Carel Lajara
Digital Anchor
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Originally from Miami, Carel got her bachelor's degree in Journalism & Communications from the University of Florida. After graduating, she worked as a producer for WCJB TV20 in Gainesville, Fl before making her move to Denver where she worked as a producer for CBS4.
Carel is a first-generation Latina in the U.S., with parents from Nicaragua and Puerto Rico. An avid traveler, Carel has visited 18 countries and spent some time studying in Italy, Spain and France. She's also fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Having been a beach kid all her life, Carel never thought she'd enjoy living in a state where it snows but Colorado has stolen her heart and she is now committed to covering the stories that matter to you. She's traded in her beach towel for a snowboard, so when she's not chasing breaking news, catch her in the mountains shredding some powder-- or more likely falling on her face (but give her a break, she's still learning.)
Feel free to contact her with any story ideas or cool places to check out. Carel is eager to connect with her community as she continues to make Colorado her home.
Updated: 17 hours ago
|By Carel Lajara
A new program in Colorado offers resources and tracking equipment for people who may wander due to cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer's and Autism.
Updated: Mar. 21, 2023 at 3:39 PM MDT
|By Carel Lajara
On Tuesday, Space Base Delta 1 Installations’ Commander, Colonel David Hanson, will give his inaugural Space Base Delta 1 State of the Bases address.
Updated: Mar. 14, 2023 at 2:58 PM MDT
|By Carel Lajara
On Tuesday, Governor Jared Polis was be joined by state legislators to announce legislation aimed at filling in-demand jobs in Colorado, as wells as saving people money on advanced training and education for high-paying jobs.
Updated: Mar. 14, 2023 at 2:31 PM MDT
|By Carel Lajara
This week, Carleton joined Digital Anchor Carel Lajara in the 11 Breaking News Center to discuss the latest developments when it comes to treating alcohol disorders, including the potential benefits of Apremilast.
Updated: Mar. 8, 2023 at 2:34 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Wednesday, Governor Jared Polis was be joined by legislative leaders on renewable energy and climate to announce plans that will help save people money on energy, and accelerate clean energy transitions.
Updated: Mar. 7, 2023 at 4:16 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Tuesday, Governor Jared Polis was joined by state legislators, teachers, after-school providers, and community members, to announce historic investments in math support for Colorado students.
Updated: Mar. 1, 2023 at 4:59 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
March 1st is recognized as National Baby Sleep Day and Children’s Hospital Colorado is using it as a reminder to new parents that proper sleeping habits could save a baby’s life.
Updated: Feb. 27, 2023 at 5:05 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
Colorado State University in Pueblo will receive $3 million through the Department of Commerce’s Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program to enhance its high-speed Internet infrastructure, purchase equipment, and provide digital skills training for IT staff.
Updated: Feb. 24, 2023 at 4:32 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Friday, the Colorado Springs Police Department released their first Significant Event Briefing Video in an effort to explain what happened during a deadly shooting between officers and an armed suspect at an apartment complex in Colorado Springs.
Updated: Feb. 23, 2023 at 4:37 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
A lawsuit brought by the Church of All Nations against the COS Owners Association, a hangar group, and local contractor Hoag Construction has raised questions on the church’s multi-million dollar purchases that include aircraft and property around the country.
Updated: Feb. 23, 2023 at 2:03 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Thursday, Colorado’s Fourth Judicial District Attorney provided an update on the case against the alleged Club Q shooter after a judge ruled to keep all charges against him.
Updated: Feb. 17, 2023 at 4:50 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
According to a press release from Colorado Springs Utilities, the company will propose the energy rate decrease at their Utilities Board meeting on Feb. 22nd. The new rates would go into effect on March 1st if they’re approved by City Council at their meeting on Feb. 28th.
Updated: Feb. 16, 2023 at 4:41 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
This week, Digital Anchor Carel Lajara sat with Sixty35 Media Food & Drink Editor Matt Schniper to talk about his article this week, YAK PACK: Divide herd uniquely adapted to thrive at high altitude. But what do they taste like?
