Category: krdo-local-news

Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — For many drivers, the much-needed and long-awaited repaving of Circle Drive can’t happen soon enough.

And it will begin next week at the south end, near the recently completed project to replace four bridges, according to message signs in the area.

But one more project remains before the paving work starts.

City officials announced on Tuesday that the exit ramp to Hancock Expressway from southbound Circle has closed and will remain closed through the end of the month.

A city spokesman said that the closure is because of a water line installation across Circle.

Traffic on southbound Circle is reduced to one lane around the construction site; the city urges drivers to slow down and adhere to the 35 mph speed limit.

While KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior awaits a response to a request for more details from Colorado Springs Utilities, it appears that the water line may serve a future housing development between the ramp and Hancock, under the hill where the Spring Creek neighborhood is.

The city spokesman also said that the closure is one of the final phases of the bridge project; some of that work requires continued lane closures on Hancock, under the bridges.

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Rob Namnoum

The Colorado Springs Switchbacks defeated Sporting KC in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night three to nothing. As the Switchbacks advance in the U.S. Open Cup.

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Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On March 22, at approximately 8:14 p.m., the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) says it received a call for service regarding a head-on traffic crash near the intersection of Briargate Boulevard and Lexington Drive. Police say the initial report indicated that two vehicles were racing eastbound on Briargate Boulevard when one crossed into oncoming traffic and struck a westbound Volkswagen SUV head-on.

Both drivers were transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. Police say the driver of the Volkswagen SUV died from their injuries at the hospital. On March 23, 2026, the El Paso County Coroner’s Office identified her as 77-year-old Deanna Stemler.

Police say the CSPD Major Crash Team assumed responsibility for the investigation and that speed is being investigated as a contributing factor in this crash.

Nearly a month after the crash, no arrests have been made. Police tell KRDO13 the investigation is still ongoing, and no one has been charged at the time of this writing. Officers say they are making good progress in the investigation, but that they are not at a point where they can release anything just yet.

Stemler was driving home from church when the crash happened, leaving her community grappling with her sudden loss. Garrett McNew, Assistant Pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church, said Stemler was a beloved member of the church and a devout follower of Christ.

McNew explained how Stemler worked with kids in their Sunday School classes on Sundays and Mondays. He said she always seemed happiest when sharing God’s love with the children.

Stemler was a gifted piano teacher. She played the keys at church, at home and even gave free lessons to kids when she lived in Texas, the assistant pastor shared.

Friends and fellow congregants remember her for making everyone feel valued and important.

“Even if it was your first conversation, you left thinking you were the most important person in the world,” said Assistant Pastor Garrett McNew.

At Lighthouse Baptist Church, many knew her simply as “Mrs. Dee.”

“She was so full of energy and spunky and she loved working with all the kids here at the church,” shared McNew. “She loved those little kids, and that was her way of showing Jesus to others, was just loving people who really can’t do anything else for you. They’re just little kids. And she loved them, loved them, loved them, loved them.”

Stemler led a full and interesting life outside of church, McNew explained. He shared that she and her late husband were instrumental in bringing the ProRodeo Hall of Fame to Colorado Springs. McNew said Stemler met Ronald Reagan during her life. Despite her life experiences, he says she remained humble and dedicated to her faith.

McNew said when he heard the news of Stemler’s death, it was like a gut punch.

“There was no reason for the accident. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was in her turn lane, just making a left-hand turn into her house like she did every time she came home,” McNew said.

In the midst of their grief, members of the church grapple with forgiveness. Assistant Pastor McNew says it’s their burden to forgive, just like Stemler would have wanted.

“The same type of love that she showed to people here would honestly be the same type of love that she would show to the person who hit her, that she would want him to find, grace and mercy and forgiveness in the same relationship with Christ that she found. That was just who she was,” explained McNew.

McNew emphasized the importance of living each moment as Stemler did.

“Every moment matters. And she had no idea that that last night here at church with her church family was her last night. And yet she was the same person. She was joyful and genuine,” he recalled.

On her electric keyboard at home, the last song she had been playing was an old hymn titled “Beyond Tomorrow,” shared McNew.

“The last song that she had up that she played was an old hymn called Beyond Tomorrow. And the hymn is all about heaven. And so before she ever went, that’s where her heart was set,” McNew explained.

The ProRodeo Hall of Fame tells KRDO13 that Ken and Deanna Stemler are going to be recognized on its memorial wall. A representative for the ProRodeo Hall of Fame says they are donating to the hall of fame in their honor.

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Josh Helmuth

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Students at Mesa Ridge High School are running a business… right in the hallway.

The school’s business club is turning everyday items into a hands-on business lesson for students. And it’s simultaneously raising money.

They recently launched a new vending machine called the School Spirit Box. It’s stocked with everything from school supplies and chargers to socks, deodorant and stickers. It’s raising money for the club’s competitions while also giving students real-world experience.

The club secured a $14,000 grant to make it happen.

“Students get to decide the merchandise, practice real-world accounting skills, and they get to do everything in the machine – designing the merchandise,” said Jaqulyn Roades, a Mesa Ridge business teacher.

Xavier Chapa is a senior with the club. He added, “We also do competitions like DECA and FBLA … those cost money, and to raise money for this and to help students make their lives a lot more convenient … it benefits everybody.”

Students say it’s a win-win — helping fund their future, while making school life a little easier right now.

Is there someone or something remarkable at your school? Email Josh! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Army veteran James Bauer will join a group of 20 or so other veterans to complete the final 250-mile stretch of the Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride starting on May 14. His portion starts May 26.

