Author: KRDO

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The first day is all about first impressions.

Students haven’t seen most of their classmates in over two months. New school year, new you!

A local barbershop is doing its best to send students and teachers into their first day looking fresh at a price point everyone can afford.

The Highly Favored Barbershop, right off of S 8th Street, is offering free haircuts to students and teachers on Thursday. It’s first-come, first-served from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“We just want to make sure we’re giving back and just make sure kids are starting off with a fresh haircut, especially those that can’t afford it,” said Highly Favored Barbershop owner Jacob Gonzales.

If Thursday doesn’t work for you, the shop is also offering $15 haircuts for students and teachers on Friday and Saturday during the same time-frame.

A faith-based barbershop, Gonzales said he wants to help families who can’t afford a $45 haircut.

“Just being able to bring life to people, it just means a lot through free haircuts because those haircuts are going to boost self-esteem,” Gonzales said.

The shop is also doing a clothing and uniform donation drive. If you have clothing you would like to donate, you can drop it off at the barbershop.

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Michael Logerwell

HUERFANO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A Sunday afternoon lightning strike almost created huge problems for first responders in Huerfano and Custer Counties.

Just after 3:30 P.M., the Custer County Sheriff’s Office alerted the public to a plume of smoke coming up from a wildfire just five miles from the Custer-Huerfano County Line in Huerfano County.

A mutual aid request was made because the fire sparked in a place that vehicles couldn’t get to.

Firefighters putting out the Huerfano County Fire

Thankfully, crews were able to reach the fire before it could spread. The Huerfano County Sheriff’s Office says a United States Forest Service Hot Shot Team and one volunteer firefighter extinguished the blaze. The final size estimation was 1/4 of an acre. A helicopter water drop on the fire also helped.

At the scene of the fire, first responders determined that a lightning strike hitting three trees caused the small fire.

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Michael Logerwell

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) – Cassandra Estrada says it’s been a long 24 hours.

“I haven’t eaten. I haven’t slept very much,” Estrada said. That’s because Estrada says someone stole her iguana.

On Friday morning, Estrada left Juana the iguana in her apartment when she went off to work. While she was still at work, Juana escaped the apartment and was spotted by neighbors walking down the same street Estrada lives on in Fountain.

A video of the iguana walking around made it to Facebook; Estrada says this led to an unknown woman contacting a poster to come pick up the iguana. Her story was that her ex-husband let the pet out.

Estrada says that’s not true, and since then she’s searched all over for Juana with no luck.

“My husband joined the army; that’s what brought us here [to Fountain]. So while he was on his deployments, his rotations, she [Juana] was like pretty much my support baby,” Estrada said.

Estrada has also filed a report with the Fountain Police Department. A spokesperson for FPD told KRDO13 they do have an active case concerning the iguana theft.

Adding to Estrada’s concern is that Junana is pregnant with infertile eggs. That means the eggs won’t produce baby iguanas, but Estrada says the pregnancy could come with fatal complications if Juana is not properly cared for.

“I just hope that whoever has her will do the right thing and bring her back,” Estrada said.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Springs Police Department confirms it is investigating a shooting at Memorial Park outside of downtown Colorado Springs.

KRDO13 has a news crew on scene and is working to learn more information.

This story will be updated.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A Colorado Springs hairstylist is scheduling $10 haircuts on Saturday and donating all the money to Hope and Home Foster Care.

It’s called Haircuts for Hope. Angela Salazar and two other stylists will cut hair at Gunther Toody’s Diner from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Salazar started the fundraiser two years ago. She has adopted two of her own kids from foster care, and she said she wanted to find a way to give back to help other children like hers.

New this year, the car group “719 Syndicate” will have over 100 classic cars, from hot rods to muscle.

Children can also enjoy face painting, balloon animals and hair tinsel. If you can’t make it but would like to donate, you can find Salazar’s GoFundMe page here.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — If you’ve driven lately through the area where South Circle Drive meets Lake Avenue near the Interstate 25 interchange, you’ve noticed long traffic backups on eastbound Lake that can stretch for a mile during peak periods.

The reason is that, to meet city traffic requirements, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) recently extended closures from three lanes to one, farther west on eastbound Lake.

“It’s just to give more room for motorists to merge before they actually get to the work area,” said Cassie Melvin, a CSU spokesperson. “So, it’s for motorists’ safety, crews’ safety.”

Crews are replacing a water main that was installed in 1971, and they want to remove the old infrastructure before it leaks, breaks, or causes other problems.

Construction began in April at the Circle/Hancock Expressway interchange, and required temporarily closing the Hancock exit ramp on southbound Circle.

