Associated Press - The Durango Herald

100 vehicles pile up in Michigan crash as snowstorm moves across the country

HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (AP) — More than 100 vehicles smashed into each other or slid off an interstate in Michigan on Monday as snow fueled by the Great Lakes blanketed the state. The massive pi...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Bills fire coach Sean McDermott after 9 seasons of falling short of reaching the Super Bowl

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Sean McDermott arrived in Buffalo in 2017, envisioning the day of looking out his office window and seeing a throng of fans celebrating a Super Bowl victory. That p...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Christian leaders urge protecting worshippers' rights after protesters interrupt service

Several faith leaders called urgently for protecting the rights of worshippers while also expressing compassion for migrants after anti-immigration enforcement protesters disrupted a service...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Karachi mall fire death toll rises to 23 as rescuers search for dozens missing

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — The death toll from a massive fire at a shopping plaza in Karachi rose to 23 on Monday as rescuers recovered more bodies from the badly damaged building, police said...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

AP Source: Fed Chair Powell to attend Supreme Court argument on Cook case

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will attend the Supreme Court's oral argument Wednesday in a case involving the attempted firing of Fed governor Lisa Cook, an unusual s...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Broncos defense must carry team again as backup QB Stidham set to start AFC championship game

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Denver’s defense carried Peyton Manning across the finish line in Super Bowl 50 and Vance Joseph's bunch will almost certainly have to lead the way for the Broncos to...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

NBA announces All-Star Game starters, with 1st version of U.S. vs. The World format now on its way

The first-ever World team for the NBA All-Star Game is already looking loaded. And the fate of LeBron James' record streak of All-Star selections will now be decided by coaches, or perhaps e...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Chile fights wildfires that killed 19 and left 1,500 homeless

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Firefighters in Chile are battling forest fires that started on Sunday and have killed at least 19 people and left around 1,500 homeless as they swept through thousand...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Inequality and unease are rising as elite Davos event opens with pro-business Trump set to attend

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Corporate chiefs and government leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump swarm into Davos, Switzerland, this week, joining an elite annual meeting that promote...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Jadin O'Brien's rapid rise is complete. The track star is now a US Olympic bobsledder

Jadin O'Brien was running track for Notre Dame a year ago. She's now an Olympic bobsledder. O'Brien, who got in a sled for the first time only about three months ago, was one of the six wome...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

Arizona a unanimous No. 1 for first time, Saint Louis and Miami of Ohio join AP Top 25

Arizona is the unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men's college basketball poll for the first time. The Wildcats received all 61 votes from a media panel in Monday's poll, a week...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Associated Press

What to know about the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Nearly 3,000 high-level participants from business, government and beyond plus untold numbers of activists, journalists and outside observers are converging in the ...

DATE: Jan 19, 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

100 vehicles pile up in Michigan crash as snowstorm moves across the country

Bills fire coach Sean McDermott after 9 seasons of falling short of reaching the Super Bowl

Christian leaders urge protecting worshippers' rights after protesters interrupt service

Karachi mall fire death toll rises to 23 as rescuers search for dozens missing

AP Source: Fed Chair Powell to attend Supreme Court argument on Cook case

Broncos defense must carry team again as backup QB Stidham set to start AFC championship game

NBA announces All-Star Game starters, with 1st version of U.S. vs. The World format now on its way

Chile fights wildfires that killed 19 and left 1,500 homeless

Inequality and unease are rising as elite Davos event opens with pro-business Trump set to attend

Jadin O'Brien's rapid rise is complete. The track star is now a US Olympic bobsledder

Arizona a unanimous No. 1 for first time, Saint Louis and Miami of Ohio join AP Top 25

What to know about the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos

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