Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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Investigation Discovery, a network featuring the solving of horrible crimes, was in Wyoming this past week filming the story about how Virginia Uden and her two sons were murdered in Fremont County 37 years ago. Their bodies have never been recovered but law enforcement folks think they know where the bodies are located; the murderer has confessed and is serving time for the crime. I was interviewed by the TV crew sent to Lander for the story. We shall see if I get any air time. After 37 years...
Congress passed a government funding bill on May 4 that would help strengthen a number of American priorities, including border security, defense and support for communities and education. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., voted in favor of the bill, which the Senate passed with bipartisan support and which stayed within the budget caps set to control annual federal spending. The legislation also provided funding for communities in Wyoming for afterschool programs, low income home energy assistance and payments to counties and local governments t...
So there we were, enjoying Easter week in Dallas with our daughter and family. Although we were a long way from Wyoming, headlines in the Dallas newspaper were asking questions about why Gov. Greg Abbott had hidden a horrible accident from constituents for almost a year. This incident occurred in Wyoming last July. Gov. Abbott, who is wheelchair-bound, somehow scalded himself in the shower of a handicap room at an un-named hotel. The second and third degree burns were so serious, he needed to go...
U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) questioned Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, President Trump’s nominee to be the next U.S. ambassador to China, on soda ash, beef exports and human rights. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations held Branstad’s confirmation hearing today. On Soda Ash: “Many U.S. industries experience a wide variety of concerns surrounding China’s trade policies and practices. “As we’ve discussed in this Committee, soda ash continues to face unfair trade practices from China, from other countries. “The United States is the...
There have been many weird stories and odd people during the 127 years of Wyoming’s history. For example, there was the guy who parachuted onto the top of Devil’s Tower in 1941. Or the wild outdoorsman dubbed the Tarzan of the Tetons, Earl Durand, in 1939, who killed four pursuers until he was gunned down while robbing a Powell bank. But in 1977, Wyoming became notorious because of a former Miss Wyoming-World, Joyce McKinney, for her antics in kidnapping an LDS missionary in England. And a few...
One of the top dangers facing raptors, and many other cavity nesting birds in Wyoming, is accidentally getting trapped in a vent pipe. For some raptors, that means entering down a vent pipe of a vault toilet- an outhouse - and being unable to fly out. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Teton Raptor Center, with support from Wyoming Wildlife Foundation, is working to prevent birds from this fate by installing 200 Poo-Poo screens on vault toilet vent pipes statewide, effectively protecting all Game and Fish owned facilities. The...
When local voters head to the Sixth Penny Tax polls May 2, they will see among the ballot propositions an option for the construction of a multi-purpose event facility. Proposition 4 proposes the building of a multi-purpose events facility at the Archer Complex. “It’s so much more than a building,” said Brett Kupec, Laramie County Fair Board Chairman. “It really is a facility with possibility. Proposition 4 represents an opportunity for voters to invest in the future of Laramie County in terms of economic impact and the ability to bring l...
For a long time, the Riverton radio station KVOW was located in a small house along the Big Wind River. Unbeknownst to statewide politicians back in 1984, the radio station moved and the building was turned into a private residence. U. S. Rep. Dick Cheney was running for reelection and late for his radio interview. He pulled up to the house and barged through the front door. He totally surprised a woman who was vacuuming the floor. A baby was in a high chair. Neither Cheney nor the woman knew...
My recent column about couples celebrating long marriages sure generated a lot of comments. I thought these were wonderful. Here goes: “My folks, who were married 45 years when my mom passed away, always said that ‘date nights’ were important. Date nights didn’t include kids, just time away from home doing something they enjoyed together. My mom always said ‘surprise’ date nights were the best,” recalled Leslie Blythe of Casper. Diana Schutte Dowling, formerly of Greybull, recalled that...
According to the July 14, 2016, report by the Congressional Research Service entitled Salaries and Allowances: In Brief, in order to ensure the welfare of the citizens of their district or state, we pay members of Congress a base annual salary of $174,000. They also enjoy generous health and life insurance provisions. A Members’ Representational Allowance (MRA) is available to support legislators in their official and representational duties and may be used for expenses including staff, travel, mail, office equipment, district office rental, st...
Faith-based providers and individuals helping children should not be prevented from providing welfare services because of their religious faith, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa. The lawmakers say some people in positions of power are essentially discriminating against people of faith and seeking to force providers out of these services because of the providers’ beliefs. Enzi and Kelly introduced legislation today to ensure faith-based institutions and individuals can continue to provide services for t...
In this world, there are big ships. And there are really, really big ships. To put the name Wyoming in the same sentence as “the biggest wooden ship ever built” just would not make sense to most residents of this state. But it is true. The largest wooden ship ever built was called the Wyoming and the centennial of that event occurred about five years ago. And as might be typical of anything Wyoming, that ship’s entire existence had a lot to do with coal. But not Powder River Basin coal, but east...
