Stagecoach, Desert Rodeo bring western culture to the East Valley

KESQ on April 25, 2025

Kendall Flynn

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – It’s western mania in the East Valley as Stagecoach is back for its 17th year in Indio, but now it isn’t the only event hoping to bring cowboy culture to the desert.

The Desert Rodeo is bringing professional rodeo and festival fusion to Thermal. Organizers say it’ll be a weekend of riding, racing and retail.

While the country events are during the same weekend, the Desert Rodeo starts at 11 a.m. April 25 through the 27th to 5 p.m. If Stagecoach visitors want to attend both events, they’ll have time for a little rodeo fun before the Empire Polo Club’s gates open at 1 p.m.

For more information on Stagecoach Festival, visit stagecoachfestival.com, and for more information on Desert Rodeo, visit desertrodeo.com.

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Buyer beware: Ticket scams ahead of Stagecoach

KESQ on April 25, 2025

Luis Avila

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) – Imagine securing tickets, but the day before the event, you find out it was all a scam.

Hailee, who lives in Palm Desert, says she and a group of friends bought wristbands on Facebook .

“My cousin and all of us, about a group of seven people, were trying to find Stagecoach tickets. Couple weeks ago, we came across this lady and she came up with this entire story about how her sister passed away and she was just trying to get rid of the tickets.”

Hailee, Palm Desert resident

The seller sold them six wristbands and an RV lot for about $3,000 dollars. The wristbands were authentic, but on Thursday, she discovered they were invalid.

Hailee says the seller had reported them stolen.

While this has never been an issue for her in the past, she’s now being more careful.

“Maybe if we like know people on Facebook, like mutual friends on Facebook, probably more reliable but probably not just from random people anymore… They just ruined Stagecoach for everyone.”

Hailee, Palm Desert resident

According to Goldenvoice, who operates both Coachella and Stagecoach, while the festival itself does not allow resale or exchanges, you can sell your tickets through an authorized third-party platform or directly to buyers. But they warn there is always risk.

Stay with News Channel 3 for more.

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Stagecoach Country Music Festival goes live Friday in Indio

KESQ on April 25, 2025

City News Service

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) – Some of the country music industry’s top-tier talent, along with chart-toppers from the past and specialty acts, will be delivering performances tomorrow and throughout the weekend for the Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, where thousands of fans were already arriving in anticipation of the entertainment.   

“Traffic conditions for early-arriving campers today were steady, with no significant issues to report,” according to an Indio Police Department statement. “Operations are continuing smoothly.”  

The fest comes less than a week after the conclusion of the second and final weekend of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival at the same venue — the Empire Polo Club.

Friday’s lineup features Alana Springsteen, Carter Faith, Dylan Scott, Mae Estes, Ashley McBryde, Flatland Cavalry, Sammy Hagar, the Bacon Brothers — one of whom is actor Kevin Bacon — Tracy Lawrence, Waylon Wyatt and several dozen others.

Saturday’s and Sunday’s performers were still being confirmed. More information is available at www.stagecoachfestival.com.   

The same traffic controls in place for Coachella will be in force throughout the weekend.

At the end of March, the Indio Police Department shut down Avenue 50, between Monroe Street and Madison Avenue, which will remain closed until May 5 for the entertainment associated with Stagecoach.  

According to the city, there will be no access on Avenue 49, between Hjorth and Monroe streets, or along Avenue 50, between Jackson and Madison streets, or on Hjorth, from Avenues 49 to 50, or along Madison, between Avenues 49 and 52.

Officials cautioned travel delays will be heavy along Washington Street, between Interstate 10 and Avenue 52, as well as on Jefferson Street and Avenues 48 and 52 going into the Empire Polo Club grounds. Extensive delays are also anticipated on Highway 111 at Jefferson and Monroe, and at all the exits into Indio from the freeway.  

Options for slightly faster travel may be available on Jackson, Calhoun Street and Golf Center Parkway, going north- and southbound, while less vexing eastbound and westbound travel might be open on Fred Waring Drive, Miles Avenue and Dr. Carreon Boulevard, officials said.

There will also be a designated pay ride spot, for Uber and Lyft users, at the southwest corner of Avenue 49 and Monroe, while family and taxicab pickups and drop-offs are designated on the northeast corner of Avenue 52 and Madison.

Indio PD is receiving support from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol.

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War veterans fly out to D.C. with Rio Grande Honor Flight

KVIA on April 25, 2025

Nicole Ardila

Historical war veterans were escorted to El Paso International Airport by police, with bikers, and were welcomed by saluting soldiers and several volunteers to embark on an honor flight to Washington, D.C.

Rio Grande Honor Flight transports America’s World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans to the nation’s capital, where they will visit the memorials built to honor and remember those who served for the country.

They also did a prayer and sang the National Anthem in the lobby of the airport.

ABC-7’s chief meteorologist, “Doppler” Dave Speelman is joining one of the veterans — George Want, his neighbor and a Vietnam War air crew veteran who served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years.

From El Paso and Las Cruces, 31 veterans are taking part of the honor flight.

Among those, there’s one Korean war veteran, and the rest are Vietnam War Veterans — And one of them is a lady.

The veterans will also be visiting the American History Museum and Arlington Cemetery.

“Doppler” Dave is joining as George’s guardian.

The veterans are scheduled to return on Saturday.

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Juárez residents and diocese remember the life of Pope Francis

KVIA on April 25, 2025

Heriberto Perez

JUÁREZ, Chihuahua (KVIA) — The Late Pope Francis will always be remembered as the first Pope to visit the El Paso—Ciudad Juárez border region in 2016.

Longtime priest in Juárez Father Javier Calvillo, told ABC-7, when Pope Francis came to Juárez, all he wanted to do was to be at the border wall and oversee the border with the U.S.

Pope Francis arrived at the Juárez International Airport, then visited Chihuahua state prison CERESO 3, then the Juárez seminar, and then the U.S.-Mexico border, where he held a mass at “El Punto.”

During that mass, Pope Francis sat in a chair that was made at a local Juárez furniture store called “Muebles Coloniales y Rústicos.”

ABC-7 spoke with Father Calvillo and with one of the owners of that furniture store and will have a full story in later newscasts.

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El Paso woman turns side hobby of raising chickens into a side hustle

KVIA on April 25, 2025

Rosemary Montañez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)– As egg prices continue to rise across the U.S., many are turning to other alternatives. One woman is selling fresh chicken eggs from her own backyard.

Cassandra Hockman told ABC-7 she was able to turn her love of animals into a side business. She said she started with the objective of her children getting to witness the life cycle of a chicken.

“It was just to see the reaction on my kids, to see it hatching and how excited they get. It kind of grew from there,” she said.

Hockman has 10 chickens. She said in one day alone, altogether, they lay an average of one dozen eggs. The resident of El Paso said she had to get a permit from the city since she has more than six.

In March, she started selling the surplus, promoting the sale on social media.

“I just, just posted, you know, and now that my husband, you know, deployed, we don’t even eat that much eggs. So I just, I figured, okay, well, now that I have overstocked, I’m going to go ahead and provide and put it out there.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, eggs reached a new record high in March: $6.23 per dozen.

In March 2024, they were $2.99 a dozen.

Hockman sells each dozen for $5 dollars. She said the price is fair and many customers are returning clients.

She said she also sells Muscovy duck eggs, which are much larger than chicken eggs. Hockman said they’re richer and popular for baking.

“When she saw my post, she was kind of excited and reaching out to me, and she’s like, ‘I want four dozen.’ So, $5 a dozen. I mean, I wouldn’t go up any higher than that,” Hockman said. She also incubates eggs and sells baby chicks. She said the demand for people wanting chicks has been higher than customers wanting chicken eggs. In March alone, she sold close to 50.

“They all sold within, like, five minutes. Once they hatched, I had a lot of people reaching out, like, ‘How are the chicks doing? Have they hatched yet? I can’t wait; I’m so excited’.”

Hockman said she has 160 eggs currently incubating. Those are from chickens, ducks and jumbo quail. She said she sells chicks anywhere between $5 and 10 dollars each.

With her husband currently deployed in Poland, Hockman said this has become more than a hobby.

