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As fall championships approach, a look back at memorable moments for Ridgway, Ouray
Columns, Feature...
PREP ROUNDUP
As fall championships approach, a look back at memorable moments for Ridgway, Ouray
By By Matt Meyer Special to the Plaindealer 
October 22, 2025
In my career as a journalist, I’ve covered dozens of state championship games and events. At this point, it might even be in the triple digits — and there are a handful of things they all have in comm...
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Calendar & Events
Calendar & Events, Feature...
Calendar & Events
Oct. 23-Nov. 6, 2025
October 22, 2025
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23 Meet and Greet with Interim Ouray Police Chief Daric Harvey, 5-7 p.m., Cassidy’s Cafe, 480 Main St., Ouray. Public feedback encouraged as part of hiring process for permanent poli...
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Feature
Ridgway Film Festival offers packed weekend
By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com 
October 15, 2025
"Eclectic" might be the word to describe the 11th Annual Ridgway Independent Film Festival's schedule. The fest has exploded into a four-day event, running today (Thursday) through Sunday, with 101 fi...
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Young Ouray volleyball squad showing progress
Columns, Feature...
PREP ROUNDUP
Young Ouray volleyball squad showing progress
By By Matt Meyer Special to the Plaindealer 
October 15, 2025
The second win of the season is rarely cause for celebration. But when the Ouray High School volleyball team defeated Pinnacle 25-18, 25-18, 20-25, 26-24 on Saturday, it secured the program’s best fin...
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Calendar & Events
Feature
Calendar & Events
October 15, 2025
THURSDAY OCTOBER 16 Ridgway Independent Film Festival begins, visit ridgwayfestival.co for full schedule and details. Festival pass $120, single film and day passes available. Puppet shows with Judy f...
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A muddy mess in Mancos
Feature
A muddy mess in Mancos
October 15, 2025
The Oct. 11 Chicken Creek Challenge cross country meet in Mancos proved to be a sloppy affair. Far left, Ridgway middle schooler Neely Hepp finished 19th in the middle school girls' 3K race with a tim...
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Feature
Good For You!
By Plaindealer Staff 
October 15, 2025
Alexander Price, the president and CEO of Citizens State Bank based in Ouray, delivered the keynote address at the 2025 Community Banking Research Conference on Oct. 7. The conference brought together...
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How the San Juans got their name from an early trailblazer
Columns, Feature...
How the San Juans got their name from an early trailblazer
By Carolyn Snowbarger 
October 8, 2025
The San Juan Mountains are not just a mountain range; they are the jagged, breathtaking spine of southwestern Colorado. This is a land of untamed peaks, alpine meadows and sheer rock faces. Our mighty...
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Run, don’t walk: How a Ridgway athlete is improving dramatically
Columns, Feature...
PREP ROUNDUP
Run, don’t walk: How a Ridgway athlete is improving dramatically
By By Matt Meyer Special to the Plaindealer 
October 8, 2025
Orion Catron first ran because he really, really didn’t want to walk. As a freshman at Ridgway High School, he wasn’t connecting with classmates or pushing himself. “I think my parents recognized this...
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‘An Iliad’ shares ‘an epic story in a really intimate setting’
Feature
‘An Iliad’ shares ‘an epic story in a really intimate setting’
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
October 1, 2025
Playing in Ouray this weekend, modern-day retelling of Homer's poem explores valor, savagery of Trojan War In the last 20 years, John Kissingford has played all manner of roles. A novelist in a romant...
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Looking Back
Feature
Looking Back
October 1, 2025
Compiled from the files of The Ouray County Herald, The Ridgway Sun, and The Ouray County Plaindealer 50 Years Ago October 2, 1975 A one-ticket purchaser won the Jeep Cherokee in the Color Week drawin...
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Ridgway girls’ cross country storms Sweitzer Lake
Feature
PREP SPORTS
Ridgway girls’ cross country storms Sweitzer Lake
By By Joel Priest Special to the Plaindealer 
October 1, 2025
DELTA — Keeping a friend close but a cross-country enemy (of sorts) even closer, Natasha and Ariel Hessler’s relaxation run on Sept. 26 may as well have been a continuation of how the 2025 Sweitzer La...
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Calendar & Events
Calendar & Events, Feature...
