Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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by Jim Herlihy, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, Alzheimer’s Association When we gather on May 8 to celebrate Mother’s Day, give a special prayer for the more than 4 million women across the United States who are living with a unique challenge: Alzheimer’s disease. Roughly two-thirds of the 6.5 million people in the U.S. living with Alzheimer’s are women. Supporting and caring for these 6.5 million Americans are more than 11 million unpaid caregivers, family and friends who volunteer their time and energy. Perhaps it comes as no...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
While most years, friends and family share well-wishes and hopes for the new year filled with resolutions to become healthier or achieve a longtime goal, this year’s well-wishes often included a tinge of dark humor. Memes of dumpster fires and others that include a reference to 2022 being, “2020, too,” have circulated as a way to collectively bemoan the country’s current circumstances. While acknowledging a shared experience offers a beginning, rebuilding trust in each other and institutions must start for any hope in a brighter future to surv...
Fake News might seem like a new concept, but it has actually been around for a long time. The internet and cable news networks have probably made it a little more apparent, but it has always been a part of our media consumption. And Fake News isn’t always produced by news outlets. It is just as likely to come from elected officials themselves, who don’t necessarily have to lie to mislead you. Sometimes all it takes is distracting you with a non-story in the hopes that you will fail to notice the real story because they fear negative public rea...
Mutt Mulligan, a rescue dog and the spokesdog of the TurfMutt Foundation, says a key to health and well-being is getting outside this winter Alexandria, Va. – Winter can be tough on people in the best of times, but it is particularly challenging during a global pandemic. Throughout the spring, summer and fall, the outdoors – including our yards, parks, and sports fields – were critical for buoying our mental well-being, physical health and enabling us to safely connect with others. For a decade the TurfMutt environmental education and stewa...
by CJ Baker As a general rule, if you run across a website promising an easy cash reward, you should click away and maybe scan your device for viruses. But here’s a safe one that’s worth checking out if you’re a current or former Wyoming resident: www.mycash.wyo.gov. Run by the State Treasurer’s Office, the site is a clearinghouse for various property that, for all kinds of reasons, hasn’t made it into the hands of its rightful owner. The items can include payments from insurance companies, refunds of phone bills, utility deposits or other sub...
by Bob Bonnar It doesn’t seem like anybody is very happy with the result of the Wyoming State Legislature’s Special Session…but it ended up being the ultimate victory for small government. When the dust settled, the legislature had drafted and passed a really big bill that actually did very little, and we should probably be grateful. I’ve always thought Wyoming was committed to limiting the role any government (local, state or federal) should play in our lives, and I think the legislature honored that commitment. Legislated opposition to fede...
by U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis Democrats in Washington are planning a far-reaching Big Brother initiative to squeeze every last penny out of everyday Americans. They need more money to pay for their reckless spending programs. Their target is middle-class families in Wyoming and across the country. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wants Democrats to force banks to tell the IRS every time you write or deposit a check above a certain amount. The number they are talking about is $600. This dangerous provision brings the IRS...
by Tessa Baker Over the years, the State of Wyoming has spent a lot of time and resources helping the grizzly population recover and fighting for the ability to manage the bears. The fight is continuing as Gov. Mark Gordon announced Thursday that Wyoming is once again seeking state management of the species. “The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear has met and exceeded all scientific benchmarks for recovery,” Gordon said Thursday. Multiple presidential administrations have attempted to delist grizzlies over the years. Delisting was pro...
by Scott W. Meier Wyoming Bankers Association (WBA) Few things are more private than your household finances. In his American Families Plan, President Biden unveiled a tax compliance initiative aimed at closing the gap between taxes that are owed and what are paid. Most of the anticipated revenue, which the Administration estimated at $460 billion over 10 years, would come from requiring financial institutions to report account information that Treasury says would be similar to W-2 reporting for wages and other income reporting. The proposal,...
by Greg Johnson As somber, respectful and emotional commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks occurred on Saturday, we wondered why we go to such lengths to remember something so horrible. It’s certainly easier to bury and ignore the unpleasant than to go out of our way to relive it again. It’s simple. We remember days like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the space shuttle Challenger exploding and 9/11 so they may never be repeated. It’s why these events, as Pr...
Americans typically consider questions about the meaning of the Constitution through the prism of their political views and values. As a consequence, they tend to defend as constitutional the acts of officials whom they support, and criticize as unconstitutional the acts of those representatives whom they oppose. This approach implies that the meaning of the Constitution turns on whose ox is being gored. Politics, partisanship and party affiliation are the controlling levers of constitutional understandings. This method of constitutional...
by Harriet Hageman One thing that can be safely said about the Biden Administration is that when you think they could not become even more extreme, they make clear that you underestimate them at your peril. Take President Biden’s Executive Order 14008, entitled “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.” Buried on page 9, is Section 216, with the heading, “Conserving Our Nation’s Lands and Waters,” the goal of which is to develop a plan to “conserve at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.” Known as the “30x30” program...
It wasn’t supposed to end this way. After 42 years in elected office, the last 24 in Congress, Mike Enzi said farewell to the U.S. Senate earlier this year. At 77 years of age, retirement was overdue, and in addition to a little hunting and fishing, he most looked forward to time with his family. “I was able to see my kids grow up before I went in the Senate,” he told the Gillette News Record when he announced in May 2019 that he planned to retire. “Now I want some grandkid time.” Unfortunately, life is uncertain, and what Mr. Enzi no doubt...
A straw poll conducted informally over an evening refreshment among friends (you know the kind) recently revealed that many people have grown sick of politics. The bickering, the divisiveness and the fluid status of facts have created a weariness with all things elections and politics. It’s time to snap out of it. While the next round of elections won’t take place until 2022, filing begins in just 305 days. That’s right, beginning May 12, 2022, candidates will begin officially declaring their intent to seek public office. Perhaps you will...
