Author: KRDO

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — As The Road Warrior’s daily coverage of street and road issues enters its second year, KRDO13 reflects on the first year of coverage by looking back on some of the more memorable reports.

The first Road Warrior segment focused on overnight pothole work along Interstate 25, between downtown and Garden of the Gods Road.

From almost the beginning, The Road Warrior experienced a surprising amount of viewer interest and feedback, including hundreds of email comments, complaints, and suggestions.

Among the responses: A Pueblo woman who saw a live report about potholes and came out in her robe to drive around the corner and show pothole damage to her vehicle.

There was Paul Kim, the “Pothole Patriot,” who made it his personal mission to find potholes, take photos of them, and report them to Colorado Springs via the city’s smartphone app.

His social media post encouraging other citizens to follow his example, received nearly 500 responses in only a few days and an endorsement from city officials.

There was also motorcyclist Braxton Lollis, who used landscaping stones to fill a large pothole on Democracy Point, in the Interquest Area.

The Road Warrior later learned that the road was private and not in the city’s jurisdiction, and the property owner eventually filled numerous potholes on the street and repaved it.

A frightening chain of events resulted from a large pothole on Powers Boulevard when it blew a tire and the force of the explosion hurled a large chunk of concrete through the passenger-side windshield of a trailing car. Fortunately, no one was hurt and a crew patched the pothole.

Recently, an underground spring bubbled up on Dublin Boulevard and turned into a sheet of ice when the water froze in colder temperatures. The same morning that The Road Warrior reported on the situation, a crew accelerated its plan to install a series of drains under the pavement so that water could flow into a nearby creek.

The Road Warrior also reported on major projects such as the start of the $46 million overpass project at Airport Road and Powers Boulevard in Colorado Springs, and the $114 million interchange project beginning at Interstate 25 and East US 50 in Pueblo.

Another report showed how local governments cooperated to improve one of the worst road sections in southern Colorado — in Serpentine Drive in Manitou Springs.

And after years of disagreement among local governments regarding responsibility, Colorado Springs took the initiative to repave a stretch of Venetucci Boulevard near the intersection of B Street and Highway 85/87.

If you have a concern or complaint about street or road issues, local governments ask that you first contact them directly. The Road Warrior can investigate if citizens don’t get a response within a reasonable amount of time.

Also, viewers should note that The Road Warrior receives a large volume of email; bear in mind that it may take time to read through those messages and respond.

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It’s a wellness lifestyle that’s gone global;A focus on stretching, and the business model for StretchLab. The company showed KRDO13 how the recovery motions are becoming a paired activity for couples as we approach Valentine’s Day.

“[My husband] has really benefited from me working at StretchLab!” said StretchLab Powers location General Manager Tabitha Hales. “I’ve actually taught him several stretches that I’ve learned since working at StretchLab, so we do help each other out when we’ve had a hard workout, and so we would trade off some stretches with each other and it makes a huge difference.”

StretchLab pairs each customer with their own “flexologist,” but Hales walked KRDO13 through a few simple paired stretches couples can try to relieve stress and recover from workouts.

All three locations in Colorado Springs are holding open houses with free stretch sessions in the next two weeks, including one on Valentine’s Day at the Northgate location.

Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – After nearly 50 years of Francis Joseph Houle being considered missing, new information has been uncovered.

Samantha Houle is Francis Houle’s granddaughter. When she was looking into her family history during the pandemic, she noticed that Francis did not have a death certificate.

She reached out to her mother and other family members only to find that no one knew what happened to him after 1979. That led her on a mission to find out what happened to him, where he is and what anyone knows about him.

She found letters he had sent to her mother, Claudia, that had stood the test of time. The letters helped her to document his last whereabouts and file a missing persons case. Now she’s been working in conjunction with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) task force, and the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) to find her missing grandfather.

“I’ve been able to track him across several states, and then his trail just kind of grows cold in Colorado,” shared Houle.

Her mother explained to her the last time they’d seen her grandfather was in Spokane, Washington. That’s where they say he said goodbye to his kids and packed up and moved.

“The last document I found was from early summer 1978. So I believe he went from Washington to Colorado between May 1978 and October 1978 because that’s where the first letter that we have to my mom is in October 1978,” explained Houle.

Houle found the property card for one of the letter’s return addresses in Security, which points to him possibly living in a home owned by the VA.

“So that address is owned by the VA. But the other address, the Monterey Drive one, that one kind of stumped me,” explained Houle.

The CBI and the MMIR task force helped her to find the past owners and landlords for the Monterey Drive address. A couple that owned a ranch in Cañon City also owned the property at the same time Francis Houle sent letters from that address.

Now knowing that her grandfather was a rancher, Houle believes he may have worked for them.

