Author: KRDO

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Writing is hard. For two years, a local writer has done her part to break the first barrier for any aspiring creative: Getting something on paper.

Jacqueline Moulton hosts a free open mic for the literary arts every month at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs. Each month, her group votes on the theme for the following meeting. On Friday, it’s, “Last night I dreamed of a fish, again.”

Jacqueline is the writer and artist behind the love letter vending machine at the Coati food hall. She said the biggest thing writers need is community and a motivating factor to push themselves outside of class or their day jobs.

“It’s really like being courageous in our creativity,” Moulton said. “I think we can’t be our full selves unless we do something creative. It’s a really important sacred task for every human being to express themselves, and so there’s a space that people can express themselves in a safe place, and so you get to be brave.”

Doors open at 6:45 p.m. for Friday’s session. The session is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. It’s free, and everyone is welcome. It is not required to speak. Guests are encouraged to come and listen.

Click here to follow the original article.

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — In case the holidays kept you too busy to see The Road Warrior’s report a week before Christmas, updating the nearly three-year project to improve a 1.5-mile stretch of I-25, we’re bringing you another look at the progress to date.

Work started in the fall of 2023 and is scheduled to end late this summer.

The project’s $62 million cost makes it one of the most expensive in the city’s history, and it is ambitious in its objectives, covering a relatively small area.

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently opened the three new northbound lanes that are wider, with wider shoulders and guardrails; the new alignment also straightened out a sharp curve there.

During that construction, driving was more challenging because of narrower lanes, the lack of nighttime lighting, rough pavement, and the absence of shoulders to pull over in an emergency.

The same changes will be made on the southbound side.

Another accomplishment was to replace twin bridges on I-25 above Ellston Street and tear down the old structures.

“What they’re working on now (under the bridges) is pulling out all of the hot mix asphalt that was laid, so that a new water line can be placed,” said Amber Shipley of CDOT. “To get that new pavement down, so that Ellston Street can resume travel. It’s been closed since the project began.

Crews also increased the amount of drainage infrastructure in the area.

East of the new northbound alignment between I-25 and Sinton Road, you can see a vacant area where crews will start building an additional lane designed to increase safety and reduce a congestion bottleneck for drivers trying to merge onto and off of the freeway.

“Having a place that you can merge on and off the interstate that’s dedicated to that purpose, rather than having to interfere with the main travel lanes, is really the goal of that project,” Shipley explained. “Drivers will be able to travel between the two interchanges without having to leave the lane.”

A similar lane — referred to as an acceleration/deceleration lane — will be built on the southbound side.

Eventually, crews will build a concrete wall in the center median and repave lanes in both directions.

This spring, CDOT plans to perform extensive repair work on the I-25 bridge above Garden of the Gods Road; that work will require some full bridge closures during overnight hours on weekends.

“We hope to finish that work in two weekends,” Shipley said.

On Wednesday morning, CDOT clarified that the acceleration/deceleration lanes have already been built, but are being used for traffic until crews complete the inner road shoulders there.

Click here to follow the original article.

Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It could be the first time ever a Colorado Springs City Councilor walked out during a discussion over a proclamation.

The City Council is home to a lot of spirited discussion, but that typically doesn’t happen when proclamations are on the table; the council doesn’t even take a vote on them.

On Tuesday, a proclamation surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Day was too much for one member to handle when conversations turned to ICE.

During the public comment portion of the discussion pertaining to the proclamation, local religious leaders who spoke evoked strong parallels from Dr. King’s work decades ago to current events.

“In this moment of our nation’s history, I’m compelled to state this truth. The violent, authoritarian actions of immigration and customs enforcement, including the murder of Colorado Springs, his own Renee Nicole Good, is a stain on the fabric of history,” said Rev. Candace Wood. Other religious colleagues echoed that sentiment.

But then it was the council’s turn to speak.

“I want to say that I fully support ICE in their activities,” said Dave Donelson, pushing back hard.

“I find what was said here offensive, and I didn’t even like sitting here listening to it,” said Donelson, leaving before a pre-planned photo-op.

KRDO13 reached out to Donelson to further clarify the reason behind his walkout. He pointed back to something he said during the meeting, “I won’t sit at the dais and let ‘faith leaders’ lie about the good Americans who are trying to enforce our immigration laws. We either have a border and enforce our immigration laws, or we are done as a nation”.

After the photo-op, Councilor Donelson returned to his post for the rest of the meeting.

Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – First Tee Southern Colorado said it is expanding its girls golf and Pueblo programming after winning a $5,000 grant from the US Golf Association (USGA).

“Golf has always been male dominant and so really growing the female engagement in golf has been such a huge focus for me and a priority so being able to grow girls golf specifically in pueblo, a county we are really trying to grow and make golf more accessible, it’s been a huge success,” said Director of Operations Emily Ortmeier, who is also a LPGA Pro.

First Tee Southern Colorado is the local branch of the national First Tee non-profit. It has an indoor facility off of N. Academy in Colorado Springs with an indoor putting green, driving range and simulator. It’s open to the public from Nov. 1 through May 1.

The relationships between our coaches and the kids, and that mentorship relationship, and watching them really growing and learning and having somebody walking beside them for their journey. For me, that’s the biggest part of it,” Chief Executive Officer Sandy Johnson said.

First Tee was camps and programming for boys and girls ages three to 18 across four Southern Colorado counties: El Paso, Pueblo, Teller and Fremont. The programming costs money, but the organization said it will never turn a child away because of costs.

Click here to follow the original article.

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — With an extended full closure of Galley Road already frustrating many neighbors and drivers, the last thing they want to hear about is more lane closures on that street.

But on Monday, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) closed a lane in each direction on Galley between Parkway — the south entrance to the Quail Hill Mobile Home Community — and Babcock Road, leaving one lane open in each direction.

If it’s any consolation to residents in that area, the lane closures should end on Thursday afternoon; the closures are only a few blocks east of the ongoing full closure for a bridge replacement.

CSU stated that the new lane closures will enable crews to replace a water service line connecting the water main to an appliance repair business.

The project is unique, CSU explained, because the utility’s records don’t indicate the presence of a second service line there.

CSU replaced a water main along that stretch of Galley last year, which required replacing service lines to businesses and residences — including a service line at the appliance repair business.

Each of the two service lines is connected to a separate building on the property.

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior spoke with several employees of the business, who said that they contacted CSU after noticing water from the second line smelled and tasted strange.

CSU is covering the cost of replacing the service line.

The replacement requires crews to dig a trench through part of the business property, the sidewalk, and a section of the street; a portion of the sidewalk in that area is also closed.

Click here to follow the original article.

Celeste Springer

Reporting by photojournalist Collin Willis contributed to this article.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Chamber Orchestra of Colorado Springs debuted a piece honoring the lives lost in the Club Q mass shooting.

This weekend, the orchestra performed the piece called “Somewhere Bluebirds Fly.” The opening melody is composed entirely of notes reflecting the first initial of each victim: A for Ashley Paugh, C for Kelly Loving, G for Raymond Green Vance, and D for both Daniel Aston and Derrick Rump.

RELATED: Chamber Orchestra turns initials of Club Q victims into musical notes to commemorate the lost

“I hope [those listening] have a moment of reflection. I hope they see the beauty in the chaos, feel empathy, and hope,” said violinist Kelly Dean Pilarczyk. “Hope for the future.”

Just before midnight on Nov. 19, 2022, a gunman opened fire inside Club Q, killing five and injuring 20 others. Derrick Rump, Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance, and Ashley Paugh were shot and ultimately killed. The memory of those lost still lingers in the minds of many.

Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

DIVIDE, Co. (KRDO) – After over a foot of snow late last week, Mueller State Park saw one of its busiest weekends of the season so far as the park could finally groom and open its XC ski tracks.

Mueller has not escaped the impacts of Colorado’s warm and dry winter this year. Temperatures have been downright pleasant much of December and January. It culminated in a very warm start to the new year and elevated foot traffic for the park’s annual First Day Hike on Jan. 1. Finally, the warm hike goers are giving way to the winter snowshoe and XC ski enthusiasts.

“We’ve been getting Facebook messages for months about, ‘When will the groomed trails be open?'” said Mueller State Park Naturalist Anna Miller. “We had a trailhead that was near the groomed trailhead that was completely full,” Miller said about this past weekend.

The park was transformed overnight by the snow from Thursday into Friday. All of its cross-country ski trails are now open, and guests can finally break out the snowshoes.

Click here to follow the original article.

Scott Harrison

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) — Dry and mild weather in the second half of last year wasn’t enough to help crews catch up on delays caused by wet weather in the first half of the year on road construction here.

Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) crews paused for the season just before Christmas, on a $7 million project to widen and improve drainage along a half-mile stretch of Highway 67 on the north side of town.

The break means much less construction activity and traffic congestion than we saw in a report by KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior last June.

Crews have addressed erosion by replacing 80% of the stormwater system and installing underground drainage pipes that direct water into a nearby creek.

CDOT has done most of its work on the west side of the highway and will switch to the opposite side when construction resumes in the spring.

Workers will eventually widen the highway from two to four lanes and repave the hilly segment between Kelly’s Road and the intersection of County Road and Evergreen Heights Drive.

The project has produced mixed results for the adjacent area; the manager of the Mountain Naturals Community Market said that sales have been down since construction began, while the managers of the Diamond Campground said that the project didn’t affect their summer tourism business as much as expected.

According to the campground staff, crews did a good job of directing traffic on and off the property at the entrance in the middle of the work zone.

One neighbor said that he’s thankful for the project because water no longer flows downhill through his neighborhood and into his yard.

The project started last March and was supposed to be finished last month, but should be completed early this summer.

Click here to follow the original article.

Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Across the city, we saw more than ten inches of snow, but as you hit the road to enjoy your weekend plans, now that the sun is back out, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is still advising caution on the roads.

We will be seeing below-freezing temperatures Saturday night, which can turn that compacted snow into ice and be dangerous.

“We’ve gotten a little spoiled with some really good driving conditions across the state,” says Lisa Schwantes, a CDOT spokesperson. “But we did see some snow recently, and there is nothing like solar gain to melt snow and ice. But then those frigid temperatures come again overnight, and that moisture freezes up, and that can cause some slick conditions for drivers.”

And as we experience Colorado’s prominent weather whiplash, it’s important to remain vigilant while on the roads.

“We can really pay attention to what our headlights are showing us. If it starts looking a little slick and there’s a lot of reflection off of the roadway. Slow down,” says Schwantes.

CDOT advises drivers to always respect road conditions and refrain from any distractions.

CDOT says crews will now be working on taking care of any shoulder areas that they’ve pushed snow onto, ensuring clearance in those areas.

Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo (KRDO) – Thursday night was an all-call for the Colorado Springs snowplow drivers. Record levels of snow, and a full crew of drivers patrolling the city from 12 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“When Mother Nature comes in, Mother Nature just wins,” said Public Works Operation Manager Corey Farkas.

At 6 a.m., with six hours left before his shift change, plow driver Marcus Brooks made room in his snowplow cab for KRDO13’s Bradley Davis.

“They’ve been pretty messy this morning,” Brooks said.

“How many cars have you seen spin out this morning?” Davis asked.

“A lot. A lot. At least seven.”

It snowed over nine inches from Thursday into Friday across most of the city. Until about 5 a.m., both Farkas and Brooks said progress was not easy going, like bailing water out of the ocean.

“At a rate of 1-2 inches of snowfall per hour, we have so much infrastructure we just can’t keep up,” Farkas said.

The snow started to slow from then on, and the plows started to catch up.

“You just see the snow just blow everywhere, so that’s always pretty cool. You just know you’re hitting it,” Farkas said while rolling a big pile out of the road.

“Whenever you put the blades down, you should always be putting product down,” Brooks said.

The city said it’s been expanding its chloride de-icer tanks year-after-year.

“Those bigger storage tanks give us the capacity to expand our work,” Mobolade said.

Between the lighter snow, lots of snowplows and a healthy portion of chemical de-icer, Brooks finally started to find what he had been digging for.

“Oatmeal!” Brooks said. “When all the snow starts to break up and gets all wet, we call it Oatmealing.”

“Do we like oatmeal?” Davis asked.

“We love oatmeal!” Brooks replied.

Brooks said it’s a point of pride for himself and his coworkers.

“Keeping the community safe, that’s always cool. I have brothers who has to drive. A mother who has to drive. Family. And just throwing snow, I love it!”

Friday, community appreciation came from an unexpected source.

“I just want to tell you thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for getting up so early while everyone is sleeping to help the streets. I appreciate y’all, and I love y’all,” Mobolade said over Brooks’ and the other drivers’ radios.

The cool tempuratures Friday will keep the next plow shift on the roads for a while, but with the snow moving Southeast, the roads should drastically improve each hour.

Click here to follow the original article.