COS Town Tidings #25-210

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🤣 Today’s Chuckle

📰 What Sparked a Briargate Scare?🔒

📰 Big Shakeup at Homestead Collective😮

📰 COS Faces a Crisis—What’s Next?🛏️

🧱 Trivia Time: Which Hand-Built Monument Guards Colorado Springs?

💡 AI vs Reality: Debunking 5 Common Myths About Artificial Intelligence

📅 SAVE THE DATES! TODAY @10:30am

📆 Local Events + Free Concerts & Farmers Markets

🌦 COS Weather - Hot with possible isolated PM showers

My robot vacuum cleaner keeps running into walls

👉I guess it has a directional dysfunction 🤣

🔒 What Sparked a Briargate Scare?

Last night at 5:01pm, a suspicious package padlocked to a bus stop bench in Briargate sparked a shelter-in-place order near several hospitals. The Regional Explosives Unit quickly responded, and within 30 minutes, police determined the item was simply someone’s personal belongings locked up for safekeeping. The alert was lifted by 5:30 p.m., and no charges are being filed. While it ended safely, the incident served as a reminder of the importance of caution in public spaces. Full Story

🤗 This Thurs, FREE AI EVENT!

AI Curious?🤔

😎 BACK, by popular demand! My "AImagination Experience" demystifies AI & shows you how to build solutions you can use today. This is your personal invitation!!

RSVP by clicking the date below - can't wait to see you there!!

• July 31, 2025 11am-noon (THIS Thurs) @Sand Creek Library, 1821 S Academy

• Aug 5, 2025 1:30-2:30 pm (Next Tues) @Cheyenne Mountain Library, 1785 S 8th St, Ste 100

• Aug 23, 10:30-Noon (Sat) @Cheyenne Mountain Library, 1785 S 8th St, Ste 100 (registration link coming soon)

💡 AI vs Reality: Debunking 5 Common Myths About Artificial Intelligence

Let's talk about AI. There's a lot of buzz, hype, and sometimes, downright misinformation floating around. As your trusted guide, I want to set the record straight and bust some common AI myths.

Myth #3: AI is going to replace humans

❌ Reality: False! AI is NOT replacing humans. AI is replacing humans who don’t know how to use it. AI is a tool to augment and enhance human capabilities, not replace them entirely. It can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up humans to focus on more creative and strategic work.

✅ The truth is: AI is most effective when used in collaboration with humans.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s AI Myth or get the full list in our new, FREE AI For Everyone Community.

😮 Big Shakeup at Homestead Collective

After launching with big hopes in May, the Homestead Collective in north Colorado Springs (off I-25 near North Gate) has shut down three of its restaurant concepts as of yesterday, July 28: Till Kitchen, Campfire Pizza, and Garden of the Gods Market & Cafe. This multi-brand venue aimed to bring something new to the local dining scene but didn’t receive the foot traffic needed to keep it going.

The good news? Dad’s Donuts, Red Leaf Organic Coffee, and the event space are still open — and the farmers market will continue until the end of September. Locals still have a chance to support what's left and help keep this part of the Homestead vision alive.

🛏️ COS Faces a Crisis—What’s Next?

The latest Point-in-Time report reveals that homelessness in El Paso County has reached an all-time high, with nearly 1,750 people counted—up nearly 600 from 2024. While more individuals are finding shelter in emergency and transitional housing, the number of those living unsheltered has doubled.

City leaders are expanding housing options, with hundreds of new units in the pipeline, but budget constraints and strained shelter resources are raising concerns about how to keep up. Officials emphasize the need for a collaborative, community-wide approach to address this growing challenge. Full Story

🎯 The Secret to Financial Confidence You Deserve

🧱 TRIVIA: Which Hand-Built Monument Guards Colorado Springs?

Did you know the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun isn’t just an eye-catching tower on the mountain—it was Spencer Penrose’s bold tribute to aspiration, innovation, and the spirit of the West? Built in 1937—using 20,000 tons of Cheyenne Mountain granite hauled and assembled entirely by hand—the tower was dedicated to Will Rogers, a national icon whose humor bridged divides during the Great Depression.

Which animal figure can be found carved into the ironwork of the shrine’s entrance gates?

The shrine’s lofty location was chosen so it could watch over the city and Penrose’s beloved Broadmoor, while inside, rare murals reveal the struggles and triumphs of Colorado’s earliest people, settlers, and the wild energy of the 20th century. Every visit is a journey through local ambition, loss (Penrose, his wife, and close friends are entombed here), and a sweeping view that has seen nearly a century of change in Colorado Springs—making the shrine not just a monument, but a living memory of courage, dreams, and legacy.