Houle says the husband in the couple has passed, however, she believes the wife is still alive. She tells KRDO13 she asked the CSPD detective on the case to interview that woman, however, they have yet to get back to her. CSPD tells KRDO13 the detective on the case was out on Tuesday and they will follow up when they’re back in the office. KRDO13 plans to update this article with any information CSPD shares.

The new leads coming within the past few months are giving Houle hope for her search.

“Finding this duplex and then finding the land, the landlords, and then they were connected to a ranch within the city. That might be like an exciting lead, in finding somebody else to talk to,” shared Houle.

His granddaughter shared these letters with KRDO13 in hopes that someone from southern Colorado would read through them and catch something she had yet to notice.

“We’re reaching out to the Colorado Springs community. Somebody out there knows something,” pleaded Houle, “That information can be pivotal in finding out what happened to my grandfather. I hope somebody out there says something.”

LETTERS TO CLAUDIA FRANCIS AND ROSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDERDownload

Tuesday, Feb. 4 is Colorado Missing Persons Day. In recognition of all those still missing, a vigil was held at the state capital.

If you have any information about this case you’re asked to contact CSPD at 719-444-7598. You can also reach out to Samantha Houle directly at samantha.houle@gmail.com.

When asked about the case and their contributions, MMIR sent this response.

-Our office of the Liaison for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives and  continues to be committed to building strong community connections supporting ongoing awareness of cold cases through partnership with the Colorado Bureau Investigation MMIR analysis through their cold case database. DCJ and CBI work hand in hand to connect families to resources and information to ensure uncovering new information is accessible through our websites where we host CBI’s dashboard.

-The Office of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (OMMIR) is a vital connector, ensuring families with long-standing missing loved ones have access to critical resources and support. Through strategic partnerships and collaborative community efforts, OMMIR strengthens the network of services available, providing families with pathways to healing, advocacy, and justice. Collaboration and connection is essential to the work of OMMIR. For those needing support and or connection to resources, we encourage them to visit us online: https://dcj.colorado.gov/dcj-offices/ommir

Here they will find how to report a missing loved one, resources to other agencies and more.

Karla Sosa

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- The wait is over for patrons of the Manitou Springs Carnegie Library. The library closed its doors in 2020 because it wasn’t within ADA compliance and wheelchair friendly. Now, after renovations, the library will have its grand opening this Friday. 

Librarians at the Manitou Springs Library are doing last-minute preparations before they welcome patrons back into the building. 

The library was built in 1910 and its only restroom was located in the basement. Now, 5 years since closing, officials say it’s fully within compliance and it also has new features.

“So what we have now is we have a bathroom on each level, two bathrooms, family, type bathrooms. And we have a lift at the back of the building that’ll allow a person to come in, and will move between floors,” said John Graham, Mayor of Manitou Springs.

The renovations also came with some challenges but thanks to donations they were able to complete the little over $4 million project. 

“A city like Manitou Springs– We don’t have a whole lot of money. What we have typically goes to operations. So there was really a– a massive, fundraising, things that began, those that took, you know, probably three times longer than the actual construction of the building,” said Graham.

The library will also have state-of-the-art technology. 

“Some of the self-checkout stations and charging stations. As you may know, we’ve had all those in different branches– at many different branches all over 15 of our branches. And this time also Manitou Springs Carnegie Library will have those as well,” said Teona Shainidze-Krebs, CEO of Pikes Peak Library District 

The grand opening will be this Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Secretary of Defense sent a memo out to the armed forces stating “Identity Months Dead at DoD.”

The Department of Defense says this move was made to focus on the character of their service members’ actions instead of their immutable characteristics, but many are concerned about the change and even called it ignorant. 

“I think it’s a message of exclusion,” Isaac Newton Farris Jr, a nephew of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a senior fellow at the King Institute told KRDO13, “One of the reasons why we make an effort in this country to do things that include everyone is because of our unfortunate past history of excluding everyone except American whites.”

“I don’t think it’s a case of dividing us or separating us or even saying that some peoples, some groups, histories, and experiences matter more or less than others,” Denver University Professor and Director of the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society Joshua Furman said remembering and celebrating ‘identity months’ and other holidays is important.

The Department of Defense says service men and women will still be able to attend events and celebrations off the clock.

However, month-long celebrations aren’t the only thing being taken off the table.

The Associated Press is reporting the Defense Department’s Intelligence Agency paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Juneteenth, and the Holocaust Day of Remembrance.

“We celebrated all the different history months,” Shirley Martinez is the current President of the Pikes Peak Diversity Board and in her past spent 20 years serving our country. This press release serves as a stark contrast from her time in the service. “It gave us an opportunity to learn about each other, to learn about the innovations that those different groups did,” Martinez said.

But Martinez was far from doom and gloom, rather seeing the memo as an opportunity.

“I’m taking it as a challenge that we still have some work to do. if they’re feeling that we need to be doing more for all, then maybe we need to be looking at that.”