business and finance - The Durango Herald

Health care co-op saves money, helps people

Have you heard about the Southwest Health Alliance? We recently teamed up with Peak Health Alliance to bring affordable and effective health care to the La Plata County region. T...

DATE: Nov 2, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local First

Does selling a high-priced Colorado mountain home on the big name of its former owner actually work?

Lindsey Vonn’s $6 million Vail home is for sale, and she wants you to know it’s owned by the greatest American ski racer of all time.

DATE: Nov 2, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Women’s Resource Center receives donation

Express Employment Professionals, along with its franchise location in Durango, has donated $3,000 to the Women’s Resource Center of Durango, which advocates for the personal empowerment and...

DATE: Oct 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Nominations open for Women in Business awards

Nominations will be accepted for the 2020 Southwest Colorado Women in Business awards now through midnight Dec. 2. The awards recognize outstanding women who work in La Plata and...

DATE: Oct 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Grassburger makes Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing list

Grassburger was listed on the 2019 Inc. Magazine’s list of the 5,000 fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Grassburger and other Colorado companies recognized by Inc. were honored...

DATE: Oct 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Erin Gregory joins EXIT Realty Home & Ranch

EXIT Realty Home & Ranch has announced that Erin Gregory has joined its growing team of dedicated real estate sales professionals. EXIT Realty Home & Ranch, located at 1032 Main A...

DATE: Oct 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Enterprise Zone Contribution Projects named

The Montezuma Food Coalition ShareHouse, the Rico Town Hall and Good Food Collective were recently approved as Enterprise Zone Contribution Projects by the state Economic Development Commiss...

DATE: Oct 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Durango Artisan Foods expands services

Durango Artisan Foods has now expanded to provide breakfast and lunch service. Take-away breakfast burritos are available Monday through Saturday. Options include bacon, sausage, ...

DATE: Oct 31, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Meeting the needs of different generations is key to business success

Speaker at economic summit says it comes down to people

DATE: Oct 26, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Celebrate Halloween and Christmas downtown

Halloween and Christmas are about as different as you can get, but they do have one thing in common in Durango: Both are celebrated downtown! The Durango Business Improvement Dist...

DATE: Oct 26, 2019 | CATEGORY: What's Up Downtown

Average Durango home price jumps in 3rd quarter

Broker says statistic is deceiving

DATE: Oct 24, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Mortgage rates rise to their highest level in 12 weeks

Mortgage rates rose to their highest level in 12 weeks, according to the data released Thursday by Freddie Mac, with investors continuing to react to the possibility of a positive resolution...

DATE: Oct 24, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

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