Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. I've been thinking about that quote from C.S. Lewis a lot lately, because I'm concerned about secret activities in the city of Ouray t...

Mining entrepreneurs founded the town of Silverton in 1874. With the discovery of silver, gold and zinc, it was a boomtown with prospectors, suppliers and builders arriving daily for adventure, riches...

Editor's note: The Plaindealer is trying something new – publishing a sports column with information about local high school sports during the seasons for those sports. We don't have the resources to ...

Spring has sprung: Baby birds chirp riotously in birdhouses, leftover snow vanishes under an ascending sun, crocus and forsythia flutter in the March wind. This first month of spring 2025 has been two...

Sunshine Week, which started Sunday, is an annual celebration of Americans’ right to know what government is doing. This year, there is far more to be concerned about than to celebrate, both nationall...

The legend of Butch Cassidy, one of the West's most enduring outlaws, has roots firmly planted in the rugged terrain of Colorado's Western Slope. Before he became a notorious bank robber and leader of...

Two weeks ago, following the first of two meltingly wet 8-inch February snowstorms, the grape hyacinths, daffodils and tulips decided it was time to shake off winter. Their deep green foliage was a re...

I recently had a delightful conversation with Amber Cornell, the new-ish senior coordinator for Neighbor to Neighbor. The nonprofit has a volunteer-based program that has been serving seniors, people ...

Who wants to come have lunch and tell us what you think of the Plaindealer? Yep, we're looking for some of our readers to share their opinions. Sounds like fun, right? We're inviting readers to apply ...

It’s been a bitter January for most of the Mountain West and eastern two-thirds of the country. The huge arctic airmass responsible for this outbreak measured 10,000 feet deep on soundings in Riverton...

I had a delightful conversation with Sue Young after the Second Chance Humane Society shelter manager let me know that she has been a star volunteer for years, walking dogs, helping at adoption events...

Put Ophir, Colorado, on your exploration bucket list for this summer. At 9,695 feet in elevation, this off-the-beaten-path community is seven miles southwest of Telluride and 10 “adventurous” miles fr...

Right on time for Christmas, the first in a series of snowstorms blew into western Colorado Monday with more snow predicted for Christmas Day and afterwards. The last week of the year is forecast to b...

Most people probably don't know they're driving past the burial site of one of the most prolific American authors in recent history when they're traveling from Ridgway to Telluride. But just off Color...

November is synonymous with Thanksgiving, a major family holiday for Americans. As most of us learned in elementary school, its storied beginnings date to the early colonists and their Indian neighbor...

John Charles Fremont (1813-1890) is a famous and infamous figure in the 19th century. He was a major general for the Union Army during the Civil War, served as a U.S. senator from California, and led ...

On Halloween, the spookiest day of the year, the latest developments in global weirding seem especially unsettling. Water Year 2024, which ended Sept. 30, was another drought year for Ouray with 22.17...

Sometimes, you can't win. You're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. It's important for us to be transparent with readers about newsroom ethical debates we hold, and we wanted to share a few of...

Do vice presidents leave a legacy? Many historians believe that Vice President George Mifflin Dallas certainly did here in Ouray County. Today you can find a creek, a mountain, a pass, a company and a...

It’s raining on a late September Saturday afternoon and a cold 48 degrees as I begin this column. Pristine snow drapes the mountains above timberline. A remarkable gardening season ends at 7,736 feet ...