Colorado Springs officials announced this week that the emerald ash borer has been confirmed within city limits, a “significant milestone” city leaders were already preparing to tackle.

The is an invasive beetle that lays its eggs in the bark crevices of ash trees, and the larvae burrow into the wood to feed, damaging the trees. Emerald ash borers have killed millions of North American ash trees since the insect was first identified in the 1990s.

“While this confirmation is not unexpected, it is an important reminder that protecting our community’s tree canopy will require a coordinated effort,” City Forester Matthew Puckett said in a statement.

The bug was first found in Colorado in 2003 and has since spread to cities across metro Denver and Fort Collins. According to , Colorado Springs is the farthest south the insect has been detected on the Front Range.

City officials are launching a public awareness campaign to help residents learn about the emerald ash borer, including how to identify ash trees, recognize infestation and take steps to protect trees.

About 20% of the trees in Colorado Springs are ash trees, and left untreated the borer could kill every ash tree within 15 years, city officials said.

City crews will monitor trees on public property, but property owners are responsible for trees on private property, officials said in a news release.

Give Goldie the goat a gold badge.

She deserves it after escorting firefighters up and down a mountain on Wednesday as they worked to contain a wildfire sparked by a lightning strike near Cheyenne Mountain State Park just south of Colorado Springs.

The goat showed firefighters the best path, often stopping to bleat and encourage them to follow her route, said Shane Coyne, superintendent of the Southern Colorado Interagency Wildland Fire Team.

“She understood what was going on and what was happening,” Coyne said. “She wanted to make sure she knew all the humans got to the fire. This goat got to be a legend up there.”

The Rock Creek Canyon fire erupted early Wednesday morning in an area west of Cheyenne Mountain State Park. It quickly grew to about 5 acres, but fire crews hiked to the fire and dug a line to contain it, Coyne said. A helicopter also dumped water on the blaze.

Firefighters were on scene Thursday to make sure the line holds and the fire does not spread.

“When you get a line around it and it holds, it’s a good day,” Coyne said.

A Colorado Springs Fire Department crew encountered the goat and was so impressed with her guidance that it posted a video on the agency’s social media accounts.

“Every crew needs a good leader… apparently ours has four legs,” the fire department wrote on Instagram. “While working on the Rock Creek Fire, our firefighters got an unexpected escort from a very determined goat who led them toward the fire area and helped with some fuel mitigation along the way. We’re not saying he’s ready for a badge… but we’re also not saying he isn’t.”

Every crew needs a good leader… apparently ours has four legs.

While working on the Rock Creek Fire, our firefighters got an unexpected escort from a very determined goat who led them toward the fire area and helped with some fuel mitigation along the way.

We’re not…

— Colorado Springs Fire Department (@CSFDPIO)

Word of the goat began spreading Wednesday as more crews arrived on scene, Coyne said.

“I heard there was a goat and was Iike, ‘OK, cool,’ ” Coyne said. “I didn’t know she would be so committed to our cause.”

His crew was the last to arrive that morning and, as soon as they reached the first charred ground, Goldie appeared.

“It just starts moving toward the fire,” he said. “She knew her area and she understood the assignment.”

The crew spent about three hours digging a fire break and working with chainsaws. When it was time to go back down the mountain, the firefighters stopped to secure their gear because they were navigating such steep terrain.

Goldie found them and started bleating, Coyne said.

“The goat meets us at that same spot,” he said. “She looks back and makes this bleating sound like, ‘Follow me, guys, and I’ll show you where to go.'”

Goldie led the men back to her owner’s house, which was about three-quarters of a mile away. At the time, Coyne said he was so exhausted that he forgot to get the goat’s name or its owner’s name.
He figured out Goldie’s name on Thursday, but still does not know her human, who is a Castle Rock firefighter.

“Animals are amazing and they do such special things,” Coyne said. “It’s been a pretty tough time in Colorado with the fires and this was a good story.”

The district, covering Colorado Springs and its suburbs, is typically solid red. But national Democrats have marked the race to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank as demographic shifts, falling approval for President Donald Trump and fired-up liberal voters shifted the district’s rating from “solid Republican” to “likely Republican,” according to the

Crank is unopposed in the Republican primary.

Candidate Jessica Killin, a former U.S. Army captain and chief of staff to former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is going up against Joe Reagan, a U.S. Army combat veteran who turned to the nonprofit sector after his military career, in this month’s Democratic primary.

Reagan narrowly lost the 2024 primary for the Democratic nomination and is running again.

While the 5th District is expected to be a tighter race — the notes it is one of the few House districts that has consistently moved to the left over the past three presidential cycles — it will still take work to flip a district Crank won by 14 percentage points in 2024.

Killin, 52, is banking on doing so with a “Team Normal” platform.

“People are fed up and frustrated,” she said. “They want someone who is going to stand up for their community and stop playing partisan games. Yes, I have a ‘D’ behind my name, but I hate the labels. I am Team Normal… I am exhausted by the chaos, uncertainty, partisan bickering, tribalism.”

Killin had raised for her campaign as of the end of March — outraising incumbent Crank, who had raised more than $1.3 million.

“Jeff Crank has completely failed this community,” Killin said. “He is completely out of touch…The minute he took the oath, he went full MAGA (Make America Great Again). He lost Space Command. He’s never worked to stand up to Trump for our community. He hasn’t done anything to improve cost of living — he’s made it worse… I want our government to be functional again.”

Reagan raised during the same timeframe.

He served as a senior director at two nonprofit organizations, Easterseals, which helps people with disabilities, and veterans-focused Wreaths Across America. He works at a local nonprofit, Veterans Business Outreach Centers, which helps veterans open and operate small businesses.

The 44-year-old said veteran mental health and expanded healthcare access for everyone were priorities of his, along with working toward more affordable housing, making sure every child has access to a high-quality public education and supporting labor unions.

“When you are around town and talk to people about me, most don’t think of me as the Democratic candidate for Congress,” Reagan said. “They think of me as, ‘This is the guy at the Little League field with his kids every week, the guy who helped me start my small business, the incoming president of the Rotary Club.’ That����ap how you inspire trust.”

Reagan said his down-to-earth approach attracts people from all political factions. His campaign headquarters is a melting pot of progressive and moderate Democrats, “recovering Republicans” and independent voters, he said.

“So often, we get voters who say they don’t like either candidate and they’re going to vote for the lesser of two evils,” he said. “And in El Paso County, that means a Republican. It����ap on us to put forward a candidate people want to vote for.”

Reagan said there are El Paso County voters who support Democratic issues like the county during the 2024 election, but they still vote for conservative candidates.

“It����ap because they distrust the Democratic Party, and you break that by being a community organizer and leader first,” Reagan said. “I’m a combat veteran, so with 100,000 veterans in El Paso County, that puts me in a place I can relate directly to so many of our friends and neighbors.”

Killin, who secured early endorsements from all of Colorado’s congressional Democrats, zeroed in on cost-of-living issues as a core tenet of her campaign.

She said she would focus on improving the affordable housing stock in the Pikes Peak region and creating policies to get first-time homebuyers into homes. She would tackle the childcare desert to address skyrocketing childcare costs, she said.

“I joke that this is not your mother’s Colorado Springs,” Killin said. “People are hungry for change and normalcy. People are feeling so exhausted by this administration and Jeff Crank’s total failure, and that����ap how we win this.”

Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern and The Hall at Bourbon Brothers are taking over the 50,000 square-foot Celebrity Lanes space in Centennial, at the northwest corner of Parker and Arapahoe roads. The $75 million project will convert the former bowling alley and entertainment center into a 2,000-capacity music venue and restaurant/bar that will serve the growing demand for live music and upscale nights out, said owner JW Roth.

“It’ll be similar to what we have here,” Roth said, referring to the 8,000-capacity luxury venue Ford Amphitheater, which he opened in northern Colorado Springs in fall 2024. “We’ll have rideshare lanes right up front, 50 luxury firepit suites for six people, and everything from theater to movies to concerts to fully catered rentals.”

More than $15 million in firepit ownership packages have been sold so far, he said, at $295,000 per suite.

The project is expected to be completed by mid-2027, Roth said, as VENU is currently working through approvals with the city of Centennial. He praised the city for working productively with the company on the new music hall’s potential effect on traffic and parking issues, as well as its potential for sales tax revenue.

For its part, Centennial said the project has not seen any movement since November 2025. The city is awaiting payment for the current permit, which will expire 6 months from the application date if not paid, said Alison Wintern, communications director for Centennial. “We look forward to working with them,” she wrote in an email to The Denver Post.

The overall model is working so well for VENU that the company is already scouting locations for two new venues in Boulder and Fort Collins. They could be similar to Roth’s other purpose-built, mid-sized music halls .

He’s currently going back and forth between two sites in Boulder, but declined to name their locations. He expects to be able to announce the locations for both cities in 24 to 36 months, he said.

“With us, it always starts with (tour) routing,” Roth said. “No. 1, can we route an act off of something else that we own, and is it far enough away that it����ap not encroaching on our MSA (a market service agreement, or non-compete clause) with AEG Presents? No. 2, we need a demographic that is supportive of the ticket price, and I feel like the demographic in Centennial is very similar to Ford’s. And do we have a demographic that’s going to buy a $300,000 firepit?”

Standard tickets at Ford Amphitheatre can cost between $45 and $75, with upgrades that range up to $500 a pop. The venue, operated and booked by promoter AEG Presents, is expected to host between 35 and 37 concerts this year, Roth said, including previously announced shows from AJR, Dierks Bentley, Lindsey Stirling, Yo-Yo Ma with the Colorado Symphony, John Mulaney and The Black Crowes.

VENU’s rapid expansion contrasts with ongoing criticism and legal action by some neighbors of Ford Amphitheater in the Springs. Since it opened in 2024, a group of nearby residents has claimed that excessive noise from concerts has harmed their health and property values. After two dismissals, 8 residents filed a third lawsuit against VENU in January.

This month, the group has tied a publicity drive to a bill in the Colorado Senate that would strengthen local oversight of noise ordinances. It’s , according to the state’s legislative schedule.

The group of neighbors is in opposition to that bill, however, alleging that VENU is using its own variance from the city of Colorado Springs to exceed safe and reasonable decibel limits.

“VENU has never, not one time, been out of compliance with the city, so when they say we violated all these things, it����ap just factually incorrect and really frustrating,” Roth told The Denver Post in January. “Every judge has ruled in our favor and dismissed previous complaints. … This is eight people who have been saying this for the last three years. Compare that with the 200,000 people who came to shows last year and loved it.”

The planned opening of The Hall at Bourbon Brothers stands out even along the Front Range’s crowded music circuit. No other major venue is scheduled to open in the metro area this year, said promoters Live Nation and AEG Presents, and even smaller promoters are sticking with what works.

VENU’s model relies on the continual growth of Front Range concert demand, which has expanded each year since 2021 as artists transform what would normally be a Red Rocks or Ball Arena-focused visit into multi-show stops at large venues in Loveland, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Dillon.

That����ap because concerts at Red Rocks and other venues sell out so quickly that promoter AEG Presents, which books the majority of large Denver concerts, can sell additional venues and multiply the value for artists of visiting our relatively isolated tour-routing hub, promoters have said.

The sheriff’s office announced shortly after 6 p.m. that residents who had evacuated an area of the 20700 block of Outback View, about six miles west of Wigwam, could return.

The Hanover Fire Protection District, which is based a few miles south of Fountain, that two structures burned in the fire — a house and an outbuilding. Investigators are looking at the house as the potential source of the fire, which burned about 50 to 75 acres of grassland.

The district said its crews “remain on scene and will continue working diligently to locate and extinguish hot spots to ensure the fire is fully contained and safe.”

El Paso County Sheriff Sgt. Kurt Smith told The Denver Post on Monday night that his office is investigating a potential act of arson on Sunday in that “same general area.”

“As of right now, we have no evidence to connect the two,” he said.

He said the sheriff’s office will be issuing a press release on Tuesday regarding Sunday’s incident but wouldn’t provide more details.

The Bureau of Land Management said the blaze, which is called the , was human-caused but provided no other details.

Authorities issued the evacuation notice shortly after 4 p.m. on Monday.

A specific site has not been disclosed yet, nor has it been specified when construction will begin. But the Fort Collins store will join existing locations in Centennial and Colorado Springs, which introduced a smaller-format version of the brand in November.

The move is part of a larger push across the United States. IKEA said it intends to open additional stores in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2026. Those projects build on six previously announced locations and bring the total number of new U.S. stores slated to open in 2026 to 10.

Those earlier sites include Huntsville, Alabama; University Park in Dallas; Phoenix; Rockwall, Texas; Chantilly and Dulles in the Washington, D.C. region; and Houston-Webster, Texas.

IKEA had previously intended to build a store in Broomfield on a 110-acre parcel of land on the northwest corner of the interchange between Interstate 25 and Colorado 7, also known as Baseline Road. Those plans were abandoned, and now UCHealth is set to buy that same land to build a new medical campus.

As part of the announcement, IKEA released its 2025 annual summary, highlighting key milestones in customer engagement, sustainable growth and community impact achieved between Sept. 1, 2024, and Aug. 31, 2025.

