Good morning, Denver.

Jason McBride, a former gang member turned educator, helped Elfay find a new start in Aurora after his detention and now guides teens away from gang life + toward school.

The podcast Systemic looks at why teen homicide rates are rising and shows how community leaders work to offer different paths.

Commerce City police said a wrong-way driver caused a head-on crash on I-270 on Sunday morning at 6 a.m.—two people were taken to the hospital and the westbound lanes were later reopened.

The Colorado State Patrol investigated a fatal motorcycle crash on I-25 in Lone Tree early Sunday morning when a motorcyclist was struck by multiple vehicles (between mileposts 188 and 192) and found deceased at the scene.

An inspector with the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses is no longer working after he allegedly ate a psilocybin gummy during an inspection at a vendor market near Tetra Lounge on April 20 — business owner Dewayne Benjamin reported the incident during an investigation into claims that the lounge broke its license rules, while the business disputes the accusations ahead of a show cause hearing on October 10.

Sen. Martin Heinrich has added language to an appropriations bill to require congressional approval before any major changes are made to the Southwest Chief route, which runs from Chicago to Los Angeles and serves rural Colorado and New Mexico.

The bipartisan proposal now heads to the Senate—Amtrak faces deferred maintenance and funding challenges as it waits for new equipment.

The Colorado Department of Corrections evacuated 179 inmates from Rifle Correctional Center near Meeker after the Lee Fire rapidly grew in Rio Blanco County—officials said the inmates were transferred to other facilities for their safety.

Denver voters will decide on November 4 whether the city should take on nearly $1 billion in new debt while cutting $250 million from upcoming budgets.

Mayor Mike Johnston says dedicated property tax funds will pay the debt and that the bond package—if approved—could create almost 10,000 jobs by funding projects like roads, parks, and libraries.