The Palmer Ridge girls soccer team wins their opening round playoff game
Rob Namnoum
The Palmer Ridge girls soccer team defeated Thomas Jefferson 2-0 on Thursday night. They will play Mead on Saturday.
Canon City vs. Rampart in the Class 4A soccer playoffs
Rob Namnoum
The Rampart girls soccer team beat Canon City two to nothing. As the Rams advance in the Class 4A playoffs.
Friends, family want to honor student, who died of cancer, at graduation, D20 says policy won’t allow it
Michael Logerwell
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A high school student wanted to honor her friend, who passed away from cancer, at graduation to receive her high school diploma.
“She was just so caring and compassionate towards everybody. And she was always trying to make a difference to how the world is,” Hope Bazer, a Senior at Rampart High School, told KRDO13. “It’s just time to get her some recognition.”
Cora Fogle lost her battle with cancer in December. In March, her classmates helped raise more than $50,000 for cancer research and patient care during a Bald for Bucks fundraiser.
READ MORE: Rampart High School celebrates life of classmate during ‘Bald 4 Bucks’ cancer fundraiser
Bazer said she wanted an empty chair left for Cora and her family to walk on stage and accept her diploma during the Rampart Graduation Ceremony. Bazer said the family supported the idea and helped generate support through an online petition.
That initial request was denied by district leadership.
Why?
School District 20 provided this statement to KRDO13:
“We recognize the deep loss felt by families, classmates and school communities when a student passes away. Academy District 20’s approach is guided by District Policy FFA, which addresses memorials for deceased students and staff. Under this policy, memorials are limited in form, happen near the event itself, and require approval. For that reason, memorial recognitions or demonstrations are not typically approved as part of graduation ceremonies. In this case, and in all cases, our Principal has reached out to the family, and interested students to offer alternate accommodations. Our goal is to support affected families and school communities with care and appropriate supports in place, while maintaining a consistent, respectful and student-centered celebration of graduation and academic accomplishments for the entire class.”
Policy FFA concerns memorial services and memorials for deceased students and staff. The policy strongly discourages memorial services on district grounds and limits memorials to awards, donations, book collections, or other items of educational significance.
Sarah Fogle, Cora Fogle’s sister, told KRDO13 over text that she was bummed when she learned the district would not be honoring her sister at graduation.
“I personally think it takes more effort to not honor her than it does TO honor her. The very least that they could do is put a chair out in the crowd for her since she would’ve graduated anyways. I think my family and I would love to see her honored. My stepmom and dad know firsthand specifically how hard Cora worked in school and how badly she struggled and wanted to be involved in school events, but was unable to because of her cancer diagnosis.
I think that Rampart did phenomenal things for her and honored her really well in Bald for Bucks, but at the same time, I don’t think the honoring should’ve stopped at Bald for Bucks. Cora impacted so many people and their lives and I just never want that memory to die.”
D20’s statement mentioned that an alternative accommodation has been offered to friends and family, but the specifics of that offer have not been made public.
Boys state volleyball action featuring Discovery Canyon and Rampart
Rob Namnoum
The Discovery Canyon boys volleyball team advances in the Class 5A state tournament by beating Rampart on Thursday three games to none. They will play Eaglecrest on Friday.
The Pueblo South boys volleyball team playing in round one of the state tournament
Rob Namnoum
The Pueblo South boys volleyball team fell to Mullen on Thursday three games to none.
The Vanguard girls soccer team advances in the Class 2A playoffs
Rob Namnoum
The Vanguard girls soccer team defeated the Dawson School one to nothing on Thursday. They will play Forge Christian on Saturday.
The School Buzz: Mesa Ridge HS senior wins prestigious full-ride Boettcher Scholarship
Josh Helmuth
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO13) — A local high school senior just earned one of the most competitive scholarships in the state — and with it comes a full-ride to any Colorado university.
It’s called The Boettcher Scholarship. And Irene Gbogi-Emmanuel, from Mesa Ridge High School, is the newest recipient.
In fact, Gbogi-Emmanuel called it a life-changing moment.
She plans to attend CU-Boulder with her sights set on medical school, which is appropriate since she comes from a family of nurses.
“I’ve heard a lot about what they don’t like. I feel like to make changes in the world, you have to be one to do change. So, I want to do the change,” said Irene.
She also thanked her teachers, saying they helped her succeed along the way.
Is there someone or something remarkable at your school? Email us! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com
Local musician teaching “rock” music to toddlers
Bradley Davis
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – These little guys and girls make Justin Bieber look like a senior citizen when he burst onto the scene.
Chelle Jesse is a musician. Once a week, she leads a program teaching music to toddlers. Her students range from 18 months to four years old.
It’s the “Toddler Rock” music program. She hosts two classes a week at the Children’s Museum inside the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center in downtown Pueblo. Jesse said the focus is on movement and socialization.
Music Therapist Claire Schad started the program. Now Jesse oversees the classes. She is training to become a music therapist herself.
Classes are $12, or $10 if you are a Sangre de Cristo Arts Center member. Pre-registration is preferred. The classes are at 10:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. every Tuesday.
Busy 2026 road construction season for Cañon City; two projects on 9th street and pesky gas line relocation
Scott Harrison
CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) — This marks the third consecutive year that Cañon City will have a major, impactful road-related construction project.
