Author: KRDO

Mackenzie Stafford

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Across southern Colorado, firefighters are keeping a close eye on elevated fire danger due to weather conditions, including here in El Paso County.

Fort Carson officials confirmed to KRDO13 that there is a fire within Fort Carson’s training area. If you are driving along I-25 or Highway 115, a Fort Carson spokesperson tells us you can expect to continue seeing smoke.

On post, officials say the Fort Carson Fire Department is actively responding and receiving assets and support from city and county partners.

A Fort Carson spokesperson said no injuries have been reported and no infrastructure has been impacted by the approximately 350-acre fire.

This is not the first time a fire has caused smoke to be visible from Fort Carson.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS), a Red Flag Warning is in effect for portions of El Paso County, including Fort Carson. The warning is expected to expire at 5 p.m. Feb. 25. However, another Red Flag Warning has already been issued for Thursday.

The Stormtracker13 Team is also keeping a close eye on strong wind gusts through around 9 p.m.

Two other fires burned in Colorado on Wednesday. In Thornton, the police department said Pinnacle High School and nearby businesses have been evacuated. Police say that officers are performing door-to-door evacuations in neighborhoods to the northeast of the fire.

I-25 was shut down near Thornton due to smoke impacting visibility. The highway has since reopened, as fire crews say they have contained the blaze.

As of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, a fire has started burning in Logan County. Officials say evacuation orders have been issued for the town of Padroni and the surrounding area.

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Rob Namnoum

The Doherty boys basketball team advances in the Class 6A playoffs. The Spartans beat Legacy 55-42.

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Rob Namnoum

The Pueblo East boys basketball team fell to Dakota Ridge on Tuesday night 56-40.

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Rob Namnoum

The Palmer boys basketball team man handled Montbello on Tuesday night 93-59.

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Rob Namnoum

The Pueblo Central basketball team beats Grand Junction Central 50-47.

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Rob Namnoum

The Pine Creek hockey team advances to the Class 4A semifinals. The Eagles defeated Standley Lake on Tuesday night 1-0. John Thien made 39 saves in the win.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) has toys parents can check out for their child for no cost all year long.

It has toys for children 0-5 to help with their early development and two large toy rooms at the East Library for the older kids.

The playrooms have intricate toys inside the Educational Resource Center (ERC), many focused on creative building. Parents can reserve a time for their kid to play in the room for free. Some of the toys can also be checked out through PPLD’s Discovery Kits program. The district will send it to your nearest library.

The early development toys go hand-in-hand with the library’s partnership with the free Lena Start Program, focused on encouraging back-and-forth talk between parents and toddlers. PPLD said 14% of 16-year-olds in Colorado Springs are functionally illiterate. Lena Start said talking to your toddler regularly increases future class scores by 80%.

Registration for the next Lena Start session opens on March 16th. Each participant gets a “talk padometer” that tracks how much they talk to their toddler. Every parent who graduates from the no-cost course gets eight free books and a $20 gift card.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — On Wednesday morning, for the first time, traffic began moving across the new Airport Road bridge over Powers Boulevard.

Officials with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) said on Monday that they weren’t sure if they’d open the overpass during the overnight hours or “first thing” Wednesday morning.

However, as of 4:30 a.m., new traffic alignments were in place, and one traffic lane in each direction was open on the bridge.

Work on the structure isn’t finished; crews are gradually building up to having two lanes open in each direction, and they’re continuing construction of two on/off ramps on the south side of the interchange.

Drivers should also expect to see some temporary traffic signals in operation until all installed signals are working, and the east side of the overpass will be somewhat darker at night until more street lights are on.

The bridge also features sidewalks and bike lanes for pedestrian and cycling safety.

The old Airport segment west of Powers to Troy Hill Road is now permanently closed; the segment north that curves into the east end of the interchange remains open because it provides access to several industrial businesses and a local Department of Motor Vehicles office.

Randy Johnson, a project engineer for CDOT, explains the remaining work that lies ahead.

“There are some water quality ponds,” he said. “There’s a lot more lighting, a lot of utilities, water lines, and electrical lines. And then, permanent stabilization. We’ve got final signing, final striping.”

The final step, he added, is to repair concrete pavement on Powers that was damaged by construction activity.

CDOT expects to finish the $46 million project by the end of summer.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A large group, all wearing blue shirts, filled most of the chairs in the Colorado Springs City Council Chambers on Tuesday. Their big ask was a majority ‘no’ vote on a project that the Colorado Springs Urban Renewal Authority says would improve their neighborhood.

“Our job is to cure blight and to bring in projects all over the city,” Jeriah Walker, executive director of the URA, told KRDO13 after the council voted to approve and create the Moreno and Cascade Urban Renewal District.

Phase 1 of the project will build a 7-story hold called Catbird off Moreno Street, where an abandoned property sites now, but it’s phase two that has Walker really excited. That phase aims to build between 75 and 115 attainable housing units.

“We’re hoping it builds in more affordability in the Mill Street [Neighborhood] and actually acts to not displace people,” he said.

So then why is the neighborhood group against it?

“We thought that they should have to provide some benefits to the neighborhood, especially because a luxury hotel on the board of a working-class neighborhood pushes up prices and has the potential to force people out of the neighborhood,” said Max Kronstadt, a resident of the neighborhood who showed up wearing a blue ‘Mill Street’ shirt.

Even when talking about the attainable housing units, the neighbors aren’t sold.

“We don’t feel there’s any guarantees of [the units being affordable]. They’ve been using the word attainable. It feels pretty unclear what they mean when they say attainable versus affordable,” Kronstadt said. “Jariah seemed to suggest that attainable means above 80% of AMI, above 80% of AMI is not something that’s affordable to people in our neighborhood.” 

“[URA is] hoping that this is a good thing, you know, for the community. But I sympathize with them. I think, you know, it is scary times where you have rising rents, etc., that’s exactly why the URA approved this project was to build in more affordability into that neighborhood,” Walker said.

KRDO13 reached out to Norwood Development, the group that will be building the hotel and housing, about the city council’s vote today. Also, to address some of the Mill Street Neighbors’ concerns. They responded with the following statement:

“Norwood appreciates City Council’s approval of the Moreno and Cascade Urban Renewal Plan and supports the neighborhood’s right to passionately participate in today’s meeting.

The Catbird Hotel will be an excellent addition to downtown and a good neighbor to the residents of Mill Street. Phase II of the plan includes approximately 75–110 new attainable housing units. As Phase II advances, we will refine key project components such as the household incomes served, exact unit count and mix, and available funding mechanisms to support long-term affordability.

Todays meeting proves that public dialogue, discourse and disagreement can be both difficult and productive. We look forward to meeting with the residents of Mill Street as Phase II planning advances.”

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — A mystery has developed regarding the mile-long east end of Space Village Avenue between Highway 94 and Marksheffel Road.

“It’s been closed for several years,” said Brenda Perkins, a Yoder resident who contacted KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior about the situation.

Perkins said that she and her husband, Jerry, use the segment of the avenue as a shortcut to restaurants and other businesses at the west end of the avenue, along US 24 and near the north gate of Peterson Space Force Base.

“To get to it now, with this road closed, we have to go clear up to Marksheffel, and try to make a left turn,” she explained. “But there’s too much traffic, and there’s too many accidents.”

Perkins also said that many people from Yoder, Rush, Ellicott, and other rural communities east of Peterson often make the same trip.

The pavement has also been removed from the avenue, and several piles of small boulders have been placed along the roadside, apparently to control drainage.

Perkins said that she’s heard new homes will eventually be built along the avenue.

Some earth-moving equipment is operating south of the avenue, and two signs are posted regarding future homes or property available for sale.

Pikes Peak Regional Building said that platting activity — mapping for future home construction — is happening at the site, but no building plans or permits have been submitted yet.

In housing projects, developers often close an existing road to improve it, but the time limit for the process is unclear.

El Paso County officials are looking into the matter.

Ironically, the west end of the avenue is where two roundabouts will be built, which has led to temporary closures and the permanent closure of the northbound exit road from Peterson to the avenue.

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