Mysterious dead fish in Barker Reservoir, drama at Central City Council and more

This week we've got just the headlines.

We get to the bottom of community concern sparked by a large number of dead fish washing up on the shore of Nederland's Barker Reservoir, and rehash a surprise motion accusing Central City's Mayor Jeremy Fey of impropriety.

Also

• Ned chases emergency siren funding
• Central City approves boxing event
• Gilpin County cowboys up

Submit your questions for Mayor Nichole Sterling here: https://forms.gle/gsLHfRsSgY1h2LpR7

Listen to "How Colorado's fitness culture (and the rise of GLP-1s) are fueling eating disorders" from Boulder Valley Frequency here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2600535/episodes/19461249

Our theme song is courtesy of singer-songwriter Brittney Wagner. Stream her record Better off Dead here.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Dead Fish. Combat sports. Drama and Ambush in City Council Chambers. It's one of those days when the headlines feel a bit surreal. But all this and more went down this week. If you missed it, we've got you covered with on-the-ground reporting from our local journalists who got to the bottom of these odd goings on. Welcome to the Mountaineer Podcast. I'm Tyler Hickman. We're sticking to just the news this week. But we've got a ton of really great episodes coming your way soon. I'm particularly excited about our episode next week. But we need your help to make it happen. We'll be sitting down with Netherland Mayor Nicole Sterling to hear about what's going on at Town Hall. This time, you, our listeners, will be asking the questions. If you're concerned about affordable housing, have questions about town projects, or just want your voice to be heard, we've got a quick form you can fill out to make sure those questions get answered. We'll drop a link to it in the show notes. Now, let's get into this week's top stories. A large number of dead fish washing up on the shores of Netherlands Barker Reservoir has sparked concern from residents and anglers. Peter Korniker told the Mountaineer he's witnessed and disposed of up to 20 dead fish on several occasions over the past few weeks, a majority of them being white suckers. A local fishing guide with boulder-based Rocky Mountain anglers suggested the phenomenon could be a combination of causes. Lately, it's been hot. Abnormally high temperatures can reduce oxygen levels in the water, putting stress on cold water fish. Another potential cause are barbed hooks, often used by amateur anglers, according to the guide, which can harm fish that are caught and released. Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologist Ben Swiggle told the Mountaineer that stress from a white sucker spawning run could have killed some of the fish. Swiggle says there's no need for alarm, adding, quote, should you find 20 or more fish that include multiple species, I would then have heightened concern. The town's most recent water tests show no danger to the reservoir water, and both CPW and the city of Boulder are monitoring the situation. On the very same day of the caribou village fire last fall, Netherland got the news they were denied a state grant for an emergency alert system for not having a strong enough need. This week, town manager Jonathan Kane presented an opportunity to the Board of Trustees to try again. The town is looking to apply for up to $260,000 from a number of state and federal sources to fund outdoor warning sirens at three locations. The first at the town's wastewater treatment facility, another at the Netherland Fire Station on West 4th Street, and the third at an unspecified location near Netherland Elementary. With funding opportunities available from both the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency, as well as FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program, the board permitted town staff to chase down any funding for the design and installation of these sirens, as long as the amount doesn't exceed cost estimates. Prior to the meeting, council members voted to require Fay to recuse himself from a closed door executive session involving ongoing litigation between Central and Rick's Steakhouse and Cabaret.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

In support of this motion, I'd like to remind the city council of the following.

SPEAKER_04 5:35

And if being friends with someone is grounds for recusal, and if it happens to be that that friend has more means than me, I had to go, I had to leave my children for three weeks to go work in Texas so I can pay my bills because this position for the last eight years doesn't pay me a dime. And to avoid conflicts of interest, I've stayed out of the private side. I've made tremendous sacrifices for this city. And you guys are gonna sit here on either side of me and tell me that I'm cheating you or that I've wronged you. This is disgusting. You guys should be embarrassed.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Move forward, but know that later on during public comment, several residents called for the mayor's resignation due to his alleged conflict of interest. Fay assured he quote, never benefited a dime from Langan, though he has previously admitted to accepting flights from the former club owner and has stayed at his home. Fay said he has no plans to tender his resignation. Combat seemed to be a theme during Central City's meeting with the discussion and approval of a three-event boxing series set to take place on Main Street later this year. Central approved the professional and amateur boxing series organized by Daniel Hernandez in response to residents and local business operators calling for new attractions after years of declining visitor activity. The series earned support from a large majority of Main Street businesses to shut down the roadway on three Saturdays in late summer and early fall. Central's downtown development authority has also approved a $20,000 contribution to the event. After an hour of discussion, Council voted unanimously to approve the proposal, provided organizers meet all city requirements. And finally, Gilpin saddled up for its annual county fair this past weekend.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Here we go! Makes it happen right here. Now here's how we pick up me.

SPEAKER_02 8:11

And in true Gilpin fashion, there's the competitive mining events. One minute, you're watching a crowd of six-year-olds pan for gold, and the next, a team of hulking men and women rush to drill into boulders the size of small sheds. No need to worry. If you missed it, this week's paper is packed with photos of kids and cowboys. And you can see the videos of the rodeo events on our social channels too. So check them out. Those are the top headlines. As always, you can read these stories and so much more in this week's rent edition or at the MTNEAR.com. If you like today's episode and you want to keep your friends, neighbors, whoever, in the loop on all things peak to peak, please share it around. It's the best thing that you can do to help us grow. You can subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts to get the news the moment we hit the airwaves. And one last thing. Our original plan was to run an episode from our sister show, Boulder Valley Frequency this week. Then the news happened. The episode we had slotted hones in on growing concerns about the omnipresence of GLP1 weight loss drugs and how they're affecting Colorado's population of people diagnosed with an eating disorder. The episode is so well produced, and it sheds light on a huge piece of America's current weight loss journey that's been extremely underreported. We're going to close out today's show with a clip from that episode. There's a link to the full story in our show notes. Here's the frequency.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Hi, I'm Olivia. I just graduated from CU Boulder and I'm a Boulder local. I'm also, I guess, a graduate from Eating Recovery Center. I attended treatment when I was 19.

SPEAKER_06 10:29

Olivia is far from alone. Experts who treat eating disorders say they are seeing more patients who are relapsing after long periods in recovery. Sometimes the disease and its symptoms were showing up more strongly than before and resisting treatment that had worked in the past.

SPEAKER_05 10:46

In the world of eating disorders, we are seeing GLP1s become a major conversation. So we first started noticing about five years ago that we had a few patients who were presenting to treatment who had been in recovery from their eating disorder and had been prescribed a GLP1 receptor agonist for usually for a metabolic concern for type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes or something like that. And in these cases that were coming across my desktop, they were seeking treatment for their eating disorder, which had recurred following taking GLP1 receptor agonists. And what we saw in those first few patients, where we started to wonder, is regardless of how their eating disorder had presented before, now they were presenting with very restricted eating, very low caloric intake, and a lot of compulsive thinking about food and calories, a lot of body dysmorphia. And even once they got into treatment and tried to do the things that had worked for them before, they were finding that it wasn't as successful. They were having a more difficult time letting go of those thought compulsions. We first had these few cases, and I remember talking with a colleague, and we were sort of, you know, thinking together, you know, we have to keep our eyes on this. This could be something. We're very unfortunate to be right, but we've seen now a significant increase year over year of patients who are seeking care for their eating disorder, who are on these medications.