Colorado Springs Mayor Unveils Plan for Homeless Campus

On May 8, 2013 By

Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach yesterday unveiled his vision for a 24-hour campus to serve the homeless. As KRCC’s Liz Ruskin reports, the mayor is looking for property downtown that can provide everything from showers to meals to drug counseling.

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Considering Ft. Lyon as a Home for the Homeless

On March 1, 2013 By

There’s broad agreement at the state capitol that more needs to be done to help Colorado’s homeless and mentally ill. There’s also agreement that southeastern Colorado could use some economic development. But a proposal by Governor John Hickenlooper to do both in one project isn’t getting much traction. CPR Health Reporter Eric Whitney looks [...]

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Round-Up: Lawmakers visit former prison near Las Animas; Closing the poverty gap; and more

On January 21, 2013 By

Some state lawmakers spent time at the former Fort Lyon Correctional Facility near Las Animas today, considering whether to repurpose the prison under a proposal from Governor John Hickenlooper…Colorado’s Latino and black residents are falling further behind the state’s white residents in some of the most important measures of social progress…and, Hundreds of people turned out for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. marade in Denver today.

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Handling Panhandling: Part 1

On December 10, 2012 By

On November 27th, the Colorado Springs City Council voted to ban all forms solicitation from the downtown blocks between Nevada and Cascade from Boulder to Cucharras. While there’s no telling at this point whether the ban will actually go into effect, as the ACLU is currently challenging its constitutionality, it seems an opportune moment to [...]

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Round-Up: ACLU sues over ban; Udall continues pressing for Wind Tax Production Credit extension

On November 28, 2012 By

The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, has filed a federal lawsuit in Denver after the Colorado Springs City Council yesterday voted to approve a panhandling ban…While Washington lawmakers wrestle with the fiscal cliff, Colorado Senator Mark Udall continues to press fellow members of Congress for an extension of the Wind Production Tax Credit.

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AM Round-Up: CS Council approves oil & gas regs and panhandling ban; HAMET training begins at Fort Carson; and more

On November 28, 2012 By

Colorado Springs City Council yesterday gave initial approval to regulations concerning oil and gas drilling within city limits…Council also voted in favor of a ban on panhandling in the downtown area…Fort Carson is hosting nearly 300 soldiers and 30 helicopters from Fort Riley in Kansas for high altitude training…Firefighters battling the Fern Lake Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park have ordered more resources to help contain the blaze.

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Panhandling Ban Passes

On November 27, 2012 By

Colorado Springs City Council tonight passed a ban on panhandling downtown, which will go into effect in a matter of days. KRCC’s Liz Ruskin reports.

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Round-Up: Springs council to consider panhandling ban; US Capitol Christmas Tree comes to Colorado Springs

On November 9, 2012 By

Colorado Springs City Council is expected to consider a ban on panhandling downtown when it meets next week…(full story)

The US Capitol Christmas Tree is scheduled to come through Colorado Springs on Sunday. The tree was cut last week in northwest Colorado, and will be at Falcon Stadium at the [...]

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Colorado Springs Council to Consider Downtown Panhandling Ban

On November 9, 2012 By

Colorado Springs City Council is expected to consider a ban on panhandling downtown when it meets next week. KRCC’s Liz Ruskin reports.

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El Paso County Poor Farm, ca. early 1900's, photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.

The El Paso County Poor Farm

On February 8, 2012 By

The terms “poor house” and “poor farm” have made their way into popular culture throughout the years. But the terms poor house and poor farm refer to real places. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many counties across America operated one. We found that El Paso County was no exception.

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Inside Bike Clinic Too

On February 6, 2012 By

In a city with as much sprawl and as little public transportation as Colorado Springs, getting around on little or no income can be an enormous challenge. Bicycle Clinic Too, a local non-profit that operates out of garage on Bijou Hill near downtown has stepped in to help address the problem.

(The audio-only [...]

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Western Skies: February 2012, “Social Services”

On February 5, 2012 By

As the economy continues to sputter, more people are finding they need assistance making ends meet. This month, we’re taking a look at some of the programs, organizations, and issues facing the Pikes Peak region with a look at social services.

You can download the full episode, or listen to it here.

You [...]

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colinkitchen

Comfort Food: The CC Community Kitchen

On December 6, 2011 By

Colin McCarey, student manager of the Colorado College Community Kitchen talks to us about running a soup kitchen in an economic climate where demand is higher than ever before.

The CC Community Kitchen has been selected as one of the beneficiaries of the annual Indy Give campaign, you can find out more by visiting Continue Reading →

Looking Back at the Homeless Camps a Year Later

On December 16, 2010 By

(Slide show is best viewed in full-screen mode by clicking on the arrows in the lower right-hand corner of the player. Click the right and left arrow buttons on the lower left to move through the slides. All photos by Noel Black and Michael Myers.)

One year ago, photographer Michael Myers and [...]

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News

NPR
Advocates Struggle To Reach Growing Ranks Of Suburban Poor
May 20, 2013 | NPR · The number of poor people living in America’s suburbs now surpasses those in cities or rural areas. Long focused on the urban poor, social service agencies are now trying to respond to the basic needs of a much more far-flung population.
 

AP
Is There Really A Second-Term Curse?
May 20, 2013 | NPR · Whether it’s President Richard Nixon’s resignation or President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, presidents tend to have a tough time during the back half of an eight-year presidency.
 

Nate D. Sanders Auction House
Nostalgia For Sale As Captain Kangaroo’s Pals Are Auctioned Off
May 20, 2013 | NPR · A giant lot of Captain Kangaroo memorabilia goes on the auction block this week in Los Angeles. Among the items up for auction are several of the Captain’s signature jackets, Mr. Grean Jeans’ famous jeans and the life-sized costume worn by Dancing Bear.
 

Arts & Life

Decades Later And Across An Ocean, A Novel Gets Its Due
May 19, 2013 | NPR · John Williams’ Stoner sold just 2,000 copies when it was originally published in 1965. It’s now acknowledged as a classic work, is a best-seller across Europe and the No. 1 novel in the Netherlands.
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Getty Images
The Movie Katie Aselton Has ‘Seen A Million Times’
May 19, 2013 | NPR · Actor-director Katie Aselton could watch Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break a million times. “It totally scoops you up and takes you for a ride,” she says.
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iStockphoto.com
Unacceptable Anger From ‘The Woman Upstairs’
May 19, 2013 | NPR · “Women’s anger is very scary to people,” author Claire Messud says. Her new novel, The Woman Upstairs, features a seething main character, a young woman whose anger is unsettling.
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Music

Courtesy of the artist
First Listen: Mount Kimbie, ‘Cold Spring Fault Less Youth’
May 19, 2013 | NPR · The British beat-makers shed their electronics in pursuit of a sound designed to translate live. For their second album, Mount Kimbie’s Dominic Maker and Kai Campos even trot out languid vocal performances and a real live drum kit, while still sounding like themselves in the process.
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Courtesy of the artist
First Listen: Tricky, ‘False Idols’
May 19, 2013 | NPR · The producer’s best album since the mid-’90s, False Idols is one of 2013′s biggest surprises so far. His signature mix of menace and seduction still sounds contemporary after Tricky’s more than 20 years in (and out of) the spotlight.
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Courtesy of the artist
First Listen: Laura Marling, ‘Once I Was An Eagle’
May 19, 2013 | NPR · Marling’s songs dig well beyond the everyday, with each sung in a wise, dusky, brooding voice that always seems in control of its surroundings. The U.K. folksinger’s fourth album, Once I Was an Eagle, takes a remarkable journey over the course of 16 hypnotic, subtly inventive songs.
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