What started as a pilot program to reimagine policing primarily in downtown Denver is now expanding citywide and piquing interest across the country.

Driving the news: The City Council this week voted to boost the STAR (Support Team Assisted Response) program by $1 million, on top of $1.4 million already allocated from the 2021 city budget.

• The new funding will allow the program to grow from one van to four; increase its 16-hour operating days from five to seven; expand from one team to six; and serve all of Denver, not just high-demand neighborhoods.

Why it matters: Amid nationwide scrutiny over police brutality, STAR — designed after a decades-old program in Eugene, Oregon — is proving to be a national model for major U.S. cities looking for new ways to handle 911 calls involving unarmed people in distress.

How it works: 911 operators divert certain calls involving nonviolent crimes to social workers and mental health professionals.

What they're saying: "We've talked to over 100-some cities trying to steal any knowledge or ideas we have on how to start programs like this that are community-led," STAR clinician Chris Richardson tells Axios.

Yes, but: Some police reform advocates have voiced concern about the city's management of the program.

• They say it should be staffed with "providers who share lived experiences and identities with Denver's diverse population," Denverite reports.

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Boulder ranks eighth in the nation for bicycling, a new analysis shows, but the U.S. still has a long way to go to be bike-friendly.

Why it matters: The best cities for bicycling have safe, comfortable and well-connected bike networks, according to People for Bikes, a Boulder-based advocacy group.

What they found: The new international ranking of bike-friendly places shows U.S. cities have a lot to learn from their European counterparts, writes Axios' Joann Muller, author of What's Next.

• Nine of the top 10 cities — the exception being Provincetown, Massachusetts — are in Europe.
• Fort Collins also ranked in the top 10 among midsize cities.

Go deeper

💰 The Colorado governor's plan to offer up to $1,600 in cash bonuses to unemployed workers who returned to jobs drew 18,670 applicants — about a third of those eligible. (Denver Business Journal)

😷 The 16 straight days of air quality alerts in Denver are partly to blame on wildfire smoke, but not entirely. Much of it is ozone production from the sun baking the pollution produced from cars, oil and gas operations, and industrial plants, experts say. (9News)

👀 The available housing stock in Denver rose 10.3% in June, compared with the prior month — the second-largest uptick in the nation and well above the 3.1% national average, according to Zillow. Still, prices are rising. (Denver Post)

😡 Colorado's labor unions are holding state Democratic lawmakers hostage, saying they won't donate campaign money because their allies aren't giving them enough attention. Top leaders say they take the threat seriously. (Colorado Sun)

The most recognizable summer Olympic athlete from Colorado this year is Lindsey Horan.

What to know: The 27-year-old midfielder from Golden will play for the second time on the U.S. women's soccer squad.

• Horan plays for the Portland Thorns in the National Women's Soccer League when not representing the national team.
• She was the first American woman to sign a professional contract right out of high school.

Of note: Horan spent the pandemic lockdown in Denver, working out at home and seeing family. She missed a U.S. national team match in November because she tested positive for COVID-19.

Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde is breaking barriers as Boulder's new city manager, the first Latina and second woman to serve in the seat.

The native Puerto Rican and former Minneapolis city coordinator left her most recent job in May as Austin's deputy city manager to lead Boulder — her "dream city," a place she first fell in love with five years ago on a trip with her husband to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

She took a moment to share her habits and what keeps her going:

👇 First tap of the day: The coffee machine, for a double espresso with "a little" ice.

📲 Device of choice: iPhone

📰 Go-to news sources: MSNBC, El Nuevo Dia, the New York Times and the Atlantic

🧭 Favorite apps: AllTrails and NYT Cooking (her latest recipe was grapefruit poppy seed loaf cake)

🎧 Podcast queue: "Wrong About Everything," a podcast about Minnesota politics; "The NPR Politics Podcast"; "The Daily" ("I'm a political junkie," she says.)

📚 Reading list: "Eating Puerto Rico: A History of Food, Culture and Identity" by Cruz M. Ortiz Cuadra. And "How Ten Global Cities Take On Homelessness," an issue she's worked on intimately.

🍴 Favorite Boulder restaurant: She's still searching for her favorite spot for tacos and margaritas but says she's "asking everybody to take me to happy hours" to help her in the hunt.

Whiskey is imbued with tradition. But that doesn't mean distillers can't have a little fun.

State of play: Stranahan's is making small batches of experimental cask-strength whiskey that riffs on its original blend with different malts, yeast or barrels.

• The latest, a single-malt called Carcavelos, is named for the Portuguese fortified-wine cask where it aged for a year and picked up a sweet note.

"These are pretty much one-off experiments whenever we think they are ready or we think they are interesting," head distiller Owen Martin tells John.

• Stranahan's takes inspiration from bourbon and single-malt scotch, but other ideas are borrowed from the robust experimentation in the craft beer world.

What to watch: The Denver distillery will close out its experimental series with a Colorado Day Bash on Aug. 1.