Category: krdo-local-news

Michael Logerwell

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – Tonight, the Pueblo City Council made a final vote on whether restaurants in Pueblo will need to make milk and water the standard drink for kids’ meals. Council voted yes.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Pueblo County proposing program to ban soft drinks in kids meals within city limits

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The ordinance, which passed on its first reading back in May, would make it so that soda pop isn’t the default drink in a kids’ meal.

“That would just mean that the kids’ meal would include water, unsweetened milk, or a milk alternative in the bundled meal,” said Gabby Singleton, Health Promotion Specialist with Pueblo County Public Health, in a May interview.

Several groups in Pueblo have come out in support of the ordinance. That list includes UC Health, CommonSpirit, Children First Pueblo, Colorado Blue Sky, and the Pueblo Food Project.

Megan Cover with the Pueblo Food Project wrote in a letter to the city council, “The average American child consumes 30 gallons of sugar per year, according to the American Heart Association. We believe that every child has the right to a healthy lifestyle.”

Now that the ordinance passed its second vote Tuesday night, how will it work?

According to the ordinance, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment will enforce the rule. Singleton said that enforcement would work on a by-complaint basis. If someone reported that a restaurant didn’t have its menu updated to reflect the new changes, then the health department would come out and inspect.

Singleton said the rule will activate in July 2026.

“I think it’ll have a great impact,” said Bruce Devereaux, the owner of B & C Tacos in Downtown Pueblo.

Devereaux said he’s had milk, water, and orange juice as the main options on the kids’ meals since he opened B & C Tacos years ago. He said parents are big fans, and about 75% of the time, the kids’ meal sticks with milk, juice, or water for the drink.

This ordinance wasn’t universally loved by restaurateurs. Singleton said that many had concerns about the cost of changing their menu or making milk, which isn’t shelf-stable, available. She said that having milk on the menu isn’t a requirement, making water the default meets the ordinance’s guidelines.

As for the cost of changing menus, Singleton said she is going to work with restaurants in the coming months to update their menus and that PDPHE will have grant money available to help.

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Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – According to arrest documents, just after 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Colorado State Patrol (CSP) was notified of a potentially impaired driver going 6 mph on I-25 near Monument.

CSP followed the driver with lights and sirens on, trying to pull them over. The agency details a 30-mile-per-hour pursuit of the red Dodge pickup truck. Troopers say the driver refused, so CSP pinned the front of the truck.

In arrest documents, Troopers say that the suspected drunk driver hit the gas and reversed across all southbound lanes until they crashed into the concrete barrier.

Once the driver’s truck was pinned in place near the Rockrimmon exit, CSP says the agency started to command the driver to exit the vehicle. CSP says the driver, later identified as Dean Moore, barricaded himself inside and would not comply.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO), Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) and the Palmer Lake Police Department (PLPD) all came to assist, according to CSP.

CSP says that in an attempt to get Moore out of the vehicle, they broke his truck windows. When he still would not comply, CSP says they sent in an EPSO K9.

After about 45 minutes, Dean Moore, age 60, of Colorado Springs, was taken into custody by law enforcement. CSP says the agency found several open alcoholic beverage containers in Moore’s truck.

INITIAL REPORTING: State Patrol says suspected drunk driver led police chase that caused I-25 closure

But arrest records reveal Moore has pleaded guilty in four prior driving under the influence cases. Before that, Moore pleaded guilty in two separate driving while ability impaired cases.

Vanessa Simmetcole got caught in the backup with her family while they were on their way to see Christmas lights. She recounted seeing many law enforcement vehicles blocking the highway.

“Traffic has been getting worse and worse, I feel like, throughout the years, but that was, like, the most intense thing I’ve ever seen,” explained Vanessa Simmetcole.

She said they were stuck for about an hour, but that it’s worth it if lives were saved from an alleged drunk driver.

“My daughter was in a car accident last year with a drunk driver. She’s 16, but she has scars and trauma from that, so, like, I don’t want someone out there driving who’s had a history of doing that,” shared Simmetcole.

Simmetcole tells KRDO13 that it’s not ok for Moore to be out driving, especially since he’s had multiple prior driving under the influence charges.

Moore is being held in the El Paso County Jail, facing driving under the influence, vehicular eluding, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and open alcoholic beverage container charges.

CSP tells KRDO13 the reporting driver in this case, called *CSP, or *277. They say it streamlines the process to have troopers respond as fast as possible.

