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A Monster celebration
Main, News...
A Monster celebration
October 7, 2026
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City, county near pact on police services
Main, News...
City, county near pact on police services
Boards to vote this month on sheriff 's $1.1M annual proposal to police Ouray
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
October 7, 2026
Ouray County and the city of Ouray are hammering out the details of an agreement that would enlist the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office to provide full law enforcement services to the city for potentiall...
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Reservoir transfer bill clears Senate
Main, News...
Reservoir transfer bill clears Senate
By Chart Riggall 
October 7, 2026
Federal legislation to transfer ownership of Crystal Reservoir to the city of Ouray cleared the U.S. Senate last week, sending the bill to the House of Representatives as the clock winds down for Cong...
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Crystal Reservoir transfer bill clears Senate, but clock’s ticking
Main, News...
Crystal Reservoir transfer bill clears Senate, but clock’s ticking
By Chart Riggall, chart@ouraynews.com 
October 2, 2026
Federal legislation to transfer ownership of Crystal Reservoir to the city of Ouray cleared the U.S. Senate this week, sending the bill to the House of Representatives as the clock winds down for Cong...
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A Skyway show worth seeing
Main, News...
A Skyway show worth seeing
September 30, 2026
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Main, News...
Budget slashing begins
Board considers own pay cut, trimming staff, claiming leftover road paving funds
By James Hanlon 
September 30, 2026
Department by department, piece by piece, Ouray County commissioners worked toward cutting $1.5 million from the county’s draft budget at all-day budget sessions Sept. 23 and 29. Commissioners set a 1...
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Ouray sergeant’s job? It’s unclear
Main, News...
Ouray sergeant’s job? It’s unclear
What does the only remaining full-time police employee do for work? Nobody — including Matt Troxell — will say
September 30, 2026
Each weekday, the Ouray Police Department’s sole full-time employee hops in an unmarked black and white SUV for the 15-minute commute from his home in Ridgway to his job in Ouray. Sgt. Matt Troxell ba...
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Popular trail needs new steward
Main, News...
Popular trail needs new steward
Uncompahgre Riverway Trail founder, longtime volunteer ready to step down
By James Hanlon 
September 23, 2026
Chip Marlow, the man who spearheaded the construction of the Uncompahgre Riverway Trail from Ridgway to Ridgway State Park, has maintained the multiuse path largely by himself for many years. Now 80 y...
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Main, News...
‘Super El Niño’ won’t be savior for West Slope
Officials: Warming Pacific temps may bring more snow but won't wipe out drought or fill reservoirs
By Chart Riggall 
September 23, 2026
GRAND JUNCTION — Amid a stream of bad news for Western Slope water stakeholders last week, Russ Schumacher had the pleasure of opening the sluice. Nearly on the far side of the state’s worst drought y...
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Judge to hotel: End workforce housing
Main, News...
Judge to hotel: End workforce housing
Injunction prohibits MTN Lodge from housing resort construction workers
By James Hanlon 
September 23, 2026
A district court judge has ordered Ridgway's largest hotel to stop housing construction workers who are building a new Four Seasons in Mountain Village. In a preliminary injunction filed Sept. 16, the...
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Investigators close case on mine shaft death
Main, News...
Investigators close case on mine shaft death
Nearly a year later, authorities conclude Ridgway resident Jennifer Nelson accidentally drowned
By Erin McIntyre erin@ouraynews.com 
September 23, 2026
Eleven months after rescue volunteers found Jennifer Nelson's body in a water-filled mine shaft on Red Mountain Pass, investigators are left wondering what her final moments looked like. Their case, w...
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County: Layoffs likely
Main, News...
County: Layoffs likely
Commissioners, administrators warn of job cuts to close $1.5 million gap; staff criticizes leaders for not addressing problem earlier
By James Hanlon 
September 16, 2026
Ouray County will likely need to lay off employees to make up a projected $1.5 million gap between requested expenses and revenue next year, county officials warned at a budget workshop on Sept. 9. Th...
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Main, News...
