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Pies, pickles and other delicacies are now on display at the Colorado State Fair. The goodies are part of the pantry competition where home cooks from around the state vie to prove their kitchen prowess.
At Bear Creek Park, visitors with visual impairments are now able to enjoy a trail with new accessibility features.
The two hospitals in Pueblo, Parkview Medical Center and Centura St. Mary-Corwin, do not pay most federal or state taxes. Advocates want to see them use community benefit spending on things that actually create community benefits, such as charity care.
The troll that Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo is building in the town of Victor is the second of its kind in the state. The first was built in 2018 and resides in Breckenridge.
Anna Cordova knew since she was a college student that Indigenous voices needed to be heard within the field of archeology, seen as a “colonial kind of practice.”
The athletes, some as young as 11 years old, are taking part in the competition, which includes junior, national and international levels.
A new program at the Denver-area Butterfly Pavilion focuses on helping pollinator-friendly communities.
Ten years ago, a wildfire roared through the Black Forest community north of Colorado Springs. Two people died and nearly 500 homes were destroyed. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire that began on June, 11, 2013.
Back in 1976 a handful of young journalists launched a Pueblo-based Chicano newspaper. They called it La Cucaracha. These volunteers covered issues critical to their southern Colorado community.
Housing and public safety are among the issues on many voters' minds and both have turned up on ballots in Southern Colorado for the 2022 general election.
Former social workers in El Paso County say kids are slipping through the cracks. A major part of the problem, they say, is turnover within the Department of Human Services. And those who remain suffer through massive workloads.
Sweeping berms and rocky jumps make up just part of the new mountain bike park in Cresta Open Space in southwestern Colorado Springs.
Cattle, carnivals and corndogs, that's what state fairs are made of. And this year, there's more to celebrate as the event celebrates its 150th year.
Care & Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado recently combined the positions of President and CEO and hired Nathan Springer, former Garrison Commander at Fort Carson, to fill that role.
First-year cadets at the United States Air Force Academy were formally accepted by the Academy’s upperclassmen on August 5 before the beginning of the academic year.
There hasn’t been a History Colorado board member from the plains of rural southeastern Colorado in a very long time – or possibly not ever. But now this region has a new voice.
Two years ago, a group of Puebloans attempted to compromise over a monument topped by a bronze bust of Christopher Columbus, a figure with a controversial legacy. Mediation talks didn't work. Here's why.
Ballooning home prices in recent years have led to higher property taxes for a lot of people. And they're likely to be even higher next year. Unravel a complicated tax notice.
Tony Cheng leads the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute and the Southern Rockies Fire Science Exchange Network at Colorado State University-Fort Collins. He reflected on Colorado's wildfire history and the costs of forest loss.
Skyspace installations from American artist James Turrell are world renowned for blending color, light and nature into experiential art.
Pueblo’s levee once held the Guinness World Record for the largest outdoor mural. But repairs to the levee destroyed that artwork. Now construction is done and artists are back at work.
Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich owns more than a quarter of the mill's parent company EVRAZ plc. Sanctions against him have created some challenges.
The new District 3 representative for the city talks her predecessor, the appointment process, wildfires and more.
Water is declining in some Denver Basin wells in El Paso County. Meanwhile the population is growing, so some water utilities are considering a collaborative project.
There aren’t significant surface water supplies in El Paso County. But is tapping into the Denver Basin the right answer?
More than half of renters in the city of Pueblo are considered cost-burdened, which means they pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing.
Recent work at the Ludlow Massacre memorial about an hour south of Pueblo revealed something unexpected.
More than 7,000 children in Pueblo County earned $100 each for reading this summer. There was a rocky start for some kids, but a stellar finish for many of them.
The district has about 350 students in kindergarten through 12th grade with a four-year graduation rate of just under 85 percent. That's higher than the state average, but the real issue is finding work after graduation — only a handful of students go on to four-year colleges.
The Manitou Incline and Pikes Peak Cog Railway help draw hundreds of thousands of people to Manitou Springs.
Teen suicides, drug overdoses and domestic violence homicides paint a picture of how 2020 affected people, El Paso County coroner says.
The 1921 flood in Pueblo took the lives of hundreds and changed the course of the city's history. One hundred years later, the political and economic effects can still be felt.
Repairs to bring the 2.8-mile long levee up to current FEMA standards began in 2014 and cost some $25 million.
On June 3, 1921, raging waters unleashed by torrential rains and snowmelt broke through Pueblo’s Arkansas River levees, causing one of the deadliest and most destructive floods in Colorado’s history.
A community-centered approach that listens to unvaccinated people's fear is the next step for Pueblo's COVID vaccine rollout.
The federal mass COVID vaccination site at the Colorado State Fairgrounds in Pueblo wraps up June 14 after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began operation in mid-April.
The long-term effects of COVID-19 stress have taken a serious toll on children and young people, with behavioral health visits on the rise this year.
The Cog Railway that takes riders to the top of Pikes Peak reopens this week. The city of Manitou Springs is bracing for a lot of added potential tourists this summer with the relaunch.
A new center for mental health and addiction recovery is coming to Salida. The site will help fill behavioral health gaps in south central Colorado.
Before COVID, teachers at Mitchell High School in Colorado Springs wanted to form deeper connections with their students — many of whom are in low income households. So, while sticking with traditional parent teacher conferences, they also began meeting with kids and parents in the students' homes.
It's been a few weeks since the Colorado State Fairgrounds opened as a mass vaccination site run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. KRCC caught up with FEMA's Julie Brooks, who's stationed at an incident command post in a barn. She shared the site's goals and plans for the future.
"I think this is probably one of the worst situations I've had to deal with, life threatening that is, since Vietnam," said Konrad Spurling, about COVID.
Community partners in El Paso County like Serivicios de la Raza are helping to address issues of equity in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Los Promotores del Valle de San Luis and Sacred Heart Catholic Church will host a COVID vaccine clinic in Alamosa on March 20.
Those appointments filled up in a matter of hours, but more pop-up vaccine clinics are on the way.
Peak Past is a weekly segment written and voiced by Matt Cavanaugh, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a resident of Manitou Springs where he lives with his wife and two young children.
A 150-year-old cabin near Pueblo is undergoing restoration with a plan to eventually open it up to the public as an educational facility.
Peak Past is a weekly segment written and voiced by Matt Cavanaugh, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a resident of Manitou Springs where he lives with his wife and two young children.
The RISE Education Fund, which launched in September 2020, provides CARES Act funding to support schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Upcoming listening sessions will focus on four key topics: communication with the Colorado Springs police department, racial bias, crisis response and use of force.
Businesses have to follow stricter COVID-19 safety guidelines to participate in the program, like daily exposure and symptom checks for employees.
Colorado farmers and ranchers have weathered drought, fire and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic during 2020.
Peak Perspectives is a weekly segment written and voiced by Matt Cavanaugh, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a resident of Manitou Springs where he lives with his wife and two young children.
The newly-formed commission on police accountability in Colorado Springs is ready to get to work.
UCHealth will also expand the inpatient behavioral health unit at University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora around 2023.
Peak Perspectives is a weekly segment written and voiced by Matt Cavanaugh, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a resident of Manitou Springs where he lives with his wife and two young children.
A CDC report found 40 percent of American adults are struggling with their mental health due to coronavirus pandemic stressors.
Amtrak has cut most of its daily long-distance train services to three days a week., including the Southwest Chief and the California Zephyr, which both have multiple stops in Colorado.
More than 800 people applied to be on the commission. Discussions about creating a police accountability group started in May after national protests over the death of George Floyd.
The Pikes Peak Continuum of Care and two Colorado Springs-based groups are hoping better data will help pinpoint how to serve youth in El Paso County.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, food banks in Salida, Colorado Springs and El Paso County are increasing efforts to make sure people have access to healthy meals.
Here are some lesser-known hiking trails in the Pikes Peak region to get outdoors while social distancing.
Protesters in Pueblo have gathered every Sunday for more than a month at a statue of Christopher Columbus. Long revered by Italian Americans, Columbus is also seen as opening the doors to the brutalities of colonization.
Colorado Springs Utilities has committed to closing the coal-fired portions of the Martin Drake Power Plant by 2023 -12 years earlier than originally planned – and investing significantly more in renewable energy. The Ray Nixon plant, south of the city, will be converted to non-carbon resources by 2030.
Social distancing, masks and quarantines continue as the COVID-19 pandemic wears on. How are people with disabilities, like those who are deaf or blind, adapting in ways that fit their needs while still staying safe? KRCC’s Abigail Beckman spoke with Emily Shuman of the Rocky Mountain ADA Center for some insight.
Colorado Springs City Council has given final approval to an ordinance to form a citizens’ accountability advisory committee for police transparency.
The City of Colorado Springs recently distributed more than $700,000 in grant funding to local organizations focused on issues of homelessness and housing stability. The city received the money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city’s Community Development Division apportioned it among 11 organizations.
Our ‘My Mountain’ series continues as we highlight people’s personal connections to Pikes Peak. Today, we hear from Lieutenant Colonel Matt Cavanaugh. He’s stationed at Peterson Air Force Base and reached out to share his perspective of America’s Mountain as well as a bit of history. Pikes Peak’s our North Star.
A statue of frontiersman Kit Carson was vandalized in Trinidad this week. Someone wrote the word “murderer” across the front and back of the base in black spray paint. The vandalism comes as officials in Denver removed a Kit Carson statue last Friday after the American Indian Movement wrote a letter to city council.
Colorado Springs City Council is planning a second vote to form a commission on police accountability in mid-July. The council has held multiple work sessions over the past few weeks to discuss input from community groups on forming the commission.
Pikes Peak Community College plans to resume in-person classes in a little less than two months for the fall semester. The college will continue to offer online opportunities and pilot hybrid in-person and digital classes. President Lance Bolton said they are doing their best to adapt to make sure students still have options.
City Park on Pueblo’s west side now has a newly restored historic entrance. The city of Pueblo constructed a grand entryway to the 157-acre park in 1905. It featured Colorado granite pillars topped by ornate Italian statuary. Over the years, it fell into disrepair and many of the statues disappeared.
Poets and writers in Colorado Springs are adapting to a new reality in quarantine due to coronavirus, where writing groups are hosted on Zoom and community open mics have gone virtual.
A century ago the U.S. Forest Service’s first landscape architect argued for protecting wilderness, but that didn’t stop him from also making it easier to drive into the nation’s forests. Arthur Carhart wrote the agency’s first recreation plan and completed it in June 1920.
Colorado Springs City Council had its second work session on Tuesday around the formation of a police advisory committee. Two groups presented proposals on the idea.
City Council convenes Tuesday to continue discussions on forming an advisory committee for the Colorado Springs Police Department. Kevin Mitchell is a community organizer and member of the Empowerment Solidarity Network, one of the groups coordinating protest efforts in the city.
Colorado Springs City Council had a closed meeting Thursday to discuss creating an advisory committee aimed at addressing policing issues in the community. For folks like Samantha Christiansen, it’s not nearly enough.
Protesters across Colorado and the country continue to call for police reforms in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. In recent days, people in smaller communities have also joined in, including in La Junta and Westcliffe.
Tuesday marked the first regular city council meeting in Colorado Springs since protests over police brutality began in the city. Community members voiced their concerns during the public comment section, which was moved until after 1 p.m..
Protesters across the country have gathered to denounce police brutality and demand action from their representatives.
Some schools have shifted to virtual events and even parades to honor 2020 grads, but some mental health providers in local health systems are concerned that the emotional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on high school seniors may be delayed. KRCC’s Abigail Beckman spoke with Dr.
Several hundred people came out to Colorado Springs City Hall Sunday for a demonstration against police brutality. The protest, like others across the country, comes after the death of George Floyd. Floyd, an African American man, died at the hands of police in Minneapolis last week.
UPDATE–Friday, May 22: In an update on Friday, May 22, Bent County Public Health Executive Director Omer Tamir said the agency has concluded its investigation. The individual at the care center tested positive on May 15, and upon a second test on May 18, tested negative.
Due to the new coronavirus, schools across southern Colorado have cancelled end-of-year events like prom and moved graduation services online. One organization in Colorado Springs has shifted their annual prom for LGBTQ youth into the digital space on Saturday, May 16.
As the state slowly reopens, projects underway before the COVID-19 crisis have to pass the new budget realities at all levels of government. Recently, Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee sat down to start debating upwards of $3 billion dollars in cuts.
With all that’s going on in the world right now, we wondered what life experience and family history might be able to tell us. As part of KRCC’s Shortening the Distance project, producer Shanna Lewis got in touch with historian Carolyn Newman.
During this time of social distancing, finding ways to stay connected to the people in our lives is essential. Our project, “Shortening the Distance,” focuses on how the people in our community are reaching out to their neighbors, friends and loved ones.
Colorado Pet Pantry has 60 monthly pet food sites across the state to help pet owners access food and supplies.
As Colorado Springs and El Paso County move into a safer-at-home model in line with state guidelines that eases some novel coronavirus-related restrictions, community officials are urging people to practice social distancing when using shared greenspaces. Karen Palus, the Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services director, said she encourages people to explore their own
The long-awaited Arkansas Valley Conduit has gained more traction. The Bureau of Reclamation and the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District have adopted a management plan for the pipeline. It will eventually channel clean drinking water from Pueblo Reservoir to six counties in the lower Arkansas River Valley, serving an estimated 50,000 people.
The Grow Feed Change Project is a community relief effort in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project looks to provide starts of fruits and vegetable plants and seeds free of charge to rural residents in Pueblo and Huerfano counties, including the communities of Beulah, Cuchara, and La Veta.
The isolation shelter at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium for people experiencing homelessness and COVID-19 symptoms has seen around 30 people since opening April 5. At this time, it’s unknown if they were positive for the new coronavirus.
The Pueblo City-County Library District recently launched a digital branch, called “The Library @ Home.” Users can access resources and digital programs through a centralized hub while the library is closed due to COVID-19 precautions.
Italy has been a hot spot in the worldwide pandemic. One of the hardest hit cities is Bergamo, which happens to be a sister city to Pueblo, Colorado. Camouflaged military trucks slowly rolled through the streets of Pueblo’s sister city in Italy last month.
The state’s stay-at-home order is set to lift this Sunday in favor of less restrictive “safer at home” regulations, but local artists continue to contend with financial challenges due to the new coronavirus. For some, the future of their business and livelihood is uncertain.
With all that’s going on in the world right now, many of us are feeling uncertain and maybe even a little lonely. KRCC wants to help keep everyone connected. We’ve started a project called “Shortening the Distance” focused on learning how people are keeping community when community can feel so far away.
Gov. Jared Polis announced Monday that the statewide stay-at-home order will be allowed to expire on April 26, while still encouraging people to stay home as much as possible. The first phase of opening up the state will ease some restrictions on businesses and retail outlets.
An unprecedented number of Colorodans are facing job loss and uncertainty due to the new coronavirus pandemic. The Pikes Peak Workforce Center aids people in El Paso and Teller counties in connecting with employment resources, including filing for unemployment and finding open positions in the region.
The 1940s Coronado Motel in south Pueblo was included the Negro Traveler’s Green Book and is now in the National Register of Historic Places.
Almost overnight, the novel coronavirus has changed the way people provide community support. KRCC’s Elena Rivera spoke with three people in Southern Colorado about how their jobs have changed and about their concerns for the vulnerable populations they serve.
The city of Colorado Springs is gathering reflections from community members on their personal connections to Pikes Peak. It’s part of a campaign called “My Mountain” leading up to completion of the Pikes Peak Summit Complex next year.
Urban forests are considered to be a key part of a sustainable city. They include the trees along streets, in parks, open spaces, backyards, and across the city. For Colorado Springs that’s hundreds of thousands of trees.
Melody AlvarezEarly literacy senior librarian for the Pikes Peak Library District On How COVID-19 Changed Library Programs As soon as we heard news of COVID-19, we saw that other libraries throughout the country were making changes or canceling.
According to a 2019 report by the United States Department of Agriculture, there are more than 69,000 agricultural producers in Colorado. The state’s stay-at-home order deemed agriculture an essential business, but many farmers are contending with a radically shifting market.
Colorado is among the places on the national radar for an emerging surge in possible COVID-19 cases. As of this past weekend, Colorado had seen nearly 5000 known cases, and 140 deaths as a result of the spread of the new coronavirus. In El Paso County alone, there have been 25 related deaths.
Colorado State Parks remain open during the COVID-19 outbreak, as park rangers and community members adapt to social distancing practices. Jason Hagan, the senior ranger at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, said he’s seen an increase in weekday visitors in the past few weeks.
Amid a statewide stay-at-home order, beacons of light are shining at night in Pueblo. Pueblo firefighters, law enforcement officers and families are pointing lights toward the sky each night, and they’re posting photos to social media under the hashtag #PuebloShines. “18 Nights of Light – Pueblo Shines”Join Mayor Nick Gradisar/Pueblo Community Symbol of Unity tonight
Around 500 sites across Colorado are offering free and reduced price meals to help feed students while schools shift to distance learning due to COIVD-19. The Colorado Department of Education reports a little over 40 percent of students across the state qualify for the meals.
Originally published on March 31, 2020 12:28 pm “The snow’s going sideways, it’s swirling,” said Billy Barr, from the abandoned silver mine he lives in almost 10,000 feet up in the Rocky Mountains. We’re all social distancing these days, and it’s unclear when exactly that will end.
Over 3.28 million people filed for unemployment claims last week due to COVID-19, according to a new report by the Department of Labor. It’s the biggest increase the department has ever seen. In Colorado, over 19 thousand people filed unemployment claims. That’s about a 730 percent increase over the past week.
Organizations providing resources for people experiencing domestic violence and abuse have had to change their practices during the COVID-19 outbreak. TESSA in Colorado Springs is an agency that aids people who may be experiencing domestic violence.
A group of medical students is holding a donation drive for personal protective equipment or PPE in Colorado Springs. All donated supplies will go to El Paso County Emergency Management for distribution to local health care professionals as part of nationwide effort to redirect unused medical supplies.
Originally published on March 27, 2020 9:30 am Sometime around Valentine’s Day, a box arrived at a lab on the western edge of Fort Collins, Colorado. It contained vials full of coronavirus and it was just what Lindsay Hartson and her colleagues had been waiting for.
Homeless shelters in Colorado Springs and Pueblo are working to serve vulnerable populations even as their own funding and capacity is strained due to COVID-19. Kathy Cline is the executive director of the Pueblo Rescue Mission.
Health officials from Pueblo County confirmed a third known COVID-19 case on Friday. The county identified her as female, 48 years old and a resident of Pubelo County. The county also opened a new testing center with the help of the Colorado State National Guard and state health department on Thursday.