Loving the Springs

Venetucci Farm is a community treasure celebrating its 90th anniversary. Get the scoop on annual pumpkin giveaways, a flower farm, and much more making community happen in the aftermath of the PFAS water contamination disaster. Sam Clark, Executive Director of the Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation, and Nikki McComsey, owner of Gather Mountain Blooms share the history and legacy, current happenings, and an upgrade in the works for 2027.Also: Pikes Peak Bulletin Managing Editor Heila Ershadi updates us on PFAS groundwater contamination in the area (see link to her story below).LINKS:Venetucci FarmGather Mountain BloomsRocky Mountain Flower FestContaminants on the Way Out of Rural Residents' Tap Water, Says Water Provider and State Health Department (Pikes Peak Bulletin story)MENTIONED:United States Air ForcePFAS contaminationWidefield AquiferNick VenetucciBambi VenetucciPikes Peak Community FoundationGordon PriceGrass It UpMike and Amanda BristolVenetucci Pumpkin AleBristol Brewing “Give Back Mix Pack”SmokebrushFriends of Cheyenne CanyonSchool District 11Colorado Parks and WildlifeColorado Youth OutdoorsEl Pomar FoundationEl Paso CountyLiz RosenbaumWigwam Mutual Water CompanyColorado Department of Public Health & EnvironmentLoving the Springs celebrates the best of Colorado Springs and elevates the rest.Plug into what’s happening in the Pikes Peak region, learn about awesome people, places and happenings, and explore opportunities to make life here even better. Longtime Springs booster Carrie Simison co-hosts with local gadflies Al Brody and Dave Gardner. All three love our two springs – Colorado and Manitou, so they give them the mic in this twice-monthly podcast. Nothing’s off the table – recreation, the arts, government, business, politics – if it touches your life, they’ll talk about it. We’ll invite the movers and shakers, conspiracy theorists, NIMBYs, YIMBYs, yaysayers and naysayers to join them.Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and give us feedback and suggestions via comments at studio809podcasts.com/loving-the-springs or lovingthespringspodcast at gmail.com

How or if this community institution might change largely depends on what makes Joe and Sarah tick. REALLY get to know them in this no-holds-barred conversation. Poor Richard’s changed hands in April, 2026 after 50+ years in the hands of Richard Skorman and Patricia Seator. Sarah Gibeau Cole says they don’t feel like Poor Richard’s belongs to them; they feel like they are stewards.Do NOT miss the very end of this episode, when Joe and Sarah share a scary and very surprising story.Also, Colorado Springs’ SafeStreetsCOS program and Action Plan, and an announcement about our upcoming Bike to Work Day breakfast station and live stream.LINKS:Poor Richard’s 50th Anniversary - episode 21 of Loving the Springs: https://studio809podcasts.com/poor-richards-50th/Safe Streets COS: https://coloradosprings.gov/SafeStreetsCOSThe Colorado Springs Safety Action Plan: https://coloradosprings.gov/document/colorado-springs-safety-action-planfinal05.07.26.pdfBike to Work Day June 24, 2026: https://coloradosprings.gov/biketoworkLoving the Springs/Studio 809 Podcasts/The Next Us Bike to Work Day live stream: https://www.youtube.com/live/muAKUy1w4qw?si=K_Qn8GmsJyB5bRETMENTIONED:Fox 21KKTVTorie GiffinColorado Springs Youth SymphonyPedal the Springs podcastMountain bikingTSAThe empty Indy stands around townSoCo InsiderDirk HobbsLoving the Springs celebrates the best of Colorado Springs and elevates the rest.Plug into what’s happening in the Pikes Peak region, learn about awesome people, places and happenings, and explore opportunities to make life here even better. Longtime Springs booster Carrie Simison co-hosts with local gadflies Al Brody and Dave Gardner. All three love our two springs – Colorado and Manitou, so they give them the mic in this twice-monthly podcast. Nothing’s off the table – recreation, the arts, government, business, politics – if it touches your life, they’ll talk about it. We’ll invite the movers and shakers, conspiracy theorists, NIMBYs, YIMBYs, yaysayers and naysayers to join them.Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and give us feedback and suggestions via comments at https://studio809podcasts.com/loving-the-springs or lovingthespringspodcast at gmail.com

