Category: krdo-local-news

Celeste Springer

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) — A Fountain cat mom is issuing a big thank you to an arborist-turned-hero after her cat was stuck about 35 feet above the ground.

According to Tonya Towles, her cat Loki decided to climb a tree this week. Unfortunately for Loki and Tonya, the tree was not something one would describe as “small.”

(Courtesy: Mikaelle Towns)

Towles said she called the fire department and animal control with no luck. She posted on social media, and the next morning, many people tried (unsuccessfully for hours) to coax Loki down. There wasn’t a ladder long enough, or a “psp psp” enticing enough, to get the cat.

But then came Sean Stouffis with Arbor One Tree Services. Towles says Stouffis saw one of her posts on social media and knew he had the perfect equipment to rescue Loki.

“Within minutes of giving him my address, he was on his way,” said Towles. “He was kind, professional, prepared, and patient. He immediately geared up and got to climbing.”

Video shows Stouffis belaying down the tree with Loki in hand as the cat meows; KRDO13 could not confirm if Loki’s meows were ones of joy, or whether the headstrong kitty was dismayed that his act of rebellion was coming to a close.

Regardless, Towles says Stouffis comforted Loki all the way down. The cat is happily back home with family– just in time for National Cat Day on Oct. 29.

KRDO13 is always looking for heartfelt stories like this for our Absolutely Colorado segment. If you have a story idea, please click here to share it with us.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — City public works officials gathered Tuesday to reflect on the accomplishments of the 2C expanded street paving program.

Sub-freezing temperatures the past two nights arrive just as crews finish up the final projects on this year’s paving list; Tuesday’s gathering was along Flying W Ranch Road.

This marks the tenth year of the 2C program, funded by a sales tax increase approved by voters in 2015.

Former mayor John Suthers created the plan while campaigning for the first of his two consecutive terms.

While some voters thought that campaigning on a sales tax increase was political suicide, many others expressed a growing frustration with the countless potholes caused by streets crumbling from years of deferred maintenance.

In 2019, voters extended the tax for five years, and last fall, a ten-year extension passed by nearly a 3-to-1 margin.

Officials stated that in the ten years of 2C, crews have repaved 2,000 miles of lanes — nearly a third of the city’s streets.

During the next ten years, the city plans to continue its recent trend of increasing its focus on side streets, with 95% of future paving work to be in neighborhoods.

Other benefits of 2C include upgrades to the concrete framework along repaved streets — sidewalks, curbs, gutters, and ramps — to increase safety for pedestrians.

Still, some voters express dissatisfaction with 2C, feeling that it’s taking too long for their streets to be repaved.

“We do have the potential to possibly add streets or move streets again, depending on coordination,” said Corey Farkas, the city’s public works operations and maintenance manager. “But, we do ask people to let us know. Call us. Let us know. We’ve got other alternatives. If we can’t get to your road with 2C, within this particular program, we can make sure that it gets on the next program.”

As for potholes, The Road Warrior recently reported on the city hiring a dozen new public works employees who are taking advantage of recent dry weather to reduce the backlog of repair requests.

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Bradley Davis

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – The Pueblo Heritage Museum is inviting a professional ghost hunter on Thursday to give tours of the museum to educate about Pueblo’s history with a supernatural twist.

Gail Conners said she works to preserve history through storytelling and paranormal investigation. She educates groups on the history of the building she searches while teaching patrons her techniques and equipment for discovering spectral phenomena.

Museum manager John Wendt said they invited Conners to host the tours after multiple staffers reported ghost sightings and supernatural encounters.

One particular spooky and recurring instance is the manual door to the archive room closing behind the staff, locking them in the room.

The museum hosted a tour earlier this month. Wendt said it was so popular, they decided to do it again this week.

Thursday’s tours run from 6:30 to 9 p.m. It’s $20 and currently on a waitlist, but Wendt said they can probably squeeze in a few more people. He said he plans to schedule another tour in November to accommodate the demand.

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Rob Namnoum

The District 20 field hockey team defeated Smoky Hill on Tuesday night 1-0 to advance in the Class 4A playoffs. They will play Colorado Academy on Thursday.

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Rob Namnoum

Caroline Kerscher is the only senior on the Air Academy cheer squad and her teammates are planning on celebrating her on Friday night. The Kadet football team will play their final home of the season on Friday.

The cheer squad will wear custom Caroline shirts to celebrate her four years on the Kadet cheer squad. It is a genuine gesture toward Caroline, who has made quite an impact on all of the girls on the cheer team.

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Rob Namnoum

Air Academy High School was our week six winner of the Qdoba Friday Night Blitz Spirit Award. On Tuesday, the Kadet cheer squad received the Qdoba Friday Night Blitz Spirit Award plaque.

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Mackenzie Stafford

UPDATE: 10/29/2025 The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has publicly released the victim’s identity as 38-year-old Jeremy Campbell. His photo is below.

38-year-old Jeremy Campbell was murdered while driving for Uber, deputies say. (Photo provided by Campbell’s family)

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – Arrest records are unveiling new details in the homicide investigation of an Uber driver.

EPSO arrested 27-year-old Khayla Dawson after an Uber driver’s body was found in a field near the Woodlake Trailhead. The trailhead is located near Hodgen Road and Eastonville Road.

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office

According to arrest records, the victim was reported missing by his family in the early hours of Monday, Oct. 27. His family told deputies that he drove for Uber, and it was not like him to disappear.

Deputies were able to ping his phone, which led them to a location near Polaris Junction apartments. There, deputies say they found his car abandoned with a significant amount of blood inside. They later located his cell phone in a stairwell of the apartment, records say.

The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says they were able to obtain information from Uber on his last ride. According to Uber’s data, his last customer was Khayla Dawson. Timestamp data said the trip began just before midnight, but was canceled by Dawson more than three hours later.

According to Dawson’s recounting of events, she “felt cooped up” and “wanted to get out of the house” and ordered an Uber. Deputies say she initially told detectives that she was going to visit a friend, but changed her statement later, saying she actually wasn’t going to visit anyone and just wanted to go for a “joy ride.”

Dawson said the Uber driver picked her up from her apartment at Polaris Junction. Deputies say she claimed she fell asleep in the car, and awoke to the Uber driver reaching back to sexually assault her. She says she stabbed him in self-defense, and the driver also had a knife.

According to arrest records, during the struggle, the driver accelerated through a barbed wire fence, ending up in a field. Deputies allege that she dumped his body in the field and drove his car back to her apartment.

During a medical evaluation, Dawson was found to have a broken knee bone, arrest records say.

Deputies went to search her apartment, and said there was a knife missing from a butcher block in her kitchen. A butcher knife matching this description, as well as a folding knife, were located in the field by the driver’s body, deputies say. Additionally, EPSO says they found the driver’s car key hidden inside a dryer sheet box in her laundry room, and also the driver’s wallet inside a lunchbox.

“We’re deeply saddened by this devastating loss. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the driver’s family during this incredibly difficult time. We have been in contact with law enforcement and are supporting their investigation in any way we can,” a spokesperson for Uber said.

Dawson is charged with 1st Degree Murder, Aggravated Robbery, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Tampering with Physical Evidence.

KRDO13 Investigates learned that Dawson is a former athlete with Olympic Dreams. In 2024, she competed at the USA Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, in the shot put. According to the Colorado Chapter of the USATF, she placed 22nd overall with a distance of 16.86m. The top three make the Olympic team.

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Celeste Springer

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A Rampart High School senior will be able to paint a religious message on her parking spot following a demand letter, according to her legal counsel.

Sophia Shumaker planned to participate in a senior tradition, temporarily painting her spot in the school’s parking lot. Shumaker said her intended design, which included a Bible verse, was denied by the school.

“I was honestly pretty upset. Just because the senior parking spaces are really supposed to resemble and express who we are, and you not being able to show my Christianity or my religious side, which is honestly really upsetting,” Shumaker told KRDO13 on Tuesday, thinking back to the original rejection.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: A Bible verse, a parking spot and a legal fight: D20 senior challenges school decision

First Liberty Institute, the organization representing Shumaker, said Rampart High School denied the request, pointing to a school policy restricting political and religious paintings. However, First Liberty Institute argued that it was inconsistent across Colorado Springs Academy School District 20 (D20) schools, so the law group sent a demand letter to the district.

On Tuesday, First Liberty Institute announced that D20 will allow Shumaker and other students to paint their parking spots with religious imagery, as long as it meets a set of general requirements (no offensive language, pictures, etc).

Shumaker said the design above is what she will now paint on her parking spot.

“1 Corinthians 13:4 is probably one of my favorite Bible verses. My mother used to say it to me all the time.”

“And then the parable of the Shepherd and the sheep. It’s just that there are 99 sheep and the shepherd leaves the 99 to go find the lost one. So that’s really been a near and dear parable,” Shumaker explained that this verse and story helped get her through difficult times.

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Josh Helmuth

Academy D-20 is home to one of the best STEM teachers in the country, according to the Department of Defense.

Amanda Trimillos, an English and Language Arts teacher at Eagleview Middle School, was recently honored as a DoD STEM Ambassador, one of just 30 teachers in the country to receive the honor.

Trimillos also coaches four robotics teams at the school and is considered an “exceptional” educator who helps expand access to science, technology, engineering, and math opportunities for students.

Is there something or someone remarkable at your school? Email us! SchoolBuzz@KRDO.com.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A retired NASA Astronaut who flew on two ISS space missions will meet with the community at the Space Foundation Discovery Center on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

“Gravity is such a drag, I don’t know why we put up with it!” retired NASA Astronaut Dominic “Tony” Antonelli said.

Antonelli will spend his week traveling around to different schools in the Colorado Springs School District 11, speaking with the students. The event on Wednesday at the Discovery Center is free for the public.

“We need creative smart folks, and they exist all over the place. We just need to make sure they know we need them and encourage them and support them,” Antonelli said. “If they are going to help make the world a better place in the future, we all should be helping them do that.”

“It’s such an important thing for me to hear,” said Space Foundation Director of outside programs Alex Grab. “That’s my whole mission. That’s the mission at Space Foundation: to bring STEM education and passion for STEM to every kind of student.”

It’s part of the Discovery Center’s “Space in the Community” initiative. Mentors from the aerospace company and NASA contractor L3Harris will join Antonelli on Wednesday. The event focuses on the discoveries of the James Webb Telescope.

Antonelli has spent over 24 days in space during his career as an astronaut. He said he feels an obligation to give back in his retirement by traveling around as an educator.

I’ve incurred a debt by being lucky enough to fly in space. You have to give it back,” Antonelli said.

Along with spreading STEM, Antonelli said he hopes he can help people realize the greater picture he discovered while orbiting the planet.

“I’m surprised we don’t treat each other more neighborly,” Antonelli said. You realize [Earth] is where everyone is from. Everyone you’ve ever met. We are all neighbors. We are all crewmates on this little spaceship together.”

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