SECURITY-WIDEFIELD, Colo. (KRDO) – KRDO13’s Bradley Davis joins us live with the class and staff at James Madison Charter Academy. Tune in to see their fun shenanigans as class goes back in session!
Click here to follow the original article.This week’s Restaurant Roundup is all about pizza, wings and some notable health inspection scores across Colorado Springs and the surrounding area.
Basil & Barley racks up 10 violations, quickly turns things around
Among the concerns were food being held at unsafe temperatures, food items that were not properly dated and improper cooling methods that can allow bacteria to grow.
The restaurant was quickly reinspected, however, and made significant changes.
“One cooler was not reading up at temperature, which hit like 15 different items,” the owner said.
According to the owner, the cooler has since been repaired. Employees are now dating food properly, and the restaurant has stopped placing plastic wrap over hot food.
The improvements paid off: Basil & Barley had just one violation on its re-inspection.
A perfect score for Chipotle in FountainThere was also a perfect score to celebrate this week.
The Chipotle in Fountain earned top marks during its routine health inspection.
Three other restaurants also received high scores:
Stellina on East Willamette Avenue The Famous Steakhouse on North Tejon Street Wing Force at Interquest and VoyagerWing Force takes flight
Wing Force is one of the newer restaurants to join the local dining scene, opening just a few months ago near Interquest and Voyager.
And with a name like Wing Force, the location seems fitting so close to the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“Three guys came together, three Colorado natives, for the love of wings we decided to venture off,” co-owner Kevin Than said.
Than credits the restaurant’s strong start in part to its general manager, who has more than 20 years of kitchen experience.
“The restaurant industry is a very difficult industry, so you’ve got to have someone with a lot of experience who can lead the way,” Than said.
The restaurant makes its food from scratch in-house — including the boneless tenders and fries!
Keep an eye out for the Restaurant Roundup awardIf you see a KRDO13 Restaurant Roundup award at your favorite restaurant, it’s a sign that the kitchen has earned recognition for its cleanliness.
All high and low scores featured in the Restaurant Roundup are based on routine health inspections conducted by the El Paso County Health Department.
Click here for a look at all the most recent health inspection scores.
Click here to follow the original article.WIDEFIELD, Colo. (KRDO) – District 3 returned to the classroom this week, and Widefield High School showed off its range Thursday morning with KRDO13.
Like having so much hype with everybody and doing all the fun things and especially the bus rides after competitions are so much fun. First year for you, but 150th for Widefield High School
The band, cheerleaders, Junior ROTC, Student 2 Student group and more gathered to show off their Gladiator pride ahead of the district’s 150th school year.
“Class of 2027, what a bragging right to be in this 150 years of celebration in our school district, and I’m just super proud of our school district,” said Widefield’s first female superintendent, Steffanie Howell.
Watch KRDO13’s Bradley Davis speak with the excited students as they rep their respective groups.
Click here to follow the original article.EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Nearly a dozen schools in Widefield District 3 are seeing the benefits of a pedestrian safety program funded by county commissioners in February 2024.
It was one of our first Road Warrior reports.
Commissioners allocated $11 million to improve safety at crossings near schools after a spike in serious accidents where pedestrians are supposed to be safe.
District 3 began receiving some of the safety upgrades over the summer, with new crosswalks and other features designed to slow traffic down, reduce crossing distances, and make it easier for pedestrians, disabloed citizens and drivers to see each other.
“About two years ago, we had some engineers start reaching out to principals, and we sat down and had some conversations with those engineers about some ideas for making the front of our buildings– or nearby our buildings — safer,” said Dave Gish, the district’s chief operations officer.
Some of the crossing improvements aren’t completely finished but the district deemed them appropriate for use.
Among the variety of designs is a raised center median in front of Pinello Elementary School.
Sunrise Elementary is building two crosswalks.
Webster Elementary removed one of its two crosswalks but upgraded the remaining version.
The county also will upgrade two intersections: Main Street at Norman Drive, near Widefield High School; and Security/Willis Boulevards , near Venetucci Elementary.
District 3 said that crews will improve traffic signals and crosswalks at those intersections.
“It’s different,” said Angela Plambeck, commenting on the Widefield Elementary crosswalk while picking up her third-grade daughter, Cheyenne, on Thursday.”At first, I was kinda confused. I wasn’t really sure what these were, or what the lines meant. So, I mean, it’s all right.”
Yet Angela said she welcomes any safety improvements near schools — especially after being involved in a minor crash outside the old crosswalk last year.
