Author: KRDO

Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A crowd gathered for a ‘No Kings’ event in Downtown Colorado Springs on Saturday. This time, the tenor was different from past ‘No Kings’ gatherings.

Organizers with No Kings Colorado Springs told KRDO13 that Saturday was a get-out-the-vote event. In addition to public speakers, volunteers were out gathering signatures for petitions. One petition in particular was in support of a data center moratorium.

KRDO13 caught up with one woman who was gathering signatures who spoke about why events like this are so important.

“The importance of being able to use our voice and that it can be heard, but we just need to know in what ways we can use it. So whether that’s voting or signing petitions, you know, just like knowing. About what’s going on in our community, it’s really important,” Angela Alvarado said.

While speakers took center stage in front of City Hall, performers took the stage playing music in neighboring Acacia Park.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — From dismay to delight.

That’s the range of emotions recently experienced by Rich Jenkins, the Las Vegas Street homeowner featured in reports by KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior regarding a buildup of sewer gas in his home.

Jenkins said that the gas hasn’t returned since the city and Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) took measures to determine where the gas was coming from and how to stop the buildup.

The final preventive steps, he explained, were to replace his garbage disposal and for the city to install a filter as an extra seal against sewer gas.

Jenkins said that, after sending more than 20 letters to city and utility officials expressing frustration with the initial response, he wrote to them again to thank them for their “support, perseverance and tenacity.”

“I think (what made the difference) was 100% getting you involved,” he told The Road Warrior. “But I think it was the second email that I sent out, basically as a full-on demand, that I needed this to be taken care of. I understand that issues involving underground infrastructure and wastewater systems can be complicated, and I greatly appreciate the effort that went into identifying and addressing the problem.”

Jenkins was especially concerned about two elderly relatives who live with him, being exposed to the sewer gas.

“It was coming from every drain in the house,” he recalled. “We had fans in every window trying to blow it outside. We had to wash our clothes to get rid of the smell. It was terrible.”

So why didn’t Jenkins and his family simply move to a hotel or other temporary housing during the ordeal?

“I didn’t know how long I’d be out, or if I could afford it,” he replied. “I didn’t think of checking to see if insurance would cover something like that. And I didn’t think it was my responsibility to leave home.”

As reported previously, CSU determined that the increase in sewer gas coincided with increasing pressure to a bypass line as part of upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant just a few blocks east of Jenkins’ house.

He also paid to have a new vent installed on his roof.

Jenkins is the only homeowner in his neighborhood who has reported having a sewer gas problerm.

“But it happened last weekend at one of the businesses where I work in Motor City,” he revealed. “I don’t know the details of it.”

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The latest in a series of weekend intersection closures in the ongoing South Academy Boulevard improvements project started on Thursday.

Jet Wing Drive is closed at the Academy intersection until 5 p.m. Saturday; the closure was originally scheduled to begin at 7 a.m., but didn’t begin until 11 a.m.

The closure allows city and Colorado Springs Utilities crews to inspect a sewer pipe installed in the 1970s.

Occasional intersection closures are part of the project strategy; city planners want to avoid the negative impacts of earlier similar improvements on the north segment of South Academy by advancing in smaller phases.

Since gearing up at the beginning of the year, crews have made gradual progress northward, past the major intersections of Hancock Expressway and Astrozon Boulevard, and are now on the Sand Creek bridge, just south of the Chelton Road intersection.

Eventually, construction will stretch to the Fountain Boulevard intersection.

The city is upgrading infrastructure along South Academy for the first time since it was built in 1969 by improving safety, traffic flow, drainage, and pedestrian access.

Officials expect to complete work on the three-mile project by the end of 2028.

Detours during the Jet Wing Drive closure:

North detour: From South Academy Boulevard, turn east on Hancock Expressway, then south on Jet Wing Drive. South detour: Take Boychuk Avenue north to Hancock Expressway, then go east to Jet Wing Drive. Drivers on South Academy Boulevard can also turn east on Hancock Expressway, then south on Jet Wing Drive. Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – It’s not a haunted house, but employees at the Pueblo Heritage Museum certainly think the building is haunted.

Gail Conners with “In the Shadows Paranormal” agrees. She uses everyday tools like electromagnetic field meters (EMF) to find objects with unexplained energy.

The Pueblo Heritage Museum has thousands of old historical artifacts that are very educational and can be very spooky after dark.

Just a few months ago, Conners and Executive Director John Wendt started investigating an old hearse in their back storage closet. After researching the nameplate and running down leads, the museum discovered that the hearse is from the late 19th Century and was created by master craftsman Ignaz Nisslmüller in Austria. It is now a part of the Haunted Heritage tour, and Conners says it gives off lots of supernatural energy.

The last Haunted Heritage tour is on Saturday at 6 p.m. The museum fundraiser in partnership with Conners is $35 per person. You can find more details here.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival (RMWFF) starts Friday, October 16, at Colorado College.

It’s year 39 for the RMWFF, bringing the top talent from women across the country to Colorado Springs this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Executive Director Nicole Nicoletta said it had over 400 submissions this year. The board whittled it down to their 42 top choices, which will be on display this weekend.

