Category: krdo-local-news

Josh Helmuth

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – A former Little League treasurer from Colorado Springs was sentenced to jail time, probation, and community service on Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Michele Gorr pleaded guilty earlier this year to theft charges after stealing over $100,000 from the Academy Little League, where she was a long-time volunteer treasurer. According to arrest documents, she used the money on lavish shopping sprees and travel. She was also charged with money laundering and additional theft charges, both of which were dropped as part of her plea agreement.

As part of her agreement with the court, Gorr will spend 14 days in jail (with one day credit for time served), 200 hours of community service, and four years of probation.

Gorr was featured in a KRDO13 Investigates story, “Little League’s Big Problem,” earlier this year, which highlighted a systemic issue of widespread theft and missing money within Colorado Little League baseball.

A warrant was issued for Gorr’s arrest when she failed to show for her plea hearing last March. That no-show led to a split with her then attorney, Patricia Perello, who noted she was “shocked” by the absence.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Daniels Fund and Project Play Colorado announced that its Youth Giving Day raised over $ 5.2 million, supporting Colorado nonprofits.

A relatively new initiative in its second year, the money is helping Southern Colorado families, like those involved with Girls Rugby Colorado Springs.

The Daniels Fund and Project Play Colorado said the money comes from over 3,600 donors and will benefit over 240 nonprofits.

Project Play Colorado said it is an initiative to increase youth sports participation rates to 63%. Its research team said 63% is the ideal watermark to fully reap the health and wellness benefits of youth sports in Colorado and across the country. Project Play stated that Colorado is currently at approximately 54.5%.

Cable television billionaire Bill Daniels built the framework for The Daniels Fund to carry out his charitable work after his death in 2000. The non-profit said it uses the investment gains from Daniels’ assets to support different causes, including in youth sports.

Watch above as KRDO13’s Bradley Davis on Good Morning Colorado, speaks with a couple of the young athletes on the girls’ rugby team benefiting from the giving initiative.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — For many drivers, the recent stripping of old, rubbery pavement on Woodmen Road was a major accomplishment.

However, the best may be yet to come.

On Sunday night, crews began repaving Woodmen from just east of the Academy Boulevard interchange, west across the Woodmen/Academy overpass, under the bridge above Interstate 25, to the Woodmen/Rockrimmon Boulevard intersection.

So far, workers are paving westbound lanes from the Sam’s Club to slightly east of Academy.

Rain on Monday and Tuesday nights slowed paving progress.

As first reported by KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior in early August, crews are replacing traditional asphalt with an experimental material called stone matrix asphalt (SMA).

“This is a specialized asphalt that is typically utilized on highways and interstates,” said Corey Farkas, the city’s manager of public works operations and maintenance. “It gives a lot more durability, and it is rut-resistant to a lot of vehicles. So, we’re going to give that a shot here on Woodmen. It’s very sticky and not as easy for the contractors to work with.”

The SMA appears to have larger particles that bind to create a thicker pavement.

“CDOT (the Colorado Department of Transportation) uses it quite a bit on highways,” Farkas explained. “There have been some other municipalities up in Denver that have used it on highly-traveled roadways. We’ve gone up there and seen the product, and it looks really good from what we know. It performs really well.”

One crew member told The Road Warrior that SMA was previously used on a stretch of Academy, north of Woodmen, that was repaved last summer.

Because SMA is more expensive than traditional asphalt, the city won’t use it to replace asphalt entirely, but may use it on selected projects if it works well enough to reduce maintenance costs.

Meanwhile, repairs to the Woodmen bridge over Academy — which started last month — continue.

“We’re going to be replacing the joints and updating the concrete that’s been damaged,” said Gayle Sturdivant, the city’s deputy public works director. One of the major things we’re doing is changing the wearing surface over the bridge. It has just degraded quicker than expected, similar to the asphalt that’s been put down. We’re working with products that have demonstrated, in other locations around the state, to be better performing.”

Most of the work on both projects is happening at night, and the city expects to complete both before the end of the year.

The $2.7 million cost of the bridge project is financed by sales tax revenue from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority.

The overpass was built in 2011, and a casualty of it was the closing of a Boston Market restaurant in an adjacent shopping center.

