Author: KRDO

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — By now, drivers should be accustomed to lane closures along busy Austin Bluffs Parkway that are part of the ongoing construction of a new power substation by Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU).

This week, crews closed the right westbound lane between Goldenrod Drive — near the future substation site — and the Union Boulevard exit.

Workers are installing new underground electric lines that will connect to the substation.

“It will eventually eliminate the need for above-ground power lines around the substation,” said CSU spokesperson Cassie Melvin/

This phase of the project was supposed to begin a month ago, but CSU decided late on the morning of the start date to delay work.

“They wanted to do a little bit more prep work and inspection work,” Melvin explained. “Just to get some more of the materials here as well, before we close the road. Because they wanted to close the road as close to the project beginning as possible.”

Alternating lane closures in both directions of Austin Bluffs in that area will continue through the end of May.

For this round of work, crews will not use steel barriers that were installed previously to separate crews from traffic.

“They’re using cones and barrels because it’s a shorter duration of a closure,” Melvin said. “Crews will need to move them quickly to the next two phases (lane closures).”

That makes slowing down in the work zone more important than ever.

There were similar lane closures between August 2024 and April 2025; during that period, crews performed other utility line relocations, including an above-ground natural gas line.

That phase was delayed four months when crews discovered an unexpected utility line that had to be identified and required other existing lines to be relocated around it.

CSU hopes to begin operating the substation — that will replace several older stations — next January.

The project costs around $40 million, including $6 million for utility line relocations.

After the project ends, the winding, narrow corridor will need a good repaving.

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Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Gas prices skyrocketed to a national average of $3.47 on Monday, up nearly 50 cents from last week, according to data from AAA. Plus, oil prices on Monday surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 before falling lower later in the day.

President Donald Trump has dismissed the higher cost, telling ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce it’s “a little glitch.”

“I think it’s fine. It’s a little glitch. We had to take this detour,” Trump told ABC’s Bruce in an interview on Sunday before going on to tout the U.S. military campaign against Tehran.

In a social media post on Sunday night, Trump wrote: “Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace.”

On Tuesday, Colorado Springs passed the national average for the first time in months, according to GasBuddy. The gas tracking website also recorded data that outlines Tuesday’s average price in Colorado Springs is the highest gas price in the past year.

Drivers here tell KRDO13 they’re finding any way they can to cut costs, whether that is only filling up half a tank or considering a new form of transportation. 

“I really hope that they come down because, because if not, I’m going to get a motorcycle just to make it much easier for gas,” explained Connor Rohrman.

Rohrman shared how it’s difficult to balance paying rent with other rising costs. One driver told KRDO13 they scrounged up all the change in their car just to go pick up their girlfriend. He told us he came up with 7 dollars, and that it barely made a dent in his tank. 

“You kind of have to pick and choose which, which is the most important thing at the time,” shared Katie Henry.

Henry told KRDO13 she has to cut spending on things that are not necessary to afford gas.

According to GasBuddy, the last time Colorado Springs surpassed the national average, prices were around $3.22. On Tuesday, prices averaged $3.58, according to GasBuddy. 

“If we can start pulling things out of our own ground rather than outsourcing, that would be beneficial,” said Alex Davidson.

Others say rising costs could be worth it for world peace.

“World peace would be good. Gas prices, I don’t care if they get up, but if they’re not bombing each other, that would be nice,” shared Sergio Perez Delgado.

It’s worth noting that while these prices are rising, they are still cheaper than they were a few years ago. 

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Bradley Davis

CASCADE, Colo. (KRDO) – For the first time, Pikes Peak Rangers are offering guided snowshoe tours all season long to encourage guests to explore America’s Mountain for only $10 extra on top of the park entrance fee.

The 3-hour tours are only $20, or $10 for children. Guests can explore the rest of the mountain after the tour (assuming you still have the energy!). The Tour includes snowshoes, poles and a ranger to guide you safely along your trek.

The typical retail cost to rent snowshoes for a day is $15 to $20. Commercial guided tours cost much, much more.

Rangers said they hope this new program will encourage more residents and tourists to experience Pikes Peak in a whole new way. The tour is beginner-friendly. Children are welcome, and they have kids’ snowshoes available.

The guided tours are every Saturday. Participants meet at the Pikes Peak Gateway to pick up snowshoes and poles before driving up to mile marker 11.5, around 10,600 feet up.

Every Saturday this month is currently sold out, but rangers have not posted their April tours. When those dates are posted, you can buy tickets here. Rangers said this is a program they are excited to continue for the winters to come.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Rampart Park visitors share their opinions on the narrow park entrance, which was narrowed by a drainage project completed by a city crew at the end of February.

Work began a month ago to install and bury an underground stormwater pipe in part of an open drainage channel; a heavy flow during a rainstorm last summer eroded part of a retaining wall along the channel and under a new housing development.

The project created a tight squeeze for drivers traveling on and off the narrow, downhill road leading to a popular dog park and walking areas behind Rampart High School.

Exiting drivers were required to yield to oncoming drivers, which often wasn’t easy because of speeding traffic on Lexington Drive and the lack of a dedicated traffic controller at the entrance.

“I did have one instance where I was trying to come out, and a truck had been trying to come in at the same time,” Rebecca Henry, a park visitor, recalled. “They ended up having to back out a little bit — which was definitely sketchy with how fast people come down Lexington. As for how the drainage work looks, I don’t know that I’ve really paid all that much attention. All I’ve noticed is that the trucks are gone, and I can see both ways.”

While park visitors and neighbors who spoke with KRDO13’s The Road Warrior said that they understand and agree with the need for the drainage project, they also confessed to some lingering concerns.

Among them: The park entrance is still too narrow and should be widened; the entire channel, not just the segment under the new homes, should be covered; fencing should be placed along the uncovered channel to keep kids and pets out; and speed enforcement should happen on Lexington Drive, in front of the park entrance.

“I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” said neighbor David Fenell. “But as good of a job as they’ve done so far, if the water comes rushing down and starts tearing up the rest of the drainage ditch, something’s going to have to be done to accommodate that extra water.”

Another neighbor, Ward Ballard, expressed his concerns about safety in the area.

“It seems like somebody could fall in there, easily,” he said, referring to the open channel segment. “And I walk along there with my dog. So, yeah — that is a concern, is it a safety hazard? And it could be.”

Ballard listed speeding on Lexington as another reason to worry.

“I’m just recovering from being in a crash a few weeks ago,” he revealed. “I was hit by a drunk driver. Traffic is just going too fast there.”

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Rob Namnoum

Top prep playoff performances for the week of March 4th.

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Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A family has their guard up after a bullet went through their kitchen window, right past a thirteen-year-old’s head. The family is thankful she is alive, but worried about how it could have happened in the first place, in a neighborhood they thought was safe.

It happened on March 2 in the Lorson Ranch neighborhood just southeast of the Colorado Springs airport.

Zania Mewborn was home alone doing chores in the kitchen when a bullet whizzed by, narrowly missing her. 

“I had my headphones in, and I was home alone. I didn’t realize that there were gunshots at first. Once I heard the glass break, I saw the bullet hole, and then I heard the gunshots. And so I called my mom,” says Zania Mewborn.

But her mom was at basketball practice with her little brother and didn’t see her calls, so Zania hid.

“I went upstairs to her closet, and gunshots were still going off,” says Zania.

Once mom learned what was going on, she rushed back to her daughter. She was thankful to see her safe, but still on alert.

“I open the garage door, and we all kind of ran on the stairs since there’s like a thick wall right there. And we were just sitting there,” says the teen. And the family stayed there until the police showed up.

There’s a lot of open space behind their home, and Zania’s mother says there is a gun range close by and people often have shooting practice, but these shots were too close for comfort. 

We reached out to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, which says it’s an open investigation; no arrests have been made.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It’s the most tired workday of the year, the Monday after the daylight savings “leap forward.” While you try to catch up on the zzz’s, you could be doing it in a way that sets your body back.

Physical therapists say some of our favorite sleeping postures can hurt our joints when we get out of bed.

“So the problem with laying on your stomach is it’s actually good for your lower back because it decompresses the discs. However, when you’re on your face and you’re turned so much, these little joints in here they’re called cervical facet joints, they get compressed,” Fyzical Therapist Rocrimmon doctor Scott Moser said.

