Week of October 8, 2026
Week of October 8, 2026
The Thermopolis Chapter of Hunting with Heroes Wyoming (HwH WY) once again celebrated disabled veterans during the annual Thermopolis Antelope Hunt held September 26. Ten veterans traveled to Thermopolis for the event, representing nine states - Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming - with a combined 151 years of military service. We thank each of them for their service to our country. This year's honored guests were Dale Abbott, U.S. Army,...
Hot Springs County resident Doug Wallingford was recently inducted into the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame (WCHF). The ceremony was held in the Little America Hotel and Conference Center in Cheyenne on Saturday, Sept. 26. Nominations are accepted from various regions around the state and then narrowed down to select inductees. Wallingford was selected from Region 8, which includes Hot Springs and Fremont County. Doug Wallingford was born in 1955 to Norman and Pat Wallingford in Thermopolis. He...
by Ann Jantz, Rocket Miner via Wyoming News Exchange A Rocky Mountain Power proposed 2026 general rate increase of 8.8% had those in attendance at a Monday public comment hearing questioning why. The hearing was for the Wyoming Public Service Commission that is gathering public comment for the commission’s Dec. 1 evidentiary hearing to consider the merits of this rate increase. It was noted during Monday’s meeting at Western Wyoming College that 20 public comments have so far been received, and all public comments will be part of the...
The Board of Directors of Hot Springs Health rolled out their new meeting time for their regular monthly meeting held on Tuesday, September 29. The board now meets at noon, rather than the previous 5:30 p.m. time. The board welcomed Dr. Reed Haga, DO as a new Resident in the hospital’s Rural Track Training Program. Dr. Haga hails from Columbus, Ohio and is an avid angler and climber. He says caring for patients is a passion for him, and that he always works to treat patients locally, if at all possible. CEO Scott Alwin advised the board...
The Town of Thermopolis has submitted a new permit application through the Department of Environmental Quality, Solid and Hazardous Waste Division (DEQ) for the Thermopolis Transfer Station. In accordance with the provisions of the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act and Chapter 1 of the Solid Waste Rules, the Town of Thermopolis submitted the permit request for the transfer station and the period for providing written comments on the proposed permit is now open. This facility will provide for...
by John Bernhisel Wyoming went dry at midnight on June 30, 1919, but that did not mean all of the alcohol in Wyoming suddenly disappeared. That distinction would become increasingly important over the next few years as the state, and particularly the Big Horn Basin, discovered that passing a law against alcohol was considerably easier than enforcing it. Wyoming residents had plenty of warning. Voters approved statewide Prohibition in November 1918, but the law did not take effect until July 1,...
Concerned about paying winter heating bills? The Wyoming Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) is now accepting applications for the 2026-27 heating season. A new application is required every heating season. LIEAP is a federally funded program that helps eligible residents cover a portion of their monthly winter heating bills. If approved for LIEAP seasonal benefits, households may qualify for a one-time extra benefit if they have a heating emergency, such as past-due bills, utility deposits or a broken furnace. The application window...
Clay Gibbons presentation Historian Clay Gibbons will present Tragedy at Red Bank, the Jenkins Murders on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Learning Center, 124 N. 5th St. The presentation is hosted by the Hot Springs County Historical Society. For more information, call 864-2678 or 921-1551. Halloween dance The 1890’s Riders are hosting a Halloween Dance on Saturday, Oct. 10 from 8 p.m.-midnight at the Armory. Costumes are encouraged. Entry is $10 for single and $15 for a couple with kids 10 and under getting in for free. There will be...
The Fall Festival is set for Saturday, Oct. 10 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. in the River Walk area behind Gottshe. There will be vendor booths, a scarecrow auction, bake sale, beer garden, brats, cabbage burgers and live music along with a variety of activities for kids. The event is a fundraiser for Wyoming Discovery Days, Rotary Club of Thermopolis, The Learning Center and Gottsche Performance and Longevity. Wyoming Discovery Days is hosting a shop and stroll with vendor booths, a scarecrow auction and bake sale. The Learning Center is offering up...
Last Friday, the Thermopolis Middle School cross country team competed at their home tournament held at the Thermopolis Golf Course. With eight other teams in attendance, the boys team finished in 7th place with 142 points. The girls placed 6th with 158 points with seven teams competing in the girls division. This meet was the last competition the team would have before the conference meet on Thursday, Oct. 8 in Powell. The conference meet will be held at the Powell Golf Course with the boys race at noon and the girls race at 12:30 p.m....
The Hot Springs County High School Bobcats played host to Pinedale last Friday night in the 2026 Homecoming Game. The action pitted two top ranked teams in Class 2A, with the Cats ranked number 4 and the Wranglers sitting at number 5. Both teams came into the game with matching records of 4-1 overall, and 1-1 in the Northwest Division. The game was delayed an hour due to bus trouble for the Wranglers in getting to Thermopolis. The change in routine, however, never appeared to impact the Cats, as they sported their “purple-out” uniforms...
