Gas and Oil - The Durango Herald

Gov. John Hickenlooper ‘unlikely’ to take cabinet position

Offers remarks at DNC, as protesters heckle him for supporting fracking

DATE: Jul 27, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

Growth, natural gas industry decline fuels county’s financial woes

Public asks county for solutions during budget discussion

DATE: Jul 19, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

XTO Energy fined $10,000 for March spill

Approximately 70 barrels of oil and gas by-product released into Lone Hollow Creek

DATE: Jul 19, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

Ignacio company cited for pipeline that leaked into Ute Creek

March spill leaked into a tributary of the Los Pinos River

DATE: Jul 13, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

Texas company fined for illegally operating well in La Plata County

Well posed health, environmental risks, commission says

DATE: Jul 11, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

Texas company fined for illegally operating well in La Plata County

Well posed health, environmental risks, commission says

DATE: Jun 23, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

November vote big for oil, gas firms

Heavy hitters expected to jump in state fight on proposed oil, gas ballot initiatives

DATE: Jun 14, 2016 | CATEGORY: Business

Committee mostly against MLP on energy development in western La Plata County

Citizens group working on alternative resolution

DATE: Jun 11, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

Study reveals much more natural gas in western Colorado

USGS says Piceance Basin second-largest reserve

DATE: Jun 8, 2016 | CATEGORY: Local News

Oil slump means there’s room at the inn

In Greeley, drilling dip drops room rentals

DATE: Jun 7, 2016 | CATEGORY: Business

Heftier costs for drillers violating regulations appears to be working

A state law passed in 2014 raised the fines Colorado can impose on gas and oil producers found to be in violation of health, safety and environment regulations. By and large, it would seem t...

DATE: Jun 1, 2016 | CATEGORY: Editorials

Colorado’s new, higher oil and gas fines are impacting industry

DENVER – Colorado is imposing heftier fines on energy companies as the state struggles to resolve conflicts between growing cities and big oilfields at their doorstep, an Associated Press an...

DATE: Jun 1, 2016 | CATEGORY: Regional News

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 donned 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 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 the 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 years 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 it’s 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 years fashion show was the first one to require the acts to audition. But many of the models were unphased 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

Gov. John Hickenlooper ‘unlikely’ to take cabinet position

Growth, natural gas industry decline fuels county’s financial woes

XTO Energy fined $10,000 for March spill

Ignacio company cited for pipeline that leaked into Ute Creek

Texas company fined for illegally operating well in La Plata County

Texas company fined for illegally operating well in La Plata County

November vote big for oil, gas firms

Committee mostly against MLP on energy development in western La Plata County

Study reveals much more natural gas in western Colorado

Oil slump means there’s room at the inn

Heftier costs for drillers violating regulations appears to be working

Colorado’s new, higher oil and gas fines are impacting industry

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