COS Town Tidings #25-357

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🤣 Today’s Chuckle

📰 Holiday Travel Heads-Up 🚗

📰 190 Bodies...One Horrific Betrayal Update 💔

📰 Half-Price Parking for Holiday Flyers ✈️

💲 Your Money Matters 💸 Erik's no-nonsense financial tips

🎅 Trivia Time: What Happens Inside NORAD When Santa Takes Off?

🛍 New: Bargain Box Weekly Sales, Dec 23, 26-27! 

📆 Local Events + Concerts & 🤶 Holiday Events

🌤 COS Weather - Partly cloudy, dry with again...well above average temps

Make sure you open Thursday’s Christmas issue! 🤗 I’m revisiting a personal childhood Christmas tradition…a story whispering through the crackle of a worn‑in record and a heart full of emotion. Maybe it will bring back a memory of your own.

Why did Santa install a tracker on his sleigh?

👉So he could keep tabs on his “present” location 🤣

🚗 Holiday Travel Heads-Up

Think traffic is bad now? Wait for Dec. 26.

• 🚗 46,000+ vehicles used the Eisenhower Tunnel THAT day last year

• ⛷️ Skiers, shoppers, and holiday travelers all hit the road

• 🕓 Peak period starts around 10am and clogs fast

• 🚧 No construction delays this week, but that won’t save you from the backups

CDOT already suspended projects from Dec. 20 to Jan. 5

Still, heavy mountain corridor traffic, especially I-70, is guaranteed

Here’s how to beat the crowd:

• 🧠 Plan ahead using COtrip.org or the COtrip Planner app

• 🚍 Try Snowstang for ski trips to avoid parking stress

• 💤 Leave early or late—midday is a mess

• 🚦 Respect speed limits and give space

• 📵 Skip the phone, don’t drive distracted

Want a smoother trip?

CDOT rolled out a new I-70 travel hub with live cams, shuttle links, and real-time alerts. It’s built for mountain driving, because that road’s not like your hometown highway.

• Your move: check conditions BEFORE you leave

• Your reward: less stress, safer drive, and no surprises on that winding road

Are you planning to drive I-70 this holiday week, or are you passing the wheel to Snowstang?

More info here: codot.gov/travel/i70mountain 

Ready for holiday freedom starts with smart planning.

🛍 Bargain Box: This Week's Hot Deals! Dec 23, 26-27

A new week means new treasures! We're giving you a first look at the incredible finds and amazing sales hitting the floor for Dec 23, 26-27. Watch now to see what's waiting for you! This week get items from $2, up to 90% OFF!

Location: 405 S Nevada Ave, Open Tues - Sat 10am-2pm. (719) 475-1029

• —> 🤲 They Have 5,000 Reasons to Work for Free

💔 190 Bodies...One Horrific Betrayal Update

⚖️ The judge’s decision to accept the plea deals in the Return to Nature funeral home case is a step toward closure, even if it’s not perfect.

Reading the victims' stories is heartbreaking. One woman said she felt she let down her mom by hiring this funeral home. Another described how Carie Hallford comforted her on the phone, while nearly 200 bodies were rotting in the facility. 💔

As someone who's had to make funeral arrangements for a loved one, I know the level of trust we place in these professionals. That trust was horrifically betrayed here.

🕊️ No sentence can truly make the victims whole, but the Hallfords serving decades in prison at least brings some accountability.

This isn't just about punishment. It’s a reminder that oversight in the funeral industry matters deeply...because it’s about protecting people at their most vulnerable moments.

To the families affected: my heart goes out to you. I hope this decision brings some sort of peace as you continue to heal. 💐 Full Story

💸 Watch Erik's no-nonsense, 60 second financial tip (updated monthly)

✈️ Half-Price Parking for Holiday Flyers

Holiday travelers flying out of Colorado Springs are getting a small but welcome perk: discounted parking. Through Saturday, long-term and overflow parking rates are reduced from $8 to $4 per day, giving travelers a budget-friendly option while flying out for Christmas. The discount started yesterday, applies automatically (no coupon needed), and does not include short-term or valet parking. With higher-than-usual travel expected, airport officials recommend arriving early to allow time for parking and check-in.

🎄 60 Second Holiday Tip from Kristen

🎅 TRIVIA: What Happens Inside NORAD When Santa Takes Off?

Did you know one of Colorado Springs’ most charming Christmas traditions started with a typo and a very serious Cold War phone line? In December 1955, a Sears ad in the Colorado Springs Gazette accidentally printed the top‑secret operations number for the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), NORAD’s predecessor, instead of a “Call Santa” hotline. When the red phone rang, Col. Harry Shoup picked up expecting news of an attack, and instead heard a local child asking where Santa was. Rather than hanging up, he told his staff to check the radar and give kids Santa’s “current location,” launching a tradition that would outlast the Cold War itself.

