Author: KRDO

Bradley Davis

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Memorial Park seems to be the place to be this Labor Day weekend.

While Labor Day liftoff takes off from Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, dozens of artists from a wide variety of disciplines will fill Memorial Park in Manitou Springs for the Commonwheel Art Festival.

It’s the 52nd annual festival featuring artists from the Commonwheel Co-Op. Painting, jewelry, hammocks, woodworking, pottery, textiles and more.

Pike Ride is offering a discount code for a free 30-minute ride valid Saturday through Monday to relieve parking congestion. Use the code COMMONARTS for the free ride.

The festival is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Monday with artists and live music. It is free to attend.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Most of the city’s streets are paved by private contractors in the 2C expanded paving program, funded by a voter-approved sales tax increase in 2015.

But a limited number of streets are paved by the city’s in-house paving team.

Every year, the team selects several smaller projects for maintenance paving; in most cases, the process doesn’t remove the old asphalt but instead paves over it to stabilize the street until it’s scheduled for a full repaving under 2C.

The in-house team recently finished paving segments along a half-mile of Bradley Road, east of Powers Boulevard and south of the Colorado Springs Airport.

The road was in rough condition, and the city had previously shared maintenance duties there with El Paso County.

However, as KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior reported in April, the city agreed to assume full maintenance responsibility due to past and future annexations and a desire to keep the paving style consistent.

Many new homes are being built in the area.

The city plans to eventually repave two miles of Bradley, between Powers Boulevard and Marksheffel Road.

Segments of Voyager Parkway also received maintenance paving this summer.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Dylan Foreman

MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO)–Penalties plagued both teams early but eventually the seas parted and Pueblo East never looked back improving to 2-1 on the season.

Click here to follow the original article.

Dylan Foreman

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)–Pueblo Central captures their first win of the season while Discovery Canyon falls to 0-3.

Click here to follow the original article.

Rob Namnoum

The Rampart football team defeated Widefield on Thursday night 48-0.

Click here to follow the original article.

Julia Donovan

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A dart bar on the southeast side of Colorado Springs failed its recent routine health inspection with some concerning violations. Meanwhile, a familiar sub shop got another high score!

Low scores:

Murray Street Darts, located on North Murray Boulevard, failed its recent routine health inspection with 13 violations.

According to the El Paso County Health Department’s inspection report, some food items were being held at unsafe temperatures. The inspector also found no soap available in the public restroom.

More concerning, some food items were significantly past their usable date. The inspection found moldy sausage and rotten milk at the establishment.

Murray Street Darts later passed its re-inspection. However, during that follow-up inspection, officials found pre-portioned cups of green chili and gravy that were past the seven-day limit.

Workers were required to throw the food away immediately.

We stopped by and asked the employee working what they’re doing to mitigate the reoccurring expired food problem. The employee referred questions to the owner, who did not answer the phone.

This week’s restaurant high scores

While Murray Street Darts landed on the low end of this week’s restaurant roundup, three establishments received high scores:

Mona Lisa Fondue Restaurant in Manitou SpringsTaco Bell at North Union Boulevard and East Platte AvenueThe Taste of Philly at South Academy Boulevard and Hancock

Keep an eye out for KRDO13’s Restaurant Roundup awards at your favorite restaurant — and remember, a high score means the kitchen has passed its routine health inspection.

All high and low scores in this roundup are based on routine health inspections conducted by the El Paso County Health Department.

Click here for a look at all the most recent health inspection scores.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Josh Helmuth

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) –A local volleyball player keeps digging into her team, so much so that she has the attention of several colleges.

Toryn Dempsey is just a junior at Vista Ridge High School, and she’s already put up insane numbers for the Wolves.

She’s a three-year varsity starting libero. All-conference. Already closing in on 1,000 career digs. Already racked up 75 aces … and should reach 100 early in the season.

And those numbers are coming against some tough competition in 5A.

Toryn is also the team’s captain — and the lone returning starter after Vista Ridge lost five seniors.

She’s described as a “bright light” for the team, prolonging rallies while leading with grace and confidence.

She’s also being recruited at the Division I, Division II and Division III levels.

Is there someone or something remarkable at your school? Email Josh at SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) –Construction that began in July at an intersection where four jurisdictions meet has some drivers asking who is in charge of the work and why it is necessary.

