Year in Review: Moving forward in 2024

Green River and Sweetwater County kept moving forward all throughout 2024. From making progress on ongoing issues, to addressing new challenges, to finding room for growth and improvement, the city and county, and the community as a whole, worked together to keep making progress.

Changes in the city

The City of Green River saw some exciting new features and developments added in 2024.

The Green River Greenbelt Taskforce had a busy year, making progress on long-standing projects and celebrating successes. New solar lights were added along the greenbelt, work on the Skyline Trail was started and has progressed rapidly, and the Riverside Memorial Park playground equipment was replaced. The taskforce also hosted a special celebration for the 30th anniversary of the Trona Bridge, one of the group's very first projects. The Greenbelt Taskforce also worked together with the City of Green River and the Sweetwater County Library System to install a new StoryWalk near the Recreation Center.

Other areas in Green River also saw improvements and new additions. The Green River Chamber of Commerce added a penny press that quickly gained attention and popularity. The VFW Post 2321 and American Legion Post 28 worked together to raise funds for and install a second columbarium for veterans at Riverview Cemetery. And the Green River Arts Council added a sculpture of a bear, "Ursus," near the river.

The Green River City Council also worked through the year to keep the city going, addressing issues including road work and construction projects in the city, changing and continuing programs for recycling and waste pickup, bringing Flaming Gorge Days back, and finding new loans for the ongoing Wastewater Treatment Plant project.

Challenges at Genesis Alkali

While the mines and refinery plants in the "trona patch" of Southwest Wyoming are always an important part of the community, one mine in particular got more attention than usual this year.

Genesis Alkali first became the subject of discussion in June, when members of the United Steelworkers Local 13214 union hosted a rally calling for changes to be made to their contract with the trona mining company. With the contract set to be renewed, union members asked for a fair contract, hoping for changes to address concerns about workplace safety and employees' work-life balance. Ultimately the contract was renegotiated and approved, with Union President Marshal Cummings expressing a positive view of the changes. A month into the new contract, Cummings reported that some things were still being worked on but many benefits were seen right away.

In November, however, Genesis became the subject of discussion once again after announcing layoffs at the company. Genesis Alkali Director of Communications David Caplan explained that the reduction in workforce was in response to market conditions and a decrease in demand in the soda ash market. Union President Cummings, however, expressed concerns about the possibility that neglect and mismanagement at the company had also factored into the decision. The layoffs were finalized at the beginning of December.

Progress for the county

Sweetwater County as a whole continued to address ongoing discussions through the year and work on a number of important projects.

Perhaps the most hotly-debated discussion that continues to draw attention and strong opinions is the topic of the Bureau of Land Management's Resource Management Plan (RMP) for the Rock Springs Field Office. Over the year, the county submitted final comments on the proposed RMP, sent representatives to testify about the issue in Washington, D.C., responded to the BLM's release of the updated RMP, and submitted a protest letter. Governor Mark Gordon also submitted his Consistency Review and had a meeting with local elected officials on the same day that the BLM released their Record of Decision finalizing the RMP, which both the state and county plan to fight against.

An entity within the county that got extra attention through the year, and made significant progress, is the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport. With the ongoing terminal project construction, the airport board asked the county for a pledge to potentially help with funding, but later in the year was happy to report that the needed funds had been raised. As the terminal project continues, the airport has also seen increased numbers in passengers and added a second daily flight again.

The Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners has also continued to partner with multiple local entities, as well as to address county needs and concerns, including working to improve county roads and going through the process to receive impact assistance funding from various projects.

Sweetwater County also went through an election year, and saw changes on nearly every level of government, from the national presidential administration to changes in the Wyoming legislature down to changes on Green River's City Council and the Sweetwater County School District No. 2 School Board.

Impacts across the state

While Sweetwater County played a part on many of the major news events throughout Wyoming in 2024, there were also events in other parts of the state that reached back to impact the community here as well. A legislative session full of bills and vetoes brought up multiple discussions, especially around issues like property taxes. Issues connected to the environment and energy impacted everyone, from discussions about a rate increase from Rocky Mountain Power, to BLM decisions on coal and Sage Grouse, to debates with the Environmental Protection Agency, to discussions concerning the Kelly Parcel sale. Natural disasters also had a wide-reaching impact, including the Teton Pass landslide, the Yellowstone Biscuit Basin eruption, and the fact that it was the worst wildfire season in nearly 40 years. And hearts were touched, and some tempers flared, at the deaths of animals, from the controversy over the killing of a wolf to the grief over the loss of the famous Grizzly 399.

Across the state, the county, and the city, 2024 was a year of challenges and changes, but also continual progress and growth.