Author - News

Feature, Main

After hiatus, a rally for high school baseball in Ridgway

Ridgway High School’s 1997 baseball jerseys are having a comeback season this spring. The school’s new, pilot junior varsity baseball team is sporting...

April 15, 2026

Main

Zero-waste policy draws public fire

Ridgway town councilors tabled a draft “zero-waste” policy for events on town property after public backlash about how the rules would impact business...

April 15, 2026

Main

Administrator sought info backing chief decision

Ouray City Administrator Michelle Metteer sought input from neighboring law enforcement agencies about how they conduct background checks — after she ...

April 15, 2026

Feature

Track and field returns to Grand Junction

April 15, 2026

Letters, Opinion

Padgett must put needs of county ahead of own

Dear Editor: There is a need to acknowledge the recent revelations at the special Ouray County Board of Commissioners meeting March 30, where Commissi...

April 15, 2026

News

Looking Back

Compiled from the files ofThe Ouray County Herald, The Ridgway Sun, and The Ouray County Plaindealer60 Years AgoApril 14, 1966 The city-wide revival m...

April 15, 2026

Feature

Ridgway senior a study in honesty, leadership

Sancho Panza, in Miguel de Cervantes’ classic “Don Quijote,” often uttered, “Honesty is the best policy.” If that mantra was true for the late 1500s a...

April 15, 2026

News

Pilot composting program coming to Ridgway

Ridgway residents will soon be able to participate in Bruin Waste Management’s first residential composting service, though the program has faced some...

April 15, 2026

Feature

Good for you!

The Ridgway Secondary School Knowledge Bowl team placed second in the 2A state competition, held at Aims Community College in Greeley on March 16-17, ...

April 15, 2026

Obituaries

Lou Ella Femia

August 30, 1938 – April 3, 2026 Lou Ella Femia, 87 – beloved wife, stepmother, and grandmother – of Ouray, Colorado, passed away peacefully in her sle...

April 15, 2026

News

County renews water lease for fourth year

By LIA SALVATIERRA

April 15, 2026

Ouray County commissioners signed off on an agreement Tuesday to lease and help pay for backup water to support the county’s irrigators for a fourth year. The lease secures a 2021 no-call agreement be...

News

Ditch users, county at impasse about culvert

By LIA SALVATIERRA

April 15, 2026

A group of ranchers from the West Arm Ditch Company is refusing Ouray County’s offer to reinstall a faulty culvert this year if the water users pay for the materials, saying they shouldn’t have to pay...

News

Sex assault trial delayed for third time

By Mike Wiggins

April 15, 2026

The trial for a man charged with sexually assaulting a then-17-year-old girl in Ouray County in 2023 has been postponed for a third time. Nate Dieffenderfer is now scheduled for an eight-day trial sta...

News

Planned EV chargers move to Visitor Center

By LIA SALVATIERRA

April 15, 2026

During an April 8 meeting, the Ridgway Town Council agreed to move a charging station planned for the Ouray County 4-H Event Center and Fairgrounds to town property next to the Ridgway Visitor Center....

Letters, Opinion...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Padgett’s health issues impact county functions

By Carolyn Dresler

April 15, 2026

Dear Editor: I read with concern and consternation the lead article in the April 2-9 edition of the Plaindealer relating to the March 30 public Board of County Commissioners meeting that resulted in t...

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Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines