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What's Happening in Golden - Wednesday, Sep. 17th, 2025

News and events in Golden, Colorado. Wednesday, Sep. 17th, 2025

,   and  Barb Warden
10 min read
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Morning Glory in the History Park

Photo by Andi Pearson
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What's happening in Golden today?

Events for Wednesday, Sep. 17th

Golden History Tours
Toddler Time - Registration Required

For more information, click the item above or visit the Golden Today Calendar

What’s blooming along Golden’s Trails? Curly-Cup Gumweed!

Figure 1. Curly-Cup Gumweed — Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal — in my garden. The teeth on the leaves (right) point toward the end of the leaf and they are gooey (soft and sticky).


By Tom Schweich

One of the easiest plants to remember in the field is blooming now.  It is “Curly-Cup Gumweed” — Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal. The common name itself serves as a built-in memory aid. "Gumweed" refers directly to the gummy, resinous substance on the plant, while "curly-cup" describes the shape of the flower heads and bracts.

Curly-cup gumweed — Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal — is common in Golden parks and open spaces. It was adventive in my garden, meaning it found its own way there. All the collections in Jefferson County are north of Chatfield Farms but equally distributed between the plains and the foothills. The species is widespread across Colorado and is found across the United States and from northern Mexico into Canada. 

The first recorded collection was made by Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery. Lewis collected the plant on August 17, 1804, in the vicinity of Tonwontonga, a large Omaha Indian village about 10 miles south of present-day Sioux City, Iowa (Earle & Reveal, 2003). Frederick Pursh (1814), working in the London herbarium of Alymer B. Lambert described our plant as Donia squarrosa. Those plant specimens still exist, having been repatriated to the United States, and images of them are available online (Lewis, 1804).

Felix Dunal (1819) of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, France, writing about plants in the Sunflower family from the New World, recognized the similarities between our plant from the then-Louisiana Territory, and plants from Mexico and Chile, placing five species together in the genus Grindelia.

As it sometimes happens, though, there is another less well-known species of gumweed that is occasionally found in Golden. It is the “Subalpine Gumweed” — Grindelia subalpina Greene.

Figure 2. A rather sad-looking Subalpine Gumweed — Grindelia subalpina Greene — found recently in DeLong Park. The teeth on the leaves (right) point straight out, and the tips are hard and sharp.

Subalpine gumweed was separated from curly-cup gumweed by Edward L. Greene (1898) for its sharply serrate leaves and other differences that we no longer recognize. Otherwise, the two species are very similar and may be confused for each other.  No one will criticize you if you confuse the two species in the field. 

Locally, subalpine gumweed has been found in Apex Park, Kinney Run, North and South Table Mountains, and most recently in DeLong Park.  More broadly, it is found in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains from Cañon City north into southern Wyoming.

Edward L. Greene came to Colorado as an Episcopalian minister.  He took an interest in plants, making the first known plant collection in Golden in 1870 (https://www.goldentoday.com/what-is-blooming-along-goldens-trails/). After years of plant study in Colorado, Greene moved to California where he became the first professor of botany at the University of California. Greene later moved east, to the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., from where he published subalpine gumweed. 

References

Dunal, Felix. 1819. Sur deux Genres de Plantes de la famille des Composees. [On two Genera of Plants of the Compositae family] Annales du Muséum d'histoire naturelle. 5: 45-58. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/108213#page/66/

Earle, A. Scott, and James L. Reveal. 2003. Lewis and Clark's Green World: The Expedition and its Plants. Helena, Montana: Farcountry Press, 2003.

