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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...

Goodbye 2025,

Goodbye 2025, hello 2026

December 31, 2025

hello 2026 Look inside for a recap — in no particular order — of the top stories in the county in 2025

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 an alleged sexual assault. Ten years after he was first arrested for alleged sex assault in Ouray County, a Ridgway man was convicted in another sex as...

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....

Erin McIntyre

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines