Author: KRDO

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) said it expects over 35,000 people in the heart of Colorado Springs Friday evening at its “Fan Fest” block party.

The PPIHC hosts Fan Fest the Friday before the Hill Climb race every year. This year, it spans 10 blocks of downtown Colorado Springs. It’s a rectangle between four streets: Platte and Pikes Peak Avenues (North to South) and Nevada and Cascade Avenues (East to West).

Fan Fest starts at 5 p.m. The PPIHC has mapped out the various public parking and transit options for the event (see map above).

The Motocross group, Team FMX, will perform at the block party. The group will start practice at 5:30 p.m., followed by two demonstrations. The first is at 6:30 p.m followed by another at 8:15 p.m.

The Hill Climb drivers will be around speaking with people and signing autographs. The autograph session starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 7 p.m. The event ends at 9 p.m.

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Rob Namnoum

If you like the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and Talladega Nights, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Danny Aitken is your guy, “If you ain’t first, you’re last. Wooo baby,” Danny Aitken’s impression of Will Ferrell’s character in the movie, Ricky Bobby

He lives in Pagosa Springs, but this dude has gone full Ricky Bobby, “Every time we take off, we’re all full shake and bake through the window net on the car,” says Aitken.

And he decked his car out accordingly, “We have the Ricky Bobby, Talladega Nights livery on it. Just because it’s one of my favorite movies,” says Aitken. “It is (a) pure Pikes Peak Hill Climb race car at its best. It actually was a title contender for King of the Mountain.” 

There’s even a cougar in the car, “It worked for Ricky Bobby. Oh my god there’s a cougar on me,” says Aitken.

Aitken seems to know the movie all too well, “Dear Lord, three-pound, infant Jesus, in his manger, I just want to thank you for all the good sponsors and the cool refreshing blast of mountain blueberry.”

And he gets to bring that energy to the Hill Climb, “It brings people together. This event is about being together and looking after each other,” says Aitken.

Even better, it helps bring awareness to the PTSD foundation of America, in honor of the late Houston Tumlin, who played Walker Bobby, and later served in the military. When he makes to the summit, he has some stuff planned, “We actually have a Chrystal Gale t-shirt. Hopefully we get to the summit this year. I’m gonna put my Chrystal Gale t-shirt on when I get to the top. With no rips in it,” says Aitken.

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Bart Bedsole

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A local restaurant not only had its license revoked recently, but the owner is not allowed to ever reopen any other restaurant in El Paso County.

According to a spokesperson for El Paso County Public Health (EPCPH), it’s the first time the health department has taken an enforcement action this severe. 

KRDO13 first reported on Viet’s Restaurant on North Academy near Chapel Hills Mall in April. 

At that time, it had just been shut down by an inspector for the third time in a 13-month period. 

KRDO13 tried knocking on the front and back doors, then calling the phone number for the restaurant, but no one ever responded. 

Viet’s Restaurant recently failed another inspection on May 29, so at an administrative hearing on June 9, the health department took action.

“Viet’s Restaurant was closed due to a demonstrated and consistent pattern of non-compliance with the Colorado Food Protection Act and related regulatory requirements,” according to a statement from EPCPH.

The owner, Viet’s Inc., is also prohibited from obtaining a new retail food establishment license within El Paso County. 

KRDO13 has learned that from its opening in May of 2021 until June 9 of 2025, the health department received at least two separate complaints from customers. 

One complaint reported cockroaches in the restaurant, while another complaint reported five people becoming sick after eating at the restaurant.

Online county records show that between January of 2024 and June of 2025, Viet’s Restaurant failed at least nine inspections, some of them requiring a closure as a result of the overall point score. 

On June 17, the sign was still up outside, but the inside was dark and deserted. 

KRDO13 once again reached out to the former operator for comment, but they couldn’t be reached. 

LOW SCORE

During the week of June 9-13, Grand Gyros at North Academy and Palmer Park Blvd ended up with the lowest health inspection score. 

Among the 14 violations found: 

The handwashing sink had no paper towels, but it did have items stored on it that should not have been there, including vitamins and prescription mouthwash 

The staff wasn’t properly sanitizing kitchen equipment 

There was slime in the ice machine 

There was a buildup of grease and grime on prep tables, shelves, and walls 

Even though it was supposed to be open Monday afternoon, KRDO13 arrived to find the doors locked. 

A worker on the phone said she was running late and would call back about the violations, but never did. 

Grand Gyros is still awaiting its re-inspection. 

Other failing scores last week: 

Korean Garden – 8025 Fountain Mesa Rd 

The Dublin House – 1850 Dominion Way 

Mayjah Grinds – 656 Peterson Rd

HIGH SCORES

Several local restaurants earned high scores last week: 

Uwe’s German Restaurant – 31 Iowa Ave 

Chef Bob’s Lobstah Trap – 2323 Garden of the Gods (inside Red Leg Brewing Company) 

Taco Bell – 390 N Union 

Domino’s Pizza – 412 Royalty Pl 

Drive-In Tasty Freeze – 2309 N Weber 

Bonny and Read – 101 N Tejon St 

Kelly O’Brian’s – 239 N Academy 

Treehouse Cafe – 5965 N Academy 

Click here for a complete list of all health inspections. 

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A Michigan attorney says he is in contact with the wife of the Boulder terror attack suspect and has released a statement on her behalf.

Hayam El Gamal, the wife of the Boulder terror attack suspect, was taken into ICE custody along with her kids after her husband allegedly unleashed a fury of Molotov cocktails on demonstrators in Boulder. The demonstrators hoped to bring attention to Israeli hostages; the suspect, Mohamed Soliman, reportedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the alleged attack.

“My five children and I are in total shock over what they say my husband did in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month. So many lives were ruined on that day,” read a portion of the statement from El Gamal. “There is never an excuse for hurting innocent people. We have been cooperating with the authorities, who are trying their best to get to the bottom of this. We send our love to the many families who are suffering as a result of the attack.”

According to officials, Soliman was living in the country illegally after his visa expired. Following the alleged attack, his family was swiftly taken into custody to be processed for removal from the United States. A federal judge ruled that the family cannot be deported without due process.

A press release from attorney Eric Lee says Soliman’s wife and kids have been in an immigration jail in Texas for the past two weeks.

“This includes my two four-year-old children, my seven-year-old, my fifteen-year-old, and my oldest daughter, who just turned eighteen in jail,” said Hayam El Gamal.

Attorney Eric Lee says the federal order prevents the government from deporting the family under expedited removal. They will have their day in court, and Lee told KRDO13 over the phone on Wednesday that he hopes to make it clear that no one in the United States should be punished for the alleged crimes of another person.

Lee also said that the family can’t be deported under expedited removal because they have been in the country for more than two years.

According to the immigration legal resource center, “any noncitizen who entered the United States with a visa or documentation cannot be removed under this process. Even if they have overstayed their visa, they are entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge. Additionally, anyone who has lived in the United States for two years or more before an enforcement encounter is not subject to expedited removal.”

According to Lee, the family entered the country legally on valid visas. He says they overstayed those visas, but had acquired work permits. Lee said they were derivatives of an asylum application, which is sought when a person has a well-founded fear of persecution in their original country.

El Gamal’s full statement is below:

“My name is Hayam El Gamal. My five children and I are in total shock over what they say my husband did in Boulder, Colorado earlier this month. So many lives were ruined on that day.

There is never an excuse for hurting innocent people. We have been cooperating with the authorities, who are trying their best to get to the bottom of this. We send our love to the many families who are suffering as a result of the attack.

My kids and I were arrested by ICE on June 3, put on a flight to Texas in the middle of the night and have now been in an immigration jail in Texas for two weeks. This includes my two four-year-old children, my seven-year-old, my fifteen-year-old, and my oldest daughter, who just turned eighteen in jail. We are grieving, and we are suffering. We are treated like animals by the officers, who told us we are being punished for what my husband is accused of doing. But why punish me? Why punish my four-year-old children? Why punish any of us, who did nothing wrong?

Since coming to America three years ago, we have tried to do everything right. We got work permits. We learned English. My daughter and I volunteered teaching English to other immigrants, to help them become more comfortable in America. We have always tried to be good neighbors, cooking food for those around us regardless of whether they are Muslim, Christian or Jewish. I do not judge anyone based on his religion. If your heart is good, that’s enough.

All I want is to give my children good lives. My oldest daughter volunteered at a hospital; she has a 4.5 GPA and wants to become a doctor, to help people in this country. My kids want to go to school, they want to see their friends and deal with their grief from recent weeks. But here they can’t sleep. They cry throughout the day, asking me, ‘When will we get to go home?’

When we were first detained, my children were forced to watch officials rough-up another detainee, and they cried and cried, thinking they would be roughed-up, too. Now my seven-year-old is about to have her birthday in jail, and my fifteen-year-old, too. All they want is to be home, to be in school, to have privacy, to sleep in their own beds, to have their mother make them a home-cooked meal, to help them grieve and get through these terrible weeks. But instead, we are here, in jail in Texas, where you can’t be human. Where you are always being watched.

Where you are woken up in the middle of the night by guards and given food fit for animals.

