Dear Editor: On Nov. 2, Ouray voters will be asked to pass a 15% excise tax on short-term rentals, but the ballot language is not very specific. It states that the tax is to “use the proceeds to fund ...

Dear Editor: According to the May, 2021 Notice of Valuation from the county assessor’s office my property taxes due in 2022 went up approximately 15% (if the mill levy remains the same). The revenue f...

Dear Editor: The Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison National Forest released its draft forest plan and draft Environmental Impact Statement on Aug. 13, which opened the 90-day comment period. The forest ...

Dear Editor: I would like to redress the political cartoon published in last week’s Opinion section. In the era through which we are currently passing; one of constitutional fragility fraught with pol...

Dear Editor: I would like to encourage the Ridgway community to join me in voting for 4A and 4B—two questions on the upcoming ballot proposed by the Ridgway School District (RSD). The two initiatives ...

Ridgway, our little mountain town, is known for many things – our San Juan Mountains, the home of the Grammy, and a vibrant art community. Our town’s history is equally broad – ranching, trains, and m...

Dolgio Nergui came to Colorado with a goal of becoming a ski bum, but she instead joined a community where she found a desire to help others in the outdoors. Dolgio is originally from Mongolia and cam...

I was raised in a small, dairy city called Chino in California. There were cows around — you could surely smell their presence, especially on a warm morning. (That is a column for another day.) The da...

It’s been a smoky, unusually hot, but relatively moist summer in Ouray. Luckily for us, though, we have experienced nothing remotely like the climate disasters (horrific megafires, record-smashing hig...

In 1983 and 1984, I trained a cutting horse named Sonitas Joy. We won $320,000 in a year and a half. Her owner decided to retire her and breed her. Since she was such an exceptional mare, stallion own...

Warning! This is a history-lite column: some undisputed facts along with a few rumors and legends. Historians and writers agree that Butch Cassidy lived and worked in the mining boomtown Telluride, an...

Decades ago, Trisha Oakland took acting classes at the Sherbino Theater. She was an elementary school student at the time, growing up in Ridgway. Now, as the director of programs for the theater and W...

Thunder rumbles. It’s 78 degrees outside at midday, Ouray’s average July high. This monsoon weather dims the memory of an anomalously warm June (days 4.9 degrees above average, nights 4.3) and July (d...

By the time you read this, at least 59 days will have passed since Montrose resident Luther Medina died in Dexter Creek Canyon after being pulled over by Ouray Police Officer Brady Suppeland. We stil...

A story on Page 1 in the July 8-14 edition should have said the Ouray City Council in 2019 began subjecting to short-term regulations properties leased for less than 30 days.

Dear Editor: My family and I spent the most memorable 4th of July of my life in your amazing town. Thank you, Ouray! One of the highlights was the water fight with bonafide fire hoses. We were fascina...

50 YEARS AGO July 15, 1971 - A major piece of business was transacted in the Ouray City Council meeting Monday night that may effect a considerable change in the appearance of Ouray’s business distric...

Dear Editor: On behalf of the entire family of Paul McElrea, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the friends who helped search for our beloved Paul and the Ouray County professionals, in ...

We’ve reached the time in summer when we play a game I don’t like much. The “where’s that smoke coming from” game. The haze first brings grayish skies, muddying our views of the spectacular mountain v...

A search for a missing Ridgway man ended tragically on Wednesday morning after his body was found at the scene of a motorcycle accident. Paul McElrea, 52, had left home before midnight on Monday and d...