Category: krdo-local-news

Scott Harrison

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) — Concern about traffic backups at two intersections along the congested Mesa Ridge Parkway (State Highway 16) corridor on the north side of town has led authorities to lower the 55 mph speed limit to improve safety.

Beginning Monday, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) will permanently reduce the limit to 45 mph and decrease it to 35 mph at the intersection of Mesa Ridge and Syracuse Street, in front of Mesa Ridge High School.

During the past several months, viewers have contacted KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior about the crash risk from traffic backing up at the school as parents drop off and pick up kids, and about similar backups to the east at Fountain Mesa Road as drivers try to turn into the Lowe’s Home Improvement store.

Pepper Whittlef, CDOT program manager, said that the agency decided to change the speed limit after conducting a speed and crash study in the area earlier this year.

“We had 161 total crashes over five years,” she said. “Three of those were fatal crashes. Our top three accidents were rear-end, fixed-object, and sideswipes at the intersection of Syracuse and Colorado 16. 74 intersection-related crashes there.”

To help drivers adjust to the lowered speed limit, Fountain Police will conduct traffic enforcement in the area.

“We’ll also be installing, for the school year, some school speed flashers,” Whittlef explained. “That is for the times of the day when the high school and the middle school (James Madison Charter Academy) are releasing kids.”

She added that traffic to and from a new King Soopers grocery opening on Wednesday morning, on the south side of the Mesa Ridge/Syracuse intersection, is less of a concern because the developer paid for signal upgrades and street improvements there.

The lowered speed limit covers three miles of the parkway, between Interstate 25 and Powers Boulevard (State Highway 21).

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Mackenzie Stafford

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pueblo Police Department (PPD) confirmed to KRDO13 that they have arrested a man in connection with the shooting of a 13-year-old girl near the Pueblo Riverwalk.

Romello Hernandez was arrested on a warrant for Attempted 1st Degree Homicide, according to PPD.

KRDO13 obtained video of the arrest, which PPD confirmed was of Hernandez. That video is featured above.

Romello Hernandez (Photo: PPD)

PREVIOUS REPORTING: 13-year-old girl facing life-threatening injuries after shooting near Pueblo Riverwalk

According to the department, they were sent out just before 3 a.m. on July 14 because a teen was at the hospital after being shot.

As of our initial report, the girl was facing life-threatening injuries. Family said they had stopped for food before the 13-year-old went to a sleepover with friends when the shooting happened.

KRDO13 obtained an arrest affidavit pertaining to Hernandez’s arrest that details a gathering at the parking lot near the riverwalk. Detectives found many teens gathered there and were drinking alcohol.

Arrest documents from PPD include multiple witness interviews, all of which build a case against Hernandez. From interviews, detectives believe there was an argument that led up to the shooting.

The girl driving the car that the 13-year-old was in told police she looked down at her phone, heard a bang, and then there was a bullet hole through her windshield. She told them that when she turned around, she saw her friend slumped over in the back. She told detectives everyone had scattered. Police confirmed from surveillance video in the area that the cars in the lot drove away from the scene quickly after the shooting occurred.

In interviews, detectives did photo line-ups. They asked witnesses to pick the shooter, and they said in every case where someone could pinpoint a person, they all chose Hernandez. 

Hernandez is being held in the Pueblo County Jail and will be in court on Thursday.

Anyone with additional information on this case is encouraged to call Det. Jose Medina at 719-553-3296. Information can also be reported via Pueblo Crime Stoppers at 719-542-7867 (STOP) or online at http://pueblocrimestoppers.com.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – “The Homestead Collective” food hall in northern Colorado Springs announced the closure of over half its restaurants just two months after its grand opening.

The Homestead Collective released a statement announcing that the Garden of the Gods Cafe, Till Kitchen and Campfire Pizza located in the Briargate area, are all closed. That leaves Dad’s Donuts and Red Leaf Organic Coffee as the only open restaurants in the large space.

“The simple truth is, we didn’t see the community support we needed to sustain these restaurants,” The Homestead Collective said in a statement. “We’re deeply grateful to those of you who did show up, share kind words, and help build memories here.”

The statement sparked a strong reaction on social media from people who felt the food hall didn’t do enough to get the word out and closed before it could gain a footing.

“I think the lack of community support is just ignorance on the community’s part,” customer Brayden Fallentine told KRDO13. ” I don’t think a lot of people know what’s happening here, is the thing. They’d probably get more community support if more people knew about it.”

The building at 9633 Prominent Point has had a lot of turnover for Homestead Collective owner Mitchell Yellen in recent years. It was the location for Till Kitchen before 2020. He then turned it into North Side Social, an entertainment space with Pickleball, an arcade and food. After that closed, he opened The Pinery North, a private event space. Finally, Yellen launched “The Homestead Collective” food hall last May.

Fallentine said he came out a lot when it was the North Side Social. He said the constant turnover confused him.

“The name change threw me off,” Fallentine said. “I thought it was just a building being used by somebody, and we couldn’t even go in.”

Mitch Yellen said he expects Dad’s Donuts, Red Leaf Coffee and the private event space to stay open in The Homestead Collective until at least Spring 2026. The backyard space with seating and pickleball courts is also still open.

The downtown location of the Garden of the Gods Market and Cafe and Till Kitchen, as well as the other Dad’s Donuts locations, remain open.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Nearly two months after a rockfall mitigation project in Ute Pass, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has started a similar project to control erosion in the winding mountain corridor.

Work began on Monday and will affect eastbound traffic on six miles of US 24 between Chipita Park and Manitou Springs through Thursday, with hours from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Drivers should expect occasional closures of the right lane and shoulder; the work will likely slow traffic down at times.

Eric Meyers, of CDOT maintenance operations, said that rainy spring and summer weather has washed away soil along segments of the highway and that doing repairs now will prevent the infrastructure from being undermined.

“We replenish the dirt that’s been eroded,” he explained. “We pack it in there as good as we can. And then, determine whether we need a culvert or not, or if we need to use rock check dams. Every circumstance, like I said before, is different. When we’re done, we try to do the best that we can to channel the water to a proper location where it can go down a dedicated culvert or, slide area. And by slide, I mean an engineered slope that is designed to carry water that won’t erode.”

A CDOT project in mid-June to remove loose rocks from cliffs along the pass caused long traffic backups on the highway, primarily affecting westbound traffic.

However, Myers said that because this project affects only one eastbound lane, traffic congestion won’t be as heavy as it was during the rockfall mitigation when backups westbound were several miles long.

Rain delayed the completion of the rockfall project, and may do the same this week with more storms in the forecast.

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Rob Namnoum

University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders reveals that he had bladder cancer and that he is now cancer free. He will coach the Buffs in the fall.

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Michael Logerwell

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — The results for the 2025 Point-in-Time (PIT) count that provides insight into homelessness in El Paso County have been released.

Pikes Peak Continuum of Care (PPCoC), in partnership with ChangeLine (formerly Community Health Partnership), announced this year’s count:

Identified 1,745 individuals experiencing homelessness on the night of January 26, 2025

522 unsheltered individuals

1,223 people in emergency shelters or transitional housing.

Officials pointed out that the total is higher than in recent years, but they said that is due to being able to count and reach individuals who may have been missed before. However, they pointed out that it remains difficult to count those living in vehicles, in unstable situations, or fleeing domestic violence, so the data continues to underrepresent some of the community’s most vulnerable.

The State of Homelessness Report, released in May by Colorado’s four Continuums of Care, estimated that 6,846 individuals experienced homelessness in El Paso County over the course of a year, highlighting that the PIT Count may not capture the full picture.

“No single number can tell us everything,” said Becky Treece, Chair of the PPCoC Board. “Homelessness is complex, and we need to use all the data available to understand what’s contributing to it and how to respond.”

PPCoC Board said key takeaways from the PIT Count are that there are more people unsheltered than available emergency beds, and chronic homelessness remains high, showing that many live with disabling conditions and have been without housing for extended periods.

However, there aren’t enough funds for more beds right now.

Earlier this month, the Salvation Army said it’s facing a $1 million budget shortfall.

The Springs Rescue Mission has had to cut staff, a lot of that is from a drop-off in federal funding that the city just can’t make up.

“There are concerns. Unfortunately, the city doesn’t have money to pull out,” Aimee Cox, chief housing and homeless officer for Colorado Springs, said.

“The concern is great that we do not have the resources necessary in our community to meet the need. That’s kind of what this point in time highlighted is that even with our current capacity, when we are all working as hard as we can with the resources we have currently, we are not meeting the need,” Becky Treece, chair of the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care, said.

Treece encouraged the community to support those homeless shelters in need and to contact their federal representatives about the funding shortfall.

Mayor Yemi’s Statement on the 2025 PIT Count:

“The Point-in-Time Count offers more than numbers, it offers insight. Insight into what’s changing, where the greatest needs are, and how we can respond more effectively as a city. That is why I chose “data” as the City’s word of the year. Because data helps us move beyond assumptions and into the realm of real, measurable solutions for our community.  

Homelessness is a complex challenge, but Colorado Springs is not standing still. Our Homeless Response Action Plan released last year is guiding our coordinate response that includes:  

Increased transitional housing  

Expanded outreach efforts downtown 

Target enforcement where needed 

And strong community partnerships across our community. 

I am especially grateful to the volunteers, service providers, and community partners who made this year’s count possible. Your work matters. With data in hand and shared purpose at heart, I believe we can move closer to a city where homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring.”

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Mackenzie Stafford

COSTILLA COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – The 12th Judicial District Attorney, Anne Kelly, spoke to the Costilla County Commissioners in a special meeting on July 9.

In that meeting, District Attorney Anne Kelly told commissioners, “I have never said, ever, that I do not trust a police agency, and I do not trust the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office.”

“It was incredibly difficult for me to make that statement,” Kelly recounted Monday. “The concern started out with the sheriff’s office not providing us with the evidence we needed to prosecute in a timely manner. And that creates ethical concerns for my office. But more importantly, it tends to chip away at the trust the community has in the criminal justice system,” said Kelly.

She explained concerns to the Costilla County Commissioners from her office regarding the practices at the Costilla County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). D.A. Kelly told commissioners she was not getting evidence in time, it was sometimes misplaced or lost, making it difficult for the District Attorney’s Office to prosecute some cases.

“Costilla County residents deserve better. They deserve better from their leaders. They deserve better from their law enforcement agencies,” D.A. Kelly told KRDO13.

In one case, D.A. Kelly said she was working to hold an alleged domestic violence abuser accountable in court. But she says the CCSO lost the DNA swabs proving that a woman was choked, so her office had to throw out the case. 

“I dedicated my entire career to supporting victims and getting justice for those victims. It’s awful. It’s absolutely awful. I’m optimistic that the sheriff’s office joins my concern and wants to make these cases better. But it’s the worst thing for a prosecutor to have to tell a victim that we cannot move forward with your case because we don’t have the material from the sheriff’s office. So as a prosecutor, it’s really, it’s quite devastating,” explained 12th Judicial District Attorney Anne Kelly.

On Monday, KRDO13 met with the District Attorney to hear her concerns and learn what’s being done to address them.

“Every law enforcement agency has to have a well-established system of documenting when they’re taking in evidence, when they’re taking in DNA swabs, or drugs or guns. The [Costilla County] sheriff’s office does not have that in place currently. And that’s created big concerns, because you want to be able to have faith that the evidence that you’re presenting in court is the thing that you purport it to be. And when you don’t have a system, a chain of custody system in place, that becomes very difficult to be able to tell that to a jury with any sort of confidence,” shared Kelly.

The Costilla County Sheriff tells KRDO13 their space for evidence is full. He said if they seize any more large evidence, they will be handing it over to the D.A.’s Office. The District Attorney confirmed they have offered to hold evidence in the sheriff’s office’s cases because they want to have more control over the chain of custody. 

“I do want to emphasize the fact that the sheriff’s office, I believe, wants to do the right thing, and I see them making at least some kind of effort. I hope that they continue with that because their citizens, the ones that voted them into office, the ones whose taxpayer money goes to their office. I want them to do well. I want to support them in trying to figure out what’s going on,” said Kelly.

KRDO13 also offered an interview to the CCSO. Sheriff Danny Sanchez declined and offered the statement included below. He also added that he is currently working to resolve these issues.

New Response LetterDownload

Sheriff Sanchez tells KRDO13 he did not know his deputy’s body-worn cameras were turned off, nor that the batteries were not holding a charge.

A sheriff’s oversight committee has been formed. It consists of Sheriff Sanchez, the Costilla County Attorney, and two team members from the District Attorney’s Office.

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Michael Logerwell

TRI LAKES AREA, Colo. (KRDO) – This weekend, we got our first look at the official plan for the proposed Palmer Lake Buc-ee’s. Days after the town released the proposal, the ‘Stop Buc-ees’ group held a meeting in Monument.

KRDO13 attended the meeting and found that many still have concerns over the proposed development

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Buc-ee’s deal for Palmer Lake revealed: What’s in the proposal and what’s next?

