Category: krdo-local-news

Danny Mata

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A Michigan resident has donated $2,500 in gas gift cards to Silver Key Senior Services in Colorado Springs. The donation will help the nonprofit continue its transportation program for older adults struggling with rising fuel costs.

Laurie Applebaum, who lives near Detroit, sought a nonprofit that could use a significant amount of gift card money she had. Her search led her to Silver Key Senior Services, which provides transportation and Meals on Wheels programs for older adults in the Colorado Springs area, all the way Monument and Palmer Lake.

Silver Key Senior Services was experiencing increased challenges due to the cost of gas, which affects its ability to maintain vehicle operations for its programs. Seth Chapin, director of transportation at Key Senior Services, expressed excitement about the donation, stating he “danced a little bit inside” upon hearing the news.

Chapin detailed the services provided by the organization. “Any appointment from a doctor’s appointment, dentists; maybe they want to go get their hair done every Friday. We can provide that ride,” Chapin said.

The donation consisted of gas gift cards, each worth $500, totaling $2,500.

Applebaum had initially faced difficulty finding an organization to accept the donation. She discovered Silver Key after seeing a KRDO13 news story about the organization.

Applebaum confirmed during a phone interview with KRDO13 that she has no ties to Colorado, but wanted to find a way to help. She said Silver Key was an ideal recipient because it allowed her to assist many people with a single donation.

Chapin noted that the donation means the organization “were able to help more people for a longer period of time.” He estimated the donation would directly benefit “well more than 100 people.”

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Drivers who may have wondered about a long, winding, flexible pipe at the bottom of the 8th Street hill for the past few weeks, now may be curious about why it’s gone and where it went.

In a daylong operation on Wednesday, crews with Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) inserted a 24-inch water line into a boring hole between the Motor City Drive intersection and Walmart.

The hole was bored — or drilled — to a depth of 30 feet to place the line under Bear Creek.

A small segment at the insertion point remains above ground; CSU said that it is extra length, is no longer needed, and will be cut from the main line.

The south end of the new pipe will attach to the existing water main, and the opposite end will connect to the remaining extension of the new line north to Cimarron Street.

Sliding a new water line underground, even downhill, isn’t as easy as you might think.

Heavy machinery pushed the pipe downhill, inch by inch, while another machine pulled and held it at the proper angle for insertion.

However, for unspecified reasons, crews had difficulty getting the pipe’s front end into the hole.

Another challenge was the pipe sliding on rubber rollers supported by metal stands, and in several places, the pipe moved too far to one side — requiring workers to readjust it and keep it from sliding off the supports.

The insertion process began at 10 a.m. and was finished by 7 p.m.

In the meantime, drivers should watch for several potholes at the 8th Street/Motor City Drive intersection.

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Mackenzie Stafford

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – On Thursday, Governor Jared Polis, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, and community partners joined Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to announce the growth of Cheyenne Mountain State Park. This includes the 357-acre Denman property and the City of Colorado Springs’ purchase of an adjacent 127-acre parcel.

CPW says the additions increase Cheyenne Mountain State Park to roughly 3,184 acres and protect open space at the entrance to one of the region’s most visited outdoor destinations.

CPW and Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) also signed an agreement supporting expanded recreation at Rosemont Reservoir on Pikes Peak. Officials say these initiatives aim to increase public recreation opportunities and conservation in the Pikes Peak region.

The agreement with Colorado Springs Utilities will open Rosemont Reservoir, situated at more than 9,600 feet of elevation on Pikes Peak, for camping and various hand-launched, hand-powered, and electric-powered watercraft, with CPW managing the new recreation sites.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis emphasized the importance of these outdoor spaces.

“Colorado’s outdoor spaces are truly inspiring, and I’m excited we can enjoy even more of our incredible lands with this new expansion. Colorado Springs is already a destination for outdoor experiences, and this will add more choices for camping and boating,” said Governor Jared Polis. 

Colorado Springs Mayor Mobolade highlighted the connection between the city and its natural surroundings.

“At the heart of today is a simple but powerful truth: Colorado Springs is blessed with extraordinary natural beauty,” Mobolade said, “Places like Cheyenne Mountain are more than scenery. They are more than postcard views or a backdrop to our lives. They are part of our identity. Part of our story. Part of what makes this city feel like home.”

Mobolade also recognized the role of the city’s voter-supported Trails, Open Space and Parks (TOPS) program in making the expansion possible.

CPW Director Laura Clellan said that these projects support the future of outdoor recreation.

“These projects expand public access opportunities and support the future of outdoor recreation in Colorado,” Clellan said. She added that “The expansion of Cheyenne Mountain State Park and new camping opportunities at Rosemont Reservoir on Pikes Peak show what can be achieved when partners share a vision and work together to increase access to Colorado’s outdoors.”

