KRDO13 Investigates: Palmer Lake forest school ordered to stop operating, state says it ran unlicensed child care

Krdo · Jun 08, 2026 · 786 words · By Abby Smith

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What to know about KRDO13 Investigates: Palmer Lake forest school ordered to stop operating, state says it ran unlicensed child care

KRDO13 Investigates: Palmer Lake forest school ordered to stop operating, state says it ran unlicensed child care Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story was unpublished for a period of time following the discovery of new information.

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center88%

Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

In that time, KRDO13 Investigates was able to get into contact with Riegler, who claims that he remained in compliance with state law for seven years, throughout multiple changes in laws regarding childcare, until the state's most recent action against him.

Common ground

The earlier version included images acquired through a public records search from the town of Palmer Lake, which depicted (according to the town) the area of operation for the school.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: KRDO13 Investigates: Palmer Lake forest school ordered to stop operating, state says it ran unlicensed child care?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Court records also show Riegler did not challenge the state’s evidence during the hearing?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://krdo.com/news/2026/06/08/krdo13-investigates-palmer-lake-forest-school-o…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 6

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

schedule Pending 1

schedule

Claim 1: “Court records also show Riegler did not challenge the state’s evidence during the hearing.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 2: “The town: Initiated business license revocation proceedings, Ordered the program to stop providing child care immediately, Referred the case for enforcement through the municipal court”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim consists of general Wikipedia entries about towns and a city website for Waterbury, CT. There is no evidence confirming the specific actions taken by the Town of Palmer Lake.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Waterbury is the largest city in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region and second-largest city in New Haven County.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterbury,_Connecticut

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Towns typically feature centralized services, infrastructure, and governance, such as municipal authorities, and serve as hubs for commerce, education, and cultural activities within their regions. Th…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 14, 2026 · Check here to learn everything new and noteworthy in Waterbury, CT. Join us for the ServSafe® Food Protection Manager Certification in-person class and exam. The class runs for approxim…
https://www.waterburyct.org/

help

Claim 3: “On March 10, a judge granted the order, prohibiting the program from providing child care for more than four children unless properly licensed.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for this claim.

info

Claim 4: “A forest school program in Palmer Lake is under a court order to stop operating, after state officials say it was providing child care without a required license.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the claim is mentioned in the context of the KRDO13 investigation (implied by the titles of search results for other claims), the specific evidence provided for claim 0 consists of general Wikipedia entries about forests and a focus app, which do not confirm the claim. However, the KRDO13 source found in other claims corroborates the general narrative.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Forests exist from the equator to near the polar regions, but different climates have different kinds of forests. In cold climates conifers dominate, but in temperate zone and tropical climates forest…
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Forests are studied at a number of organizational levels, from the individual organism to the ecosystem. However, as the term forest connotes an area inhabited by more than one organism, forest ecolog…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_ecology

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Forest is a focus app that helps people stay off distracting apps by turning focus time into a growing virtual forest. During each focus session, a tree grows while you stay focused.
https://www.forestapp.cc/

verified

Claim 5: “a new complaint filed Nov. 20, 2025, triggered a second investigation.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence consists of unrelated YouTube vlogs and movie listings from 2025. There is no evidence confirming a complaint filed on November 20, 2025, regarding the school.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — BPS Direct, LLC, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held sporting goods retailer that offers hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation equipment, marine m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_Pro_Shops

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — David George Haskell is a British and American biologist and writer. He is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist in General Nonfiction. In addition to scientific papers, he has written essays, poems, op-…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_G._Haskell

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Thomas Dambo is a Danish sculpture artist. He is known for his installations of giant wooden sculptures made out of recycled materials called trolls.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dambo

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 6: “State records show a cease-and-desist order was first issued in March 2025, directing the program to stop operating without a license.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of 'cease' and 'desist' and unrelated Wikipedia entries. No source confirms the specific date of March 2025 for a cease-and-desist order.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Expo 2005 (2005年日本国際博覧会, Nisengo-nen Nippon Kokusai Hakurankai) was a world expo held for 185 days between Friday, March 25 and Sunday, September 25, 2005, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of the city…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_2005

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Monteverde is the twelfth canton of the Puntarenas province of Costa Rica, located in the Cordillera de Tilarán (Tilarán range). Roughly a four-hour drive from the Central Valley, Monteverde is one of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monteverde

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 7: “Court documents show the state filed for an injunction on Jan. 16.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for this claim.

info

Claim 8: “A notice sent to the business in November 2025 states the town was informed the program was operating without required state licensing”

SINGLE SOURCE

A web search result titled 'Palmer Lake forest school ordered to stop operating...' explicitly states that a notice sent to the business in November 2025 informed them the town was aware the program was operating without required state licensing.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A one-hit wonder is a musical artist who is successful with one hit song, but without a comparable subsequent hit. The term may also be applied to an artist who is remembered for only one hit despite …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_one-hit_wonders_in_the…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shucked is a 2022 musical with music and lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and a book by Robert Horn. The Broadway production began previews at the Nederlander Theatre on March 8, 2023, befor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shucked

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — St. Clair is a city in St. Clair County in the eastern "Thumb" of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, St. Clair had a population of 5,464. The city is located on the St. Clair River nea…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Clair,_Michigan

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 9: “In March, a judge granted a preliminary injunction, ordering the program to stop providing child care for more than four children unless it becomes properly licensed.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is directly confirmed by a web search result from KRDO13 Investigates, stating that a judge granted a preliminary injunction in March ordering the program to stop providing child care for more than four children unless licensed.

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 10: “On June 1st, 2026, Mr. Reigler was found guilty by a municipal judge of operating without a license. He was ordered to pay a $200 fine.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists of technical guides on operating systems and unrelated 2026 event schedules. There is no evidence confirming the June 1, 2026, court verdict or fine.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Some operating system examples include Windows, macOS, and Linux. Read.
https://www.lifewire.com/operating-systems-2625912

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Summer Mix 2026 Best Popular Songs 2026 Faded, Supergirl, A Sky Full Of Star, Perfect Cover love1HOKKY LOVE276 watching • 2 months agoLivePlaylist ()Mix (50+). 3:15:06.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swtX6w7rwpI

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Follow Bosnia Open 2026 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2026-06-21 to 2026-06-22. Browse taekwondo results, brackets, schedule, medal table, and match details.
https://taekwondo.tv/en/tournaments/326-bosnia-open-2026

info

Claim 11: “Court records show the Colorado Department of Early Childhood filed a civil case against Wonders of Nature Forest School and its operator, Eric Todd Riegler, in El Paso County District Court earlier this year.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is directly confirmed by a web search result from KRDO13 Investigates, which explicitly mentions the civil case filed by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood against Wonders of Nature Forest School and Eric Todd Riegler in El Paso County District Court.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anna Jo Garcia Haynes (born April 18, 1934) is a former educator in Colorado who specialized in early childhood education. She was instrumental in early childhood education development in Colorado, wh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Jo_Garcia_Haynes

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) aims to provide services to young children, families with young children, and professionals who work with young children. The department is charged w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Department_of_Early_C…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Scott Bright is a state senator from Platteville, Colorado, U.S. A Republican, Bright represents Colorado's 13th Senate district, which includes parts of Weld and Adams counties in northcentral Colora…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bright

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.