COS Town Tidings #25-225

Gmail will truncate 📖 READ ONLINE

🤣 Today’s Chuckle

🌟Local Feature: 🔒 Her Path From Prison Visits To CEO 🦋

📰 Drivers Are Getting Caught Here🛑

📰 Safety Alert: What's Making Local Dogs Sick?🐶

📰 The Lawsuit That Changed USAFA⚖️

🤔 GPT-5 Launch Thoughts + What’s Coming for Plus Users

📅 SAVE THE DATE! 

📆 Local Events + Free Concerts & Farmers Markets

🌤 COS Weather - Mostly sunny and hot

I had a mudpack facial done and for three days my face looked much better...

👉then the mud fell off! 🤣

🥰 Why We Spotlight Local Businesses

Every Wednesday, we shine a light on the local entrepreneurs who make Colorado Springs vibrant and unique. When you support these featured businesses, you're investing in our neighbors' dreams and helping build a stronger community by creating jobs and keeping our city thriving. 🤗

🔒 Her Path From Prison Visits To CEO 🦋

💖 A story of survival, grit, and creating the opportunity she never had

Rock bottom looked like this for Desarae Marhofer: a 2x college dropout and domestic abuse survivor, spending weekends visiting her abuser in prison. Everything changed during one such visit when his mother confronted her with a blunt, life-altering challenge: stop wasting a future trapped in a dead-end cycle and reclaim it! Her unexpected suggestion for how to do it? Esthetics.

That wake-up call sparked a transformation. Desarae poured herself into becoming a successful esthetician, and after building her own career for over fifteen years, she founded Beautiful You Skincare Academy, determined to offer others the supportive path she never had.

Now, at her 3rd location and state-accredited campus, recently opened in Colorado Springs, Desarae provides the education she wished she'd received. Unlike traditional schools, Beautiful You keeps classes small (10-12 students), giving you personalized attention. You gain immediate confidence by working with real clients just six weeks into your training, building the skills and self-worth needed to thrive.

If her story resonates, your own reinvention begins with a personalized campus tour. You’ll experience the supportive, nurturing environment, meet instructors, and receive a complimentary student facial. Scholarships may be available for qualified applicants, making a new future more accessible.

Want to experience luxury-quality skincare without the premium price tag? The student clinic delivers professional treatments at a fraction of typical costs. You'll leave with rejuvenated skin, knowing every service you received also helped a future professional build their confidence and career. Occasionally they will also have opportunities for you to volunteer as a model.

Beautiful You Skincare Academy welcomes you to their Colorado Springs location at Palmer Park and Union (1445 N Union Blvd, Ste 100.)

Contact: (719) 698-5154 or visit BeautifulYouSkincareAcademy.com and on Facebook

Student Clinic: Wed-Fri, 9:30am-4pm (by appointment)

🍞 Fresh Baked Sourdough breads, pastries 
📍3312 Austin Bluffs (Inside The Cupcake Doctor): 
M-Sat, 9am-6pm & Sun, 10am-2pm

🛑 Drivers Are Getting Caught Here

Speeding in Colorado Springs school zones has jumped dramatically, with citations rising from 733 in 2022–23 to nearly 2,300 last school year. Over 600 of those drivers were going 20 mph or more over the limit. Police attribute the increase to both stepped-up enforcement and possibly more dangerous driving behaviors. The city has identified 12 more schools for future school zone installations in an effort to keep kids safe.

Don’t be one of these statistics, make sure you watch for school zones and adhere to the slower speed limits. Full Story

🌡️ Why Your Neighbors Are Raving About This Local Company
How to 🧊 Hack Your Home to Stay Cool

🐶 Safety Alert: What's Making Local Dogs Sick?

This summer’s warm days and cool nights are fueling wild mushroom growth in Colorado Springs—and more dogs are ending up at the vet because of it. Mushrooms can appear almost overnight, and some varieties are toxic enough to cause trembling, vomiting, drooling, or even unconsciousness.

If your dog consumes and sometimes just sniffing is enough…quick action matters: bring your dog to a vet immediately if you suspect they’ve eaten one, and take a sample of the mushroom along. You can also call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control or the Pet Poison Helpline for guidance. Regularly checking your yard and supervising your dog outdoors can help prevent a dangerous encounter. Full Story

🎯 The Secret to Financial Confidence You Deserve

⚖️ The Lawsuit That Changed USAFA

The US Air Force Academy has settled a years-long lawsuit over its use of race in admissions, agreeing to base all future selections solely on merit. The change aligns with recent Supreme Court rulings and similar moves by other military academies. While race had not been given a formal scoring weight in past evaluations, it was part of broader considerations; now, the academy is deciding whether to collect that data at all. This marks a shift toward strictly merit-based criteria in choosing future cadets. Full Story

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🤔 GPT-5 Launch Thoughts + What’s Coming for Plus Users

🧠 GPT-5 just launched on free ChatGPT accounts, and while it's been hyped as “more accurate,” my experience says otherwise. I gave it a web page to reference and it immediately hallucinated facts. I had to correct it—and it apologized—but this was right out of the gate. Not a great start.

