April 22nd 2025
Some new Police Officers at Walsenburg Police Department under investigation by other departments.
Even though Walsenburg residents voted to disband the Walsenburg Police Department
years ago, the city decided to reform the department and has hired nine police officers
and one administrator. However, 4 of those officers have either been investigated or fired
from previous law enforcement jobs. The first is the new Walsenburg Police Chief Bill
Vinelli who remains under investigation by the City of Morrison following his
employment there. New officer Tre’von Perry was fired from the Monument Police
department because he failed to disclose that he had been arrested on four theft charges in
Las Vegas in 2021. New officer Amanda Winters was fired from the Florence Police
Department following allegations of evidence mishandling and dereliction of duty. And,
new officer David Baroz and nine other Fremont County Sheriff's deputies were placed
on administrative leave in 2017. Records about the incident are reportedly lost. Yet, the
Walsenburg Police Department says that all of its officers are post-certified and have
passed their background checks.
Pueblo D70 resuming normal operations today.
Pueblo District 70 says that all schools in the district will resume normal operations today
after potential threats made against some of the schools in the district were determined to
be a swatting case, or a false report deliberately intended to provoke an emergency
response. Investigators have determined that no student from the district was responsible
for the reported threats, according to the district. There will be a "substantial" law
enforcement presence at the schools and the school buildings are also being remotely
monitored by the emergency operations center. The Pueblo County Sheriff's office is
working with the federal bureau of investigation and District 70 to investigate the
incident.
CDOT taking fresh look at Transportation investment priorities.
The Colorado Department of Transportation says that it is taking a fresh look at
transportation investment priorities and is building a plan that helps deliver those
priorities for the next 10 years. As part of that effort, CDOT will host telephone town
halls across Colorado to take public comment. The telephone town halls will allow
residents to join by telephone or online to share their input. All town halls will begin at
6:30pm and end at 7:30pm. In our area, town halls will be as follows: April 29th for El
Paso, Fremont, Park and Teller counties; May 1st for Baca, Bent, Crowley, Custer,
Huerfano, Kiowa, Las Animas, Otero, Prowers and Pueblo counties; and on June 5th for
Alamosa, Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral,
Montezuma, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Miguel and San Juan Counties. To sign up to
attend or for more information, go to www.codot.gov and search on "telephone town
hall".
Conejos County and CBI requesting Public's help in locating missing person.
The Conejos County Sheriff and The Colorado Bureau of Investigation are asking for the
public's help in locating Rodney Allen Guilinger, of Pueblo, who was last believed to be
in Conejos County. Guilinger's vehicle was located in Conejos County on forest service
road 380 on April 17th, stuck in a snowbank. The driver appeared to have left the vehicle
on foot. After 5 days of searching, Guilinger has not been located. Guilinger suffers
from cognitive impairment and requires medication. He is 64 years old with brown hair
and green eyes, is 5'10" tall and weighs 190 pounds. He was last seen wearing khaki
pants, a green flannel shirt, a camo hat and tennis shoes. If you have seen Guilinger or
know of his whereabouts, call 911 or the Conejos County Sheriff's office at 719-589-
5807.
CSP report shows Colorado auto thefts have decreased.
A recent report from the Colorado State Patrol says that Colorado auto thefts decreased
by 25% from 2023 to 2024. The decrease amounted to 8,401 fewer thefts than 2023,
which continued a positive trend, as colorado saw a 21% decrease in auto thefts from
2022 to 2023. Even with the reduction in car thefts, Colorado still ranks high in car thefts
compared to the rest of the nation.
April 21st 2025
UCCS Shooter pleads guilty to assaulting El Paso County Deputy.
Nicholas Jordan on Friday plead guilty to assaulting an El Paso County Deputy while
being held in the El Paso County Jail. The charge was in addition to Jordan's recent
double murder trial that resulted in a jury finding him guilty on Wednesday of first-
degree murder for fatally shooting Celie Rain Montgomery and Samuel Knopp in a
UCCS dorm room on February 16th of 2024. Jordan received two counts of life in prison
to be served consecutively with no parole as a result of that conviction. On Friday,
Jordan was sentenced to two years in prison plus three years of probation if he is ever
released for the assault case. Friday's sentence will run concurrently with the sentence
on the murder charges. The deputy who was assaulted agreed with Friday's plea
agreement.
Multiple school districts closed today after threats made.
Pueblo School District 70 has announced that Liberty Point international school, the
District 70 online learning academy Pueblo West campus and swallows charter academy
will all be closed today out of an abundance of caution after threats were made to the
schools. School District 70 officials say that they are looking into reports of threats made
through multiple channels, working with the Pueblo County sheriff's office. While the
threats are not deemed to be credible at this point, the Sheriff's office will have an
increase presence at all District 70 schools today. Grand Peak Academy, a charter school
in District 49, has also announced that they will cancel in-person classes today out of
caution after also having threats made against the school. While the threat is also not
deemed to be credible, Colorado Springs Police are working alongside District 49
security personnel to investigate the threats.
Colorado postpones universal preschool quality standards.
Colorado has postponed quality standards for universal preschool for the third year.
Universal preschool gives four year olds in Colorado at least 15 hours per week of free
preschool, and as such, the state is supposed to require schools to have quality standards
such as: a 20 student cap on class size, certain curriculum requirements and additional
teacher training. The rules were supposed to take effect in the summer of 2023 when the
program launched, but were pushed back to 2024, and then to 2025. A state advisory
committee has now voted to postpone the requirements until July of 2026. The
committee says that the state is behind on some key tasks needed to put the rules in place.
Costilla County BOCC announces special meeting.
The Costilla County Board of County Commissioners has announced that it will convene
a special meeting on Tuesday, April 29th, at 6pm, to consider the mediated settlement
agreement proposal with Cielo Vista Ranch regarding the ranch's high fence. The
meeting will take place at the commissioner's meeting room at 352 Main Street in San
Luis. For more information, go to www.costillacounty.gov
and click on "meetings and public notices". Paper copies of the settlement agreement and fence map can also be
obtained at 352 Main street in San Luis.
Crash shuts down I-25 South of Colorado Springs last night.
Interstate 25 was shut down last night between Exits 119 and 122, near the Pikes Peak
International Raceway for a single-vehicle motorcycle crash that took place near
milemarker 117 just after 8:30pm. The interstate was closed so that the motorcyclist
could be airlifted from the crash site to the hospital. The highway reopened shortly after
the airlift.
April 18th 2025
CO US Senator Hickenlooper held town hall meeting at UCCS yesterday.
U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper held a town hall meeting last night at the University of
Colorado, Colorado Springs, where he spoke about the future of the U.S. Space
Command, federal budget cuts, immigration and infrastructure. Hickenlooper said that if
U.S. Space Command is moved from Colorado Springs, it would severely impact
operations. He said we can't afford that right now. The town hall also touched on
DOGE cuts, including to civilians working in the department of defense. Hickenlooper
said he wanted to see bipartisan solutions to immigration policies. He said FEMA plays a
vital role in disaster response across colorado and must not be dismantled. Hickenlooper
emphasized modular construction and systemic reforms to reduce building costs.
Attendees were disappointed, however, Hickenlooper did not address questions about
military funding, voting rights and the national debt.
CO State Senate passes embodied carbon reduction bill.
The Colorado State Senate yesterday passed SB25-182, the embodied carbon reduction
bill, to advance Colorado’s climate goals by reducing embodied carbon emissions
released during the production, transportation and use of construction materials. The bill,
sponsored by Senators Matt Ball of Denver and Cleave Simpson of Alamosa, would
expand incentives for the private sector to use sustainable materials in construction and
strengthen the emerging industry of low-carbon material innovators. The bill now moves
on to the Colorado House for further consideration.
Gardner Man files lawsuit against SPRMC in Walsenburg.
The husband of the late Bonnie Young of Gardner has filed a lawsuit in Pueblo District
court against the Spanish Peaks Regional Medical Center in Walsenburg, alleging that
mental health staff failed to properly evaulate David Freilino, also of Gardner, the day
before it's alleged that Freilino brutally killed Young. The suit alleges that Huerfano
County Sheriff's deputies were called to the Freilino home on April 4th of 2023 and
transported him to the health center for a mental evaluation. The suit alleges that medical
center staff failed to identify that Freilino was suffering from a severe mental health
episode and instead released him. The following day, Freilino allegedly attacked then
64-year-old Bonnie Young at her home and killed her by both stabbing and shooting her.
Freilino was taken into custody that day. He remains in custody as he has not been
judged as competent to stand trial.
Firefighters working on multiple fires in Pueblo County yesterday.
Firefighters were working on multiple fires burning in Pueblo County yesterday
afternoon. The Daniel Road fire was burning at 38th lane and Daniel road. The fire was
at 50 acres with no containment last night. The Nyberg fire was burning and U.S. 50 and
Nyberg road. As of 4:45pm yesterday, fire officials said the fire was 100% contained and
just ¼ of an acre. A fire broke out yesterday afternoon near Fowler near 67th lane and
garnett road, south of U.S. 50 and just west of Fowler. No structures were threatened and
no evacuations were in place. The fire was 75 contained as of 3:10pm yesterday. And a
fire also broke out north of the Pueblo mall about 3:45pm yesterday at pueblo mall
boulevard and east 40th street, east of interstate 25. The fire burned less than 2 acres. The
mall fire was determined to be human-caused.
City of Alamosa announces closure of street.
The City of Alamosa has announced that south craft drive will be closed today for utility
construction related to the tierra azul development. The temporary closure may continue
through tomorrow, Saturday, April 19th. For residents living off of west 7th street, please
note that you will still be able to access your homes via craft drive from the north side of
the closure. During this time, south craft drive will not be accessible from 7th street on
the north side to 10th street on the south side. The city recommends using foster avenue
to the east of craft drive as a detour around the closure. For questions and more
information, call Alamosa public works at 719-589-6631.
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