Category: krdo-local-news

Josh Helmuth

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A $37 million bond is funding three years of upgrades at Manitou Springs schools. Students say the community behind those walls matters just as much as the buildings themselves.

The high school sits on one of the better overlooks in the region. Built in the 1960s, it is getting the kind of attention it has needed for a long time.

New roofs, mechanical units, and infrastructure work are already underway, all paid for by a bond voters approved last November. School District Chief Financial Officer Suzi Thompson said the district moved fast once the money was secured.

“We hit the ground running, started work right away,” she said. “Infrastructure, mechanical units, roofs… knowing this is really what we needed for these kids and our schools.”

But ask students what makes Manitou Springs High School worth investing in, and they skip past the building entirely.

“We’re really tied in with our town,” one student said. “The kids, they’ve all gone here together since kindergarten.”

Students talk about that closeness constantly.

“Everyone cares here,” another student said. “The staff cares. The community cares. The students care. And it just shows a sense of community that other schools don’t really have.”

Spanish teacher Ingrid Perez said the relationships are what keep her there.

“I love my coworkers,” she said. “I love building relationships with the kids.”

The bond money covers work across the entire district over the next three years, including the middle school and elementary schools as well.

Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The tenth annual Colorado Springs Comic Con starts Friday with a cast of highly talented live-action and animated actors and comic book artists.

Some of the highlights include Giancarlo Esposito and Jim Beaver from Amazon Prime’s “The Boys,” Jaimie Alexander from the Thor movies and TV series “Blindspot”, Katara voice actress Mae Whitman from the animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” and Will Friedle and Rider Strong from “Boy Meets World.”

Those interested in attending can find a full celebrity list here.

The three-day event starts for VIPs at 2 p.m. on Friday and ends at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Ticket prices range from $13 to $219 depending on age, number of days and VIP status. A single-day, general admission adult ticket ranges from $50 to $60.

You can find full ticketing information here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

AURORA, Colo. (KRDO) – A federal judge granted a partial injunction in favor of the private ICE facility, GEO Group, blocking Colorado from conducting unannounced inspections.

The company operates the Aurora facility and others across the country.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, ruled in favor of the company. He said it was subject to state law, but only to those in effect before GEO Group signed its contract with the federal government.

Colorado health officials have tried to gain access to the GEO Group facility in Aurora since a reported tuberculosis case last June. According to the state, GEO Group has denied all requests for inspection and documentation.

Democratic lawmakers introduced a law that would require the GEO Group to comply with unannounced inspections and provide health documentation. GEO Group ignored the directives and sued the state of Colorado, arguing that the law was unconstitutional.

The injunction lasts until Oct. 15, after GEO Group’s contract with the federal government expires.

Colorado Attorney General and Democratic nominee for Colorado governor, Phil Weiser, filed a separate lawsuit on Wednesday to try to force GEO Group to comply with a public health investigation into a reported case of tuberculosis.

Click here to follow the original article.

Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Neighbors along Rolling Thunder Way, south of Woodmen Road near the line between Falcon and Peyton, are thankful to see the rough, mile-long road finally getting a much-needed repaving.

Construction began last week and is scheduled for completion by the end of the month.

Last August, KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior reported on similar paving work on the quarter-mile of Foxtail Meadow Lane, behind the Walmart, from Woodmen to the Rolling Thunder intersection.

It led neighbors to ask why Rolling Thunder — a road in equally bad shape and with more traffic — wasn’t repaved in 2020 as the county promised.

When asked by The Road Warrior, county officials said they understood neighbors’ frustration and would try to move Rolling Thunder up the paving list.

And it actually happened.

“Oh, I’m super excited about it,” said neighbor Jason Petscoe. It’s been a long time coming, and I heard there were some issues in the past. But they’re getting it done now, and I really appreciate it.”

Another neighbor, Seth Caban, reflected on the vehicle damage caused by the rough road.

“Definitely seen some wear on the tires and the suspension. It’s caused a lot of havoc on the suspension, yeah.”

