Opinion


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  • Responses to Trump's energy actions

    Jan 23, 2025

    On Monday, January 20, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Several Wyoming officials released statements congratulating President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance and sharing their optimism for the new administration. On the same day, President Trump signed multiple executive orders, including several related to energy, which multiple Wyoming officials also praised. Governor Mark Gordon, who was also present at the inauguration, released the following statement: “The energy-related executive orders signed b... Full story

  • Letter to the Editor: Not a fan of Greenbelt lighting

    Jan 23, 2025

    Dear Editor, Your Year in Review issue (1-6-25) started out with the Green Belt Taskforce celebrating new Lighting. Not everyone is celebrating. The Taskforce and the City have helped create a truly remarkable path along the River. There are National Parks that don’t have the amount of Wildlife we have. Beaver, Otters, Muskrat, Fox, Coyote, Raccoon. The large birds include Swans, nesting Bald Eagles and Red Tail Hawks. Pelicans, Heron and Cranes. It’s a GREAT place to walk! I realize some will like the new Lighting . Just wanted you to kno...

  • Our View: Pay attention to the legislature

    Jan 16, 2025

    The 68th Wyoming Legislature convened for the 2025 General Session on Tuesday this week. After opening ceremonies and swearings-in, the introduction of bills began right away. It’s probably safe to say that the average Wyomingite doesn’t follow the legislative session very closely. And we understand that. Politics can be challenging to understand, and, let’s be real, fairly boring for many of us. Legislative sessions are long and complicated, with a host of bills introduced at the beginning, many of which won’t go far, and many of which will be...

  • Letter to the Editor: A teacher opposing HB 100

    Jan 16, 2025

    Dear Editor, I am dusting off my role as a debate coach to address an issue I believe could impact everyone in Wyoming, especially our children and educators. Wyoming House Bill 100 (HB0100) for the 2025 legislative session, titled “K-12 Uncertified Personnel,” proposes allowing school districts and charter schools to employ administrators, teachers, and other personnel without requiring certification or permits from the Professional Teaching Standards Board. Instead, these employees would need to undergo background checks. This would mean ind... Full story

  • Adapting to secure coal's future

    Rep. J.T. Larson, House District 17|Jan 9, 2025

    Wyoming’s landscape reflects the evolution of our energy economy. Where gold was once panned in mountain streams, a new gold and copper mine is on the horizon, along with anticipated rare earth mineral mining to meet national demands. Innovations like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have breathed new life into aging oil fields, unlocking opportunities in areas once considered depleted. These shifts highlight Wyoming’s resilience and ability to adapt to change. Now, we stand at another pivotal moment in our energy history. Coa...

  • Elected officials react to Trump's certification

    Jan 9, 2025

    On January 6, the United States Congress certified Donald J. Trump as President and JD Vance as Vice President of the United States. Several Wyoming representatives shared comments on their feelings following the certification. Senator Cynthia Lummis released the following statment: “For four years the people of Wyoming have suffered from skyrocketing prices at the grocery store and gas pump thanks to the Biden-Harris administration’s runaway spending. The American people spoke out strongly in November, overwhelmingly electing President Tru... Full story

  • Our View: Looking back and ahead

    Jan 2, 2025

    Here we are, standing on the brink of a new year together. The transition from one year into another is always interesting. At the end of the old year, we reflect back on everything the year held, all the ups and downs, all the accomplishments and setbacks, all the goals we achieved and those we still have to work on. At the beginning of the new year, we look ahead to the uncertainty and promise of the future. The blank calendar pages feel like a blank slate, a fresh start, where we can work toward all our goals again. Every year, the Green...

  • Letter to the Editor: A poem: Why not only love now?

    Jan 2, 2025

    Dear Editor, For the better part of my precious, brilliant God-given lifetime here on earth, I have dreamed of truly becoming a poet, so now I will simply try to write one for all of you. The name is “Why not only love now?” Love me and I will love you! Hate me and I will as yet unconditionally still forgive you! And though I know this does not rhyme, please, please give it its all due iconic time for tribute’s sake. I mention tribute because this is about our service people. I originally wrote this poem 40 years ago for Vietnam. I wrote it fo...

  • Wyo. leaders outraged by RMP

    Dec 26, 2024

    Wyoming leaders have consistently expressed their disproval of the Bureau of Land Management’s plans for the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP). After the BLM released the final Record of Decision (ROD), they again issued statements detailing their disappointment. U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR), issued the following statement after the Biden-Harris administration released its record of decision for the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan: “The Bid... Full story

  • Conservation groups praise final RMP

    Abby Grehlinger, Climate, environment and conservation director for Arc Initiatives|Dec 26, 2024

    The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released the final version of the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan (RMP). This plan replaces the existing, outdated plan for the 3.6 million-acre field office in southwest Wyoming which was issued in 1997, and incorporates many of the recommendations from Governor Gordon’s Rock Springs RMP Task Force. Joshua Coursey, President of Muley Fanatic Foundation and Member of the Governor’s Rock Springs Task Force released the following statement in response: “Today is the culmination of fourteen years of hard... Full story

  • Tis the season for films

    Hannah Romero, Editor|Dec 19, 2024

    By the end of this week, I'll probably have been to the movie theater as many times (or more) in the past month as I typically go in a full year. I've now seen "Wicked" (twice), "For King and Country: A Drummer Boy Christmas," and "The War of the Rohirrim." I'm also going to see if I can sneak in "Gladiator II" before it leaves this week, pushed out by the next wave of new releases. It's nothing new for lots of highly-anticipated films to come out around the holidays, but this year felt... Full story

  • Lummis slams BLM Sage Grouse Plan

    From the office of Sen. Cynthia Lummis|Dec 19, 2024

    Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Congressional Western Caucus Chair Dan Newhouse (R-WA) wrote a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tracy Stone-Manning expressing their concerns with its final Greater Sage-Grouse Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA). “While the Biden-Harris administration spends its final days catering to its radical climate change base, farmers, ranchers and landowners across the west will bear the consequences of its catastrophic failures for years to come,” said Lummis. “In... Full story

  • Democrats removed from education committees, hurting schools

    Rep. Mike Yin, House District 16|Dec 12, 2024

    Republican leaders in the Wyoming House and Senate announced committee assignments for the year, and for the first time, Democrats have been completely removed from the Education Committees. This decision is a serious blow to Wyoming’s ​children and educators​. Wyoming’s public schools have been successful because leaders from all sides have worked together to support teachers and students. Taking Democrats off the Education Committees shows that leadership is more interested in political control than working together to solve real problems. Se...

  • Letter to the Editor: Opposing coyote killing contests

    Dec 12, 2024

    Dear Editor, I'm reaching out to share the details of a protest organized by the Wyoming Wildlife Protection Group, which took place on December 7th outside Santa Fe Southwest Grill in Rock Springs, opposing the World Championship Coyote Calling Contest. This local restaurant hosted a banquet for contest participants on the same day. We received notice of this troubling event just hours prior, making it difficult to rally a significant number of concerned citizens for our peaceful...

  • Letter to the Editor: Make this a magical holiday for someone special

    Dec 5, 2024

    Dear Editor, In loving support of our senior citizens “also known as” (aka) the pillars of our society who reside in Mission at Castle Rock in Green River, WY, please consider a gift of love during the holiday season. Most of us remember Mom and Dad or Grandma and Grandpa making sure we had that special gift under the Christmas tree on Christmas Day. It wasn’t just the bicycle, baby doll or Army fort that we dreamed about that our parents made sure came true for us, it was the unconditional love with which it was given. My beautiful mom was m...

  • Letter to the Editor: Grateful for the new playground

    Dec 5, 2024

    Dear Editor, My name is Brooks Rushing. I am a Star Scout in Boy Scout Troop 312 and I am working on my Communications Merit Badge. One of my requirements is to write a letter to the editor in my community in order to express an opinion of mine. I would like to express my gratitude towards the hard work and dedication of the City employees, and the School District Recreation Mill Board for providing the funds for the new Riverside Memorial Park. The new park was made for all ages, my siblings... Full story

  • Continuing Thanksgiving traditions

    Hannah Romero, Editor|Nov 27, 2024

    Some of my favorite childhood memories are connected to holidays like Thanksgiving, and the time I spent with my family during them. Growing up, we always went to my Grandma and Grandpa Romero's house for Thanksgiving with all the extended family on my dad's side. We had aunts and uncles and great aunts and uncles and all the cousins. It was always packed and noisy and fun. I remember sticking black olives on my fingers, liking to play with them more than I liked to eat them. I remember Grandma...

