Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Why are Colorado Springs Utilities customers pushing for an independent audit now?

Spotted on the Colorado Springs calendar: Buying Your First Home

Patch AM Team's profile picture
Patch AM Team, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
Tuesday August 25th Patch AM
Tuesday August 25th Patch AM (Patch graphic)

Hi Colorado Springs! We have the latest buzz right here. Let's keep you in the loop and get this morning started right! ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Why are Colorado Springs Utilities customers pushing for an independent audit now?
  • Why a new year-round homeless shelter may move to southeast Springs
  • How a hungry bear snuck into a Springs fire station unnoticed

Also on today's calendar: Buying Your First Home and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What did one strawberry say to the other strawberry? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

  • Tuesday: A stray afternoon t-storm, with a high of 86 and low of 58 degrees. 🌶 Hot!
  • Wednesday: A t-storm in the afternoon, temps: high: 80, low: 55.
  • Thursday: Sunshine and some clouds, with a high of 81 and low of 57 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. 'Residents… deserve better than silence': Petitions target Colorado Springs Utilities CEO, call for independent audit (kktv.com) — Colorado Springs residents upset over rising Colorado Springs Utilities bills are backing petitions that seek an independent audit of the utility's budget and, separately, the CEO's resignation. Organizers say many customers report bills jumping by at least $100. Utilities leaders cite a five-year infrastructure plan and hotter weather, noting their rates remain below many Front Range providers.
   

2. A second permanent year-round emergency shelter planned for Colorado Springs (gazette.com) — A local nonprofit, Hope COS, is working to open a permanent year-round homeless shelter in southeast Colorado Springs, aiming for about 120 beds plus detox and respite space. The project responds to bed shortages, neighborhood complaints near The Sanctuary church on the west side, and growing demand for winter shelter, with a $4.5 million fundraising campaign and a possible opening in late 2027.
   

3. WATCH: Bear steals gear bag from fire station (fox21news.com) — Firefighters at Station 16 on Colorado Springs' west side recently discovered a bear had slipped into their bay, grabbed a gear bag, and raided it for food before leaving it in the yard. No one was hurt, but crews are using the incident to remind residents to secure food, trash, pet food, and bird feeders so bears are less likely to wander into neighborhoods or garages.
   

4. Little was really known about China Jim, whose elegant decor items decorated early North End mansions. (gazette.com) — A long-forgotten Chinese merchant known as "China Jim" once supplied the elegant Asian decor that filled early Colorado Springs North End mansions and downtown homes. New research from the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum traces his journey from Guangzhou to Pikes Peak Avenue, his family ties, and the mystery surrounding his death and lost coffin, while highlighting anti-Chinese prejudice of the era.
   

5. Pueblo City Council passes resolution, requires stores to pay for abandoned shopping carts (koaa.com) — Pueblo has just started charging retailers up to about $95 per abandoned shopping cart, unless they install cart-control systems, in a move aimed at cleaning up city streets. For Colorado Springs residents, the Rock Island Trail on the east side of town is getting construction upgrades to close gaps and improve safety for walkers, runners, and cyclists.
   

📸 Around Colorado Springs

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Colorado Springs

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

📣 Colorado Springs Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Colorado Springs PatchAM possible:

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • DINGLE HAS BEEN REUNITED!
    A neighbor brought Dingle to the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, and I picked him up at about 10 a.m this Sunday, August 23, 2026. I wish I… (Nextdoor Mesa Springs)
  • Had some showy milkweed pop up in my yard about 3 years ago.
    But this year is special cause we got a monarch visitor and with that, caterpillars. How many people on here keep showy milkweed? Decided to get… (Nextdoor North Range/Springs Ranch)
  • Ascend Staffing posted a job opening for CNC Machinist I Experience Required I 2nd Shift in Colorado Springs. Apply here.
  • Sprouts Farmers Market posted a job opening for Produce Clerk in Colorado Springs. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Colorado Springs here.

Ok Colorado Springs! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: If you weren't so sweet, we wouldn't be in this jam! (Thank you Patti F. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

👉 Help make Patch AM better

We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what's happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.

Share to NextDoor     Share to Facebook

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Colorado Springs