Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman named to the National League All-Star team
Rob Namnoum
Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman was named to the All-Star game on Sunday.
At least one person taken to the hospital in reported head-on crash near North Nevada Ave.
Celeste Springer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) says they are on scene of a crash at Mount View Lane and North Nevada Avenue. Police say they got the call around 2:45 p.m. on Monday.
CSPD was not able to independently verify this at the time of KRDO’s inquiry, but said callers reported witnessing a head-on crash. A KRDO13 crew at the scene says one car is rolled over.
At least one person has been taken to the hospital, CSPD said. No word on that person’s condition.
Drivers should avoid the area, as CSPD says it will take time to clear the crash.
How a Colorado Springs nonprofit hopes to create a cleaner, safer downtown
Mackenzie Stafford
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On Monday, the Downtown Partnership presented the Clean & Safe Pilot Program to the Colorado Springs City Council. It comes after the Downtown Partnership launched the 19-month pilot program to drive economic development in Downtown Colorado Springs. The nonprofit says this aims to improve safety, cleanliness, and the overall experience for businesses, residents, and visitors. They hope that by creating a more welcoming and vibrant urban environment, the program will increase foot traffic, attract private investment, support local businesses, and generate long-term economic growth for the city and region.
Despite reports of decreasing homelessness overall, public disturbances continue to increase in the Downtown district, the Downtown Partnership shared.
“This program is a direct response to what we’ve been hearing from our businesses: the need for a more consistent, inviting, and welcoming environment to support customers and employees,” said Chelsea Gondeck, Interim CEO. “When people feel good about being here, they stay longer, spend more, and come back. This initiative lays the groundwork for sustained business success and long-term investment in the heart of our city.”
Pat Rigdon, the new Director of Downtown Safety and Public Space Management, is spearheading the effort with his rare perspective. Rigdon is a former Deputy Chief of Police, the former owner of Mary’s Mountain Cookies downtown and a resident.
“Historically, we’ve provided limited supplemental security and coordinated disjointed services from other providers,” said Rigdon. “A coordinated, proactive approach to public safety is essential to ensuring Downtown remains competitive and inviting for everyone, and this program aims to provide a proof of concept.”
The nonprofit says the program is a proactive, holistic model integrating three main strategies:
· Welcoming and knowledgeable Ambassadors to assist and guide visitors during peak tourist times, as well as provide eyes on the streets to coordinate with other resources to address issues promptly
· Expanded supplemental private security to increase visibility and coverage throughout the greater Downtown area from the early mornings to the early evenings
· Outreach personnel dedicated to the Downtown area who are focused on addressing homelessness and behavioral health in coordination with public safety and service providers
They say that all together these efforts aim to create a cleaner, safer, and more connected downtown environment.
The program will be continuously evaluated and refined to identify the most effective strategies for addressing the increasing challenges related to public safety, homelessness, and cleanliness. The Downtown Partnership plans to hold a town hall meeting where business owners will be able to provide feedback on the pilot program in the coming months. Upon completion, the nonprofit looks forward to data-driven recommendations from the program to guide the development of a permanent initiative supported by sustainable, dedicated funding.
Business owners in Downtown Colorado Springs tell KRDO13 this new program can’t come soon enough.
Terra Verde on Tejon Street shared their joy when learning of the Clean and Safe Pilot and how it aims to help the homeless population while decreasing disturbances.
“I love that because I know it keeps everybody safe, which means our customers want to come down here more because it has become a problem, probably in every city. And so I think it’ll be a great thing. And we can explain what’s going on and how we’re helping people keep safe. And people want to walk into a store if they see that no homeless people are walking around,” explained office manager Tara Schutz.
Schutz says the security guards already on staff are incredibly kind and will check in on businesses to see if they need anything throughout the week. Now she’s looking forward to having two more in the downtown area.
“Especially when you said there will be more presence here. I mean, that just makes me happy,” shared Schutz.
It’s similar to what Rigdon says he’s heard from many business owners downtown.
“I’ve met with about 60 businesses. One of the frequent things that they talk about is early morning hours and how, you know, they just find people sleeping, in either the doorway, preventing their employees from getting in those kinds of things. So the security officers showing up at 6 a.m. will help clean the area so the merchants can get into the business areas. They’ll encounter people, I’m sure, if they need services, they can help them at that time of day if they’re willing. But it’ll kind of just set the tone for the day,” explained Rigdon.
Hence the change
“We currently have a contracted security company that provides eight hours of security seven days a week. But we’re going to expand that. And certainly, during Thursday, Friday and Saturday when we have a lot of pedestrian traffic downtown, a lot of visitors, we’re going to have two teams of two security guards, but they’re going to also expand their hours to 18 hours a day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then 16 hours a day is going to be, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. So it’s really going to be an increase. And we hope that does a couple of things. Number one, just a visible presence, makes people feel a little bit more safe. But we also hope it positively impacts the police. they can’t be everywhere all at once. And so we’re hoping that 90% of the calls that happen down here can be handled by our, great security guards and leave the police to do some of the bigger things,” shared Rigdon.
Section of Pikes Peak Greenway Trail damaged after recent rain
Celeste Springer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services says a section of the Pikes Peak Greenway Trail was damaged after recent storms.
According to the department, there is a closure near El Pomar Sports Complex. Officials say crews are around the area assessing for other damage.
“Please use caution, as you may encounter sediment in familiar trouble spots—and possibly some new ones,” a spokesperson with the department said.
The parks department says those hitting the trail should slow down in areas that have a lot of debris or are muddy. Be sure to keep an eye out for crews and share the trail with other people out enjoying the outdoors.
Developers are looking to old office spaces for apartments, and Colorado Springs is next
Celeste Springer
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The old Parkside Office Suites building off East Bijou Street has arguably seen better days. Mother Nature has begun to reclaim the parking lot, with green sprouts popping up through its cracked pavement. The large red-paneled building has plenty of street-facing windows, but a closer look reveals that many are shattered and boarded.
Photo: Pikes Peak Regional Building Department
A sign on the building also points to a bygone era: “Office space from $350.”
Photo: Pikes Peak Regional Building Department
But the building will soon bring in revenue again, though this time from clients of a different sort.
The old Parkside Office Suites, located at 125 N Parkside Dr., will be converted into 32 “micro apartments.”
“It will be a nice infill project to clean up an old building that appears to be in rough shape,” wrote a spokesperson for the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department on Facebook. “We haven’t permitted a lot of renovations like this, but it’s a growing trend nationwide.”
In the 2024 Colorado legislative session, lawmakers looked to create a tax credit program for those converting commercial buildings to residential ones. The bill, House Bill 24-1125, ultimately failed, but it didn’t stop developers in Colorado from pursuing this latest style of development.
In Denver, one converted office space is now used as affordable housing, our partners at 9News report. As of 2023, residents at 655 Broadway pay anywhere from $650 to $1,700 a month in rent.
While the conversion trend is growing in cities like Colorado Springs and Denver, it’s not a new phenomenon elsewhere. According to reporting from ABC News, New York City property owners began converting office space in the Financial District in the fallout of 9-11, rebranding the area as “FiDi” for residents. However, development conversion plans really only started to gain major momentum following the pandemic, right as office spaces emptied.
As for Colorado Springs’ Parkside Office Suites building, the PPRBD calls it a “unique project” for the area.
Both directions of Highway 50 closed near Highway 69 due to semi-truck rollover
Celeste Springer
FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Highway 50 is closed near milepost 247 after a semi-truck rollover crash, according to Colorado State Patrol (CSP).
CSP says the crash is near Highway 69, and maps show the closure runs between Sand Gulch and North Road.
Both directions of Highway 50 are closed, and CSP says the closure is expected to last for roughly 4 to 5 hours.
Officials say there is a detour onto Fremont County Road 1A. Drivers should expect delays.
First full week of July brings six new road-related projects starting in El Paso County
Scott Harrison
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — It seems like nowadays, there’s no true off-season for projects that can affect traffic and pedestrians.