Only mothers can truly understand what we are going through. I did everything for my kids. It has been two weeks in jail, how much longer will we be here for something we didn’t do? How much longer until the damage to my children is irreversible? It has been so hard for me to stay strong for my kids. I’m so tired. I ask the American people, with all my heart, to please listen to our story and help us.”

-Hayam El Gamal

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Rob Namnoum

Ernie Ramirez has dreamt for a long time of racing in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, “It’s been about six years. It’s been a long time, honestly but I’m here, little steps but I’m here,” says Ernie Ramirez.

It was more than just little steps. He quit his job, moved from California to Centennial to pursue his passion, “I left my whole family and friends behind to move here just for Pikes Peak and to race the mountain,” says Ramirez.

In order to race the mountain, he had to build the engine for his car, “So, yeah, I think that really it probably took me, I would say, 3 to 4 days, maybe like 3 hours per day on my free time,” says Ramirez.

Ernie doesn’t have a machine shop, so he built his engine on his kitchen table, “Everything was just laid on top of the table. We couldn’t even eat on the table. You know, my fiancee got really, really upset, but she understood and she was supportive about it. So I was like, sure, why not? I mean, if you saw my table, like it’s completely scratched up oil stains, like we’re so due for a table, but it means something to us now. So we just we just embrace it,” says Ramirez.

He is embracing everything about the hill climb. When his car passed inspection, when he put the inspection sticker on his ride, he was overcome with emotion, “Being able to pass, check on my first try with no questions.  It was such a relief.  It was something I’ve been working so hard for for a really long time. So I’m just happy,” says Ramirez. 

This is Ernie’s pursuit of happiness, “Every time you talk to people, you tell them, Hey, look, this is a dream of mine. They brush it off. People sometimes think that racing is just a pastime, but for me, it’s more of a lifestyle. It’s what keeps me, like, driven to be better in life too,” says Ramirez.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Urban Cirque acrobat school and studio will make its Pikes Peak Center debut on June 28 after opening in Colorado Springs in 2022.

Their original show is called “Andromeda.” It’s a cast of over 30 local performers who are students or instructors at Urban Cirque. It’s a high-flying, acrobatic story, following two astronauts who get stranded in space.

The studio teaches classes of adults and kids seven days a week. You can catch Andromeda at the Pikes Peak Center on Saturday, June 28, at 7:30 p.m.

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Scott Harrison

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — It was a week ago that problems first developed in an aging sanitary sewer line, and now, more unexpected issues will delay completion of a repair project through June 30.

A construction supervisor and the town’s utilities manager updated the situation to KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior late Wednesday afternoon, and a town release announced the rescheduled finish date.

What was expected to be a relatively quick repair became more complicated when a segment of the sewer line collapsed on Monday, and more surprises popped up on Thursday.

The repair has closed a block of Crystal Park Road, south of the Manitou Avenue intersection, and has increased traffic congestion as summer tourism heats up.

Officials said that an excavated area to access the sewer line revealed some things they didn’t expect — such as a deposit of old concrete and the remnants of a former road.

Crews also discovered that the sewer line above the damaged segment is clogged, so they’ve installed a temporary above-ground line across Manitou Avenue to divert the flow into a manhole.

Officials said that the flow is intermittent, not constant, as it flows downhill from the Crystal Park neighborhood; recent rainy weather has also complicated the matter.

Crews have excavated part of the north side of the intersection and will eventually excavate part of the south side in a ’round-the-clock operation.

“There are a number of different ways to replace it,” said Ben Schmidt, the town’s new public services director. “You can either trench it up and take the whole road and replace the entire line, or you can line it, which is the method that we’re doing right now, which is a very robust way of fixing those old lines. It keeps it in place and then keeps the road open, putting a new liner inside the existing pipe.”

Manitou Springs was founded in 1872, and much of the original infrastructure remains in use — which may make you wonder if other sewer lines are at risk of failure.

“We have a network map that we go through and assess the age of pipe infrastructure, and then look at problem areas for both water and sewer to plan for capital projects in the future,” Schmidt explained. “We have a five-year capital plan. I believe we’ve done a couple of (replacement) projects a year, a couple of mainline projects, on critical lines each year. It’s just that this one came up a lot quicker than we thought it would. It became critical.”

Crews became aware of the damaged sewer line after residents began reporting sewer backups.

KRDO 13 will keep you updated on the status of the repair work.

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Celeste Springer

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) says crews were able to recover the body of a missing hiker successfully via helicopter on Wednesday.

According to officials, 55-year-old Russell Hardy traveled to Colorado from New Hampshire on June 10. He made plans to climb Pikes Peak, and his family expected him back home on June 12. When he never arrived home, officials say he was reported missing.

