COS Town Tidings #26-188

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🤣 Today's Chuckle

📰 It's Running Dangerously Low 🩸

📰 Ft Carson Launches Space Branch 🚀

📰 PPLD: Free Fun for All Ages! 📚

🐴 Trivia Time: The Woman Who Built A Springs Legacy

🛍 New: Bargain Box Weekly Sales! (NEW DEALS: as low as 50¢!)

🍞 New Bakery is Open!

📅 Local Events + Concerts, Farmers Markets & Special Events

🌤 COS Weather - Hot with slight chance of isolated PM T-Storms

🙋‍♀️ Want to be Featured?

Colorado Springs-based Vitalant is sounding the alarm: local blood supplies, especially type O, have dropped to a 2-year low and the shortage is "critical." The decline started in May and has accelerated as summer travel and school breaks pull regular donors away.

Type O blood is the most commonly transfused type. O-negative can go to any patient in an emergency; O-positive helps anyone with a positive blood type. That makes it the workhorse of hospital blood banks, and right now supplies are dangerously thin.

Only 3% of the population donates blood, but demand never stops. Vitalant notes that people don't donate simply because they've never been asked. Colorado has thousands of open appointments that need to be filled through the end of July.

Scheduling takes about an hour and could save a life. Book at vitalant.org or call 877-258-4825. Full Story

The U.S. Army has officially established its Space Operations Branch - a new, dedicated military specialty for soldiers who work with satellites, space-based navigation, and intelligence from orbit. The move elevates space professionals from a functional area into a fully recognized basic branch of the Army for the first time.

For Colorado Springs, this is close to home. Fort Carson's 1st Space Brigade is the Army's primary space unit, making our city the national hub for exactly this kind of work.

The new branch also formalizes the MOS 40D job code, Tactical Space Operations Specialist, created in 2025 for enlisted soldiers. Lt. Gen. John Rafferty called it "an important step in the Army's continuous transformation," noting that space capabilities increasingly support every ground operation.

Think of it this way: the next time a soldier in the field gets GPS or satellite imagery, there's likely a Space Ops soldier from Fort Carson involved.

Kristen and I are here with some of the most exciting news we've shared all year. A life-changing new partnership is launching on July 13th, and it's all thanks to one incredible donor.

We aren't spoiling the surprise, you need to hear the joy in Kristen's voice yourself! Click below to watch our quick 60-second video 👇👇👇

There's still time to join the Pikes Peak Library District's Summer Adventure 2026 - and you don't have to be a kid! The program is open to all ages and runs through July 31. Whether you want to sign your kids or grandkids up, join yourself, or make it a family challenge, it's free and easy to participate.

The challenge: complete 30 days of activities (Reading, Exploring, or Creating), log them on Beanstack, and you're entered for prizes. Grand prizes include a Broadmoor Cloud Camp stay, a Pikes Peak Region Attractions VIP Pass, SCHEELS gift cards, Sertich Ice Arena passes, and more.

A new week means new treasures! We're giving you a first look at the incredible finds and amazing sales hitting the floor for July 7-12 (New Deals). Watch now to see what's waiting for you!

👉 Remember, you can donate items here too!

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

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

Did you know the person behind the name “Banning Lewis Ranch” was a woman who didn’t fit the ranch-life stereotype at all? Not many people know that one of Colorado Springs' most recognized neighborhoods today, takes its name from this remarkable woman who shaped early Colorado Springs history.

Ruth Banning Lewis was born in 1892, a Colorado Springs native who turned a family cattle operation into something much bigger. She grew up on the original ranch south of the city, later took over the family business, and went on to become one of the most powerful ranchers in the state.

Ruth was not just a ranch operator. She managed the Consumers Ice Delivery Company, ran cattle operations, and helped build what is now one of the largest land divisions in Colorado Springs.

What type of horse did the Banning Ranch raise to help deliver ice and coal around Colorado Springs?

She also broke through barriers in a male-dominated industry. She became the first woman elected to the board of the National American Hereford Association, a role that signaled how seriously the national cattle industry took her skill and leadership.

That kind of work was unusual for a woman in her time, especially in the working side of ranching. She was not just a name on the land; she was inside the business, negotiating, managing, and running the operation while Colorado Springs was still a small frontier city. The ranch name “Banning Lewis” is a direct nod to her family’s legacy and her key role in the region’s growth.

The Banning Lewis Ranch is a reminder that the city’s expansion is built on more than developers and subdivisions, it is built on people like Ruth Banning Lewis, whose work helped shape our area before it became a modern suburb.

Answer: Percheron draft horses - a heavy French breed known for pulling power, endurance, and calm temperament, perfect for city delivery work. *Source

Come on into our new home:

📍 4935 Centennial Blvd, Suite A, Colorado Springs, CO 80919
⏰ Hours: 7:00am - 7:00pm, open seven days a week!

Stop by for fresh bread, cinnamon rolls, and coffee, and sample what’s in store for our future. Come meet us, taste the goodness with free samples, and see what’s taking shape! 🥖☕✨

We’re just getting started, and we’d love to see you! 😄

🍞 Fresh Baked Sourdough breads, pastries

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