“A lady was backing out, and she backed into us, then just left,” she recalled.
Cheyenne said that she was the first to see the coming impact because her mom was on the phone.
“I yelled in the car, and I said, MOM!” she said.
During morning arrival at the school, there was a two-vehicle crash down the street from the new crosswalk; no injuries but it’s good reminder to drive carefully around schools.
Click here to follow the original article.MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) — Drivers arriving on the first day back to school at Lewis-Palmer High School in District 38 will notice some changes Tuesday, including a roundabout, a newly repaved road, and a new main entrance into the school.
Crews started a project in late March to rebuild two miles of Higby Road in front of the school, between Jackson Creek Parkway and Harness Road.
The $12.6 million project includes new sidewalks and curbs, improved drainage, and upgrades at the Higby/Jackson Creek intersection.
“It required some redesign of the parking lot, as well,” said Mitch Cassels, the project manager. “Speeding was an issue. You know, there were a lot of backups and traffic concerns going in and out of the school parking lot, as well. Traffic usually would back up on the old road down to Jackson Creek.”
That happened briefly on Tuesday, but Cassels explained that the first day back to school always has the heaviest traffic impacts, and the congestion should decrease as everyone gets used to the new protocol.
The Triview Metropolitan District planned and financed the project through developer contributions and the sale of bonds.
James McGrady, manager of the metro district, said that the area south of the school is growing, with a housing boom underway.
“In the event of a wildfire, this road becomes a very important exit point,” he explained. “And we wanted to make sure it could handle the influx of traffic.”
To meet District 38’s deadline of completing construction outside the school before Tuesday, the contractor called in extra crews and shortened the project timetable by more than half.
Work should be finished in October.
For more information about new drop-off and pickup guidelines at the school, click here.
Click here to follow the original article.PUEBLO WEST, Colo. (KRDO) — This season, P Dub plans to get it. “My goal is to win state every year,” says Pueblo West quarterback Chase Harrison.
The Cyclones’ goal is to win a state championship. A goal that Chase Harrison has put down on paper: “I wrote it down on a notebook. And, you know, I have it in my room. I look at it every morning when I wake up. But then I made it my lock screen on my phone, actually. So I see it every day. So every time you go on your phone checking out social media or whatever text messages, it’s staring you in the face. Yes, sir. I look, I, I read it before I open up my phone every time I’m on my phone. So just a daily reminder.
A daily reminder to cherish every day on the field: “I’m starting to realize that, you know, like, this isn’t forever, and I, I just I do cherish the moments I get with my teammates and my friends,” says Pueblo West linebacker Chance Chamberlain.
They aren’t just teammates; they are also friends.
“We went to the reservoir a lot. We like to go swim. Got on the boat. We do some fishing here and there. Oh, I have a dirt bike. Some other guys have dirt bikes. We go ride them around,” says Chamberlain. Harrison adds, “I mean, chemistry is the most important thing, I think.”
They believe that being this tight makes it easier to do the difficult things. “It’s way easier to block for somebody when you truly care about them and spend time with them off the field,” says Harrison.
The way they care for one another stands out: “We’re blessed with great kids and great families. And, they’re they’re just good kids. And…the families raise them right. And, and we try to reinforce those things, but yeah, they’re, they’re just good kids and good people,” says Pueblo West head coach, Clint Buderus.
Click here to follow the original article.COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado Springs School District 11 students are back in class, and this year every single one of them gets a hands-on learning experience outside the classroom tied directly to their grade level.
KRDO13 rode along on a D-11 school bus Tuesday morning for the first day of school, including a stop at Doherty High School, where an all-school welcome tradition greeted incoming freshmen.
It is called The Gauntlet. Hundreds of Doherty students and staff lined up to cheer every new freshman onto campus on the first day. The energy was loud and deliberate.
Hillary Hienton is the principal at Doherty High School. She says it is one of the best days of the year.
“We have freshmen coming in. They always look so nervous and scared, but we have older students who are super excited to see them,” she said.
One of those nervous freshmen was Brooke. She switched districts and did not know anyone walking in.
“I’m a little nervous because I don’t really know anybody at this school because I changed districts,” Brooke said.
When asked why upperclassmen show up so enthusiastically for The Gauntlet, one student kept it simple.
“Why not?” the student shouted with a smile.
Another said, “We build community. And welcome everybody so they can have a great time at Doherty.”
Beyond the first-day welcome, D-11 is launching a district-wide initiative called Peak Experiences. The program connects learning to life outside the classroom. The district says the goal is simple: every student, every school, every year.