Bauer was a medic in the Army for eight years. He was forced to medically retire in 2013. He said he struggled with post-service life, and he wasn’t sure how to make it better.

“I was always the helper, so it was hard for me to be the one asking for help,” Bauer said.

He said after seeing his friends thrive in the Wounded Warrior Project program, he decided to give it a try in 2016. The group put a bike in his hands for the first time since he was a little kid, and it’s become a life-changing passion for the former Army medic.

The Wounded Warrior Project has partnered this year with America250 to call this year’s ride “Soldier Ride 250.”

If you’d like to support the Wounded Warrior Project, click here.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The city will spend $6 million to install stormwater infrastructure in an industrial area that often floods because of the lack of proper drainage.

Officials said that changes should begin this week on Stone Avenue between Fillmore Street and Nichols Boulevard, a stretch of approximately two-thirds of a mile.

Officials said that the project will close the northbound lane of Stone until early next year.

Parking on the street won’t be allowed, but access to businesses will remain open, and cones and signs will guide drivers through the work zone.

“The area was originally developed just with overland flow — which means the water runs down the road,” Erin Powers, the city’s stormwater enterprise manager, explained. “Previously, there was no storm sewer. We’re installing a storm sewer, just to get all that water underground so that it’s not in the way of the motorists.”

The south end of the project area near busy Fillmore has existing stormwater drains, but most of Stone north of the McDonald’s at the Fillmore intersection doesn’t.

Some of the 17 business owners along the affected segment of the avenue said that flooding has damaged the street and their parking lots, and water occasionally backs up into the businesses.

“Well, we’ve got some different access points that we’ve kinda mapped out,” said Chad McKee, a manager at Planet Granite. “Hopefully, we’ll establish a good relationship with the contractor when (they) get on board in the next couple of weeks. And that’s about all we can do. We’ve got to grin and bear it, and make it through.”

However, before the city’s project can start, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) has to complete two projects in the same area, reportedly involving a natural gas line and a water main.

A CSU spokesperson said that the utility will provide more details next week when its work begins.

“We’re still finalizing details and working on getting permits,” the spokesperson told KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior on Monday.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Aspiring filmmakers from the Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning (AcademyACL) wrote, directed, filmed and acted in a movie that will soon debut in the Shockley-Zalabak Theater.

The AcademyACL film program is the only Kindergarten trough 8th grade film program in the country, according to the school. It’s the program’s 11th year of creating a movie by the end of the school year. This year’s film is called “Out of the Ordinary.”

58 students collaborated on the project. At least one student from each grade contributed.

The film debuts Wednesday, April 22 at the Shockley-Zalabak Theater inside the ENT Center for the Arts. The VIP limo entrance and red carpet walk start at 5 p.m. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. It’s free to attend with a required RSVP. Program director Jason Henry said around 600 people have already RSVP’d.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — It’s tempting for some drivers: 3.3 miles of four-laned, brand-new pavement with no stop signs or traffic lights.

But the sheriff’s office is aware that the new Medal of Honor Boulevard, intended as a shortcut between the west side of Pueblo and Pueblo West, also presents an opportunity for people to exceed the 55 mph posted speed limit.

“We’ve already caught a few speeders,” said a deputy who stopped to chat with KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior early Monday morning.

Drivers can expect a regular presence by deputies patrolling the new road, especially with the new county jail on the east end nearing completion.

The easternmost mile is the Pueblo Police Department’s jurisdiction, and the remainder is in the county.

As of Monday morning, the sheriff’s office had cited three drivers for speeding — including one clocked at 78 mph in the posted 55 mph zone — and police had ticketed only one driver.

The county also cited three drivers for nor wearing seatbelts.

A police spokesperson said that the department has yet to establish an enforcement strategy for its part of the road, because it hasn’t been open long and it still doesn’t appear on maps.

Monday was the first weekday morning rush hour for traffic on the new boulevard; traffic was fairly steady in the first hour of the road’s opening on Friday.

The grand opening ceremony was meaningful to Drew Dix, a retired Army staff sergeant who received the Medal of Honor while serving in Vietnam.

Also providing remarks were County Commissioner Zach Swearingen and Public Works Director Greg George.

Officials said that the new road will provide more than better traffic flow; they also believe it’s a good start in providing what has been a landlocked area with infrastructure that should boost the local economy.

A new apartment complex and a new convenience store have recently opened northeast of the Medal of Honor/Pueblo Boulevard, and more development is likely to come — particularly with Pueblo city officials starting a plan this year to extend several streets and upgrade dozens of transit bus stops.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – One person is dead after Colorado Springs Police say a truck rolled over on Dublin Boulevard near the Dublin Neighborhood Park.

According to the police blotter, when officers arrived at the scene, they attempted life-saving measures on the one injured party. However, those measures wouldn’t be successful, and they would be pronounced dead at a local hospital.

A sergeant at the scene told KRDO13 that speed is a suspected factor in the crash.

The Colorado Springs Major Crash Team has taken over the investigation. Dublin Blvd has since reopened.

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Michael Logerwell

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) –

UPDATE AT 6:30 P.M.: The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has lifted the evacuation order.

ORIGINAL REPORT: The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is issuing an evacuation order for all homes in a 0.5-mile radius near the intersection of N Curtis Road and Garrett Road in El Paso County.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says everyone in this area is ordered to evacuate now.

KRDO13 is working to learn more about the fire.

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