The Pueblo Chieftain
Pentagon opens doors to other AI
WASHINGTON – Small defense industry artificial intelligence startups are suddenly fielding calls from generals, combatant commanders and deep-pocketed investors, after the souring relationship between the Pentagon and its once-favored AI vendor,...
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‘The 90s are having a major moment’
A pop culture icon from the 1990s who’s as cold as Ice and a homegrown Colorado rock band are among the latest headlining acts announced for the 2026 Colorado State Fair. The “I Love The 90s Tour,” headlined by Grammy-nominated rapper Vanilla Ice,...
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New Medal of Honor Boulevard set to open
Medal of Honor Boulevard is set to open on April 10, connecting Pueblo and Pueblo West. An opening ceremony is set to take place at 11:30 a.m. at Warren Dockum Road near Medal of Honor Boulevard and will include brief remarks from Pueblo Medal of...
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Free ride program for teens proposed
An April 2022 crash near Fourth Street that killed two teenagers was the “tipping point” that led community leaders to brainstorm ways to prevent youth traffic fatalities. During an April 6 Pueblo City Council work session, Pueblo County Commissioner...
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Amplify Pueblo
The third annual Steel City Music Showcase is set to bring over 40 artists to four stages in downtown Pueblo on April 10-11. The performance stages include Neon Alley, La Bella Union Plaza, Gold Dust Saloon, and Presley’s Community Stage. Steel City...
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Pueblo records hottest March in history
On the heels of its third-hottest February and third-hottest winter in history, Pueblo just had its hottest March ever, toppling a record set way back when William Howard Taft was U.S. president. According to the National Weather Service in Pueblo,...
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‘Nervous as to the harm it could cause’
Daneya Esgar, a former state representative from Pueblo, hoped that the U.S. Supreme Court would agree that a 2019 Colorado bill banning conversion therapy for minors was not about restricting free speech. Esgar was a prime sponsor of “Prohibit...
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1 rescued after U.S. jet downed over Iran
One crew member of a U.S. F-15E fighter jet that went down over Iran on April 3 has been rescued, according to a U.S. official. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the jet, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement...
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‘Right to observe deliberation and decision making’
Three candidates who were passed over for a Pueblo County School District 70 board seat under controversial circumstances in February filed a lawsuit against the school district on March 30, asking a Pueblo District Court to force a new vote and...
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Auto thefts in Colorado drop for third year
Colorado has marked its third consecutive year of declining auto thefts with a 34% reduction in 2025 compared to 2024, according to the 2025 Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority (CATPA) Report from the Colorado State Patrol. This decline...
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Recreation center to begin charging fees
Pueblo County is instituting fees at the Pueblo County Recreation Center, 1650 Cooper Place, as well as for some programs at the county’s two community centers. The fees will be implemented on May 1. Using the Pueblo County Recreation Center’s...
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‘Abuse committed upon grieving families’
The daughter of a man whose body was left to decay in Davis Mortuary in Pueblo for more than a decade is the latest person to sue the funeral home and its owners, Brian and Chris Cotter, for alleged breach of contract and negligence. Brian Cotter is...
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‘Hard conversations’
Thousands of Puebloans marched to Sister Cities Plaza on March 28 to protest President Donald Trump’s administration and advocate for democracy and workers’ rights in Pueblo’s third “No Kings” protest of Trump’s second term. The protest was one of...
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Date announced for da Vinci museum opening
A date has been set for the grand opening of the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of North America, 310 Central Main St., in Downtown Pueblo. The museum celebrating the late 15th- and early 16th-century Italian polymath will be the only one of its kind in...
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Trump delays strikes on Iran power plants
The Pentagon is weighing sending an additional 10,000 troops to the Middle East as the war with Iran rages, multiple news outlets reported. It remained unclear when a decision will be made on whether to send the additional combat soldiers, according...
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After being released by Taliban, Dennis Coyle is finally home
A day after his release by the Afghan Taliban following more than a year in captivity, Dennis Coyle is finally back on U.S. soil. The Pueblo-based researcher of Afghan languages, who was detained by the Taliban without charges and held captive for 421...
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Spring is underway
One day after spring officially began on March 20 with the coming of the spring equinox, many Puebloans took to the outdoors on March 21 to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather, which reached a daily high of 92 degrees -- a Pueblo record for the highest...
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‘Are you ready for change?’
The city of Pueblo and the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation (PEDCO) contractually severed ties on Dec. 31, 2025, but tensions between the two organizations have escalated in March 2026. In a lawsuit filed against the city just before 9 a.m. on...
