As most Coloradans know, the lyrics to “America the Beautiful” were inspired by a trek to the summit of Pikes Peak via prairie wagon in 1893. But when Katharine Lee Bates penned a poem called “Pikes Peak,” which became an American anthem after it was set to music in 1910, she could scarcely have imagined the great mountain becoming a trash heap. Outdoor recreation advocates fear that’s precisely what is happening to the majestic 14,107-foot peak that soars above Colorado Springs, along with the surrounding Pike National Forest. “We’re trashing America’s Mountain,” says Susan Davies, executive ..read more

Colorado has the second-lowest gas prices in the country — for now. The statewide average price is $3.16 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas, 51 cents below the national average. The statewide average is down from $3.58 per gallon at the same time in 2023 and up about 10 cents on the month, AAA Colorado said Thursday. “Coloradans should make the most of comparatively low prices while they can,” Skyler McKinley, regional spokesman for AAA, said in a statement. McKinley said expectations of an upcoming robust summer travel season coupled with the federally mandated switchover to reformulated ga ..read more

This is a new list of the 58 named peaks in Colorado greater than 14,000 feet above sea level, as measured by the National Geodetic Survey using GPS data. The Colorado Mountain Club recognizes 54 fourteeners and does not include four peaks on this list – Cameron, Challenger, North Eolus and Conundrum – because they are connected in close proximity to adjacent fourteeners. RELATED: Many of Colorado’s favorite fourteeners just had their elevation figures changed Mountain, elevation Mount Elbert, 14,437.6 feet Mount Massive, 14,423.9 feet Mount Harvard, 14,421.7 feet Blanca Peak, 14,348.5 feet La ..read more

Democrat Adam Frisch brought in the biggest financial haul of any of Colorado’s congressional hopefuls during the first three months of the year, raising $1.4 million — nearly six times as much as his main Republican rival in the 3rd Congressional District, Jeff Hurd. And U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, after switching in December from the Western Slope-based 3rd to seek election in the 4th Congressional District in eastern Colorado, raised the least amount of money for her campaign in a single quarter dating back at least a year — a bit over $462,000. But her campaign account still had nearly $980 ..read more

A homicide investigation is underway in Colorado Springs Friday morning after police found two people dead. Officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 3100 block of Lange Terrace around 5 a.m. Friday, according to a statement from the Colorado Springs Police Department on X, formerly known as Twitter. When officers arrived, they found two people dead at the scene, the police department stated. The Homicide Unit has taken over the investigation. “At this time, all parties who are believed to be involved are accounted for,” the department stated. Related Articles Crime and Public Safet ..read more

Lou Kilzer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Denver Post reporter and editor who spent decades uncovering corruption and misinformation, died Wednesday in Colorado Springs. He was 73. Kilzer’s career spanned newsrooms across the country and world, including stints at the Fort Collins Triangle Review, Rocky Mountain News, The Denver Post, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Korea JoongAng Daily and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He was most recently a novelist and investigative consultant for The Colorado Springs Gazette. “He was very much a reporter’s reporter, a journalist’s journalist,” said Henry Dubroff, former ..read more

Colorado Springs police officers are searching for a missing Indigenous teenager last seen Sunday who could be experiencing mental health problems, officials announced Wednesday night. Erika Franklin, 17, was last seen around 7 p.m. Sunday walking in the 5100 block of Hearthstone Lane in Colorado Springs, according to a missing Indigenous person alert from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Franklin is a 4-foot, 11-inch, 100-pound girl with brown hair and brown eyes, according to the alert. She was last known to be wearing a long sleeve hoodie and sweatpants. The teenager requires medicatio ..read more

A police officer stands outside a dorm in the Village at Alpine Valley housing, Feb. 16, 2024, as police investigate a shooting on the University of Colorado Colorado Springs campus in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Colorado university where a student is charged with killing his suitemate and another person in a dorm room last month has hired two former U.S. attorneys to review of what led to the shooting and whether any campus policies and procedures can be improved. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs confirmed Monday, March 25 that John Suthers and Jason Dunn will lead the review. (Chr ..read more

The 25-year-old man accused of fatally shooting two people in a University of Colorado’s Colorado Springs campus dorm room in February will undergo a competency evaluation, an El Paso County district court judge ordered Monday. Nicholas Trevon Jordan is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the Feb. 16 deaths of his roommate, 24-year-old Samuel Knopp, and 26-year-old Celie Rain Montgomery of Pueblo. Police responded to the UCCS campus just before 6 a.m. on Feb. 16 when Jordan and Knopp’s other roommate called 911 after being awoken by gunshots, according to an arrest affidavit. Pol ..read more

After lulling Coloradans into visions of an early spring, the month of March worked hard Thursday to live up to its reputation as the state’s snowiest as a major storm dumped nearly a foot in downtown Denver and more along the foothills and closed schools, local government offices, businesses and roads. UPDATE: Friday weather forecast, road conditions and latest snow totals Warmer, sunnier weather at the start of the week slid into cooler, stormier conditions. Starting Wednesday evening, rain and winds hit the mountains, turning into wet, heavy snow that then rolled across the Denver area. Mor ..read more