Greene, Edward L. 1898. Studies in the Compositae. —VII. Pittonia. 3(18):264-305. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/52470#page/328/  

Lewis, Meriwether. 1804. Coll. No. 40, Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh) Dunal. Catalog #: PH00043566. Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (PH). Biodiversity occurrence data published by: SEINet - AZ/NM Node (accessed through the SEINet - AZ/NM Node Portal, https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet, 2025-09-09). https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/individual/index.php?occid=33780551

Pursh, Frederick. 1814. Flora Americae Septentrionalis; or, A Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America. 1. London: White, Cochrane, and Co., 1814. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/197765#page/223/

2PM Bells Across America Ceremony @ Golden Welcome Center

Photo by Richard Luckin

Members of the Golden-based Mount Lookout Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution will celebrate the 238th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution with a bell ringing ceremony in front of the Golden Welcome Center.  

Bells Across America is an annual celebration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Bells are rung simultaneously in all 50 states for one minute at 2 p.m. MDT, on September 17.

Location:

Golden Welcome Center
1010 Washington Avenue   (Map)

4-6PM Ribbon Cutting @ Alpha Graphics New Location

Join the Chamber to welcome Alpha Graphics to their new location on 13th Street!  There will be food, drinks and prizes!

Location:

AlphaGraphics
900 13th Street (map)

Live Music for Wednesday, Sep. 17th

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For more information, visit the Golden Today Calendar

Golden History: The Long Debate About Paid Parking

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72 Years Ago
The September 17, 1953 Colorado Transcript announced that City Council had voted against a proposal to install parking meters downtown.

The meeting was well attended by many citizens, several of whom spoke their views on the parking meter question.

The topic had been cycling through Council for years. Ordinances had been written and voted down in 1937, 1946, 1947, and 1950. Both residents and merchants were frustrated at the lack of parking, but the merchants didn’t want to drive away customers by charging for parking.

F. A. “Heinie” Foss spoke on Littleton’s experience with parking meters which he reported destroyed a friendly atmosphere and which did not bring in the revenue expected.

During the late ’50s and the 1960s, several downtown buildings were demolished and replaced with parking lots. Those lots, along with declining numbers of shoppers, provided adequate parking during the 1970s through the '90s.

As downtown Golden recovered in the 2000s, the parking issue arose again, and in 2016 the City finally installed the long-discussed parking meters, in the form of electronic kiosks. The kiosks (and more recently a phone app) allow visitors to register for two hours of free parking before charges begin to accumulate, but many people find them confusing and/or they just forget.

Paid parking has become quite profitable for Golden. The 2025 budget anticipates $240,000 in parking revenues and $360,000 in parking fines.

Weather

Overnight's Weather

Overnight: Partly cloudy. Low around 50, with temperatures rising to around 52 overnight. West wind around 3 mph.

Wednesday's Weather

Wednesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms between noon and 3pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny. High near 71, with temperatures falling to around 67 in the afternoon. Northeast wind 2 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Wednesday Night's Weather

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy. Low around 49, with temperatures rising to around 51 overnight. West northwest wind 2 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Wednesday Night: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 49°F

Thursday: Mostly Sunny, 71°F

Thursday Night: Mostly Clear, 50°F

Friday: Sunny, 79°F

Friday Night: Partly Cloudy, 56°F

Saturday: Mostly Sunny, 82°F

Saturday Night: Partly Cloudy, 57°F

Sunday: Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, 81°F

Sunday Night: Partly Cloudy, 56°F

Monday: Sunny, 80°F

Monday Night: Mostly Clear, 55°F

Tuesday: Sunny, 84°F

News About Golden - September 17, 2025

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Sept. 9 GLO Park Meeting Recap

By Laura Cardon
Pleasant View Colorado Updates

The meeting started with Lu Cordova from Governor Polis’ office providing background information and an update about the project. The state released it’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ), which you can read here, at the beginning of September. 

The northwest corner of Camp George West was originally going to be developed into renewable energy labs, otherwise known as the GLO Park. There was a land swap several years ago that ultimately resulted in the state getting the Camp George parcel; Jefferson County Open Space getting more land on South Table Mountain for trails and a parking lot; and the federal government getting the site of the former minimum-security prison on South Golden Road... Read more...

