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News

Last month Colorado celebrated its 150th anniversary of statehood. Many of us assume that statehood was inevitable for this place we love.However, the...

September 9, 2026

Columns, Feature

Chimney Rock stands as sentinel in smoke

If you look east from Ridgway, the view of the Cimarron Range is usually a masterpiece of sharp, clear angles. At the center of it all stands the unmi...

July 15, 2026

Columns, Feature

Anniversaries a reminder of power of this place

The "power of place" is the theory that physical locations shape our lives, identities and ultimate destinies. This concept suggests that a geographic...

June 17, 2026

Columns, Opinion

War to peace: rebranding the San Juans

For decades, the San Juans were valued primarily for what could be pulled out of them. These mountains were a brutal, dangerous locale defined by the ...

May 13, 2026

Columns, Feature

A valley of broken promises and bitter water

For anyone driving the lonely stretch of Colorado Highway 141 through the West End of Montrose County, the sign for “Disappointment Valley” usually pr...

April 8, 2026

Columns, Opinion

Wyatt Earp’s brief, quiet chapter in the San Juans

Wyatt Earp wasn’t born a legend. He was an opportunist, a man with a keen eye for the next horizon and a knack for finding — or perhaps stirring up — ...

March 11, 2026

Main

A barrel of fun on Labor Day

September 9, 2026

Main

Water restrictions exception, not rule

Colorado is on track for its warmest year ever. Source flows are diminishing or at historic lows. So why has only one water provider in Ouray County ordered cutbacks this summer?

By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com

September 9, 2026

In the early days of summer, it remained a matter of some debate where the drought of 2026 ranked in the annals of long, hot Colorado summers. For Cary Denison, Ouray County’s representative on the Co...

Main

Trump declares disaster for fire

By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com

September 9, 2026

Move frees up federal relief money President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the Gold Mountain and Aspen Acres fires, unlocking millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Manageme...

News

Crews working to plug old water well

Operation part of state program to reclaim abandoned sites

By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com

September 9, 2026

It’s not what you think. A towering steel drill 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 is ...

News

Parking enforcement nixes popular highway camping spot

By By James Hanlon james@ouraynews.com

September 9, 2026

Officials cite concerns about safety, health at Tuffy's Corner A highway pullout popular for overnight camper parking north of Ouray has been empty in recent weeks since ‘no camping’ signs were instal...

Carolyn Snowbarger

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines