Water - The Durango Herald

Southwest Colorado a playground for research scientists

Landscape diversity invites study of desert groundwater, alpine permafrost and prehistoric wildfires

DATE: Jul 14, 2022 | CATEGORY: Southwest Life

Water falls to extremely low levels at Lake Mead amid drought

Reservoir is now below 30% of capacity

DATE: Jul 11, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

A San Luis Valley farm stops growing food to save a shrinking water supply

Proposed conservation deal on 1,800 acres might be first of its kind in the country

DATE: Jul 11, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Durango water dock closed as a result of vandalism

Replacement parts on the way, but repair not expected until later in the month

DATE: Jul 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

How citizen scientists are testing our streams and rivers for contamination

Mountain Studies Institute, Fort Lewis College partner to measure E. coli in San Juan National Forest’s waterways

DATE: Jul 6, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Official: Colorado River cuts should be made by Arizona, Nevada and California

States have two months to drastically reduce water use or face federal intervention

DATE: Jul 4, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

June rains top monthly normals in Southwest Colorado

Moisture improves fire and rafting conditions, could signal early start to monsoon

DATE: Jun 24, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Animas River water quality is improving in Durango, study shows

Upgrades to city’s treatment plant benefit aquatic life, recreation

DATE: May 30, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

How cities in the West have water amid drought

As drought and climate change tighten their grip on the American West, the sight of fountains, swimming pools, gardens and golf courses in cities such as Albuquerque, Phoenix, Salt Lake City...

DATE: May 25, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Snowpack bottoms out in Southwest Colorado

The melt is among the earliest in the last 30 years

DATE: May 24, 2022 | CATEGORY: Local News

Southwest’s drought, fires a window into climate change future

Experts describe how reality threatens fastest-growing region in U.S.

DATE: May 20, 2022 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado, Nebraska jostle over water rights amid drought

OVID – Shortly after daybreak on the high plains of northeastern Colorado, Don Schneider tinkers with seed-dispensing gear on a mammoth corn planter. The day’s task: Carefully sowing hundred...

DATE: May 18, 2022 | 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 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

Southwest Colorado a playground for research scientists

Water falls to extremely low levels at Lake Mead amid drought

A San Luis Valley farm stops growing food to save a shrinking water supply

Durango water dock closed as a result of vandalism

How citizen scientists are testing our streams and rivers for contamination

Official: Colorado River cuts should be made by Arizona, Nevada and California

June rains top monthly normals in Southwest Colorado

Animas River water quality is improving in Durango, study shows

How cities in the West have water amid drought

Snowpack bottoms out in Southwest Colorado

Southwest’s drought, fires a window into climate change future

Colorado, Nebraska jostle over water rights amid drought

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