Despite challenging external factors, including rising inflation and declining consumer confidence, IKEA U.S. reported $5.3 billion in total sales in fiscal year 2025, including $1.9 billion in e-commerce revenue.

The company welcomed nearly 61 million visitors to its stores and more than 457 million visitors online. The IKEA Family Rewards program reached 25 million members in fiscal year 2025, a 17% increase from fiscal year 2024.

“FY25 was a year of meaningful connection and growth despite a challenging external environment. We strengthened our ability to serve customers through new store formats, digital innovation and expanded rewards, all while reinforcing our commitment to communities and the environment,” said Rob Olson, interim CEO of IKEA U.S. in the Tuesday news release.

“Looking ahead to FY26, we will build on this momentum, focusing on continued investment in the U.S.  to make IKEA more affordable, accessible and sustainable.”

The 8,000-capacity outdoor complex, which opened in fall 2024 with Colorado pop-rock act OneRepublic, was part of the industry publication’s 2026 Top Music Venues ranking. The 28 venues included in the list were judged “based on editorial insight and Billboard Boxscore performance data,” according to from Ford owner VENU.

Those numbers include gross and attendance figures, which were not disclosed in the list, that were reported to Billboard Boxscore from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025, magazine editors wrote.

The ranking features stadiums and arenas alongside open-air amphitheaters and small clubs ranging from Canada to Mexico, . “Think of it as a guided tour of the places where sound, setting and community collide — the stages that turn concerts into memories and local music scenes into legends.”

Billboard cites Denver-based promoter AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, which books most of the concerts at Red Rocks and other top Front Range venues, as part of Ford’s success.

Ford inclusion is notable not just because it’s the sole Colorado or Rocky Mountain West venue, but because Ford’s owner, VENU, was sued last month by some neighbors over allegedly excessive noise that allegedly bleeds into their neighborhoods and disrupts their health and quality of life.

VENU founder J.W. Roth told The Denver Post last month that always taken neighbors’ concerns seriously and last summer spent $3.5 million on noise abatement efforts, including testing stations and walls. He said he wants to be a good resident, having lived in Colorado Springs himself for 62 years, but that the lawsuit is meritless.

He blames the continued resistance to the venue, which began even before it opened, on a small group of disgruntled locals.

Ford Amphitheater operates under an agreement with Colorado Springs that allows it to exceed the usual 50-55 decibel (dB) limit placed on outside, human-made sounds in residential areas. Fifty dB is equivalent to normal conversation levels, car traffic or kitchen appliances. But thanks to its Noise Hardship Permit, the city raised that significantly. The complaint alleges the decibels measured from Ford Amphitheater range between 60 and 77.

Ford Amphitheater, owned by the VENU company, is an 8,000-capacity outdoor music venue that opened in late 2024 and has hosted dozens of concerts over the last two seasons from artists such as OneRepublic, Cypress Hill, Miranda Lambert and Yo-Yo Ma.

Before it even opened, however, some neighbors with noise concerns wanted to hold VENU accountable for any future disturbances. That was followed by the filing of 600 noise complaints in the opening two weeks of the venue, which is located at 95 Spectrum Loop in Colorado Springs, just east of I-25 and the Air Force Academy. The concerts generating the anonymous complaints included shows by The Beach Boys, Walker Hayes, and Iration and Pepper.

The new lawsuit, filed in El Paso County on Jan. 21, alleges Ford and owner VENU are violating the state’s Noise Abatement Act. That includes noise violations ranging from 1,000% to 10,000% above the state’s allowable decibel limits, it alleges. It also says that a charitable foundation connected to Ford Amphitheater is illegitimate.

The complaint asks for new restrictions on noise and increased testing during concerts; accountability for VENU when they violate those; and repayment of residents’ “reasonable costs” as determined by the court.

Roth said he’s always taken neighbors’ concerns seriously and last summer spent $3.5 million on noise abatement efforts, including testing stations and walls. He said he wants to be a good resident, having lived in Colorado Springs himself for 62 years, but that the lawsuit is meritless.

“VENU has never, not one time, been out of compliance with the city, so when they say we violated all these things it’s just factually incorrect and really frustrating,” he said. “Every judge has ruled in our favor and dismissed previous complaints. … This is eight people who have been saying this for the last three years. Compare that with the 200,000 people who came to shows last year and loved it.”

