Author: KRDO

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A preexisting bump on southbound I-25 near the Bijou Street interchange recently worsened and caused many drivers to worry about damage to their vehicles.

“At least (provide) some warning that a bump is coming up,” one driver wrote in an email to KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior.

Another driver wrote: “It’s extremely hazardous, especially to motorcyclists, as it’s absolutely massive, comes with no warning, and is often hidden by shadows.”

Indeed, the bump stretched almost entirely across the southbound lanes and was practically impossible to avoid.

Those emails arrived on Monday, and The Road Warrior contacted the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) about the matter that afternoon.

“The city (Colorado Springs) notified me this morning, and I’ve contacted the area (CDOT) supervisor,” a spokesperson said.

When The Road Warrior inspected the bump late Wednesday morning, it had been flattened and covered with either asphalt or a black material.

It was in the summer of 2024 that The Road Warrior first reported on driver complaints about two kinds of road bumps: Those like the one mentioned above that form from a pothole or other pavement damage; and those that form where older asphalt pavement meets newer concrete pavement — often on highway interchange ramps.

Examples of the latter category are at the interchange of I-25 and Cimarron Street (US 24); examples of the former category are on Powers Boulevard (Highway 21) near the Airport Road interchange.

CDOT has patched some of the pothole bumps with asphalt or materials such as Fibercrete or Gap-B to bond better with the pavement, but many drivers believe that approach hasn’t worked well.

A CDOT engineer previously said that the best solution is to replace the concrete panels where the pavement is damaged, but doing so is difficult with so much heavy traffic on highways.

As for the bumps where asphalt and concrete pavement meet, CDOT said that the process is fairly involved and expensive; one such repair happened two years ago on the northbound I-25 exit ramp in Fountain.

On Wednesday, CDOT released the following statement:

“Colorado’s broad range of temperatures, heavy rainfall (when we get it), snow, etc., are the primary drivers of roadway deterioration, ground heave, potholes, etc. CDOT maintenance patrols must prioritize road maintenance; our first priority is the safety of the traveling public. High-priority, safety-related projects include: guardrail and cable rail replacement/repair, pothole repair, and crisis response (fire, mudslides, rockslides, floods).” 

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Rob Namnoum

The Colorado Springs Switchbacks defeated Miami FC 2-0 on Wednesday night.

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Mackenzie Stafford

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – On July 7, a father was shot and killed in El Paso County. The sheriff’s office was searching for four masked suspects and announced on July 22 that an arrest had been made.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) says that on July 16, 18-year-old Damonte Linwood was arrested in Aurora on charges of second-degree murder and robbery in connection with this case.

Linwood is currently being held at the Aurora Detention Center on a $500,000 bond, according to EPSO. KRDO13 requested additional information on Linwood’s arrest; however, the court told KRDO13 his arrest record is currently sealed.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Sheriff’s office seeks public help after man shot to death in Cimarron Hills area

Just after 1 a.m. on July 7, EPSO says 39-year-old Michael Fell was shot and killed by masked intruders in a friend’s home. Deputies say in the initial investigation, they determined at least four masked individuals entered the residence and stole items from the occupants in an apparent robbery before fleeing the area.

Fell was a son, a brother, and a father. The night he was killed, family said he was playing poker with friends. His mother, Kathy Seylaz, previously spoke with KRDO13 through tears about the unexpected loss of her son.

“You never expect to lose your children before yourself,” Seylaz said. “I think the first thing that went through my mind was: can’t be Mikey. You know, they have been mixed up with somebody else. It can’t be my Mike.”

Seylaz emphasized her son’s character, stating he was not involved in criminal activities.

“He wasn’t a drug dealer. He wasn’t a gangster. He was just there playing poker. I can’t see why anybody would want to hurt Michael. He was a happy, lighthearted, kind person,” shared Seylaz.

Seylaz is calling for justice on behalf of her son.

“I know what it feels like to be the mom who loses your child,” Seylaz said. “And if they can just break into somebody’s home and randomly shoot people, those people need to be brought to justice, so no other family goes through what we’re going through. I know that somebody somewhere has to know something.”

EPSO continues to investigate the killing and urges anyone with information or relevant security camera footage near the 2300 block of Reed Grass Way to contact them.

“This arrest marks an important step in the pursuit of justice for the victim and their loved ones. I want to commend the outstanding work and collaboration of our investigators and Fugitive Impact Team, the Aurora Police Department, the Arvada Police Department, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. While an arrest has been made, this remains an active investigation, and we will continue to work diligently to ensure everyone responsible is held accountable through the judicial process,” wrote El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Fell’s family.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Like the Grinch, Racers at Betty Krouse Park will grow to three times their size and waddle the best they can to the finish line in a fun-filled race benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association.

The 2nd Annual Blow-Up Race is a collaboration between three senior caregiving groups: BrightOn Hospice Services, Able Care Mobile Therapy and Cornerstone Caregiving.

The race is $35 per participant. Runners have to bring their own blow-up suit. Registration includes post-race Ice Cream and beverages. Individual and team category winners for best time and best costume win a trophy. Registration fees benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

The event is from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 2415 E Cache La Poudre St. (Betty Krouse Park).

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Our dry weather isn’t good for vegetation or the fire risk, but it has meant better progress on construction projects.

Two projects in particular started Monday of last week and should be completed by the end of Wednesday, according to Dan Gerhard, a county public works engineer.

Those projects couldn’t be more different.

Crews are repaving a quarter-mile of Industry Road — which is on the line dividing the county and the Colorado Springs city limits — between Marksheffel Road and Capital Drive.

Daytime traffic has been open only to local and business-related traffic, managed by flaggers at both ends.

It’s more than a routine repaving job, as crews are doing a complete rebuild by removing the underlying base and the old asphalt.

“I don’t think it was built with the intent that all of the heavy truck traffic would be on it initially,” Gerhard explained. “And then just over time, all that truck traffic just wore the pavement down. So, we figured we might as well just rebuild it to give it a brand new life.”

Crews have also waterproofed a bridge over a drainage channel.

Industry Road dates back to the 1990s and is aptly named for the industrial businesses lining both sides.

The second project is on 1.5 miles of Loy Creek Road, near the Teller County line, just outside Woodland Park.

Repaving is particularly challenging because it’s a steep, winding, narrow road at an elevation of nearly 9,000 feet.

The road connects at both ends to Rampart Range Road, which is even more mountainous — and full of potholes — than Loy Creek Road.

“They also had to prep the detour route because it is a gravel road for part of the detour,” Gerhard said. “So, we told the Forest Service that we would clean up that road before we put all the detour traffic on, and also to make the detour smoother and a little more enticing to drive on.” 

Meanwhile, just south of the Industry Road project, Colorado Springs crews are performing maintenance on a bridge across the same drainage channel, between Constitution Avenue and Capital Drive.

Workers are repairing and waterproofing the bridge deck there.

The schedule for that project was unavailable Tuesday, but drivers should be aware of lane closures and other traffic impacts.

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Rob Namnoum

Now that the World Cup is over, the Switchbacks don’t know what to do with their free time, “It’s sad that it’s over. It’s kind of like, what do I do when I get home?” says Switchbacks forward, Jonas Fjeldberg.

Khori Bennett adds, “It’s just silence right now. I’m trying to figure out what to do next. After the final, I was like, oh, what’s next? I don’t know what’s next.”

The next World Cup will be played in 2030 and Khori Bennett is hoping his home country of Jamaica will qualify, “I have it written, you know, in my bathroom. It’s a long term goal.””

The Switchbacks believe that what their native lands learned from attending the World Cup is not to believe what’s written about the United States, “The problem for me when I go home has been having to explain that America is actually amazing because all they read is, you know, news and all the bad stuff and watch Quentin Tarantino movies. So, they don’t believe me when I tell them that Americans are fantastic,” says Fjeldberg.

They also think it would be fantastic if the World Cup helps soccer grow in the U.S, “I hope, it opened the eyes to some people about how big the sport is globally, because I think that’s, a little, you know, neglected here, maybe. How how big it actually is. Hopefully it brings, you know, the kids, maybe they want to play soccer now,” says Fjeldberg.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Water Wise Demonstration Garden maintained by Colorado Springs Utilities won a top national award for its leading example of how to grow a beautiful native landscape in an arid desert climate.

It won the “Garden Excellence Award” from The American Public Garden Association, the group’s top national award.

