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After criticism last spring, group must meet several tourism promotion standardsThe Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce will continue marketing tourism p...

January 17, 2024

News

Deal helps protect bighorn sheep habitat

Montrose sheep ranch retires grazing permits south of OurayEfforts to protect bighorn sheep habitat in the San Juan Mountains recently received a boos...

January 10, 2024

News

Fire District struggles to fill open seat

For more than two months, the Ridgway Fire Protection District Board of Directors has been short a board member and the district has struggled to find...

January 10, 2024

News

Fire Department plans training center

Shipping container in Ridgway would offer permanent, year-round opportunitiesLocal public safety organizations may soon have a permanent training faci...

January 10, 2024

Feature

‘What else is there for me but this?’

Throughout Shea Freedom’s life, timing has been everything for better and for worse. It was everything when his mother passed away right before he was...

January 10, 2024

News

New program to fill energy workforce gaps

Initiative aimed at training for small-scale energy efficiency jobs For years, local renewable energy companies have struggled to find enough qualifie...

January 3, 2024

News

County eyes permit fee increases

Marijuana businesses expected to bear largest brunt of hike For the first time since 2008, Ouray County is expected to increase user fees across a bro...

January 3, 2024

News

Updated resolution secures public winter road access

In a win for winter recreationists and environmentalists, Ouray County commissioners last month approved an updated resolution designating certain cou...

January 3, 2024

News

Commissioners preview priorities, tout accomplishments

Ouray County commissioners discussed prioritizing public health, environmental protection and affordable housing projects in 2024, and reviewed highli...

January 3, 2024

News

County attorney receives glowing review

County Attorney Leo Caselli on Dec. 20 received glowing remarks from Ouray County commissioners during his annual performance review, earning 97 out o...

January 3, 2024

Main, News...

Get into the groove

July 2, 2025

Carrie Ann Mund, left, dances with Tawnya Schiebel during the Mariachi de San Jose band’s performance in Ridgway’s Hartwell Park on June 29. The band performed as part of the fifth annual Fete de la M...

Main, News...

Leaders object to public lands sale

Conservationists, ranchers, elected officials decry bill, though battle over federal property may return

By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

July 2, 2025

Recent federal proposals to sell or develop Ouray County’s public lands would harm the county’s economy, identity and culture of ranching and public recreation, according to county officials and other...

Main, News...

Sex assault trial moved to Montrose

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

July 2, 2025

A judge has ordered the trial of a man accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in 2023 to be moved from Ouray to Montrose. Seventh Judicial Chief District Judge Cory Jackson approved the tri...

Feature

Celebrating the Fourth in Ouray? Load up on sunscreen, patience, courtesy

Private security to help with traffic, parking, so law enforcement can be more proactive

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

July 2, 2025

The sights and sounds of the Fourth of July in Ouray are ubiquitous. The powerful spray of fire hoses. The shrieks of kids racing through Fellin Park. Cheers and honking horns on Main Street. This yea...

News

New weapons policy would ban public, allow employees to conceal carry

By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

July 2, 2025

County leaders are debating a new policy that would ban the public from carrying any weapons within Ouray County buildings but allow county employees with valid permits to conceal carry weapons in mos...

Daniel Schmidt daniel@ouraynews.com

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines