Videos E-edition
New, familiar events mark return of rodeo
Nate Hoey of Lamar hangs on during the last ride of the 2025 Ouray County Rodeo at the Ouray County Fairgrounds. This year's rodeo returns on Labor Day, preceded by the annual parade on Sherman Street in Ridgway. Visit ouraycountyrodeo. com for advance tickets and information. Photo by Erin McIntyre | Ouray County Plaindealer
News
By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com, on September 2, 2026
New, familiar events mark return of rodeo

It's time to kick up a little dust, hoot n' holler and watch cowboys and cowgirls show off their skills at the rodeo.

Hickenlooper hopeful for fire disaster order
Main, News...
Hickenlooper hopeful for fire disaster order
Senator tours flood-damaged areas, surveys planned fire mitigation efforts
By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com 
September 2, 2026
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said Friday he was optimistic the Trump administration will declare the Gold Mountain Fire a federal disaster, arguing Congress “wouldn’t settle for” the White House withho...
Main, News...
County employees remain on paid leave
EMS paramedic, deputy emergency manager sent home days after fire started
By By James Hanlon james@ouraynews.com 
September 2, 2026
Ouray County has had two emergency- related employees on paid administrative leave since the early days of the Gold Mountain Fire. A third employee, Road and Bridge Superintendent Ty Barger, was place...
News
Businesses share struggles with senator
'You guys are in crisis,' Hickenlooper tells proprietors wrestling with aftermath of Gold Mountain Fire
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
September 2, 2026
Ouray County business owners bent the ear of U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper on Friday, sharing stories of declining profits and mass cancellations in the wake of the Gold Mountain Fire in the hopes the D...
News
Mining proposal faces unanimous scrutiny
Finance managers get cool reception from commissioners in bid for $110M federal grant to revive gold and silver mine in Governor Basin
By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com 
September 2, 2026
Kris Peterson and Alex Klemt said it was an algorithm that led them west from Colorado Springs, up a rough dirt road past the Camp Bird Mine, and into the lofty tundra of Governor Basin. With the help...
Letters, Opinion...
Who is the MTN Lodge?
September 2, 2026
Dear Editor: I opened the letter received last Wednesday and was a bit confused as to the intent, since the photos leading the letter are of the True Grit and several businesses that no longer exist i...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
OHVs have made trail access more difficult
September 2, 2026
Dear Editor: I am writing in response to Jeff Lindberg’s letter in the Aug. 27 edition. My husband and I live in Ouray County primarily because we love to hike. We have lived here for eight years, but...
Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Tree thinning vital to managing wildfire
September 2, 2026
Dear Editor: This letter pertains to an article by Chart Riggall in the Aug. 27 edition. I thought it was an excellent article on the history of fire in the San Juans, etc. However, there was, in my o...
News
Looking Back
50 Years Ago
September 2, 2026
September 1, 1966 “We definitely intend to continue pushing forward with plans for a college in Ouray,” stated Warren Gibbs, speaking for the board of directors at a meeting last Saturday. Directors p...
Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Wind played major factor in Gold Mountain Fire
September 2, 2026
Dear Editor: It was the wind. I read with great interest the in-depth article by Chart Riggall in the Aug. 27 edition of the Ouray County Plaindealer. He cited the history of our forests and the reaso...
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Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines

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