Category: krdo-local-news

Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Only the frame is left behind after a fire fully engulfed an RV in the eastern part of Colorado Springs.

The fire sent up big plumes of black smoke, leading to multiple viewers calling into KRDO13 to report the fire just east of Powers Blvd.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department says multiple units attacked the fire located at Aeroplaza Drive and Vapor Trail. The fire was declared under control just after 2:30 p.m.

Firefighters at the scene of the blaze said no one was injured. It’s still unclear how many people were displaced or how the fire started.

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Michael Logerwell

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – This weekend, 14 elected Pueblo leaders collectively called for Pueblo County Coroner Brian Cotter to resign.

In the letter, posted on social media, Pueblo’s Leaders said, “It is in the best interest of Pueblo, and of the families we serve, that Coroner Brian Cotter resign immediately. Only then can we begin the process of moving forward, restoring trust, and rebuilding the integrity of this vital office.”

The letter acknowledges the grief and pain the news of the past week has brought to so many families.

“This is about doing what is right for our community during a time of crisis. This is an opportunity to show that while we may disagree on certain issues, we stand united when it comes to the well-being of Pueblo in this matter,” Pueblo’s Leaders wrote.

Signing the letter are:

Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham

Pueblo County Sheriff David Lucero

All three Pueblo County Commissioners

Six of seven Pueblo City Councilors (Councilor Joe Latino did not sign)

Pueblo County Assessor

Pueblo County Treasurer

Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder

The letter ends by thanking the El Paso County Coroner, Dr. Emily Russell-Kinsley, and the Fremont County Coroner, Randy Keller, for their hard work picking up the slack in Pueblo’s time of need.

However, this letter is really all they can do.

During Friday’s press conference with Governor Polis and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Sheriff David Lucero said there was no way for anyone in Pueblo’s Government to remove the coroner from his publicly elected post.

The only way to remove him is the only way to remove any public official: a recall petition.

The Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder released an outline describing the process to recall elected officials.

The first step includes a notice of intent, which has to be approved by the county clerk. The notice of intent needs to include the name of the official to recall and a reason for the recall.

After the notice of intent is approved, more than 16,400 people will have to sign the petition within a certain time limit.

Once those signatures are approved, it will trigger the recall election. That’s when voters would actually get to decide if they want to remove Cotter from the Coroner’s Office.

As of publication, Cotter has not resigned from his position as Pubelo County Coroner.

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Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – If you’re downtown, you may see people walking around with neon green vests on, but don’t worry, they’re more approachable than you may think.

The Clean & Safe Pilot Program launched this summer, and now it’s increasing its manpower by adding ambassadors in the downtown area. It’s working to make the area more welcoming for locals and tourists- business owners say they’ve already noticed a difference.

One ambassador we spoke to says people often assume they are there to regulate the parking.

“We’ve had that a couple of times, they’re like, oh, I gotta run to my parking meter. I’m like, no, we’re not parking people. We’re here to help you out,” says Claire Ami, a downtown ambassador.

But if they’re not there to give you a ticket, what exactly do these ambassadors do?

They are downtown’s first line of defense in case someone needs medical attention, they pick up trash, interact with people experiencing homelessness, and even hand out water to ensure everyone is staying hydrated.

“There was a person that we helped, about two weeks ago, when it was really hot, and actually kind of smoky out, and he was having some heat exhaustion from being out. He was wearing long sleeves, an older, elderly fellow, and helped him out,” says Claire. “For me, I’m passionate about our community. So I want to make sure it feels happy, pleasant, positive. And I think that’s the mission.”

Ambassadors are on duty Wednesday through Sunday from 11 in the morning until 6 at night.

By September, the program intends to have two full-time outreach workers to provide quick assistance to individuals in crisis, working closely with police and security.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Olympic City, USA is living up to its name, building up the next generation of adaptive athletes, and it’s all happening on Saturday mornings at Rampart High School.

“You can just call me coach.” Amanda McGrory is a 7-time Paralympian in track and field, but now she has a new title: coach.

Despite not being from Colorado Springs, but spending a lot of time here, Coach McGrory knows what the ‘Olympic City’ title means. Despite that, she noticed there was no easy way for kids to get into adaptive sports.

“As the home of the Olympic and Paralympic teams, there are a ton of opportunities for really high-level athletes, but not as much for athletes just getting started,” McGrory said.

To remedy that, she started the Eagle Blitz Wheelchair Racing Team. It’s part of a Colorado non-profit called Adaptive Sports for All. It invites young athletes to challenge themselves and make new friends.

The team got off the ground with training in April; since then, kids have been getting together every week at Rampart High School to train.

Parents of athletes say it’s already making a positive difference in their children’s lives.

“It’s so important for him to be able to, um, to have an outlet and to have to be around other people who use wheelchairs, and he feels very normal, and if he’s around some amazing role models as adults,” Chris Muller, an Eagle Blitz parent, said.

Now, Muller tells us his son wants to grow up to be a Paralympic athlete, just like his coach.

If you’d like to learn more, they meet every Saturday at Rampart High School at 9 am and are always looking for new members of the team.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Rain apparently didn’t put a damper on the start of a repaving project that will affect traffic going to and from the Colorado Springs Airport.

Paving was scheduled to start Sunday evening and wrap up at 5 a.m. Monday morning at the intersection of Powers Boulevard and Milton E. Proby Parkway.

The latter is the main route to the airport.

Most paving or other road-related projects come with the disclaimer “weather permitting,” but it appears that Sunday’s rain ended soon enough for crews to proceed.

“We were only an hour late getting started,” said Scott Schnake, a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project engineer. “A little bit of moisture is OK, but too much starts to cause problems. We don’t want the new pavement to delaminate on top of the old pavement. We want it to bond nicely to the existing asphalt, and not separate from the existing asphalt.”

Schnake said that crews didn’t mill (remove) all old pavement — just 2.5 inches.

A separate project by airport officials is repaving Milton E. Proby Parkway east of the Powers intersection.

The CDOT project is scheduled to continue overnights this week through Thursday.

The above map provided by CDOT shows the closures and detours in place.

Drivers must use Grinnell Boulevard and Integration Loop as detours east of Powers; west of Powers, the detours are Hancock, Milton E. Proby, Chelton Road, and Bradley Road.

With a wet week of weather expected, paving could take longer to finish.

Meanwhile, the weekend rain did delay a project we told you about last week.

Crews were to pave a very muddy mile-long road — Glider Loop — just south of Black Forest, along Vollmer Road.

We know only that the new date is sometime this week.

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior will keep you updated.

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Bradley Davis

FALCON, Colo. (KRDO) – The Falcon post of the American Legion Riders (ALR) motorcycle group will host its 9th annual “Stock the Pantry Dice Run” on Monday, September 1, benefiting the Fresh Start Center food pantry.

It humbles me to be able to be of service to somebody else,” Falcon ALR member James Kendig said.

“That’s what the American Legion Riders do. If we can have a chance to help the community and ride our motorcycles at the same time, we’re going to be there,” said Falcon ALR Vice President Joe Marzullo.

The Fresh Start Center grows food out of its own garden and partners with the Mountain Springs Church across the street, which provides fresh lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers out of its greenhouse.

“If you want to give them a bag of beans, sure. But as soon as you want to feed that family with nutritious food, it’s more than just a bag of beans,” said Fresh Start Center Executive Director Grant Winger.

Riders (and drivers, all vehicles welcome) will meet at Red’s American Grill in Falcon at 9 a.m. From there, the group will go to Kiowa Bar, American Legion Post 82 (Elizabeth, Colorado), Black Forest Brewing, and finish up back at Red’s.

ALR is simplifying the dice run to make it fun and easy for all participants. At each stop, every person will roll the dice. After all five stops, the person with the highest score, the second-highest score and the lowest score will win a prize.

The dice run costs $20 a rider and $10 a passenger. The group is offering $5 off in exchange for a non-perishable food donation. ALR said it will donate all the money to the Fresh Start Center.

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – KRDO13’s Bradley Davis walks us through one of the parade’s heavy hitters: the “Pineview Retreat” in the Flying Horse North community, recently sold for $3,895,969.

The Colorado Springs Parade of Homes starts September 5 with 32 new homes by a variety of different builders, like the Retreat by Alliance Homes.

The parade lasts from September 5 through September 21, and each ticket gets you in to view every house on display. You can get tickets here.

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Celeste Springer

Editor’s note: To see all of our coverage on this case, click here.

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — In a bizarre turn of events, 13 Investigates has uncovered that the Pueblo County Coroner is accused of hiding bodies in a secret room of his privately-owned funeral home, Davis Mortuary.

According to records by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), Brian Cotter’s funeral home was due for an inspection on Wednesday. When inspectors arrived, they noted “a strong odor of decomposition.”

Later, inspectors said they noticed a door was hidden by a cardboard display. When they went to remove the display, inspectors say Cotter asked them not to go inside, according to DORA’s records.

Inspectors did not follow Cotter’s request; when they entered, they said they found bodies in various stages of decomposition.

“Mr. Cotter stated that the bodies were awaiting cremation and admitted that some bodies had been in the room for approximately fifteen years,” suspension records say.

Additionally, Cotter allegedly told inspectors that he “may” have given family members of the deceased fake cremated remains.

Inspectors allege that Cotter failed to take action to embalm, refrigerate, cremate, bury, or entomb human remains within 24 hours.

According to the lead agency, the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI), officials have set up a victim assistance line/tip line, which families can reach at (719)257-3359. Families also email the CBI at CBITIPS@state.co.us.

According to suspension records, Davis Mortuary is ordered to cease operations, pending proceedings.

Who is Brian Cotter?

According to Pueblo County, Brian Cotter has over 20 years of experience working with the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office. He was first elected in 2014, with his current term slated to sunset in 2027.

Davis Mortuary is a privately owned funeral home with Cotter listed as the appointed designee, according to DORA records.