Updated: Feb. 10, 2023 at 5:44 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
Colorado set a new record for traffic-related fatalities in 2022, with El Paso County having the highest number of deaths when compared to other counties. In an effort to spread awareness of the dangers on the roads, the non-profit, Drive Smart Colorado, has created a series of video campaigns based on the premise ‘It wasn’t worth it.’
Updated: Feb. 8, 2023 at 4:54 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
This week, Sixty35 Media reporter Jeanne Davant joined Digital Anchor Carel Lajara in the 11 Breaking News Center to discuss her latest report on the city’s thriving record stores, as well as what is fueling this trend, and why younger people are showing interest in the old classic.
Updated: Feb. 7, 2023 at 6:16 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden is set to deliver his second State of the Union address before Congress and the nation.Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet announced that he will bring as his guest Paul Bruchez, a fifth-generation rancher from Kremmling, Colorado.
Updated: Feb. 7, 2023 at 4:29 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
This week, millions of people across the country are observing Congenital Heart Awareness Week.
Updated: Feb. 6, 2023 at 1:07 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Monday, Governor Jared Polis is set to announce a new effort to help provide Coloradans with short-term and long-term relief from high energy costs for homes and businesses.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 3:18 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
School District 14 in Manitou Springs has parted ways with Superintendent Elizabeth Domangue which has prompted teachers to question the school board’s decision to go forward with this action in the middle of a school year.
Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 5:05 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
The Safe Passage Children’s Advocacy Center for the Pikes Peak Region will receive $360,000 in congressional funds that will go toward its Co-Location Capital Campaign.
Updated: Jan. 31, 2023 at 5:39 AM MST
|By Carel Lajara
A new approach to training first responders is now being used at the Colorado School of Mines through Avrio Analytics’ augmented reality program.
Updated: Jan. 27, 2023 at 4:29 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Friday, officials with the City of Colorado Springs will be drawing ballot positions for the 2023 general municipal election.
WATCH: Colorado State Patrol addresses dangerous drivers after emergency vehicle was hit by motorist
Updated: Jan. 27, 2023 at 2:25 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Friday, Colorado State Patrol will be hosting a press briefing in response to multiple incidents in which an emergency vehicle were struck by speeding or distracted drivers in the last week.
Updated: Jan. 26, 2023 at 5:47 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
A new study from researchers at the University of Colorado’s Boulder Campus has found that legalizing cannabis at the state level will not lead users to take other illicit drugs or develop substance abuse disorders.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2023 at 5:29 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
To help address homelessness in Southern Colorado, Community Health Partnership (CHP) and the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care (PPCoC) teamed up again to conduct the annual Point in Time survey in which they count how many people are experiencing homelessness and need services on a single day and night.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2023 at 2:15 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Monday, city and state officials will provide an update on Saturday’s deadly mass shooting in which 10 people were killed while celebrating Lunar New Year.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2023 at 12:37 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
Newly-released data from the Colorado Department of Transportation shows a near-record number of overall deaths on state roads in 2022, and the highest number of deaths seen since 1981, according to a press release sent out by CDOT on Friday.
Updated: Jan. 19, 2023 at 5:26 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
In November of 2022, Coloradans voted to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms for people 21 and over, as well as allow “healing centers” to administer these substances to participants in a supervised setting. The initiative also says that, by the end of January 2023, Governor Jared Polis must establish an advisory board that will be tasked with creating and implementing regulations for the “healing centers.”
Updated: Jan. 18, 2023 at 6:13 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara and Lauren Watson
On Wednesday, Colorado Parks & Wildlife will award five Pueblo rangers for their life-saving efforts during several incident that occurred in 2022 between May and October.
Updated: Jan. 18, 2023 at 5:10 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
Researchers at the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus have developed a rubber-like material that can leap 200 times it’s own size by only applying temperature changes.