The local demonstration garden is packed with native plant species and stays green all summer long with one watering per week for the majority of the flora. It features model landscaped plots for homeowners to see all the different ways they can landscape their front yards with native and water-friendly plants.

The garden is open to the public for self-guided tours. Staff is on site from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to answer questions.

The public is invited to celebrate the garden’s national achievement on August 1 for “Coffee and Conservation” at 8 a.m. for cake and a free tour.

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Michael Logerwell

MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) – Soon, out-of-town visitors will need to open up their wallets to park at Monument Lake.

In a 5-to-1 vote at Monday night’s Monument Town Council Meeting, the town took the next step forward for putting paid parking in place at the popular lake.

Non-Monument residents will now have to pay $5.25 to park in the Monument Lake and overflow parking lots. Town residents will be eligible for a $50 annual parking pass. That parking pass for residents won’t guarantee them a parking spot at the lake.

When asked about their reaction to the news, multiple Colorado Springs fishermen said they wouldn’t come to the lake as often or at all.

“I wouldn’t stop coming here, but I wouldn’t come as often as I do now,” Royce Bruggeman said.

He even expressed concern on behalf of people living nearby.

“I imagine if I had a house over here and someone parked there because they can’t park [in the parking lots], that would be a bother to me,” Bruggeman added.

That’s a concern shared by many residents the last time the paid parking issue came up in May.

The city says they’ve taken steps to make sure people don’t take their parking elsewhere, like putting in boulders and no-parking signs along Mitchell Avenue, which runs near the lake. However, those same signs aren’t seen in the neighborhoods near the lake.

Overall, the city expects roughly $25,000 to $60,000 in new revenue, which won’t exactly lead to a renewed investment at the lake.

“I don’t believe that covers our maintenance costs at all,” Town Manager Madeline VanDenHoek said.

Town leaders instead focused the new plan on reducing congestion and improving access for emergency crews.

Now that the ordinance and resolution have passed, the town says they will be moving forward with installing parking kiosks at the lake. No specific start date was mentioned at the meeting.

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Rob Namnoum

Former Pine Creek pitcher Riley Cornelio will be playing in his home state for the next three days. As the Washington Nationals will begin a three game series with the Colorado Rockies. Cornelio is a rookie pitcher for the Nationals. “I was just here for All Star Break, so I got to spend some time here with my family and stuff and, have them reaching out. Obviously they’re coming, and so it’s been great.”

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Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On July 18, 2026, at approximately 10:05 a.m. Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) officers responded to Sand Mountain Point for a hit-and-run traffic collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, the department says.

Officers say the driver fled the scene before they got there. Police later identified the driver as 85-year-old Donald Laughlin.

According to arrest records obtained by KRDO13, Laughlin is accused of intentionally hitting his neighbor following an altercation over a parked vehicle.

Officers located the victim, who was transported to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. On Monday, KRDO13 spoke with the victim, who said his spine was shattered from the incident.

The victim tells KRDO13 that he was out walking his dog when it happened. He recounted feeling as though he was going to die in that instant. He said he saw the truck coming at him and worried for his and his dog’s safety. His dog was not harmed.

The victim said he broke his spine in multiple places. He says he has a long road to recovery ahead, one that is much more difficult due to another accident he was in two years prior. He says in that instance, he broke more than a dozen bones. He was just healing from that when this occurred.

CSPD says officers conducted an on-scene investigation, collecting evidence and obtaining witness statements. According to arrest records, witnesses told police they saw a man in a truck speed around a roundabout, hit a man and send him flying onto the sidewalk.

Police say the parking dispute began when the victim’s sister parked in front of Laughlin’s garage. Laughlin was still able to get out, but he reportedly cursed out the family as he backed out of the driveway before allegedly hitting the victim with his truck.

The victim’s family tells KRDO13 they had to park there to bring their elderly mother into her home, and that Laughlin still had room to get out.

Based on the information gathered, officers determined the incident was an assault and adjusted their investigative approach accordingly, reports CSPD.

During the investigation, police say Laughlin arrived at the police station, where officers took him into custody on assault related charges.

Police said Laughlin did not give a statement in person, but he called 911 after the crash and told the dispatcher he had “bumped” his neighbor and that his neighbor might be hurt because he was on the ground when he left.

Laughlin is currently being held in the El Paso County Jail and faces a first-degree assault charge.

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