Author - News

Feature

Jon Pollard’s life changed when he and his wife, Jessica, bought Ouray Hardware & Mercantile on May 1. For 21 years, his career had been in the H&...

July 29, 2026

Feature

New bakery humming right along

Taylor Popovich began her baking journey terrified that she would ruin her husband's sourdough starter when he asked her to feed it. Three years later...

July 29, 2026

Feature

Toth seeks to grow Wright Opera House’s appeal

When Heather Toth moved to Ouray County in 2013, her first question was, “Where’s the theater; where’s the art space?” The arts are a necessity, not a...

July 22, 2026

Feature

Travels influence food truck flavors

From Greece to the Caribbean, menu runs gamut at The Sweet Tea Syndicate A new, bright red food truck has rolled into town, and with it come flavors o...

June 24, 2026

Feature

New Ouray restaurant offers ‘elevated pub food’

When Nancy Feeser and her husband, Mike, bought the building at 726 Main St. in Ouray in February, it was painted green with bright yellow letters ann...

June 24, 2026

Feature

Kris Batchelder’s art wanders the Wild West

About 10 years ago, Kris Batchelder discovered her passion for paper collage. It was at Christmas, when she sat down with her son to make holiday card...

June 17, 2026

Feature

Ouray students present films at annual showcase

An invisible monster terrorizes the Ouray School second grade classroom. With shaky legs and nervous eyes, second grader Logan Murch cannot escape. Af...

June 3, 2026

Feature

Todd Mayfield draws inspiration from several styles

Todd Mayfield likes to tell people he was born with a paintbrush in his ear. Mayfield said he inherited the artistic gene from his father’s side of th...

June 3, 2026

News

Crews working to fill 1950s-era well along U.S. 550

Reclamation part of orphaned and abandoned well program

By Chart Riggall

September 4, 2026

It’s not what you think. A towering steel drill rig that’s been perched along the side of U.S. Highway 550 in recent weeks isn’t probing for gas, or oil, or even a route to the Far East. The operation...

Main, News...

Trump declares disaster for Gold Mountain, Aspen Acres fires

By Chart Riggall

September 4, 2026

President Donald Trump has signed off on a major disaster declaration for the Gold Mountain and Aspen Acres fires that unlocks millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency relief funds f...

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 placed...

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...

By Chloe Kiparsky Special to the Plaindealer

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines