Voters ousted two Democratic state lawmakers yesterday in the first ever recall elections of state legislators.  The recalls come in the wake of new gun legislation passed earlier this year.   Senate President John Morse of Colorado Springs conceded around 9:30, calling the defeat symbolic.

It’s election day for parts of El Paso and Pueblo Counties. State senators John Morse and Angela Giron are facing possible recalls. KRCC’s Liz Ruskin caught up with the El Paso County Clerk at Centennial Hall, where at mid-day, voter traffic was moving swiftly.

The recall elections of state senators John Morse of Colorado Springs and Angela Giron of Pueblo are still on for Sept. 10, but voters shouldn’t expect their normal mail-in ballot.

With interest in urban homesteading on the rise, some traditional farm animals are showing up in city back yards. It started with chickens.   Miniature goats might be next.

With thunderstorms in the forecast for the next few days, the possibility of flash flooding in El Paso County remains.  As KRCC’s Liz Ruskin reports, the county is working to repair roads in the Black Forest area damaged in last weekend’s floods.

Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach gave his yearly “state of the city” address at a luncheon yesterday. He outlined a number of goals and accomplishments, and as KRCC’s Liz Ruskin reports, he also used the occasion to press his plan to build four major tourism projects, including a downtown stadium and a U.S.

With the passage last year of Amendment 64, Cities and counties around Colorado are deciding whether to allow recreational marijuana shops and grow operations within their boundaries. Denver City Council said yes. El Paso County said no. The city of Pueblo passed a moratorium, deciding, in effect, to decide later.

Amendment 64 voted into law last year decriminalized recreational marijuana in Colorado for adults 21 and over. Now Colorado Springs, like local governments around the state, has about three months to decide whether to regulate retail marijuana sales or to ban such shops within city limits.

The U.S. Army yesterday announced plans to deactivate one of Fort Carson’s four Brigade Combat Teams by 2017.  The move would affect nearly 4,000 soldiers, but as KRCC’s Liz Ruskin reports, it’s not yet clear how many positions the Colorado Springs Army post would actually lose. Fort Carson spokesman Lt. Col.