💸 Now OpenAI is considering giving ChatGPT Plus users a FEW GPT-5 Pro queries per month. GPT-5 Pro is currently locked behind a $200/month paywall and is described as “research grade.” The idea is to offer deeper accuracy and faster, thoughtful responses—but only in small doses unless you pay up…

Read the full post over in our FREE AI For Everyone Community.

🤗 FREE Event

AI complicated or overwhelming?🤔

Not anymore! 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 a date below - can't wait to see you there!!

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

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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

• Aug 13-17, 1-4 PM: 3-Hour Original Colorado Springs Food Tour @1 Tejon St $69-$87

• Aug 13, 5:30-7pm: Sustainability Series: Natural Dyes & Paper Making @Flying Pig Farm in Manitou $30

• Aug 15-16 & 22-23, 7:30pm: Circus of the Night @The MAT, 1626 S Tejon $28

• Aug 16, 9-11am: Sustainability Series: Natural Dyes & Paper Making @Bear Creek Nature Center $30

• Aug 16, 11am-2pm: Sunflower Scribbles with Renee Darling Art @JAKs Brewery, 555 Amelia St $60

  • —> 🎨 Art That Sparks Joy: The Colorful World of Renee Darling

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

• Aug 16, 6-9pm: Murder Mystery, Dirty Money @Great Wolf Lodge, 9494 Federal Dr $63.71 (11 tickets left)

• Aug 22-Sept 1: Colorado State Fair @ 1001 Beulah Ave, Pueblo $9-$75

• Aug 23, 7pm: Chicago @Ford Amphitheater, 95 Spectrum Loop $47-$658

• Aug 30-Sept 1: Labor Day Liftoff @ Memorial Park FREE to attend, Tickets needed for special events

👩‍🌾 Farmers Markets - Weather permitting

🍑 Palisade Peaches & 🍉Rocky Ford melons now available!

• Aug 13, 9am-2pm (Wed’s thru Sept 24): Briargate Farmers Market @7610 N Union Blvd

• Aug 13 & 18, 10am-5pm: Summer Farmers Market @ Western Museum of Mining & Industry, 225 N Gate Blvd

• Aug 13, 3-7pm (Wed’s): Colorado Farm and Art Market (CFAM) @Pioneers Museum, 215 S Tejon

• Aug 14, 5-8pm (Thurs thru Aug 28), Manitou Made Market @Manitou Art Center

• Aug 14, 6-8pm (Thurs thru Aug 28): Summer Market at the Lodge @Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort, 2 El Paso Blvd, COS 80904 (Manitou)

• Aug 16, 7am-1pm (Sat's thru Oct 11): OCC Farmers Market @2407 W Colorado Ave

• Aug 16, 8am-2pm (Sat’s thru-Oct 4): Monument Hill Farmers Market @66 Jefferson St, Monument

• Aug 16, 9am-1pm (Sat’s thru Sept 27): Homestead Yard Farmers Market @The Yard at The Homestead Collective, 9633 Prominent Point COS

• Aug 16, 9am-1pm (Sat’s thru Oct 11): Backyard Market @Black Forest, 6845 Shoup Rd

• Aug 16, 10am-2pm: CFAM (Sat's thru Oct 3): The Margarita at Pine Creek, 7350 Pine Creek Rd

• Aug 17, 9am-2pm (Every other Sun, thru Oct 26): COS Sunday Market @Acacia Park, Downtown

• Aug 17, 10am-2pm (Sun’s thru Aug 31): Cordera Farmers Market @11894 Grandlawn Cir, COS

• Aug 17 (2x/mth, Jun-Oct), 11am-3pm: Southeast Farmer's Market (Food Coalition) @Stompin' Groundz, 2050 Jet Wing Dr

• Aug 22, Noon-4pm (Every other Fri thru Oct 3): UCCS Farmers Market @3942 Regent Circle

🎶 Summer Concert Series - Weather permitting

• Aug 13, 6pm: Summer Concerts in the Glen - Aries Brass Quintet @Broadmoor Community Church, 315 Lake Ave FREE

• Aug 15, 7-8:30pm: University Village Colorado Summer Concert Series - Inman Brothers Band @5246 N Nevada (North Plaza next to Hacienda) FREE

• Aug 16, 4-8pm: Music on The Mesa - USAFA BAND “PEGASUS” • STEELHENGE @Goldhill Mesa, 142 S Raven Mine Dr FREE

• Aug 19, 5:30-7:30pm (Tues’s thru Sept): Music in the Park: @Bancroft Park, 2400 W Colorado Ave FREE

• Aug 22, 7-8:30pm: Jazz in the Garden @Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 601-631 N Tejon FREE

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