Category: krdo-local-news

Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Phil Long Ford of Motor City says it is collecting pet food donations for the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region this holiday season.

To kick off the drive, Phil Long says it is donating a pallet of pet food, which amounts to about 2,000 pounds of food.

Additionally, those who bring a donation of their own to the dealership from now until Dec. 21 will get a free vehicle winter safety inspection, which Phil Long says is a $99 value.

“No one should have to choose between feeding themselves or their pets,” said Phil Long Ford of Motor City General Manager and Partner Mark Barton in a press release. “Even if you can only give a little bit, together, we can make sure that no pet goes hungry this holiday season.”

According to Phil Long of Motor City, the goal this year is to collect at least 10,000 pounds of pet food.

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Sadie Buggle

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Just before 10:30 a.m. Thursday, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) reopened the intersection of Stetson Hills Boulevard and Marksheffel Road after a truck slid off the road and crashed into a townhome.

Our crews on scene shared images of what appeared to be a work truck that had driven off the road, going over a short retaining wall before hitting the rear wall of the home.

As of noon Thursday, police hadn’t confirmed any details about the crash; however, neighbors said that no one was hurt.

The crash happened at 6300 Passport View, just south of the closed intersection.

Melissa Kueckelhan, a neighbor, said that the crash happened shortly after 7 a.m.

“I woke up, looked out the window, and saw lots of commotion going on,” she recalled. “Didn’t see the truck at first, but we just came out and saw the truck there. Totally scary.”

The townhome residents declined an interview request from KRDO 13.

The Red Cross visited the residents to assess any needs; Colorado Springs Utilities and a restoration company began assessing the damage for repairs.

The closed intersection is within the three miles of the ongoing Marksheffel widening project.

Although police didn’t immediately say whether icy road conditions may have caused the crash, many roads and streets across the city were slick to drive on during Thursday morning’s commute, after melting snow from Wednesday’s storm froze when overnight temperatures dropped under 20 degrees.

One particular trouble area was Barnes Road, a few blocks west of Powers Boulevard.

Witnesses said that two cars skidded, lost control, and bumped into each other, followed by one of the cars being struck by a third vehicle that left the scene.

The incidents happened on a hill on eastbound Barnes, which was literally a sheet of ice.

Sarah Para was one of the two drivers who spun out on the road.

“I was on my way to work,” she explained. “It was really scary to me. It came out of nowhere. Very sudden. I’m thankful no one was hurt.”

Steven Jarrel came to check on his sister, who was the driver of the second stuck car.”

“I don’t think anyone expected the roads to be like this,” he said. “I drove through here last night, and it wasn’t like this.”

The hill is near a construction site, and two wheels of one car became stuck on a curb; several people tried to pull her out, but the effort was unsuccessful.

A police officer arrived to talk with the two drivers who spun out.

The sun quickly melted much of the ice on the road, and plow trucks made several passes to scrape up snow and ice.

Earlier on Thursday morning, a convoy of six plows worked along the bottom of Broadmoor Bluffs Drive and the south end of Academy Boulevard.

An overnight city streets supervisor said that ice on secondary and neighborhood streets likely would be a concern on Thursday.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Anchors and reporters from KRDO13 will be at the Whataburger off of Montebello Drive until 6:30 p.m. Thursday for our annual Season of Sharing Toy Drive.

We partner with Toys for Tots every year to help make it a very merry Christmas for all children in Colorado Springs. You can also donate at any Whataburger location in Southern Colorado until Dec. 21.

If you can’t make it out in person, you can give a monetary donation here. If you aren’t in Colorado Springs, your monetary donation will go to your local Toys for Tots chapter.

Reporter Bradley Davis and the KRDO13 crew are already at the Montebello location. Come on by and see us on your way into work!

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Scott Harrison

MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) — Snow continued to fall steadily in the Monument area of northern El Paso County, as of noon Wednesday.

Traffic on I-25 began to accumulate, although conditions were generally slushy, and traffic on Monument Hill began to slow.

Drivers may find more snow-packed and icy conditions on Highway 105 through Monument.

The travel conditions described above may be slightly worse on neighborhood or lightly-traveled streets and roads.

There were no reports of crashes or accidents in the area as of noon, but two non-injury vehicle slide-offs occurred on I-25 between Briargate Parkway and Baptist Road.

Drivers should watch for heavy plow activity on I-25; that, along with pre-treating some roads with salt brine on Tuesday, were major factors in keeping roads clear.

The weather didn’t prevent truck drivers from two area truck stops from continuing to their destinations.

“I picked up off of 70, west of Denver, and I’m going to Houston, Texas,” said Murat Torneli. “My original (arrival) time was Thursday afternoon. Now, it’s probably going to be like a Friday — late Friday.”

Torneli said that he was impressed with the work of the snowplows and salt trucks.

“They did a better job than I’ve seen in other states,” he observed. “I like the way they look, too. They look new and fancy.”

KRDO 13 will continue to report on conditions in the region’s most significant winter weather of this season.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — It’s fairly common to see areas along abandoned railroad tracks converted to recreational trails, but changing an existing road to a trail seems a bit more unusual.

But that’s a proposal by the Fountain Mutual Metro District, an entity that oversees stormwater management and parks/recreation in the area north of Fountain proper, including the community of Security-Widefield.

The road involved is a three-mile stretch of Goldfield Drive, west of Powers Boulevard, between Bradley Road and Fontaine Boulevard.

That segment passes the southwest side of Johnson Reservoir.

According to a web page detailing this proposal, the metro district recently sponsored a study to address safety concerns along Goldfield — regarding dumping, vandalism, and other illegal activity.

The study included exploring opportunities for expanding trail connections to open space and existing trails around the reservoir.

A possible benefit of turning Goldfield into a trail is the study’s finding that it might be a better investment than the high cost of repairing a bridge on the road — and widening the road, as well.

Neighbors are split over the proposal; some agree with it, while others say that Goldfield provides a shortcut for drivers to avoid heavier traffic on Fontaine.

The metro district will hold a 90-minute open house on Tuesday evening, starting at 5 p.m., to provide information and answer questions about the road-to-trail idea.

Jerry Masarik voiced his disapproval of the plan during KRDO 13’s Good Morning Colorado coverage.

“I agree with the reservoir being maintained, improving that area,” he said. “But keep this road open. It’s a nice, quiet drive, and you get to see the reservoir, the mountains, and a lot of wildlife. If they want to watch for illegal activity, install some surveillance cameras. The same people who brought in big trucks to dredge the reservoir should also pay for the damage they did to the bridge.”

Security-Widefield native Charlie Ford said that he remembers hunting, hiking, and riding bikes in the area as a child.

“I understand why drivers would want to keep (Goldfield) open,” he said. “Bu turning it into a trail and an open space, it’ll be here forever and won’t have houses built on it. That’s good.”

The open house is scheduled to take place at the Widefield Parks & Recreation Center, 755 Aspen Drive, with a presentation at 6 p.m. on what’s officially called the Goldfield Corridor Concept Plan.

For more information, visit: https://www.goldfieldcorridorplan.com/.

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Celeste Springer

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The City of Pueblo has announced that it has received more than $15.6 million from a federal grant to replace the city’s diesel buses with hybrid buses.

According to the city, the money came from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Buses & Bus Facilities Program. The grant program for low or no-emission buses is dispersing about $2 billion to programs nationwide, a city spokesperson said.

“We received 96% of our ask which is significant. We are incredibly grateful to the [Federal Transit Administration] FTA to receive this grant which will not only changes the face of our fleet but lowers emission in our city which benefits our residents in multiple ways,” said Director of Transit Ben Valdez in a release.

Pueblo Transit will also receive about $3.9 million in planning funds from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), a spokesperson said.

“This grant award is huge opportunity for Pueblo Transit to transform their fleet and makes me incredibly proud to see the City receive one of the largest grants in recent history,” said Mayor of Pueblo Heather Graham.