The Trust for Public Land’s Mountain West Region Vice President Jim Petterson noted the long-term benefits of the conservation effort.

“This expansion ensures that one of Colorado Springs’ most treasured outdoor spaces will remain protected and accessible as the region continues to grow,” Petterson said.

The ceremony also included the official ribbon cutting for 11 new full-hookup campsites at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, bringing the total to 62 full-hookup sites, CPW shared.

“By conserving this land now, we’re protecting wildlife habitat, expanding recreation opportunities and preserving the mountain landscapes that define this community.” Jason Hagan, Cheyenne Mountain State Park manager, underscored the collaborative nature of the park’s growth.

For the Rosemont Reservoir project, Amy Brandenburg, Pikes Peak Recreation Area Parks manager, said she is very excited for this area to be open for camping and recreation after some construction.

“So the campgrounds aren’t there yet. We still need to build them, so we’ll be breaking ground soon for campgrounds,” Brandenburg said.

She noted that camping will require a parks pass or the Keep Colorado Wild pass on vehicle registration, along with a camping fee, and will operate under a reservation system similar to other Colorado Parks and Wildlife sites.

CPW expects to have more wildlife officers dedicated to the Pikes Peak Recreation Area, including Rosemont Reservoir. Officials hope to open the campgrounds by late summer.

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Die-hard fans of the Thunderbirds, the Air Force’s demonstration squadron, couldn’t believe it when it happened last year, and they expressed more disbelief and frustration when it happened again on Thursday.

Adverse weather conditions led officials to cancel the annual post-commencement air show, except for the traditional flyover above the new second lieutenants.

The decision was made shortly before noon, followed by groans of disappointment in the parking lot of Scheels All Sports on Interquest Parkway, which has held a Thunderbird “watch party” for the past five years.

A Scheels representative said that the event, which includes free hot dogs and entertainment, draws thousands of fans.

Weather-related safety concerns also led to the Thunderbirds being grounded last year.

Much of the Scheels crowd believed the air show would start between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., but instead got only a brief flyby over the horizon from the squadron and an overhead pass by a single jet.

“I wish someone had just told us sooner,” said Andrea Rivera. “It’s kind of a bummer because there are some people who come in town for it, and then they don’t get to see it — until next year. So, it’s kind of frustrating.”

Daniel King said before the announcement that if the air show were to be completely canceled, it would likely come after Air Force officials waited as long as they could for weather conditions to improve.

“The sky this time looked better than it did last time,” he recalled. “But you never know. I’m sure that people are disappointed, but once they get over it, they’ll understand.”

King’s nine-year-old grandson, Gunter Frazier, reminds us why the Thunderbirds own a special place in the hearts of many in the Pikes Peak region.

“What I like most about them is the noise, the flying… just the fun!” he exclaimed. “The fun of it, is just awesome! I want to be an Air Force pilot, maybe (fly with) the Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds, or just fly military planes.”

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Scott Harrison

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Thursday could produce the busiest graduation day traffic in recent memory around the north gate of the Air Force Academy (AFA).

Since last year’s event, the construction of new roundabouts between the gate, the new Hotel Polaris, and the just-opened new Visitors Center has been completed.

The roundabouts are designed to improve the flow of traffic, given the new additions and future development outside the gate.

With the roundabout construction temporarily closing the gate last spring, this year’s graduation may be the first time that many visitors will drive through and see the changes.

Traffic also likely will be affected by the thousands who gather at vantage points in the area to watch the Thunderbirds — the Air Force’s demonstration squadron — perform.

However, weather conditions canceled the performance last year, and similar conditions are present on Thursday morning.

Another potential traffic impact is the ongoing drainage project on North Gate Boulevard, between Interstate 25 and Struthers Road.

As of 6:30 a.m., a steady stream of traffic was traveling through the north gate.

Incidentally, drivers also should remember that the motorcade for Vice President JD Vance — who’s delivering the commencement address — may cause significant traffic delays as it arrives at and departs from the AFA.

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior will monitor the day’s traffic impacts.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Crews with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) are two weeks into a ten-mile, $12 repaving project on US 24 between Peyton and Calhan.

The work continues repaving completed last year from Falcon to Peyton.

Crews are currently in the milling process, removing existing pavement from the westbound lane and shoulder.

Meanwhile, in a related project east of Calhan, CDOT is widening the right lane and shoulder to create a passing lane.

To reduce traffic impacts, paving crews will work overnight, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., Sundays through Thursdays.

Drivers should expect traffic delays of up to 15 minutes there.

The widening work will take place during daytime hours on weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; drivers should be aware of narrower traffic lanes in that area.

CDOT hopes to finish the project by the end of September.

