On the Slope
Feature, Main...
Sporting nearly 30-year-old jerseys, pilot junior varsity team takes field, aims for long-term viability through fundraising
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
April 15, 2026
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect when Ridgway School District last had a baseball team, given updated information provided by Ouray County Baseball after the story was published. ...
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Main
Council tables proposal for compostable, recyclable materials over concerns from business owners, community groups
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
April 15, 2026
Ridgway town councilors tabled a draft “zero-waste” policy for events on town property after public backlash about how the rules would impact business owners and community groups. The proposal discuss...
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Main
Records: Officers concerned about training
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
April 15, 2026
Ouray City Administrator Michelle Metteer sought input from neighboring law enforcement agencies about how they conduct background checks — after she decided not to hire Daric Harvey as the permanent ...
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News
By LIA SALVATIERRA 
April 15, 2026
Ouray County commissioners signed off on an agreement Tuesday to lease and help pay for backup water to support the county’s irrigators for a fourth year. The lease secures a 2021 no-call agreement be...
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News
By LIA SALVATIERRA 
April 15, 2026
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to more precisely reflect the condition of the culvert the ditch owners want replaced. A group of ranchers from the West Arm Ditch Company is refusing Oura...
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News
By Mike Wiggins 
April 15, 2026
The trial for a man charged with sexually assaulting a then-17-year-old girl in Ouray County in 2023 has been postponed for a third time. Nate Dieffenderfer is now scheduled for an eight-day trial sta...
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News
By LIA SALVATIERRA 
April 15, 2026
During an April 8 meeting, the Ridgway Town Council agreed to move a charging station planned for the Ouray County 4-H Event Center and Fairgrounds to town property next to the Ridgway Visitor Center....
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
By Dear Editor: 
April 15, 2026
Dear Editor: There is a need to acknowledge the recent revelations at the special Ouray County Board of Commissioners meeting March 30, where Commissioner Lynn Padgett first denied, then admitted to s...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
By Carolyn Dresler 
April 15, 2026
Dear Editor: I read with concern and consternation the lead article in the April 2-9 edition of the Plaindealer relating to the March 30 public Board of County Commissioners meeting that resulted in t...
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Letters, Opinion...
By SUE HUSCH 
April 15, 2026
Dear Editor: The full page ad in the April 9-15 edition was interesting to me. In very large print we were given the town manager's email address, and told he and the Ridgway Town Council are out of l...
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