“Calling 911 still can be effective. However, that will go to the 911 emergency dispatch. Whereas if you’re dialing *CSP that *277 number, it does go directly to us. So that way it does take out that middleman of 911. Then transferring that call over to us and transferring it to that specific area,” explained CSP Trooper Gabriel Moltrer.

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Scott Harrison

CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) — Drivers, businesses, and neighbors along the east end of Main Street will get a pleasant holiday present: the completion of a natural gas line relocation that closed several blocks of the street for months at a time.

The project, which started early last year, has affected several blocks at the east end of Main Street between Raynolds Avenue and the highway.

Currently closed is the area between Rhodes Avenue and the highway, as well as a block of Rhodes north of Main.

Miller Pipeline has tried unsuccessfully on three attempts to move the gas line — owned by Atmos Energy — under the Union Pacific Railroad Tracks.

On one try, the metal pipe broke underground, and on another attempt, the pipe damaged a city water main.

“We’ve not been able to get the water main to work quite right until the error,” Leo Evans, the city’s public works director, explained. “So, Miller Pipeline, when they’re done with the gas main work, is going to be working on some repairs to that water main to try to get that back in service and working the way it should be.”

Crews paused work in June because they wanted to wait until an irrigation canal through the area — that occasionally caused flooding — was shut off for the year.

Evans said that crews returned earlier this month and finally moved the gas line to a new location.

“Previously, they had been trying to go underneath, and go deep, and go below where our future work was going to take place,” he said. “And this time, they decided to go over the top of it. So, their gas main is buried shallower over the top rather than trying to go underneath. It just made the work a lot easier this time.”

Evans said that all work in the area should be finished by Christmas.

The project has also delayed a $6 million city stormwater project that is halfway finished; Evans said that the city will wait a year before finishing that work to give drivers, neighbors, and businesses a break from street closures.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The American Automobile Association (AAA) said it expects drivers to hit the roads in record numbers this week for Thanksgiving travel.

It estimates at least 73 million people will drive 50 or more miles while traveling during the holiday week. That would be a new record and accounts for around 90% of the projected travelers.

AAA said the final count could outstrip their projections because of the flight disruptions stemming from the government shutdown. Put simply, families working on travel plans the last couple of months may have decided to fill the gas tank in favor of purchasing the plane ticket because of airline uncertainties.

Despite those disruptions, the Denver International Airport (DIA) said it expects 10% more people to fly out of its terminals this Thanksgiving week compared to last year.

Fortunately, for in-state travelers, the average price at the pump across Colorado was significantly below the national average, according to GasBuddy. As of November 24, the site has the state of Colorado at $2.58 a gallon and Colorado Springs just below $2.50 a gallon. It has the U.S. average at just above $3.02 a gallon.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Only 10 weeks old, this lil pup is in vital need of life-saving help.

Meet Lil Pint. She’s a foster puppy with El Paso County Canine Rescue.

Pictures shared by El Paso County Canine Rescue

The first weeks of her life have not been easy. The foster-based rescue organization says Lil Pint was born with a congenital heart defect called Patent Ductus Arteriosus. The defect happens when a blood vessel in the heart remains open. El Paso County Canine Rescue says it causes blood to flow the wrong way and puts dangerous pressure on her tiny heart.

“She continues to fight. She tries to dog every day she dogs. She goes in and out of the dog door, she plays fetch, you know, she eats and drinks like a normal dog,” said Jenna, Lil Pint’s foster mom. She said her kids can’t play with Lil Pint too long or else her heart will beat too fast and cause big problems.

El Paso County Canine Rescue has launched a fundraising campaign to raise $10,000 to cover her life-saving heart surgery. $4,000 has already been raised.

“She can do a lot of good in this world; she just needs a fighting chance, and the fighting chance is all of us coming together as a community,” Jenna said.

For more information on how to help, click here.

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Michael Logerwell

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) – Drivers heading south on I-25 are seeing major slowdowns for a second day in a row. This time, the culprit is a crash near Fountain.

The Colorado State Patrol (CSP) tells KRDO13 that they got a call just after 6:00 p.m., reporting a vehicle with heavy front damage completely blocking a southbound lane of I-25 near mile marker 129.

Troopers arrived on scene to find the crash was between a semi-truck and a Ford Focus. The crash is still under active investigation. No injuries are known at this time.

For up-to-date information about road closures, visit COTrip.

KRDO13 will provide any further updates.

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Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Many in Jamaica still have limited access to food and power, almost a month after Hurricane Melissa rocked the Caribbean island.

At a time when many are leaving, one Colorado Springs veteran went to the island to help his family and others rebuild.

Somehow, with no electricity, KRDO13 was able to speak to Horace Brown, who is also the president of Elected United, a non-profit organization.

He tells us a family member was holding a cordless light above his head, so that we could see him during the interview.

“One of the reasons why I decided to fly out to Jamaica was to see how I could assist using my nonprofit organization, by helping the victims out here by providing some kind of relief,” says Brown. 

Brown tells us he led his non-profit team to tackle some of the big issues that people are currently facing.

“The first thing that we initially tackled was the food shortage, because everything was cut off for different parts of the island, cut off from the main stream. We were able to bring in food such as rice and items from Kingston, where it wasn’t devastated as badly as the western part of the island,” says Brown. 

Horace tells us he and his brother helped remove trees from homes, helped a hospital save important documents by drying them in the sun, and helped repair the roof of that same hospital.

“It’s different when you see it on the ground. And, people have been devastated out here in Jamaica. They lost their entire savings, their entire houses, and everything that they worked for. So anything that a person can do to help any one of these affected people, that would be much appreciated,” says Brown.

If you would like to donate to the cause, you can do so here.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado State Patrol says it started with the report of a suspected drunk driver at 7:30 p.m. and ended with a police stand-off on I-25.

The State Patrol says it received a call on a REDDI (Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately) at 7:31 p.m., reporting a red Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck on I-25 just north of Second Street.

State Patrol then says its troopers started pursuing the vehicle after the driver refused to stop. CSP says that during the pursuit, the suspect rammed two patrol vehicles. It was after that when troopers performed what the State Patrol is calling a tactical vehicle intervention.

Once the vehicle stopped, a short standoff ensued. Dean Moore, age 60, of Colorado Springs, was taken into custody by law enforcement and taken to a local area hospital to be checked for injuries.

For updates on the road closure, visit COTrip.

Original Report:

The major highway connecting Colorado Springs to the rest of the Front Range is seeing a major delay due to police activity.

The Colorado Springs Police Department is asking drivers to find another route. In a post made on social media at 8:10 p.m., the police department said I-25 is closed due to police activity near the Rockrimmon Blvd exit. It’s not clear what triggered the closure; however, a viewer called into the KRDO13 News Station and said she saw at least eight police cars in the area.

KRDO13 is sending a team to the site of the closure to learn more. For updates on the road closure visit COTrip.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It’s an Absolutely Colorado mission to help hundreds of military families breathe a little easier during the holidays. This weekend, Operation Homefront was hosting its annual Holiday Meals for Military Program.

Organizers tell KRDO13 that 500 families signed up this year to receive Thanksgiving essentials and gift cards to make their holiday a success.

Bridgette Sanchez, a program manager with Operation Homefront, said the event is a huge help for families who are still trying to find their footing in the community.

“This is so big on making our military members and their families feel welcome. in the community as i was a military spouse, we moved around a lot and you move to a new location, you don’t have family, you don’t have friends, and just them coming here, that is the number one comment we hear is that they’re supportive and they’re so thankful that their community is here for them,” Sanchez said.

Saturday’s operation didn’t just focus on the Thanksgiving Day meal. Organizers tell us they know kids are off for the week, so they’re also hooking families up with a bag of essentials to get them through the break.

Learn more about Operation Homefront here.   

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Effrage Davis

Today we will have sunny and dry skies across Southern Colorado. We will have our highs in the 50s to 60s across the region.

We will continue have clear skies as we into the night. It will be chilly with lows in the 30s for the I-25 corridor and Eastern Plains while the High Country will have lows in the teens to 20s.

Snow and rain return to the forecast for your Sunday Funday. Snow will be in the High Country with some snow possible in portions of Northern El Paso County Sunday night. Along the I-25 corridor and Eastern Plains we can expect rain. Highs will be in the 40s to 50s across Southern Colorado.

We will dry out by the early hours Monday then our skies will become clear and sunny. Highs will increase back into the 50s to 60s along the Front Range and Eastern Plains with the High Country having highs in the 40s.

We will continue to have sunny skies Tuesday with temperatures falling down into the upper 30s to 40s for Southern Colorado.

We will continue have cool temperatures and sunny skies Wednesday.

Thanksgiving will be dry but cool with highs in the 40s to 50s. If you are doing the Turkey Trot make sure to bundle as we will start the day with temperatures in the 20s to 30s. It will also be in the 20s to 30s if you decided to go out shopping late Thanksgiving night into early Black Friday.

Black Friday we will continue to have highs in the 40s to 50s with dry and sunny skies.

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