It’s not just a standard repaving job, either; the county describes it as a full-depth reclamation in which the old pavement and the underlying base are mixed to create a new base on which to apply new asphalt.

Crews have finished approximately half of the project.

Neighbors also shed some light on why the repaving took so long, explaining that the county didn’t want to start work until groundwater issues involving the local water board and the original developer were resolved.

“This is a leftover from when the developer went under; that work promised on the roads was never done,” Walter Fee, a neighbor, explained. “That was just before we moved in, so… hard to tell. But that road has been settling and settling. They did patchwork in spots, but it just was not gonna work.”

It’s unclear how much the Rolling Thunder project will cost, but it likely will be more than the $700,000 spent on Foxtail Meadow.

Click here to follow the original article.

Julia Donovan

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A Thai restaurant on North Academy Boulevard has now failed its routine health inspection two years in a row, racking up 11 violations in its most recent review.

Low scores:

Thai Taste Cuisine’s latest inspection, conducted by the El Paso County Health Department, turned up food stored at unsafe temperatures, employees using improper cooling methods, water pitchers being filled in a handwashing sink, and chemicals stored on a shelf directly above food.

A KRDO13 crew stopped by the restaurant. An employee said the owner was not there and provided a phone number. The owner did not answer. We left a message asking what the restaurant was doing to fix the violations and whether there was an underlying problem that caused back-to-back failed inspections.

Thai Taste Cuisine has not responded. The restaurant is still waiting on its re-inspection.

High scores:

Meanwhile, the Noodles & Company on Barnes Road earned a perfect score this week! Other high marks went to Mochi Thai’m Donuts on North Academy Boulevard, Starving in Manitou Springs, and Doug’s Breakfast Lunch off Austin Bluffs Parkway.

The owner of Doug’s Breakfast Lunch, Rob Fraley, has a simple explanation for the consistent top scores.

“I think a lot of places have it backwards,” Fraley said. “They panic when they think the health inspection’s coming. If you keep it clean every day, you’re gonna be clean when they show up, it doesn’t matter.”

Fraley said his focus stays on the customers who walk through the door every day, not the inspector who shows up once a year.

“We want customers to come back because they’re the ones who pay the bills, not the health inspector,” he said.

The clean kitchen is only part of the draw. Doug’s Breakfast Lunch also serves a sandwich called the Sassy, which combines strawberry jam and chorizo – a very unique and tasty menu offering!

Keep an eye out for the Restaurant Roundup awards at your favorite restaurant to know the kitchen inside is clean.

Reminder: all scores in the KRDO Restaurant Roundup come from routine health inspections conducted by the El Paso County Health Department.

Click here for a look at all the most recent health inspection scores.

Click here to follow the original article.

Alexander Brunet

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Powers Boulevard was shut down in both directions from Constitution Avenue to Palmer Park Boulevard following a multi-vehicle crash, according to CDOT.

A member of the police department’s Major Crash Team on scene said the crash involved two vehicles and a motorcycle, and that the rider is receiving treatment at a local hospital.

Police said the crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on northbound Powers when the motorcycle collided with a car; the impact sent the motorcycle into the southbound lanes where it hit another car.

The impact shattered the motorcycle and left debris in the traffic lanes.

It’s unclear how many people were in the two cars, and police said their injuries are minor.

By 9 a.m., the scene was clear as the wreckage and debris were removed and Powers reopened.

The crash caused major traffic backups during morning rush hour, as drivers even cut through parking lots to detour around the closure.

The incident remains under investigation by the crash team; police said that alcohol and speed were factors in the accident.

Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) – Country singer Lobo Loggins watched from his home in Penrose as flames filled the sky and red filled the town of Beulah.

“Beulah’s gone,” he told his wife.

Then, the unthinkable happened. A small border appeared in the center of the fire map. Surrounded by red, a small dot of white.

“Beulah’s strong,” Loggins said.

He couldn’t join the crews on the front lines, so Loggins did what he does best: He started writing.

Two days later, he had his lyrics. “Buelah Strong.”