  • We're losing trust, drifting from skepticism to cynicism

    Tom Mullen, Green River Star Owner|Nov 21, 2024

    Tempers flared last week, as Democrats sought to cast blame for the Republican landslide - I was particularly galled when a friend laid the blame on, “newspapers who are too chicken to …” Hold it right there. Losing my cool was a regular occurrence 30 years ago but it takes a lot to get my Irish at age 64. Journalists, particularly the people in the newspaper business, are the most courageous people I know. Yes, Soldiers and cops are brave but in my industry we don’t carry guns, at least not yet. When I started in this business, most of my c...

  • The Trump triumph portends an economic fallout

    Dave Marston, Writers on the Range|Nov 14, 2024

    As I watched Donald Trump arrive at an astounding victory election night, I was struck by his strong turnout in both rural and urban parts of the country. But I couldn’t stop thinking: Do voters understand what Trump’s sweep means for the price of eggs, housing and cars? As it became clear that enthusiasm for Kamala Harris was waning leading up to the election, bond markets were already going down. That’s important, because the bond market is a predictor of the future. For contrast, the stock market went up 3% the morning after the elect...

  • Our View: Honoring veterans and exercising our freedoms

    Nov 7, 2024

    With Veteran’s Day falling just under a week after Election Day this year, this week’s newspaper is a unique mix of both our annual Veteran’s Edition and our reporting on the election results. We find it meaningful that these two topics have ended up together in the newspaper this week. Every year, we take the time to recognize Veteran’s Day by honoring our local veterans who have fought and served our nation. In this week’s paper you’ll find pages full of photos and information on veterans from our community. They and their families ha...

  • Officials react to the General Election

    Nov 7, 2024

    Current and former Wyoming officials shared their thoughts on the results of the 2024 General Election after the results came in. Governor Mark Gordon released the following statement after the General Election: “We are blessed to live in America where our voices are heard. They have been! I look forward to working with our newly elected leaders to continue doing what’s right for Wyoming. Congratulations to President-elect Trump, Senator Barrasso, Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, and all the newly elected state and local leaders here in Wyo...

  • Amendment A: A foundation of fairness for Wyo. homeowners

    Jason Mower, Guest Op-Ed writer|Oct 31, 2024

    There’s a quiet strength in the Wyoming way of life—a belief in hard work, personal responsibility, and fairness. These values are woven into our heritage: face each day with courage, take pride in your work, and finish what you start. As Wyoming faces rising costs, these principles are more important than ever—especially in our tax system. On November 5, Amendment A offers the foundation needed to modernize property tax assessments, giving homeowners the relief they deserve while upholding fairness. A Clear-Cut Path to Fairness Without Reven...

  • Letter to the editor: Realtors support Amendment A

    Oct 24, 2024

    Dear Editor, People have asked why the Wyoming REALTORS are backing Amendment A. The answer is straightforward: We believe in homeownership and will always support any effort to keep people in their homes. Our Wyoming Constitution currently has three classes of property for the purpose of property taxation. First is Minerals, second is Industrial, and the third class is “all other.” All other encompasses Residential, Commercial, Agricultural, and personal property. Our constitution says that “all properties shall be taxed uniformly in each...

  • Letter to the Editor: Amendment A is hard to swallow

    Oct 24, 2024

    Dear Editor, Our 15 year old dog named Jimmy is blind and diabetic. He is on insulin and has to take a pill he can’t stand so we hide it in a piece of liverwurst. What does that have to do with Amendment A and the sneaky, hard to swallow pill being fed to us under the guise that it is for our own good? Marlene Brady, who is running for WY House District 60, alerted me to the fact there is a hidden agenda in this Amendment A. She shared some info with me that comes from a gentleman named Rich Weber. If one actually THINKS about the below f...

  • Serendipitous adaptability

    Hannah Romero, Editor|Oct 17, 2024

    Well-made plans have a nasty tendency of not working out the way they’re supposed to, especially when you’re traveling. I’ve experienced both the joy of a plan working out perfectly, and the heartbreak of a plan being so thrown off that it has to be abandoned. I’ve been on trips that were planned out with a detailed schedule and printed itinerary (shout out to my best friend and best travel planner, Marissa), and trips where our group was completely winging it and it’s amazing anything... Full story

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