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior contacted officials from El Paso County, Fountain, and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT); they confirmed that a developer is leading the project at the intersection of B Street, Highway 85/87, and Venetucci Boulevard.

Venetucci has two segments: the north end, which is in the Colorado Springs city limits, and the south end, which goes up a hill to the South Academy Highlands shopping center, an area annexed by Fountain years ago.

A center median separates Venetucci at the intersection.

Crews have done some street paving and concrete work (curbs and sidewalks) and are rebuilding the center median.

However, it’s unclear how much road work will happen there.

The Road Warrior left a message with the developer’s office on Wednesday to request more information.

Occasionally, developers will agree to make infrastructure improvements around another project; that could be the case here, with a large apartment complex — and other development — being built near the shopping center.

A sign outside the complex lists the scheduled opening as early next year.

CDOT plans to eventually replace the highway bridge over I-25 and possibly include a roundabout at each end.

A roundabout at the intersection would improve traffic flow by eliminating the need for drivers to make illegal U-turns to get around the median that prevents a straight route on both ends of Venetucci.

Municipal boundaries have become increasingly important in the area due to recent growth and development; traffic is fairly heavy because of the proximity of Fort Carson and Pikes Peak State College.

Two years ago, The Road Warrior reported on uncertainty regarding who was responsible for street maintenance on the north side of the intersection; Colorado Springs ultimately determined that Venetucci, north of B Street, was in the city’s jurisdiction.

The city performed temporary repaving work there, and officials said that they would plan more extensive improvements in the near future.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Seven balloonists showed off their array of colors Thursday morning above Banning Lewis Ranch to drum up excitement for the 50th annual Labor Day Liftoff this weekend at Memorial Park.

The morning wind prevented the pilots from taking off, but dozens of families were able to get up close and personal with the giant balloons and their pilots.

“I like them when they go all the way up in the sky, and then I thought they were going to go up in the moon!” young fan Chanel said.

Labor Day Liftoff kicks off on Saturday with launches every morning at 7 a.m. through Labor Day. There is also an evening “glow” session on Saturday and Sunday. The balloons won’t take off at night, but the flames will light up the night sky as the sun crests over Pikes Peak.

Organizers are adding Friday night fireworks and expanding the event space for the 50th annual Labor Day liftoff. You can find all the details here.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Dylan Foreman

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)–Liberty sophomore Abby Stenerson has already built a reputation as one of the top young softball players in the country. Now, she’s making a name for herself on a different field.

The standout athlete, known for crushing home runs and making plays on the diamond, has become one of the biggest weapons for Liberty’s inaugural girls flag football team.

“I love running the ball. I love catching the ball. I love running, cutting, juking people running. That’s my favorite thing ever,” Stenerson said.

Her impact has been immediate.

Whenever Stenerson gets the ball, her teammates and coaches expect something special to happen.

“I just know when she catches the ball, she’s going to score a touchdown,” freshman teammate Morgan VanHorn said.

That confidence isn’t misplaced. Through the early part of the season, Stenerson has quickly emerged as one of the team’s most dynamic playmakers.

“Our success is dictated by the lack of my imagination to get her the ball,” Liberty’s head coach Cody Jamison explained..

What’s even more impressive is that this is Stenerson’s first experience playing football.

Liberty is fielding its first-ever girls flag football team this season, creating a new opportunity for athletes across the school. While everyone is learning the game together, Stenerson has embraced the challenge.

“It’s a little different. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s been a lot of fun hanging out with these girls and playing this game,” she said.

Earlier this summer, she helped Team USA win a gold medal as a member of the U-15 National Team, further solidifying her status as one of the nation’s top softball prospects.

“It was so much fun. Winning that gold medal was, I think, the coolest thing I’ve ever done so far,” Stenerson said. “I just tried to never take anything for granted and had a lot of fun.”

While softball remains her future, Stenerson says flag football is helping her improve in ways that go beyond athletic ability.

“I think flag football helps with my mindset. Softball is a very mental sport and there’s a lot of failure,” she said. “Being able to come out here, succeed and have fun with no pressure… we’re starting something new here at Liberty. It’s just a fun sport.”

For one of the country’s brightest rising softball stars, flag football isn’t a detour from her future goals.

Instead, it’s another opportunity to compete, grow and dominate.

In addition to softball and flag football, Stenerson will compete in soccer, track and field and dive for Pine Creek High School.

Click here to follow the original article.