business and finance - The Durango Herald

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

Mercy hospice units awarded accreditation

Mercy Home Health & Hospice of Mercy and the Mercy Hospice House earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Home Care Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with p...

DATE: Oct 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Mercy awarded hospital accreditation

Mercy Regional Medical Center earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation by demonstrating continuous compliance with its performance standards. ...

DATE: Oct 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Colorado NextCycle opens application period for 2019-2020

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is now accepting applications for the second season of Colorado NextCycle, a state-funded incentive program designed to encourage bus...

DATE: Oct 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Land Title Guarantee Company moves to new location

Land Title Guarantee Company has moved their Durango office to 102 W. 18th St. Their first day for business in the new location was Oct. 21. For more information, call...

DATE: Oct 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Applications open for Community Support Funding

Nonprofits who would like to apply for Community Support Funding from the city of Durango (managed by United Way of Southwest Colorado) may fill out an application at Applications are due ...

DATE: Oct 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Nia Dance moves to a new location

Nia Dance classes with Evonne will move to a new location beginning Friday. Classes will be held at the new Durango Dance location at 3416 N. Main Ave., Suite 101. For ...

DATE: Oct 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Arts upstart Meow Wolf delivers jobs after public investment

SANTA FE – Offbeat arts adventure and entertainment company Meow Wolf says it has surpassed hiring goals outlined in a $1.1 million economic development grant from New Mexico and the city of...

DATE: Oct 23, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Durango’s hotel row moving south

Inn owner: Plenty of business for 435 new rooms going up in Durango

DATE: Oct 20, 2019 | CATEGORY: Business

Looking Ahead to 2020: Visit Durango’s new initiatives

Visit Durango’s mission is to promote visitation to Durango and La Plata County, drive economic impact and support a positive visitor experience. In 2020, the organization will continue shif...

DATE: Oct 19, 2019 | CATEGORY: The Tourism Effect

Revamped Dolores mill starting up

Iron Wood produces veneer, hiring underway

DATE: Oct 18, 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