Book a Scenic Ride to the Shrine Tour!

Answer: Eagle *Source

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🎉 Events Calendar! (More events including FREE, click here)

Have an event to share? Reply and let me know (include link)

📆 Sample Local Events

Weather permitting

• July 29-Aug 3, 1-4 PM: 3-Hour Original Colorado Springs Food Tour @1 Tejon St $69-$87

• Aug 1-3: Colorado Springs Conservatory Presents - The Prom @ENT Center for the Arts, 5225 N Nevada $22.75 (Limited seats left)

• Aug 2-3: Renaissance Festival @Perry Park Ave, Larkspur $30-$32 (Last Weekend)

• Aug 2-3, 7pm: Ice Cream Theatre BIG BUBBLE @The MAT, 1626 S Tejon $16.50

• Aug 9, 2:30-8pm: Rocky Mountain Flower Fest @Gather Mountain Blooms, 5210 S Hwy 85 $39-$49

• Aug 9, 6-9pm: Murder Mystery, Dirty Money @Great Wolf Lodge, 9494 Federal Dr $59.46 (18 tickets left)

• 🎭 Aug 16, 7pm: Shermy's Backyard Bash (Benefit Springs Rescue Mission) @Peak Improv Theater, 3440 N Carefree $10 donation

• Aug 16, 5pm: Velvet Hills Chorus Presents: A Million Dreams @ENT Center $20

• Aug 24, 7-9pm: Crystal Gayle @Phil Long Music Hall $45-$87 (age 14+)

👩‍🌾 Farmers Markets - Weather permitting

🍑 Palisade Peaches are now available at various markets!

• July 30, 9am-2pm (Wed’s through Sept 24): Briargate Farmers Market @7610 N Union Blvd

• July 28 & 30, 10am-5pm (Mon & Wed): Summer Farmers Market @ Western Museum of Mining & Industry, 225 N Gate Blvd

• July 30, 3-7pm (Wed’s): Colorado Farm and Art Market (CFAM) @Pioneers Museum, 215 S Tejon

• July 31, 5-8pm (Thurs thru Aug 28), Manitou Made Market @Manitou Art Center

  • —>Nature’s Start Bread Company Special at this market only! Friends & Family - BOGO Free on all breads and pastries (Limit one free per customer)

• July 31, 6-8pm (Thurs thru Aug 28): Summer Market at the Lodge @Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort, 2 El Paso Blvd, COS 80904 (Manitou)

• Aug 2, 7am-1pm (Sat's thru Oct 11): OCC Farmers Market @2407 W Colorado Ave

• Aug 2, 8am-2pm (Sat’s thru-Oct 4): Monument Hill Farmers Market @66 Jefferson St, Monument

• Aug 2, 9am-1pm (Sat’s thru Sept 27): Homestead Yard Farmers Market @The Yard at The Homestead Collective, 9633 Prominent Point COS

• Aug 2, 9am-1pm (Sat’s thru Oct 11): Backyard Market @Black Forest, 6845 Shoup Rd

• Aug 2, 10am-2pm: CFAM (Sat's thru Oct 3): The Margarita at Pine Creek, 7350 Pine Creek Rd

• Aug 3, 9am-2pm (Every other Sun, thru Oct 26): COS Sunday Market @Acacia Park, Downtown

• Aug 3, 10am-2pm (Sun’s thru Aug 31): Cordera Farmers Market @11894 Grandlawn Cir, COS

• Aug 3 (2x/mth, Jun-Oct), 11am-3pm: Southeast Farmer's Market (Food Coalition) @Stompin' Groundz, 2050 Jet Wing Dr

• Aug 8, Noon-4pm (Every other Fri thru Oct 3): UCCS Farmers Market @3942 Regent Circle

🎶 Summer Concert Series - Weather permitting

• July 29, 5:30-7:30pm (Tues’s thru Sept): Music in the Park: @Bancroft Park, 2400 W Colorado Ave FREE

• Aug 1, 7-8:30pm: University Village Colorado Summer Concert Series - Buckstein @5246 N Nevada (North Plaza next to Hacienda) FREE

• Aug 2, 4-7pm: Music on The Mesa - RAFIEL & THE ROOMSHAKERS @Goldhill Mesa, 142 S Raven Mine Dr FREE

• Aug 8, 7-8:30pm: Jazz in the Garden @Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 601-631 N Tejon FREE

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