Category: krdo-local-news

Michael Logerwell

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Emotions ran high at the D49 special school board meeting Tuesday night. On the docket, the upcoming school budget, as well as Policy JBAA dealing with sex segregated facilities.

At Tuesday’s special board meeting, students, parents, and teachers made one final plea to the board, asking them to reverse their budget cuts and save some of the staff positions and programs that now rest on the other side of the chopping block.

Amid the crowd was a smaller group, attempting to throw one last Hail Mary, one last buzzer beater before time expires.

“It seems like we are getting rid of the people who work with students the most,” said David Jung, a technical education teacher, who received a letter informing him that his position at Horizon Middle School would no longer be needed.

Jung told KRDO13 he speaks with employers to find out what skills kids would need as they enter the workforce, then works to teach those skills to his students. He also runs the school greenhouse, which gives students the opportunity to grow their own food.

It’s a unique feature that he says really resonates with his pupils.

“So often I see students just sitting down there doing worksheets. They’re on a computer. [But] in the greenhouse, we get to go get our hands dirty. We get to do project-based learning. It’s an opportunity that students who, even when they first get into the class, [are] not fully sure what they’re getting into. They always tell me that they were so glad they had that opportunity,” Jung said.

Students spoke too, rallying around the only teacher in the district who offers coding certifications.

“He’s the only person who can do this, a very important job, especially in 2026, where we need coding,” One student said. “And it makes me furious that they cut him.”

It appears those pleas fell on deaf ears. The discussion about the budget was limited tonight. It passed, making those budget and program cuts official.

“It’s not a great day to be a Horizon Panther. I can say that much,” Jung said.

Later in the meeting, after a lengthy back-and-forth discussion, the board repealed Policy JBAA, which they originally passed last fall. You can read more about that policy here.

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Josh Helmuth

MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) – Lewis-Palmer High School put on a very special day for another child during their annual “Wish Week” last week.

The student council pulled out all the stops this year for Alex Thrower, who’s spent much of his childhood in the hospital. As part of their “Wish Week,” their goal was to raise money for kids like Alex, while also throwing one giant party for the 12-year-old, and boy, did they.

A packed gym played the “Imperial March” before launching into a light-saber battle. There was also a dance battle and a game against the teachers, “Are You Smarter Than A Seventh Grader?” Some students even shaved their heads as a sign of solidarity with Alex.

The school said, “having a ‘wish kid’ to build our ‘wish week’ around is extremely important so we can make the week more personal.”

“It also gives us a great opportunity to connect with the sweetest kids like Alex.”

Do you know something or someone remarkable at your school? Tell us! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.

You can donate to Make A Wish by visiting MakeAWish.com.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – For the second year, the Ent Center for the Arts is rolling out the red carpet for its “House of GOCA: Stardust” show inspired by its featured art exhibit.

A new tradition started in 2025, The Ent Center recruits designers from across the region to put on a fashion show inspired by the works of its current featured gallarist. This year, it features the work of Transcendentalist artist and Palmer High School graduate Nina Elder. The theme for both Elder and the designers is “Stardust.”

The center debuted the event last year based on the work of locally-based world-renowned artist Patrick Shearn, who later created the extremely popular installation above Gazebo Lake in Green Mountain Falls this past summer.

The show is on Friday, February 20, from 6 to 10 p.m. You can buy tickets here.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — Around 40 neighbors on the city’s northwest side recently attended a public meeting to learn more about two upcoming projects designed to improve travel there.

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior first reported on the projects in early December: An extension of Sun Mountain Boulevard, north from 24th to 31st streets; and building or repairing 68 bus stops.

Many residents are glad to hear of the projects starting later this year and continuing through next year, at a total cost of nearly $17 million.

Officials have said that the West Side has long been underdeveloped because of travel challenges, including many streets that don’t connect, a creek, and physical barriers such as railroad tracks and a mesa that physically separate the community in half.

However, now that the city is determined to improve transportation there, some neighbors at the public meeting wondered whether the upgrades would lead to too much development.

“A great meeting,” said Andrew Hayes, the city’s public works director. Got lots of feedback and comments. And it was good to be able to kind of bring people up to speed. They’ve been hearing about the project for a long time. They’ve seen some work going on. But it was good to get them brought up to speed.”

What would make travel through the West Side even better — but also make it more ripe for development — is the city’s future goal of building a bridge on 24th Street that would rise above the physical barriers mentioned above.

Currently, the only routes across the West side are at a train crossing on 29th Street and a bridge on 18th Street.

Another significant project is winding down at the intersection of 24th Street and Pueblo Boulevard; that’s where Pueblo County is making upgrades as part of the construction of a new jail and the Medal of Honor Boulevard that would give the area its first direct link between the West Side and Pueblo West.

Gregory George, the county’s public works director, explained that the project included a new wastewater system, stormwater improvements, water service line, and fiber optics.

“Additionally, there is work that needs to be completed in the median to build the intersection,” he said. “There was a two-month delay on the concrete paving work along the shoulder of both sides of Pueblo Boulevard due to quality issues with the concrete material and workmanship. The median work could not be done until the traffic control devices could be moved to accommodate the median work.”

As for Medal of Honor Boulevard, George said that the project’s contractor expects to finish by the end of March.

There’s also a new fire station on 24th Street, a few blocks west of the Pueblo Boulevard intersection.

No dates have been announced for the start of the Sun Mountain Boulevard and bus stop projects.

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Michael Logerwell

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — Pueblo Police say this wasn’t a random home break-in. No electronics or jewelry were stolen. Instead, something that holds more emotional value was taken: an urn holding the cremains of the homeowner’s father.