And now, the post-holiday period brings six new projects to the area — some of which start Monday — so residents in affected areas should be aware of them.
Three of the six projects are in Manitou Springs, where traffic has already been disrupted this year by two emergency utility line repairs and a scheduled utility line replacement.
Those three projects also involve fiber optic cable installations that require closures of streets, sidewalks, and shoulders.
One project is centered around the intersection of Beckers Lane and El Paso Boulevard; it will reduce available parking spaces at Colorado Ski Furniture and affect four residential streets.
The second project is near the intersection of Manitou Avenue and Old Mans Trail, just east of downtown.
The third project is in the heart of downtown, at the intersection of Canon Avenue and Lovers Lane.
Likely the biggest project is in Colorado Springs at the intersection of Hopeful Drive and South Blissful Circle, east of the major intersection of Academy Boulevard and Austin Bluffs Parkway.
The Hopeful/Blissful intersection will close for a month so that crews can replace a storm sewer line; the project requires a 24-hour crew to pump drainage around the project and ensure that the pumps aren’t too loud for surrounding neighbors.
The project is part of the major drainage improvements underway in the Park Vista South area, where flash flooding from the Templeton Gap Floodway often posed a flash flooding risk and required closing Siferd Boulevard for safety reasons.
Two projects are happening in El Paso County; one is a water line installation that requires a weeklong closure of the north entrance to the new Falcon Marketplace, at the intersection of Meridian and Eastonville roads.
The water line will serve future development north of that shopping area; customers can still access the Marketplace from the west and south.
Finally, the extension of an existing water line will close the south end of Fontaine Boulevard at the Powers Boulevard and Marksheffel Road intersections for two days; the water line will serve a new development north of Fontaine.
All six projects will be spread out between Monday and the end of July, with work happening during daylight hours.
Safeway, Albertsons strike halts as tentative labor deal is reached
Mackenzie Stafford
COLORADO (KRDO) — Workers at dozens of Colorado Safeway and Albertsons stores ended their strike Saturday, July 5, after striking a tentative new labor deal with the grocery chain’s parent company.
The announcement came in a social media post from the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 (UFCW). The union described the deal as “all gains, no concessions.”
Among the dozens of key provisions hammered out during those negotiations are higher wages, improved dental and vision benefits, a fully funded pension, and protections against union work going to gig companies such as Doordash.
The union said the parent company, Albertsons, has also agreed to terminate all temporary replacement workers.
The new contract is still subject to a ratification vote by union members, which is expected sometime over the coming week.
In the meantime, those who hit the picket lines are expected to return to the job Monday.
UPDATE: Colorado Springs teen found
Mackenzie Stafford
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — UPDATE:
The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) announced that Sophia Muniz has been safely located as of 3:34 p.m. Sunday.
PREVIOUS REPORTING:
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent out a missing person alert for a Colorado Springs teen.
Sophia Muniz, a 14-year-old Indigenous girl, was last seen on July 4 at 8 a.m. near the intersection of Shelley Ave. and S Murray Blvd. in Colorado Springs, according to CBI.
Authorities say she was last seen wearing a white top and shorts.
If seen, CBI urges you to call 911 or the Colorado Springs Police Department at 719-444-7000.
Courtesy of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Two ejected, one killed in Colorado Springs crash
Mackenzie Stafford
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — On Saturday at 2:39 a.m., the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) got a call about a crash.
The department says it was on South Circle Drive, on the bridge over Hancock. When officers arrived, they determined a pickup truck was driving southbound on Circle Drive with two passengers in the back.
Police say another car was driving south and hit the pickup truck.
Officers say that because of the crash, two people were ejected from the back of the pickup truck. CSPD said one person was transported to the hospital with serious injuries, and the other had a medical intervention but died on the scene.
Police say Chase Chason was arrested for DUI on the scene; it’s unclear which car he was driving. Officers say impairment and speed are suspected in this crash.
CSPD’s major crash team is investigating the details of the crash.
Police are urging any witnesses who observed or have dash cam footage of the incident to call the non-emergency line at 719-444-7000 to give their statement.