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Main
Outfitter settles wildfire claims
Firm pays $500K to Forest Service but denies liability
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
February 19, 2025
A San Miguel County hunting outfitter will pay the U.S. Forest Service $500,000 to resolve allegations it was liable for a 2019 wildfire east of Ridgway. The settlement agreement, announced last week ...
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County manager resigns
Main, News...
County manager resigns
Week after criticism, Hunt defends herself, then gives notice
By Deb Hurley Brobst Special to the Plaindealer 
February 12, 2025
Ouray County Manager Connie Hunt resigned from her position after meeting with commissioners for more than three hours Tuesday to discuss her performance evaluation. Commissioners reiterated they were...
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Main, News...
Partners in crime
Contracting police services common across Colorado, notably in rural areas, mountains
By Erin McIntyre and Mike Wiggins erin@ouraynews.com mike@ouraynews.com 
February 12, 2025
A fix to the city of Ouray's ongoing challenges with its police department may be just a block down the street — at the Ouray County Sheriff's Office. Other municipalities in Colorado that have had di...
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CREATING SPACES FOR OTHERS
Main, News...
CREATING SPACES FOR OTHERS
Ouray's new parks director seeks public collaboration to make most of city's jewels
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
February 5, 2025
Long after the early winter sun dipped behind Twin Peaks, after he filled the daylight hours contemplating grant applications and reviewing plans spread across a conference table, Joe Brown took the s...
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Main, News...
Manager faces criticism
Hunt 'crushed' after commissioners insist on improvement
By Deb Hurley Brobst Special to the Plaindealer 
February 5, 2025
Ouray County commissioners spent more than an hour Wednesday criticizing County Manager Connie Hunt’s job performance in the last year, saying they felt some recurring issues hadn’t been addressed, sh...
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Main, News...
Cop rips city over hiring process
Officer says department needs new chief, other help now, suggests he may resign
By Mike Wiggins and Erin McIntyre mike@ouraynews.com erin@ouraynews.com 
February 5, 2025
A Ouray police officer criticized city leaders Monday night for restarting the search for a new police chief rather than selecting one of the finalists for the job, and said he might quit. Officer Bra...
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‘I want to build something really cool’
Main, News...
‘I want to build something really cool’
New chief takes helm as county emergency medical services grows, modernizes
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
January 29, 2025
Nathan McCullough's new desk is stickered all over with pink Post-it notes about supply orders, grants, paying volunteers and reminders about determination, positivity and faith. For the past six mont...
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Main, News...
Search for police chief starts over
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
January 29, 2025
If the city of Ouray’s search for a new police chief mirrored the career arc of a law enforcement officer, it would be back at the training academy. Seven months after firing Police Chief Jeff Wood an...
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Mobile home park deal inked
Main, News...
Mobile home park deal inked
Swiss Village residents set to close on land in May for $2.5M
By Erin McIntyre and Mike Wiggins erin@ouraynews.com mike@ouraynews.com 
January 29, 2025
Residents of Swiss Village Mobile Home Park are under contract to purchase the land their homes sit upon, a crucial step toward ensuring the park between the Uncompahgre River and the steep cliffs on ...
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The man behind the tower
Main, News...
The man behind the tower
Marcus Garcia's 'artwork' serves as focal point of Ice Fest competition
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
January 22, 2025
It peers out from the Uncompahgre Gorge like a swan with a body of rock and ice, daring climbers to reach its head. Rooted at the foot of the gorge, a slab of rock is sandwiched between two distinct s...
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Main, News...
Ouray to take over via ferrata
Nonprofit to transition out of management, as guides, users hail move
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
January 22, 2025
The city of Ouray is expected to take charge of the operations of the Ouray Via Ferrata within the next year, overseeing an outdoor attraction that has simultaneously surged in popularity and stirred ...
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SADDLE UP AND RIDE
Main, News...
SADDLE UP AND RIDE
January 15, 2025
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Report: Padgett likely treated workers poorly