It wasn’t until June 16 that his body was located. Family told KRDO13 that they believe he took a fall during his descent from the summit of Pikes Peak. They believe he ran into severe weather on his way back down.

“Every Thursday, he was at my house,” Kristy Hardy, Russell’s niece, told KRDO13 earlier this week. “And he would always be like, ‘I gotta leave early so I can go climb this mountain,’ because I’m preparing for Pikes Peak. So he’s been super excited about it for over a month.”

On Wednesday, EPSO said they were able to recover his body in coordination with the Army Reserve 7-158th General Support Aviation Battalion and El Paso County Search and Rescue.

“We hope today’s recovery offers Mr. Hardy’s family the opportunity to begin healing. It was a privilege to serve them during this difficult time,” said Chris Valentine, PIO for search and rescue, in a press release.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Hundreds gathered on Pikes Peak Avenue in the early hours of Wednesday morning to grab a plate and enjoy the annual Western Street breakfast and Range Riders Peak Ride.

The breakfast started at 5:30 a.m. to kick off the rodeo season and get people excited for the “Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo” coming up on July 8. For just $5, participants got a wooden entry token good for a full breakfast plate with pancakes, eggs and sausage. Two Blackhawk helicopters made a flyover for downtown onlookers just after 7 a.m. A live band entertained with popular cover songs before the Range Riders took off on horseback for their week-long Peak Ride at 8 a.m.

The Range Riders and their 160 horses started the peak ride with a lap around the downtown area of Colorado Springs, treating residents to a horseback parade.

Fort Carson soldiers and Air Force Airmen cooked and served breakfast. The Range Riders will donate all the entry money to military families in the local community.

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Abby Smith

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The City of Pueblo Department of Public Works asked for input from city residents for a pothole filling effort that starts Monday and continues through Friday.

A city release issued last week described the upcoming effort as a pothole “blitz.”

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior followed a crew that worked on the west side of the Steel City.

“I think it’s doing a good thing for our city, you know?” said Joseph Trujillo, a crew supervisor. “Just trying to get these roads fixed for people, so that they have a better-quality road to drive on. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re here for.”

Trujillo’s crew worked on a block of 10th Street, west of downtown, responding to a business owner’s tip about numerous potholes there.

“My granddaughter was pulling out here, and she got a flat tire in one of the potholes,” said Reggie Garcia, owner of the LATCON contracting firm. “Really bad, one of the deep ones over there. I do have a business here, and we have a lot of clients who come in. It does look bad. But I was surprised the crew came this soon.”

Several residents expressed the same sentiment to The Road Warrior.

City officials say that the pothole blitz doesn’t include the largest potholes because they require more work and are better fixed using hot mix asphalt; those potholes will be addressed later this summer.

Officials will provide a summary of potholes filled at the end of the blitz.

Trujillo said that the potholes should hold for several years, depending on moisture and freeze-thaw cycles.

“But the rest of the street continues to crumble around those potholes,” he said. “It will need to be repaved.”

The city encourages residents to submit suggestions and requests to the Department of Public Works by emailing pubworks@pueblo.us

“We’re asking residents to let us know where their biggest pain spots are throughout the city,” said Acting Director of Public Works Chuck Roy. “The City has done our street assessment for major arterial roads, and we have long-term plans for paving, sealing, patchwork, and other needs. What we’re seeking is for our residents to let us know about the potholes that affect their everyday drive in their neighborhood that isn’t scheduled for major road maintenance.”

According to the city, these requests do not include parking lots or streets outside of city limits, including Colorado state highways or roads.

Andrew Hayes — the city’s former public works director, who recently moved to the city’s economic development office — provided more details a day after the release was issued.

“For the first time, because of wet spring weather that produced more potholes, we’re going to have five crews out there,” he explained. “We’re going to patch potholes with cold mix. It doesn’t last as long as with hot mix, but we want to get those holes filled as soon as possible.”

Hayes added that the city is acquiring hot mix asphalt equipment that allows crews to patch potholes in warm or cold weather.

“Normally, we’re limited by the availability of hot mix asphalt in the winter, and that hinders our ability to make those higher-quality repairs,” he said.

In a story earlier this spring, KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior reported that Pueblo has a street staff of 25 people, with only two assigned to pothole repairs.

That same report revealed that many residents believe potholes are worse than ever this year, while city officials disagree.

A memorable happening during the first few months of The Road Warrior coverage was when a woman — in the dark, wearing a bathrobe on a windy morning — appeared during a live report to show what she described as $1,300 in pothole damage to her car.

The city requests that citizens provide as much specific information as possible about pothole locations.

For a look at the Roadway Asset Services (RAS) assessment in 2022, go to https://www.pueblo.us/2895/Road-Condition-Assessment-Summary.

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