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Scott Harrison

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) — Now that the threat of erosion from Fountain Creek has decreased, officials are moving ahead with repaving a half-mile of Southmoor Drive on the north side of town.

A visible sign of the upcoming work is the recent removal of concrete barriers, although several road closure signs remain in place between The American Legion post and Paladin Place.

Crews were expected to start milling — removing the existing pavement — on Tuesday, but late that morning, a city spokesman said that the project is delayed until next Monday because of recent weather-related issues on another paving project in the Castle Rock area.

AS KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior reported in February, officials said that they will save money by allowing the contractor to recycle the old asphalt on-site, eliminating the need for fresh asphalt.

The Fountain Creek Watershed District spent more than $7 million on an erosion mitigation project that slows the velocity of water in the creek and reduces erosion of the steep banks under Southmoor that threatened to destroy it, along with nearby private property.

The $450,000 repaving project approved by the City Council includes installing a guardrail along the creek side of the street; the city hopes to finish work by the first week of August.

Closing the neighborhood street had a significant impact on drivers who considered it the quickest and safest route to reach Walmart and other businesses along Highway 85/87.

The closure led the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to redesign the intersection of the Highway at Carson Boulevard to provide safer access on and off the highway.

With the $320,000 the city will save by using recycled asphalt, officials will repave two other streets and perform chip-seal treatments on three more.

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Michael Logerwell

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On Saturday, a slew of law enforcement agencies shut down the Manitou Incline for an emergency medical rescue. Despite the life-saving efforts administered that day, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office announced, “The individual succumbed to their illness and has been pronounced deceased.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Person dies after medical rescue on the Manitou Incline

The El Paso County Coroner is identifying that man as 48-year-old Nickolay Jogolev, known to his friends and family as Nick.

“He lived for his children,” Coral Jogolev said, wiping away budding tears. Coral had been married to Nick for more than 12 years and had built a family of nine, comprised of two children from a previous marriage, and two of Coral’s nieces that they took in.

“I guess they were sitting down, and my husband looked quite pale. And he [another hiker] offered my husband a Gatorade, and I guess he drank the Gatorade and stood up, and that was it,” Coral said.

On Saturday, Coral recalled the Castle Rock Police Department coming to notify her of her husband’s death while the kids were playing in the front yard.

“I’m still processing it. Surreal. I actually reached out to the officer today because I vaguely remember calling him a liar when he told me,” Coral said.

Nick was in Manitou Springs this weekend for a Cub Scout hike of the incline with his 9-year-old son. “Our pack does it every year,” Coral said. “They train for it. They train, you know, through the Parker Incline and the Castle Rock Incline.”

“We’ve done it before. He’s done it. I’ve done it. We’ve done it outside of Cub Scouts. So it was a shock at this time he didn’t make it home,” Coral said.

Now, while the family grieves, they are forced to plan for the future. Coral said Nick was the sole provider for the family, which already lived paycheck to paycheck. A big part of that is paying for the medical needs of one of their kids.

A friend of the family has started a GoFundMe to help the family navigate these difficult times.

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Mackenzie Stafford

CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) – William Jacobs will now face murder charges for allegedly killing 10-month-old Edward Hayes.

The Colorado Court of Appeals reinstated the murder and child abuse charges against William Jacobs on overturning a district court’s dismissal, which had cited “outrageous government conduct” by former 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley. The appeals court ruled that Stanley’s actions, while unethical, did not meet the stringent legal standard for dismissing a case.

On May 21, 2023, emergency services responded to a Motel 6 in Cañon City for an unresponsive 10-month-old boy, Edward Hayes. Hayes was taken to Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he later died.

According to the arrest affidavit, William Jacobs was reportedly the last person to have cared for the baby when police responded. He was living with the baby’s mother, Brook Crawford, at the time, and was watching Hayes while Crawford worked.

During an interview with detectives, the affidavit stated Jacobs admitted to biting Hayes on the arm “while playing with him” and hitting Hayes’ head on a door frame while trying to make him throw up a few days earlier. He also said he disciplined Hayes in the same way he’d disciplined his dog and “demonstrated throwing his dog, but used an infant-sized doll to demonstrate lightly throwing [Hayes] onto the bed.”

Jacobs was charged with first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, and child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury in connection with Hayes’ death. District Judge Kaitlin Turner had dismissed these charges, determining that Stanley’s public comments to KRDO13 Investigates’ Sean Rice about Jacobs’ guilt, juvenile criminal history, and lewd remarks constituted “outrageous government conduct.”

The appeals court, however, emphasized that while Stanley’s conduct was improper and led to her disbarment, it did not involve the creation or commission of the underlying crime, which is typically required for such a dismissal.

