Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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Mother Nature offered up some much needed moisture last week on Friday and Saturday. The Owl Creek area received a full inch of measurable moisture, with 5 inches coming from wet snow and the rest from rain. On Saturday evening, a section of loose rocks fell in Wind River Canyon, closing the roadway to travelers. The rocks were cleaned up in fairly short order and the road was fully reopened later that night. It was an inconvenience for those who had to wait to continue on their way, but a bus load of Powell High School soccer players didn’t w...
I am respectfully submitting an excerpt from a book called “Freedom Tide” written by Chad Connelly: Anyone making statements that our Founding Fathers were not predominantly Christian, or that they did not base our form of governnment on God’s eternal laws, or that they intended the form of “separation of church and state” that we have today, is sadly mistaken. A small amount of homework conclusively reveals otherwise. Just a few truths for your study: The University of Houston conducted a study in which 15,000 writings of the founders...
by Kevin Killough Who wouldn’t want to go back to the economically simpler times before the COVID pandemic? We can look back with warm nostalgia on 2019, when our national debt was only a frightening $23 trillion. The following year, a global pandemic shut down businesses, forced millions out of work, and led to a wave of government emergency spending that has brought the debt to around a terrifying $30 trillion. The rate by which our debt grows makes a few years seem like a generation. Even before $7 trillion was added to our crushing national...
Reports on improper meetings serve as reminder to governing bodies around the state. Gillette City Council recently found itself in hot water after an investigation found the governing body repeatedly violated open meetings laws. According to the Gillette News Record’s report of a comprehensive review released early this month, the city had conducted improper executive sessions — which are closed to the public — conducted meetings without proper notice and improperly utilized personal devices, among other issues. Shortly after the report was r...
Editor’s note: This information originally ran in the June 17, 2021 Independent Record on this page. We are running it again to help answer questions now being raised since the wooden park has been torn down. After multiple years of consideration, the Hot Springs County Board of Trustees approved going out for bid on a new bus drop off that will serve Hot Springs County High School and Ralph Witters Elementary students next fall. The new bus drop off lane would encompass the school district property on the south end of the track that is c...
The Bighorn River runs 95 miles from the Wedding of the Waters south of Thermopolis to the North Kane Boat Ramp on the south end of the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation area. There are currently 16 access points. Four public meetings at towns along the river were held, with the final meeting in Thermopolis last Thursday, to discuss the Bighorn River Blueway Trail. The attraction of the Bighorn River is growing. The portion of the river in Hot Springs County has long been known for its blue ribbon fishing, with other rereationists including...
by CJ Baker Spring didn’t officially arrive in Wyoming until Sunday, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it began March 13 — when we and the rest of the country (or most of it, at least) switched from standard to daylight saving time. After getting past the grogginess and inconvenience associated with having to push our clocks and schedules forward an hour, there’s a certain joy that comes with getting that extra hour of daylight shifted to the evenings. Still, it’s hard to get past the hassle of changing our clocks back and forth. In fact, in...
by Jill Pertler Grief teaches me new lessons every day. I think writing about them is important, because grief is a topic many of us shy away from. It’s uncomfortable. It’s beyond that. It’s terrifying. Because here’s the truth that none of us wants to hear: If you love someone, there is a very huge chance one of you will grieve the other at some point. Love culminates in grief. We pretend this isn’t true, but there is no dodging the bullet. Grief is a sniper. And that sniper got me. But, if my experience and insight can help one person, t...
The Biden administration’s response to rising oil prices is perplexing, to say the least. Whether the much higher prices of oil and gas are a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, whether they pre-date that invasion or are a reaction to some other market force, it would seem that the last thing our nation should be doing is trading one dictator for another. It took Biden far too long to order a ban on Russian oil, with the invasion of Ukraine commencing on February 24 and Biden announcing his executive order on March 8. And we u...
by Doug Miyamoto, Director, Wyoming Department of Agriculture There is no need to sugar coat this news because everyone already knows… The last few years have been difficult for everyone. From a global pandemic with the accompanying illnesses and disruptions in supply chains, to increased strife and conflicts throughout the world, to severe drought conditions and weather, it’s safe to say that the last few years have presented some challenges. While these years have been difficult, one important takeaway has been that more people now und...
In one of the most decisive steps yet taken in the international effort to convince Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States is leading the way on banning Russian oil imports. While it seems this particular sanction could have the greatest impact on the Russian economy — and be most effective at ultimately convincing Putin to withdraw forces from Ukraine and seek peace — it is even more certain that Americans will be confronted by even higher gasoline prices as Russian oil is taken off the market. Perhaps more...
Sunshine Week was launched in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors — now News Leaders Association — and has grown into an enduring initiative to promote open government. This year Sunshine weeks is March 13-19. Join News Leaders Association in the annual nationwide celebration of access to public information and what it means for you and your community. It’s your right to know. There are ways for community members to get involved and show your support for open government. If you are part of a civic group, you can organize local forum...
Everyone wants to win the game! When we don’t , the officials usually get the blame. If you think officiating is easy, grab a whistle sometime and try working a game, at any level. Fans have the best view from the stands, whereas the officials are on eye-level with the players. We know there will be contact in basketball. In less than two seconds, the official must determine who initiated the contact, was it advantageous, do I act on it with a foul, or do we play on? All this depends on the angle the official sees the contact. How often have yo...
