Author: KRDO

Karla Sosa

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Following union members in the Denver area and Colorado Springs, grocery store workers in Pueblo have voted to strike.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 Union says 97% of Pueblo retail workers and 100% of Pueblo meat department workers voted to strike.

The last time the UFCW Local 7 went on strike was in 2022, that strike lasted 9 days just for stores in Denver. 

The union is asking King Soopers’ shoppers to shop at other grocery stores as a way to support their cause. 

RELATED: Colorado Springs King Soopers union workers vote to strike

“We want customers to support us and transfer their prescriptions over the Safeway or another pharmacy and support us by not shopping at King Soopers while we’re engaging in this dispute over their unfair labor practices,” said Kim Cordova, President of UFCW Local 7.

King Soopers officials said those comments are concerning. 

“She’s also said she wants to give the communities time to transfer their prescriptions from King Soopers to Safeway. I’m a little concerned about [that]. So when we talk about bargaining in good faith and she’s treating Safeway different than King Soopers, it makes no sense,” said Joe Kelley Division President, King Soopers.

Originally, the contract was set to expire on January 4th, but both parties agreed to extend the deadline to January 17th.

The union said they are not satisfied with the plans for their health benefits and they want better security at the stores.  

King Soopers said their health care is the best in the class and safety is a core value for them.

On Friday, union members in Colorado Springs voted to authorize a strike against King Soopers. Workers in the retail department voted 96% in favor of a strike and more than 97% of meat department workers voted to go on strike. Other stores in Colorado voted in favor of a strike, we could soon see picket lines.

“We will advise them, when and what stores and at what time the picket lines will start,” said Cordova.

King Soopers says they’re disappointed by the outcome of a strike. But they say this won’t affect their stores and they will all remain open.

“Our stores will remain open, and we’ll have anywhere from 1000 to 2000 temporary workers, not replacement workers, because nobody can replace, a great, King Soopers in City Market team. But we have to run our stores and we have a responsibility to the communities that we serve. And stores remain open,” said Kelley.

It’s still unknown when union members will go on strike.

Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On Thursday, Jan. 30, a Colorado Springs woman found what she thought was unimaginable. A man had been living in her crawlspace beneath her home for at least two days, she tells KRDO13.

Grace Abbett said it all started when she and her husband heard a coughing noise. Neither of them had coughed, however, due to the proximity to their neighbor’s residences, they brushed it off. Then the couple’s dog started to get suspicious.

“Our dog started randomly growling at our vents,” explained Abbett.

She says her husband went outside to check but didn’t find anything out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until later when her husband had left that Abbett noticed something out of place.

“I went to go take the trash out, and I saw footprints coming from, the cellar door, like the crawlspace door that’s outside. And I was like, that’s not my husband because he didn’t go out there. So I called and made sure. And then I called the police because I had a bad feeling,” recounted Abbett.

Abbett tells KRDO13 that the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) responded to her call. She says officers checked out the crawlspace and could tell someone had been there, finding items inside, but the person was gone. Abbett says CSPD told her to give them a call if the person came back, which they did later that evening. She said the experience was overall unnerving.

“I was home alone, and it just felt very like, you know, vulnerable, like someone was in my space. They could be there now. And I’m by myself, and I don’t like this,” shared Abbett, “I was just scared and a little vulnerable.”

Abbett’s ring camera captured the moment CSPD returned to her home to apprehend the man. The video shows officers escorting the man off of her property. Colorado Springs Police confirmed to KRDO13 that the man received a trespassing warning, meaning if he returned to the address, he would be charged with trespassing. CSPD added he was arrested for an outstanding warrant, although they could not confirm the nature of that warrant. The man was booked into El Paso County Jail. KRDO13 did ask for the man’s name, however, as of Sunday night, CSPD says they are unable to share that information.

Abbett says she’s grateful for their response.

“I just want to, thank the officers that came out because, honestly, they were so communicative. They told me everything that was happening. They gave me their work number, so that way I could call them directly. So I didn’t have to go through the whole 911 process again. And, they just let me know what was happening. Then they came back and told me what happened. So it was just like, really great to have, you know, some great officers out there,” explained Abbett.

Now she’s getting the word out to others in Colorado Springs; lock your homes and anything that can be accessed from the outside.

“Make sure you get locks for this, you know, this door (pointing to her crawlspace) and then that gate. Make sure you keep up with the camera and lock your garage and all that stuff. So, just reiterating that” Abbett shared some of the suggestions she received from CSPD.

CSPD has a unit dedicated to going to your home or business for free to evaluate areas that may be accessible for a criminal. Then they make suggestions to help better secure your property.

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo, (KRDO) — The next phase of widening Marksheffel Road in the city’s northeastern corner will close a mile-long stretch overnight on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Marksheffel will be closed between Dublin Boulevard and Stetson Hills Boulevard from 7:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m.; that segment is the northern end of a three-year, $60 million project to add two lanes to the busy corridor.

Gayle Sturdivant, the city’s deputy director of public works, said that the closure allows construction crews to place concrete barriers and realign traffic patterns.

“They’re going to continue taking Marksheffel Road from that two-lane old county road, to a four-lane urban road section,” she explained.

Residents of the Mountain Valley Preserve neighborhood east of the closure will continue to have access to their homes.

The first year of the project focused on the two-mile south end between North Carefree Circle to Tamlin Road, just north of Barnes Road. Workers improved drainage and streets leading to neighborhoods east of Marksheffel.

Widening Marksheffel is needed because of the city’s growth and increased traffic from existing homes in the area and ongoing home construction east of the project.

A separate facet of the project is also widening Dublin from Marksheffel to just west of Peterson Road. A similar widening was required at the Marksheffel/Barnes Road intersection.

Sales tax revenue from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority is financing the project; the projected completion date is late next year.

A future project of interest is extending Marksheffel north from Woodmen Road to Black Forest Road.

Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Starting early Thursday morning, King Soopers workers across Colorado will go on strike, according to their union.

Among those striking are those in stores throughout Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties as well as King Soopers stores in the cities of Boulder and Louisville.

Stores in Colorado Springs and Pueblo could follow in the near future. Those workers have approved strikes, but the union has yet to announce a start date for their strikes. Union workers tell KRDO13 members in southern Colorado could strike as soon as Friday, but will send an announcement ahead of time.

UFCW Local 7 says it will fall under an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) strike as they allege several disputes against King Soopers. Those allegations include that King Soopers illegally interrogated union members about bargaining, and threatened members with discipline for wearing union clothing and buttons. They also alleged King Soopers unlawfully gutted $8 million in retiree health benefit funds.

The union president said she’s even encouraging customers to transfer prescriptions.

“She’s also said she wants to give the communities time to transfer their prescriptions from King Soopers to Safeway. I’m a little concerned about [that]. So when we talk about bargaining in good faith and she’s treating Safeway different than King Soopers, it makes no sense,” said Joe Kelley Division President, King Soopers, in an earlier interview with KRDO13.

The union said they are not satisfied with the plans for their health benefits and they want better security at the stores.  

Monday, King Soopers responded to the coming strike with a press release.

The release said, “Despite King Soopers urging UFCW Local 7 to give their members a voice by allowing them to vote on the Company’s Last Best and Final offer the Union has allowed the Company’s offer to expire, without providing a single counter wage proposal, and has once again chosen disruption and uncertainty by scheduling a work stoppage.”

The release also included a statement from the president of King Soopers, Joe Kelley. “We urge Local 7 to reconsider their approach and prioritize the best interests of our associates, their members, and the communities they serve. It is time to put aside their unreasonable demands, false rhetoric, and headline-seeking tactics and work towards a fair and timely resolution that increases associates’ pay while keeping groceries affordable. We want to make a fair investment in our union associates, and this work stoppage only further delays adding more money to their paychecks,” Kelley said.

A shopper at the new King Soopers location off of North Gate Blvd. told KRDO13 he was unaware of the looming strike.

“If I knew about it, I probably wouldn’t have come today,” stated shopper Kody Penton.

Penton was out on his usual grocery shopping trip with his roommate. He said in the future if workers are striking he will choose a new store.

“It’s the same distance and probably better stuff. I will definitely go to Sprouts over Soopers if that’s the case,” shared Penton.

He shared the sentiment that good wages make for good employees. The saying echoes similar to what union workers are calling for.

“We need more staffing, hours, our health care, and our pension,” shared Reyna Carpenter, “We’re real concerned about that, and safety because times have changed.”

Carpenter is a union member and the seafood department manager at her King Soopers location in Pueblo. She says employees are overworked and tired. Carpenter also worries that the temporary workers King Soopers pledged to provide won’t get the proper training.

“The proper handling of seafood, proper handling of the different types of meat we have. And so that’s a real concern of mine, cross-contamination. If they’re rotating the dates properly, so we’re not putting an expired product out. So that affects not only our department but the consumer as well,” explained Carpenter.

Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Care and Share Food Bank and KRDO13 are teaming up for their annual “Spread the Love” food drive.

Those looking to donate can bring the best sandwich duo: peanut butter and jelly. Peanut butter is very in demand for food banks because it’s both nonperishable and is a great source of protein. Throw in some jelly and you have the fixings for a fun lunch!

The food drive runs from now (Feb. 3) until Feb. 14. Local YMCAs and Hanson HotSpring Spas have also partnered for the event, creating several convenient drop-off locations:

Care and Share Food Bank

2605 Preamble Point , Colorado Springs, CO 80915

100 Greenhorn Drive, Pueblo, CO 81004

Hanson HotSpring Spas

1835 Dublin Boulevard, Colorado Springs, CO 80918

YMCA Locations

3920 Dublin BoulevardColorado Springs, CO 80918

207 N. Nevada Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903

2190 Jet Wing Dr., Colorado Springs, CO 80916

3035 New Center Pt., Colorado Springs, CO 80922

4025 Family Place, Colorado Springs, CO 80920

17250 Jackson Creek Parkway, Monument, CO 80132

326 W Alabama Ave., Fountain, CO 80817

Can’t make it out to drop off donations? Monetary donations can be sent here.

Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The El Paso County Sheriff and 12 other sheriffs across Colorado formally announced their support of HB25-047, a bill they say would allow them to keep their communities safer by clearing the way for them to work closer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

However, the ACLU of Colorado says that the passage of that bill would strip rights away from Colorado residents.

“We have been concerned about the growing population of foreign cartels, sex traffickers, and gang members. Sadly, politics have failed the citizens of Colorado when it comes to dealing with illegal immigration and the negative consequences,” El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal says this new bill, which Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell told KRDO13 Investigates said he helped write, will help keep undocumented immigrants accused of crimes from reoffending.

During Monday morning’s press conference, Sheriff Roybal said the new bill would fundamentally change the way their office handles undocumented immigrants charged with crimes. In the current system sheriff’s deputies only give ICE officials a six-hour notice before an undocumented immigrant accused of a crime is released. If this bill becomes law it would allow the sheriff to hold undocumented immigrants accused of crimes in jail on immigration detainers even if they post bond.

“We made it crystal clear. It is written in this legislation. We’re going after criminals. If they vote against not allowing us to house criminals, they’re voting against the safety of their own communities,” Sheriff Roybal assured he would only use this to keep those accused of a crime in jail. He even went a step further and said a policy would be put in place at the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office to prevent his deputies from participating in roundups of undocumented immigrants who haven’t committed a crime.

The Sheriff would implement these practices as a part of a 287(g) agreement with ICE, an agreement he said he would enter if the law passes. The Sheriff’s Office says a benefit of the agreement is ICE would pay for the undocumented immigrants to be housed in the county jail. Sheriff Roybal has said the jail has enough capacity.

ACLU Response

The ACLU of Colorado told KRDO13 Investigates they do not support HB25-047 and provided a statement:

“The ACLU of Colorado is committed to protecting the rights of all Coloradans, including our state’s immigrant communities and families. We reiterate that Colorado law restricts state and local law enforcement’s involvement in the enforcement of federal civil immigration law. Collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement risks betraying community trust and can deprive residents of their rights guaranteed under the Colorado Constitution and state law. We urge law enforcement to consider their duty to serve all members of the public, and not engage in civil immigration enforcement measures that can threaten to tear families apart and destabilize communities.”

Josh Helmuth

Widefield School District 3 has a new program allowing students to soar, getting them a head start on a possible aviation career.

The program is called Glimpse Into Flight Training (GIFT). And it’s open to all D-3 students.

FAA-certified instructors lead it. They teach students all about aircraft, their systems, navigation – everything to prep them for their written exam for their pilot’s license.

Garret Bristol is a senior at Mesa Ridge High School who’s taken advantage of GIFT already. He’s been training on gliders and fixed-wing planes. He says the biggest difference between the airplane and the classroom is communication.

Do you know something or someone remarkable at your school? Email Josh directly: SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.