.
- The city estimates it will cost about $250,000 to rebuild the bandstand after insurance, Clark added.
Zoom in: The fire remains under investigation, Denver Fire operations division chief Robert Murphy told us Friday.
Meanwhile, City Park Jazz — the annual free summer concert series hosted at the bandstand — plans to use a mobile stage for this year's 40th anniversary season.
- The stage will most likely be placed near the southeast corner of the City Park Pavilion.
Between the lines: Since the fire, people have donated about $10,000 toward City Park Jazz, a 501(c)(3), marketing director David Flomberg tells us.
- Yes, but: That means the nonprofit is still $30,000 short of covering operations for this year's festival.
The free music event regularly draws approximately 10,000 people a show.
What they're saying: "We know that what we do supports a lot of underserved communities," Flomberg tells us, adding the shows regularly attract attendees with "extremely tight budgets."
Donations for the bandstand repair and for City Park Jazz can be made online.
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2. 💵 We're OK tippers

Diners in Colorado tip just over 19% on average — but we're not the most generous in the country, Toast data reveals.
The big picture: Delaware, West Virginia, New Hampshire and Indiana are home to America's best tippers, with diners leaving roughly 21% or more.
- At the bottom of the list for overall tipping are California, Washington, D.C., and Washington state, where averages run under 18%.
State of play: Nationwide, tips at full-service restaurants averaged 19.2% in Q4 2025, the same as the previous quarter, per Toast's latest restaurant trends report.
- "After a pullback in full-service restaurant tips in Q2 2025, the average has leveled out," Toast's Brian Koerber wrote in the report.
- Tips at fast food joints also held steady at 15.8%.
The fine print: The report is based on data from restaurants using the Toast platform; cash tips aren't included.
3. Mile Highlights
🏠 Real estate sales in areas like Cherry Hills and Denver's Washington Park neighborhood are booming, outpacing the sale prices of downtown skyscrapers. (DBJ 🔑)
💧 The Aurora City Council today will vote on whether to implement water restrictions due to this year's drought conditions. (CBS Colorado)
✊🏽 Workers at the meatpacking plant in Greeley ended their strike on Saturday after JBS USA agreed to resume negotiations. Workers are seeking higher wages, safer working conditions and better health care. (CPR)
4. 📸 Artemis snaps Earth
NASA posted one of the first shots from Artemis II's crew, capturing "Spaceship Earth" in all its blue-and-white glory.
☀️ Zoom in: The two auroras (top right and bottom left), plus "zodiacal light" in the bottom right — that's sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust.
Artemis II is now Moonbound, with a six-hour lunar orbit planned today.
- Newly added to the plan: A solar eclipse, with the Sun hidden behind the Moon from the crew's perspective.
NASA calls it an "opportunity for them to look for flashes of light from meteoroids striking the Moon's surface, dust lofting above the edge of the Moon, and deep space targets, including planets."
💼 John is on a brief break.
🏀 Esteban is watching this fascinating video on this year's historic NBA MVP race.
Thanks to our editor Gigi Sukin.
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