The 43-page lawsuit includes detailed studies and explainers on decibel limits, which Roth said appeared to have been gathered before the venue even opened.

Ford Amphitheater operates under an agreement with Colorado Springs that allows it to exceed the usual 50-55 decibel (dB) limit placed on outside, human-made sounds in residential areas. Fifty dB is equivalent to normal conversation levels, car traffic or kitchen appliances. But thanks to its Noise Hardship Permit, the city raised that significantly. The complaint alleges the decibels measured from Ford Amphitheater range between 60 and 77.

The lawsuit marks an escalation of tactics after dozens of meetings with Ford Amphitheater’s owners, local politicians including Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, lawyers and other neighbors over the last three years.

“For two concert seasons, residents on the north side of the City of Colorado Springs have contended with harmful noise pollution from an outdoor amphitheater known as the Ford Amphitheater,” according to court documents.

The affected neighborhoods include Gleneagle, Northgate Highlands, and Northgate Estates, among others, the lawsuit said. They existed prior to the amphitheater’s 2024 construction.

“Plaintiffs purchased their homes and raised their families in these communities for years, sometimes decades, before the amphitheater opened,” the lawsuit said. “They did not move to a concert venue; a concert venue moved to them. Now, families who invested in the tranquility of these neighborhoods find themselves unable to escape noise pollution that exceeds state law by multiples — 1,000% to 10,000% in sound level — and that has deprived them of the comfort of their homes.”

The lawsuit alleges serious health issues stemming from the noise: “a mother forced to medicate her autistic son and place him in a sensory room with noise-cancelling headphones during concerts to prevent manic episodes; a disabled veteran with a diagnosed anxiety disorder who must flee his own home for hours on concert nights schoolchildren unable to sleep on school nights because of thumping bass and profanity-laced lyrics audible through closed windows.”

The plaintiffs’ case is led by attorney Laura J. Ellis of Colorado Springs’ First & Fourteenth PLLC, who specializes in civil disputes, according to . She did not immediately return a request for comment. Roth and VENU are represented by Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, as well as attorney Tobin Kern.

VENU on Jan. 21 also released its , featuring artists such as Yo-Yo Ma with the Colorado Symphony, O.A.R., Alison Krauss & Union Station, and Brantley Gilbert. VENU operates the Ford Amphitheater in partnership with promoter AEG Presents Rocky Mountains. The company also owns Phil Long Music Hall, The Hall at Bourbon Brothers, Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern, Aikman Owners Clubs, and Roth’s Sea & Steak.

The German-based discount supermarket chain announced Monday it will open more than 50 stores across the Denver and Colorado Springs areas, supported by a new distribution center in Aurora.

The move marks Aldi’s first expansion into the state, with the Aurora facility expected to open in 2029 and bring hundreds of new jobs to the region.

“One in three U.S. households shopped at Aldi this past year, and in 2026 we’re focused on making it even easier for customers to shop our aisles first,” said Aldi U.S CEO Atty McGrath in a news release.

“That means bringing Aldi to even more neighborhoods, upgrading our website and planning additional distribution centers to keep our shelves stocked with the products our shoppers love.”

As Aldi enters its 50th year in the United States, the discount grocer plans to open 180 new stores by the end of 2026 and is outlining expansion plans for the next five years.

The company said it will continue expanding in Southeast and Western markets and will open three new distribution centers nationwide, including the Aurora center and facilities in Goodyear, Arizona, and Baldwin, Florida.

In addition to Colorado, Aldi is expanding in key U.S. markets such as Maine, Phoenix, Las Vegas and the Southeast, while continuing to convert nearly 80 Southeastern Grocers locations to the Aldi format.

Since acquiring Southeastern Grocers in 2024, Aldi has converted and opened nearly 90 stores, with plans to convert more than 200 in total by the end of 2027.

With its increased footprint, Aldi said it will operate nearly 2,800 stores by the end of 2026, moving closer to its goal of 3,200 locations by the end of 2028.

By 2028, the company said it will have invested $9 billion over five years to expand its store footprint, strengthen its supply chain and upgrade its online shopping experience.

“These strategic investments are all about making sure customers can continue to count on us for the quality, affordable groceries and enjoyable shopping experience they love,” McGrath said.

“As we look ahead to our next 50 years in the U.S., we’ll continue to earn shopper loyalty by staying true to what’s made Aldi successful: keeping things simple and delivering real value.”

and launching its first U.S. store in Iowa in 1976, Aldi now operates thousands of stores in more than 10 countries.