Month: June 2025

Rob Namnoum

Professional golfers don’t have to retire from competitive golf.

“What do you do when you when you reach the age of 45 to 50? I mean, you have nowhere to go but this is this is great,” says Hall of Fame golfer, Vijay Singh.

The greats continue on the Champions tour.

“You know, when you hear other players retire in other sports, they say the one thing they miss is the camaraderie,” says Bo Van Pelt.

Singh adds, “Past the age of 45, you over the hill a little bit and but this is a you know, it’s a second life for a lot of a lot of players out here.”

Ernie Els adds, “We did our thing back in our heyday. Now we are old and we still want to play competitively.”

It’s a way for them to fulfill any competitive juices they have left.

“Well, I’m not sure how you know, I don’t like running. Yeah. You know, and I don’t think I’ll do that triathlon anytime soon. But yeah, I would have found something. But it’s so nice to have your first love, uh, at this age to still be able to compete and drive yourself crazy every now and again,” says Els.

Singh wonders, “You know, What do you do? I mean, unless you have a business or you have a, you know, golf course design, you know, company or something like that, I mean, you know, you’re not going to go back to a pro shop and start teaching golf. And, you know, and it’s given a lot of, uh, you know, how can I say a good living for a lot of players?”

A good living indeed, compared to when most of these players started out.

“So when you’re 22 and broke and  I’m a career million-dollar golfer, and multimillion-dollar golfers out here, there’s a lot less pressure. Yes, we’re not worried about eating tomorrow,” says Ted Purdy.

Their stomachs and pockets may be filled, but being able to compete fills their souls.

“You know, we’ve got our retirement set and all of that set and,  you know, we’re  pretty comfortable, but we still want to kind of beat each other,” says Els.

Van Pelt adds, “You realize we’re closer to the end than the beginning, because  I think that’s the one thing about athletes is like, you don’t ever turn that off and still get that scratch that edge of competitive juice.”

Singh says, “I’ve done it all my life. You know, why stop now right?”

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Bradley Davis

CRIPPLE CREEK, Colo. (KRDO) – In its 94th year, the Two Mile High Club said it is doubling the musical performances and adding an airplane flyover and free kid zone for the first time in the history of Donkey Derby Days.

The non-profit that has cared for the Cripple Creek Donkeys since 1931 said they are adding a second stage to the annual Donkey Derby Days festival. The flyover is scheduled for the start of the parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday. The kid zone with 13 bounce houses and a water feature typically costs money. The Two Mile High Club said this year, the city is sponsoring the attraction to make it free.

Donkey Derby Days have been a Cripple Creek staple for almost 100 years. Teams of three (two humans and one donkey) race about a half mile up Bennett Avenue right through downtown. One person leads the donkey by the reins. All three have to cross the finish line to count.

As of 6 a.m. on Tuesday, there are only three open race spots left, all in the trophy race on Saturday. You can watch the race for free and enjoy live music, street vendors and a front-row seat (if you’re early) to some classic donkey races.

The three-day festival starts Friday at 2 p.m. with a street fair exhibition show. The first race is 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, followed by more races on Sunday. You can find a full schedule of events here.

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Scott Harrison

TELLER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) —The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) plans to start paving operations Wednesday on a 12-mile stretch of US 24, from just west of Woodland Park to just east of Florissant.

That has some drivers, who are already concerned about traffic congestion so far, wondering how much worse it could get — especially with the Fourth of July holiday weekend approaching.

The situation reached a head on Sunday, June 8, when dozens of drivers reported being stuck in a massive traffic backup in the eastbound lane between Divide and Florissant.

Drivers said that crossing the eight-mile stretch, which usually takes around ten minutes, took an hour or longer.

“I actually got stuck in that traffic,” said David Autrey, a volunteer firefighter in nearby Lake George, in Park County. ” It took me four-and-a-half hours to get from Woodland Park to Lake George. A normal 25- to 30-minute drive. It’s made it so that we don’t go down the mountain unless we have to.”

The affected segment of US 24 is winding and narrow, having only one lane in each direction, little roadside space to pull over, and no rest stops.

Drivers said that travel was particularly heavy that day, but they also wondered if construction cones along the route were a factor in the traffic congestion — even though crews don’t work on Sundays.

In fact, anticipating heavy weekend summer traffic, crews don’t work between noon on Fridays and 7 a.m. on Mondays.

Drivers also wonder if traffic signals at the US 24/Highway 67 intersection weren’t properly synchronized to move traffic efficiently.

A CDOT spokeswoman said that she was aware of some traffic backups, but didn’t say whether the agency plans to make any traffic changes in the area.

On Monday afternoon during rush hour, KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior drove along the affected stretch and found alternating lane closures in one area; a flagger directed traffic, and a pace car led drivers through in one direction at a time.

The traffic delay from the closures was no longer than ten minutes; a short time later, the closures ended for the day.

So far, the only visible changes from construction are a new center median and a repaved left turn lane for eastbound US 24 drivers at the Highway 67 intersection.

The $12 million project includes replacing guardrails to meet new safety standards and upgrading curbs and gutters.

Crews are scheduled to start repaving on Wednesday at the east end of the project, between Divide and Florissant; much of the work will be during daylight hours, with occasional overnight work.

“Is it worth it? Do we really need to pave this?” Autrey asked. “If they’re going to widen it, sure. But if all they’re doing is repaving it, not at all. The road’s OK. There are a few potholes that can be fixed, but nothing that calls for what they’re doing now.”

The Road Warrior spoke with several merchants in Divide who said that they’re aware of the recent traffic congestion but have experienced no negative impacts so far.

“That may change once the paving starts,” one merchant remarked.

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KRDO News

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Colorado Springs is an area filled with stunning views and adventurous trails. It’s a great place to make memories, and one Ohio couple decided to commemorate their trip to the incline.

Colton Reed and his then-girlfriend hiked the nearly 2,800 steps up the incline. He got down on one knee and popped the question. She, of course, said yes!

KRDO13 was able to catch up to the newly engaged couple to hear how their special moment came together for the surprise engagement. 

“Some friends and I were talking about it and said, ‘Hey, if you were gonna propose, that would be the perfect spot,'” said Colton.

“My daughter even knew about it, my 8-year-old– Showed her the ring and everything. Knew about the thing the whole time and kept it a secret from mom,” said McKaya Justus.

Colton and McKaya say they’ve known each other for years, and that they spend a lot of time working out together — which includes hiking.

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