The Hot Springs County High School Cross Country teams traveled to Cody last week to try their hand (feet) at the Fox & Hounds Meet. The Cody meet varies from the typical cross country event in that start times for faster runners are held back, while the slower runners get off first. Apparent issues with the timing mechanism at the meet left suspicions regarding reported times and some missing times for the harriers. In the girls division, Lyla Marney of Big Horn posted the low time of 18:20.36. The home team from Cody took the girls team...
The Hot Springs County High School Lady Cats Volleyball team played two home matches last week - meeting up with Powell on Tuesday night and then hosting Greybull on Saturday afternoon. The Powell match was the final match before heading into conference play for this season. Powell fields a talented team and came into the Tuesday match ranked number 3 among Class 3A teams. The Lady Cats held their own against Powell, but fell in three sets by close scores of 25-23, 25-12, and 25-16. On Saturday, conference play got under way with Class 2A...
The Hot Springs County High School golf teams have garnered state championships for the last three years running. The Lady Cats were state champs in 2023, and the Bobcats were state champs in 2024. In 2025, the Lady Cats finished on top once again and showed up this year to repeat as state champs. The teams have now secured eight state championships in the past nine years. It may come as no surprise, therefore, that Bobcats and Lady Cats have, once again, received the distinction of being named as All-State golfers. All-State honors go to...
Senior homecoming royalty Morgan Jones and Carter Mascorro, Isabelle Ketner and Tannen Birdsley, junior court Paige Jones and Dalton Weis, sophomore court Emily Hamrick and Davyn Tomlinson and freshman court Maibri Schwan and William...
Chloee Owsley and Jordan Garrison were elected Bobcat homecoming queen and king during last week's festivities that included a parade through downtown. See page 13 for more...
Several groups participated in the Bobcat homecoming parade including the cheerleaders, Risen Son Christian School and Hot Springs...
October 4-10 is National Newspaper Week. 2026 marks the 86th celebration of National Newspaper Week. The theme of National Newspaper Week is “Rooted in Community, Committed to Truth.” In small towns, suburbs and cities across America, local newspapers are there for the moments that matter — elections and ballgames, new businesses and school decisions, celebrations and tragedies. How we deliver the news has changed. Why we do it hasn’t. Newspapers inform their communities, hold government accountable and tell the stories that matter to...
The October 1 Thermop IR contained John Bernhisel, “Part one: Floorboards stained with blood” story about the Prohibition Era in the Big Horn Basin. I think everyone’s first experience upon leaving the Hot Springs State Park Buffalo Pasture from the upper exit road as the old, abandoned dump site of rusted Prohibition Era cars comes into view is startling in a curious and fun way. There is no sign, nothing explains what a first-time viewer is looking at. Many folks undoubtedly chuckle, getting the feeling they are looking at some...
by John Bernhisel Questions 1. The scientific terms for two related body parts are pollex and hallux. What are they? 2. What are the two songs Ferris Bueller sings during the parade? 3. What is the highest point in Wyoming, and in what mountain range is it found? 4. What Russian author, known for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Gulag Archipelago, won the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature? 5.Within 10 years, in what year was America’s first commercial railroad built? Fun Facts There are eight states with official state nuts....
Richard Lee Wiley (Dick), 85, died to this life at the Worland Health and Rehabilitation Center surrounded by family and at peace on September 19, 2026. Dick was born on a farm near Norfolk, Neb., on August 10, 1941, to Harley and Ethel Wiley. Dick spent his early years in Nebraska. The family moved to Wyoming and eventually settled in Thermopolis. Dick graduated from Hot Springs County High School in 1960. He married Carol Hornick and two children were born to this union, Marsha and Chad. Dick...
Robert Ashton "Ash" Whitt was born October 17, 1957, in Thermopolis, Wyo., to Slim and Betty Lou (Jones) Whitt. He had a mostly happy childhood, riding, roping, trapping, riding on roundup, and shooting his guns. In 1976, he graduated from Shoshoni High School where he participated in wrestling and H.S. Rodeo. Some winters were spent in Tucson, Ariz., breaking colts, chasin' wild cattle, and riding saddle broncs. He and his pard traded beer for adobe bricks and built a bar, cafe, and arena...
Rex James Clothier was born in a suburb of Los Angeles, Calif., on January 7, 1943. He attended public schools in Pawnee Park, Kan., Sidney Neb., and Torrington, Wyo., graduating from Torrington High School in 1960. Rex started a lifelong love of coaching with a little league team in Torrington in 1961 while attending Eastern Wyoming College. He married his high school sweetheart in November 1961. That relationship produced three daughters, Susan Elaine and twins Cathy Lynn and Cindy Lee. The...
On the Record policy It is the Thermopolis Independent Record’s policy that all people arrested or cited under the “Sheriff’s office” or “Police department” in the On the Record section are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We print the names of all people upon their initial arrest. Names of minors are not printed. Sheriffs office Monday, Sept. 28 7:22 p.m. Report of a vehicle versus wildlife collision. Tuesday, Sept. 29 2:22 p.m. Report of electronic fraud. 3:29 p.m. Deputies began an investigation into the...
