The CSCS girls basketball team in Class 3A Great Eight action
Rob Namnoum
The Colorado Springs Christian School girls basketball team lost to Yuma in the Class 3A Great Eight on Thursday morning 31-27.
Colorado Springs ranks as the top 15 allergy capital in the U.S.
Mackenzie Stafford
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A new report released in March ranks Colorado Springs as the number 15 allergy capital in the United States. In 2025, Colorado Springs held #84. The research released by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) details how climate change is leading to longer and more intense allergy seasons.
Experts say warmer temperatures mean plants start growing sooner, and they produce more highly allergenic pollen. They say the extreme weather driven by climate change may also prompt more pollen production or longer pollen seasons.
According to AAFA, specifically in Colorado Springs, tree pollen peaked earlier and higher, grass pollen lasted longer and weed pollen started earlier and peaked higher, meaning there were more days with weed pollen.
KRDO13 spoke with a local allergist who said this has been one of the busiest years yet.
“Now that we’re in the tree pollen season, it’s just exploded. So it’s been extremely busy the last several weeks, especially as the pollen counts have gone up. So, it’s going to be, I think, an unfortunate year for allergy sufferers,” explained Dr. Jill Hanson.
If over-the-counter medicine isn’t working, Dr. Hanson recommends coming in to Colorado ENT & Allergy. She says they can provide allergy shots or drops that can be personalized to your needs.
“That’s a treatment where we can take exactly what you’re allergic to and customize your vials essentially to what your allergies are and give you what you’re allergic to to try to build up your immunity. So it’s a really awesome treatment, especially if medications are not working. It gives long-lasting results to you. So instead of having to rely on medications long term, eventually a lot of people do see a big reduction in that,” explained Dr. Hanson.
She also detailed a treatment for patients who are not as receptive to over-the-counter medication and would prefer not to get shots.
“I mentioned allergy shots. Those are actually a very effective treatment option, but they do require that you come into the office, which is not always an option for people with busy schedules, busy lives. So we also offer sublingual, meaning under the tongue, allergy treatment. So, it’s a recipe of drops essentially, that we can make based on your allergy test. And that’s just done at home, with drops under the tongue every day. So that can also be an option, even if shots are not something that you can fit into your schedule,” offered Dr. Hanson.
Dr. Hanson tells KRDO13 that the increase in pollen can also cause difficulties day-to-day for those with respiratory disorders.
“Most people with asthma are triggered by allergies, amongst other things. But that’s another issue. I think in this area that’s a little unique because not only do we have the high pollen counts, we also have the wildfire smoke and the dryness, and those can all compound to make asthma more difficult to control. So making sure we’re attacking the allergy part of that is important,” shared Dr. Hanson.
Overall, she said she doesn’t anticipate allergy season getting much better anytime soon, since the pollen count continues to increase year after year.
Cockroach Wars at Colorado Springs plaza: ‘they moved in and it was Armageddon,’ says manager
Julia Donovan
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – This week’s Restaurant Roundup is an investigation into a cockroach problem that has neighboring restaurants in one plaza off Barnes Road begging for change.
“No roaches, no nothing, no bugs of any sort when I first started – then they moved in, and it was just Armageddon,” said the manager of the Cheba Hut, which shares a wall with this week’s low-scoring restaurant: Pho Express #1.
Pho Express #1 was caught with 18 violations, including a cockroach infestation, back in April.
The owner, Duy Nguyen, had told us he thought they were coming from shipments and said they couldn’t get things under control.
Well… apparently they never did!
Pho Express #1 recently failed its routine health inspection again – this time with 23 violations!
Those violations include – you guessed it – cockroaches.
“It’s on and off,” owner Duy Nguyen told us when we stopped by.
The inspector also noted a gap under the back door, employees not using soap when washing their hands and some dishes, and one employee wiping their nose and not changing gloves afterward. There were also no thermometers in the entire restaurant!
The inspector decided that all of this was enough to warrant a temporary closure.
But Duy seems to deny any wrongdoing when it comes to the roaches; he says pest control can confirm that.
“They’re saying it’s actually the whole building,” Duy argued.
After Duy made that claim, we checked in with the Cheba Hut next door.
While the problem might be building-wide now, Cheba Hut Manager Emily Render says Pho Express started it!
“They like burrowed a hole from them to over here,” Emily said.
Now, Emily and her crew are working overtime to combat the catastrophe!
“We have people come out once per month to spray everywhere. Every time we get a sighting, we immediately take care of it,” Emily explained. “We constantly have to clean up their mess in our shared dumpster area, same with Parry’s.”