Disaster tax not ‘backfill’ for fire costs, leaders say
By Chart Riggall 
September 16, 2026
In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s declaration of the Gold Mountain Fire as a major federal disaster, Ouray County commissioners say the potential influx of additional federal funds doesn't ...
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A barrel of fun on Labor Day
Main
A barrel of fun on Labor Day
September 9, 2026
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Main, News...
Water restrictions exception, not rule
Colorado is on track for its warmest year ever. Source flows are diminishing or at historic lows. So why has only one water provider in Ouray County ordered cutbacks this summer?
By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com 
September 9, 2026
In the early days of summer, it remained a matter of some debate where the drought of 2026 ranked in the annals of long, hot Colorado summers. For Cary Denison, Ouray County’s representative on the Co...
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Main
Trump declares disaster for fire
By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com 
September 9, 2026
Move frees up federal relief money President Donald Trump approved a major disaster declaration for the Gold Mountain and Aspen Acres fires, unlocking millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Manageme...
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Trump declares disaster for Gold Mountain, Aspen Acres fires
Main, News...
Trump declares disaster for Gold Mountain, Aspen Acres fires
By Chart Riggall 
September 4, 2026
President Donald Trump has signed off on a major disaster declaration for the Gold Mountain and Aspen Acres fires that unlocks millions of dollars in Federal Emergency Management Agency relief funds f...
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Hickenlooper hopeful for fire disaster order
Main, News...
Hickenlooper hopeful for fire disaster order
Senator tours flood-damaged areas, surveys planned fire mitigation efforts
By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com 
September 2, 2026
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said Friday he was optimistic the Trump administration will declare the Gold Mountain Fire a federal disaster, arguing Congress “wouldn’t settle for” the White House withho...
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Main, News...
County employees remain on paid leave
EMS paramedic, deputy emergency manager sent home days after fire started
By By James Hanlon james@ouraynews.com 
September 2, 2026
Ouray County has had two emergency-related employees on paid administrative leave since the early days of the Gold Mountain Fire. A third employee, Road and Bridge Superintendent Ty Barger, was placed...
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Factors behind the fire: What drove its spread?
Main
Factors behind the fire: What drove its spread?
Experts: Age-old forests, climate change, extreme drought created prime conditions for Gold Mountain Fire
By Chart Riggall 
August 26, 2026
In the summer of 1879, the largest wildfire in Colorado history at the time tore through 26,000 acres of rugged forest about eight miles south of Silverton and presaged a vast shift in its landscape. ...
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Editor Picks
News
SMPA plans Four Corners solar project
Utility: Array, ba ttery storage could meet up to 40% of consumer power needs
By By Chart Riggall chart@ouraynews.com 
October 7, 2026
San Miguel Power Association has joined three other southwest Colorado electricity providers in throwing their weight behind a sprawling solar facility near Cortez that could meet up to 40% of their c...
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News
Council not on board with transit funding next year
Ouray won't budget for in-town shuttle, Montrose bus
By By James Hanlon james@ouraynews.com 
October 7, 2026
The Ouray City Council dropped funding from the proposed 2027 budget for the city’s free in-town shuttle and contributions to the OurWay bus that runs between Montrose and Ouray. The in-town Ouray shu...
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News
Ouray proposes flat budget in 2027
Plan calls for no staff pay raises, funding for future public works building, Fellin Park safety upgrades
By By Deb Hurley Brobst and James Hanlon james@ouraynews.com 
October 7, 2026
The Ouray City Council got its first glimpse of the draft 2027 budget last week, a plan that projects little or no growth in city revenue. The budget doesn’t include pay raises for staff, paving proje...
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Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Oppose road to nowhere
October 7, 2026
Dear Editor: The town planning commission just approved a road to one house to be built in the river overlay district, an area next to the Uncompahgre River. They approved widening the driveway that g...
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Letters, Opinion...
County’s short-term rental policy ineffective
October 7, 2026
Dear Editor: I wanted to express my appreciation for Ouray County land use planner Dan Hughes. Dan has been been tireless in helping me navigate the Ouray County short-term rental computer issues. We ...
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Ridgway, Colorado 81432
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