Opinion https://www.durangoherald.com/feeds/opinion/ 2026-05-25 05:46:06 -0700 en-us https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/editorial-cartoon-1283/ ... 2026-05-25 05:00:00 -0700 ed961cee-912d-4519-9838-1e6ef2ce4ea7 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/school-tech-policy-needs-a-parent-driven-update/ It takes a fair amount of time to read the “Student internet and Electronic Mail Acceptable Use Policy” before registering kids for school in the Durango School District. That is why I imagine most pa... 2026-05-25 05:00:00 -0700 aa73cfd9-6d61-4754-b12a-1684cebdc90a https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/remember-me/ I am Corporal Allen Stall; I am ALL those you will never know, I am those who lived and died far away, because I went where others didn’t go. Yes, you can call me corporal, but that really isn’t quit... 2026-05-25 05:00:00 -0700 c573e682-31f8-4e9c-9bd6-1a5134c3470c https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/paint-the-roundabout-save-the-sculptures/ I’ve been thinking about this suggestion for a couple of weeks, and if I had followed through earlier maybe the latest wreck on the Chapman Hill roundabout wouldn’t have happened. I would like to sugg... 2026-05-25 05:00:00 -0700 6c8008a1-a6c4-4e1b-b70c-ece365d315b9 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/kip-koso-has-the-skills-to-lead/ I had the honor to work with Kip Koso for years on the Local First Board of Directors. His leadership during my term was exemplary. He has the patience and listening skills that are required to be an ... 2026-05-25 05:00:00 -0700 c9283c2c-21a2-473a-a39e-195e40d1c5ed https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/my-view-memorial-day-weekend/ For more than two decades, Memorial Day weekend has often meant two things to me: the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic and Mountainfilm in Telluride – whether I made it over the passes or not. One begins in... 2026-05-25 05:00:00 -0700 1d1211f1-2462-433c-95e8-e8259294ad50 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/dhs-students-bring-community-together-to-build-a-more-resilient-future/ Just a stone’s throw from the too-low-for-April Animas River, more than 100 community members and Durango High School students gathered at the Powerhouse to learn, discuss and ultimately prove that de... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 6e1a2eec-46de-4ba4-9ed9-a3f2cb1ddcfc https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/our-view-75th-general-assembly/ One week after Colorado lawmakers adjourned the 2026 session, the clearest takeaway is not simply what lawmakers passed but what they chose to prioritize in a year defined by scarcity. Legislators spe... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 82508e90-2560-4cac-a0cc-76fec1d9edd4 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/durangos-public-lands-need-rep-hurds-voice-and-vote-in-washington/ Drive any direction from downtown Durango, and you find public land within minutes. The San Juan Mountains surround us – the foundation of our economy, our identity and the lives we've built. Each of ... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 66337fe1-4466-4656-90a6-2b9d2a7beb47 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/editorial-cartoon-1282/ ... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 6075713d-2cd5-4fa7-8be8-0ae0731c398a https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/who-is-behind-the-code-rights-project/ In 1980, I arrived in La Plata County to begin a new chapter as CEO of Burns National Bank (currently Bank of Colorado). Our core lending was in business, construction and development, and we financed... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 3fc7b925-238f-48ac-bd55-d89eddd38f48 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/support-dont-shortchange-local-nonprofits/ Thank you, Briggen Wrinkle, for your well-reasoned article about what we think we know about nonprofits (Herald, May 1). Having spent much of the past 40 years creating, leading, supporting and evalua... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 dd1546be-a452-49a7-ac67-e69fd3978703 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/prison-needs-better-management-not-expansion/ One April 17, the Herald reported Gov. Jared Polis’ lament for a new prison. He is wrong. What we need is competent management. Over the past two decades, we’ve been through around a dozen executive d... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 87c87909-3a68-442a-b1a1-d830aea4d9a7 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/councils-power-play-undermines-public-trust/ Honest and transparent communication is essential for public servants. It takes hubris and hypocrisy, then, for city council members to quietly orchestrate behind closed doors the sidelining of a coll... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 5e0bce22-17db-43c4-9e7c-178a526c405c https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/taxpayers-should-not-fund-trumps-ballroom/ When President Donald Trump went on his destructive East Wing rampage, he reassured an anxious nation that his ballroom would not be paid for with $400 million in tax dollars but rather through person... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 9ffb8656-c9c1-453c-9a83-c6f12c88966e https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/fossil-fuels-solar-must-coexist-for-now/ In a recent letter, “Affordable energy requires honest accounting” (Herald, May 6), the author made interesting arguments regarding the debate over fossil fuels vs. solar and wind energy. However, the... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 9b4c02bb-767d-49c1-80be-04c13d1af0eb https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/dog-left-in-hot-car-city-slow-to-respond/ On May 9, I reported a dog locked in a hot car. I had to leave the scene but trusted that police would promptly respond. Thirty-eight minutes later, I received a call from the Durango Police Departmen... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 96e814ea-5488-4799-85bd-03512c657e72 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/hands-on-transplant-science-lesson-gave-students-unforgettable-look-inside-the-human-body/ I held the lungs in my hands, thinking about how apparent the effects of smoking were. That moment stuck with me throughout the day. On April 13, what started as a normal school day turned into a mem... 2026-05-22 05:00:00 -0700 5543aff5-3723-4493-8b82-11a03ddeb671 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/ais-growing-environmental-and-economic-costs-deserve-far-greater-public-attention/ “Water is life. AI and data centers are not.” Artificial Intelligence has become nearly impossible to avoid. If you read or watch the news at all, probably not a day goes by that you don’t hear someth... 2026-05-20 09:04:42 -0700 d26b79ba-579f-4ec9-926f-752f7dfeca8e https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/dougherty-most-prepared-at-ag-debate/ During the May 7 attorney general debate in Denver, I quickly observed that the responsibilities facing the next attorney general will be as serious as a heart attack, but only one candidate appeared ... 2026-05-20 05:00:00 -0700 9d80c358-791b-4d0f-b61b-eb42ddb6fb68 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/executive-experience-matters-in-governors-race/ There’s a writer on Substack, David Thielen, who explained the upcoming June primary decision for Colorado governor this way: “This race isn’t about ideology – it’s about competence. … On paper, Micha... 2026-05-20 05:00:00 -0700 3b158b71-de29-46eb-99dc-b358daa7dd3c https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/editorial-cartoon-1281/ ... 2026-05-20 05:00:00 -0700 f38b4cae-edf0-4fa0-a500-9c4341f46367 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/colorado-wolf-recovery-shows-encouraging-signs/ After a challenging third year in Colorado’s citizen-initiated program to restore the gray wolf, some good news has finally arrived – particularly regarding the high number of pups that have survived ... 2026-05-20 05:00:00 -0700 45e81a04-3996-4836-bc6e-cf73c4a92116 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/our-view-wrong-call/ Gov. Jared Polis had every right to question whether former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ original nine-year prison sentence was excessive. What he should not have done was interrupt the judicial pro... 2026-05-20 05:00:00 -0700 cd1a0e0e-f346-45d5-b540-fe9d08429f74 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/weiser-for-governor-bennet-for-senate/ Michael Bennet states that he can handle Colorado’s budgeting process because he did budgets while serving as superintendent of Denver Public Schools. He did, but Denver ended up in a deep financial h... 2026-05-18 05:00:00 -0700 1a9eb082-0103-4ab1-9656-cda85c723214 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/why-durango-school-district-is-building-three-springs-elementary-despite-enrollment-declines/ I understand why some community members are asking questions about building a new school while the district is discussing enrollment declines and budget challenges. Those are fair questions, and they ... 2026-05-18 05:00:00 -0700 892c383f-081a-49a6-813a-ef41266ac742 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/competence-matters-vote-luschen-and-jenkins/ Competence matters. That seems like an obvious statement, but when you are talking about energy, it could not be truer. Competence is what is needed going forward so LPEA makes thoughtful energy procu... 2026-05-18 05:00:00 -0700 27d1437b-2987-4647-86a0-337c038cb30e https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/attorney-general-phil-weiser-for-governor/ The midterm primary is June 30, when U.S. Sen. Bennet and current eight-year Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser are on the Democratic ballot for governor of Colorado. I hope you will join me in vot... 2026-05-18 05:00:00 -0700 3cfeb0fe-2d86-42fc-b99b-461598d21163 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/lot-f-should-benefit-the-broader-community/ As the new Head Start nears completion, the question is how Lot F, the site of the old Head Start, will be used. This is a city-owned lot, and there is a proposal for 22 housing units, with only four ... 2026-05-18 05:00:00 -0700 4e8142db-feae-44cb-9460-6a93da10b741 https://www.durangoherald.com/articles/durango-must-take-water-conservation-seriously/ It’s encouraging that Durango is finally addressing water usage. I frequently eat out and socialize at local businesses, and it’s frustrating to see large glasses of water and pitchers of water served... 2026-05-18 05:00:00 -0700 d621f2c3-bccc-4299-88f2-7820de233079