🌱 Patch AM: Golden fires its city manager and fire chief over racist doll response

Greetings Golden! We're your go-to source for what's happening in town. Read on to get plugged in! ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• Golden fires its city manager and fire chief over racist doll response
• What's happening in Golden after the racist doll fallout and M Climb?
• Golden community remembers volunteer Betty Lou Farson Wilson's life of service

Also on today's calendar: The Golden Hotel's Wednesdays on the Creek - Easy Tiger (Colorado Newgrass) and 8 more events.

Today's riddle: What is full of holes but still holds water? 🤔 (Answer below!)

From our Partner
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Weather forecast:

• Friday: Hot; a stray p.m. t-shower, with a high of 95 and low of 68 degrees. 🌶 Hot!
• Saturday: A stray afternoon t-shower, temps: high: 88, low: 64.
• Sunday: Couple of thunderstorms, with a high of 88 and low of 68 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Colorado City Manager Fired Over Response to Racist Incident Involving Snoop Dogg Doll (urbanmag-online.com) — Golden's city council has fired City Manager Scott Vargo over how leaders handled a racist display involving a Snoop Dogg-themed doll at a fire station, and also removed Fire Chief Kasey Beal. Interim leaders now oversee both city management and the fire department while an independent investigation reviews the incident and the city's response for public release.
   

2. News About Golden - August 20, 2026 (goldentoday.com) — Golden residents face continuing fallout from a racist doll incident involving a firefighter, alongside preparations for the beloved Colorado School of Mines M Climb on Mount Zion this Friday. New students will haul rocks up the mountain to refresh the iconic "M" overlooking Golden, continuing a tradition that's been part of the community's skyline for more than a century.
   

3. Betty Lou Farson Wilson (journal-leader.com) — Golden neighbors are remembering Betty Lou Farson Wilson, a longtime Christian Action Guild volunteer who moved here in 2005 to be close to her daughter's family. She cherished her Colorado life, loved watching her Golden grandchildren grow up, and asked that her ashes be scattered in the state she came to call home.
   

4. An Unreasonably Brave Conductor (goldentoday.com) — A 1931 Colorado Transcript story recalls an attempted holdup on the Golden-to-Denver interurban line, where elderly conductor E.B. Wilson fought off an armed robber with a controller wrench. The would-be thieves fled, leaving Wilson guarding their abandoned getaway car before calmly continuing his trip to Denver.
   

5. This spot near Keenesburg has seen every kind of energy boom, from coal to solar (coloradosun.com) — A new 16,000-panel solar farm near Keenesburg will soon supply enough power to cover about 7% of Molson Coors' massive Golden brewery electricity use. Built atop a reclaimed coal mine that once fueled the same brewery, the project marks a full-circle shift from coal to solar. For Golden residents, it highlights a concrete step toward cleaner energy at a major local employer.
   

📸 Around Golden

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Golden

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

Saturday August 22
• GMHS Ram Run 5K, support the GMHS cross country team
  Rooney Ranch Elementary School Golden, CO 80401
  6:30 am
• Senior Parking Space Painting (8am-4pm)
  Bear Creek High School Golden, CO 80401
  8:00 am
• Golden Farmers Market 2026 →
  Golden Chamber of Commerce The Golden Farmers Market takes place on Saturdays in the parking lot adjacent to the tennis courts - at 10th & Illinois Streets - between the Golden Library and Clear Creek.
  8:00 am
• FREE Saturday Group Class
  Golden Chamber of Commerce 150 Capital Dr. #230 Golden, CO 80401
  9:00 am
• Family Time
  Golden Library 1019 Tenth Street, Golden, CO 80401
  10:15 am
• Cribbage Saturdays at Mad Macks
  Golden Chamber of Commerce Mad Macks Brewing 1921 Youngfield St Unit 210 Golden CO
  1:00 pm
• Golden Silent Book Group
  Golden Library 1019 Tenth Street, Golden, CO 80401
  1:00 pm
• BelFiore Dine Back
  Mountain Phoenix Community School Belfiore Italian, 5820 W 38th Ave, Wheat Ridge, CO 80212, USA
  4:00 pm
Wednesday August 26
• The Golden Hotel's Wednesdays on the Creek - Easy Tiger (Colorado Newgrass) →
  The Golden Hotel, an Ascend Collection Hotel, 800 11th St, Golden
  5:00 pm
Thursday September 3
• Mystery Night @ New Terrain Brewing Co →
  New Terrain Brewing Company, 16401 Table Mountain Pkwy, Golden
  6:00 pm
Wednesday September 9
• Baby Goat Nights 2026 - 9/9 →
  New Terrain Brewing Company, 16401 Table Mountain Pkwy, Golden
  5:00 pm

📣 Golden Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

Friday August 21
• Wedding Site Tours →
  Jefferson County, CO Calendar
  9:00 am
• HS VB vs. Pomona
  Two Roads Charter School - Arvada, 6980 Pierce St, Arvada, CO 8
  5:00 pm
• PTA WELCOME BACK FOAM PARTY
  Kyffin Elementary School Golden, CO 80401
  5:00 pm
• Junior High BBQ
  D'Evelyn Jr./Sr. High Clement Park
  5:00 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Golden PatchAM possible:

• Arbor View Senior Living — (303) 732-5909
• Junk Wranglers — (970) 500-8518

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Hi neighbors, unfortunately I'm having to make another missing cat post.
  During the chaos of searching for our other cat who got out last week, Sprinkles somehow slipped outside too. She had been crying at the door for… (Nextdoor Fairmount)
• Arvada beware.
  I saw a large black feline the size of a cougar but he had black sleek hair and a long straight tale He jumped over my neighbors fence early this… (Nextdoor Pleasant View)

• Ryder System, Inc. posted a job opening for Warehouse Inventory Clerk in Golden. Apply here.
• Lunar Outpost posted a job opening for Spaceflight Safety and Mission Assurance Manager in Golden. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Golden here.

Ok Golden! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: A sponge (Thank you Netty W. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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