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April 28 is Workers’ Memorial Day, a day of remembrance and commitment initially established by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and now also known throughout numerous countries as World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Annually, this day honors and commemorates workers who have lost their lives on the job, recognizing the tremendous loss to families, peers and communities. It is an emotional holiday for everyone touched by this loss. The loss brings communities together to recognize t...
Dear Editor, As a boy growing up in the Midwest, I idolized Green River native Curt Gowdy, a pro sports TV announcer and host of the American Sportsman program. As an adult, I would serve as sports editor of the Rock Springs paper and cover Sweetwater County and University of Wyoming sports in the 1980s. My new e-book, PRESSING ON By the Grace of God, recounts that time. Another former sports figure from that era read the book and said he found it fascinating to relive Wyoming sports from the ‘80s. For those who would also enjoy that trip d...
Dear Editor, I am a person with a hereditary mental disease, but one that is totally treatable with medication. I recently experienced an embarrassing rough patch. But rather than shun me or throw me out with the trash, I received compassion, caring, and much-needed help. We are currently experiencing technical difficulties, however, I am so very appreciative to those of you in the Green River region who see through my challenge and are helping me get back on track. I respect that and am immutably grateful. Will you please forgive my...
It really isn’t a surprise the “Super Mario Bros. Movie” made a huge pile of cash in its first weekend at the box office. It might be surprising for some to hear the movie had the second-strongest opening weekend for an animated feature on record and has had the highest-grossing opening weekend of a film this year – something Disney has likely taken note of. What might be most surprising is the film is an enjoyable view of a world that has mostly existed in the realm of video games. From a...
Sometimes it can feel like spring doesn't exist in Wyoming, and like winter will never end. This year has especially felt that way. It didn't help when April started with one of the worst snowstorms we've had in an already long and hard winter. For many places in Wyoming, it was one of the worst storms ever. It broke records in Casper, dumped about two feet of snow on us here, even shut down I-80 between Green River and Rock Springs for the first time in a very long time. It's frustrating,...
Saturday was April Fools’ Day, an informal holiday filled with pranks, lies, and jokes. Many people enjoy the day and its custom of pranking other people as a time for harmless fun. The key, however, is in the word “harmless.” While it almost certainly wasn’t connected to the tradition of April Fools’ and instead is part of an ongoing, nation-wide problem, the swatting hoax Wyoming schools faced this week shows the dark side of harmful pranks. When false report of school shooters at high schools came in Monday morning, Wyoming residents...
Written March 31 Today’s news that Rocky Mountain Power will all but abandon coal powered electrical generation in Wyoming by 2030 is unwelcome, but not unexpected. Rocky Mountain Power has to make business decisions based on what they believe is best for their shareholders, but here in Sweetwater County it is a bitter pill. 2030 is not far away, but in the meantime Sweetwater County will continue to work toward energy and economic diversification. The plan to convert some units to natural gas rather than shut them down is good news, but it i...
For decades the executive and legislative branches have recognized that Wyoming’s tax structure is in a permanent state of imbalance. The two branches largely supported the work of the Tax Reform 2000 Committee and have implemented many of the recommendations. Although Wyoming’s economy has diversified, many of the Tax Reform 2000 findings remain true today including the main statement of the committee, “Wyoming’s tax structure lacks balance due to an over-reliance on mineral taxes to fund government’s daily operating expenditu...
Dear Editor, Wyoming continues to be a leader in energy innovation and is on track to remain a leader in domestic energy production for generations to come. According to data from the Energy Information Administration, the “Energy State” is the “second-largest net energy supplier in the entire country, producing 13 times more energy than we consume, and for nearly 40 years, has been the top coal-producing state. Wyoming knows how to produce energy, how to transport and store all forms of energy and will continue to move forward and provi...
Released March 17 Governor Mark Gordon took further steps to implement a pro-life policy agenda when he signed a prohibition on chemical abortions today. At the same time, he allowed House Bill 152 - Life is a Human Right Act to go into law. But he expressed concern that this new law will only result in a new lawsuit, which will delay any resolution to the constitutionality of the abortion ban in Wyoming. Earlier today, the plaintiffs in the current lawsuit filed a legal challenge of this new law in the event the Act was not vetoed. The...
Released March 17 Tonight, Gov. Mark Gordon signed into law one bill to ban medication abortion and indicated he will let another near-complete ban become law without his signature. The ACLU of Wyoming opposed Senate File 109, legislation that prohibits medication abortion, and House Bill 152, legislation that bans abortion care with limited exceptions and will take effect if last year’s abortion law is found unconstitutional. The following statement can be attributed to Antonio Serrano, ACLU of Wyoming advocacy director: “A person’s health, no...
March is Women's History Month, and last week on March 8 we also celebrated International Women's Day. There are so many incredible and inspiring women to admire, throughout history and in the present day - many of them in Wyoming's history pages, and some of them in our own newspaper office. The Sweetwater County Historical Museum has been sharing a series of profiles from "Sweetwater Women," a book by Christine Alethea and Brigida R. Blasi, in honor of Women's History Month. So far they've...
On March 3rd, the Wyoming Legislature gaveled out the end of the 67th General Session. The work your elected officials achieved was remarkable. As the leaders of the House and Senate chambers, it is our privilege to report out the accomplishments of this body’s work, which are strengthening the future of Wyoming, starting with strong investments in education. Educating Wyoming’s children is perhaps the single greatest investment our state can make. Public education is the crucible of democracy and the very foundation of our system of gov...
Dear Editor, Senate President Driskill and House Majority Leader Neiman, Regardless of party or residence, Wyomingites overwhelmingly support Medicaid expansion. We see substantial benefits for rural hospitals, local clinics and health insurance for roughly 20,000 families. Failing to introduce HB80 in the Senate is actually unlawful under Wyoming’s Constitution. Article 1, Section 1 proclaims that “all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety and hap...
Cartoon by Rob Pudim...
Dear Editor, We stood peacefully and respectfully in freezing cold weather for the third year in a row, protesting with signs outside Buddha Bob's bar on February 25, 2023. This bar hosted the "check-in" of a coyote killing contest organized by a private group called 'Wyoming Best of the Best.' We held red roses in our hands and wore white shirts with (fake) blood stains in honor of the animals who had been brutally killed, their bodies brought to the bar's parking lot to be weighed and counted....
Despite one of the worst winters in 40 years, we have been traveling all -across the country over the past few months. We have endured minus 39 temperatures in Lander, snow in Dallas, bitter cold winds in Las Vegas, and snow-packed highways through Denver. We also endured minus 10 temps and nearly a foot of new snow during a few days in Cheyenne. Despite all this windshield time, we can rejoice that today is Feb. 18 and surely winter cannot hold on too much longer – right? We would like to remind folks to follow those winter driving g...
On Tuesday we celebrated Valentine’s Day — a day for love. Ironically, a lot of people don’t actually love the holiday itself. Whether it’s couples who get frustrated because their partner isn’t as romantic as they’d hoped, couples who think the holiday is too commercialized and like to celebrate their love in more spontaneous ways, or single people who don’t enjoy seeing other people gush about their relationships, there are plenty of people out there who don’t love the holiday. However, maybe we can reclaim the day meant to celebrate love...
Dear Editor, This letter is about election integrity and the voices of the voters being heard. Last night, I watched in disbelief as Ron Wild was sworn in as a board member at Western Wyoming Community College. His appointment as a board member was permitted by Western Wyoming Community College’s Policy 7210F. This policy permits the board to handpick their next board member if a board member is unable to fulfil their term. Dr. Veronica Donaldson resigned in January, 65 days after being elected to the Board. She cited that she would be m...
Your newspaper and newspapers across Wyoming are advocating in the state legislature to make government information more accessible to you. In Wyoming; state, county, city, school district, and other governmental entities are legally directed to publish minutes of meetings, payroll information, changes in statutes and zoning, bid information, and other particulars in local newspapers to notify the public of their actions. The Wyoming Press Association has brought a bill to the 67th Wyoming Legislature requiring the state’s newspapers to p...
Dear Editor, Parental rights seem to be under attack, even here in Wyoming! I was appalled to see the report in the January 25, 2023 Star Valley Independent which cited opposition to the Parental Rights Bill SF0117 by the Wyoming Education Association, an association that one would assume has significant influence on what goes on in our public schools. I went to their website and found this statement on their bill tracker page: “This bill is counter to the WEA Legislative Platform regarding Safe and Just Schools. This bill is essentially F...
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) led a letter along with nine of her colleagues to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) demanding answers on Commissioner Richard Trumka's desire to ban gas ranges and stoves. Sen. Lummis sent this letter after several people in Wyoming reached out to her office with concerns about the potential ban and the impacts it would have on people throughout the state. "People in Wyoming should have the choice over what kind of appliances they have in...
When I was pregnant with my second child, Barrett, I began experiencing severe health problems. When that happened, I had just started working full time in the kitchen of the hospital in my hometown of Douglas. I found it increasingly difficult to stand and move my body for extended periods of time. My life took a dramatic turn when my OB/GYN told me that my baby’s health was in danger. I remember going to the doctor and being shocked to hear that I needed to be induced into an early labor to protect him. After Barrett’s premature del...
The ACLU of Wyoming opposes Senate File 117, legislation that would ban classroom discussions related to sexual orientation and gender identity in Wyoming’s public schools. The government censorship bill, which closely mirrors Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill that was signed into law last year and is currently being challenged in federal court, would silence students from speaking about their LGBTQ+ and Two Spirit family members, friends and neighbors and would create costly new liabilities for school districts. Under the bill, any parent who thi...
Dear Editor, US Senator Lummis voted YES on H.R. 8404, which is falsely titled the “Respect for Marriage Act.” There were many reasons to oppose this bill. One is that they disrespect marriage (a God-ordained institution) by seeking to change its meaning. Since our nation’s founding documents -- the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights -- are based on the premise that rights come from God, H.R. 8404 are antithetical to our nation’s values. H.R. 8404 also was unconstitutional, since marriage is a state matter, not a fede...
