Weld Said with Mary Metzger | A Greeley Free Press Podcast

Too busy for a full podcast? Check out selected short clips from this episode and others on YouTube » Former City of Greeley Museums manager Chris Bowles joins Mary to talk about the uncertain future of Greeley’s museums and what could be lost if the city changes how they are funded and operated. Chris describes the budget cuts his team faced, the city’s proposal to explore moving the museums to a...

Colorado House District 64 Representative Scott Slaugh joins Mary Metzger for a wide-ranging conversation about the issues affecting Northern Colorado and the experiences that shaped his approach to public service. Slaugh discusses his upbringing in Milliken, his military service, his work as a home builder and his first year in the Colorado Legislature. The conversation explores housing affordabi...

What is undeveloped land worth to us? Who decides how water is used, how wildlife habitat is protected, and what strategies actually make communities safer from wildfire? In this episode of Weld Said , Mary Metzger talks with Adam Bronstein, Oregon director for Western Watersheds Project and host of the Our Public Lands podcast, about wildfire, water, wildlife, public lands and the competing inter...

[ See all highlight clips of this podcast » ] Eileen Laubacher never expected to run for Congress. After 34 years in the Navy, retiring as a rear admiral in 2024, she thought the next chapter of her life would look very different. Instead, she found herself watching institutions she had spent much of her life serving change in ways that convinced her she needed to step forward. Now, she is running...

What does community safety look like when law enforcement and the people they serve may experience the same system very differently? Mary Metzger sits down with Matt Turner, a candidate for Weld County sheriff , for a frank conversation about law enforcement, public trust and the responsibilities that come with the badge. They talk about Flock cameras and surveillance, ICE and undocumented residen...

Editor’s note: This is a submitted opinion piece. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Greeley Free Press. GFP reviewed factual claims in the submission and reached out to the three candidates specifically named in the piece to give them an opportunity to respond. By Jenifer Montes As someone who has been on the front lines in Hudson over the...

[ Short attention span? Pressed for time? We see you! Check out highlights from this episode and others on our YouTube channel. Share the clips you love! ] There’s a whole wild Greeley happening around us that most of us may have never seen. Bobcats. Badgers. Coyotes. Bald eagles. Deer. Wild turkeys. And, every once in a while, even a mountain lion, black bear, or moose passing through. This week...

Metro districts are all over Northern Colorado. But how many of us really understand how they work, who pays for them, and who benefits? In this episode of Weld Said, Mary sits down with Mo Dower, a former Berthoud trustee who is now running for Colorado House District 64. Mo first became involved in local government because of issues affecting her own community. But during her time as a trustee,...

[ Full episode and Short Clips also available on our YouTube channel and on Apple Podcasts shortly after publication ] This episode goes a little farther from home than Weld Said usually does. Our conversations are typically rooted pretty firmly in Greeley and Weld County. And this one begins there, with questions about representation, Cascadia, growth, water, development, and the arrival of large...

Greeley has long been told that water is one thing we do not need to worry about. Generations of planning, senior water rights, reservoirs, pipelines, and major investments have placed the city in a stronger position than many communities across Colorado and the West. That is something worth understanding—and something worth protecting. In this episode of Weld Said , Mary Metzger sits down with Le...

What can a chicken farm teach a young person about responsibility, failure and starting over? In this episode of Weld Said , Mary talks with Sean Short, co-founder and executive director of Blooming Health Farms , a working chicken farm on the edge of Greeley that provides entrepreneurship education and mentorship to justice-involved youth. Sean shares how his own struggles with alcohol and the cr...

In this episode of Weld Said , Mary sits down with David, a lifelong Greeley community member and the founder of Last Light, a new nonprofit focused on supporting unhoused neighbors and people living close to homelessness. This conversation is about homelessness, but it is also about the way people see each other. David talks about what inspired him to start Last Light, including the example of hi...

In this episode of Weld Said , Mary talks with Fabian Rodriguez, an independent candidate for Weld County Sheriff in 2026. The sheriff’s race is one of those local elections that can be easy to overlook until you stop and think about how much the sheriff’s office actually touches. The jail. Public safety. Immigration fears. Technology and surveillance. Mental health. Discretion in policing. The re...

Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about county commissioner races — but those decisions shape a lot of what happens in our daily lives. In this episode of Weld Said, Mary sits down with Stacey Graham, an independent candidate hopeful for Weld County Commissioner At-Large. Stacey is working to collect enough petition signatures to get her name on the ballot, giving Weld County voters a...

In advance of the Colorado Democratic and Republican primaries, we are inviting candidates to talk more about who they are and what they believe in. We welcome any candidates who reach out to speak with us. We don’t focus on policy issues, because you can find those elsewhere. We hope you find these conversations insightful into the people behind the issues. This episode of Weld Said was a little...

In advance of the Colorado Democratic and Republican primaries, we are inviting candidates to talk more about who they are and what they believe in. We welcome any candidates who reach out to speak with us. We don’t focus on policy issues, because you can find those elsewhere. We hope you find these conversations insightful into the people behind the issues. On this episode of Weld Said , Mary sit...

On this episode of Weld Said , Mary Metzger sits down with Craig Huddleston, Greeley’s newly appointed Ward 1 city councilmember. Because Huddleston was appointed rather than elected, many residents may still be wondering who he is, what brought him to Greeley, and how he thinks about the community he now represents. This conversation offers a first glimpse into how he intends to represent Ward I....

What makes a community feel like home? In this episode of Weld Said, Mary Metzger talks with Pablo about growing up in Greeley, traveling the world, building businesses, and staying connected to the community that shaped him. Their conversation touches on downtown Greeley, entrepreneurship, books, travel, and the changes that come with a growing city. It's a conversation about the people, places,...

This episode was originally recorded Thursday, May 28th, 2026 This is a longer episode than usual, but if you’re trying to understand what’s happening with the Catalyst/Cascadia project in west Greeley, it may be one of the most important conversations we’ve released. Mary sits down with West Greeley Citizens Oversight Committee member Bob Locke and local artist and community advocate Megan McBrid...

I just love Weld Said —podcast host Mary Metzger’s gently spoken but penetrating questions asked of guests who have generously agreed to the vulnerable position of being publicly interviewed. I feel a little thrill every time a new episode appears in my podcast app. But the one aspect of this show that has vexed me is the perpetual twofold question, asked of each guest: “What do you think working...

This week, Mary sits down with Greeley Mayor Pro-Tem Melissa McDonald for an in-depth discussion about the Cascadia development, the Community Oversight Committee, housing affordability, homelessness, economic growth, and the role working-class voices play in shaping the future of Greeley. Melissa reflects on criticism she and City Council have faced, acknowledges communication challenges surround...

Greeley is staring down the Catalyst Project — with promises of economic growth, better connectivity, and an upgraded quality of life. It’s dressed in ribbon-cutting language: jobs, vibrancy, and revenue capture. Peel back the glitter, and what you get is a plan that mostly lines private pockets, and hands Greeley residents a bill with very few guarantees. The Catalyst Oversight Committee Mayor Da...

There’s something very Greeley about this episode. Mary sits down with Jennifer Mongan, owner of the Academy of Natural Therapy in downtown Greeley, to talk about working class life, chronic pain, caregiving, and the ways our bodies carry stress long before we realize it. The Academy has been teaching massage therapy and holistic wellness for nearly four decades and has recently added an esthetici...

This week on Weld Said , Mary is away handling a family emergency, so Jennifer and Megan step in for a conversation with Greeley City Council Member Deb DeBoutez. Deb shares her path to Greeley, from single motherhood and community organizing to city government and public service, and reflects on what it means to serve a city while staying connected to the everyday realities people face. We talk a...

When people talk about growth in Greeley, they usually mean new buildings, big projects, and development. But there’s another kind of growth happening here too. In this episode of Weld Said , Mary sits down with Mary Fagerberg - one of the founding members of the Greeley Morning Garden Club - and current president Deb Martinez to talk about nearly 70 years of tending gardens, building community, a...