Sweetwater County taxpayers deserve a hearty thank you from elected officials. The county’s municipal governments received $5.3 million in excess taxes collected through the 2012 special purpose tax, commonly known as the sixth-penny tax....

I covered the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees for six years in the 1990s, through turbulent times that included academic and athletic program eliminations, proposed facility closures and controversies over academic freedom. Those challenges...

During his recent visit to the Genesis Alkali facility, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., mentioned the association health plan idea he worked on with Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. However, a federal judge has ruled against the plan and in the words of...

I want to share a story. My oldest daughter Aly graduated a couple of years ago from Western. Then she worked at Western, while still taking a couple of classes after graduation. For her own reasons, she needed some time off before pursuing her bache...

The world of radiology began in 1895 when a European physicist Wilhelm Röntgen noticed fluorescence behind heavy cardboard when a cathode tube was activated nearby. Röntgen used his wife’s hand to demonstrate for the first time how these unknown...

Several years ago, in what was widely hailed as a tremendous achievement, most of the Wyoming Range was protected from oil and gas drilling.  Dozens of oil and gas leases, issued during the 1990s and 2000s, were purchased and retired, and Congress...

Recently Peggy, an Indiana woman and reader of this column, sent me a lengthy email about her 94-year-old mother who is rapidly spending down her minimal savings to pay for prescription drugs. Peggy didn’t hold out much hope that prices would come...

As our readers are likely happy to note, much of the snow that has accumulated in Green River during the past few months has mostly melted away. Local temperatures are warm enough during the day to enjoy a couple of hours outside without a winter...

Ms. A. was in the bagel shop line and told the server she was allergic to peanuts. The server reassured her there were no peanuts in the bagel but was unaware some peanut butter was left on the knife from an earlier sandwich. After a few bites of...

If you purchase an item from Amazon, they will, in what appears to be a modern miracle, deliver it your door, even in the remotest part of Wyoming, within a day or two. If you don’t like it, an even bigger miracle takes place. When the courier...

A dear friend of mine needs some help in locating someone here in Green River. Harry Holler, who many of you know, has been on a selfless mission at least since I met him 10 years ago. His mission is to recognize our local loved ones who are serving...

I read a passage in a book recently, describing mood contagion. Mood contagion says that when a person walks in the room, we can automatically sense if they are sad, angry, anxious, or upset and unless we are very mindful, their negative mood can ove...

For Wyoming Waste Systems, a lot of the headache over recycling could have been avoided with a simple statement. “Due to circumstances beyond our control, recyclable materials collected by Wyoming Waste Systems’ curbside recycling program in...

Medicare has just announced it is penalizing more than 700 of the nation’s hospitals because they have higher rates of patient safety mishaps, which the government and patient advocacy groups have been trying for years to prevent. What are those...

It’s the stuff nightmares are made of. The image, depicting a distorted human face, with bulging eyes, long black hair, a deformed nose and a mouth seemingly crossed between a bird beak and a human’s, is something that will stick with a person...

We’ve written a lot about economic development in this newspaper. So much so it’s a common theme for both news and opinion. Economic development is an important activity for both the city and Sweetwater County to engage in, as it means more...

(Publisher’s note: The Prairie Doc is a new health column offered to us from the Wyoming Press Association. Let us know if you enjoy it.) My good friend, a single man in his 60s, didn’t like going to the medical clinic for anything, let alone a...

If you’ve been wondering why there’s been so much talk of budget negotiations in the Legislature this year — a supposedly non-budget year — you’re not alone. During my 12 years of service in the House, I sensed that the most difficult...

With the myriad of bills being debated within the Wyoming Legislature, we’re happy to see one make its way through that will benefit local governments utilizing their special purpose taxes. House Bill 95 was sent to Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk...

The pursuit of a sensible public policy for wind power in Wyoming has become an unsettled, decade-long saga. Most other states in the region have already figured out how to appropriately regulate and tax wind resources, but it seems Wyoming...

Whether celebrating a relationship or longing for something more, Valentine’s Day has a way of turning our heads and hearts to finding that special someone. In today’s world, it is perfectly acceptable to go looking through online dating sites,...