Moser and his co-workers recommend lying on your back or your side. Keep your pillow at a comfortable height, not too high or too low, so your neck is supported. If on your back, they say to put a pillow underneath your legs to take pressure off your lower back and keep your spine straight. On your side, they say to move the pillow between your legs to have the same effect.

Physical therapist Karly Lindroth said she uses a practical approach when coaching adults on how to improve their sleep.

“I think you just have to look at their function. If they’re saying, ‘hey, I’m not getting any sleep because I’m in so much back pain,’ that’s the best way to approach it. You’re like, ‘well, let’s try the sleeping position. Let’s try the stretches, let’s try the exercises to take pressure off the spine,’ And see how that goes,” Lindroth said.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — A project at the north gate of Schriever Space Force Base begins on Monday and will result in what the installation describes as longer commute times and heavier traffic congestion.

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior began looking into the matter after hearing from several viewers who asked about the changes.

According to base leadership, construction at the north gate along Enoch Road, south of Highway 94, and near the Visitors Center, will require shifting most inbound traffic to the west gate, east of the Curtis Road/Irwin Drive intersection.

Between peak arrival hours of 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., all three lanes to and from the west gate will be inbound only; after that time, the traffic configuration will return to two inbound lanes and one outbound lane.

A temporary traffic signal is operating at the Curtis/Irwin intersection to help guide traffic.

Schriever officials hope this change will help ease traffic congestion caused by restrictions at the north gate.

During construction, the north gate access will be one lane inbound and one lane outbound, weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the gate will be closed at all other times as crews build a temporary road around the work zone.

Base leadership said that part of the construction involves building a turnaround lane, allowing personnel who forget their IDs to easily turn around and retrieve them.

Generally, though, officials explained that the construction will increase base security.

Traffic into the west gate appeared to be its heaviest around 6:30 a.m.

The Road Warrior had hoped to interview Schriever officials on Friday, but the interview was canceled because of snowy conditions that led to an early release at the base; officials said that they’d be busy on Monday for the first day of the traffic changes.

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Michael Logerwell

Dan Mohrmann from Colorado Preps joins Rob Namnoum on Sports Extra to break down the high school basketball tournament, as it enters its final weekend. Dan talks about Lewis Palmer playing in the 5A Final Four, St. Mary’s, CSCS, and Banning Lewis playing in the Class 3A Great Eight. He also breaks down the CSCS girls’ team playing in the Class 3A Great Eight.

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Mina Ramirez

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — After 75 years of marriage, Priscilla Portillos is now navigating life without the man she spent nearly her entire life beside.

Courtesy of: Michelle Law

Ted Portillos was struck and killed near Northern Avenue and Vassar Avenue last year. Now, his family says the crash may have been preventable and is urging city and state leaders to make improvements along the road.

Video obtained by KRDO13 shows the moments leading up to the crash.

Portillos’ family said he was on his way to his beloved Eagles Club that day when the collision happened.

His wife, Priscilla Portillos, said the driver approached quickly and struck Ted’s vehicle.

“That man that ran into him was coming to him fast,” she said. “When he struck his car, he didn’t stop.”

Shortly after the crash, the family received a phone call no one ever wants to get.

“We got the phone call that he was in the hospital,” said Ted’s daughter, Cheryl Portillos. “They told us we needed to come quickly… that he was passing.”

Ted and Priscilla Portillos first met when she was 17, and he was 20. Their love story would span 75 years of marriage.

Family members describe Ted as someone who was always smiling and quick to joke with people he met.

“He was always smiling. He was always joking with people,” Cheryl said. “When people would pass by, he’d ask them, ‘Are you married?’”

They say he was also the type of person who would always lend a helping hand and never met a stranger.

Now, even in his death, his family says they are continuing the push for road safety improvements Ted had long advocated for.

The family says the stretch of Northern Avenue where the crash happened connects directly to a state highway while also running through residential neighborhoods, creating a complex jurisdiction between the city and state.

Because of that, they believe both agencies need to work together to improve safety along the road.

Through an online petition, the family is calling for the speed limit to be lowered by 20 miles per hour or for additional safety measures, such as better street lighting.

“It could have been avoided if they would have listened to us,” Priscilla said. “It feels like there’s a big empty space in my life.”

The petition asks city and state leaders to work together to make the area safer for drivers and residents.

Courtesy of: Michelle Law

Learn more about Ted Portillos’s petition here.

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