Author: KRDO

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — As the longest stretch of street being repaved this year, Circle Drive’s six miles have received considerable attention.

But segments of three other streets, each covering approximately 2.5 miles, are in equally rough condition, and they will be resurfaced, too.

Union Boulevard, from Academy Boulevard to Austin Bluffs Parkway, is one many drivers have complained about to KRDO13’s The Road Warrior, particularly the northern block between Academy and Ranch Lane.

Also being repaved is Chelton Road, between Platte Avenue and Airport Road; a sign along the street indicates that it was used as a test strip in 2006 for asphalt mixed with rubber from old tires.

The same mixture was applied a year earlier on Woodmen Road between I-25 and Academy Boulevard, but it performed so poorly that crews removed it last year and repaved the street with a more durable—and expensive—type of asphalt.

The third major street to be repaved is Palmer Park Boulevard, between Academy and Circle; the eastbound approach to the Palmer Park/Circle intersection has badly deteriorated.

It seems hard to believe that any street would be so badly deteriorated, and the 2C expanded paving program still has to address two-thirds of city streets over the next ten years.

Corey Farkas, the city’s operations and maintenance manager, understands the public’s frustration with waiting, in many instances, for years for certain streets to be repaved.

But he explains why the process can’t move faster.

“Because it is a moving target,” he said. “Because we do have so many stakeholders we coordinate with. We don’t want to promise a roadway in a specific year, and then maybe one of our stakeholders comes to us and says, Hey, we now have a project. We now have a project on that particular roadway. Can you defer that two years?”

Farkas asks drivers for their continued patience and understanding, and to drive carefully through work zones and around construction crews.

“We’re committed to 2C,” he insisted.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Four Broadway plays will tour to the Pikes Peak Center between now and April 2027. Three are Colorado Springs debuts, and two are currently running on Broadway.

KRDO13’s Bradley Davis announced the following lineup live on Good Morning Colorado.

Nov. 30-Dec 2, 2026: Hadestown

Jan. 25-27 2027: Bodyguard

Feb. 23-24, 2027: Legally Blonde

April 6-8, 2027: Book of Mormon

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Many drivers have been curious about the acceleration/deceleration (A/D) lanes that are a highlight of the improvements project on Interstate 25 between Fillmore Street and Garden of the Gods Road.

The lanes — one northbound and southbound, on the right side of the freeway — will be designed to improve the ease and safety of entering and exiting I-25 in that area, and eliminate a northbound bottleneck that can back up traffic several miles to downtown.

However, most drivers probably don’t realize they’re already using the northbound A/D lane.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) said the lane will remain a normal traffic lane until work in the center median, where a concrete dividing wall is being built, is finished.

Once that work is completed, the current traffic configuration will change, shifting toward the median; part of the median will become left lanes, creating space for the A/D lanes.

This week, CDOT crews began creating that space in the median, which requires overnight closures of two northbound lanes.

In fact, the only lane open during that time is the right lane that will be the future A/D lane.

Crews will perform similar work on the southbound side in May.

Meanwhile, repair work continues on the I-25 bridge over Garden of the Gods Road, which will require full overnight closures, alternating from northbound to southbound, through the middle of May.

The final step is repaving the 1.5-mile corridor, which CDOT hopes to finish by the end of summer.

The $62 million project also replaced twin bridges over Ellston Street and made significant drainage upgrades.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Four years ago, Lou Salas lay down next to his newest puzzle box to put the size into scale. Over 800 hours and 60,000 pieces later, Salas fit all seven continents and hundreds of the world’s wonders into his garage in a puzzle depiction that somehow still feels larger than life.

“The World’s Largest Jigsaw Puzzle by Dowdle” comes in 60 boxes, each with 1000 pieces. Each quadrant fits together to make the entire 60,000-piece puzzle.

The logistical challenges of 60,000 pieces are a bigger puzzle than the puzzle itself. Salas said it took a couple of years to decide how he was going to tackle the massive scale before he could open up the boxes.

He put together each quadrant in his puzzle room. He stacked and stored each quadrant on thick plastic sheets. He put together almost every single piece, with some help from his eight-year-old granddaughter (who Salas said is a puzzle prodigy).

After half a standard work year of labor, last weekend was the moment of truth. With all 60 quadrants complete, Salas recruited help to put the whole thing together.

His team of friends and family built a custom, eight-foot by 29.5-foot table in his garage. Using some improvised engineering and precariously balanced beams, Salas suspended himself above the table to carefully place each quadrant. The assembly took about nine hours, and the finished puzzle takes up the entire three-car garage.

The puzzle costs hundreds of dollars retail, if you can find it in stock. Salas said he wants to give away the puzzle for free. He said he wants someone to enjoy the build as much as he did.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — We’re now three months into the second major construction project along South Academy Boulevard, and the next phase begins on Monday.

For the next two weeks, the east side of the South Academy Boulevard/Hancock Expressway will be closed through May 8; from that weekend until noon on Monday, May 11, the entire intersection will be closed.

The closure will allow crews to install a new water line in the area.

Detour signs will guide traffic around the closures, and we can also expect occasional daytime lane closures, temporary changes to bus stops and sidewalks, and construction near some parking lot driveways.

The goal of the $100 million project is to upgrade the infrastructure installed in the 1960s by improving drainage, providing smoother driving, increasing safety and accessibility for pedestrians, and relocating utility lines.

Bumpy driving, flash flooding, and water pooling have been issues along South Academy for decades.

The current construction stretches from Hancock, south to Jet Wing Drive, but will eventually progress as far north as Fountain Boulevard.

Officials originally planned for work to end this year, but paused construction last year to spend more time talking with neighbors, merchants, and drivers about how to lessen the impacts experienced during the first phase of construction.

That phase, between Bijou Street and Airport Road, started in 2024 and ended in 2024.

Crews completed Monday’s closure at around 11 a.m.

For more information, visit: https://coloradosprings.gov/AcademyBlvdImprovements?mc_cid=766a9578e8&mc_eid=4bcfa511cf.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It’s been months in the making. Earlier this year, victims of the Return to Nature Funeral home told KRDO13 they were struggling to find a public space for a small memorial. Potential sites kept turning them down.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ex-site of Return to Nature sits barren, racking up tax bills, while victims search for memorial site

This weekend was different. At an accepting site, the wind phone was installed and unveiled to the public.

It comes 24 hours after Carie Hallford was sentenced to 30 years behind bars on state criminal charges. Hopefully, the last time victims will have to relive their trauma in court.

A wind phone is an analog phone, not connected to any wires, stored in a small wooden container that gives those speaking into it a chance to talk to loved ones lost in the wind.

KRDO13 spoke to Derrick Johnson, who’s been leading the charge to get the windphone installed for his mother, who was recovered from the Return to Nature Funeral home. Johnson spoke about what it was like to make the first call on the wind phone.

“It really did feel like she heard me. And I, I know that maybe that’s something you can do in your own car or your own residence, but there was something about the phone, having it there and feeling the wind blow by as you’re talking into it and saying things that are really from the heart with no judgment. I felt like it. It was so relieving. It was so peaceful,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that this phone isn’t just for the victims of return to nature, it’s for anyone who’s lost a loved one in the wind.

The phone is located at the Concrete Couch at 1100 S Royer St in Colorado Springs.

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Michael Logerwell

SECURITY-WIDEFIELD, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado State Patrol is releasing new details about a car that crashed into the second story of a church in the Security-Widefield area. The church is Iglesia Ni Cristo.

Troopers say a Subaru struck a landscaping boulder, causing the vehicle to go airborne.

The 18-year-old driver sustained life-threatening injuries, and the 14-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries.

The Colorado State Patrol Vehicular Crimes Unit is investigating the crash and asking for any witnesses to contact them.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Smoke from a grass fire near I-25 is covering Downtown Colorado Springs.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department says they have multiple units battling the grass fire.

CSFD Drone picture of the fire.

While fighting the fire, CSFD closed off Cimarron Street.

UPDATE: Cimarron has since reopened.

KRDO13 is located close behind the fire and can see flames, smoke, and firefighters coming up to battle the blaze.

This story will be updated when new information becomes available.

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Michael Logerwell

CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – After more than seven days of searching by the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office and hundreds of volunteers, the search for Kaden Sites is over.

On Saturday, Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich announced Sites was found dead 1.5 miles from where his vehicle was abandoned near Tabaguache Creek.

“Our hearts go out to the Sites family and friends this evening. Chaffee County has lost a wonderful member of our community which has left a void in our hearts. There was always a measure of hope that Kaden would be found alive. We are thankful the family will have some level of closure. Thank you to everyone who joined in the efforts to bring Kaden home. It is such a loving community we have.”

Sheriff Andy Rohich

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Search continues for missing hunter in Chaffee County

The Sheriff’s Office says the Sites Family has been notified of the recovery. Foul play isn’t suspected; however, an official cause of death is still under investigation by the Chaffee County Coroner.

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Michael Logerwell

PHOENIX, Ariz. (KRDO) – It was more than her parents and siblings cheering on Chloe Huddle in the crowd at Grand Canyon University on Friday.

“You know, I, I got very teary-eyed when she graduated from high school, so it’s just the next step,” Alan Kent, a former 35-year Colorado Springs firefighter, told KRDO13 over a video call hours before Chloe walked on Friday.

This graduation was at most the second-most important milestone of Chloe’s life that Alan has been present for.

“As we pulled up, I remember the sun coming up, and it was a gorgeous, gorgeous morning,” Alan recalled. “But I remember a scream coming out of the house.”

Alan was working as a firefighter at Colorado Springs Fire Station 15 when his crew got the call for a medical emergency. That morning, Alan would help deliver a healthy baby girl who was coming into the world more than a week before her due date.

“I do remember after Chloe was born, we were in the ambulance and we were headed to the hospital, and Alan was right there, [in] the back of the ambulance. I could see the beautiful sun rising in the mountains there in Colorado Springs,” Stacy Huddle also said she remembered that beautiful sunrise amid the hectic morning.

After they were released from the hospital, Stacy brought Chloe to the fire station to meet Alan in a calmer situation.

Alan holding baby Chloe.

“I think I just instinctively just knew Alan was just going to be part of our family. And just really wanted to go back to the fire station and say thank you,” Stacy said.

22 years later, and those instincts have been proven right.

“I honestly don’t know, like anything different. I feel like it’s just it is family. And so whenever there’s like a big celebration, we expect them to come, because they are family,” Chloe Huddle said.

“It means the world to me,” Alan said. “Right now, she’s making the next steps in her life, and I’m glad she wants me to be a part of her family.”

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