I don't know much about Colorado Springs other than there is a lot of turnover with military families coming and going. For the OP, if he is coming from Minnesota. I thought it would be okay to talk about the negatives of Colorado. Usually all you here are the good things. No forest fires or water supply issues in Minnesota. Could be a big shock for people coming from the Midwest especially if you have young kids with breathing problems. 200,000 acres burned just west of Fort Collins. Not going to get in a pissing contest but the smoke here was not an enjoyment for "outdoor activities." As far as natives go, Fort Collins natives have mostly fled out of the city. Colorado also has some serious issues with water supply. Just letting people know that to some people this may be a show stopper. For others, they may not care.
I'd never tell anyone where to live, but I can say what you said about CO I have found not to be true. But unlike many on this thread, we'd never chose a place to live because of family. We'd never live anywhere again that has humidity. I'm retired and my wife is WFH so traffic is a non-issue - I can pick my schedule for errands. The older we get, the less interest there is to live in the north or the midwest. Fires are common in the entire west and CoSprings has only had a few bad smoke days. Spokane was WAY worse for air quality. The turn-over at the bases is a non-issue and this a a GREAT flag-waving community that also doesn't give a crap about other people's opinions - very live and let live. This is a high tech community and there are many, many career military officers that make it home. Real mountains, real athletic and active community (the olympic feel is huge here), numerous great touristy things to do, and we love it here.
I don't think you were running anything down, but we've not experienced any of your negatives...