Author: KRDO

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Arc Pikes Peak Region is hosting a free block party on Saturday to celebrate its 70th year providing guardianship and other services to people with disabilities in Colorado Springs.

The organization said it represents people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Its mission statement is “To promote and protect the human rights of people with IDD and actively support their full inclusion and participation in the communities of the Pikes Peak Region throughout their lifetimes.”

Employees at the Arc dug up some old history as they prepared for the 1950s-themed block party. It’s a nod to their 70-year tenure in Colorado Springs, but there is some history the organization is happy to leave in the past.

“It definitely was very shocking for me,” communications manager Morgan Weise said while reading old newspaper clippings. “I hear 70 years, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s a pretty long time.'” Then I’m looking at this stuff, and I’m like, ‘Wow.’”

The old articles have some jarring headlines. “Leave {explatives} at Home” in big bold letters on one page.

I am always amazed that it was only in the 90s that the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted,” Guardianship Coordinator Christina Butero said. “We’ve come a long way, but we have so far to go.”

The block party is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday outside of their office on N. Meade Avenue. Organizers said there will be carnival games, local vendors, prizes, food trucks and a live DJ.

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Michael Logerwell

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – Tonight, a new program to help small business owners in the face of vandalism is under consideration by the Pueblo City Council.

The Small Business Window Repair Mini-Grant Program would provide small businesses with funds to replace windows damaged by vandalism.

Below is the background paper for the proposed ordinance:

d306ebcf-62ca-42aa-8836-4c26a383b309Download

The owner of Karmic Konnection, Dawn Thompson, says she has been in business for over a decade and has had windows at her store smashed four times this year alone, most recently, about 48 hours ago.

“I think this is a great start to help the businesses, but it is just a bandage,” says Thompson.

On October 12th, security camera footage caught a man smashing the front door window at Karmic Konnections.

Still picture from security camera footage posted by Karmic Konnection on social media.

“It’s two types of loss with it. Of course, you’ve got the property damage, you’ve got the replacement cost, and they’re affecting your business. But it also takes a very emotional toll,” Thompson says. The repeated incidents make her worry about the safety of her customers, employees, and herself.

Four times in the past year, twice in October alone, Thompson has faced the unplanned cost of replacing store windows.

City officials say this potential solution could help those like Thompson with the cost of replacing the windows.

“They’re going to have to submit a police report. And then their costs incurred, and then they’ll get reimbursed up to $1,000 for their out-of-pocket expenses,” says Councilor Sarah Martinez, who is sponsoring the item.

If passed, officials say it will draw $50,000 from interest on already existing funds. Specifically, federal funds that were previously given to Pueblo to help repair damaged storefronts.

While Thompson said this was a good start, she also told KRDO13 that she would like to see more done.

“Overall, I think that it’s just a bandage for a bigger problem that we have with crime and vandalism and drugs here in Pueblo.”

Councilor Martinez did point to another grant program that’s helping businesses pay for and install accordion-style security gates, and part of the overall strategy includes beefing up police patrols. 

“We swore in three additional officers today. We’re taking a lot of steps to increase the amount of officers that we have ready and available to do that.” Martinez added that the real-time crime center in Pueblo is now fully up and running.

Tonight marked the first reading of the agenda item; it would need to pass tonight’s vote and a second vote for the program to go into effect.

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Rob Namnoum

Palmer Ridge High School was picked for the Qdoba Friday Night Spirit Award for week four of the high school football season. Ridge Rage received the Qdoba Friday Night Blitz Spirit Award plaque on Tuesday afternoon.

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Celeste Springer

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office says that ballots have officially been mailed ahead of the Nov. 4, 2025 election.

The clerk and recorder’s office says that more than 500,000 ballots were sent to eligible, active voters in the county. The ballots are expected to arrive in mailboxes by Oct. 17, the office says.

“As your Clerk & Recorder, my promise is simple: secure, transparent, and accessible elections,” said Clerk Steve Schleiker. “Every ballot is tracked end-to-end and processed with bipartisan oversight. With 41 drop boxes and helpful in-person services, please vote early and contact us if you need any assistance.”

The election will include select seats for county commissioner, some city council seats, and school board seats. To see a sample ballot, click here.

There are also several statewide ballot initiatives. For a voter guide on those, click here.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — For the first time since they were built in 1958, the cloverleaf ramps at the junction of I-25 and US 50 East will no longer be accessible by traffic as of 7 p.m. Friday.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is permanently closing the southbound I-25 ramp toward eastbound US 50, and the westbound US 50 ramp toward southbound I-25.

CDOT’s closure is the next phase of the ongoing $114 million project to replace five aging bridges over I-25, Fountain Creek, and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

Shortly after crews close and dismantle the ramps, crews will start demolishing the US 50 overpass at I-25, which has been damaged in recent years from semi-truck collisions and is rated in poor condition.

A primary factor in those collisions is that the overpass over southbound I-25 is a foot lower than on the northbound side.

The bridge project began in December and is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2027.

“We’re anticipating that before the end of October, we’ll have the ramps demolished and the bridge removed,” Scott Dalton, the project director, explained. “There will be more to come on the demo of the bridges. That plan isn’t quite in place yet, but that will be coming in the next few weeks.”

CDOT advises drivers to use Highway 47 — east of the I-25 exit to Pueblo West — as the detour around the closure.

While drivers may find shorter routes, CDOT said that its official detour is the only one that will accommodate commercial truck traffic and heavier overall traffic volumes.

A benefit of the project is building a sound wall on the east side of I-25 along the south end of Main Street, to protect homeowners there from traffic noise.

Charlotta Barton has lived there since 1973.

“It’s going to be kind of dirty when the wind blows, because you can see how high they’re stacking things up there,” she said. “But we just have to live with it. There used to be tall pine trees behind us that absorbed the highway noise, but they’re gone now.”

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A post is making its rounds on Colorado Springs’ social media groups after a patron at a local shopping center claimed someone was going around putting big green stickers on cars that had expired tags.

KRDO13 went out to the Walmart off Powers Boulevard and Woodmen Road to see for ourselves. We located one car in the parking lot that appeared to have a sticker slapped on the back license plate.

The stickers sparked an online debate, with some applauding what they called a “vigilante.” Others were not amused, saying that people need to “mind their business.”

KRDO13 then spent some time downtown to ask people whose side they’re taking.

“I think that everyone should respect other people’s property. But also, in today’s day and age, we should take things a little bit more lightly. Sometimes you just have to laugh it off and appreciate the reminder,” says a local reacting to the social media post.

Then there are these people, who wrote to us saying they wish they had the time to help apply the stickers and claimed people think they’re above the law.

The Colorado Springs Police Department says residents should not put stickers on property that is not their own. In extreme cases, it could result in a misdemeanor charge, police say.

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Samantha Hildebrandt

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the correct location and coinciding photo of the crash site.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — One person is dead after a car crashed into a home on the Westside of Colorado Springs.

The crash happened at a home near Uintah and 22nd Street around 11:45 Friday night.

After a night of no sleep, KRDO13 spoke with neighbors who say they ran to what was left of their neighbor’s home.

“There was so much smoke. So much smoke. It smelled so bad. We almost didn’t even know the house was hit until we heard screaming, hysterical screaming. She was looking for her son,” says a samaritan, Victoria Elizondo, who was next door when the crash happened.

Victoria says she was watching a movie with her family when they heard a loud screech.

Thankfully, everyone in the home is safe, but Victoria tells me the circumstances could have been very different. 

“The oldest son was not home. If you see that bed right there over there, that was his bed completely mangled. If he would have been home, he would have been on that bed,” says Elizondo.

Multiple neighbors say they’re devastated by the incident, but sadly not surprised.

They say car crashes happen all too often in this area, and they intend to speak up to get some safety measures implemented, hopefully to prevent future crashes from happening.

Investigators are still looking into what caused the crash.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On Sunday, KRDO13 sat down with Representative Jeff Hurd (R), who represents the Western Slope and parts of Southern Colorado to Pueblo. The main topic of discussion was the ongoing government shutdown.

Below is a transcript of the interview. You can watch the video version of the interview at the top of the page.

Transcript:

Michael Logerwell, KRDO13 (M) – Well, the federal government shutdown is coming up on its third week, and since then, many federal employees have gone without pay. National outlets are reporting that some layoffs have begun in federal agencies, and the next session, congressional session, in D.C. is set for Tuesday.

Now we’re joined by Congressman Jeff Hurd, who represents the Western Slope of Colorado all the way to Pueblo. Congressman Hurd, thank you for joining us this evening.

Rep. Jeff Hurd (J) – Michael, happy to be with you.

(M) – Alright, congressman, we’ll get things started. Colorado is home to a lot of federal employees and military families. What is the latest update on negotiations to end the government shutdown?

(J) – Well, it’s not exactly clear what’s happening right now. The Democrats in the Senate need to do their job, Michael.

Several weeks ago, House Republicans got the budget passed. We got a continuing resolution through to keep the government open. The ball’s now in the Senate’s court. They need to do their job, pass legislation so that we can get the government back open, get our troops paid, get our federal workers paid, [and] make sure that we’re taking care of women, infants, and children. All that’s not happening right now.

We’re waiting for the Senate to simply pass a continuing resolution.

(M) – Congressman, Democratic leaders are saying that they want more permanent extensions to the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which help keep health care costs down for millions of Americans. I know you campaigned on lowering costs for Colorado. I’m sure many of your colleagues did as well for their portions of the country.

So, where exactly, from your point of view, is this disconnect that’s leading to the shutdown?

(J) – Well, I’m happy to talk about this. Michael, it is an important issue in my district and across the state, keeping US health insurance premiums low, but we need to have that conversation in the context of a government that’s open. Right now, the government is shut down.

It’s not right for Democrats in the Senate to hold federal pay hostage, to hold the pay for our troops hostage over this issue. I’m willing to discuss it. I’m a co-sponsor on legislation that would extend those tax credits, but we need to do it in the context of a government that’s open.

The Senate needs to do its job and pass a continuing resolution that opens up the government again. Once we do that, I’m happy to have those discussions.

(M) – Congressman, I’m sure many Americans are tired of what I would call mudslinging, right? Republicans blaming Democrats and vice versa. It seems like that’s going on a lot here.

I do know Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House. At what point does a deal get done?

It seems like there is some agreement. Like you said, you sponsor a lot of legislation that would lower health care costs, and Democrats say they want to keep these health care costs low. At what point does a deal get done?

(J) – Well, we need to get a deal done. Here’s the thing. Republicans do control the House and the Senate, but in the Senate, there’s a filibuster, which requires 60 votes in order to keep the government open. That means seven Democratic senators need to join the House of Representatives, and what we’ve already done, and pass a simple bill that will keep the government open.

We’ve already done that in the House. The legislation that we passed is a simple, clean, continuing resolution. It doesn’t have any partisan bells or whistles, no poison pills. It’s a budget that the Democrats have already agreed to in the past. We’re simply asking that they extend it once again so we can finish our job in the House of Representatives when it comes to the regular budgeting process.

Once we do that, the government’s back open. Then we can talk about all these other important issues like health care, like lowering the cost of prescription drugs, like doing everything that we had promised that we would do for the people of rural Colorado.

(M) – Congressman, is there a point when you think that anyone is going to cross the aisle here? Because it seems like this impasse has been going on for a while now, and it’s tough to say how much longer it’s going to go on.

Is there any signaling from Republicans that they are willing to cross the aisle? I don’t want to frame it like I’m saying this is Republicans at fault. I’m just asking you because you are a Republican.

(J) – I get it. Listen, there’s nothing to negotiate. Republicans didn’t include any special ask or policy requests in the continuing resolution that would keep the government open.

There’s nothing for us to give on.

We haven’t added anything special. We haven’t proposed any new policy additions. There’s nothing for us to negotiate. The Democrats in the Senate simply need to pass the bill that we passed. It’s no partisan riders, no. No tricks, no poison pills, nothing that they just simply need to reopen the government by passing legislation that they’ve already passed in the past multiple times.

They need to do that [and] get the government back open again. Then we need to talk about these important issues that matter to folks in Colorado. I’m committed to that. Like I said, I’m not just willing to talk about it, but I’m already on legislation that would extend those enhanced premium tax credits.

It’s not right to hold these things hostage, to hold pay for troops hostage, to hold federal worker pay hostage in order to extract these policy concessions.

That’s government by crisis. It’s not good public policy. Democrats simply need to do their job. Pass the bill that would reopen our government, and then we’ll get back to the important work on behalf of the people here in Colorado.

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Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The government shutdown continues to impact the Southern Colorado community, and now the Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center is asking for donations from the public as demand sharply increases.

The service center says it remains dedicated to being a hub for veterans in need, but with a “surge in need, there’s also a surge for support.”

One service they offer is a biweekly food drive, and they anticipate the turnout to double.

At this rate, they say, if anyone is inclined to support the cause, now is the time to do it.

“Unfortunately, for the last couple of years, all the nonprofits come together and do the what-if drill, if people are furloughed or laid off, you know, this year it’s longer than normal,” says Bob McLaughlin, the Mt. Carmel executive director.

Through different programs such as rent assistance and behavioral health and wellness, they say these services and food distributions work as an opportunity to offset somebody’s bills, and they see it as their duty to provide.

“Whatever we can do to offset some of the anxiety that people are feeling, we want to do that,” says McLaughlin.

If you are interested in donating, you can do so here.

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Michael Logerwell

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – Electricity was in the air this weekend at Pueblo Community College for the Black Hills Energy annual Pueblo EV Expo.

Attendees got the chance to test drive electric vehicles and learn how to enter the electric car industry through a unique class offered at the community college.

The electric vehicle program started two years ago, making Pueblo Community College one of the first in the state to offer training on hybrid and battery-powered cars.

Through the program, students earn training certificates to get jobs in the industry, or more training if they’re already certified.

It’s all part of Colorado’s push towards more electric vehicles on the road.

“We’re all agents of change, and that’s something that we’re wanting to create not only with sustainable energy but also change for the future that our kids and our family members live in this community as well, and it’s all about opportunity,” James Cordova, chair of the Pueblo Community College Automotive Technology Program, told KRDO13.

Scholarships for classes are available through black hills energy, and any current students or post-grad students are welcome to apply.

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