Local Business Employs Foster Kids + Southwest Airlines Success

Hey, people of Colorado Springs! It's me again, Rachel Kilimnik, your host of the Colorado Springs Daily.

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First, today's weather:

Clear throughout the day. High: 79 Low: 48.

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Here are the top stories in Colorado Springs today:

1. Colorado Springs business owner, Dylan Newman, found a way to survive the pandemic while helping out local foster kids. Newman's business, Dart Wars Colorado Springs, employs and helps develop life skills to foster, group-home, and military-dependent teens who age out of their support programs. Dart Wars has raised thousands of dollars for the nonprofit, "Hope and Home Foster Agency." A foster parent himself, Newman is also a veteran and says his goal is to give foster kids life skills. (KOAA.com Colorado Springs and Pueblo News)
2. Southwest Airlines has been a big success for Colorado Springs since beginning service in March. According to the Colorado Springs Airport, Southwest has enplaned nearly 153,000 passengers through July 2021 and is carrying over 38 percent of Colorado Springs Airport enplanements. The airport said in July 2021, enplanements reached the highest they've been in 16 years and are up 30 percent compared to July 2019, before the pandemic. (KKTV 11 News)
3. A TikTok vandalism trend makes its way to Colorado Springs-area schools in which middle school and high school students deface bathrooms and post videos of themselves stealing school property. (Colorado Springs Gazette)
4. A structure fire near Yoder sends a plume of smoke visible from Colorado Springs on Wednesday. (KRDO)
5. In Banning Lewis Ranch in Colorado Springs, Oakwood Homes has joined forces with the FOX21 Wholly Kicks Shoe Drive, taking place through September. (FOX21News.com)

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Today in Colorado Springs:

• Ride with a Ranger: Red Rock Canyon Open Space - Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation (8:00 AM)
• Tyke Hike - Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center (10:00 AM)
• Date Night Starlight Safari – Adults Only 21+- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (6:30 PM)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed. See you all tomorrow morning for another update! If you're feeling these newsletters, consider bringing some of your friends and neighbors into the fold. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Rachel Kilimnik

About me: Rachel is a born-and-raised New Yorker who recently relocated to the mountains in the west. She is a freelance copywriter for the content creation agency Lightning Media Partners and is assisting Patch.com with community newsletter curation. During her free time, you can find Rachel roller skating, making pottery, drinking tea, and tending to her growing collection of houseplants.