Category: krdo-local-news

Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – September is kinship care awareness month, and it’s the first year since a new state regulation has gone into effect that allows foster care agencies to better help families and children.

For the first time in Colorado, non-traditional families will have access to the same resources in foster care. That means a grandparent, aunt, or neighbor can now obtain a new kinship foster care license.

A foster mom I spoke to says it’s transformed her family’s lives.

“It was a whirlwind from the beginning. We didn’t know what we were getting into. We just knew that these boys needed somewhere to go, somewhere safe, and somewhere they could be loved. And that’s what we’re willing to do,” says foster mom Stacie Tshabalala.

Stacie is a single mom who is fostering two kids who were previously her neighbors.

She has been taking care of these children for two years and now has access to a wealth of resources since getting her kinship licensing through Kids Crossing.

Though the trauma experienced by these kids may have everlasting effects, she says the counseling and 24/7 hour crisis care, which are a few services, have put her in a more stable position to work towards adopting the boys.

“Many benefits that we weren’t aware of, that we’re now having, make it. It’s such a load off, and it makes it so much easier. And so even though we might not have the perfect home, a lot of times people think, you know, that it has to be perfect. It it’s less than that and made it to where we’re able to do it, where we wouldn’t have been able to keep it out for much longer before.” says foster mom, Stacie Tshabalala.

If you are thinking about fostering and want to learn more about this new licensing program, you can view the full list of foster care agencies in El Paso County here.

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – You’ve heard of a telethon, a read-a-thon, and even a marathon, but what about a tattooathon?

On Saturday, Fallen Heroes Tattoo and Piercing, located off Colorado Ave, tattooed and pierced more than 200 people nonstop between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The shop says that in all, they raised $20,097 in that 12-hour timeframe. That money will go to Sue’s Gift.

Sue’s Gift is a Colorado-based non-profit that supports women who’ve been diagnosed with gynecologic cancer. The non-profit says it offers women monetary support to cover the costs associated with gynecologic cancer diagnoses. In addition to funding treatments, Sue’s Gift also offers peer support and events to help women cope with their cancer diagnosis.

Fallen Heroes Tattoo and Piercing says this is the 10th year they’ve held the tattooathon, and in that time, they’ve raised $202,017.07 for Sue’s Gift.

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Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial service created an overwhelming sense of community as the lives lost in 2024 were remembered and celebrated.

Three hundred eleven names were added to the Fallen Firefighters’ Wall of Honor in Colorado Springs on Saturday morning.

Whether a local to Colorado Springs or having traveled from Canada or further, people gathered for one reason: to remember the lives of firefighters who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

“When you hear a hundred bagpipes, you know, playing Amazing Grace, it puts shivers down your spine,” says Frank Lima, the general secretary treasurer of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

The sound of bagpipes, firefighters marching in unity, and chairs filled with mourning families was a beautiful tribute to the impact these fallen firefighters have left behind.

And it reminds active firefighters of their enduring responsibility to the community.

“Being able to wear this flag and honor the people that I work around, and all the fallen. It’s just a great honor, privilege to be able to wear this uniform and do what I do,” says Oscar Navarro, a captain of the Goodyear Fire Department.

A widow we spoke to says being embraced by the IAFF has given her and her family a new appreciation for her late husband and his colleagues.

“I think that’s a big part of grieving is connecting with other people. And, you know, finding out how they…felt about him and how they interacted with him and just things you were never aware of before,” says widow, Kristen Silvestrich.

The IAFF says they have been coming to Colorado Springs for over twenty years, and the welcoming community is why they always come back.

When they come back next year, at least one Colorado Springs firefighter will have his name added: retired captain Patrick Rogacki, who died from job-related cancer this summer.

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Michael Logerwell

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – On Saturday, Colorado Republicans elected their replacement for Rep. Rose Pugliese, who represented parts of El Paso County, after she stepped down last week.

RELATED: Rep. Rose Pugliese resigns from Colorado’s House District 14

This person won’t be the new representative for District 14; rather, this is the new House Minority Leader. A position that Pugliese held before stepping down.

Rep. Jarvis Caldwell, also representing a part of El Paso County, is the new House Minority Leader.

Map from the Colorado General Assembly.

The orange area makes up Colorado House 20, the area that Rep. Caldwell currently represents.