The call from the Belmont neighborhood in the northeast part of Pueblo is loud and clear: “Return my father’s ashes.”

On Jan. 21, Geraldine Sierra was on break at her job when her security cameras alerted her to motion near her house. The video shows a black car quickly stopping near her home, and two people in dark hoodies running up her neighbor’s driveway. She was at first unsure if it was related to her home. That was until her internal home camera showed those same people breaking through the back sliding glass door.

Sierra called the police and rushed home, but the criminals were already gone.

“I didn’t know what they had had exactly until I got home, and my son had noticed that the urn was gone,” she said.

Inside that urn were the cremains of Sierra’s father, Patrick, who died less than a year ago after a battle with cancer.

“He was like my best friend. Something that I talked to every single day up until he passed away. You know, he was my hero. He was my– my everything, honestly. When he passed away, like, everything just stopped,” Sierra said.

Pueblo Police tell KRDO13 this break-in was targeted, because of where the thieves parked initially, walking up a neighbor’s driveway to get to the back door, and going straight to the bedroom.

In all, Sierra said they took a couple of purses and some of her son’s jeans, in addition to her father’s urn.

“I just wish somebody would bring him back home.”

If you recognize the vehicle, the two people who broke in, or see the urn around you’re asked to call the Pueblo Police Department. 

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Samantha Hildebrandt

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Gold and silver prices are shattering records, prompting a surge of activity at local coin shops as investors look for stability amid growing economic uncertainty.

Gold prices climbed above $5,000 an ounce this week — a historic high — while silver also continues to surge. Economists say the rapid increase reflects investor concern over inflation, global conflicts, and the future strength of the U.S. economy.

“When people feel less confident about the U.S. economy, they start hedging their bets against the U.S. dollar,” said Tatiana Bailey, an economist. “That’s translating into people turning to gold.”

That uncertainty played out in real time Friday at Hallenbeck’s Coin Gallery in downtown Colorado Springs, where a line wrapped around the building for much of the day as customers waited to buy and sell precious metals.

The shop’s owner, Tom Hallenbeck, says the demand is unlike anything he’s seen in decades.

“The pace of this surge is just insane right now,” Hallenbeck said. “There’s nothing like it that I can remember.”

Hallenbeck has been in the business since the 1980s and says both longtime collectors and first-time sellers are flooding through the doors. Many are cashing in on items they’ve held onto for years — even decades.

“We’re seeing people who have had items for 40 to 50 years, and they’re bringing them in to sell,” Hallenbeck said.

At the same time, others are buying — worried prices could climb even higher, and that they’ll miss out if they wait.

Economists say precious metals are often viewed as a safe haven during periods of uncertainty, especially when stock markets are volatile or confidence in traditional currency weakens.

Experts say whether prices continue to rise will largely depend on what happens next with interest rates, inflation, and the global economy.

For now, demand remains strong — and local businesses are feeling the impact firsthand.

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) says a truck wiped out a sign, among other things, just outside Station 7 over the weekend. It’s the second time in recent history that a vehicle has crashed near the building, CSFD says.

According to CSFD, this latest crash happened just before 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. Besides the sign, the truck hit a fence and wall, CSFD says.

Source: CSFD

“Also, we JUST replaced that sign from the last time someone hit it. Come on people help us out here. Please drive safely in the snow,” wrote CSFD on social media.

Source: CSFD

CSFD says no injuries were reported in Sunday’s crash.

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Celeste Springer

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The Pueblo Police Department (PPD) says one person was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after they were chased by another car and shot.

PPD says around 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, a vehicle began chasing a GMC Arcadia in the area of St. Clair Avenue. The suspect then fired shots at the Arcadia, and the Arcadia crashed in the area of Palmer and Veta Avenues, police say.

The person struck by gunfire has serious injuries, and another person in the car had minor injuries from the crash.

PPD says they are still looking for the suspect’s vehicle, but have not released its description.

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Chipotle is slated to open a new Colorado Springs location on Friday.

According to a company spokesperson, the location is at 7351 Central Rail Point, down the road from Peterson Space Force Base. Chipotle says the location will feature a “Chipotlane” drive-thru.

Beginning Friday, Jan. 30, the new location will be open from 10:45 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A Chipotle spokesperson says they are still hiring. To see positions, click here.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Snow accumulation and sub-zero temperatures on Monday morning led officials to postpone one of two planned road closures related to construction projects.

The closures were officially to start at 6 a.m. on a three-mile stretch of Las Vegas Street between Janitell Road and Highway 85/87, and on the eastbound on-ramp to Milton E. Proby Parkway above Academy Boulevard.

While the Las Vegas closure began as scheduled, officials decided to postpone the parkway closure for a day because of the weather.

Closures on Las Vegas are nothing new; they’ve occurred intermittently as part of the two-year, $40 million project to replace four aging bridges above the street, on Circle Drive.

That project essentially ended late last year, but crews are preparing for the final step of tearing down the eastbound bridge over railroad tracks.

The closure is scheduled to last three weeks.

Meanwhile, the ramp closure on Milton E. Proby Parkway will last much longer, not reopening until the end of May; crews are upgrading water and drainage infrastructure as part of the city’s ongoing South Academy Boulevard improvements project.

As KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior reported in an update last week, the project should be finished by the summer of 2028.

On a related note, many drivers hope that the final phase of the Circle bridge replacement means that the Willwood Tunnel will reopen soon.

The single-lane tunnel is a shortcut under Interstate 25 between Janitell and The Broadmoor World Arena, but officials closed it early during the bridge project because of traffic congestion from drivers trying to avoid the construction.

Just west of the scheduled Las Vegas closure, crews continue to build a new train crossing under the MLK Bypass to Hancock Expressway.

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