Author: KRDO

Scott Harrison

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Many drivers are pleasantly surprised to see paving activity along ten miles of U.S. 50 from Purcell Boulevard in Pueblo West to the Fremont County line.

The $15 million project by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) started a month ago and should be finished in late summer or early fall.

Crews will apply new asphalt to the shoulders and traffic lanes in both directions.

CDOT said that it’s the first repaving of that highway segment in 24 years.

Crews will repave the more heavily traveled stretch between Purcell and McCulloch boulevards at night, when there’s less traffic.

“We haven’t started any of those operations yet because we have to have a certain temperature for us to be able to put our pavement down,” said Patrick Vigil, a resident engineer for CDOT. “We’ll be doing that at a later date.”

The project includes other tasks, such as repairing two bridges, replacing damaged guardrails, and updating lane markings and signs.

Drivers should be aware of single-lane traffic around the paving activity, and CDOT advises slowing down and keeping the safety of workers in mind.

CDOT is currently designing a future project that will repave US 50 an additional ten miles west, from the Fremont County line to Cañon City.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) is helping creatives (and the generally curious) bring their ideas to life without spending thousands of dollars on the equipment needed to make it happen.

The program is called “Makerspace.” PPLD has three Makerspace rooms in Colorado Springs stocked with 3-D printers, laser engravers, a CNC machine (computerized wood carver), sewing machines, fully-stocked work benches and more.

Reservations are free at each Makerspace in 21C, East Library and Sand Creek. PPLD requires participants to take a no-cost training class to use the 3-D Printers, the Laser engraver and the CNC machine.

You can complete the training both online and in-person. You can find the in-person class schedule here.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — After spending $375,000 to repair a crumbling concrete channel in Cimarron Hills earlier this spring, the county will spend $200,000 more to replace two drainage pipes connected to the channel.

The channel work limited traffic on Ford Street at the Seneca Road intersection to one lane in each direction, but the latest construction has closed Ford Street entirely south of Seneca, creating more significant impacts on traffic and nearby businesses.

Thomas Donahue, a senior engineer for the county, said that the drainage pipe repair began several weeks ago and should be finished by the end of this week; however, rainy weather this week may delay the project’s completion.

Donahue said that a crew is replacing two corrugated metal pipes that have deteriorated because of rust or age.

“We upgraded the pipe underneath the south side of Seneca Road to reinforced concrete pipe,” he explained. “And because of the unusual pipe size underneath the existing Ford Street was a 43-by-68-inch arched metal corrugated pipe, we’ve replaced that with a polyurethane-lined, corrugated metal pipe.”

Gutters and drains in the area have also been replaced, Donahue added, to increase the channel’s overall drainage capacity.

Donahue revealed that a shorter connected channel west of Valley Street will not be repaired.

“That is not on our priority list right now,” he said. “That channel is still in relatively decent condition.”

The Cimarron Hills project is similar to a larger project the county finished last spring in Security-Widefield, where crews repaired a half-mile drainage channel that had deteriorated for decades.

That channel didn’t have traffic impacts, but had become clogged with debris and contributed to occasional flooding on surrounding streets and even into the yards of nearby homes.

However, the project didn’t resolve all of the issues there.

After years of uncertainty regarding who was responsible for repairs, the county agreed to pay the $2.5 million repair cost, but the county won’t maintain the channel because it’s not owned by the county, and actual ownership remains in question.

County officials also said that the channel was originally built in the early 1960s as an irrigation channel and not a drainage channel with modern standards.

It’s a major reason why, around the time of that project, the county began a process to evaluate the condition of all of its drainage infrastructure — an ambitious effort, given the county’s large size.

“There are a lot of areas in the county that need very similar repairs,” Donahue said. “One of the biggest issues we’re finding in our stormwater drainage assets is that we have used a lot of corrugated metal pipe, and we have a lot of pipe throughout the county that’s experiencing rust conditions in the inverts, and some moderate failure.”

Once completed, the challenge will be funding future repair projects; the Security-Widefield channel may not have been fixed if not for the availability of federal pandemic recovery money.

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Bradley Davis

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A new annual gravel event called the “Farmstand 50” debuts this Sunday in Pueblo County as community members continue to grow the sport in the Steel City.

Grassroots Gravel is hosting the first-ever event. Founder and Director Adam Davidson said they wanted to create a ride that takes bikers to the remote dirt roads rarely traveled or experienced by Pueblans.

It’s a much smaller ride than the annual Grassroots Gravel ride coming up on Oct. 10. Davidson said the Farmstand 50 is intended to be hyper-local and focused on experiencing the Pueblo agricultural community.

“Biking is freedom because it’s accessible. You get to choose your own path, literally,” Davidson said. “You really get to experience the world on a bike.”

Grassroots Gravel hosts programs year-round to spark interest in biking among Pueblans. It hosts a free group gravel ride every Tuesday, free bike repair workshops, training programs for the Boys and Girls Club of Pueblo and more. Riders are required to sign a waiver for the weekly group rides.

If you are signed up for the Farmstand 50, you can find raceday information here.

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Bradley Davis

HANOVER, Colo. (KRDO) – Anymore, a 40-minute drive along the I-25 corridor is nothing more than a morning commute.

If you make the same drive out to Hanover and the Muddy Little Cowboy Ranch, it will instead take you to a whole different world.

30 or so miles out East, with little cell phone coverage and no food delivery service, Linda Childers lives off the land. She grows her own produce. Need beef? Instead of heading to Walmart, she heads down S Peyton Highway to buy from the local ranchers.

It’s a lifestyle Childers decided she wanted to share with the city folk.

Six years ago, she opened the “Muddy Little Cowoboy Ranch” on her property. She welcomes schools, church groups, nursing homes and families into her everyday life.

Visitors learn about farming and self-sustainability as Childers educates at each stop. She has chickens, goats, coy fish, a vegetable garden, children’s (and adult) play areas, and more. The tour is hands-on, with visitors getting up close and personal with the farm work.

The ranch is hosting a free “Come in and Play Day” this Memorial Day, May 25, with an encouraged donation for the animal feed. All other days, Childers books appointments through her Facebook page or over the phone at 1-719-683-5233.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The latest phase in the $11 million Park Vista drainage improvements project will allow traffic to resume on a street that’s been closed since last October.

The closure of a block of Hopeful Drive was to replace a bridge over Templeton Gap Creek, and dry weather helped crews finish the project two months early.

Crews began moving the six concrete barriers for the street closure just after 7:30 a.m. on Monday.

One neighbor turned the event into a part, attaching celebratory balloons to the bridge and handing out cupcakes.

A city release issued on Friday afternoon announced the street’s reopening but did not indicate a specific time.

The new bridge is part of the larger drainage project designed to eliminate flash flooding and erosion west, to the Academy Boulevard/Austin Bluffs Parkway intersection.

Another intersection nearby, at Siferd Boulevard and Date Street, was part of a low-water crossing that flooded during heavy rain events and occasionally required firefighters to rescue drivers and passengers trapped in the high water.

For a short time before the Park Vista project began, the city installed gates at the intersection that would be temporarily closed by firefighters during flash flood warnings.

At times, flash flooding also over-topped the new Hopeful Drive bridge — flooding the street and some adjacent homeowners’ property.

The city said that new sidewalks on the bridge will remain closed until crews can install railings, but a temporary pedestrian bridge slightly north of the new bridge remains open.

The closure meant a longer detour for drivers because it cut off the direct route to Doherty High School and numerous businesses along Austin Bluffs.

As KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior first reported in late 2024, part of the Park Vista west of Hopeful was an enclave — a section of El Paso County surrounded by city jurisdiction.

After years of uncertainty about which entity was responsible for addressing flooding and drainage, the city and county agreed to split the $11 million project cost, and the city annexed the area from the county.

In the floodway south of the new bridge, crews are widening the channel to increase its capacity and adding drop structures and erosion control materials.

The goal is to slow the velocity of water during storm events that could threaten safety and property damage.

The Siferd/Date intersection is now closed and has been replaced by three cul-de-sacs, allowing the creek to flow safely between them.

Other improvements include a new stormwater channel and several speed bumps south of the Hopeful bridge.

Repaving crumbling streets around the project will be the final step before the project ends later this year.

Next year, affected neighbors expect to learn whether the improved floodplain will reduce their costs for flood insurance.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Students and their combat robots came from across the country to Mesa Ridge High School this weekend for the National Robotics Championship Competition.

“This isn’t just a robotics competition — it’s a real-world engineering experience,” said Kathryn Wollenhaupt, board member of the Rocky Mountain Tooling & Machining Association.

Over the past months, students have built and refined their battle bots for this weekend’s tournament. The setup is a double-elimination tournament featuring 15-pound combat robots designed and built by high school students.

KRDO13 caught up with Aiden Evans and Jeremiah Huck coming out of Weld Central High School in Keenesburg to hear their game plan before their match.