In early June, work continued at the Circle/Janitell Road intersection; for eastbound Circle drivers, it’s a tight squeeze between the sidewalk and the barriers separating traffic from the work zone.

The traffic jams occasionally make entering or exiting the Culver’s restaurant difficult, and frustration leads some drivers to make illegal U-turns through the median.

“I wasn’t aware of that,” Melvin said. “But again, this was a city traffic requirement, and we do that for safety precaution purposes. We know it’s frustrating, so we just ask that people be patient with us.”

Other traffic changes have included prohibiting left turns from eastbound Circle onto Janitell, and closing one of two left turn lanes on the southbound I-25 exit ramp.

CSU expects to finish the project this fall, at a cost of $7.5 million.

The city plans to repave the south end of Circle later this season as part of the 2C expanded paving program.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The fourth-annual Indian Food Festival returns to Liberty High School on Saturday with regional cuisine that goes beyond your go-to dishes.

Monika Celly started the festival three years ago. She is from Punjab, India, the northern city responsible for Indian staples popular across the U.S. today. But Celly soon realized it was difficult to find restaurants serving her favorites from other regions of the country.

Celly started the Indian Food Festival to fill the void. She hopes introducing Southern Colorado to different kinds of Indian Cuisine will show that India has much more to offer than Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala.

Liberty High School will be packed with 20 food and non-food vendors, along with authentic cultural performances.

The festival is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Entrance costs $12.50 before 12 p.m. It’s free to get in from 12 p.m. through the end of the festival. A reservation is required for both paid and free tickets. You can find those here.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — Nearly four months after officials opened Medal of Honor Boulevard to connect the city’s West Side with Pueblo West, they’ve started the process toward building a bridge to make 24th Street continuous through town.

The first step was a study to determine the feasibility of a bridge that would cross railroad tracks on 24th between Atlanta Avenue on the east side and Adrian Avenue on the west side.

The next step was a public open house last month at Centennial High School where citizens could ask questions and learn more about the project.

Andrew Hayes, Pueblo’s public works director, said the bridge is currently in the design phase and that no timetable, cost estimate, or funding source has been determined yet.

“I think, certainly, phases of this will be ten years off in the future,” he told KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior on Tuesday.

Much of the West Side remains underdeveloped due to a lack of street connectivity; the only ways to cross the railroad tracks are at a crossing on 29th Street and at an existing bridge on 18th Street.

However, improvements made on the western end of 24th Street between Tuxedo and Pueblo Boulevards; a new fire station in that area; and the opening of Medal of Honor Boulevard have generated some residential and commercial development, and Hayes said that there’s already an increase in applications for further development.

The concern expressed by open house attendees is how future development along 24th Street will affect adjacent neighborhoods.

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Bradley Davis

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) – Dozens of artists across the Pikes Peak region and beyond will be setting up easels along Highway 24 and 67 to capture the beautiful landscapes in real time for the Peak Adventure Art Competition.

It’s the competition’s fourth year. Artists must paint within 15 driving miles of the ‘Reserve Our Gallery’ Art Gallery in Woodland Park. The competition also hosts organized “paint outs” at different locations within the 15-mile range.

“I was more of an introvert. Then I found out people can actually be fun. So then I thought, well, it’d be fun to share. Therefore, yeah, I just don’t like being in the studio by myself,” Plein Air painter Ken Hartman said.

The public can get involved through the competition’s daily art talks. Different artists from the competition and across the country host the talks to give people a glimpse into their process and mindset.

The competition ends August 2nd, but painters will still be out in nature until the art show ends at the end of August. The art show featuring the artists’ work runs from August 5 to August 25 at Reserve Our Gallery.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Every summer, young children with a summer break and some strong initiative embark on their first business venture by turning lemons into lemonade.

In Banning Lewis Ranch, sisters Riley and Madison Waibel have a little bit extra motivation behind their hand-powered juicer.

Riley is 10 years old, while her younger sister Madison is just four. Their third sister, eight-year-old Emily, has a rare genetic disorder called Angelman’s Syndrome.

Angelman’s Syndrome affects the nervous system and causes severe developmental delays. Emily is non-verbal, but she’s a very happy child who is very proud of her two sisters.

Their stand is called “The EMVENGERS Sisters on a Mission.” Their parents, John and Chantel, have helped them DIY personal uniforms and swag to match their budding small business.

The girls send all the stand’s profits to their fundraising campaign tied directly to the “Angelman Syndrome Foundation.” The non-profit helps support research and funding for families impacted by Angelman Syndrome.

You can find their stand in Banning Lewis Ranch or donate directly on their fundraising page.

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