And there will be three of them — two on the same street, and a third that crews have had difficulty completing since it began in late 2024.
Currently underway are twin projects on two miles of 9th Street, between downtown and the town’s northern boundary.
On the south end, crews began preparing last fall to replace a water main and then repave the street afterwards.
The staff of a nearby convenience store said that it now closes two hours earlier due to a lack of customers.
Meanwhile, on the north end, crews are widening the street, adding curbs and sidewalks, and then repaving it.
The north end construction has 9th Street closed between Raintree Boulevard and Washington Street, but that work should be finished in another month or so.
The south end project currently has 9th Street closed between Floral and Allison avenues, with closures gradually advancing north, and work is expected to be completed this fall.
Rochelle Whitney is upset because she said that a month ago, water from a pipe in the construction zone flooded the yard and crawl space of her late mother’s home — causing at least $60,000 in damage.
“And we are definitely fired up, but I’m also trying to be professional and respectful of the fact that I know accidents happen, and things do occur,” she said. “But I also know that we need to be reimbursed and made whole for the damage that happened at our property.”
Now, for the project that won’t go away.
Later this summer, a crew will try — for what’s believed to be the fourth time — to relocate a natural gas line on East Main Street, between Raynolds Avenue and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
The challenge has been inserting the steel pipe under the tracks and a city water main.
On one attempt, the pipe broke, and the second try resulted in damage to the water main that wasn’t repaired until earlier this year.
Leo Evans, the town’s public works director, said that the contractor is applying for a permit from the railroad and has changed the design for the gas line installation.
Previous closures there have closed the East Main/Raynolds intersection — affecting several businesses, some homes, and traffic between the construction and US 50.
The project has also delayed a city stormwater line installation in the same area; Evans said that crews will start on it next winter, after the gas line is relocated and water flowing through a local irrigation channel is turned off for the season.
Dakota Johnson lives near the 9th Street construction and said that his street is not as quiet as it usually is because of detouring traffic.
“I feel like they’re doing too many projects at the same time,” he said.
DOJ sues Colorado over high-capacity magazine ban
Mackenzie Stafford
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the State of Colorado and the Colorado Department of Public Safety. The federal government alleges Colorado’s statute banning certain-capacity firearm magazines is unconstitutional, infringing on Second Amendment rights in violation of federal law.
The lawsuit challenges Colorado Revised Statute §18-12-302, which makes it a crime to sell, transfer or possess magazines capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition. The Justice Department argues that these are mischaracterized as “large-capacity magazines” because they are standard for many popular firearms, including AR-15-style rifles.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated the lawsuit is necessary to protect constitutional rights.
“Colorado’s ban on certain magazines is political virtue signaling at the expense of Americans’ constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” Dhillon said.
She added that the Division’s Second Amendment Section will continue to defend law-abiding Americans’ rights against unconstitutional restrictions on commonly owned arms.
Jeremy Manson, general manager at Spartan Defense, said he was glad to see the lawsuit.
“It’s about time. I don’t think that restricting magazines does anybody any good. I think it only hurts law-abiding citizens,” shared Manson.
Manson demonstrated the ease of quickly changing a 15-round magazine in a firearm and noted that a person could carry a dozen such magazines.
Manson explained the practical challenges the ban creates for his business, including 3D printing blockers for magazines that exceed the legal limit.
“There are some customers, from July last year, who still don’t have their magazines, because we haven’t been able to figure out how to make that blocker work in that particular magazine,” Manson said.
He believes the law was enacted by individuals who do not understand firearms. He added that firearms are only a tool and that people are the ones who need to use them responsibly.
Ashtin Gamblin, a victim advocate and Club Q survivor, acknowledged the lawsuit but expressed skepticism about its intent.
“It’s not surprising. I probably should have seen that coming,” Gamblin said, wondering if it was “just poking at our government as a state.”
Gamblin believes there should be a balance between Second Amendment rights and public safety.
“I understand everybody’s Second Amendment right, but I also understand it’s my right to live in this country and actually live in this country, not end up dead,” Gamblin continued, “My right to life isn’t stronger than anybody’s right to own a gun. It’s an equal right. But we have to balance how to do that appropriately.”
Gamblin called for open communication to find common ground on gun laws, suggesting psychological background checks or hands-on training as potential solutions.
“I think the start to a common ground here is we’re going to have to move forward together and actually have open some communication lines without it just being an attack,” Gamblin said.
The Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Bureau of Investigation, divisions of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, are responsible for enforcing the magazine ban. These law enforcement officers have routinely enforced the ban since 2013 and will continue to do so unless enjoined by the court, according to the lawsuit.
The United States DOJ is requesting the court to issue a declaratory judgment that the State of Colorado and the Colorado Department of Public Safety are violating federal law by enforcing the magazine ban. The Justice Department is also seeking permanent injunctive relief to prohibit the defendants and their agents from enforcing the ban and to mandate the adoption of policies and procedures to remedy the alleged unconstitutional conduct, according to the legal filing.
FIREARM LAWS COVERAGE: Governor Polis signs bill to restrict semiautomatic weapons, SB25-003 now law