“Stay aggressive, use the weapon to its ability. Don’t let up, and don’t get under it because it’s a stalling bot, so it wants you to get on top of it to stall. So stay away from it and do some damage,” Huck said.

“Just gotta stay out driving them, stay aggressive,” Evans added.

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Heather Skold

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Out of 1,000 nominees, seven military-connected students snagged this year’s Operation Homefront Military Child of the Year — representing each branch of the military. 18-year-old Taylor Schreiner, who hails from Colorado Springs, represents the Space Force. 

The winners were selected due to their excellence in character, community service and leadership. 

“It’s really such a great honor,” said Schreiner.  “You do really have to adapt and adopt new mannerisms to overcome this challenge you’ve been given.”

Schreiner’s family stayed in Colorado Springs while her Dad, Brig. Gen. Robert Schreiner, Commander of U.S. Space Forces Northern, was deployed or stationed in other locations a total of 65 months, almost one-third of Taylor’s life. 

Taylor finds a bit of solace on the pitch, playing with the Discovery Canyon Varsity Soccer team.

“It’s been an outlet for these emotions when things have gotten a little dicey,” said Schreiner.  “I can just express myself without having to worry about missing my Dad.”

Taylor also expressed the importance of remembering the child’s part in the military family.

“I think it’s important to remember what you’re part of as well. You’re part of the smaller whole of serving our country by supporting your parent within the military. I think that’s something I’m very appreciative I’ve been able to do with my Dad.”

She and the other awardees received $10,000 grants, a laptop, and other donated gifts.

Schreiner plans to pursue a career in pediatric oncology, starting with undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall.  

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Josh Helmuth

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — A local softball player is getting national attention, and she’s doing it while dominating both on the field and in the classroom.

Jocelynn “Jojo” Kalkman is a student-athlete at Vista Ridge High School. And she’s awesome. She is now ranked the number one uncommitted catcher in the country for the class of 2027 according to Extra Inning Softball, known for her explosive bat, strong defense behind the plate, and her versatility in the field — she also plays third base and shortstop.

Her coaches say what really makes Jojo special is her leadership. Coach Gabe Gonzalez says she’s the first to show up, the last to leave, and helps lead teams, saying she’s like “having another coach on the field.”

Jojo also sets the standard in the classroom with a 4.4 GPA.

Her mom says Jojo has been one of the “hardest working kids she’s ever known since she picked up a softball at 7 years old.” And Jojo says none of this happens without the people around her.

“I think I’ve gotten to where I am because of my amazing coaches that have taught me everything I know and my support system I have within my family that pours everything into my dreams,” said Jojo to KRDO13.

“Yes, I’ve worked hard to get here, but that work wouldn’t mean a thing without the incredible village I have around me,” she said.

Jojo says she wants to become a doctor someday, maybe exploring politics and journalism as well.

Do you have someone unbelievable at your school? Hit us up, SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — Since late 2024, we’ve been watching the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) make steady progress on the building of five bridges across Interstate 25, Fountain Creek, and the Union Pacific Railroad.

And now, starting this weekend, drivers will get a closer look at the project.

Beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, crews will shift the two northbound lanes of I-25 to the east, near the redesigned interchange of US 50 east.

Workers will install signs and barriers for the change.

Drivers will use a temporary path that is partly paved with both asphalt and concrete.

The shift allows crews access to the middle of the freeway, where they are currently building the two new US 50 bridges over I-25, and will replace the existing asphalt pavement with concrete.

Also, the I-25 exit to 29th Street in that area is shifting to the east, and westbound US 50 East will be closed between I-25 and the Bonforte Boulevard/Hudson Avenue intersection as part of the lane shift.

It’s the first major change in traffic configuration since the old bridge connecting I-25 to US 50 east was demolished last fall.

Meanwhile, crews are working on three more bridges: Two across the Union Pacific Railroad tracks and a third across Fountain Creek.

CDOT expects to make a similar lane shift on southbound I-25 next month, and hopes to have some traffic on the railroad and creek bridges by mid-July.

Other crews are building a new sound wall to reduce traffic noise for the neighborhood west of I-25.

“But we’re just working on the framework for now,” said Patrick Vigil, a CDOT resident engineer. “We’ll be using those crews to get the (overpasses) finished because that’s the priority. The sound wall panels will be installed after that.”

The sound wall will stretch from just south of 29th Street to just north of 13th Street.

CDOT said that the $114 million overall project should be finished a year from now.

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