He’s spent the last month workshopping the vocal tones accompanying guitar instrumentals. He’ll perform it live for the first time on Saturday.

He’ll play the song with his son, Jake, at the “Cañon City Loves” event Saturday at the local Loves Truck Stop, benefiting the Children’s Miracle Network. Loggins said he’s performing for free and donating tips to the network.

Loggins is not charging for recordings of the song. If you would like a copy, shoot him an email at Lobologgins@gmail.com.

Click here to follow the original article.

Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — In an update to a story by KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior in May 2025, officials have changed their minds about whether to install roundabouts on a two-lane, mile-long segment of Furrow Road.

Crews finished construction last week on a pair of roundabouts along the road through an upscale residential neighborhood just east of Monument.

One roundabout is just south of Highway 105, at the Minglewood Trail intersection; the other is farther south at the Lamplight Drive intersection, just north of Higby Road.

Officials hope that the traffic-calming devices will significantly reduce speeding on the hilly, winding road.

And although neighbors are willing to try anything to curb speeding, some are skeptical.

“It’s nice that they’re putting them in,” said Lark Haines, who lives next to one of the roundabouts. “I kinda have questions about the type of roundabouts they’re putting in and if they’re really going to have any traffic calming effects because the other mitigation projects have not made a difference at all.”

The roundabouts aren’t made of brick and concrete as we usually see, but are modular, using prefabricated materials bolted to the pavement.

Crews created buffer zones around the roundabouts so that semitrucks and other large vehicles can get around them, and some neighbors worry that traffic will drive over them.

Officials previously tried other measures to reduce speeding — such as narrowing the lanes to a width of 11 feet and creating a walking/biking path on the west side of Furrow.

However, some neighbors say that loose gravel from a median between the path and the road can be a hazard, adding that some spend their own time cleaning up the loose gravel.

The sheriff’s office has placed a speed meter along the road to monitor how often drivers violate the 30 mph speed limit.

The county recently released the following statement:

The original countermeasures we used were very effective; however, we have researched and are piloting this prefabricated, modular roundabout product on Furrow, since this road was already identified as a candidate for this type of traffic-calming improvement.

Officials estimate the cost of the project at $1.5 million.

Click here to follow the original article.

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — On a day when a pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle, blind students continue their routine of learning how to navigate around traffic that they can’t see.

Instructors teach specialized orientation and mobility (O&M) skills to around 70 students, from preschool to age 21, at the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind.

Using a mobility cane and accompanied by an instructor, the students gradually become familiar with walking on sidewalks, stepping on and off curbs, and crossing intersections in the hilly neighborhood around the school on Institute Street, just east of downtown.

The goal is for students to learn the skills they need to get a job, build a social life, travel, and do almost anything they want.

One of the instructors is Robin Tueting, who is partially blind, has 15 years of O&M experience, and is a two-time medalist at the Paralympic Games.

“I teach our students who are blind or have low vision, how to not only use a white cane and their residual vision to travel safely and navigate obstacles and things, but also to know where they are in space and get from where they are to where they need to be,” she explained.

One of her students is Stevie Zylstra, who began learning O&M at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The first time was online,” he recalled. “We talked about different things. Different terms we would hear when we came back in person — such as landmark, which is basically something that is always going to be there, that you can use to determine your location.”

Deaf students at the school have no similar training because their education focuses more on language skills.

Click here to follow the original article.

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) said a man tried to take an officer’s handgun while responding to a fight outside a nightclub in downtown Colorado Springs.

CSPD said a fight broke out on North Tejon around 2 a.m. While detaining suspects, it said a man from the crowd, 22-year-old Arkehl Beauford, came forward and shoved an officer.

CSPD said the officer tried to detain Beauford, who struggled. It said Beauford tried to grab the officer’s holstered handgun but was unsuccessful.

Officers arrested Beauford on suspicion of ‘criminal Attempt – Disarming a Peace Officer.’ CSPD did not report any injuries.

Click here to follow the original article.