Parry’s GM, David Garcia, corroborated Emily’s story.
Note: there’s a small alleyway between Pho Express #1 and Parry’s.
“We end up having to pick up some items for them just so we don’t have any of those issues coming into our building,” Dave said in an interview with KRDO13.
“I’ve literally scooped up maggots off the ground in a trash bag before that they threw out, and they would leave animal bones outside,” Emily added.
We asked health department officials if they’re looking into these allegations of ongoing negligence.
They reiterated what we already knew from inspection reports: all the neighbors passed recent inspections with no roach notes.
The El Paso County Public Health Department also said Pho Express #1 passed its re-opening inspection with no cockroaches.
“Instead of [being] open seven days per week, we’ll close Wednesday now so we do a deep clean every week,” Duy explained some new changes.
Duy admitted the handwashing violations came from a quote, “lack of supervision,” and said they’re doing more training.
He also said they’ve remodeled the kitchen and installed a metal baseboard.
Still, managers at Cheba Hut, Parry’s, and Tokyo Joe’s are worried this won’t be the end of the cockroach wars.
“I’m happy they’re trying to find the root cause, but I also feel like they might be the root cause and they’re just trying to play it off,” Emily worries.
We asked Pho Express if they had any response to neighbors’ claims about them disposing of their trash improperly. They said they’ll talk to their kitchen staff about that.
The School Buzz: D-11 hosting largest hiring fair in district’s history
Josh Helmuth
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — If you’ve ever thought about working in education, D-11 has an event this weekend that could be your chance.
Colorado Springs School District 11 says this weekend’s job fair will be the largest hiring event in its history. The district is looking to fill 162 “essential” positions, representing several departments: teachers, paraprofessionals, crossing guards and administrative positions, just to name a few.
The hiring fair runs Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Doherty High School. Spanish-speaking support will also be available.
District 11 says it means more than just accepting a job. It means helping create safe, supportive learning environments where students can thrive. If that sounds like you, give them your resume.
Is there something remarkable at your school? Email Josh! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com
Rampart High School celebrates life of classmate during ‘Bald 4 Bucks’ cancer fundraiser
Bradley Davis
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – All across Rampart High School, students and teachers continue to feel the presence of Senior Cora Fogle. The book she wrote, the art she created, the friends she made, and the t-shirt she designed just eight days before she died from Leukemia.
“Cora is just an unapologetic person. She’s so resilient, she’s always herself, and she was always there for everybody, even when she was going through times of her own,” said Cora’s friend and Bald 4 Bucks student chair, Ella Harrison.
Fogle is Rampart’s 2026 “Bald 4 Bucks Hero Child.” Every year, students and staff raise tens of thousands of dollars to support cancer research, culminating in a massive pep rally where hundreds shave their heads in solidarity with those who don’t have a choice.
Despite her diagnosis, Fogle was active in the Rampart community. Perhaps her strongest reputation was in her creative writing. She was a published author at 14, and her poetry book is still available on Amazon.
She loved dinosaurs almost as much as she loved writing and the color teal.
While fighting for her life, Cora still dedicated strength to the Bald 4 Bucks cause. She designed the t-shirts and the color scheme. She made an appearance at a Bald 4 Bucks meeting, despite her demanding treatment. The final product couldn’t be more “Cora.” Teal mixed with orange for blood cancer awareness, with dinosaur balloons everywhere, and her dinosaur design centered proudly on the orange and teal tie-dye Bald 4 Bucks t-shirt.
“Having her there was super impactful,” Rampart junior Shyla Ayen said before shaving her head. “Seeing her there was so amazing, that she was fighting through all the struggles she was having, just to have her visit us as we were planning the event.”
Rampart has raised about $35,000 of its $50,000 goal. You can find their donation page here.
Before today’s 10 a.m. pep rally, where participants will cover the gym floor in hair, two students will shave their heads live on Thursday morning, exclusively on Good Morning Colorado.
Colorado Springs-area leaders reveal Transportation Safety Action Plan on Thursday
Scott Harrison
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A two-year, $280,000 project to improve safety on streets and roads was released to the public on Thursday morning.
The Transportation Safety Action Plan is designed to benefit drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
Local leaders provided more details in a 10:30 a.m. news conference at the City Administration Building downtown.
To formulate the plan, officials received a grant from the federal Safe Streets for All program, which provides funding to communities to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries.
The plan has four main objectives: Reduce motorcycle crashes; prioritize infrastructure projects to focus more on safety; take advantage of existing community partnerships; and develop a list of safety projects from existing planning efforts.
