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With April Fools’ Day earlier this week, there was more misinformation going around than usual. Some of the stories were easy to spot as jokes right away. Others weren’t. The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office’s “press release” shared on social media about establishing High Wind Enforcement Zones sounded official enough to make some people question it. However, the parts about officers being able to issue citations for “obstructed windshield from rogue sagebrush or tumbleweeds” or officers using special equipment to identify “variable wind...
Over a hundred members of the Wyoming bar came together this week to denounce increasing attacks on judges and the independence of the judicial branch of government. They delivered a letter to Senators Barrasso and Lummis and Representative Hageman asking each of them to publicly denounce these attacks. Retired former Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Golden explained, “The judiciary lacks the Executive’s bully pulpit or the Legislature’s power to defend itself. It does not have its own social media platform. Sitting judges are not p...
On January 31, the 30th anniversary of wolves getting reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, congressional representatives Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Tom Tiffany (R-WI) and introduced their “Pet and Livestock Protection Act.” It would abolish Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado and Michigan, among other states. “Protective listings, wrote Boebert, are the work of “leftists (who) cower to radical environmentalists.” As Boebert notes, populations o...
Last Saturday afternoon I sat in a room full of our own community members and listened to them yell at each other to shut up, call each other liars, tell each other they didn't know what they were talking about, and basically treat each other more like nameless strangers on the other side of a computer screen than like neighbors. The Town Hall event with Representative Harriet Hageman was interesting, to say the least. Personally, I had friends and family members on both "sides," both cheering...
What’s the difference between the press and the media? Media derives from the Latin, “medium,” which is neither rare nor well done. What better time to drag out this old joke than Sunshine Week, when newspapers across America remind their readers of the First Amendment? Like a religious text, the Constitution of the United States, and its amendments, are forever subject to interpretation, thanks mostly to preachers, in the case of the former, and attorneys in the case of the latter. But the press (that’s us) in particular, has sustain...
While some of our community members stood on the steps of the Wyoming Capitol last Friday, others stood on the stage of the Broadway Theater, but both groups shared a message about the importance of workers and their need to be protected. This week, three different plays are being performed in our community, and while they all have very different stories, they all have very timely messages. I feel especially connected to the three plays this weekend. One of them, I'm performing in. One of them...
Dear Editor, I recently gave a reading of the iconic “I Have a Dream” speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which he gave at the March on Washington in 1963. I gave the reading at Castle Rock Rehabilitation Center and the Villa for President’s Day and Black History Month. The speech is a solemn reminder. The words not only speak for themselves, but they are necessary. It is heavy stuff, but is there anything more important? The speech mentions President Abraham Lincoln as well, and the key to the speech is what it says about hopes for chil...
Dear Editor, I recently found out that the Rock Springs City Council intends to revisit the chicken ordinance on March 4. I urge the Mayor and council to maintain the current prohibition for the following reasons: It is currently unsafe to allow backyard chickens in our community due to public health concerns. - Newly Confirmed Cases: The Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) has recently confirmed the state’s first human case of H5N1 avian influenza in an older adult from Platte County. This individual marks the third confirmed hospitalization li...
There’s a famous quote from Mr. Rogers that talks about “looking for the helpers” when tragedies happen. This week’s newspaper is full of its share of tragedy, but we’re thankful that it’s also full of stories of “the helpers.” Last Friday, our community faced a horrific tragedy. This week’s front page is filled with the devastating details of the accident at the I-80 tunnels. From those who lost their lives to those whose lives will be forever changed by injury and trauma to the brave and dedicated first responders who will continue to feel...
Dear Editor, Today’s attack on the U.S.A. is not coming from China or Mexico or Canada or even Greenland and Denmark, and not from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, or Panama, likewise it is not coming from Ukraine, Europe and NATO, nor Taiwan, Okinawa, South Korea, Japan, Australia or New Zealand, or even Samoa, and not from immigrants or even Democrats and Socialists. Today’s attack is coming from an odd collection of highly insecure, lying, abusive, and narcissistic billionaires. They have done this by using democracy to gather the many votes of...
With Valentine's Day this week, the subject of love may be on people's minds more than usual. Unfortunately, the subject of empathy, often connected to and associated with love, seems to be under attack and up for debate these days. Empathy is simply defined as "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another." Merriam Webster goes into even more detail, defining it as "the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings,...
Muley Fanatic Foundation recently shared a press release containing a letter addressed to Wyoming legislators regarding Senate File 0118. Together with other sportsmen groups, Muley Fanatic explained how the bill proposes transferable landowner tags and forces a move towards privatization of wildlife. They also expressed their concerns about why this would be an issue. The following is the content of the letter: Dear Wyoming Legislators, On behalf of numerous outdoorsman organizations...
There’s a lot going on in the political realm right now, both on the state and national level. As the Wyoming legislature debates hot-button topics in the general session and President Trump continues to issue executive orders in his first two weeks, there are lots of discussions, and lots of strong feelings, connected to politics. In the midst of discussions and strong feelings, words tend to get thrown around, often without people having a full understanding of what the terms they’re hearing and using actually mean. Some of the terms that hav...
Dear Editor, Unfortunately, HB 172 to repeal gun free zones is back and even worse than the Governor vetoed HB 125 from last session. This legislation has come before the Legislature for many years but never gained much traction until last year when the gun lobby started putting the full court press on Legislators. Public poles show that a majority of Wyomingites DO NOT want gun free zones repealed! - March 2024 KGAB Poll: “Do you agree with Governor Gordon’s Veto of House Bill 125” 63.3% indicated YES. - August 2024 Wyoming Tribune Eagle...
Dear Editor, The Freedom Scholarship Act seems to be a departure from the Freedom Caucus’s usual stance of ‘smaller’ government. This Wyoming bill is no more than a blatant effort by the Freedom Caucus to encourage the establishment of religious-based schools to further the Freedom Caucus’s “Godly” ideology and make the state pay for it. How this bad piece of legislation got as far as it did is inconceivable to me, and it is clearly designed to hobble public education. My daughter and son-in-law in New York pay $7000 a year to have their son a...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