A manager at the time said that the restaurant closed because the height of the bridge blocked the view of the eatery to passing drivers.

“Our business dried up after that,” the manager said.

The repaving is financed by revenue from the city’s 2C expanded paving program, through a voter-approved sales tax increase.

Farkas said that last year, crews applied a skim (thin) layer of asphalt on Woodmen to stabilize the pavement until the current work could begin.

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Michael Logerwell

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) – The Rocky Mountain chapter of the NAACP is saying it was a “manufactured scandal” that forced Detra Duncan from her post on the Fountain City Council.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Fountain City Councilor charged with felony theft, alleged she stole $37k from gov. programs

One week after Detra Duncan formally announced her resignation, the Rocky Mountain NAACP is calling Duncan a victim of political lynching.

In a statement sent to KRDO13 Investigates via email, the Rocky Mountain NAACP wrote that the news about Duncan’s charges is part of a bigger agenda.

“This is not an isolated incident. Whether through fabricated ethics violations, distorted media narratives, or threats of investigations, Black women leaders in Colorado and across the nation are being targeted. These attacks are calculated to keep black leaders out of decision-making roles and deny our communities the representation we deserve. We will not stand by while this continues on our watch, nor will we let these salacious attacks jeopardize the safety of her family.”

KRDO13 Investigates sat down with Portia Prescott, President of the Rocky Mountain NAACP State Conference, who wrote the press release, which at the end made three key demands:

A formal apology from Fountain Mayor Sharon Thompson for failing to protect Councilwoman Duncan from this public lynching.

A full and immediate retraction of the Gazette’s false reporting, including the blatant lie that Councilwoman Duncan’s mother passed away in 1998, when she is in fact alive. They must be held accountable for publishing falsified information that fueled misinformation and defamation from a litany of other news outlets.

An official investigation into all parties who participated in the fabrication of evidence and witnesses used against Councilwoman Duncan.

“We are not going to let her sit alone and let them lynch her image and let them take her out and not understand what she means to us and what she means to our community,” Prescott said during a Zoom interview on Tuesday.

KRDO13 Invesigates asked what she meant by calling this a political lynching, and inquired if Prescott and the Rocky Mountain NAACP thought the two felony fraud charges Duncan was facing were false.

“I’m not saying that. No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m saying the fact that people are embellishing a story,” Duncan said. “They’re saying her mother is dead, and they’re implying that she had some malicious intent to fraud the system or she’s some type of criminal person, or they’re implying this, negative intent.”

The probable cause affidavit obtained by KRDO13 Investigates clearly says that Jefferson County Investigators found the pay stubs from the City of Fountain that Duncan submitted were altered. Her job title, “City Councilor,” was marked out.

The affidavit also says that it was those same Jefferson County Investigators who found that Duncan’s mother, Earlie Mae Johnson, and uncle, Ervin Jeffery Johnson, were deceased when letters with their signatures saying that Detra Duncan and her son were taking care of them in a Fountain residence were submitted to the state.

KRDO13 Investigates asked Prescott about what the Jefferson County Investigators found, as detailed in the probable cause affidavit, and what she meant by calling the reporting of details from the probable cause affidavit as a smear campaign.

“What I’m referring to is I want to stay away from the Jefferson County. I’m not talking about the actual Jefferson County,” Prescott said. “If you see the timing of our statement, this investigation has been going on for months. So this wasn’t about the investigation. We’re looking at an article that came out from the Gazette that specifically said it gave a date, that when her mother died, it’s 1998, and her mother did not die in 1998.”

KRDO13 Investigates followed up and asked if Prescott could provide proof that Earlie Mae Johnson was still alive.

“When this situation is all said and done, I’m sure, you can get that information from her attorneys,” Prescott replied.

What’s next for the Fountain City Council?

Voters will not get to decide who fills Detra Duncan’s seat in the upcoming city election. At Tuesday night’s Fountain City Council Meeting, city officials said that because the ballot has already been finalized, Duncan’s newly open spot on the city council can’t retroactively be put on the ballot.

A special election also isn’t possible, according to Fountain City bylaws; a special election can only be called when two or more positions are vacant.

This means Duncan’s replacement will have to be appointed, but due to the upcoming election, multiple councilors were hesitant about picking a timeframe to make an appointment.

Document from the Sept. 23 city council meeting describing the process to replace Duncan.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Residents in unincorporated areas of El Paso County may see faster snow removal on their roads and highways for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

On Tuesday, the county’s transportation department told KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior that it has virtually erased a worker shortage that had affected operations during the outbreak.

“We’ve got 140 total that will go on a full call-out, and we are probably around that 135 mark right now,” Scott Hall, a training manager, revealed. “We’re very close again.”

As he prepared to lead the 50 newest employees on a three-day training session for snowplow operations, he elaborated on why the pandemic caused the worker shortage that was also experienced by other local governments in the Pikes Peak region.

“When you put people in close vehicles and have people together, we were all told to get away from each other,” Hall explained. “We can’t do that here. So, it was hard. No one knew what to do. We’ve moved past it and now we know how to play the game.”

The lack of employees led county officials to take several measures that have solved the problem.

Officials dropped the high school diploma requirement, while offering to help new hires earn their equivalency diploma (GED) if they sought to earn it.

In an effort to save applicants time and expense, the county also dropped the requirement to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) — and now provides in-house training to receive it.

Finally, county commissioners approved increasing worker pay and benefits to be more competitive with other employers.

“Most of our employees are staying and not leaving,” Hall said.

Another factor in the turnaround is that the county now leans on high school students as an underutilized labor force.

The county holds career day events at the transportation complex on Akers Drive, and also sends transportation representatives to local schools — exposing them to the possibilities of a career in public works.

Students can enroll in paid internships during the school year and even be hired after they graduate.

“Not every kid is going to college or joining the military,” Hall said. “This is an opportunity for us and for them. I was exposed to all of this when I was a kid, but how are kids exposed to it now?”

One of thse kids, Angel Bustamante, was hired after graduating from Sand Creek High School.

“I was going to do concrete work,” he said. “Then, I met (Scott Hall) at his job fair. I got hired full-time after I worked a few hours a week in the program. I learned how to drive a snowplow and it was easy. I like working here. I’m here because of the people. We have fun.”

The annual training covers lasts ten hours daily for three days; trainees will learn snowplow driving, maintenance and tire chain installation.

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Josh Helmuth

MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) – High schoolers in Monument will certainly have a leg up on the competition when entering the workforce, thanks to a new center focused on innovative careers.

Lewis-Palmer School District 38 recently cut the ribbon on its new Career and Innovation Center. It’s already open to students from both district high schools who hope to learn valuable skills and gain certificates in trades such as advanced manufacturing, welding, homebuilding, electronics, and aerospace engineering. There’s even a Transitions program for 18 to 21-year-olds with special needs, who are taught life skills that set them up for a successful career.

Amy Sienkowski oversees the CIC. She says the program gets students “work-ready,” upon graduation.

The CIC will also soon offer programs in computer science and healthcare.

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

 

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Michael Logerwell

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – KRDO13 Investigates was contacted by several residents at the Soaring Eagles townhomes who said they were in danger of losing their homes if they couldn’t afford an up to $20,000 reassessment from their HOA to pay for hail damage.

Letter sent to Soaring Eagles HOA members.

Heather McBroom says she was shocked when she got this letter from the legal team representing the Soaring Eagle HOA, saying that she would have to pay thousands out of pocket to cover hail damage from August 2024.

“My first reaction was shock. This was the first time I’d heard anything about [the hail damage], and it’d been a year.” KRDO13 Investigates spoke to McBroom and a dozen other residents protesting this assessment on their street on Monday morning.

“Our current declarations state we cannot be passed on an assessment of more than $10,000,” McBroom added.

McBroom said many people in the group of 50 units against this assessment have coverage up to $10,000. But this assessment is for $20,752.12, which would require even those with coverage to pay a little more than $10,000 out of pocket.

An excerpt from section 7.3 of the Soaring Eagles HOA Rules.

McBroom and 49 other households say the $20k assessment itself is not allowed due to rules and regulations outlined in the ‘Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions of the Soaring Eagles Townhomes.’ In that document, it says that the HOA will subscribe to any insurance policy “greater than the lesser of $10,000 or one percent of the face amount of the policy.”

“Most people feel very confused. There wasn’t a lot of transparency during this process. They don’t know what their rights are. So we have all decided to rally together, and hire an attorney, and try to fight any fines or penalties,” McBroom said.

KRDO13 Investigates brought these concerns to the Soaring Eagles HOA attorney, Anthony Smith. Smith said he agreed that the rules governing the community clearly go against assessing a deductible this big, but says it’s impossible to find this kind of coverage for this price in Colorado.

One of the letters sent to homeowners about their HO6 Insurance.

Smith also says the HOA and the management company, RowCal, have sent out numerous notifications to members about updating their HO6 insurance policy to cover more.

This letter to your right is one example, Smith said, of a notification sent out to homeowners.

He said the letter says homeowners should have HO6 coverage for loss assessment of $30,000. Smith says this letter was given to every member of the Soaring Eagles HOA, and it’s just one example of notifications sent out.

Smith also identified the group fighting back against this assessment as a vocal minority and said that the majority of the HOA members had the right amount of insurance coverage.

KRDO13 Investigates asked why the HOA provision locking the amount hadn’t been updated in almost 20 years; the document was written in 2006. Smith said that it takes 2/3 of homeowners to amend the master document. In the Soaring Eagles community, there are 150 units, meaning it would take 101 units to agree.

In email communication, Smith wrote that the HOA board did not make this decision lightly and said this is not a unique problem in Colorado or the rest of the country.

“This problem is not unique to Soaring Eagles. Rather, it is a statewide problem that affects HOAs across Colorado. The insurance industry continues to increase the cost of property insurance for HOAs while simultaneously increasing the deductibles under those policies. In other words, HOAs are paying more money for less coverage.”

Smith urged people to reach out to their state representatives and ask them to cap wind/hail deductibles for HOA policies, require HO-6 policies with loss assessment coverage for HOA members, and hold insurance companies accountable for offering fair and accessible coverage.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (KRDO) – The 2025 Colorado Springs Cool Science Festival has arrived – and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (UCCS) kicks off the celebrations Saturday with the annual free Cool Science Carnival.

At the carnival, educators from dozens of organizations will bring around 100 interactive stations to entertain children using the magic of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). UCCS said over 8000 people came through the Carnival in 2024.

There will be chemistry magic shows, robots, slime, virtual reality stations, live animals, rockets and more. Parking and carnival entrance are free, though some of the activities charge a fee.

The carnival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the core campus of UCCS, with a special precursor magic chemistry show at 9 a.m.

While the carnival is tailored to children in elementary and middle school, the 16-day festival features events for both children and adults, like the Chemistry of Fermentation Winery Tours.

The festival has over 100 events scheduled from September 26 through October 12. They are scattered across the Pikes Peak Region, from various Pikes Peak Library District locations to The Cave of the Winds and multiple museums. Click here for the full schedule.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — On Monday, for the second time in a month, construction crews scheduled daytime lane closures for the ongoing 8th Street improvement project at the bridge across Fountain Creek.

However, the difference between the two is that the closure did not occur last time, and is happening this time.

City officials said that there will be occasional lane closures for the next several weeks on northbound 8th Street over Fountain Creek.

The closures will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The planned right lane closure last month didn’t happen as scheduled; at the last minute, crews decided it wasn’t needed because they were able to access an area that required heavy equipment near that lane.

And the initial decision to close that lane was made only the day before.

For the closure that started Monday, officials announced it last Thursday via the project newsletter, so drivers had more advance notice this time.

The reason for this closure is continued maintenance work on the bridge.

Progress has been slow because of the rainy weather last month.

Crews are widening the bridge’s east side for two reasons: They’ll add a dedicated right turn lane to the US 24 frontage road, and build a wider sidewalk for pedestrians and bicycles.

Officials said that during this phase, one northbound lane will always be open.

The latest closure will likely affect traffic in and out of the Take 5 car wash and the Arby’s restaurant.

The bridge work continues into early next year.

After that, crews will replace a water main on 8th Street, between Cimarron Street and Motor City Drive, install some sidewalks and curbs where they don’t currently exist, and install stormwater drains on two hills above, to eliminate flash flooding.

Paving, the final step, should happen next summer.

The $12 million project, approved by voters in 2012, is funded by sales tax revenue from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority.

Officials said that the project area carries 30,000 vehicles daily.

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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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