The funeral home has been in operation for over 100 years and was purchased by Brian and Chris Cotter back in 1989, according to their website.

“The Cotter brothers brought with them to the Davis Mortuary the ‘old school’ ways of caring for families in need, which they learned from their father, who owned and operated several funeral homes in Kansas, Nebraska, and Southern Colorado,” reads the website.

Striking similarities

Those living in Southern Colorado are likely to notice similarities between these allegations and those in a separate case out of Penrose, Colorado.

There, funeral home owners Carie and Jon Hallford were accused of allowing close to 200 bodies to stack up at their funeral home, Return to Nature.

KRDO 13 Investigates was first to break the story. Our coverage helped contribute to the drafting of new legislation providing oversight in the funeral home industry.

To read all our reports on that case, click here.

For all of our latest reports on the Davis Mortuary case, click here.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Fundraising at the second-annual Olympic City Field Day at Acacia Park will help WHealthy Unlimited launch its free after-school program for families in Colorado Springs.

There will be outdoor games, competitions, vendors and a Children’s Entrepreneur Market on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s free for all children. No signup necessary. Just show up!

The kids who sign up through the Children’s Entrepreneur Market of Colorado Springs will host booths from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHealthy Unlimited is the brick-and-mortar operation for the Community Anchor Academy. The organization said it was inspired to start a free after-school program in part because Harrison School District 2 (D2) announced it had to cut its free after-school program for the current school year.

D2 sent a message to parents blaming funding cuts for the cancellation of the free program. It said the temporary COVID-19 relief funds helped keep the program going. Those expired at the start of this year. It said, despite efforts, D2 has not been able to secure enough funding on the state or federal levels to keep the program running. D2 still offers paid before and after-school programs on a sliding scale with scholarship opportunities.

WHealthy said the field day will be its enrollment kick-off. It said the goal is to make the after-school program free for all children who qualify for free or reduced lunch while providing scholarships for other children who don’t qualify.

The Program is called Sweat and Steam. It’s formatted to teach literacy and STEM through fun activities like workouts and rooms, while also emphasizing money management.

WHealthy said it will give away $5,000 to local non-profits and as prize money for some of the competitions. It will host local business vendors and sell their own food and juice. It said a percentage of their own sales will go toward the after-school program.

WHealthy will also be collecting donations for the program. The founder/CEO has committed to equal the total donation dollars with his own workout reps (pushups, pullups, squats, etc.).

At the field day, WHealthy said there will be bounce houses, giant Jenga, Connect 4 and Tetris. It will host classic competitions like potato sack races and fake egg transport, along with other agility and memory races, boxing and exercise rep competitions. It will also have hula-hoops, jump ropes and sidewalk chalk throughout the park.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The Steel City’s warmer climate allows it to start and end its street repaving sooner and later than most southern Colorado cities.

However, while paving typically begins in mid-spring, it has not yet occurred due to various factors beyond the control of the Public Works Department.

Those factors include two scheduled water main replacements by the Pueblo Board of Water Works, an emergency wastewater line repair, an emergency stormwater line repair, and the removal of 41 trees that have damaged concrete along Saratoga and Lexington roads.

“I haven’t had it where everything pushed,” said Chuck Roy, acting public works director. “I’ve been here just over four and a half years now, and we haven’t had it where everything pushed. We’ve had one or two (in the past) that have had to move because of this.”

Due to the paving delay, crews are more at the mercy of the schedules of the two local asphalt suppliers, who are already busy with other projects.

The city also had to wait for permits from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to perform paving that intersects Interstate 25, and state highways 47 and 50.

Roy said that most of the utility projects should be finished by the end of the month.

The first street on the repaving list is Monument Avenue between 5th and 10th streets, in front of the Risley School of Exploration and Park View Elementary School.

That’s where one of the water mains was replaced, but the final block in front of Park View wasn’t finished in time for school to resume, so it will have to be completed later — which means paving will be delayed on that block.

One benefit of the delay is that the city and the Board of Water Works will split the cost of paving on Monument and on Lehigh Avenue between Northern Avenue and Pueblo Boulevard.

A neighbor, Jo Ann Gutierrez, is unhappy that the Monument project detoured neighborhood traffic through a bumpy alley full of potholes.

“It was closed down for 2-1/2 months,” she explained. “So, you had to come down this side, and this is what you have to deal with. It’s just embarrassing. It’s hurtful to your cars. It cost me $1,500 to fix my muffler.”

Meanwhile, at the other water main project on Lehigh, neighbor Marc Anzlocar, is more sympathetic.

“Yes, traffic is stopped, roads are closed, and it takes time for the road to get repaired,” he said. “But you know, in the long run, it has to be done.”

Roy said that crews still should be able to finish all of the paving before the end of the season — which will depend on when winter weather arrives.

“Last year, the asphalt plants were open until the first week of December,” Roy said.

Other streets on the city’s paving list this year include Bonforte Boulevard and 6th Street; Elizabeth Street, where the emergency utility repairs were made, will be repaved next year.

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