“I am making a profit. I’m not going to stop. I love what I do, and I’m actually, I’m wanting to grow my flock, which, in the future, I am looking at having my own land,” she added.

Her goal is to one day have 60 chickens. For now, she said this as a way of giving back and helping others.

For those interested in raising backyard chickens, Hockman said it’s important for people to be educated on all aspects.

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Taxi driver warns of decline amid festival season ride surge

KESQ on April 25, 2025

Shay Lawson

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ)  – As tens of thousands arrive in the desert for festival season, Leo Reyes, a longtime taxi driver with Coachella Valley Taxi, said he’s seen a long-term decline in the industry.

“We’d have to go back a dozen years or more, and that’s prior to the rideshare phenomena,” Reyes said. “In that time there might have been well over 300 taxi drivers in the desert. Currently we’re probably at a high, 80 drivers, so there is quite a drop off.”

He said while rideshare users face surge pricing and long wait times during festival weekends, taxi fares stay the same.

“We’re strictly regulated,” Reyes said. “We cannot surcharge.”

Reyes said that local cabs offer more than just a consistent price—they also bring years of experience.

“The local drivers, at least we have knowledge of the local streets,” Reyes said.

Stay with News Channel 3 for the full report at 10 and 11 p.m.

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Callaway County deputies arrest 2 after chase

KMIZ on April 25, 2025

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two people were arrested Thursday in Callaway County following a chase with law enforcement, the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office wrote on its social media.

The sheriff’s office wrote that Boone County deputies were called to a reported theft at a construction site earlier in the day and Ashland police tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove the wrong way on Highway 63.

Callaway County deputies saw the vehicle driving through Fulton at 4:35 p.m. and tried to start a traffic stop, but the driver sped away again, the post says. The chase went onto Route H and the driver allegedly “swerved at” oncoming vehicles at least three times, but did not hit any, the post says.

The vehicle rolled over on County Road 315 and a man and a woman from Kansas were arrested on suspicion of theft, felony stealing, drug possession and more, the post says.

The vehicle was reported stolen from Kansas and deputies recovered the stolen items from Boone County, the post says.

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Judge rules autism diagnosis won’t shield Bryan Kohberger from Death Penalty if convicted

KIFI on April 24, 2025

Seth Ratliff

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Bryan Kohberger’s recent autism diagnosis will not affect the prosecutor’s decision to seek the death penalty if he is convicted in his upcoming quadruple murder trial.

In a new ruling Thursday, Steven Hippler ruled that the state of Idaho can pursue the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger despite his autism diagnosis.

Bryan Kohberger has been charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho Students, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle, at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

The recent ruling follows the defense’s request for Judge Hippler to eliminate the death penalty as an option in the case. They cited Kohberger’s diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder as a key reason. His attorneys argue that the media coverage of his diagnosis could bias the jury against him.

“These widely viewed and highly prejudicial media reports, draped in the language of ‘expertise’ and ‘analysis,’ demonize Mr. Kohberger for his disability,” write Kohberger’s defense team in court documents.

In response, the prosecution has argued that the media attention and Kohberger’s “social impairment” do not warrant striking the death penalty.

Judge Hippler’s new ruling also follows an additional decision surrounding arguments regarding Kohberger’s autism diagnosis. On April 18, the judge ruled that Kohberger’s legal team won’t be able to tell a jury in his upcoming death penalty trial about his diagnosis unless he takes the stand in his own defense.

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Police: Dump truck driver injured in Ashland crash

KMIZ on April 24, 2025

Ryan Shiner

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A dump truck driver was injured in a crash on Thursday on Highway 63 in Ashland, according to an email from Ashland Police Chief Scott Young.

Young called the crash near Peterson Lane “serious,” but wrote that the driver had “moderate” injuries. Only one vehicle was involved in the crash. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction for about an hour, the email says.

Boone County Joint Communications sent a notification at 5:03 p.m. stating the crash on southbound Highway 63 at Peterson Lane. BCJC then wrote at 5:09 p.m. that a “large amount of dirt” was on the road and that a lane was closed at 5:32 p.m.

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