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Budget slashing begins
Board considers own pay cut, trimming staff, claiming leftover road paving funds
By James Hanlon 
September 30, 2026
Department by department, piece by piece, Ouray County commissioners w...
Ouray sergeant’s job? It’s unclear
Main, News...
Ouray sergeant’s job? It’s unclear
What does the only remaining full-time police employee do for work? Nobody — including Matt Troxell — will say
September 30, 2026
Each weekday, the Ouray Police Department’s sole full-time employee ho...
City eyes legal action on sewer plant
News
City eyes legal action on sewer plant
Notice of claims sent to four contractors allege 'significant defects and deficiencies' with $17M facility
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
September 30, 2026
The city of Ouray has taken the first step toward seeking a legal remedy for its troubled wastewater treatment plant, filing notices of claims with four contractors who designed, built and provided se...
News
News
County considers veteran transport program
Initiative would provide rides to medical appointments, but commissioners want more info
By James Hanlon 
September 30, 2026
Ouray County commissioners want to have more discussions with San Miguel County before partnering on a program that would transport veterans to medical appointments in Montrose and Grand Junction. Mik...
News
Log Hill tests emergency siren locations
Donations expected to cover most of cost of estimated $26,000 system
By James Hanlon 
September 30, 2026
Don’t be alarmed. The Log Hill Mesa Fire Protection District plans to install an emergency siren system on Log Hill and is exploring possible locations on public property. The siren would alert reside...
Alpine Ranger program in jeopardy
News
Alpine Ranger program in jeopardy
Without more funding, backcountry patrol could be eliminated in 2027
By Chart Riggall 
September 30, 2026
A backcountry patrol program created by Ouray County to fill the void left by federal staffing cuts could be on the chopping block for next summer without additional funding sources, according to Sher...
Calendar & Events
News
Calendar & Events
Oct. 1-15, 2026
September 30, 2026
Thursday, October 1 Ouray County Republican Central Committee monthly meeting, 6 p.m., Ridgway Public Library meeting room, 300 Charles St. Learn to sew, from 1-3 p.m. in the Ridgway Public Library me...
Popular trail needs new steward
Main, News...
Popular trail needs new steward
Uncompahgre Riverway Trail founder, longtime volunteer ready to step down
By James Hanlon 
September 23, 2026
Chip Marlow, the man who spearheaded the construction of the Uncompahgre Riverway Trail from Ridgway to Ridgway State Park, has maintained the multiuse path largely by himself for many years. Now 80 y...
Main, News...
‘Super El Niño’ won’t be savior for West Slope
Officials: Warming Pacific temps may bring more snow but won't wipe out drought or fill reservoirs
By Chart Riggall 
September 23, 2026
GRAND JUNCTION — Amid a stream of bad news for Western Slope water stakeholders last week, Russ Schumacher had the pleasure of opening the sluice. Nearly on the far side of the state’s worst drought y...
Features coverage
Looking Back
Feature
Looking Back
September 30, 2026
Compiled from the files of The Ouray County Herald, The Ridgway Sun, and The Ouray County Plaindealer 60 Years Ago October 6, 1966 At a special meeting of the Ouray City Council on Oct. 4, the mayor o...
Looking Back
Feature
Looking Back
September 23, 2026
Compiled from the files of The Ouray County Herald, The Ridgway Sun, and The Ouray County Plaindealer 60 Years Ago September 22, 1966 Lady Bird, the tiny mule colt foaled by a Shetland pony, is dead, ...
Closing out Ouray’s hottest summer on record
Columns, Feature...
Closing out Ouray’s hottest summer on record
By Karen Risch 
September 23, 2026
Summer 2026, from June through August, was over-the-top hot in the Lower 48 states and Ouray as well. It was also the warmest summer “in 132 years of record-keeping.” (Ava Berger, “This summer was hot...
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Barbara Ellen Weber
Obituaries
Barbara Ellen Weber
September 30, 2026
January 6, 1947 – September 18, 2026 Barbara Ellen Weber of Ridgway, Colorado, passed away on Sept. 18, 2026, at the age of 79. Barbara was born in Iowa on Jan. 6, 1947, to Fred and Betty Goddard. She...
Judge to hotel: End workforce housing
Main, News...
Judge to hotel: End workforce housing
Injunction prohibits MTN Lodge from housing resort construction workers
By James Hanlon 
September 23, 2026
A district court judge has ordered Ridgway's largest hotel to stop housing construction workers who are building a new Four Seasons in Mountain Village. In a preliminary injunction filed Sept. 16, the...
Investigators close case on mine shaft death
Main, News...
Investigators close case on mine shaft death
Nearly a year later, authorities conclude Ridgway resident Jennifer Nelson accidentally drowned
By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com 
September 23, 2026
Eleven months after rescue volunteers found Jennifer Nelson's body in a water-filled mine shaft on Red Mountain Pass, investigators are left wondering what her final moments looked like. Their case, w...
City ready to cut losses with building
News
City ready to cut losses with building
More than a year after purchase, council tells staff to sell empty Sixth Avenue property for reduced price
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
September 23, 2026
When the two-story building across the street from Ouray City Hall went up for sale last spring, Ouray city leaders scrambled to buy it, envisioning a top-tobottom renovation culminating in a new, lar...
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Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines

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