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The Cutting Board opens after three-year journey
After a three-year journey, The Cutting Board recently opened the doors to its brick-and-mortar restaurant at 130 South Union Ave., offering the only entirely plant-based menu between Trinidad and Colorado Springs. Owner Chad Hankins, 40, has worked...
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Troops deployed to Middle East region
Despite President Donald Trump’s promises of the war with Iran ending soon and broad domestic disapproval of further involvement, the United States is sending more troops to the region, a defense official said. The 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit,...
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No charges, no trial
Four hundred and seventeen days — as of March 20, that’s how long a Pueblo man has been held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan after being detained without charges last January. Dennis Coyle, a Pueblo resident, was in Afghanistan conducting...
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Interstate 25 reopens after semitruck rollover
Interstate 25 was closed in both directions in Pueblo for an extended period on March 17 after a semi-tanker transporting diesel fuel was involved in a rollover wreck. According to a Pueblo Police Department news release, the wreck occurred at I-25...
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Here’s who made the primary ballot
The Pueblo County Democratic Party gathered at Centennial High School on March 14, while the Pueblo County Republican Party gathered at East High School. Both parties kicked off their county assemblies Saturday morning and selected local office...
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Primary election dates for Pueblo County
While some states — like Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas — hold their primary elections in March, primaries in Colorado will be held at the end of June. Pueblo will play a pivotal role in the 2026 election season, hosting the...
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Bodies of apparent drowning victim, dog recovered
The body of an apparent drowning victim was recovered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers just before 9:30 p.m. on March 13 after his fishing boat capsized in whitecapped waters near Pedro’s Point at Lake Pueblo State Park. The victim was...
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Commissioners withdraw unpaid leave policy
Pueblo County workers will no longer face unpaid holidays throughout the year after the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) repealed its previous policy and established a new holiday schedule. Commissioner Miles Lucero said the repeal was driven by...
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Crash kills 6 U.S. service members
Six more U.S. service members were killed when their refueling aircraft crashed after a midair collision over western Iraq, officials said March 13, as the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran reached the two-week mark with few signs of slowing down. The...
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Connected to everything
Tom Rizzo, director of Artisans of Florence International, believes there will be something for everyone at the incoming Leonardo da Vinci Museum of North America. The Downtown Pueblo museum, 310 Central Main St., will be the continent’s only...
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District general fund faces total insolvency by 2033
The Pueblo West Metropolitan District is facing the total insolvency of its general fund by 2033. Two major factors are driving that potential “fiscal cliff,” which is projected to occur in 2031, according to a financial stability analysis recently...
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Special education lawsuit ends
The authorizer of Riverstone Academy, a controversial “public Christian school” in southern Colorado, has agreed to pay the parents of a student $20,000 to settle a special education complaint filed by the family last fall. Many details of the...
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CSP DETAILS FATAL I-25 CRASH
The Colorado State Patrol has released its preliminary findings on a deadly Feb. 17 crash on Interstate 25 south of Pueblo, in which five people were killed and several others were injured. Thomas and Mary Sue Thayer of Rye, David and Scott Kirscht of...
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‘A matter of urgency’
A letter raising concerns about the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Susie Carnes to the Pueblo County School District 70 board and requesting immediate changes has been sent to board leadership on behalf of the other three candidates who...
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WAIT, WHAT SEASON IS THIS?
The Pueblo area just recorded its third-hottest February in history, as well as its third-hottest winter ever. According to a winter recap published by the National Weather Service, which has tracked temperature and other weather records since June...
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Trump deportation push faces setbacks
President Donald Trump’s ouster of his top immigration enforcement official adds to the turmoil around the administration’s signature second-term initiative, again putting the spotlight on a deportation push that has faced setbacks amid intense...
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‘The past several weeks have been difficult’
New Pueblo County School District 70 Board Director Susie Carnes called for the board to recommit to “respectful dialogue” and “lawful governance” at her first meeting on March 3. Carnes was appointed by Board President Ann Bennett days after the...
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Driver sentenced for crash that killed 2
Pueblo police are launching an internal investigation after a lack of bodyworn camera footage contributed to a man who killed two women in a DUI crash receiving a community corrections sentence after accepting a plea deal. Carolyn Marie Granger, 55,...
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Is it really Pueblo Chile?
Pueblo has its chile, Olathe has its sweet corn, Palisade has its peaches, Rocky Ford has its melons, and the San Luis Valley has its potatoes. With a rich agricultural output, Colorado House District 62 Rep. Matthew Martinez told the Chieftain that...
