Main, News...
September 4, 2026
President Donald Trump has signed off on a major disaster declaration ...
Main, News...
Senator tours flood-damaged areas, surveys planned fire mitigation efforts
September 2, 2026
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said Friday he was optimistic the Trump ad...
Main, News...
EMS paramedic, deputy emergency manager sent home days after fire started
September 2, 2026
Ouray County has had two emergency-related employees on paid administr...
News
Reclamation part of orphaned and abandoned well program
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 is instead part of a state program to plug thousands of abandoned, or “orphaned” wells across Colorado. Work to fill in the decades-old well just north of Cedar Hill Cemetery is expected to be comple...
News
Finance managers get cool reception from commissioners in bid for $110M federal grant to revive gold and silver mine in Governor Basin
September 2, 2026
Kris Peterson and Alex Klemt said it was an algorithm that led them west from Colorado Springs, up a rough dirt road past the Camp Bird Mine, and into the lofty tundra of Governor Basin. With the help...
News
September 2, 2026
Ouray County would like the Colorado Department of Transportation to do more to take care of noxious weeds growing out of control along U.S. Highway 550 and Colorado Highway 62. County commissioners s...
News
Stage 2 fire ban rescinded
September 2, 2026
Ouray County and the town of Ridgway have rescinded Stage 2 fire restrictions and dropping down to less-restrictive Stage 1 restrictions, citing recent moisture that has helped reduce fire danger. The...
News
September 2, 2026
It's time to kick up a little dust, hoot n' holler and watch cowboys and cowgirls show off their skills at the rodeo. This year's rodeo features the traditional events — bull and bronc riding, team ro...
News
September 2, 2026
Coloradans will vote this November on a ballot measure that would raise income taxes on the top 3% of earners and slightly cut them for everyone else. Backers of Proposed Initiative 195 submitted a su...
News
September 2, 2026
Thursday, September 3 Ouray County Republican Central Committee monthly meeting, 6 p.m., Ridgway Public Library meeting room, 300 Charles St. "Rocky Horror Picture Show" shadow cast edition auditions,...
Feature
Michael Flaim named interim leader of Ouray preK-8 students
August 26, 2026
Michael Flaim, an educator who taught economics and social studies at international schools for nearly 20 years, has started as Ouray School’s interim preK-8 principal for the 2026-2027 school year. T...
Columns, Feature...
August 26, 2026
Situated on debris fans created by Portland and Cascade creeks, Ouray lies in a 5,000-foot deep rock bowl drained by five major creeks emptying into the Uncompahgre River. It’s not surprising that for...
Feature
August 26, 2026
Editor’s note: We have continued the tradition of including Q&A profiles of new teachers in the Ridgway and Ouray school districts in the newspaper this year, to help introduce these new leaders to th...
Feature
August 26, 2026
The “Good For You!” page is a place for reader-submitted photos illustrating community, celebrations and more. Want to submit a photo for publication? Here are some guidelines for submissions: - This ...
Feature
PREP ROUNDUP
August 26, 2026
Four seasons ago when Brian McDowell came on the scene to assume the head coaching reins of Ouray High School volleyball, he was called to resurrect a program that had fallen on hard times. Limited su...
Feature
Columbine Mineral Shop looks much like it did when it opened in 1966, offering one-of-a-kind souvenirs
August 26, 2026
“Rocks” says a simple sign extending over the sidewalk on Ouray’s Main Street, adorned with a columbine flower. Inside, long narrow displays invite customers to explore toward the back, receding into ...
Letters, Opinion...
September 2, 2026
Dear Editor: I opened the letter received last Wednesday and was a bit confused as to the intent, since the photos leading the letter are of the True Grit and several businesses that no longer exist i...
Letters, Opinion...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
September 2, 2026
Dear Editor: I am writing in response to Jeff Lindberg’s letter in the Aug. 27 edition. My husband and I live in Ouray County primarily because we love to hike. We have lived here for eight years, but...
Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
September 2, 2026
Dear Editor: This letter pertains to an article by Chart Riggall in the Aug. 27 edition. I thought it was an excellent article on the history of fire in the San Juans, etc. However, there was, in my o...
Letters, Opinion...
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
September 2, 2026
Dear Editor: It was the wind. I read with great interest the in-depth article by Chart Riggall in the Aug. 27 edition of the Ouray County Plaindealer. He cited the history of our forests and the reaso...
Main
Experts: Age-old forests, climate change, extreme drought created prime conditions for Gold Mountain Fire
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. ...
