Author: KRDO

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Stormy weather has been the norm in Colorado Springs this weekend. The storms seem to have hit one mobile home park off South Circle Drive hardest.

“It looks like a mini tornado came through here, hurricane, and took her tree down, roots and all, and fell onto my car. Totaled my car out,” Ruth Curtis tells KRDO13. Curtis says her neighbor’s tree was blown over by high winds and landed on her car.

“If you go up and down the street, you’ll see all kinds of damage. Roofs gone, skirting gone, debris lying all over the roads. It’s bad. Really bad,” Marlen Ott, one of Curtis’ neighbors, said.

Tonight we will see scattered showers and thunderstorms for most areas along the I-25 Corridor. Some of the storms will produce heavy rain and small hail. It will be on the breezy side with southeast winds at around 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday will bring us a better chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms for most of our viewing area. Expect high temperatures in the lower 90s. We will have to watch for the potential for flash flooding over the burn scar area.

Our chance of showers and thunderstorms will continue each day into the middle part of next week. Expect highs slightly cooler, in the upper 80s. We do have the potential for heavy rain, so we will continue to watch for the possibility of flash flooding.

Bavaria, GERMANY (KRDO) — A Pueblo native is making international headlines.

Zean Whatley, 11, just competed in the Cal Ripken World Series, having been one of 12 boys to represent all of Europe and Africa during the elite youth baseball tournament.  While Whatley was born at Pueblo’s Parkview Hospital — same as his parents — he and his family have lived for the past two years in Germany, while his dad is stationed there with the Army. 

“It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve got to see a lot of different cultures and countries. It’s been a blast out here,” said Whatley, on video call. 

Whatley plays on two German teams, which has afforded him the chance to hone his baseball skills, while getting the benefit of learning a new language and making friends in his host country.

His resilience highlights the resilience of military children, who have one option: adapt to their new surroundings every few years. 

In order to be selected for the Cal Ripken World Series, Whatley had to send in a highlight reel and compete in a tournament in the Netherlands. 

Zean’s parents, Andrea and Frank, have deep roots in the Steel City, having met at Pueblo’s Central High School.

“Everyone is there — we are the only ones who left,” said Andrea Pacheco, Zean’s mom. 

And that family reunion is the icing on the cake to being selected for the baseball tournament.  

“I’m feeling excited to go back to the States and being able to see family, and letting them come and support me,” smiled Zean. 

The World Series was held in Branson, MO, Aug. 5-16.

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.

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A $37 million bond is funding three years of upgrades at Manitou Springs schools. Students say the community behind those walls matters just as much as the buildings themselves.

The high school sits on one of the better overlooks in the region. Built in the 1960s, it is getting the kind of attention it has needed for a long time.

New roofs, mechanical units, and infrastructure work are already underway, all paid for by a bond voters approved last November. School District Chief Financial Officer Suzi Thompson said the district moved fast once the money was secured.

“We hit the ground running, started work right away,” she said. “Infrastructure, mechanical units, roofs… knowing this is really what we needed for these kids and our schools.”

But ask students what makes Manitou Springs High School worth investing in, and they skip past the building entirely.

“We’re really tied in with our town,” one student said. “The kids, they’ve all gone here together since kindergarten.”

Students talk about that closeness constantly.

“Everyone cares here,” another student said. “The staff cares. The community cares. The students care. And it just shows a sense of community that other schools don’t really have.”

Spanish teacher Ingrid Perez said the relationships are what keep her there.

“I love my coworkers,” she said. “I love building relationships with the kids.”

The bond money covers work across the entire district over the next three years, including the middle school and elementary schools as well.

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.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The tenth annual Colorado Springs Comic Con starts Friday with a cast of highly talented live-action and animated actors and comic book artists.

Some of the highlights include Giancarlo Esposito and Jim Beaver from Amazon Prime’s “The Boys,” Jaimie Alexander from the Thor movies and TV series “Blindspot”, Katara voice actress Mae Whitman from the animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” and Will Friedle and Rider Strong from “Boy Meets World.”

Those interested in attending can find a full celebrity list here.

The three-day event starts for VIPs at 2 p.m. on Friday and ends at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Ticket prices range from $13 to $219 depending on age, number of days and VIP status. A single-day, general admission adult ticket ranges from $50 to $60.

You can find full ticketing information 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.

AURORA, Colo. (KRDO) – A federal judge granted a partial injunction in favor of the private ICE facility, GEO Group, blocking Colorado from conducting unannounced inspections.

The company operates the Aurora facility and others across the country.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, ruled in favor of the company. He said it was subject to state law, but only to those in effect before GEO Group signed its contract with the federal government.

Colorado health officials have tried to gain access to the GEO Group facility in Aurora since a reported tuberculosis case last June. According to the state, GEO Group has denied all requests for inspection and documentation.