In a press release announcing Rep. Caldwell as the new minority leader, the GOP leader pledged that Republicans will continue to unify and put forward the best ideas to make Colorado a place where the next generation can thrive.

According to Rep. Caldwell’s campaign website, he previously served on the D20 School Board and worked as an aide in 2022 to Asst. Minority Leader Tim Geitner.

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Michael Logerwell

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Some Manitou Springs residents might be without running water this afternoon.

Manitou Springs announced a water disruption for residents at Michigan Avenue and Iron Road just before 4 p.m. on Saturday.

What exactly caused the disruption is unclear at this time, but the city says its “Water and Sewer Division is actively assessing the situation and working to determine the extent of the damage.”

Maniou Springs City Officials estimate the issue will take two to three hours to fix.

While the repairs are ongoing, the city tells residents in the area that they might experience intermittent water service disruptions, which include low pressure or temporary outages. Also, they could see some water discoloration after the repairs are complete. If that happens, the residents are advised to run cold water from the lowest faucet in their home until the water runs clear.

KRDO13 has a crew in route to the incident to try and learn more about the water disruption.

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Samantha Hildebrandt

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)–This morning at 2:34 a.m., CSPD officers from the Gold Hill Division were traveling northbound on I-25, exiting at Cimarron (Exit 141), where they saw a vehicle entering southbound I-25 on the northbound off-ramp. 

Officers made a U-turn and initiated a traffic stop, but the driver failed to stop. A chase began as the driver initially sped away from officers. 

The vehicle eventually stopped on the overpass at Tejon St. The driver was taken into custody without incident.

The police department says alcohol was a factor in this incident. No one was injured. Maan Karan was arrested in connection with this incident.

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Celeste Springer

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office confirms they have received a call of shots fired at the Hampton Village Apartments.

Details are extremely limited at this time, but EPSO said they had a crew en route at the time of KRDO13’s call.

This is a breaking news situation, but this article will be updated if more information becomes available.

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) has released the name of a pedestrian who was killed while walking along the MLK bypass at I-25.

CSPD says 31-year-old Anthony Dutchak was found on the northbound on-ramp to I-25, and police believe he was hit by at least one car.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but CSPD says they don’t believe the driver was impaired.

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Heather Skold

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — It’s a familiar situation for all military families: a parent, deployed for months at a time; the other parent, raising the children solo. 

For the Ross Family, this setup has played out several times while mom Ashley is deployed as a nurse in the Army, and husband Chad stays at home with their two daughters, Haley,5, and Callie, 3. 

“There’s not really replacing anybody on a deployment,” said Cody Ross.  “It [a deployment] puts a lot of stress on kids, and I don’t think a lot of people understand the family aspect of the military.”

Cody’s daughter inspired him to write his first just-published book, “I Miss Mommy.”  It’s based on a comment their daughter Haley made while mom was in another country.  

The Ross Family, with mom Ashley, who is in the Army.

“We’d drive under all the airplanes flying over, and then one April day, she just goes, ‘I’m tired of waiting for mama.  I’m going to go pick her up now.  I need to bring snacks, I need to bring my computer.”

That’s when Cody had to explain that the separation was going to last a very long time. 

“I explained the whole year that mom was gone.”

More deployments are coming, too. The Ross Family just moved from Southern Colorado to Houston so that mom Ashley can get training to become a Nurse Practitioner. After this time, she will owe six more years to the Army. 

Cody is no stranger to the military life, either, having served in the Virginia National Guard. 

“I really just hope it helps families going through situations like that. I hope that people realize that military families have struggles, the kids are dealing with all that too, but we make it through and we all love each other.”

You can purchase “I Miss Mommy” here. 

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Celeste Springer

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — The United States Forest Service says that crews from the Pikes Peak Ranger District plan to conduct a prescribed burn in the Rainbow Gulch area next week.

The Forest Service says that they plan to treat about 460 acres starting on Sept. 22. According to officials, the area is directly west of Rampart Reservoir and directly west of Forest Service Road 300 in El Paso County. 

Fire managers say their work will include efforts to either burn or cut down grassland.

“Prescribed fires are the managed application of fire to the landscape under specified weather and fuels conditions to improve forest conditions, provide diverse habitats for plants and animals and reduce the risk of destructive wildfire to municipal watersheds and communities in the area,” read a release from the Forest Service.

Residents living nearby can expect to see smoke in the area.

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