Author: STEPHANIE EARLS stephanie.earls@gazettedev.gazette.com
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Lebowski’s Taproom to open a second location in Colorado Springs
Like The Dude, Jeff Bridges’ scrappy, cocktail-swilling character in “The Big Lebowski,” David and Monica Kowalski know how to abide. They held fast to their vision, despite the doubters saying it was a bad time to start a restaurant and that their chosen spot, in a shopping plaza atop Fillmore Hill, was a bad place…
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Death in the Dust: Downburst wind, dry lakebeds and disaster at milepost 92
Pueblo County Emergency Management Coordinator Josh Johnson was on the road, negotiating details of a public safety power shutoff due to high winds when the first 911 dispatch came in, just before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Seconds later, scanner traffic blew up across all channels of his radio. “Semi vs car.” Then, “multiple…
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New owners of Cogstone Brewing Co. keeping legacy alive
After several years on the market, Cogstone Brewing Co. has been sold to new owners who say they plan to carry on the brand, its current menu, hours of operation and the lineup of popular and award-winning beers on tap at the brew pub in Colorado Springs’ Village Seven Neighborhood. Founding owners Robert Hemphill and…
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Colorado community colleges, students adapt to fill vital workforce gaps: ‘We need more, we need more’
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” – Teddy Roosevelt The famous quote by United States’ trailblazing president, delivered during a 1903 speech to farmers in upstate New York, is a messier maxim for those living in a post-pandemic age, under the rising…
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Historic restaurant and roadside attraction returning to Colorado Springs
Almost a year after acquiring an iconic Colorado Springs restaurant known for its landmark status and multi-generational cred, the new owners of the Navajo Hogan are preparing for her grand (re)debut. That day could come as early as mid-March, property owner Raul Marcelo Gomez said Wednesday. “I can’t tell you how many people have said…
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Jon Hallford sentenced to 40 years in state prison as families endure grief and ‘psychological violence’
Hundreds of families who entrusted their loved ones’ remains to the owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home have spent years hoping the courts would provide some version of closure after one of the most gruesome crimes in the history of the American funerary industry. On Friday, El Paso County 4th Judicial Court Judge Eric…
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Sculpting the future: How one Colorado Springs brewery owner is packing for ‘retirement’
There aren’t as many bike parts hanging from the ceiling of Seven’s Gate Taproom as can be found in the Colorado Springs Bike Shop next door, but (one, two … ) maybe? You’d be forgiven for not recognizing all the elements for what they are, or were, before becoming artistic inspiration for bike shop and…
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Colorado hit a population milestone in 2025; numbers ‘don’t lie,’ but what do they say?
Colorado is: full Standing room only How ‘bout, More crowded than it was but less crowded than we thought? Local takeaways from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data drop are too complex for bumper sticker treatment, but here’s the banner in a nutshell: During a year in which the U.S. population growth rate slowed…
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Colorado hit a population milestone in 2025; numbers ‘don’t lie,’ but what do they say?
Colorado is: full Standing room only How ‘bout, More crowded than it was but less crowded than we thought? Local takeaways from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data drop are too complex for bumper sticker treatment, but here’s the banner in a nutshell: During a year in which the U.S. population growth rate slowed…
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Pinball wizardry casts a spell in Manitou Springs
In search of entertainment for my nieces on their first trip to Colorado Springs, I did what any clueless, childless aunt would do. I asked Google. Zoo, splash park, nature center … “and there’s always the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade …” I said. My sister wanted details: Is it a video arcade like the dens…