“Linda Stanley had nothing to do with the death of this child. What she did was outrageous. What she did was bad conduct. What she did was unethical. But it doesn’t amount to something that is outrageous government conduct for the purposes of dismissal of a crime,” explained Criminal Defense Attorney Jeremy Loew.

Stanley has since been disbarred for her extrajudicial statements in addition to other ethical violations.

The court clarified that ethical violations, which led to Stanley’s disbarment, are distinct from conduct warranting dismissal of criminal charges.

Legal expert Jeremy Loew noted the rarity of a murder case being dismissed and then reinstated on appeal, contrasting it with cases where prosecutorial errors during trial lead to a new trial.

“Rarely do we see a situation where a case is outright dismissed. And then, the prosecution does something, and it comes back on appeal, where the person needs to be rearrested. And so, I would say this is pretty rare, as opposed to the Letecia Stauch situation, where the prosecution made a mistake during trial. And now Ms. Stauch gets a new trial. This is basically the opposite of that, where the prosecution did something, but it shouldn’t have justified a dismissal. And as a result, the person has to be rearrested,” shared Loew.

Loew also noted that KRDO has done everything right regarding this case.

“We have the First Amendment here. We want our news people to be doing investigations, to be going out there getting the facts, asking the hard questions, seeing if elected officials are going to make stupid comments doing the interviews. And I think KRDO is completely aboveboard on this. And, we’re lucky to have people like Sean and yourself who are out there, like getting elected officials to make fools of themselves,” said Loew.

Loew says District Attorney Jeffrey D. Lindsey, who felt the initial judge made an error, will now prosecute the case to the fullest extent of the law, as Stanley is no longer involved.

The appeals court concluded that while Stanley’s comments may have impacted Jacobs’ constitutional rights by heightening public condemnation and potentially affecting jury impartiality, mechanisms exist to mitigate these concerns. The court noted that these concerns must be addressed “at the appropriate time in the proceedings,” listing several means by which a court can ensure a defendant’s right to a fair trial in the face of pretrial publicity.

The Colorado Court of Appeals’ order reverses the dismissal, reinstates the charges against Jacobs, and remands the case to the district court for further proceedings. Jacobs will likely be rearrested and prosecuted.

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Scott Harrison

COORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Similar to last summer’s pothole “blitz” in Pueblo, officials in Colorado Springs plan to start a pothole “surge,” or saturation patrol, for a more aggressive response to patching potholes.

It’s a very, very big deal,” said Corey Farkas, the city’s manager for public works operations and maintenance.

The surge starts Tuesday and will continue for five weeks.

“Expect to see advancement, action, and improvement,” promised Mayor Yemi Mobolade, who’s following through with a campaign promise to devote more manpower and resources to pothole repairs.

Officials said that the surge will come in two operations; one is what Farkas describes as a “district pave strike team.”

“Our in-house crews are going to be out identifying (streets) that will not be targeted by 2C (the city’s annual expanded paving program), but are still riddled with potholes,” he explained. Crews are going to be doing maintenance paving on those roadways.”

In maintenance paving, crews apply an asphalt layer over a street segment that has dozens of potholes — thus saving the time and resources of filling each pothole.

The affected street segment may or may not be milled — having old pavement scraped off — before receiving temporary repaving, and such paving is meant to last until funds are available for a full repave.

Recent examples of maintenance paving were in 2024 on the south end of Circle Drive, which is currently being repaved, and on the south end of Venetucci Boulevard, which recently became part of the city’s jurisdiction.

The second surge operation will place two pothole repair trucks in each of the city’s four public works districts to conduct “search and destroy” missions on any potholes they see.

However, city officials continue to urge residents to report potholes when and where they see them, because only 10% of pothole repairs come from public reporting.

Officials also revealed that they recently received funding approval for two new pothole trucks to replace the two oldest trucks in the fleet of 13.

In explaining why it may take crews longer than citizens expect to respond to pothole requests, Farkas emphasized that trucks occasionally break down because they’re constantly in use.

“Only six were operating last year,” he recalled. “10 of 13 are currently working, but that can change — especially with weather conditions.”

Farkas said that during the surge, some crews will be pulled from other public works tasks.

“Our crews have (more than 20) duties they’re responsible for,” he said.

Limited resources, the sheer size of the city’s infrastructure, and weather can affect the time required for a crew to respond to a pothole report, officials said.

“We prioritize on several things,” said Richard Mulledy, the city’s public works director. “Certainly, safety is one of those. The condition of the road itself that we’re working on, traffic volume, and also coordination with other work.” 

The city plans to gather data from the surge and use it to learn more specifics about the average response time for pothole reports, as well as to develop a “heat map” to show areas that are “hot spots” for potholes.

Mayor Mobolade also announced that he will patch some potholes during the surge.

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