Higher state salaries mean more effective services One of the top priorities mapped out in Gov. Mark Gordon’s budget and State of the State address centered around increasing pay for state government employees. Gordon included $53 million in his budget for the cause and has repeatedly stressed how important this funding is for the continuity of service within the state of Wyoming. The funding is part of Gordon’s $2.3 billion total general fund budget currently under consideration by the Wyoming Legislature. Too often the mantra of gov...
With a few top state offices in Wyoming up for election in 2022, the state’s political season is already in full swing. This week’s IR features our second initial candidate story of this season. State and local candidates are reminded the IR is pleased to print initial candidacy announcements as news. All candidates are eligible for one article, per political season, free of charge. We also do election sections ahead of the primary and general elections where we will feature information on all candidates. These are the sections that inc...
In June of 1956 a joint session of the United States Congress passed a bill changing our national motto from E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many ONe) to In God We Trust. The bill was soon signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The motto now appears on all of our money. Fast forward to today’s world. In Finland a member of the parliament and a clergy person are going to trial for quoting scripture and speaking publicly about their faith. In China Muslims have been put on concentration camps and their women sterilized. Christians are being martyred t...
We do things a little differently in Wyoming than in other states across the country. In Hot Springs County, we do things a little differently than other counties across the state. Within the county, each of us does things a little different than our neighbors. And that’s just fine. Whatever it is you enjoy, enjoy it. When you see your neighbor doing what he enjoys, let him enjoy it. No need to be tending to his backyard, tend to your own. If he’s mowing his yard differently than you mow yours, who cares? Why should you care? Do you need to car...
My first memory of Hot Springs State Park is about 75 years ago when our parents brought us up from Cheyenne to play in the water and ride the wooden sleds into the pool. I loved it then and have loved it for all the ensuing years. Even during all the years I lived in Colorado, I brought my husband, my sons and my grandsons to our Hot Springs State Park and when I retired in 2000, I came home to stay in our wonderful Thermopolis. I live three blocks from the park and spend part of everyday enjoying its beauty and taking advantage of the...
American past times such as going to movie theaters have evolved since the introduction of streaming services, the effects of the entertainment economy, and the threats of Covid illnesses. Here in Thermopolis, our movie theater has been shut down for almost two long years. There is a buzz and excitement that has returned to the people of our community because the movie theater is back! What was once known as The Ritz, the newly renamed Micky’s Theater has opened. Now locals can enjoy that b...
by Tyler Martineau Do you ever wonder why shows such as “Joe Pickett” or “Longmire” are based in Wyoming but are filmed elsewhere? Just like most things, it all comes down to money. Wyoming is one of about 15 states without a filming incentives program which gives tax incentives to film and TV productions. Wyoming’s previous incentive program expired in 2018, making places like Texas, Utah and even Calgary better places to film scenes to look like the Equality State. However, the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources...
The undersigned members of Wyoming’s business community ask the 66th Wyoming Legislature to pass a bill to expand the state’s Medicaid program during the 2022 budget session for the following reasons: Lower Healthcare Costs: The Wyoming Hospital Association reports that its members lose at least $100 million annually in uncompensated care costs. These costs result when uninsured people receive medical treatment for which they cannot pay. Hospitals pass these costs to consumers. The impact ripples through Wyoming’s economy, driving up the price...
by Ann Turner Here’s the $3.5 million question: What does Wyoming need to do to develop an economy that isn’t so dependent on the minerals industry? The state’s economic development agencies (of which there are many), the Wyoming Business Council along with every governor’s office and legislator over the past 40 years have been trying to answer that question, particularly during energy bust times. But now there’s a new suggestion on the table to try to reverse Wyoming’s winds of fortune: Let’s hire Harvard! For $3.5 million, the minds at the...
by CJ Baker The COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t have come at a much worse time for the U.S. Census Bureau. Once a decade, the bureau takes a tally of all the people living in the United States at a certain point in time: in the most recent case, on April 1, 2020. Under normal conditions, counting heads in April is representative of the population, but 2020 was, of course, anything but normal. The Census date came as federal, state and local governments were shutting down businesses and other aspects of daily life in an effort to slow the spread o...
Medicaid is a state-administered program that currently supports the medical needs of Wyoming citizens who are both low income AND blind, disabled, pregnant, or elderly. Low income is defined as under 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) which is currently $12,880 for an individual and $21,960 for a family of three. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides subsidies for private health insurance to anyone who earns 138% or more of the federal poverty level which in 2021 was $17,774 for an individual or $30,305 for a family of 3 etc. Anyone who...
by Bill Sniffin, Cowboy State Daily In my opinion, there is no better way to appreciate this land we call Wyoming than seeing it from the air. And looking down right now is just about as good as it can possibly get. The valleys are glistening with bright snow while our purple mountains bask in the sunshine with still enough pearly white snow to sparkle in the distance. Ah, what a sight. Just love seeing Wyoming from the air. Nothing like it in the world. I write these words as a person who piloted his own airplane for 30 years. The l...