Joe Reagan shares his reasons for running, and how and why he thinks he can unseat GOP incumbent Jeff Crank to represent Colorado’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Get to know Joe as we explore his military service, history working in the nonprofit sector, and his time in Colorado Springs.We also get a few updates from Pikes Peak Bulletin Managing Editor Heila Ershadi:43:38 - Appointment of Wayne Williams to serve as Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s chief of staff50:47 - Development plans for the Union Printers Home, including Urban Renewal funding and adjoining neighborhoods’ effort to get a community benefits agreement. LEARN MORE:Joe Reagan’s Campaign Website: https://www.reaganforcolorado.com/Bulletin Sits Down with Mobolade, Williams to Discuss Coalition Building and Faith: https://pikespeakbulletin.org/news/bulletin-sits-down-with-mobolade-williams-to-discuss-coalition-building-and-faith/Union Printers Home May Become Hotel Using Urban Renewal Funds. Neighborhood Group Says that Should Come with a Benefits Agreement: https://pikespeakbulletin.org/news/union-printers-home-may-become-hotel-using-urban-renewal-funds-neighborhood-group-says-that-should-come-with-a-benefits-agreement/Loving the Springs celebrates the best of Colorado Springs and elevates the rest.Plug into what’s happening in the Pikes Peak region, learn about awesome people, places and happenings, and explore opportunities to make life here even better. Longtime Springs booster Carrie Simison co-hosts with local gadflies Al Brody and Dave Gardner. All three love our two springs – Colorado and Manitou, so they give them the mic in this twice-monthly podcast. Nothing’s off the table – recreation, the arts, government, business, politics – if it touches your life, they’ll talk about it. We’ll invite the movers and shakers, conspiracy theorists, NIMBYs, YIMBYs, yaysayers and naysayers to join them.Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and give us feedback and suggestions via comments at https://studio809podcasts.com/loving-the-springs or lovingthespringspodcast at gmail.com

We learn about a unique up-and-coming nonprofit working to “navigate communities towards wellness,” plus Dave fact-checks Al on driving the speed limit (and loses). We’re joined in this spirited episode by Jennaya Colóns, executive director of Highroots Wellness & Consulting. She’s also a Physical Therapist Assistant, Certified Brain Injury Specialist, and outreach liaison at CommonSpirit. Community health is her passion, and when she saw gaps that needed to be satisfied in the city she loves, she founded Highroots Wellness & Consulting.We were struck by Jennaya’s statement, “Everybody does matter, every single last one of us.” Jennaya served as co-chair of Common Spirit's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council. She is currently Chair of the Patient Navigation Taskforce for the Colorado Cancer Coalition, Chair of the Healthy Community Collaborative's Barriers to Accessing Healthcare Workgroup, sits on the advisory board for the Pikes Peak Business and Education Alliance (PPBEA), and is a recent Mayor's Civic Leader Fellowship graduate.Later in the episode we learn about the “5-Car Rule” on two-lane highways, and about “normalized deviance,” as Dave continues his crusade to “re-normalize” driving the speed limit – for safety and reduced CO2 emissions.MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:Peak EducationStompin’ GroundzWidefield Recreation CenterPanorama ParkRISE SoutheastYolanda AvilaAlan BeauchampMayor’s Fellowship ProgramAmy’s DonutsClosure of librariesDenver Broncos LINKS: Highroots Wellness & Consultinghttps://www.highrootswellness.org/ Colorado Revised Statutes Title 42. Vehicles and Traffic § 42-4-1103. Minimum speed regulationhttps://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-42-vehicles-and-traffic/co-rev-st-sect-42-4-1103/ Road Rules: The five-car rulehttp://pointroberts.staging.communityq.com/stories/road-rules-the-five-car-rule,22803Loving the Springs celebrates the best of Colorado Springs and elevates the rest.Plug into what’s happening in the Pikes Peak region, learn about awesome people, places and happenings, and explore opportunities to make life here even better. Local gadflies Al Brody and Dave Gardner love our two springs – Colorado and Manitou, so they give them the mic in this twice-monthly podcast. Nothing’s off the table – recreation, the arts, government, business, politics – if it touches your life, they'll talk about it. We’ll invite the movers and shakers, conspiracy theorists, NIMBYs, YIMBYs, yaysayers and naysayers to join them.Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and give us feedback and suggestions via comments at https://studio809podcasts.com/loving-the-springs or lovingthespringspodcast at gmail.com