U.S. Senators Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., and John McCain, R-Ariz., recently reintroduced the Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings Act of 2017 (COINS Act), legislation that would modernize our currency by moving to a $1 dollar coin, reduce the cost of nickel production and suspend the minting of the penny, which currently costs more than one cent to produce. These money-saving reforms, which have been studied and supported by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office, could generate up to $16 billion in taxpayer savings....
U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) praised the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for passing two Barrasso water bills, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) Transparency Act S. 216 and S. 199, a bill that would expand the water storage capacity of the Fontenelle Reservoir in Wyoming. “Today, the committee passed two important bills that will help improve the way we manage water in the West,” said Barrasso. “Aging water systems make it harder for people in Wyoming and throughout the West to have access to a clean, abundant and relia...
Ah, spring. In much of the United States, spring is a time of tilling the soil, putting out flower plants and long walks in short sleeve shirts. Now here in Wyoming, spring often offers something quite different. Wyoming’s other seasons are quite predictable. For example: Summer features long sun-filled days, low humidity, the bluest skies in America and cool, wonderful nights. It is a time of golf and of camping. It is a time of enjoying five hours of daylight after work and birds chirping i...
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., introduced legislation today that would require the federal government to disclose the data it uses for Endangered Species Act (ESA) listings. It would also ensure that ESA decisions are more reliant on the input of state, local and tribal studies. “Wyoming has some of the richest wildlife habitat in the world,” Enzi said. “The Endangered Species Act has a profound impact on our economy and our lives. The federal government should be sharing its endangered species data and allowing those most affected by a propo...
Even though it is invisible to most Americans, every community across this country relies on a complex system of reservoirs, aqueducts, dams, levees, treatment plants, pumping stations, and millions of miles of pipes forming our water infrastructure. For decades, most Americans haven’t given much thought to our water systems, not worrying where water comes from when we turn on the tap, or where it goes after it swirls down the drain. Now years of deferred maintenance are catching up with us, and the cost of inaction could be severe. On C...
It was my understanding that the town council had decided not to replace the blue spruce in the park, I presented this prepared speech to them at the meeting March 20, 2017. After such a terrible, terrifying storm our town looks better every day. The majority of homes have been repaired, painted and resided. Some have been even enhanced. Our majestic wonderful trees cannot be repaired or resided. It’s very heart wrenching to go by the park and see the bareness. I think of the pioneers, our forefathers who brought the trees here so many, many y...
Recently, we have found ourselves saying good-bye to people who were influential to us and other folks around Wyoming. The Grande Dame of our hometown of Lander was Betty Kail, who died recently at 81. She was an elegant gal with a strong backbone and an ambitious resolve to go where other women had never ventured before. In the Equality State, Betty truly proved that women are equal to men. She may have proved they are superior. She was an attorney back when there were few women attorneys. She...
Last month President Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to be America’s next Supreme Court Justice. He is an admirable choice, not only because of his unquestionable legal experience, but because of his knowledge and understanding of the West. Western issues are not always the same as issues from other parts of the country. It is important that we have someone on the Supreme Court who has a shared perspective. Someone who understands the unique struggles that our history, geography, environment, industries and way of life present. With his W...
I am a life-long resident of Pine Bluffs and as technology has become more important, our small little town has been lagging in its access to what the bigger cities have, much like electricity coming into our town lagged behind the big cities in the 20th century. I am so very excited to be able to have access to modern internet access because the need for bandwidth and megabytes has increased tremendously. My large family fights over access and it seems like the only way you can get anything accomplished over the internet is to get up at 3 a.m....
Over the years, I have become convinced there is something about Wyoming that makes being married for 50 years easier here than in other places. My wife Nancy and I just celebrated that milestone. When you have celebrated an event like this, it does cause one to ponder. We have spent 46 of those 50 years out here in frontier Wyoming and we give the people of the state and these 98,000 square miles of space a lot of credit for keeping us together. Now before I get all wrapped up in how wonderful...
U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced bipartisan legislation to maintain competitive royalty rates on America’s natural soda ash, which is critical in manufacturing industrial products like glass. The Soda Ash Competitiveness Act (S. 546) will set the royalty rate on sodium compounds (and related products) produced from federal land at 2 percent for five years. Under current law, the royalty rate on sodium compounds produced from federal land is 6 percent. A lower rate of 4 percent, which Congress put in place in 2...
Congressman Liz Cheney (WY-AL) released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed the disapproval resolution to overturn the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Resource Management Rule, which is commonly called “Planning 2.0”. “I am very pleased the Senate voted today to overturn BLM Planning 2.0. Planning 2.0 was a misguided and damaging attempt by the Obama administration to undermine the rights of state and local governments to manage resources and land use inside their own communities.” Congressman Cheney said, "I was honored to i...
The Senate voted on March 9 to rescind a Department of Education regulation that directly contradicted a bipartisan education bill Congress passed in 2015, which put control back in the hands of states and parents. The Department of Education rule would allow the federal government to mandate, direct and control state and local school accountability systems. U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said the rule clearly violated prohibitions placed on the Department of Education under the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act. “Last Congress, members f...
