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Gulde touts experience, years of service

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Election 2025

Gulde touts experience, years of service

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

October 15, 2025

Tamara Gulde didn’t intend to assemble campaign flyers and put up yard...

Underwood sees gap between council, public

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Election 2025

Underwood sees gap between council, public

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

October 15, 2025

When he looks out at the audience at a Ouray City Council meeting or w...

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Water costs increase for county irrigators

By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

October 15, 2025

The cost of leasing backup water to support Ouray County irrigators is...

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Driver survives plunge off pass

Distracted Montrose County man sustains minor injuries, cited for suspected careless driving

By Erin McIntyre and Mike Wiggins erin@ouraynews.com mike@ouraynews.com

October 15, 2025

A Montrose County resident survived an accident on Red Mountain Pass on Oct. 9, where his truck went over the edge and rolled down the mountain. According to information from the Colorado State Patrol, Steven Rogers only received minor injuries after the Ford F150 he was driving went off the road near the snow shed as he was traveling south from Ouray toward Silverton on U.S. Highway 550 between m...

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Wildfire panel focuses on insurance issues

By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

October 15, 2025

Wildfires are one natural disaster communities can exercise some control over. And the hope is that soon homeowners will not only have control over mitigating wildfire risk around their homes, but als...

Feature

Ridgway Film Festival offers packed weekend

By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com

October 15, 2025

"Eclectic" might be the word to describe the 11th Annual Ridgway Independent Film Festival's schedule. The fest has exploded into a four-day event, running today (Thursday) through Sunday, with 101 fi...

News

In budget crunch, county may revive hiring policy

Commissioners could have final say on filling vacant positions

By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

October 15, 2025

Ouray County leaders plan to revive a policy that would allow county commissioners to reconsider hiring new employees to fill vacant roles, as alarm over the county’s financial situation intensifies. ...

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County ok’s variance for home construction

Variance OK'd for home

October 15, 2025

Ouray County commissioners have approved an exception to the county’s skyline regulations for a property in Dallas Meadows, agreeing there was no way to build on the property without violating those r...

News

Investigation nabs illegal guns, suspected drugs

By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com

October 15, 2025

An investigation into a report of shots fired from a truck on Log Hill Mesa led the Ouray County Sheriff's Office to an arrest involving illegal firearms and suspected drugs. David Allen Wolfe, 46, wa...

News

Election 2025

Ouray School Board candidate profile: Phylis Fagrelius

By Phylis Fagrelius

October 15, 2025

Phylis Fagrelius has learned an important lesson, living in Ouray for the past 37 years. “The more you give, the more you get back,” she said. It’s something she has experienced through teaching, ment...

News

Election 2025

Ouray School Board candidate profile: Andrea Calhoon Meruelo

By Andrea Meruelo

October 15, 2025

It wasn’t long after Andrea Calhoon Meruelo graduated from Ouray School in 1999 that she realized she received a pretty stellar education at the tiny mountain school. “I recognized right away in colle...

News

Election 2025

Ouray School Board candidate profile: Tony Schmidt

By Tony Schmidt

October 15, 2025

Tony Schmidt remembers how Ouray School used to feel like it was the center of the community. When he was a kid, he saw community members coming to the basketball games, even the ones who didn't have ...

Young Ouray volleyball squad showing progress

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PREP ROUNDUP

Young Ouray volleyball squad showing progress

By By Matt Meyer Special to the Plaindealer

October 15, 2025

The second win of the season is rarely cause for celebration. But when the Ouray High School volleyball team defeated Pinnacle 25-18, 25-18, 20-25, 26-24 on Saturday, it secured the program’s best fin...

Feature

Calendar & Events

October 15, 2025

THURSDAY OCTOBER 16 Ridgway Independent Film Festival begins, visit ridgwayfestival.co for full schedule and details. Festival pass $120, single film and day passes available. Puppet shows with Judy f...

Feature

A muddy mess in Mancos

October 15, 2025

The Oct. 11 Chicken Creek Challenge cross country meet in Mancos proved to be a sloppy affair. Far left, Ridgway middle schooler Neely Hepp finished 19th in the middle school girls' 3K race with a tim...

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How the San Juans got their name from an early trailblazer

By Carolyn Snowbarger

October 8, 2025

The San Juan Mountains are not just a mountain range; they are the jagged, breathtaking spine of southwestern Colorado. This is a land of untamed peaks, alpine meadows and sheer rock faces. Our mighty...

Run, don’t walk: How a Ridgway athlete is improving dramatically

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PREP ROUNDUP

Run, don’t walk: How a Ridgway athlete is improving dramatically

By By Matt Meyer Special to the Plaindealer

October 8, 2025

Orion Catron first ran because he really, really didn’t want to walk. As a freshman at Ridgway High School, he wasn’t connecting with classmates or pushing himself. “I think my parents recognized this...

Feature

‘An Iliad’ shares ‘an epic story in a really intimate setting’

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

October 1, 2025

Playing in Ouray this weekend, modern-day retelling of Homer's poem explores valor, savagery of Trojan War In the last 20 years, John Kissingford has played all manner of roles. A novelist in a romant...

News

Ouray approves housing administrator contract

By Erin

October 15, 2025

Ouray city officials have approved their portion of the contract to hire an affordable housing administrator along with Ouray County and the town of Ridgway. The city council on Oct. 6 unanimously app...

News

Open house scheduled to meet county manager finalists Oct. 20

By Erin

October 15, 2025

Residents can meet the two finalists for Ouray County’s county manager position on Monday, Oct. 20, at the Ouray County 4-H Event Center and Fairgrounds. The finalists are Patrick Rondinelli, the Colo...

Blue Lakes parking lot reopens

By Plaindealer Staff

October 15, 2025

Blue Lakes parking lot reopens The gate to access the U.S. Forest Service’s Blue Lakes trailhead via County Road 7 has reopened after more than four months of construction and restoration work. Hikers...

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The pinnacle of autumn

October 8, 2025

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State eyes Ouray County for wolf release

Wildlife officials won't disclose dropoff site for up to 15 wolves this winter, but Billy Creek a possibility

By Mike Wiggins and Erin McIntyre mike@ouraynews.com erin@ouraynews.com

October 8, 2025

Wildlife officials are eyeing Ouray County for the next release of gray wolves in southwest Colorado this winter to help fulfill a mandate from voters to re-establish a self-sustaining population of t...

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