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SPORTS, 1B
TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2026 | CHIEFTAIN.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
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Candidates emerge for Colorado HD 62
Evans Gonzalez said his interest in running for the Colorado House of Representatives was kindled after a conversation with Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham about crime in Pueblo. Gonzalez, the owner of Super Market Gonzalez, is running as a Republican in...
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Pueblo PD: Shooting suspect was on parole
A 20-year-old suspect arrested in connection with a Feb. 19 shooting in Pueblo was already on parole for another shooting in 2021 when he was a juvenile, according to Pueblo police. Francisco Vigil was arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree...
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Whistleblower: Patel botched probe
An FBI shooting reconstruction team was delayed in its response to the mass shooting at Brown University in December due to FBI Director Kash Patel’s “poor management” of FBI aircraft, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said on Feb. 24, citing what he regarded as...
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‘A symbol of unity, remembrance, and hope’
A Walsenburg father and son with a gift for raising show cattle, a Pueblo nursing assistant known for her compassion and care, and a pair of loving grandparents from Rye — these were the victims killed in a multi-vehicle pileup south of Pueblo on Feb....
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Another Pueblo D70 board meeting ends abruptly
Two weeks after her controversial early exit from a Feb. 10 meeting, Pueblo County School District 70 President Ann Bennett left another meeting abruptly on Feb. 24. Bennett’s departure from the standing-room-only meeting followed fellow Board...
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Council passes changes to criteria ordinance in 5-2 vote
Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham believes changes to the city’s half-cent sales tax criteria ordinance will be “monumental” for the city’s economic future and sales tax growth. Pueblo City Council approved the criteria ordinance changes in a 5-2 vote on...
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‘Flagrant disregard’
Colorado’s U.S. District Court has sanctioned the city of Pueblo after finding the city intentionally destroyed evidence in a 2022 lawsuit against the city. The lawsuit arose from a June 25, 2022, incident in which a city transit bus crashed into the...
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Pueblo senator sponsors bill to legalize sex work
A Pueblo state senator is one of four legislators sponsoring a bill to “Decriminalize Adult Commercial Sexual Activity” in the Colorado General Assembly. Sen. Nick Hinrichsen of Pueblo is joined by Sen. Lisa Cutter and Reps. Lorena Garcia and Rebekah...
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State faces lawsuit
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters A southern Colorado elementary school that backers have called “Colorado’s first public Christian school” has sued state officials over the state’s...
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U.S. Supreme Court strikes down tariffs
WASHINGTON − The Supreme Court dealt a major blow to President Donald Trump’s economic agenda, ruling that he does not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs at the stroke of a pen. The court on Feb. 20 tossed the tariffs that are the...
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‘What we’re doing matters to people’
The “Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act” may have been vetoed by President Donald Trump, but Colorado U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper continues to advocate for clean drinking water in Lower Arkansas River Valley communities. Hickenlooper visited the...
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Death total for Pueblo I-25 pileup grows to 5
Another person involved in a masscasualty wreck on Interstate 25 south of Pueblo on Feb. 17 died in a local hospital, bringing the death total to five. Four people — David L. Kirscht and his son, Scott L. Kirscht, both of Walsenburg, Mary Sue Thayer...
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4 dead, 29 hospitalized in mass-casualty wreck
Four people were killed, 29 were hospitalized, and Interstate 25 was closed in both directions on Feb. 17 following a mass-casualty wreck involving semitrucks and more than two-dozen passenger vehicles south of Pueblo. “The crash investigation shows...
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Colorado’s Most Endangered Places
Roughly eight years before Fort Pueblo was established in what is today Downtown Pueblo, traders gathered at what is now Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, approximately 70 miles east along the Arkansas River. The original Bent’s Old Fort was...
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Former budget hotel owner sues Pueblo for ‘discriminatory conduct’
The former owner of a Pueblo hotel forced to close in 2024 is seeking over $5 million in damages from the city of Pueblo and Mayor Heather Graham over claims of “discriminatory” enforcement that they say forced the hotel to shut its doors. A lawsuit...
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Students protest ICE
Hundreds of Pueblo high schoolers walked out of school through the late morning and afternoon of Feb. 12 to protest the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Colorado and across the country. Syd Lowe, a sophomore at Central High...
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Groups question Trump’s governor snub
President Donald Trump has been warring with Democratic governors since returning to the White House, whether by targeting their states for strict immigration enforcement and funding cuts or mocking them with insults, such as calling Illinois Gov....
