In November 2023, thousands of Goldenites voted to increase their property taxes.

And in the two-and-a-half years since, their decision has likely helped save lives, based on recent data.

On April 14, the Golden Fire Department shared call response times and other analytics with City Council and the public, noting how its average response time is about 90 seconds faster since Ballot Issue 2K passed.

Along with federal grants the department received, 2K enabled GFD to keep both its downtown station and its Heritage Road station fully staffed 24/7 via a 6-mill increase in property taxes.

Previously, the Heritage Road station was staffed sporadically, leaving the downtown station to respond to most emergency calls.

But with two fully staffed stations, Fire Chief Kasey Beal said his department can respond to calls across southern Golden much faster, offer more mutual aid to the Pleasant View Fire Department and better handle simultaneous emergencies.

Averaged across all calls, Beal said GFD was averaging 12 minutes to respond in 2023 but was down to 10:34 in 2025. This is mostly because the average travel time went from 8:12 in 2023 to 6:49 in 2025.

Overall, the councilors were pleased to see how well GFD has managed its new funding to improve its response times and reliability.

“One minute, twenty-six seconds can change a family forever,” Councilor Lisa Vitry said.

After years of planning and prepping, Google Fiber will start offering internet in Golden this fall.

The company, recently renamed GFiber, started broadband service construction in Golden’s right-of-way about a month ago, but hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking on April 22 at Parfet Park with Mayor Laura Weinberg and other city officials.

During the ceremony, Weinberg remarked how this “has been a long time coming.” She remarked on how many Goldenites regularly ask for better internet options, especially with so many working from home after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Construction is already underway along Johnson Road near the Jefferson County complex, but will eventually move north, Manthos and his colleagues said. Ultimately, it’ll take two or three years to serve the entire city.

However, because it’s a phased approach, GFiber will start serving its first Golden customers this fall, company officials said. They’re subsequently planning to host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at that time.

Although Golden was officially founded in 1859, people have lived in the area for thousands of years.

Among its earliest inhabitants were the Arapaho.

And while the Northern and Southern Arapaho Tribes are now based in Wyoming and Oklahoma, respectively, an Arapaho official described how his people’s history is intertwined with Golden’s and how they still consider present-day Colorado their home.

“The Arapaho were here,” Fred Mosqueda, outreach specialist for the Arapaho language and culture, said. “ … We want to be part of Colorado. Because this is our homeland.”

Mosqueda, who’s from Oklahoma, shared his thoughts on the Arapaho’s past and future in present-day Colorado during the April 21 Golden Beer Talks event. There was also a lengthy but thoughtful Q&A session afterward, as attendees had a variety of questions for Mosqueda.

Mosqueda later described how GBT’s timing worked well, as he’s attending the April 28-30 Indigenous Connections Summit in Golden.

GBT team member Becky Brice, who booked Mosqueda for the April 21 event, felt likewise. She described how Mosqueda has presented at Golden’s museum before, but inviting him to GBT was a great opportunity for more Goldenites to hear his stories and insights.

🥍 The Dakota Ridge boys lacrosse team stunned Golden with a comeback victory, scoring six unanswered goals in the second half to win 7-4. Read the latest here.

🏆 The Golden girls lacrosse team is emerging as a state championship contender after taking down 4A powerhouse Evergreen Thursday and securing its first conference title since 2008. Full game coverage here.

🎭 Returning to the theater a decade after its last run, Miners Alley Performing Art Center’s “Pump Boys and Dinettes” gives audiences a much-needed respite from the world with an evening of laughs and a quintessential blend of southern music. Click here for the full arts column.

⛰ Guanella Pass between Clear Creek and Park counties has opened a month early due to a lack of snow. Read more about the opening here.

⚖ The attorneys for a Denver man facing charges for two separate road-rage shootings — one in Jefferson County and one in Clear Creek County — are coordinating a single plea agreement to resolve both cases. Check out more on the case here.

🚨 The latest documentation from the Sept. 10 shooting at Evergreen High School shows that shooter Desmond Holly targeted a Gay Straight Alliance meeting. The sheriff’s office recently released a 664-page investigative report, which contains witness accounts, device evidence and physical items from the shooter’s room that investigators gathered in the days after the shooting. Read the full story here.

🔎 The Jeffco Sheriff’s Office 664-page investigative report into the EHS shooting also shows that shooter Desmond Holly’s parents offered to cooperate in exchange for immunity. However, investigators never sat down with them for an interview and ultimately didn’t press charges. Read more here.

Tonight:

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This week’s keyword search: “Golden Fire Department” 🚒

The results: In 1877, the Georgetown Fire Department chiefs sent a letter to their Golden counterparts, challenging them and other departments to a friendly competition to celebrate the Colorado Central Railroad’s completion. The grand prize? $300. 🧑‍🚒

All archive clippings are available through The Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.