Updated: Jan. 11, 2023 at 5:22 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
Colorado parents are asking the community for support through donations that would help cover medical costs as their infant child battles cancer.
Updated: Jan. 10, 2023 at 6:34 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
‘Dry January’ is an annual trend in which participants choose to abstain from drinking alcohol for the whole month, and some medical experts say this trend can be significant for anyone trying to identify for themselves if they have a problem.
Updated: Jan. 10, 2023 at 12:54 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Tuesday, a swearing-in ceremony will be held for Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera at the Colorado State Capitol.
Updated: Jan. 6, 2023 at 5:59 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
A cancer diagnosis is one of the most devastating things a person can go through but when you talk to Laurie Cardin, you would never guess that she dealt with an aggressive form of cervical cancer.
Updated: Jan. 5, 2023 at 5:02 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
The newly-passed Children and Media Research Advancement (CAMRA) Act directs the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct research the effects that technology and media has on infants, children, and adolescents in core areas of cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development.
Updated: Jan. 5, 2023 at 1:31 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
One year after the Marshall Fire tore through Boulder County and destroyed more than a thousand structures, researchers are still learning from its impact.
Updated: Dec. 24, 2022 at 2:06 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
At Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, military personnel and volunteers are preparing for one of their most important missions of the year, tracking Santa Claus as he delivers presents to children around the world.
Updated: Dec. 22, 2022 at 2:58 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
In this segment, 11 Digital Anchor Carel Lajara sits with Cassandra Walton, Executive Director for the Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership, to talk about the most common mental health challenges both children and adults face during the holidays and how anyone who may be struggling can work to overcome them.
Manufacturing company expands in Colorado Springs bringing hundreds of jobs to the Pikes Peak Region
Updated: Dec. 20, 2022 at 4:52 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Tuesday, the Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation will announce the largest advanced manufacturing project in Colorado Springs and El Paso County in the last five years.
Updated: Dec. 16, 2022 at 4:51 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
SpaceX is targeting Friday, Dec. 16th, for a Falcon 9 launch of the SES O3b mPOWER mission to medium-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Updated: Dec. 16, 2022 at 4:50 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Friday, the Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation, along with the City of Colorado Springs and El Paso County, will announce a new economic development company expansion that is expected to create hundreds of jobs in the Pike Peak region.
Updated: Dec. 14, 2022 at 9:21 AM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Wednesday, the Committee on Oversight and Reform will hold a hearing to examine the rise in violence against LGBTQI+ people in the United States.
Updated: Dec. 13, 2022 at 4:53 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden has invited thousands of guests to the White House for a celebration as he signs the Respect for Marriage Act.
Updated: Dec. 13, 2022 at 11:29 AM MST
|By Carel Lajara
While we are in the midst of the holiday season, addiction specialists want to remind everyone that it can be a triggering time for anyone struggling with substance abuse.
Updated: Dec. 9, 2022 at 5:10 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
As we approach winter in Colorado, residents will be using more power to warm up their homes which means higher energy bills are almost unavoidable. Black Hills Energy, which serves Pueblo and Cañon City, is offering some free and easy ways people can cut their costs down significantly while still living comfortably through the winter.
Updated: Dec. 8, 2022 at 4:55 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is urging a Washington State court judge to block Albertsons’ $4 billion payout to its investors while the company’s merger with Kroger remains under state and federal review.
Updated: Dec. 8, 2022 at 2:59 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Thursday, Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Attorney will provide an update to the investigation regarding the suspect accused in the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs.
Updated: Dec. 7, 2022 at 5:52 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden delivered remarks at the National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence event at the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
Updated: Dec. 7, 2022 at 5:02 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
As we head closer to Christmas and New Years, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is encouraging people to be up to date with their vaccinations before traveling and participating in large gatherings.
Updated: Nov. 30, 2022 at 4:58 PM MST
|By Carel Lajara
Wednesday afternoon, President Joe Biden will be joined by First Lady Jill Biden as well as Vice President Kamala Harris for the official lighting of the national Christmas tree.
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