ICYMI | Colorado Springs area bucks statewide public school trend, posts overall enrollment gains

PLUS | Eastbound ramp connecting Highway 85 to Highway 16 in Fountain is blocked; Colorado legislators seek to make youth mental health program permanent and more. [View in browser]( [Share with a friend]( Springs PM Update Good evening! Today is Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Catch up on everything going on in Colorado in 5 minutes. [Colorado Springs area bucks statewide public school trend, posts overall enrollment gains]( With 881,464 students, enrollment in Colorado public schools has declined to the lowest level in a decade, according to statistics the Colorado Department of Education released Wednesday. But the Pikes Peak region overall is bucking the trend with 1,173 more preschool through high school students enrolled this year than last year for the area’s 17 traditional districts, a Gazette analysis of the data shows. [Read More]( [Comedian Amy Miller to headline Colorado Springs comedy club]( California-based comedian Amy Miller will headline Loonee’s Comedy Corner this weekend. Miller has been named an “Up Next” comic by Comedy Central and is running a 30-minute special called “Ham Mouth” on the CC YouTube channel. The show at Loonee’s also will feature Colorado comedian Edward Bell and will be hosted by Russell Keller. [Read More]( [Almost 90 theater kids to perform in 'Little Mermaid' by Colorado Springs theater company]( Performing can stretch you in all sorts of ways. Learning new choreography, finding your character’s motivation, memorizing lines. And also? Learning a Jamaican accent and how to sing a tenor role when you’re a second soprano. Lucy Baker checked both those items off her to-do list to successfully channel her character, Sebastian, the little Caribbean crab, in “The Little Mermaid.” [Read More]( [Eastbound ramp connecting Highway 85 to Highway 16 in Fountain is blocked]( A semi is blocking the eastbound on-ramp to Highway 16 from Highway 85 according to the city of Fountain. The city's social media warned that, beginning around 2 p.m. today that the connecting ramp onto the eastbound lanes of Highway 16 would remain closed and that it would take several hours to clear the roadway. [Read More]( [Get your western pride on with these unique Colorado license plates]( Nothing says "Colorado heritage" like slapping a "WLDWEST" vanity plate on your American-made pickup truck. That could be the reality for one proud Coloradan as the state plans to auction off the rights to 10 western themed vanity license plates at the National Western Stock Show this weekend. [Read More]( [Limited access remains at Colorado Springs velodrome as management vision emerges]( Colorado Springs cyclists remain frustrated over the loss of time long granted to them at the Memorial Park velodrome. The level of access once enjoyed by Olympic dreamers and everyday track racers and youth does not seem to be returning anytime soon. [Read More]( [Colorado legislators seek to make youth mental health program permanent]( Democratic legislators seek to save a mental health program for young people, arguing the results show the spending is worth it. Without legislative approval, I Matter, which is temporary, will expire on June 30. [Read More]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [YouTube]( Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here.]( Engage in the conversation in [today's eEdition]( Interested in podcasts? Check out ours [here]( Already subscribed? [Log in.]( Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe [here.]( 30 East Pikes Peak Avenue, Suite 100 Colorado Springs, CO 80903