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Meeting ends abruptly
A Pueblo County School District 70 board meeting on Feb. 10 ended abruptly without adjournment after board directors spent over an hour debating who should fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former board director Anne Ochs. Board President...
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New Italian restaurant and speakeasy are now open
A new Italian restaurant and Prohibition-style speakeasy are now open to the Pueblo public after the recent grand openings of A Tavola Italian Cuisine and the Hidden Handle at 1110 U.S. Highway 50 West. A Tavola, an Italian expression which means “to...
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Council voices opposition to some state legislation
A Pueblo City Council majority was in agreement on Feb. 9 that three state bills could jeopardize public safety and local governance if passed by the Colorado Legislature. Council approved resolutions to oppose Colorado House Bill 26-1037, Colorado...
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Fired deputy faces more than a dozen felonies
Between 500,000 and 1 million files of children being sexually abused were allegedly found in the possession of a former Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office deputy, according to a heavily redacted arrest affidavit authored by PCSO detectives. Andrew Ward,...
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‘Her fight will help other children’
After making its way through Congress in an appropriations package, legislation named after a late Pueblo teen was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Feb. 3. The Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act expands access to treatment for children...
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Commissioners approve hiring freeze
Pueblo County Commissioners imposed a formal hiring freeze Feb. 5 as they continue to grapple with a $10.2 million budget deficit. The resolution, approved unanimously by commissioners, cited personnel costs as a “significant portion of the overall...
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Residents worry about ICE at Super Bowl
SAN FRANCISCO – Despite repeated assurances from the NFL, as well as federal and local leaders, that there will be no ICE presence in and around the Super Bowl, Gabby Chavez-Lopez simply isn’t buying it. “Can you really blame us?” said...
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Mayor Graham celebrates wins
Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham looked back fondly on the city’s 2025 achievements while continuing to voice concerns about its 2026 budget shortfall in her second State of the City address on Feb. 3. The annual event differed from previous years as...
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Compassion, community and the Denver Broncos
Every piece of memorabilia has a story at Kevin and Sue Nunn’s Denver Broncos firehouse near their residence on the south side of Pueblo. There are countless orange-andblue jerseys worn in-game by players on one of the NFL’s most successful franchises...
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Data: Pueblo County population growth slow
Months away from its 150th birthday, the state of Colorado has reached over 6 million residents for the first time in its history. Vintage 2025 estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Jan. 27, 2026 showed that the Centennial State grew from a...
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Trump actions worry free-speech advocates
The FBI search of a Washington Post reporter’s home on Jan. 14 was a rare and intimidating move by an administration focused on repressing criticism and dissent. In its story about the search at Hannah Natanson’s home, at which FBI agents said they...
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Pueblo mayor shares revitalization plans
A revitalization project is underway to invite retail, beautify and add housing to one of Pueblo’s oldest neighborhoods. “Building Back Bessemer” is a collaborative effort between the City of Pueblo and the Pueblo Urban Renewal Authority (PURA)....
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Journalists at MN church protest arrested
Former CNN anchor Don Lemon was arrested by federal officials in Los Angeles days after a protest that disrupted a church service in Minnesota, his lawyer said, as mass demonstrations over federal immigration enforcement were planned nationwide and the...
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FBI searches GA election center over 2020 vote
The FBI executed a search warrant on Jan. 28 at the Fulton County Elections Hub & Operations Center near Atlanta as part of a probe related to the 2020 presidential election, according to multiple reports. The search at the elections center marks the...
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Allen Medina is running for sheriff in the primary
Democratic challenger Allen Medina gives Sheriff David Lucero an “F-” as a fellow democrat, Medina told the Chieftain in a recent interview. Medina, currently working in the Pueblo County Parole Office, is challenging Lucero in the Democratic primary...
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Death toll climbs amid frigid cold, power outages
The death toll from the weekend’s winter storm climbed to at least 43 people as extreme cold temperatures persisted across the central and eastern United States on Jan. 27. Tens of millions of Americans were under alerts for severe cold as a blast of...
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‘It was worth it’
Growing up on a Pueblo street named Starlite Drive and attending South High School on Hollywood Drive may have been “messages from the universe” for Elli Legerski. Legerski, a 2008 South graduate, worked as the producer for “Jane Austen’s Period...
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What’s happening at Jan. 26 Pueblo City Council?
Pueblo City Council’s second regular meeting of the year will be held at Pueblo City Hall, 1 City Hall Pl., on Monday, Jan. 26. The meeting will begin 7 p.m. following a 5:30 p.m. work session. During the regular meeting, council members will vote on...
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