According to the City of Pueblo, they currently have 16 buses, and will keep only five, which have “useful life which do not need replacement.” They plan to buy 15 new hybrid buses.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The snow that fell overnight Sunday didn’t delay a project to make upgrades to a pair of left-turn lanes between two shopping areas along a busy road in Falcon.

Officials have closed the northbound turn lane into a Walmart shopping center, and the southbound turn lane into a McDonald’s business area, on Meridian Road, just south of Woodmen Road.

County officials issued a release about the project last week, without providing specifics of the work being done.

Improving accessibility along county roads was stated in the release as the general reason for the project.

One improvement could be to replace lane makers that have worn off the pavement over time and traffic.

McLaughlin Road, Rolling Thunder Way, Foxtail Meadow Lane, and Meridian Market View (through the Walmart shopping center) are the recommended detours.

According to the release, the county has scheduled 15 days to complete the project — weather permitting.

It’s the area’s second road project this year.

In August, crews reconstructed and paved Foxtail Meadow, behind the Walmart and between Woodmen and Rolling Thunder, to include the Rolling Thunder/Foxtail Meadow intersection.

That led some neighbors to ask why the county didn’t keep an earlier promise to perform the same work on the remaining 3/4-mile of Rolling Thunder, which currently has many pothole patches.

The county responded by saying that it would consider adding that segment to next year’s paving list.

Denni Offord sent an email to KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior after the story aired, expressing displeasure with the project:

“The only way the county can improve traffic and Safety at the Walmart intersection in Falcon is with a light (traffic signal). That is the original intersection of 2007. It is so dangerous from all directions. The county just adds more and more developments and cars, and doesn’t care.”

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Snow that was expected but didn’t fall a week ago, did fall overnight Sunday in the area’s first significant widespread accumulation of the season.

As of 6 a.m. Monday, Interstate 25 between downtown Colorado Springs and Monument was mostly wet as crews from the Colorado Department of Transportation sprayed liquid salt to prevent ice formation.

There was little or no snow for plows to remove.

Except for one car that crashed into the median on northbound I-25 near the Woodmen Road interchange at some point during the storm, KRDO 13 saw no other vehicles slide or get stuck.

However, Highway 105 west of I-25 in Monument was snow-packed and icy, and drivers will likely find similar conditions on neighborhood streets, hills, bridges, overpasses, and highway entrance/exit ramps.

Northerly winds produced a temperature of 15 degrees on Monument Hill, and a steady wind from the north made it feel even colder; but the dry, fluffy snow seemed to cause few impacts for morning rush hour.

It appears that Monument received from two to four inches of snow, and more is in the area forecast for mid-week.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The first major snow of the 2025-26 winter season has not been kind to drivers in Colorado Springs, causing multiple crashes throughout the city.

Perhaps the most concentrated area of crashes so far is the Westbound Fillmore, where the entire road is closed due to multiple crashes.

Colorado Springs Police said one person was injured in the crash. An ambulance and a firetruck responded to the crash. When the ambulance arrived to respond to the injured person, the firetruck following it tried to stop but couldn’t and hit the ambulance.

“The fire department, they were just too heavy for all that very slick ice. And so even though they stopped or tried to stop way far behind it, their vehicle slid into the ambulance,” says Sergeant Gilman.

As a result, Sergeant Gilman says they had to wait for the help of a tow truck, which was in high demand at the time, causing delays.

CSPD said it caused no further injuries or damage to either vehicle.

Since arriving on scene, CSPD said about a dozen other vehicles have slid off the road into the rocks or the nearby Waffle House Parking lot.

The Colorado Springs Police Department is asking drivers to find an alternate route.

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Michael Logerwell

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – One lane is closed on I-25 heading south in El Paso County.

According to COTrip, traffic has slowed heavily for those heading down to Colorado Springs on I-25. The crash happened between Exit 167, Greenland, and Exit 163, County Line Road.

Checking the I-25 cameras, it appears that only one lane is closed, but it’s causing slowdowns for all lanes back past the Greenland Exit.

KRDO13 is working to learn more information about the crash and will update this report.

For the most up-to-date information on road closures, visit COTrip.

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