Main, News...
Report: Padgett likely treated workers poorly
Commissioner apologizes; county plans to adopt code of conduct
By By Deb Hurley Brobst and Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
January 15, 2025
Ouray County commissioners will develop a conduct policy for both elected county leaders and staff in the wake of a final report on an investigation of Road and Bridge Superintendent Ty Barger’s compl...
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An adventurer of ‘considerable abilities’
Main, News...
An adventurer of ‘considerable abilities’
Whether he was testing his own athletic limits or mentoring others, avalanche victim Don Moden Jr. was passionate about the outdoors
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
January 15, 2025
It was a workout day for Don Moden Jr. For the 57-year-old Ridgway athlete and adventurer, that could take many forms — a gravel bike ride along County Road 24, a run on one of the countless ribbons o...
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BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
Feature, Main...
BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS
By Lia Salvatierra lia@ouraynews.com 
January 8, 2025
In the shadows of the Uncompaghre Gorge, Sonya Wilson carefully swung her ice axe and kicked her crampons up a frosty pitch. Hooked into belayers watching from above, neighboring climbers treading up ...
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Main, News...
Ridgway man killed in avalanche
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
January 8, 2025
A Ridgway man was killed Tuesday after being caught in an avalanche while backcountry skiing near Red Mountain Pass. Ouray County Coroner Glenn Boyd identified the victim as 57-year-old Donald Moden J...
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Donors emerge in effort to save homes
Main, News...
Donors emerge in effort to save homes
Philanthropists commit $900K toward purchase of Ouray's Swiss Village
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
January 8, 2025
The people who climbed the stairs at the Ouray Community Center and filled the seats inside the City Council hearing room carried the heavy weight of worry and desperation with them. The mother of two...
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Home for the holidays
Main, News...
Home for the holidays
Perennial renters. Globetrotters. Forced minimalists. For financial and other reasons, they've spent most of their lives moving from place to place. Now, for the first time, these new Waterview homeowners are putting down roots in Ouray.
By LIA SALVATIERRA 
December 27, 2024
When Diane Todd pulled her white Chevy pickup into the driveway of her new home in Ouray, she jumped out of the car and gave her next-door neighbor a hug. It was the first time they had met, and both ...
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SUITE DREAMS ON STAGE
Main, News...
SUITE DREAMS ON STAGE
December 18, 2024
Dancer Ruby Noel, pictured at the center, reacts with the rest of the snowfl ake ballerinas during a scene. The dance program included more than 100 young dancers from across the region.
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Ridgway carried Padgett to victory
Main, News...
Ridgway carried Padgett to victory
County voters' favor for Democratic candidates stronger than ever
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
December 18, 2024
Just like four years ago, Democrat Lynn Padgett has Ridgway-area voters primarily to thank for lifting her to victory and securing a second four-year term as a Ouray County commissioner. Padgett won 5...
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Editor Picks
Crews working to fill 1950s-era well along U.S. 550
News
Crews working to fill 1950s-era well along U.S. 550
Reclamation part of orphaned and abandoned well program
By Chart Riggall 
September 4, 2026
It’s not what you think. A towering steel drill rig that’s been perched along the side of U.S. Highway 550 in recent weeks isn’t probing for gas, or oil, or even a route to the Far East. The operation...
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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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News
Businesses share struggles with senator
'You guys are in crisis,' Hickenlooper tells proprietors wrestling with aftermath of Gold Mountain Fire
By Mike Wiggins mike@ouraynews.com 
September 2, 2026
Ouray County business owners bent the ear of U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper on Friday, sharing stories of declining profits and mass cancellations in the wake of the Gold Mountain Fire in the hopes the D...
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Remote-triggered avalanche in San Juan Mountains

First responders receive first COVID-19 vaccines

Ouray County Plaindealer
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Ridgway, Colorado 81432
970-325-4412

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Ridgway CO 81432

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