“In our opinion, we believe it will improve safety for all users, and will have some impact on your driving,” said Todd Frisbie, the city’s chief traffic engineer.
City officials also want to highlight some of the improvements they’ve already made and are currently making.
Among them: Better lighting and visibility at intersections, using a neighborhood traffic calming program with roundabouts and other measures to reduce speeding, and increasing safety in school zones, at trail crossings, and in left-turn lanes.
Frisbie referred to a 2021 list from the city that ranked the most dangerous intersections.
“I’m happy to report that in mid-2025, we have implemented almost all of those (safety) changes at those intersections that we had identified,” he announced.
The plan’s main objective, Frisbie added, is to reduce traffic deaths and fatalities by 35% over the next decade.
“53% of our crashes occur on 5% of our roadways,” he said. “In the southeast part of Colorado Springs, there is a disproportionate number of those types of roadways.”
Trish Trent-Iaquinta, who represents Drive Smart Colorado and the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, explained what everyone can do to promote safety.
“Parents teaching their young kids, starting at the elementary school age, and modeling that behavior,” she said. “They see it if mom and dad don’t buckle them up. Don’t have your phone. Really pay attention to pedestrians.”
To view the link to the plan, visit: https://coloradosprings.gov/SafetyActionPlan.
Included on the page is a dashboard with crash statistics used by planners to help formulate the action document.
Lamar boys basketball team in Class 4A Great Eight action
Rob Namnoum
The Lamar boys basketball team fell to Timnath in the Class 4A Great Eight on Wednesday morning 42-40.
Pueblo East High School celebrates winning another state wrestling championship
Rob Namnoum
At Pueblo East High School on Wednesday, they celebrated the wrestling team winning another Class 4A State Championship.
FBI, CSFD investigating circumstances of house fire Wednesday in east Colorado Springs
Alexander Brunet
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Springs Fire Department said that law enforcement reported a house fire at the corner of East Pikes Peak and Dudley avenues, just before 5 a.m. on Wednesday, March 11.
Fire departments response
“There was a law enforcement presence before we got here,” said Ashley Franco, a CSFD spokesperson. “We’ll take the lead on the fire, and the FBI will take the lead on the scene.”
Franco said that fire was showing at the front and in the garage of the home, and that the flames were extinguished within two minutes.
The fire department confirmed to KRDO13 that one person suffered minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital.
“There were no injuries to law enforcement or firefighters,” Franco added.
Police departments response
The FBI later released a statement that its agents were executing a federal criminal search warrant, unrelated to immigration enforcement. A CSPD blotter post confirmed that their Metro Narcotics Unit and the FBI began a joint investigation into a drug trafficker who had a history of vehicular assaults, aggravated robbery and felony menacing.
CSPD says that a search warrant was used, and when they arrived, several residents exited the home; however, the suspect refused to come out. Police say the suspect, who has been identified as Benjamin Greenfield, then began lighting several fires within the home, running.
Courtesy: CSPD
Police say after a shot chase, Greenfield was taken into custody and was treated for smoke inhalation and burns. He has since been released from the hospital and remains in custody under several charges, including arson.
Neighbors told KRDO13 that before the pursuit, they heard the explosion of “flash-bang” devices and orders from a law enforcement bullhorn for the man to surrender.
Neighbors say they recently noticed suspicious activity at the house, with vehicles coming and going, and people constantly walking in and out.
The School Buzz: Two D-20 teachers receive national award for work with students with dyslexia
Josh Helmuth
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Every school needs teachers willing to go the extra mile to help all students succeed – especially those with reading challenges. D-20 has two teachers being nationally recognized for doing just that.
Jodi Champagne and Kim FitzPatrick just won the Aylett R. Cox ALTA Educator Award. It’s a national award that recognizes teachers making a major difference in the lives of students with dyslexia. What makes this recognition unique is the fact that the award is usually given to one teacher, but this year, because they’re both so great for all of D-20, Champagne and FitzPatrick are being honored together. It really shows the impact of their partnership in the district.
“Jodi and Kim make a meaningful difference for students and families each day,” said Andie Ruskin, Director for Literacy. “This national recognition reflects their expertise, compassion and commitment to helping every student grow.”
They both help screen for characteristics of dyslexia. They support school teams, helping families navigate the challenges and make sure the students still succeed wildly. They even train teachers across the district.
Champagne and FitzPatrick will officially receive the national award next month at a conference in New Orleans.
Is there someone remarkable at your school? Email us! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com