Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the second-most populous city and the most extensive city in the state of Colorado. Colorado Springs is near the base of Pikes Peak, which rises 14,115 feet (4,302.31 m) above sea level on the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples were the first recorded inhabiting the area which would become Colorado Springs. The city's military presence began during World War II, beginning with Camp Carson (now the 135,000-acre Fort Carson base) that was established in 1941. In 1977 most of the former Ent AFB became a US Olympic training center. The Libertarian Party was founded within the city in 1970. On October 1, 1981, the Broadmoor Addition, Ivyway, and Stratton Meadows were annexed by the city. Further annexations include the Nielson Addition and Vineyard Park Annexation in September 2008. The total area of the city is one hour and five minutes south of Denver by car using any car-driven route. It has the greatest total area in the U.S. of any city, with the total area using I-25 using car-based methods the greatest area using any other route the United States has ever used. It was the capital of the Colorado Territory from November 5, 1861, until August 14, 1862, when the capital was moved to Golden.

History

Colorado Springs is the primary city name, but also Chey Mtn AFB, Cheyenne Mountain AFB, Colo Spgs, Colorado Spgs, Peterson AFB are acceptable city names or spellings, Cheyenne Mt Complex, Cheyenne Mtn AFB, Cmafb, Co Spgs, Peterson Air Force Base on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The Ute, Arapaho and Cheyenne peoples were the first recorded inhabiting the area which would become Colorado Springs. Colorado City at the Front Range confluence of Fountain and Camp creeks was "formally organized on August 13, 1859" during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. In 1871 the Colorado Springs Company laid out the towns of La Font (later called Manitou Springs) and Fountain Colony, upstream and downstream respectively, of Colorado City. Within a year, Fountain Colony was renamed Colorado Springs and officially incorporated. The city's military presence began during World War II, beginning with Camp Carson (now the 135,000-acre Fort Carson base) that was established in 1941. In November 1950, Ent Air Force Base was selected as the Cold War headquarters for Air Defense Command (ADC) The former WWII Army Air Base, Peterson Field, which had been inactivated at the end of the war, was re-opened in 1951 as a U.S. Air Force base. In 1977 most of the former Ent AFB became a US Olympic training center. The Libertarian Party was founded within the city in the 1970s. Between 1965 and 1968, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Pike Peak State College and Colorado Technical University were established in or near the city. In 1981, the Broadmoor Addition and Ivywild, Skyway, and Stratton Meadows were annexed after the Colorado Supreme Court "overturned a district court decision that voided the annexation". Further annexations expanding the city include the Nielson Additions and Vineyard Commerce Park Annexation in September 2008.

Geography

The city lies in a semi-arid Steppe climate region with the Southern Rocky Mountains to the west, the Palmer Divide to the north, high plains further east, and high desert lands to the south when leaving Fountain and approaching Pueblo. Colorado Springs is 69 miles (111 km) or one hour and five minutes south of Denver by car using I-25. The city has abundant sunshine year-round, averaging 243 sunny days per year, and receives approximately 16.5 inches (419 mm) of annual precipitation. December is typically the coldest month, averaging 30.8 °F (0.7 °C), but in recent years, December has had both lower daily maxima and minima. Due to unusually low precipitation for several years after flooding in 1999, Colorado Springs enacted lawn water restrictions in 2002. These were lifted in 2005 but permanently reinstated in December 2019.Colorado Springs is one of the most active lightning strike areas in the United States. This natural phenomenon led Nikola Tesla to select Colorado Springs as the preferred location to build his lab and study electricity. The first autumn freeze and the last freeze in the spring, on average, occur on October 2 and May 6, respectively. Summers are warm, with July, the warmest month, averaging 70.9 °F. (21.6 °C) and 18 days of 90 °f (32 °C)+ highs annually. Extreme temperatures range from 101 °F [38 °C] on June 26, 2012 and most recently on June 21, 2016, down to 27°F (33°C) on February 1, 1951.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States Census, the population of the City of Colorado Springs was 478,961 (40th most populous U.S. city), and the Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area was 755,105. As of the April 2010 census, 78.8% of the city's population was White (non-Hispanic Whites were 70.7%), 16.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race (compared with 7.4% in 1970), 6.3% Black or African American, 3.0% Asian, 1.0%. The median age in the city was 35 years. Mexican Americans made up 14.6% of Colorado Spring's population, compared with 9. 1% in 1990. The city is located in the Front Range Urban Corridor, which has a population of 5,055,344. Colorado Springs is home to the National Museum of Natural History, which was founded in 1872. The museum is located on the banks of the Colorado River, which runs through the city. The Colorado River is a tributary of the Rocky Mountains, which run through Colorado Springs. The Rocky Mountains are one of the most scenic places in the United States, and are home to some of the world's most beautiful scenery. The town is also home to a large number of Native Americans, who are descended from indigenous peoples of the Americas. The population of indigenous Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders is less than 0.3%. The city also has a large Native American population, which is about 0.5% of its population.