Roughly how many phone calls did NORAD volunteers answer on Christmas Eve during last year’s NORAD Tracks Santa mission?

Today, from Peterson Space Force Base, NORAD Tracks Santa is celebrating its 70th year of following Saint Nick’s journey around the globe. On December 24, nearly 1,000 volunteers, many of them local, answer a crazy amount of calls to 1‑877‑HI‑NORAD, while millions more track Santa via NORADSanta.org, mobile apps, social media, smart speakers, and even in‑car services.

For those of us in Colorado Springs, that means the same place that quietly guards North American airspace all year also turns into the world’s most magical call center every Christmas Eve.

Answer: Volunteers answered about 380,000 calls on December 24 during last year’s NORAD Tracks Santa operation.

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

Have an event to share? Click on calendar above and add it

📆 Sample Local Events

*Weather permitted

• Dec 23, 26-28, 1-4 PM: 3-Hour Original Colorado Springs Food Tour @1 Tejon St $69-$87

• Dec 26-28: Mary Poppins @ Fine Arts Center, 30 West Dale St $18-$70

• Dec 29, 9am-5pm: Dog Days at the Zoo @ Cheyenne Mtn Zoo

• Dec 31, 11am, 2 & 4pm: Big Bubbles New Years Eve @The MAT, 1626 S Tejon $33 (Limited Seats Available)

• Jan 4, 6pm: Swing 'n Jam Gatsby Gala @ 2103 N Weber $8-$10

• Jan 6, 2-3pm: Listening To The Quiet Voice Within: A Talk On Intuition @ Treehouse Cafe $20

  • —> Taught by Laurel: 👁️‍🗨️ The Strength To Endure Comes From This.

• Jan 9, 6pm: Soap Making Class @ Meraki Springs, 2703 W Colorado Ave $65

🎶 Fall Concerts - Weather permitting

• Dec 30 & 31, 7:30pm: New Year’s Eve: Rhapsody In Blue @ Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, 190 S Cascade $70-$120

• Dec 31, 8:30pm: New Year's Eve Bash featuring Disco Revue @ Phil Long Music Hall, 13071 Bass Pro Dr $62 - $168 (21+ yrs old) (Limited Tickets available)

• Jan 10-11: The Human Equation @ Ent Center for the Arts $18-$41

• Feb 6, 7pm: Three Dog Night @ Pikes Peak Center $63-$260

• Feb 22, 3pm: Pikes Peak Philharmonic: Pops @ENT Center for the Arts, 5225 N Nevada $14-$20

🤶 Holiday Festivals, Fairs & Activities

• ⛸ Through - Jan 18: Skate In The Park @Acacia Park $15

• 🕯 Through Jan 4, Fri & Sat (5:30-10pm) & Sun - Thurs (5:30-9pm): Magic of Lights at Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) $28-$72/vehicle

• 🎄 Through Dec 27: Christmas at Forest Bend @ Black Forest, 9525 Burgess Rd $15 (Tickets Sell Out Fast)

• Dec 23, 25-Jan 1, 5-8:30pm: Electric Safari @ Cheyenne Mtn Zoo $21-$24

• Christmas Lights Guide - COS, Manitou & Woodland Park

• Jan 3-Feb 21: Ice Castles @ Cripple Creek $16-$29 (tickets on sale now)

   

• Dec 23, Noon-8pm: OCC Christkindlmarket @ Bancroft Park, 2408 W Colorado Ave FREE to attend (Last Day)

• Dec 23-24: Christmas Eve @ Mountain Springs Church, 7345 Adventure Way

• Dec 24, 5pm: Candlelight Christmas Eve Service @ The Table at Highland Park, 2550 E San Miguel St COS FREE to attend

• Dec 24, 6pm: Christmas Eve Service & Candle Lighting @ Renovation Church, 13071 Bass Pro Dr FREE to attend

• Dec 24, 7pm: Christmas Eve Candlelight Service @ Community Congregational Church of Manitou Springs, 103 Pawnee Ave, Manitou Springs FREE to attend

• Dec 25, 1pm: Christmas Feast @ Wackadoo Brewing, 5158 Centennial Blvd FREE

• Dec 26-27, 5:30-8pm: 🎄 2.5-Hour Holiday Lights & Bites Progressive Dinner @ Downtown COS $99 (waitlist only)

• Dec 26, 6:30pm: Pajama Paw-ty @ Pub Dog, 2207 Bott Ave

• Dec 27, 6-9pm: Murder Mystery, The Hollywood Hit - Holiday Show @Great Wolf Lodge, 9494 Federal Dr $79.95

• Dec 31, 8:30pm: Broadmoor's New Year's Eve Bash $80 + $25 parking

• Dec 31, 9pm-midnight: New Year’s Eve Party @ Mining Exchange, 8 S Nevada Ave $99 (21+)

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