Author - News

Columns, Opinion

Between a rack and a hard place: What to do about single copy sales?

This week marks our seventh anniversary of owning the Plaindealer. I always remember the date because of April Fool's Day. We were careful to avoid Ap...

April 1, 2026

Columns

Seeing isn’t always believing: Improve your news literacy on Feb. 22

"I'll believe it when I see it" and "seeing is believing" are two phrases that haven't aged well. Nowadays, I'm skeptical of videos friends send me, p...

February 11, 2026

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

Main, News...

Ridgway sues MTN Lodge

Town seeks payment of sales, lodging taxes; hotel calls lawsuit 'misguided'

By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

April 1, 2026

The town of Ridgway is suing the owners of MTN Lodge over their plans to use the hotel as workforce housing for the next several years, aiming to suspend operations and demanding they pay lodging and ...

Main, News...

Board rebukes commissioner

Niece, Nauer censure Padgett for secretly recording closed-door meeting

By By Lia Salvatierra and Erin McIntyre lia@ouraynews.com erin@ouraynews.com

April 1, 2026

Two Ouray County commissioners publicly reprimanded their fellow commissioner after discovering she secretly recorded an executive session last week. Portions of the audio from that executive session ...

Main, News...

Proposed merger could make fire chief highest paid official

Latest draft bases members' voting power on financial contributions

By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com

April 1, 2026

The current proposal to combine fire and emergency medical services entities in Ouray County could eventually make the new fire chief the highest-paid public official in the county and may base partic...

News

Jury convicts mother in retaliation case

By Erin McIntyre and Mike Wiggins erin@ouraynews.com mike@ouraynews.com

April 1, 2026

A jury has convicted a former Ouray woman of retaliating against another woman who accused her son of sexual assault in 2023. Jurors deliberated for about an hour on March 26 before finding Kristyn Tr...

News

EMS moves overnight quarters with help from chamber grant

By Deb Hurley Brobst Special to the Plaindealer

April 1, 2026

Ouray County Emergency Medical Services is moving its sleeping quarters for on-call staff in Ouray into the former Public Health office location, with donations providing rent assistance. An EMT will ...

Erin McIntyre

Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines