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Denver's Department of Housing Stability wants to build two cold-weather shelters with up to 400 beds on the former Monroe Village tiny home village site in Elyria-Swansea.

Why it matters: City officials say the plan shouldn't be interpreted as a pivot away from Denver's focus on permanent housing.

• But the proposal underscores the practical limits facing some of the city's homelessness solutions.

The latest: The proposal calls for two 20,400-square-foot shelters, documents reviewed by Axios Denver show.

• People experiencing homelessness and advocates told the city that northeast Denver needed a cold-weather site, Denver's chief housing officer, Cole Chandler, tells us.

Flashback: The city announced Monroe Village's closure last year, initially calling for workforce housing on the site.

• Managed by the Colorado Village Collaborative (CVC), the community's permit was set to expire in September, CVC CEO Jessica Ehinger tells us.

Between the lines: Chandler says his office would support changing city law to let tiny home villages remain longer than the four-year limit, but City Council would have to act.

• In Monroe Village's case, altering the law wasn't "something that we had the power to change in this time frame," Chandler says.

Friction point: He pushes back on the idea that Denver was closing one form of temporary housing to make way for another, saying the two plans were on separate timelines.

• The proposed shelters could operate year-round and accommodate nearly 10 times as many people as Monroe Village, he adds.

Zoom out: The village served as a site for Mayor Johnston's signature housing program starting in January 2025.

• Its residents were relocated to other shelters or permanent housing and many lamented the June closing.

What's next

Boulder independent Bob Chew is spending big to shake up Colorado’s U.S. Senate race ahead of November's election.

Why it matters: Chew's betting U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper's closer-than-expected Democratic primary win created an opening for a third-party challenger.

Zoom in: A former Navy nuclear submarine officer and engineer, Chew co-founded an engineering and technical services company with his wife in 1996.

• He grew up in Cleveland but long vacationed in Colorado and had business ties to Boulder before moving about 10 years ago.

Driving the news: Chew's not a big name, but he's garnered attention for pouring more than $1 million of his own money into an ad campaign.

State of play: This is Chew's first time running for office.

• He chose this race because he believes the Senate offers him a platform to enact real change.

Full story

Lattes and matchas are going bananas.

The big picture: Already the most-eaten fresh fruit in America, bananas are now the fastest-growing beverage ingredient flavor at restaurants, per Circana market data.

• Search interest is also surging, with "banana coffee" and "banana matcha" hitting all-time highs in 2026, per Google trends.

Zoom in: The banana beverage boom has reached Denver. The flavor appears on menus around town:

• Tí Cafe, the ultra-popular Vietnamese spot on North Broadway, serves a banana cream pie matcha and espresso.
• Buspresso, a coffee truck typically parked on 16th and Wazee streets, says its banana bread latte with sweet caramel is its best seller.
• Ace Coffee Bar in Uptown offers a banana milk latte.
• Bad Ass Coffee, the chain headquartered in Centennial with multiple Front Range locations, serves a "monkey mocha" with banana and dark chocolate — served hot or iced.
• Ichigo Matcha, which has three locations in town, makes a matcha banana latte.

Zoom out: The fruit is also popping up in cocktails, "water," soda and even beer.

Tell a banana lover

⚖️ Colorado is suing GEO Group for allegedly refusing to comply with a state public health order requiring the company to provide information about a confirmed case of tuberculosis at Aurora's ICE detention center, Alayna reports.

📚 The Book Rack, a used bookstore in the University Hills neighborhood, is closing Sept. 13 after 49 years, though it didn't specify why. (9News)

📺 The conservative American Action Network is entering the battle in Colorado's 8th Congressional District race. It plans to spend $1.3 million on TV ads supporting U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, John reports.

🍎 Colorado students lost ground in language arts while math scores held steady or improved in 2026, a pattern reflected in Denver Public Schools. (Chalkbeat)

🏀 The Nuggets agreed to trade Peyton Watson to the Cleveland Cavaliers and will receive Cleveland's 2031 first-round pick and a 2032 second-round pick from the Sacramento Kings. (ESPN)

A mother bear and her cub wandered into the Harvey Park neighborhood this week.

Why it matters: Bears rarely venture into the city, but Colorado is seeing record bear activity this year as drought, wildfires and low snowpack send them searching farther for food.

What they're saying: Harvey Park resident David Martin told Denverite he's lived in the area for 12 years and seen plenty of wildlife — from beavers to mountain lion tracks — but never a bear. Until now.

• "We’re miles away from the closest mountain,” Martin said.

The latest: Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara van Hoose told Axios Denver the agency relocated the sow and cub Tuesday.

• "They were reported in the area for a few days and not moving on by themselves away from populated areas," Van Hoose said by email. "We tranquilized and relocated the two into better bear habitat."

The bottom line: Bear country is feeling a little bigger this year.

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🎸 John is pumped that one of his favorite bands, Caamp, is playing this weekend at Fiddler's Green.

🍕 Alayna wants to try this hatch green chili and smoked ricotta pizza from Johnny Bechamel's.

🏃 Esteban is excited to go to tonight's Secret Run Club event.

Thanks to our editor, Gigi Sukin.