Author - News

Columns, Opinion

Join us Friday for film, talk about local news inspiration, challenges

I still can’t believe we own a newspaper. It feels silly to type that sentence. We’re almost seven years into being the caretakers of this community i...

November 12, 2025

News

County court judge suspended after reports of misconduct

A Seventh Judicial District county court judge has been suspended from his job by the Colorado Supreme Court after the state judicial commission inves...

November 12, 2025

News

Ouray School Board candidate profile: Phylis Fagrelius

Phylis Fagrelius has learned an important lesson, living in Ouray for the past 37 years. “The more you give, the more you get back,” she said. It’s so...

October 15, 2025

News

Ouray School Board candidate profile: Andrea Calhoon Meruelo

It wasn’t long after Andrea Calhoon Meruelo graduated from Ouray School in 1999 that she realized she received a pretty stellar education at the tiny ...

October 15, 2025

News

Ouray School Board candidate profile: Tony Schmidt

Tony Schmidt remembers how Ouray School used to feel like it was the center of the community. When he was a kid, he saw community members coming to th...

October 15, 2025

News

Man arrested in Ouray by immigration enforcement officers

Federal immigration officials detained at least one person in Ouray this morning, according to eyewitness reports which have been confirmed by the Our...

August 7, 2025

Columns, Opinion

No fake AI here — just humans doing their best

I read with interest a summer reading list published earlier this year in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and made a note to check out Andy Weir's new book...

July 23, 2025

Columns, Opinion

An unforeseeable delay with your Plaindealer

Dear Readers, If you’re reading this message in the e-edition of the newspaper, great. That means you probably got your paper when you wanted to read ...

July 16, 2025

Columns, Opinion

A patriotic way to celebrate the Fourth

"Are you the newspaper? Are we gonna be in the paper?" These are questions I hear when people see me taking photos at parades. I usually shrug my shou...

July 9, 2025

Main, News...

Unaffiliated county candidates announce election campaigns

First-timers Todd, Oakland seek clerk, treasurer posts

By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com

January 7, 2026

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to specify that Glenn Boyd volunteers for the county EMS department. A group of unaffiliated political candidates joined together this week to announce the...

Main, News...

Mild temps leave Ice Park high, dry

Without key ingredient — ice — and no estimated opening date, officials forced to reimagine festivals

By By Lia Salvatierra and Mike Wiggins lia@ouraynews.com mike@ouraynews.com

January 7, 2026

The half-bare walls of the Uncompahgre Gorge tell a story Peter O’Neil wanted no part of — one of 50-degree December days and out-of-work rangers and ice farmers scrambling to find other sources of in...

Main, News...

Schiffer, Doherty picked for council

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

January 7, 2026

Ouray Planning Commissioner Kevin Schiffer and former city building inspector Dave Doherty were selected Monday to fill the two vacancies on the Ouray City Council, restoring a full slate of elected o...

News

Sheriff steps in again to help police

Residents back former interim chief as meeting scheduled to discuss future of policing in Ouray

By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com

January 7, 2026

The city of Ouray is once again leaning on the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office to fill gaps in police officer patrol shifts, after City Administrator Michelle Metteer decided not to hire Interim Police ...

News

Skijoring marks anniversary with expanded competition

By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com

January 7, 2026

The organizers of the San Juan Skijoring event learned a long time ago they couldn't count on Mother Nature to provide the materials for their competition. Last year, they invested $54,000 in their ow...

Erin McIntyre

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines