Category: krdo-local-news

Scott Harrison

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) — Dry and mild weather in the second half of last year wasn’t enough to help crews catch up on delays caused by wet weather in the first half of the year on road construction here.

Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) crews paused for the season just before Christmas, on a $7 million project to widen and improve drainage along a half-mile stretch of Highway 67 on the north side of town.

The break means much less construction activity and traffic congestion than we saw in a report by KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior last June.

Crews have addressed erosion by replacing 80% of the stormwater system and installing underground drainage pipes that direct water into a nearby creek.

CDOT has done most of its work on the west side of the highway and will switch to the opposite side when construction resumes in the spring.

Workers will eventually widen the highway from two to four lanes and repave the hilly segment between Kelly’s Road and the intersection of County Road and Evergreen Heights Drive.

The project has produced mixed results for the adjacent area; the manager of the Mountain Naturals Community Market said that sales have been down since construction began, while the managers of the Diamond Campground said that the project didn’t affect their summer tourism business as much as expected.

According to the campground staff, crews did a good job of directing traffic on and off the property at the entrance in the middle of the work zone.

One neighbor said that he’s thankful for the project because water no longer flows downhill through his neighborhood and into his yard.

The project started last March and was supposed to be finished last month, but should be completed early this summer.

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Marina Garcia

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Across the city, we saw more than ten inches of snow, but as you hit the road to enjoy your weekend plans, now that the sun is back out, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is still advising caution on the roads.

We will be seeing below-freezing temperatures Saturday night, which can turn that compacted snow into ice and be dangerous.

“We’ve gotten a little spoiled with some really good driving conditions across the state,” says Lisa Schwantes, a CDOT spokesperson. “But we did see some snow recently, and there is nothing like solar gain to melt snow and ice. But then those frigid temperatures come again overnight, and that moisture freezes up, and that can cause some slick conditions for drivers.”

And as we experience Colorado’s prominent weather whiplash, it’s important to remain vigilant while on the roads.

“We can really pay attention to what our headlights are showing us. If it starts looking a little slick and there’s a lot of reflection off of the roadway. Slow down,” says Schwantes.

CDOT advises drivers to always respect road conditions and refrain from any distractions.

CDOT says crews will now be working on taking care of any shoulder areas that they’ve pushed snow onto, ensuring clearance in those areas.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo (KRDO) – Thursday night was an all-call for the Colorado Springs snowplow drivers. Record levels of snow, and a full crew of drivers patrolling the city from 12 a.m. to 12 p.m.

“When Mother Nature comes in, Mother Nature just wins,” said Public Works Operation Manager Corey Farkas.

At 6 a.m., with six hours left before his shift change, plow driver Marcus Brooks made room in his snowplow cab for KRDO13’s Bradley Davis.

“They’ve been pretty messy this morning,” Brooks said.

“How many cars have you seen spin out this morning?” Davis asked.

“A lot. A lot. At least seven.”

It snowed over nine inches from Thursday into Friday across most of the city. Until about 5 a.m., both Farkas and Brooks said progress was not easy going, like bailing water out of the ocean.

“At a rate of 1-2 inches of snowfall per hour, we have so much infrastructure we just can’t keep up,” Farkas said.

The snow started to slow from then on, and the plows started to catch up.

“You just see the snow just blow everywhere, so that’s always pretty cool. You just know you’re hitting it,” Farkas said while rolling a big pile out of the road.

“Whenever you put the blades down, you should always be putting product down,” Brooks said.

The city said it’s been expanding its chloride de-icer tanks year-after-year.

“Those bigger storage tanks give us the capacity to expand our work,” Mobolade said.

Between the lighter snow, lots of snowplows and a healthy portion of chemical de-icer, Brooks finally started to find what he had been digging for.

“Oatmeal!” Brooks said. “When all the snow starts to break up and gets all wet, we call it Oatmealing.”

“Do we like oatmeal?” Davis asked.

“We love oatmeal!” Brooks replied.

Brooks said it’s a point of pride for himself and his coworkers.

“Keeping the community safe, that’s always cool. I have brothers who has to drive. A mother who has to drive. Family. And just throwing snow, I love it!”

Friday, community appreciation came from an unexpected source.

“I just want to tell you thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for getting up so early while everyone is sleeping to help the streets. I appreciate y’all, and I love y’all,” Mobolade said over Brooks’ and the other drivers’ radios.

The cool tempuratures Friday will keep the next plow shift on the roads for a while, but with the snow moving Southeast, the roads should drastically improve each hour.

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Heather Skold

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Newly unsealed court documents have revealed the toll of law enforcement bravery during the chaos of the Planned Parenthood shooting ten years ago.

Months ago, KRDO13 put forth a motion to have the original probable cause documents of confessed shooter, Robert Dear, who passed away on Nov. 22, unsealed.  They were sealed shortly after the incident to preserve the investigation; this week, the court ruled in KRDO13’s favor to unseal the records despite objections from the defendant’s former counsel. 

At three pages, the document is brief, but it lists the names of the law enforcement personnel who were shot and survived the hail of gunfire on Black Friday, 2015:

Colorado Springs Police Officer Michael Zamonas was shot in the left hand; CSPD Tactical Officer Dan Carter was shot in the left leg; CSPD Tactical Officer Robert Wolf was shot in the left hand and left upper arm area; CSPD Officer John Ford was shot in the upper left arm.  

El Paso County Sergeant Jason Hess was shot in the right lower leg. 

UCCS Officer, Garrett Swasey, was shot and killed.

Before this point in time, their stories and bravery have been kept in the shadows, pending the legal proceedings of the case.

According to a federal indictment, Robert Dear had four SKS rifles, five handguns, two additional rifles, a shotgun, and more than 500 rounds of ammunition.  

Upon his surrender, Dear told police that he brought propane tanks with him, shooting them in the hopes they would explode. They did not.  

He surrendered to tactical officers, and upon being placed into a patrol car, he “yelled out a statement about the killing of babies,” according to the court document.

Dear at age 67, died in federal custody due to heart failure, five days prior to the tenth anniversary of the deadly shooting. 

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Mackenzie Stafford

TODAY: We are tracking a cold day Thursday as a cold front moves into southern Colorado. An initial round of precipitation will move in to the region early Thursday morning. This will create light snow showers for those in higher elevations and rain showers for those closer to the eastern plains. A second round of precipitation will move into the region in the evening bringing snow and heavy snow for some later this afternoon and evening.

TONIGHT: Snow will continue to fall Thursday evening becoming more widespread by about 11 p.m. We also drop down to a low around 20 degrees in Colorado Springs tonight. This will create potentially slick and icy roads overnight into Friday morning.

EXTENDED: As the most recent data shows the snow moving into southern Colorado later, we can expect some snow Friday morning, pushing south and clearing out by the afternoon. Strong winds are also expected Friday morning causing potential visibility issues due to blowing snow.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A scene straight out of Jurassic Park, the traveling “Dinosaur Adventure” exhibit rolls into the Colorado Springs Event Center this weekend.

Professional entertainers Christopher Plankut and Roy Jones give KRDO 13’s Bradley Davis an exclusive look Thursday morning into the pop-up world they will help bring to life Friday through Sunday.

The interactive exhibit showcases “life-sized, realistic dinosaurs that move and roar just like the real thing.”

Exhibit dates at the Colorado Springs Event Center are:

Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 : 12:00pm – 8:00pm

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 : 9:00am – 8:00 pm

Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 : 9:00am – 7:00pm

Davis first took on the dinosaur safari in January 2025, when the group traveled through the fairgrounds in Pueblo. There, he found himself on the wrong end of the foodchain with a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Families can buy tickets online or at the door.

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Rob Namnoum

The Pueblo West girls basketball team defeated Pueblo County in the Canvas Community Classic on Wednesday night 36-32.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – After disgruntled supporters booed the Denver offense off the field Sunday while on the cusp of a first-round bye, KRDO13’s Bradley Davis called the team’s biggest fans.

Kevin and Sue Nunn are the 2025 Denver Broncos Fans of the Year. We first introduced you to the couple in September, as they walked us through their Broncos Firehouse in Pueblo.

Sunday’s game was contentious, but the Broncos still clinched a win. And fans like the Nunns believe the Broncos can take things all the way this season.

The Nunns are what you would call superfans. The couple has even converted an old firehouse into the ultimate Broncos fan cave. Kevin first bought the old firehouse building from the City of Pueblo 15 years ago, but at the time, he intended it for storage for his semi-trucks. While the firehouse’s purpose has changed from storage utility to an Orange Crush ability, Kevin still retains his day job.

KRDO13’s Bradley Davis called Kevin in hopes of getting a quick interview. Kevin was already in the area, and 10 minutes after the phone call with Davis, he drove up in his construction hauler, parked near his work site, and walked over to KRDO13 for a quick chat.

With no prior notice of our interview, he hopped out in full Broncos gear… Because of course he did.

“We’re going to watch them play in the Super Bowl. I’ve got faith in them,” Kevin said.

Kevin and Sue watched field level at Mile High as the Broncos celebrated their first regular-season conference title since 2015. On Monday, he talked about omens with Davis; All the stars are aligning for this Super Bowl run, he says.

“This whole year, everything about it, it’s just a shock,” Kevin said. “It’s hard to explain just the feel of everything and what’s been happening.”

To help verbalize his faith, he turned to the Chinese Calendar. 2026 is the year of the Fire Horse. If you put that into a Google search and chose any number of the images that populate, you could throw it on the cover of a Denver Broncos magazine, and no one would bat an eye.

Davis asked Kevin about the boos he heard Sunday at Mile High. He asked if Kevin and Sue joined in.

“No, I’m not up there booing,” Kevin said. “No,” he repeats. “I’m cheering them on. My voice is still all crackly, and I’m still trying to get that back. But yeah, there ain’t no way. Ain’t no way.”

Kevin and Sue have already earned tickets to Super Bowl 59 for becoming the Broncos Fans of the Year. They are on the current voting ballot for the overall NFL Fan of the Year.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Chamber Orchestra of Colorado Springs is performing two world premieres Saturday and Sunday at the Ent Center for the Arts, including a piece dedicated to the memory of those killed in the Club Q nightclub shooting in 2022.

The piece, called “Somewhere Bluebirds Fly,” originally premiered at the Library of Congress last summer as a flute choir piece. The opening melody is composed entirely of notes reflecting the first initial of each victim: A for Ashley Paugh, C for Kelly Loving, G for Raymond Green Vance, and D for both Daniel Aston and Derrick Rump.

We really wanted to talk about how music has this really phenomenal power to turn pain into beauty,” said Chamber Executive Director Jacob Pope. Even though the concert this weekend has so many somber stories and is sourced in so much pain, every single piece ends on a hopeful note.”

Inspired by the melody of “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” composer Erin Spencer adapted the piece for a full orchestra set. The Chamber Orchestra of Colorado Springs picked the piece for its weekend concert, “The Human Equation,” and will be the first to perform it for a live audience.

The orchestra performs Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. A soloist will also perform an Electric Cello Concerto. Tickets at the Ent Center range from $17.50 to $40.50.

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Celeste Springer

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) — When Juanita Parra’s daughter bought her duplex in Porterville, California, it came with something that wasn’t described in the real estate listing.

Courtesy: Juanita Parra

Inside the home was an unassuming box filled with documents from the last century. The package featured several deeply personal momentos: a baby book, marriage documents, service awards, family photos, and other cherished memories.

Courtesy: Juanita Parra

Parra believes the family may be from the Pueblo, Colorado area. The box included a diploma from Southern Colorado State College for James Robert Lockard, Jr. It also included an award from the Pueblo Jaycees. Based on the documents in the box, Lockard graduated from college in 1967 and would be 81 years old today.

Courtesy: Juanita Parra

Documents also reference another name, Ralph A. Walls. Parra said documents from Pearl Harbor were also in the box.

“My son and I started going through it, and I’m like, ‘No, we can’t throw this out,'” said Parra.

While it’s unclear if Lockard’s family is still in Southern Colorado, Parra says that she just wants to get the word out in hopes that someone might have information. Given the sentimental value of the items, if their rightful familial owners are located, she said she will ship the items.

Courtesy: Juanita Parra

If these items belong to you or a deceased member of your family, you can reach out to us at news@krdo.com, and we will connect you with Parra.

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