Economy

Colorado Springs's economy is driven primarily by the military, the high-tech industry, and tourism, in that order. The military and defense contractors supply more than 40% of the Pikes Peak region's economy. Colorado Springs is home to the Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, U.S. Space Command, and Space Operations Command. The state's unemployment rate in June 2022 was 3.4% compared to 3.6% for the nation. The city is experiencing growth in the service sectors. In June 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate was 3,3%. In June 2021, it will be 3,4% and in June 2023, it'll be 3.7%. The city has a population of 2,715,000, with more than half of that population living in the state of El Paso, Paso Robles, or El Paso County. It is the home of the United States Air Force Academy, which was established after World War II, on land donated by the City of Colorado Springs. The Air Force announced a new permanent home for Space Command in January 2021, moving it from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama in 2026. Some defense corporations have left or downsized city campuses, but slight growth has been recorded. Significant defense corporations in the city include Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies, SAIC, ITT, Lockheed Martin, and Bluestaq.

Culture and contemporary life

Tourism is the third largest employer in the Pikes Peak region, accounting for more than 16,000 jobs. In 2018, 23 million day and overnight visitors came to the area, contributing $2.4 billion in revenue. Colorado Springs is home to the annual Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off, a hot air balloon festival that takes place over Labor Day weekend at the city's Memorial Park. Breweries and microbreweries have become popular in Colorado Springs, which hosts over 30 of them. At one time Colorado Springs was the national headquarters for 81 different religious organizations, earning the city the tongue-in-cheek nicknames "The Evangelical Vatican" and "The Christian Mecca" Colorado Springs has been the subject of or setting for many books, films and television shows, and is a frequent backdrop for political thrillers and military-themed stories because of its many military installations and vital importance to the United States' continental defense. Notable television series using the city as a setting include Dr, Medicine Woman and the Stargate series Stargate SG-1, as well as the films War Games, The Prestige and The BlacKkKlansman. In a North Korean propaganda video released in April 2013, Colorado Springs failed to pinpoint four targets for a missile strike. The video showed a spot on the map showing somewhere in Louisiana, instead showing Colorado Springs on a map showing a location for a strike somewhere in the Louisiana Deepwater Horizon region. In 2017, Colorado had the third-most craft breweries at 348.

Sports

Colorado Springs and Denver hosted the 1962 World Ice Hockey Championships. The city has a long association with the sport of figure skating, having hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships six times. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is an annual invitational automobile and motorcycle hill climb. The Colorado Springs Snow Sox professional baseball team is based in Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs was the original headquarters of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) from its founding in 1992 until 2005, when the organization was moved to Pueblo. Notable among them are several nationally competitive NCAA Division I teams: United States Air Force Academy (Falcons) Football, Basketball and Hockey and Colorado College (Tigers) Hockey, and Women's Soccer. It is home to the National Strength and Conditioning Association, Sports Incubator, a various non-Olympic Sports (such as USA Ultimate), and more. The local colleges feature many sports teams, including the Colorado Springs College Tigers hockey team and Colorado Springs High School Tigers soccer team. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Colorado State University System (CSU) The Colorado Rockies baseball team plays in the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major or Minor League Baseball. It was the home of the PBR from 1992 to 2005, until the organization moved from Colorado Springs to Colorado Springs in 2005. It also hosted the World Figure Sk skating Championships five times in the 1990s.