The opening night film are “Are We Still Married?”, a short vampire film, and “Reggae Girlz”, a documentary about the World Cup qualifying Jamacian women’s national team.

Tickets range from $25 to $200 depending on what day, time and how many films. Nicoletta said around 15 of the entered film directors will be at the festival. You can find a full schedule here.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A 46-year-old bridge near a popular recreational trail is about to receive maintenance work that is scheduled to continue through mid-December.

Officially, the project on Union Boulevard over Cottonwood Creek — between Woodland Hills Drive and Deliverance Drive — was to begin on Wednesday, but rain could delay the start until later in the week or early next week.

Bridge repair work is rarely convenient for drivers, but the bridge carries six lanes of traffic, and crews need to perform routine bridge maintenance and repair and improve nearby fencing.

Drivers can expect temporary lane closures as crews will close one outside lane at a time while doing the work.

Officials ask drivers to slow down, watch for crews and equipment, and allow extra travel time; construction schedules depend on weather and may change.

The bridge is also near the Cottonwood Creek Trail, and officials said there may be brief closures or delays there during the project.

Flaggers will help guide trail users through the area when needed.

A common concern expressed to KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior while visiting the area on Tuesday was that Union cuts through the trail — leaving users to cross the Woodland Hills intersection, or jaywalk over the center median, to reach the opposite side.

“I wish they would build a tunnel or an underpass for the trail,” said cyclist Lisa Craig. “It’s not safe as it is.”

Trail users explained that the Woodland Hills intersection on the north end of the bridge has constant daytime traffic to and from nearby apartment complexes, as well as the normally heavy through traffic on Union.

“It’s kinda problematic trying to get across on your bike,” said cyclist John Graaff. “Drivers are speeding or running red lights. The bridge is at the bottom of two hills.”

The bridge maintenance will cost nearly $280,000.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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Rob Namnoum

Florence High School was our week two winner of the Friday Night Blitz Spirit Award. This week the Huskies cheer squad received the South Colorado Motors Friday Night Blitz Spirit Award plaque.

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Josh Helmuth

One local middle school is teaching students how to separate fact from fiction — and they’re getting some help from a familiar face here at KRDO.

KRDO13’s Josh Helmuth was back in the classroom at Chinook Trail Middle School for the 5th straight year, teaching 8th-graders media literacy last Friday.

Hundreds of eighth graders. 90 minutes. A total blast. But also very important.

The assembly covered how to spot misinformation and disinformation, the dangers of AI, and why we need to be careful about what we believe and share on social media.

We also talked about the First Amendment and the importance of trustworthy journalism — including the great reporting happening right here in Colorado Springs.

And the students came ready with some fantastic questions.

Helmuth’s visit kicks off English teacher Luke Anliker’s My News Network class. Students work in teams to choose a United Nations goal — like ending hunger or protecting the planet — then create their own news websites, podcasts and broadcasts around those issues.

They get feedback from local journalists, and judges pick winners who are featured on the District 20 website and earn a personal tour of the KRDO13 newsroom and studio.

Anliker says the project has been wildly successful.

Helmuth is proud to be part of it yet again. 

Is there someone or something remarkable at your school? Email Josh! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — City officials marked a major milestone on Tuesday in the effort to extend Powers Boulevard from the Highway 83/Interquest Parkway interchange, to Interstate 25.

Crews ended a six-day task of placing 24 50-ton girders atop pillars that will form the deck of the new bridge at Flying Horse Club Drive.

Workers arrived at 4 a.m. to continue construction in the Flying Horse neighborhood at the north end of the city.

The bridge is one of three currently under construction: Slightly north is a pedestrian bridge to the golf course; to the south is a bridge at Ridgeline Drive.

Next week, crews begin placing girders for the Ridgeline Bridge.

Gayle Sturdivant, the city’s deputy public works director, elaborated on the pedestrian bridge.

“What you see today is just a temporary bypass, so pedestrians and golfers can use it,” she said. “What we’re going to be doing is coming in and putting a pre-cast pedestrian bridge in, just to the south of where that temporary crossing is today.”

A fourth bridge, still in the design phase, will be a high-rise bridge over Black Squirrel Creek.

Eventually, traffic will pass over that bridge and under the three others;officials hope to start construction on the new Powers roadway next year.

The city hopes to finish the entire project in 2030.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Students with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) and Pikes Peak State College (PPSC) looked on early Tuesday morning as SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 lifted off with their experiment.

Multiple students made the trip to Cape Canaveral in Florida to watch the launch in person, while the rest watched on the livestream from their lab at UCCS.

Falcon 9 carries the students’ “Climate Seeds” experiment, testing how wheat seeds react to low-gravity environments. The students will compare the resulting sprouts to their terrestrial batch to derive insights that could be useful for future planet colonization efforts.

The launch took off right on time at 4:33 a.m. MST. KRDO13’s Bradley Davis joined them to catch the exciting moment live.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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