Democratic lawmakers introduced a law that would require the GEO Group to comply with unannounced inspections and provide health documentation. GEO Group ignored the directives and sued the state of Colorado, arguing that the law was unconstitutional.

The injunction lasts until Oct. 15, after GEO Group’s contract with the federal government expires.

Colorado Attorney General and Democratic nominee for Colorado governor, Phil Weiser, filed a separate lawsuit on Wednesday to try to force GEO Group to comply with a public health investigation into a reported case of tuberculosis.

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.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Neighbors along Rolling Thunder Way, south of Woodmen Road near the line between Falcon and Peyton, are thankful to see the rough, mile-long road finally getting a much-needed repaving.

Construction began last week and is scheduled for completion by the end of the month.

Last August, KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior reported on similar paving work on the quarter-mile of Foxtail Meadow Lane, behind the Walmart, from Woodmen to the Rolling Thunder intersection.

It led neighbors to ask why Rolling Thunder — a road in equally bad shape and with more traffic — wasn’t repaved in 2020 as the county promised.

When asked by The Road Warrior, county officials said they understood neighbors’ frustration and would try to move Rolling Thunder up the paving list.

And it actually happened.

“Oh, I’m super excited about it,” said neighbor Jason Petscoe. It’s been a long time coming, and I heard there were some issues in the past. But they’re getting it done now, and I really appreciate it.”

Another neighbor, Seth Caban, reflected on the vehicle damage caused by the rough road.

“Definitely seen some wear on the tires and the suspension. It’s caused a lot of havoc on the suspension, yeah.”

It’s not just a standard repaving job, either; the county describes it as a full-depth reclamation in which the old pavement and the underlying base are mixed to create a new base on which to apply new asphalt.

Crews have finished approximately half of the project.

Neighbors also shed some light on why the repaving took so long, explaining that the county didn’t want to start work until groundwater issues involving the local water board and the original developer were resolved.

“This is a leftover from when the developer went under; that work promised on the roads was never done,” Walter Fee, a neighbor, explained. “That was just before we moved in, so… hard to tell. But that road has been settling and settling. They did patchwork in spots, but it just was not gonna work.”

It’s unclear how much the Rolling Thunder project will cost, but it likely will be more than the $700,000 spent on Foxtail Meadow.

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A Thai restaurant on North Academy Boulevard has now failed its routine health inspection two years in a row, racking up 11 violations in its most recent review.

Thai Taste Cuisine’s latest inspection, conducted by the El Paso County Health Department, turned up food stored at unsafe temperatures, employees using improper cooling methods, water pitchers being filled in a handwashing sink, and chemicals stored on a shelf directly above food.

A KRDO13 crew stopped by the restaurant. An employee said the owner was not there and provided a phone number. The owner did not answer. We left a message asking what the restaurant was doing to fix the violations and whether there was an underlying problem that caused back-to-back failed inspections.

Thai Taste Cuisine has not responded. The restaurant is still waiting on its re-inspection.

Meanwhile, the Noodles & Company on Barnes Road earned a perfect score this week! Other high marks went to Mochi Thai’m Donuts on North Academy Boulevard, Starving in Manitou Springs, and Doug’s Breakfast Lunch off Austin Bluffs Parkway.

The owner of Doug’s Breakfast Lunch, Rob Fraley, has a simple explanation for the consistent top scores.

“I think a lot of places have it backwards,” Fraley said. “They panic when they think the health inspection’s coming. If you keep it clean every day, you’re gonna be clean when they show up, it doesn’t matter.”

Fraley said his focus stays on the customers who walk through the door every day, not the inspector who shows up once a year.

“We want customers to come back because they’re the ones who pay the bills, not the health inspector,” he said.

The clean kitchen is only part of the draw. Doug’s Breakfast Lunch also serves a sandwich called the Sassy, which combines strawberry jam and chorizo – a very unique and tasty menu offering!

Keep an eye out for the Restaurant Roundup awards at your favorite restaurant to know the kitchen inside is clean.

Reminder: all scores in the KRDO Restaurant Roundup come from routine health inspections conducted by the El Paso County Health Department.

Click here for a look at all the most recent health inspection scores.

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.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Powers Boulevard was shut down in both directions from Constitution Avenue to Palmer Park Boulevard following a multi-vehicle crash, according to CDOT.

A member of the police department’s Major Crash Team on scene said the crash involved two vehicles and a motorcycle, and that the rider is receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Police said the crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on northbound Powers when the motorcycle collided with a car; the impact sent the motorcycle into the southbound lanes where it hit another car.

The impact shattered the motorcycle and left debris in the traffic lanes.

It’s unclear how many people were in the two cars, and police said their injuries are minor.

By 9 a.m., the scene was clear as the wreckage and debris were removed and Powers reopened.

The crash caused major traffic backups during morning rush hour, as drivers even cut through parking lots to detour around the closure.

The incident remains under investigation by the crash team; police said that alcohol and speed were factors in the accident.