Golden flag football blossoms in program’s first year

By John Renfrow
Golden Transcfript

The buzz about flag football in Colorado is palpable, with schools fielding programs all over the Centennial State to celebrate and participate in one of the nation’s fastest-growing sports.

Golden High School had athletes leading the charge to add the sport, but it was in the middle of a CHSAA (Colorado High School Activities Association) cycle, which made it a long shot... Read more...

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Tall Pines Painting, Baby Doe’s Clothing, Goozell Yogurt & Coffee Paul Haseman, Donna Anderson, Carol & Doug Harwood, Stephanie Painter, Greg Poulos, Ann Norton & Jonathan Storer, Mary & Don Parker, Saré Merrigan, The Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, and Joy Brandt

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Laura King and Scott Wilson, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Forrest Jones, Barry & Liz Bettis, Cheryl & Tom Schweich, Marjorie Sloan, Chris and Joyce Davell, Rick Flint, Forrest Jones, Cynthia Merrill Tamny, Stephen Pero, Meg Van Ness & Steve Kalasz, Steve & Karla Schaefer, Bud Rockhill, Steve Enger, Kristie Brice & Mike Schwartz, The Golden Hotel, Kurt & Janet Siegfried, Ella Lyons & Jeanne Fritch, Robert Thresher, Tonie Mattox, and Centennial State Wealth Advisors

Members:
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Brad Miller & Julie Bartos, Holly Thomas, Jim and LouAnne Dale, Ann Pattison, Thomas Hoffman, Carol Abel, Brian Quarnstrom, Sandra Curran, Bobby German and Alison McNally, Kathy Smith, Karen Smith, Carlos & Nancy Bernal, Robert Storrs, Michele Sannes, Elaine Marolla, Dixie Termin & Ron Miller, E Tom Hughes, Crystal M Culbert, Patrick A. Madison, Alice Madison & Jim Kalivas, Deb Goeldner, Christopher Ball, 6th Chair Home Services, Dot & Eric Brownson, Rosemary Coffman, Emeline Paulson, Sandy Schneider, Mark and Cathy Pattridge, Cheryl G Leidich, Jen Rutter, Frani R Bickart, Jennings and Litz, Bill Sedgeley, Nancy Hughes, Justin L Wade, Kathi Eggers, Traci Case, Donna Owen, Leslie D Lutz, Karen Oxman, Catherine Skokan, Ross Fraser & KC Gilliland, Lynne Haigh, Elizabeth Hilliard, Frank Young & Terre Deegan-Young, Kathy Hirons & Jack Markin, Jess & Anthony Monasterio, Heather Duncan, Lee Ann & Pete Horneck, Carol Cameron, Cheryl Williamson, San Daugherty, Jim Garner, John and Carol McEncroe, the Golden Welcome Center, the Golden Transcript, Koshare Eagle, Ken and Colleen Krantz, Traci Neuman Lacey, Jo Barber, Jamie Cookinham, Kermit Shields, Meridee Cecil, Vicki Olson, Colleen & Michael Ramey, Nancy & Pete Torpey, Jax Baker, Simon Maybury, Rose McLaughlin, Cameron Chambers, Joyce Gravina, Patrick Klein, Barb Robie, and Mary Rains, Richard Caldwell, Janice Waring, Sam & Marilyn Baron, Carmen Johnson, Mary Eiberger, Kevin Nichols, Ed & Carol Freza, Laura and Curtis Moore, Ruth Hund, Shelley & Jerry Devitt, Eileen Masterson, Kate Olivier, Amy Korengut, and Pam Logan

Followers:
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Golden Community Garden, Lora Haimes, Mariane Erickson, J.J. Fraser, Mel Perkins, Bob Hamilton, Steve Stevens, Vicki Olson, Emily Kurzinski, Nanette Johnson, Peyton Gibson, and Sally Berger

Highlights