Stamp prices have gone up. Service has fluctuated wildly. Delivery drivers and clerks have come and gone. But for 22 years, there was one constant at the Ridgway Post Office: Laura Hagert and her dedication to her job and customers: ouraynews.com/2025/04/30/sig…

Good. Journalists should not be afforded special privilege. Public records belong to the public, and everyone should have equal access. Governments need to focus on responding in a timely fashion, not taking longer and charging more for records the public has already paid for.

Six years ago Erin McIntyre and I bet on journalism when we became the owners and publishers of the Ouray County Plaindealer. So of course we bet on Journalism and Publisher for today’s #KentuckyDerby151

I’ve never met Les Zaitz but hope to someday. The rural Oregon newspaper he and his wife have shepherded the last decade is THE model for community journalism. All the best to Les in retirement. Impossible to overstate the impact of its closure. malheurenterprise.com/2025/05/06/mal…

2002 was a brutal year for wildfires in southwestern CO (and the entire state). So was 2018. It's no coincidence the snowpack those years was historically paltry. This spring's snowpack isn't much better. Buckle up for what could be a rough summer: ouraynews.com/2025/05/14/ski…

At this time of year, bears are usually content to munch on grass and insects, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. It's a different story so far in the San Juans, where a Ouray woman claims she was attacked by a mother bear over the weekend. ouraynews.com/2025/05/18/our…

My LOL read of the day, courtesy the awesome Katie Langford: Dude who didn't pay for seat in Coors Field luxury box blames ... luxury box? ... and Rockies' poor performance for taking a foul ball off his face. denverpost.com/2025/05/20/col…

Three years after the U.S. Forest Service ignited a controlled burn that blew up into a wildfire that destroyed the home of Amy and Rudy Stauffer, the Ouray County residents still have no answers or compensation for their loss. Via Erin McIntyre : ouraynews.com/2025/06/04/fir…

Print is dead? Hardly. The majority of our readers still read a physical copy of the newspaper every week. Welcome to the redesigned Ouray County Plaindealer, courtesy Kevin Slimp, and a new era of a newspaper that came into existence 10 months after Colorado gained statehood.

U.S. 550 over Red Mountain Pass remains closed this afternoon as a small fire continues to burn south of Ouray. Firefighters are challenged by its steep location and high winds: ouraynews.com/2025/06/23/sno…

It's shaping up to be a cruel summer for the town of Ridgway, which swallowed hard this week and imposed strict water use limits. That means town parks won't be irrigated and residents must reduce outside watering: ouraynews.com/2025/06/25/tow…

Ash from the fire that ignited and blew up today in Black Canyon National Park is falling on concertgoers in Ridgway 30 miles away. Fires also burning near Norwood. Hot and dry for the next several days, with a chance of thunderstorms. Going to be a challenging summer.

Ouray residents and business owners have a lot to say about the new wayfinding signs installed on Main Street last month. And little, if any, is good. Now the city has pressed pause on a project budgeted to cost roughly $800,000: ouraynews.com/2025/07/09/sig…

Three large wildfires are burning in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, blanketing Ouray County in a layer of smoke. Hot, dry and windy conditions aren't helping, and any chance of rain looks like it'll be accompanied by lightning. The latest: ouraynews.com/2025/07/11/smo…

Eight days after lightning sparked a fire in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, firefighters finally gained some traction Friday: ouraynews.com/2025/07/18/fir…

Converting 14 parallel parking spaces to diagonal ones "creates a negative visual impact" and a "terrible vibe," laments owner and purveyor of multimillion-dollar homes. Telluride's reputation as an astoundingly insufferable place remains intact. denverpost.com/2025/07/24/tel…

Nearly a year after Michael Bennet toured Crystal Reservoir, a bill is in the works that would transfer ownership of the reservoir from the feds to the city of Ouray, which has a vested interest in refilling it. Lia Salvatierra has the details: ouraynews.com/2025/07/30/bil…

Three unmarked black SUVs pulled over a man right outside the Ouray Police Department this morning, detained him and drove his vehicle away. Local law enforcement said they had no idea ICE was in the area. ouraynews.com/2025/08/07/man…