Columnists - The Durango Herald

On the ubiquitous rhetoric of, and short step between, hatred and murder

I am writing this on Sept. 11, 2025. Twenty-four years ago today, this country was attacked by radicalized terrorists. For a while, as we worked through the recovery, shock and grief, we sto...

DATE: Sep 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

A budgetary crisis: What happened during the Colorado Legislature’s Special Session

This has been a difficult week for Colorado – and for our country. As political violence becomes more common, we must remain firm in our commitment to democratic values. The ache of gun viol...

DATE: Sep 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

To keep ‘thousand points of light’ shining, the nonprofit sector should consolidate

The leaders of nonprofit organizations should consider merging with their peers. The cascade of federal money supporting the nonprofit sector is decreasing and it appears unlikely to increas...

DATE: Sep 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Husband protests wife’s financial planning

DEAR ABBY: I’ve been married for 19 years to my second husband, “Jack.” Our children are grown. When we met, I was a business owner, and he was retired. He has had numerous medical issues an...

DATE: Sep 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Win $50 for supporting North Main businesses

The Durango Business Improvement District works for Downtown and North Main District businesses. BID has a North Main promotion coming up next week called NoMAD. NoMAD stands for North Main ...

DATE: Sep 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: What's Up Downtown

Grant will help connect people with services

If you are one of the cool kids driving around with one of the fun historic Colorado license plates, I want to express my sincere gratitude. Those historic plates – the plain black, blue and...

DATE: Sep 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

Sit spot in the ponderosa

It was mid-day at 8,500 feet amid the Ponderosa and Oak scrub of Top of the Pines Preserve outside Ridgway. The grasses, dried and aromatic, reminded me of chaparral. Luckily, I had been sit...

DATE: Sep 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Stewards of the Land

Do simple things well, to mow or not, and other retirement musings

To mow or not to mow. That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to cultivate green, weed free space or to xeriscape. Here in dry Southwest Colorado, I have felt some guilt for still having a...

DATE: Sep 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Cousin mired in miserable rough patch

DEAR ABBY: I love my cousin “Carly” like a sister. We come from a large family, and both of us are estranged from our mothers (who are sisters) as well as our siblings. We’re OK with this be...

DATE: Sep 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Following one of the wanderers

Greetings, stargazers. Saturday is named for the prominent figure in Roman mythology. In addition to stargazing, this month should be great for Saturn-gazing. To ancient astronomers, Saturn ...

DATE: Sep 11, 2025 | CATEGORY: What's up in Durango Skies

Westward Wagons on the Oregon Trail

Between 1840 and 1860, 300,000 to 400,000 Americans moved west on covered wagons for 2,100 miles across the Oregon and California trails. In those two decades they transformed our nation and...

DATE: Sep 11, 2025 | CATEGORY: Gulliford's Travels

2-Bit Tom Kipp serves up an all analog listening experience

Tom Kipp is into sharing the music he’s collected his whole life. A DJ in the most traditional sense, he spins music from vinyl records played on a good-old turntable. If he hasn’t tattooed ...

DATE: Sep 10, 2025 | CATEGORY: Downtown Lowdown