Associated Press - The Durango Herald

Astronauts say space station's ultrasound machine was critical during medical crisis

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The astronauts evacuated last week from the International Space Station say a portable ultrasound machine came in “super handy” during the medical crisis. During ...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Immigration enforcement arrives in Maine as a court freezes restrictions on tactics in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Maine became the latest target of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement crackdown, while a federal appeals court on Wednesday suspended a decision that prohib...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

ICE activity increases in Maine as anxiety grows in immigrant communities

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Trump administration is now targeting its mass deportation campaign on Maine, a state with relatively few residents in the United States illegally but notable Afri...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Republicans and some Democrats back contempt for the Clintons in House Epstein probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee advanced resolutions Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress over the Jeffre...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Iconic Coney Island hot dog hawker Nathan's Famous is sold for $450 million

Nathan’s Famous, which opened as a 5-cent hot dog stand in Coney Island more than a century ago, has been sold to packaged meat giant Smithfield Foods in an all-cash $450 million deal, t...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

US stocks recover half of the prior day's plunge after Trump calls off Greenland-related tariffs

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market bounced back from its worst day since October on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said he reached the framework for a deal about Greenland, an isl...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Trump backs down on Greenland and cancels tariff threat after NATO agrees to future Arctic deal

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday scrapped the tariffs that he threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for U.S. control over Greenland, pulling a ...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Supreme Court seems inclined to keep Lisa Cook on Fed board despite Trump attempt to fire her

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed inclined to keep Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook in her job, casting doubt on President Donald Trump’s bid to wrest control of the ...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Israeli fire strikes journalists and children on one of Gaza's deadliest days since ceasefire

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli forces on Wednesday killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza, including two 13-year-old boys, three journalists and a woman, hospitals said, on one of the war-battered en...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Russia watches US-European tensions over Greenland with glee, gloating and wariness

As tensions simmered between the United States and Europe this week over President Donald Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, Russian officials, state-backed media and pro-Kremlin bloggers re...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

An emotional Prince Harry tells court how publisher made Meghan's life 'a misery'

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry struck a defensive tone at the start of his testimony on Wednesday against the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid newspaper and left the witness box hours later o...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Take these steps to protect yourself from winter weather dangers

HOUSTON (AP) — Winter weather brings various hazards that people have to contend with to keep warm and safe. These dangers can include carbon monoxide poisoning, hypothermia and frozen pipes...

DATE: Jan 21, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Colorado history gets weird, wild, wacky at Fashion Do’s and Don’tsAnnual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Cowboys. Fancy ladies. Gold miners. Even-toed ungulates that some in Durango might consider more like rats.Where can you find a runway show that takes you on a whirlwind tour through the weird, wacky and wildly exaggerated 150 years of Colorado history? Only at Durango’s annual Fashion Do’s and Don’ts, held Wednesday, where models and audience members wore costumes celebrating Colorado’s sesquicentennial – the theme of this year’s two-week Snowdown celebration.Standout acts included the Ghosts of Durango, which featured four of Durango’s most famous ghosts: a Rochester hotel ghost in a Victorian get-up of a more “modern” variation; the Strater Hotel’s head of housekeeping, also head of more discreet services; a young girl haunting El Rancho’s bathroom; and Sheriff Bob Thompson, killed in a 1906 gunfight. according to emcee Suzan Lane. A Another act was the Secret Circus Society, featuring Rubi Starr, Jeni Gross, Tabatha Joy Bettin, Adrienne Young and Ethan Deffenbaugh dressed as a car and the roadside pests better known as deer. Group members said the inspiration for the costume came from lived experiences driving Durango roads. The two-person Cantine Couture act starred Leslie Ponce and Tyler Frakes in an homage to the plentiful variety of Mexican restaurants found in any Colorado town. Ponce, dressed in comically large Mexican pointy cowboy boots, ambled down the runway as if taking a stroll under the hot, dusty, high-altitude sun, while Frakes flitted about the stage in a bright yellow salsa dress. Ponce said this year’s costume had been tough to decide, but the final decision was inspired by TikTok videos of Mexican cowboys in pointy boots. This was the duo’s third year strutting down the runway. Why they keep coming back for more, Frakes said laughing, was, “for the fame, the glory and the attention.”

Fashion Do’s and Don’ts has been one of the most highly anticipated Snowdown events since its inception in the 1990s. It has more than doubled in size over the past several decades. Last year, there were a record number of models, and in order to keep the event at a manageable size, this year’s fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unfazed by the change. “It was actually easy,” said Jodi Zuber, one part of the two-person duo that made up the 1950s Texas Invader Ski Couple. Her partner-in-costume, Danny Jaques, said they had been doing this for several years, and it’s good with everything going on in the world to “get some levity and let your hair down.” The performers were not the only ones in costume. Audience members also dressed in a wide variety of unique takes on what makes Colorado, Colorado. JonBenet Ramsey made a miraculous appearance, being played by an 82-year-old woman, as did Casa Bonita, an ensemble that included a taco, sopaipilla and gorilla in chains – to name some of the characters. By the end of the show, people were in high spirits, as usual. “It was just delightful,” said a first-time audience member. If blessed with the chance to get the much coveted tickets – he said he would jump on it. jbowman@durangoherald.com

Annual Snowdown event has become so popular, auditions are now required

Photos: Snowdown 2026 Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Durango High School basketball teams lose to Montrose High School

Photos: Local girls high school wrestling at La Plata TriDurango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Durango girls wrestling went 2-0 to win Tri on Thursday night at Bayfield

Photos: Fort Lewis College women’s and men’s basketball take on Westminster UniversityBoth Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Both Skyhawks teams were victorious on Saturday afternoon

Photos: An afternoon in 2004 with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell as he works on Capitol HillDurango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Durango Herald Photo Editor Jerry McBride had the chance to spend an afternoon with the late Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell in 2004, photographing him during meetings and around the Capitol.

Photos and video: ICE protests return to DurangoAbout a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

About a dozen protesters tried to block federal agents from leaving with a detainee on Thursday

The Durango Herald’s year in photos 2025

Photos: Chapman Hill fires up the snow guns

Astronauts say space station's ultrasound machine was critical during medical crisis

Immigration enforcement arrives in Maine as a court freezes restrictions on tactics in Minnesota

ICE activity increases in Maine as anxiety grows in immigrant communities

Republicans and some Democrats back contempt for the Clintons in House Epstein probe

Iconic Coney Island hot dog hawker Nathan's Famous is sold for $450 million

US stocks recover half of the prior day's plunge after Trump calls off Greenland-related tariffs

Trump backs down on Greenland and cancels tariff threat after NATO agrees to future Arctic deal

Supreme Court seems inclined to keep Lisa Cook on Fed board despite Trump attempt to fire her

Israeli fire strikes journalists and children on one of Gaza's deadliest days since ceasefire

Russia watches US-European tensions over Greenland with glee, gloating and wariness

An emotional Prince Harry tells court how publisher made Meghan's life 'a misery'

Take these steps to protect yourself from winter weather dangers

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