Author: KRDO

Michael Logerwell

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – In the wake of President Donald Trump’s comments claiming former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters is a “Political Prisoner” and calling for her immediate release, KRDO13 pressed local leaders about their reaction to the president’s comments.

Related: Trump’s DOJ to review Tina Peters’ conviction in Colorado election tampering case

In October 2024, Mesa County Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced Peters to serve nine years behind bars after a jury found her guilty in a data-breach scheme aimed at proving widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

She is currently incarcerated at the La Vista Correctional Facility.

KRDO13 reached out to many elected officials and political leaders in Southern Colorado and on the Western Slope for their reaction to President Trump’s comments.

“It’s a joke,” El Paso County Democrat Chair John Jarrell said. “I do feel bad for Tina that she bought into Trump’s lies and got so involved that she committed all these crimes. But, no, she was, she had a jury of her peers.”

The local GOP Chair took a different stance.

“[We’re] excited. We’ve been waiting for some action because we recognize it was going to probably take some federal action in order to see her freed,” Ken Davis, El Paso GOP Chair, said.

Davis stopped short of saying Peters was a “hostage,” as the president framed the situation, but he did take issue with the sentence handed down by Judge Barrett.

“By the letter of [the] law, she broke the law. And they found her guilty of breaking the law, so I wouldn’t necessarily blame those in Mesa County,” Davis said. “But I do think the judge then overreached with his sentencing.”

In a statement, Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein (R) said Peters’ conviction was not politically motivated.

“Nothing about the prosecution of Ms. Peters was politically motivated. In one of the most conservative jurisdictions in Colorado, the same voters who elected Ms. Peters, also elected the Republican District Attorney who handled the prosecution, and the all-Republican Board of County Commissioners who unanimously requested the prosecution of Ms. Peters on behalf of the Mesa County citizens which she victimized. Ms. Peters was indicted by a grand jury of her peers, and convicted at trial by the jury of her peers that she selected.”

At the state level, Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) and Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) pushed back on the President’s claims that Peters was a political prisoner.

“Tina Peters is a criminal who compromised her own voting equipment to try to prove Trump’s Big Lie,” Griswold said in a statement. “Trump is weaponizing the Department of Justice. We cannot allow him to rewrite history or use his lies to create two tiers of justice for the American people.”

“Tina Peters is in prison because of her own actions. A grand jury indicted her and a trial jury found her guilty of breaking Colorado’s criminal laws,” Weiser said. “No one is above the law. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office will continue to defend this criminal conviction in post-conviction proceedings and on appeal. We are firm in pursuing justice for the people of the state of Colorado, protecting free and fair elections, and standing up for the rule of law.”

Tina Peters’ photo from the Department of Corrections.

As she was convicted of state crimes, President Trump cannot pardon Peters; only Colorado Gov. Jared Polis would have the power to issue a pardon.

According to the Department of Corrections, Peters’ next parole hearing date is December 2028. If Peters were to serve out her entire term, she would be released on May 11, 2033.

KRDO13 Investigates reached out to Peters’ most recent attorney, Michael Edminster, via email. He did not return our request by our deadline.

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Scott Harrison

TELLER COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — What started as rain and wet roads on US 24 through Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs in El Paso County, turned to blizzard-like conditions southwest of Woodland Park in Teller County.

Roads quickly became slushy, then icy as wind-blown snow moved through the area late Tuesday morning and continued through the afternoon.

The dividing line between steady rain and steady snow was at an elevation of around 9,000 feet.

Brad Shaw, operations supervisor for Teller County Public Works, said that he was expecting up to a foot of snow by Wednesday morning, although there was considerable melting of snow that had already fallen.

“We’ll have 18 plows on duty through the day and four overnight, he explained.

Shaw said that he was worried about plows damaging some of the county’s 480 miles of gravel roads.

“It’s a little different when the gravel roads have thawed out in spring,” he said. “Not so big of a deal in the winter. This heavy, wet snow will make them soft and muddy. We can do more damage by pushing gravel into the ditches, versus snow.”

Shaw said that his crews would closely monitor roads between Divide and Cripple Creek, which is at a slightly higher elevation of nearly 9,500 feet.

Interestingly, he mentioned that the county doesn’t pre-treat its roads with salt brine before a snowfall, as El Paso County and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) do.

“We only use a sand/salt mixture,” he said. “We don’t feel like we need to use salt brine. We tried it before and had mixed results with it. From what we’ve seen, it brought in more moisture in the mornings and made the roads slick.”

Shaw said that his department doesn’t let spring snowstorms catch it by surprise.

“We’ve seen them before and we’re always ready for them,” he said.

Finally, Shaw revealed that his county has had similar issues as other local municipalities in retaining workers.

“At one point this winter, we were down 16 drivers,” he said. “Now, we’re only down six.”

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Celeste Springer

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A crash is blocking one lane of I-25 southbound near County Line, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

The crash is between Exit 167: Greenland and Exit 163: County Line Road (1 mile north of the Woodmoor exit) at Mile Point 164.05, according to CDOT.

Drivers should expect slick conditions if heading out for their commute. Rain and snow have created unsavory driving conditions across Southern Colorado.

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) says it will hold a “Mountain of Authors” event where members of the community can meet local authors and learn more about the writing and publishing process.

According to PPLD, the event will feature author Pete McBride for a keynote address, and other authors will be available for book signings. Publishing agent Michael Covington will also be in attendance, PPLD said.

The event is free and open to the public. It kicks off at noon on Saturday, May 17 at Library 21c, which is located at 1175 Chapel Hills Dr.

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Celeste Springer

UPDATE: As of 2:42 p.m., CDOT said maintenance was complete and the road was open.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A portion of US 24 is closed, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).

The stretch of road closed is eastbound US 24, between Woodland Avenue and Lucky 4 Road (Cascade-Chipita Park).

CDOT says the road is closed because of snow removal operations.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pikes Peak Road Runners (PPRR) showed their dedication to the sport Tuesday morning. Dozens of members met to run despite the cold, misty conditions.

Members said they hold to the same level of commitment for their First Saturday cleanup along the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail.

“I think that it’s important that we be good stewards of the trails that we use,” trail cleanup coordinator Lita Abbarno said. “Once you’ve done the trail cleanup even just once, it heightens your awareness, and you actually see how much is out there all the time.”

Mayor Yemi Mobolade and the City of Colorado Springs presented PPRR with the annual “Keep it Clean COS” award. The trophy honors groups who go the extra mile, keeping the Colorado Springs community clean.

The city said PPRR volunteered nearly 700 hours and filled over 500 trash bags with litter around and near the Pikes Peak Greenway trail in 2024.

PPRR is the largest running club in Colorado Springs. The group is celebrating its 50th year and has cleaned up litter in the community for over 25 years.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — You may tend to think of water main projects as happening only on major streets, such as the current project on Galley Road and another scheduled to start this fall on 8th Street.

Actually, however, most of the more than 60,000 linear feet of replaced water mains from Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) last year occurred in neighborhoods.

One such project is in its third month, north of Cache La Poudre Street — covering two blocks of Corona Street and a block of Royer Street.

CSU is installing an eight-inch water main to replace the old main that is at least a century old.

Crews recently finished work on Royer Street, is currently working on Corona between Cache La Poudre and Tampa Street, and will next move a block north to San Rafael Street.

“Currently, there’s a water main in a nearby alley, and we’re going to be taking that one out of service and installing a brand new main in the roadway here,” said Alex Trefry, a CSU spokesman. “You can see that there’s a trench sort of through that middle of the roadway. And so, installing that new main also means we’re installing those new service lines. So, as that new main gets installed, we’re connecting the individual homes to it.”

Construction means that some neighbors have to park a block or so farther away, and the street is closed to all but local traffic.

“I rent a house with five other people, and we’re all moving out soon,” said Jacks Sawyer, a student at nearby Colorado College. “It won’t be easy for us to move if we don’t have access to our driveway.”

Other neighbors say that crews have been friendly and helpful, even to the point of helping to direct tge few people who can park on the street.

Aside from the water main project, another crew has completed concrete work — building curbs, gutters, sidewalks and ramps — to prepare for eventual repaving on Corona.

“I had a sidewalk that was so dangerous for probably 15 years,” said Jo Lynn Garlow. “It has finally been replaced, and it’s fantastic. And the crews were great.”

Trefry said that the old water main — in an alley between Corona and Royer — will not be removed for a number of reasons relating to safety, protecting the current infrastructure and disrupting the neighborhood routine.

CSU expects to finish the project this summer, at a cost of $1.6 million.

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Michael Logerwell

PALMER LAKE, Colo. (KRDO) – On Monday morning, Palmer Lake Trustees and residents filled the community building to hear presentations about the potential fiscal, traffic and water impact of the proposed Buc-ee’s location in Palmer Lake.

After the presentations, community members and local leaders raised questions.

Financially, the report, conducted by Economic Planning & Systems Inc., says the Buc-ee’s would generate a significant annual sales tax increase. Specifically, the study estimates $955,087 more tax revenue for the town in 2027.

It’s not all green for Palmer Lake. The study says upgrades for the police and fire departments, along with roads and water, would need to be made to accommodate the gas station chain. The study estimates a 23.7% increase in town spending from $4.23 million in 2025 to $5.23 million in 2027.

In a study on the impact to the town’s water usage, GMS Inc. made several recommendations for the town to consider in providing water to the proposed Buc-ee’s. The study recommends a new water treatment plant, well and distribution system.

In total, the cost estimate for these new developments is $10,422,600. That figure breaks down to $5.6 million for the water line extension and $4.7 million for the additional well and treatment center.

At this stage, who is paying for what isn’t official.

Some residents who live near the proposed Buc-ees, but not in Palmer Lake, came into the meeting with concerns about the water aspect of the project, beyond the immediate solution to provide water for the Buc-ees project.

Roy Martinez said he has real concerns about the long-term water sustainability for Palmer Lake. He tells KRDO13 he didn’t feel those long-term questions were addressed.

“Not whatsoever. They tried to address my question, with the long-term sustainability of the basin, the groundwater basin, their water resources, but I did not feel they gave me an answer,” Martinez said.

Trustee Tim Caves did respond to Martinez’s question during the workshop. He said the revenue from the Buc-ees could be used to invest in a future sustainable water project.

“We’re the ones being long-sighted in hoping that financially this is a good and sound thing for our future of water,” Caves said during the meeting.

For traffic, the third-party study recommended two areas for improvement:

County Line Rd (east of Beacon Lite Rd): Minor Arterial to Principal Arterial

Beacon Lite Rd (north of south site access): Local Rd to Minor Arterial

However, Stolfus & Associates, Inc. said I-25 would see very little impact from the addition of the gas station. They anticipate 533 weekday AM peak hour trips, 661 weekday PM peak hour trips, 967 weekend midday peak hour trips, and 10,947 weekday daily trips. Only 25% will be site trips, and the rest will just be passing by.

Of those trips, very few will be coming from the town of Palmer Lake – the study estimates that 97% will come from I-25 drivers.

One attendee asked about traffic noise; however, that was outside the scope of this particular traffic study.

Several attendees told KRDO13 after the meeting they still had big questions about the project that had gone unanswered.

You can read all the studies yourself here.

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Mackenzie Stafford

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – A family in Pueblo is speaking out after they say their young daughters saw something that no child ever should.

According to the family, the girls, ages 12 and 15, were at Mitchell Park – located just a few blocks from Park View Elementary School – when a man allegedly exposed himself to them.

The Pueblo Police Department (PPD) has confirmed to KRDO13 that it is investigating the report as a case of indecent exposure. 

15-year-old Krystyna Delaney says she and her younger sister were playing at the park on Sunday afternoon. She says when they started to walk home, she noticed a car driving slowly behind them. 

According to Krystyna, the car pulled up beside them, and they could see a grown man inside touching himself. She said the grown man then asked her and her 12-year-old sister a vulgar question. 

It prompted Krystyna to jump into action.

“I grabbed my sister, and I immediately called my mom, and then I just started running,” Krystyna recounted.

At the time, Krystyna said she was purely focused on getting her little sister to safety.

“I did not know what was going to happen. I didn’t know if my sister and I were going to be okay or not. All that was focused on my mind was just making sure that she got home safely,” she said.

Luckily, their mom rushed over to pick them up – but the incident left the whole family shaken. 

“This park is two blocks away from a school. A school that my younger kids go to,” the girls’ mother, Dalena Crafton, said. “I don’t even feel safe with my children walking home from school anymore.”

Crafton said she alerted the principal of Park View Elementary School and Pueblo police, who are now investigating the incident.

The 15-year-old told KRDO13 she wanted to speak out so that no other families would experience what she did.

“I just hope that nobody else has to go through what my sister and I had to go through, because nobody deserves to go through that,” Krystyna said.

She tells KRDO13 she’s had a hard time leaving the house since, and feels she is constantly looking over her shoulder for him.

Although she was left uneasy by the incident, she says she’s grateful that she and her sister were not seriously injured.

“All of these horrible thoughts are going through my head on what could have happened to my sister if I wasn’t there,” Krystyna said.

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KRDO News

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado Springs is now home to a new gym to support a unique Paralympic sport.

On Monday, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee opened the doors on their new state-of-the-art Goalball court at the Olympic Training Center.

Goalball is a sport open to blind athletes, where teams throw a ball towards the opposite side of the court. The opposing players lie on their side and attempt to block shots from the opposing team. 

The opening marks the permanent residency of goalball at the Olympic Training Center in coordination with the sport’s national headquarters in Colorado Springs. 

“It’s incredible. When I was younger, I loved playing sports. But with my vision impairment, I wasn’t able to compete at the level I wanted to. So with goalball, it was life-changing because it was the first time I could be an athlete first,” said Eliana Mason, a Team USA Goalball player.

The gym will serve many athletes as they prepare for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, California.

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