On Friday, Palmer Lake Mayor Pro Tem Amy Hutson sat down with KRDO 13 to discuss the proposal.

“It’s not set in stone. We still have to vote on it. It has to go before the planning commission, but it’s a really strong deal for Palmer Lake,” Hutson told our station on Friday.

Hutson said Buc-ees made concessions to limit light pollution off their property, as well as paying for the building of two new wells and road upgrades in the area.

Plus, Palmer Lake is set to pull in $1 million annually.

Despite those factors, attendees at Sunday’s Buc-ee’s resistance meeting said that those details didn’t address their biggest concerns.

“The water issue, the traffic, the effect on the environment. Those are the main issues that we are concerned about,” Mike Kopyzinski said. “Yes, lighting is part of that overall package of issues that we have, and yes, there were concessions, concessions made on paper.”

“Water is a finite resource in this area, and we have to make smart development,” Shawn Sawyer said

Many that KRDO13 spoke to on Sunday lived in unincorporated El Paso County, not Palmer Lake, but near the site of the proposed Buc-ees and are mainly concerned about the size of the build and the water it will require, despite Buc-ees’ plans to build new wells in Palmer Lake.

The Palmer Lake Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on the Buc-ees in late August.

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Scott Harrison

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — Officials revealed that their weeklong pothole repair saturation effort in late June resulted in using nearly three times more asphalt than normally used during an entire summer.

Crews used 1,300 tons of asphalt to fill 1,500 potholes across town; the city’s Bureau of Public Works deployed four crews instead of five as initially planned because one truck broke down.

Workers completed another pothole operation last week that focused on larger potholes; that effort required 16 tons of asphalt.

Todd Beriford, the city’s street supervisor, came up with the idea for the “Pothole Blitz,” and said that he’s not aware that anyone — in southern Colorado, at least — has conducted a similar operation.

“Even though it was kind of a headache because I had a lot of paperwork to go through and a lot of organizing to try and get where it was, I would do it again,” he said. “Anything to help people drive more safely. We don’t want damaged vehicles. That’s what potholes do, is they damage vehicles.”

The goal of the blitz was to fill as many potholes as possible, using cold mix material that can be applied easily and quickly.

But that strategy has a drawback.

“They’ll last through the summer,” Beriford said. “We’ll have the same problems come wintertime. It’s inevitable. It’s an ongoing process.”

In response, the city has invested nearly $120,000 in two machines: One will allow crews to do longer-lasting pothole repairs using hot mix asphalt year-round; the other will recycle millings (old asphalt scraped off streets before repaving) and use them as fill material.

Beriford said that with the new machines, the city will be able to fill potholes more quickly, more efficiently, and save money on asphalt.

The blitz also allowed the city to form a list and a map of streets that have had recurring pothole issues, and to better respond to them.

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Karla Sosa

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- A woman from Colorado Springs is turning a family tragedy into something positive for women who want to stay sober. She opened up her own home and transformed it into a sober living home.

Chelsia Baker said that after losing her husband, she wanted to find a new purpose for her home,e and that’s when she decided to create No More Excuses Recovery Residence for women.

Cassandra Townsend is a resident at the home and said her life changed 15 years ago.

“I was prescribed Vidican for some medical problems. And it changed my whole world. Like I thought I was, felt like supermom,” said Townsend. “It changed my whole life. I lost my family. I lost the kids, it changed everything.”

Townsend said her new home is helping her out in so many ways because she’s surrounded by so many women who want to become a better version of themselves. 

“And just spending time with other women who are like minded women who want to want this, they want to be in recovery. They want their lives to change. They want their families back. They want their children back in their lives. Helps me every single day, every single day,” said Townsend. 

Baker said that there are currently eight women who live at the house, and they have strict rules because they want to see women get back on their feet. 

“We are program-based, where we have groups that are mandatory, group meetings that are mandatory,” said Baker. “They’re required to be home by curfew, you know, so we’re pretty strict in our requirements for people to come live here.”

Townsend has been sober for 19 months and said things are going back to how they were before she was an addict, and is looking forward to her future. 

“Now I’m starting to talk to my parents and talk to my family again. Sorry. It’s okay. But I missed out on a lot,” said Townsend. “My next goal is to get a car, to get my license back, and to get a car. And I can’t wait.”

Baker said their goal is to have a house where moms can live with their children. They also want to have a sober house for men. 

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