Category: krdo-local-news

Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – To win the Emma Crawford Coffin Races, you need speed, power and more than a little engineering.

Teams will push their coffin-on-wheels up Manitou Avenue as fast as they can. Four “mourners” push the coffin and a rider, their “Emma.” While Saturday is where we see the final drama, the results are largely decided months before in the workshop.

Strength plays an obvious factor on the scoresheet, but so does the coffin’s efficiency. KRDO13 is meeting with a brand-new race team of members in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union (IBEW), who are hoping their trade skills have helped them master the coffin design on the first try.

“Brute force and efficiency,” IBEW member Antonio Wylie joked when asked about their process of putting a coffin together for the first time.

The final product is anything but ramshackle, and they’re confident they have a shot at gold.

“Teamwork and brotherhood were ultimately what made this coffin happen,” Wylie said.

The IBEW team is also adding its own lore, rivaling that of Emma Crawford’s coffin flying down Green Mountain.

“Our ‘Emma isn’t an ‘Emma,'” said IBEW member Jedididah Brockett. “Our Emma is a ‘Henry Miller.'”

Henry Miller was an electrical worker and lineman in the 1800s. He was the first Grand President of the IBEW, and dedicated his life to improving working conditions in his field.

“Unfortunately for Henry Miller, he did actually die between two power poles when he fell off of one,” Brockett said. “So now we’re going to be bringing him back and pushing him in a coffin right between them.”

The IBEW has two model electrical poles on either side of their coffin seat to honor Miller’s memory and spark conversation about his legacy.

Spectator logistics

Organizers are expecting large crowds and lots of traffic on Saturday. They ask spectators to avoid driving into Manitou if at all possible. There are a few different alternatives people can take.

Citizens Service Center: There will be a $5 round-trip shuttle from the Citizens’ Service Center off of Garden of the Gods Road running from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parking is free. Bike Valet: Pike Ride is hosting a free bike valet on the West side of Memorial Park in Manitou Springs (502 Manitou Avenue) Metro Bus: The free Metro bus will run on its regular schedule into Manitou Springs. Take Mountain Metro #3 from downtown Colorado Springs or Old Colorado City. Manitou Springs High School: The Manitou Springs Wrestling Team is hosting valet parking at Manitou Springs High School for $10 per car (cash only).

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Drivers who thought occasional closures on Las Vegas Street were over with the completion of the Circle Drive bridges project, will be disappointed to learn that another closure starts on Thursday.

Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) is installing a water line under the bridges, which will require closing the mostly-industrial corridor for a mile between Janitell Road and the Highway 85/87 intersection.

The closure will further restrict traffic on the street, where an ongoing wastewater project has closed a lane from west of Janitell to Royer Street.

Las Vegas is a popular shortcut across the south side of town, and drivers can directly access it from only a few streets.

The upcoming closure is in an area where Las Vegas, Hancock Expressway, and railroad tracks are in close proximity.

CSU says that it is installing nearly 2,000 feet of new water line that will connect from a newly-installed line at Circle and Hancock, to another line currently going in near the Circle/Janitell Road intersection.

Between those points, CSU will bore approximately 20 feet under Fountain Creek as part of the installation.

It’s the third time this year that CSU has bored under a waterway to install a water line.

This summer, CSU bored 30 feet under Bear Creek for a new water main as part of the ongoing 8th Street improvements project; next month, crews will bore 60 feet under Spring Creek to install another water line.

CSU expects to finish the Las Vegas project before Christmas — weather permitting.

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Rob Namnoum

The Vista Ridge girls flag football team defeated Mountain View 28-14 on Wednesday night. They will face The Classical Academy on Saturday in the 4A state championship game.

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Bradley Davis

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – President Donald Trump announced Wednesday morning that a former teacher with ties to southern Colorado is returning home after more than four years in a Russian prison.

Russian forces arrested Stephen Hubbard near the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. He’s 74 years old.

Trump said on social media that Hubbard was “just released from prison, at the request of President Donald J. Trump, made directly to President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation last week. Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family.”

Stephen’s sister, Patricia, still lives in Chaffee County. KRDO13 has spoken with her multiple times during his Russian incarceration.

“I’ll trade my life for his. If Putin would just send him home, and he wants another life to torture, take me,” Patricia said in an interview with KRDO13 last year.

We spoke with Hubbard’s cousin, Pierre Hubbard who says the family is elated by his return.

“The family is pretty excited. I’m relieved and happy, but we got to give kudos to the Trump administration cabinet. You know…they handled it. Between Marco Rubio and our defense people in that cabinet, you know, he’s getting it done, so I’m excited; it’s a good thing,” says Pierre.

The Russian court charged Stephen with fighting for Ukrainian forces in Izyum, where he had been a teacher since 2014. Patricia denies the claim, and the United States has labeled Stephen as “Unlawfully Imprisoned.” Patricia said she has not been allowed to speak with her brother during his imprisonment.

ABC News contacted Patricia. She said she is on her way to reunite with him in San Antonio, where the United States takes all hostages for treatment following their imprisonment.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff first announced Stephen’s release during a televised meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia. Witkoff thanked Putin for facilitating the return.

“I want to thank you very much. The president sends his thanks,” Witkoff said to Putin. “The whole nation sends their thanks because of Stephen Hubbard. Because of you, he’s going home to his family.”

Trump said the U.S. did not give up anything in exchange for Stephen. However, he canceled scheduled sanctions on Russia earlier this week and said later Wednesday morning on social media that the negotiations would have come to a “complete and total halt” had he followed through with the sanctions.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Officials will mark the approximate halfway point in the ongoing project to build two roundabouts at the interchange of US 24 and Peterson Road, near the north gate of Peterson Space Force Base.

At an unspecified time on Wednesday morning, crews will move northbound and southbound Peterson Road traffic — one lane in each direction — onto the newly-paved lanes on the east side of the road, so that paving on the opposite side can begin.

Officials said that the switch will be an all-day operation requiring the presence of uniformed traffic officers to help guide drivers through.

If you plan to drive through the area, you should allow yourself extra time, prepare for possible traffic delays, or consider another route.

The lane change also allows crews to continue working on the roundabouts, one on each side of the highway overpass, and make pedestrian improvements.

At times, the interchange — first built in the early 1960s — can become congested with traffic in and out of Peterson SFB, along Space Village Avenue, and to and from the highway.

Officials expect to finish the $15 million project by the middle of next year.

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Rob Namnoum

Air Force fullback Owen Allen paid homage to quarterback Liam Szarka after he scored a touchdown in Saturday’s win against UNLV. After Allen scored celebrated by doing the pencil sharpener dance.

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Rob Namnoum

Pueblo Centennial High School won the South Colorado Motors Friday Night Blitz Spirit Award for week three of the high school football season. The Bulldogs cheer squad recently received the South Colorado Motors Friday Night Blitz Spirit Award plaque.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – It started with a pitch to the C.S. Lewis estate for an original adaptation of the author’s world-famous series.

Six months later, the Dragonfly Aerial Academy will take to the skies of the Ent Center of the Arts for an all-new performance of ‘Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’

There are three performances this weekend, two on Saturday and one on Sunday inside the Shockley-Zalabak Theater. Tickets range from $22.75 to $39.50. You can find a schedule and tickets here.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A one-way tunnel under Interstate 25 on the south end of the city that is a popular shortcut for drivers, has closed because of traffic issues.

City officials said that Harrison District 2 asked the city to close the Willwood Tunnel because of its impact on traffic congestion around Harrison High School.

Also contributing to the congestion is a utility project on the south end of Circle Drive, near the I-25 interchange.

The tunnel, which connects the area around the Broadmoor World Arena to the south end of Janitell Road, closed Monday and is expected to remain closed for several weeks, until the utility project is finished.

Officials closed the tunnel for two years during the nearby project to replace four bridges on Circle, just east of the I-25 interchange.

At that time, officials said too many drivers were using the tunnel as a shortcut, going the wrong way, east to west instead of west to east.

The tunnel reopened in May, to the delight of many drivers, but their surprise and frustration returned when it closed again.

Tunnel traffic and the utility project have worsened traffic congestion enough to affect the routine at the high school.

A viewer emailed KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior on Monday, explaining that it can take as long as 30 minutes for students and staff to arrive, and up to 45 minutes to leave in the afternoon.

The viewer identified herself as a Harrison parent and expressed safety concerns for the school community traveling to and from school, as well as the ability for the community to evacuate and for first responders to arrive quickly in case of an emergency.

In fact, city officials said that providing quick emergency access on both sides of the tunnel is the main reason for closing it to regular traffic.

But that creates another problem.

The current tunnel closure doesn’t include concrete barriers to restrict traffic, as the first one did — making it easy for people to drive through the signs and barrels marking the closure.

The Road Warrior saw several vehicles and motorcycles violate the closure; a few drivers who attempted to do so backed out upon seeing the news crew.

City officials said that they’re hoping the placement of concrete barriers won’t be necessary, since the closure should end in a few weeks.

Until then, the city asks drivers for patience and cooperation.

Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store. Android users can download it from Google Play here.

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Rob Namnoum

Top prep performances for the week for the week of October 16th.

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