Parks, trails and open space

The city's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services manage 136 neighborhood parks, eight community parks, seven regional parks, and five sports complexes. They also manage 500 acres (200 ha) of trails, of which 160 miles (260 km) are park trails and 105 miles (169km) are urban. There are 5,000 acres of open space in 48 open-space areas. Colorado Springs has several major city parks, such as Palmer Park, America the Beautiful Park in downtown Colorado Springs, Memorial Park, and Monument Valley Park. Austin Bluffs Park affords a place of recreation in eastern Colorado Springs. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), narrowleaf yucca (Yucca angustissima, syn. Yucca glauca) and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia macrorhiza) can be found in El Paso County Regional Parks. The majority of the trail between Palmer Lake and Fountain is a soft surface breeze gravel trail. The New Santa Fe Regional Trail, Pikes Peak Greenway and Fountain Creek Regional Trail form a continuous path from Palmer Lake, through Colorado Springs, to Fountain, Colorado. A major segment of the Trail within the Colorado Springs city limits is paved. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on the trails. The trails, except Monument Valley park trails, may be used for equestrian traffic. The main spine trails, like the Pikes peak Greenway, that lead to secondary trails.

Government

On November 2, 2010, Colorado Springs voters adopted a council-strong mayor form of government. The City of Colorado Springs transitioned to the new system of government in 2011. The mayor is a full-time elected position and not a member of the council. The council has nine members, six of whom represent one of six equally populated districts each. The remaining three members are elected at-large. In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump's margin of victory in El Paso County was 22 points. In 2020 the shift toward the political center continued as the incumbent Republican, DonaldTrump, edged out Democrat Joe Biden by only 10.8% inEl Paso County. In 2017 Caleb Hannan wrote in Politico that Colorado Springs was "staunchly Republican", "a right-wing counterweight to liberal Boulder", and that a study ranked it "the fourth most conservative city in America" and that downtown Colorado Springs had a different political vibe from the overall area's. The city's mayor is the chief executive and the city council is the legislative branch. Colorado Springs City Hall was built from 1902 to 1904 on land donated by W. S. Stratton. The current mayor is Dave Donelson, who is also the city's first African-American mayor. The Colorado Springs Police Department is based in the downtown area of the city. The police department was founded in 1903 and is run by the same police officers as the city hall. The department was established by the Colorado Springs city fathers in 1903.

Education

State institutions offering bachelors and graduate degree programs in Colorado Springs include University of Colorado Colorado Springs with more than 12,000 students. The state of Colorado runs the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, a residential school for people up to age 21, in the city. The United States Air Force Academy is a federal institution offering bachelor degrees for officer candidates.Private non-profit institutions include Colorado College established in 1874 with about 2,000 undergraduates. Colorado Christian University has its Colorado Springs Center in theCity.Private for-profit colleges include Colorado Technical University whose main campus is in Colorado springs. IntelliTec College is a technical training school. The city is home to the Colorado Springs High School, which was founded in 1872. It is one of the oldest high schools in the U.S. and is located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It was founded by the Colorado High School of Science and Technology in 1873. The school was the first of its kind in the state and has since become a magnet school for high school students. It has a campus in the heart of the city, which is also home to Colorado Springs Community College and Colorado Springs State College. It also has a satellite campus in Pikes Peak, where it offers associate and bachelor degree programs. The Colorado Springs Police Department has a station in the center of Colorado Springs. The police department has a substation in the town, which has been in service since the early 1900s. The town has a population of more than 2,500.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado = 86.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 92. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 80. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Colorado Springs = 5.3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 478,961 individuals with a median age of 35.2 age the population grows by 5.87% in Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,400 residents per square mile of area (900/km²). There are average 2.49 people per household in the 150,581 households with an average household income of $52,247 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.00% of the available work force and has dropped -4.77% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 23.46%. The number of physicians in Colorado Springs per 100,000 population = 218.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Colorado Springs = 16.2 inches and the annual snowfall = 41.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 89. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 243. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 16.4 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 67, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado which are owned by the occupant = 58.16%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 28 years with median home cost = $171,470 and home appreciation of -6.24%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $5.30 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,452 per student. There are 15.8 students for each teacher in the school, 327 students for each Librarian and 367 students for each Counselor. 9.41% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 22.21% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 12.46% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).