Think of it like a “fancy field trip” where each grade level has its own assigned experience.
Preschoolers get Discovery Day.
Kindergartners take part in Kinderby.
First graders visit the planetarium.
Second graders participate in Nature Navigators.
Third graders connect with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic.
Fourth graders ride the Cog Railway.
Fifth graders take part in Rocket Day.
Sixth graders do Lunar Quest.
Seventh graders compete in the Soap Box Derby.
Eighth graders participate in Chalktober.
And ninth graders take part in the Junior Achievement Dream Accelerator.
The district says Peak Experiences are designed to build critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills while connecting students to the Colorado Springs community.
D-11 is also a sponsor for the Rocky Mountain 5K at America the Beautiful Park on Saturday, Aug. 29.
Click here to follow the original article.COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Palmer High School campus will be different for students this school year.
Remember back in March, the City Council denied School District 11’s request to permanently close the block of Boulder Street between Nevada Avenue and Weber Street that split the campus in half.
But in late May, the council reversed its decision when two members changed their vote.
The temporary closure was to ensure that construction workers had enough space to store their equipment.
The permanent closure on Boulder allows D-11 to unite both halves of the campus.
We haven’t been given any information about the specific changes students, faculty, and staff can expect as 9th graders return.
But D-11 said that the school community has been informed about where to park, and where school buses can drop off and pick up.
“Bus drop-off and parent drop-off will be happening on Nevada,” said Jessica Wise, a district spokesperson. “So, there is a pull-out there. There is everything labeled for all our families. But that is a pretty significant switch. So, just know that you’ve got to stop on Nevada this time, forego Weber, and student parking is all the same.”
The first phase of construction for the $100 million renovation is scheduled to end in early spring of 2028.
It includes demolishing Palmer’s current tech building and cafeteria to make room for new facilities, construction of a new academic wing, and other renovations.
D-11’s goal is to modernize the school while preserving its history and creating a safer, walkable campus with expanded outdoor spaces and state-of-the-art learning facilities.
Because only freshmen were required to be on campus on Tuesday, it resulted in only limited traffic impacts; Wednesday may be the real test, when all students return.
The school gym, three blocks east on Wahsatch Avenue, was the location for freshmen to register, but many students were dropped off at Palmer and walked to the gym with friends or classmates.
Most of the street parking during the day, east of the school, is taken up by construction workers.
But we did see at least one temporary parking lot created for school staff.
D-11 said that starting Wednesday, the main entrance at the Nevada/Platte Avenue intersection will be the only way in and out for all students during construction.
Click here to follow the original article.COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado’s first nature center is celebrating 50 years on August 22 with a special “Bear-thday” celebration. The public is welcome to the no-cost event.
“It really goes back to our mission at the nature centers, connecting people to their natural and cultural resources and inspiring stewardship,” Interpretive Program Specialist Kylee Taylor said.
The Bear-thday is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bear Creek Nature Center. All events are no-cost to participate in, though the Living Nature Hike does require pre-registration.
The nature center has designed a special 50th anniversary brand to pair with some of its vintage counterparts dating back decades.
You can find a full list of Bear-thday activities here.
Click here to follow the original article.FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) — The wait is over for the Trojans; high school football is back.
“You’re working eight months out of the year for ten weeks. And I think when you have that kind of pent up for eight months, it’s fun when it gets to be for real,” says Fountain Fort Carson head coach Jake Novotny.
The high school kids are excited to get back at it. “I feel like overall, energy has been really great,” says D.K. Releford Jr. Trojans linebacker Cody Greiner adds, “We have a lot of stuff put together. We got a chance to prove ourselves.”
Even head coach Jake Novotny’s kids are pumped for football: “My oldest daughter was just ecstatic when I told her, hey, the football, like you call them the football guys. Hey, football guys got their first game in a few weeks and man, she was fired up because her and all the other kids hang out down there during the game and run around, and it’s a blast.”
Fountain Fort Carson has an identity: ground and pound and be physical, but their team is made up of high schoolers that come far and wide to be here because their parents are in the military, “People from that are moving in from all over, around the world, like military families. So I feel like they’re very relatable,” says Releford.
Trojans quarterback J.J. Martin adds, “Like it’s cool because everyone has a different perspective and everyone has played football, so they can give their input on different things.”
Regardless of background, they all speak the same language: football. “We want guys to…dress like they’re professionals. We want them to…approach the game like it’s like it’s an honor to play it because it really is. And…so for us, it’s it’s about doing everything the right way,” says Novotny.
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