Calendar & Events
Oct. 2-16, 2025
October 1, 2025
THURSDAY OCTOBER 2 Ouray County Republican Central Committee monthly meeting, 6 p.m., Twin Peaks Hot Springs Riverside breakfast room, 124 Third St. in Ouray. More information at ourayrepublicans.com....
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‘Ordinary mom’ helps bring history to life
Feature
NEIGHBORS AND HELPERS
‘Ordinary mom’ helps bring history to life
By By Ariel Hessler Special to the Plaindealer 
September 24, 2025
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect the location Amanda Caldwell taught in Longmont. For Amanda Caldwell, most mornings start the same way: coffee with her husband, then breakfast ...
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Spotlight on the Arts: Katy Kristoffersen
Feature
SPOTLIGHT ON THE ARTS
Spotlight on the Arts: Katy Kristoffersen
By By Natasha Hessler Special to the Plaindealer 
September 24, 2025
For Katy Kristoffersen music is therapeutic. Kristoffersen, who is now the music director at the United Church of the San Juans in Ridgway, double- majored in psychology and music at Miami University ...
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New Ouray athletics director seeks to build attendance, program support
Columns, Feature...
PREP ROUNDUP
New Ouray athletics director seeks to build attendance, program support
By By Matt Meyer Special to the Plaindealer 
September 24, 2025
Like many with remote positions, Leah Klempner and her husband explored the country through their travels. They made their way to Ouray in 2020 and immediately fell in love, returning each summer afte...
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‘Good people’: New family takes on Ouray Grocery
Feature
‘Good people’: New family takes on Ouray Grocery
Owners with previous ties to San Juans plan to add to inventory
By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com 
September 24, 2025
Brian Howerton found himself in the grocery business by accident. It all started more than 30 years ago, when he left a job in the Wyoming oil fields and moved to help his in-laws open a Kenny Rogers ...
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New floral studio blooms in Ridgway
Feature
New floral studio blooms in Ridgway
Former landscape designer opens Sticks & Stones, focuses on flower production, design
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
September 24, 2025
Kristina Lemon began buying flowers for herself each week about three years ago. It became an act of self-care and something she’d been doing for others for more than two decades, arranging and giftin...
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East meets West at Ridgway practice
Feature
East meets West at Ridgway practice
Onda Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine aims to treat physical, emotional pain
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
September 24, 2025
Though she studied it for years, Sam Willits still considers acupuncture magic. She’s seen it solve sleep issues and digestive problems, chronic pain and depression. “What can’t it do, really?” she sa...
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Calendar & Events
Calendar & Events, Feature...
Calendar & Events
Sept. 25 – Oct. 11, 2025
September 24, 2025
Thursday, September 25 38th Annual Jeep Jamboree in Ouray, visit jeepjamboreeusa. com for details. Tech Thursday – Get help with quick tech problems from 4-6 p.m. at the Ridgway Public Library, 300 Ch...
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Editor Picks
Ridgway to grow capacity to fight wildland fires
Main, News...
Ridgway to grow capacity to fight wildland fires
Additional staff, engine can enhance skills, create more revenue
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
December 3, 2025
Ridgway’s wildland firefighters have mopped up hotspots in Nevada, fought wildfire on the front lines in California and protected structures at home in Colorado. Since the Ridgway Fire Protection Dist...
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Main, News...
County chops event center operations to aid budget
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
December 3, 2025
Ouray County is performing triage on its 2026 budget as 2025 revenues are coming in lower than expected, placing even more pressure on the county’s general fund savings. County leaders have been worki...
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New council’s first task: Fill vacancies
News
New council’s first task: Fill vacancies
After soliciting applications, councilors to interview, pick appointments Jan. 5
December 3, 2025
Ouray city leaders swore in a new mayor and city councilor Monday night, then turned their attention to the council’s most pressing issue: Finding and appointing two more councilors to fill out the ra...
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News
Slow start to snow season
Wave of storms helps, but snowpack in San Juans well below normal
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
December 3, 2025
A series of post-Thanksgiving storms delivered desperately needed snow to the moisture-starved San Juans, but snowpack at the start of December remains well below average in Ouray County and the surro...
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News
SEASON OF SHARING
Ridgway Ouray Community Council
December 3, 2025
Editor's note: The Ouray County Plaindealer is continuing its tradition of featuring nonprofit organizations based in Ouray County, serving Ouray County in a series of profiles called Season of Sharin...
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Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines

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