WEEK OF APRIL 3, 2025
VOLUME 37| ISSUE 15
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Food truck bill would cut licensee red tape Bill could ease licensing, permitting requirements in different jurisdictions BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
USA’s Lauren Cheney (12) gets tripped up by Australia’s Clare Polkinghorne during the first half of an international friendly match Sept. 19, 2023, at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. FILE PHOTO
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• Vestas to lay off 200 employees
BUSINESS
USWNT to face Ireland at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park •27J Schools moves online-only Dec. 1
June 26 event brings international soccer to Commerce City • Page 3
BY JOHN RENFROW JRENFROW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
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Local fans of professional women’s soccer have enjoyed 2025 so far in the Denver area. Just two months after the city was awarded the newest National Women’s Soccer League expansion team, a blockbuster matchup has been announced for this summer in Commerce City. On June 26, soccer enthusiasts can catch the U.S Wom-
en’s National Team square up against the Republic of Ireland at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The star-studded match will be the first of two meetings between the two teams, with the second coming on June 29 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The games will be the first meetings with Ireland since April of 2023, when the USA swept a pair of games in Austin, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri, ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, according to a release. “We’re thrilled to have the U.S. Women’s National Team return to Colorado and DICK’S Sporting Goods Park,” said Colorado Rapids President
Pádraig Smith. “We’ve been honored to host and support the USWNT over the years, and we’re proud of the impact that Coloradans have on the squad. I am personally excited to welcome my home team of Eire and to another incredible showcase for women’s soccer in our state.” Colorado is the home state of several current USWNT players, including team captain Lindsey Heaps (Golden) and forwards Sophia Wilson (Windsor) and Mallory Swanson (Highlands Ranch). Heaps is a Golden High School graduate and played for the Colorado Rush Soccer Club. She made history as the first
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American female player to sign a professional contract straight out of high school, traveling to Europe to play for Paris SaintGermain in France in 2012 upon graduation. Heaps’s long list of accolades includes: 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist 2021 Olympic Bronze Medalist 2021 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year 2013 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year. This will be the 16th meeting between the U.S. and Ireland squads. The U.S. has won every matchup so far. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. MT March 28 at www.ussoccer.com.
David Sevcik knows all about the Mac ‘Noodles, Mile High Cheeseteak and Walking Tacos as well as other culinary delights he serves up in his 10 food trucks that circulate in the metro area. His menu aside, Sevcik also has to keep track of which city and county requires him to get new health and fire safety permits to allow his truck grills to operate. The new permits are necessary in many Colorado cities and counties, even though he may have already earned the same permit from a different jurisdiction. New fees for health and fire inspections for each truck can quickly add up, Sevcik said. The Westminster resident said last year he paid nearly $10,000 in fees to local jurisdictions to stay in local compliance. “I am not trying to fail, I want to stay in business and make everyone safe,” Sevcik said. “But this can get expensive.” Sevcik Tuesday was prepared to testify in the State Legislature or HB25-1295, which would require local governments to grant reciprocal business licenses, health permits, and fire safety permits to food truck operators that hold active licenses and permits from another local jurisdiction. The measure is sponsored by Rep. Manny Rutinel, an Adams County Democrat, who says food truck operators now must pay for health and fire safety permits in different jurisdictions even though they have met the exact requirements in another locale. “Food trucks are a growing part of Colorado’s economy, and they are inherently mobile and meant to operate across multiple jurisdictions,” Rutinel said in Capitol Watch, SEE FOOD TRUCK, P7
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