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Resident: Tax money should fund ‘creatives’

A Ridgway woman is proposing the town give "creative" residents a monthly, unconditional cash payment to encourage them to stay living and working in ...

December 10, 2025

News

Commissioner opposes change to cost-savings policy

Ouray County Commissioner Lynn Padgett voted against a minor change to the county's new cost-savings policy, citing unclear language as the reason she...

December 10, 2025

News

County OKs budget, will diminish savings

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to accurately reflect the county's disaster fund balance heading into 2026. Ouray County commissioners ap...

December 10, 2025

Main, News

Ridgway to grow capacity to fight wildland fires

Ridgway’s wildland firefighters have mopped up hotspots in Nevada, fought wildfire on the front lines in California and protected structures at home i...

December 3, 2025

Main, News

County chops event center operations to aid budget

Ouray County is performing triage on its 2026 budget as 2025 revenues are coming in lower than expected, placing even more pressure on the county’s ge...

December 3, 2025

Main, News

State to reduce highway speeds near Ridgway

The Colorado Department of Transportation plans to lower the speed limit for traffic along a half-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 550 north of Ridgway, n...

November 26, 2025

News

Schools adopt frameworks for AI tools

Both Ridgway Secondary School and the Ouray School District have adopted guidelines for students to use artificial intelligence, joining the first wav...

November 26, 2025

News

Housing report: Few first-time buyers can afford average-priced homes in Ouray County

An estimated 100% of potential firsttime homebuyers in Ridgway and 93% of those in Ouray County cannot afford to buy an average-priced home. Those are...

November 26, 2025

Feature

A passion that’s choc-full of potential

Past a gate, at the end of a dirt road on Log Hill Mesa, is an Ouray County-style Willy Wonka factory. From his off-grid home, Nathan Montgomery churn...

November 26, 2025

Main, News

Commissioner: ‘My patience is gone’

Ouray County Commissioner Michelle Nauer has asked Commissioner Lynn Padgett to take a "timeout" and attend meetings by Zoom while the county makes le...

November 19, 2025

News

Nine vying to fill two openings on Ouray City Council

Council will use ranked choice voting to select councilors

By Mike Wiggins

January 2, 2026

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect council applicant Ashley Hineline's recent job change. The three-member Ouray City Council will have plenty of options to choose from when it deci...

Years after acquittal, man gets prison in second case

News

TOP STORIES OF THE YEAR: BRIAN SCRANTON CONVICTED OF SEX ASSAULT

Years after acquittal, man gets prison in second case

By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com

December 31, 2025

Editor’s note: This story contains details about a sex assault case. Ten years after he was first arrested for alleged sex assault in Ouray County, a Ridgway man was convicted in another sex assault c...

County endures year of resignations, infighting

News

TOP STORIES OF THE YEAR: TUMULT WITHIN TOP RANKS OF COUNTY

County endures year of resignations, infighting

By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com

December 31, 2025

Ouray County government weathered a year of turmoil and transition in 2025, and ended the year hopeful that its new top leader would bring a fresh perspective and stability. County commissioners ended...

After tear down and rebuild, agency again faces upheaval

News

TOP STORIES OF THE YEAR: POLICE TURMOIL CONTINUES

After tear down and rebuild, agency again faces upheaval

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

December 31, 2025

After more than a year of turmoil that consumed 2024 and bled over into the first quarter of 2025, the Ouray Police Department underwent a complete tear down and transition under an interim police chi...

Looking Back, Opinion...

Looking Back

By Compiled from the files of The Ouray County Herald, The Ridgway Sun, and The Ouray County Plaindealer

December 31, 2025

60 Years Ago December 30, 1965 What can we expect to happen to our pocketbook in 1966? Here are some clues gleaned from the 43rd Annual National Agricultural Outlook Conference held in Washington D.C....

Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines