City Cast Denver City Cast

What’s the most haunted place in all of Colorado? A lot of folks would tell you it’s the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, but is that place really haunted by anything other than Stanley Kubrick’s decision to film “The Shining” somewhere else? So to continue our weeklong celebration of Colorado’s best fall getaways, we called up Thad Mighell, curator of contemporary art at Understudy and paranormal superfan, to run down his list of the most haunted destinations in Colorado. 

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Here are links to all Thad’s haunt spots:


St. Elmo Ghost Town (Chaffee County)


Hotel Jerome (Aspen)


Hotel Colorado (Glenwood Springs)


3rd Bridge (Bennett)


UFO Watchtower (San Luis Valley)


Cripple Creek (Teller County)


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4 Noses Brewing

Ambient Colorado


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Pickleball fever has swept the country, and after three years of explosive growth it looks like it’s not going anywhere (much to the neighbors’ chagrin). So how are Denverites learning to live with the distinctive dinks and thocks? Host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi are talking through the latest pickleball battles in Denver, Glendale, and Centennial, plus the latest on Mayor Mike Johnston’s quest to end homelessness in his first term. Then, we respond to a listener’s critique of our episode on the push to rename six Denver parks. 

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Bree mentioned Mayor Johnston’s new House1000 dashboard, as well as the Denver Post and Denver7’s coverage of this week’s sweep at 8th and Logan. Paul talked about pickleball reporting from Denverite, Westword, and Fox31.

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Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

Denver Walls

4 Noses Brewing

Ambient Colorado


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All this week, we’re celebrating the gorgeous season that is fall in Colorado. Today, we’re focusing on perfect weekend getaways — the best places to go, things to see and do in just one overnight stay. From mountain towns to chile country, we’ve rounded up all the most charming locales we love for soaking in this cool and colorful season. Host Bree Davies and producer Olivia Jewell Love are joined by returning fave, Denver Instagram celebrity Amanda Bittner, to map out the best destinations with camping recs, must-try culinary delights, and underrated leaves to peep.

What’s your favorite fall getaway? We want to share all the best road trip destinations, haunted locales, and leaves to peep. So text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (720) 500-5418‬

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For even more news from around the city and links to all our weekend fall getaway recs, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. 

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Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:


4 Noses Brewing — Their new taproom is opening in Park Hill on Oct. 20


Ambient Colorado, a new podcast by nature lovers for nature lovers


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More than ten thousand people with big dreams arrived in the Mile High City for this year’s Denver Startup Week, and AI was the talk of the town. So will Denver become a hub for this massive tide-changing trend in technology that has congress confused and tech folks energized? Adeel Khan founded his first startup earlier this year, and he was in the thick of networking-palooza all week long. So host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi sit down with Adeel to talk about the debates dividing Denver’s business community, Mayor Mike Johnston’s approach to the economy, and all things AI. Plus, our Rocky Mountain Highs and Lows of the week touch on a new hotel project that just got new support from City Council, the definition of Colorado green chile, and more. 

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Paul discussed this Jam Band Hero, our 2021 episode on the allegations against Jay Bianchi, and forgot to mention this update to the situation with his Grateful Dead-themed bar So Many Roads. Bree talked about her uncle Ed Kutz and his bff Reed Weimer’s role in saving the Sid King’s Crazy Horse sign from going to the dump 40 years ago. She also mentioned a past City Cast Denver episode about the story of Colorado Mexican Food with Patty Calhoun and Gustavo Arellano. 

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Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

“Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily: Love in Exile” at the Newman Center (Sept. 30)

BadBoyBoards

Lighthouse Writers Workshop


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This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of what our guest calls “Comedy Christmas” — aka, the High Plains Comedy Festival. Returning fave Joshua Emerson, who also co-chairs the Denver American Indian Commission, is telling jokes on stage at High Plains for the second year running. He joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to share his High Plains hacks, recommend a few shows (with tickets still available), and dish on how Denver comedy stacks up to other cities. Plus, Paul takes the reins to share his top event picks, and we make our official City Cast Denver ‘Maybe’ for your weekend.

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Here are some links to the events Paul mentioned:

National Public Lands Day


Coach Prime and the CU Buffs vs. Oregon Ducks (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.)

“Making Our Mark: An Exploration of Vandal Futurism” (RedLine Contemporary Art Center)


Battle of the (Brewery) Bands (The Crypt)


Paul also mentioned 5280 Magazine’s list of the best college football bars in Denver. 

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What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418‬

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:


Denver Walls is a new mural fest coming to RiNo later this month

“Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily: Love in Exile” at the Newman Center (Sept. 30)

BadBoyBoards

Lighthouse Writers Workshop


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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the height of the racial justice protests of 2020, Denverites — like the rest of the country — reckoned with our past. Statues depicting bigots and racists were torn down, and quietly the City of Denver assembled a commission to examine, research, and reassess the names of our parks — green spaces like Jefferson Park, La Alma-Lincoln Park, but also some lesser known park names with potentially troubled pasts. Today host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi talk through the six park names the commission put up for debate and discuss why they think we should — or shouldn’t — be giving some of these park names the boot.

What do you think about renaming these six parks? We would love to hear from you, too. Got a strong defense of Lincoln? Or maybe there’s a park name you’d really like to see go? Leave us a voicemail or a text at 720-500-5418, and you might hear it on the show soon!

Paul mentioned past guest Chase Woodruff’s newsletter exploring the literature of the West — “Lit Out West.”

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Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver

Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:

“Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shahzad Ismaily: Love in Exile” at the Newman Center (Sept. 30)

BadBoyBoards

Lighthouse Writers Workshop


Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices