Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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When it comes to national and state elections, 2016 will be remembered as a real doozy. Most folks I talk with cannot remember a national election campaign like the one that we are witnessing. For two things, there has never been a campaign this long and there has never been one with so many candidates. The media is covering it like a sporting event. But it is not. It has become a Reality Show. Nationally, the Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders campaigns are providing most of the entertainment...
Back in the 1930s and 1940s, our little town of Lander had a group of crusty old fellows known as “the 9 old men” who pretty much ran things. Now keep in mind, in those days Lander was a big town in Wyoming. It was bigger than Gillette, Douglas, Cody, Riverton, Green River, Evanston, Rawlins, Worland, Jackson, Powell and Buffalo. Today, most of those towns are bigger than Lander or about the same size. Our nine old men included Pharmacist George Case, Hotelier Harold Del Monte, Banker Har...
(Note: Last week, we wrote how Lander lost 550 high paying iron ore mining jobs and Fremont County lost 2,000 high-paying uranium-mining jobs in the 1980s. This is how local leaders turned the town around.) Impartial observers like the late Gov. Ed Herschler would point at Lander as the “worst hit” town in Wyoming during the 1980s depression. To those of us who lived through it, we certainly agreed with him, although that distinction brought us no solace. There was work to do. Our pro...
It is a recession when you lose your job. It is a depression when I lose mine. – Old saying. With the loss of over 5,000 energy jobs, it should be interesting to readers to read about what happened during the last Wyoming bust at the most mining-oriented town in the state. Here is that story: In February 1993, a book was widely quoted around the country, which rated the 100 best small towns in America. Lander ranked number 5 and was prominently mentioned by the author during a visit to the N...
As a state that relies on fossil fuels for much of its economic success, it is interesting to equate Wyoming’s energy job recession with nations with a similar destiny such as Russia and Saudi Arabia. Here in Wyoming, the recent layoffs in the Powder River Basin coal mines and at railroads that haul our coal, plus steep declines in oil and natural gas prices, have sent shock waves throughout the state’s economy. Until those coal jobs were lost, the state seemed to be more concerned about los...
How do you prepare for a 36-inch spring snowstorm that is headed your way? Before I answer that question, let me set the scene for you: It was on a fantastic and amazing Easter Sunday afternoon when we got the news that this wonderful warm weather was about to change – and it was about to change in the most dramatic way possible. Three feet of snow? I always tell people that the Wyoming winters are mild. It is spring that will lay you low. Here in Lander, we average 110 inches of snow per y...
Have you ever seen anything like the current political race for president of the United States? After watching from 1956 to 2012, I have never seen anything like this bizarre Trump-Cruz-Hillary-Bernie circus. It “trumps” any other presidential election. Perhaps its craziness can be blamed on GOP front-runner, businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump. Or maybe it is because of the incredible length of the campaigns and the fact everyone, everywhere can keep up with every single sound bit...
Last week, we took our time cruising through that amazing labyrinth known as Wind River Canyon between Shoshoni and Thermopolis. The narrow towering walls staring down on you (sometimes through the sunroof) can make a person feel pretty small. It took Mother Nature millions of years to carve that gorge through the Owl Creek Mountains, sometimes gouging out less than an inch a year. Over time, you get this impressive cut in the mountains. And how important is this cut? It is a primary route for...
Is Wyoming on the downhill slide toward another bust? Our coal mining industry is under attack. Oil and natural gas prices have plummeted so fast that expensive fracking projects scheduled all over the state have been cancelled. Thousands of men and women have been laid off. Tax revenues are down and continuing to decline. Whoa, this is starting to sound familiar. Are we going back to the future? If so, this is not our first rodeo. Back in 2008, the whole country reeled over the biggest...
A small book full of firsts about Wyoming was written two years ago by First Lady Carol Mead, and it is an excellent compilation of unique events that happened first here in Wyoming. It would seem to make sense to me that every school child in the state should have access to it. I have written news stories, books and columns about Wyoming for 45 years and learned a lot from her book. Most everyone in Wyoming and across the nation knows about the two biggest “firsts” that occurred here – Yello...
It was September 1990, and then-Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan’s Irish temper was hot. It was at the Lander One Shot Antelope Hunt and I was driving then-U. S Sen. Al Simpson back to the hotel headquarters. Sullivan spotted us and came charging out. Simpson took one look and said: “Oh darn (well, words sort of like that), this is not going to be pretty.” As he rolled down the window, Sullivan let Simpson have his full fury about some project Sullivan had been working on for years and that he felt...
The political fates of our nation and of Wyoming are being decided right now across the country through a series of presidential primaries, debates and caucuses. Here in Wyoming, we are merely observers. Or are we? I was recently in Nevada, one of the battleground states, and got to follow some of the national candidates and make some observations on the national scene. On the Democratic side, I always assumed Hillary Clinton would be our next president. She is not my choice but with all the...
Soon, members of the tourism industry in Wyoming will be gathering in Cheyenne to celebrate a banner year, which saw about ten million people visiting the state in 2015, including over 4 million visiting Yellowstone National Park. These numbers are spectacular and deserve to be celebrated. And while we celebrate our number-two industry we also have to be vigilant that members of the Legislature do not attempt to gut bills that call for Wyoming to spend money promoting tourism. While our...
Picture this: State Sen. Leland Christensen (R-Alta) is walking the neighborhoods of Worland knocking on doors. It is cold and snowy. He encounters “a friend of a friend” and they talk for 20 minutes. This is an example of politics in the least populated state in the country on some of the coldest and shortest days of the year. Christensen, like ten others, is seeking nomination for the state’s lone Congressional seat and he is working hard. He shares his story along with a photo of himse...
It is embarrassing to see how shortsighted and stingy, the “settler” members of our Wyoming legislature can be. Gov. Matt Mead pointed out this during a recent meeting with the Wyoming Press Association when he criticized a vote by members of the Joint Appropriations Committee to reject $20 million in federal money for Medicaid. Mead’s recommendation lost narrowly. Yet most folks hope it can be resurrected during the budget session. For these committee members to vote down such an important infu...
It is easy to feel good about Wyoming’s future when visiting the Big Horn Basin. In recent weeks, we have been to events in Worland, Cody and Powell and met with hundreds of optimistic, busy people. In Powell, long-time publisher Dave Bonner, hosted me at their Rotary Club and gave me a tour of his newspaper prior to the meeting. The quality of the Powell Tribune is jaw-dropping. Wyoming is famous for great community newspapers but Bonner has the best (and biggest) staff, per-capita, of any news...
Not sure what a writer from Torrington, Oscar nominations and Rudyard Kipling have in common, but that is what this column covers. Last week, movie nominations were announced for the annual Academy Awards and Wyoming was prominent in both the nominees and the passed over movies. But first, on a recent dark and cold night (-13), I was being forced to watch American Idol by my wife Nancy and, as is normal in our household, I was leafing through a magazine and checking items on my iPad. The latter...
For some reason, small town newspaper publisher-types get called upon often to speak at funerals. I have done it many times. Usually, these folks are capable speakers and often they can put into words those expressions of sorrow and loss that help family and friends cope with the departure of a person who was important to the community. The best I ever knew at this was the late Bob Peck, long-time publisher of the Riverton Ranger. He was extraordinary when called upon to do this job. So who did...
A businessman is interested in purchasing land in Pine Bluffs to set up a sale barn. While only in the exploratory stages, the thought of bringing new commerce to the area is a welcome and exciting prospect. Attracting a sale barn to our community will benefit us all with ancillary sales and local tax revenues. New visitors from neighboring states means local businesses will see more sales as new sale barn customers will need fuel, food and possibly lodging while in the area. When Gary Naill, owner of Nebco Service, LLC, the company looking to...
When you talk about Wyoming people or think about our wonderful state, are there specific universal truths and fundamental values that come to mind? Are they unique to our state and to our people here? I always thought so. It makes sense to talk about our truths and values in a column at the beginning of a new year. My quest to identify them started when I ran for state office back in 2002. It seemed like a good idea then if I could identify them. This quest became a much bigger task than I...
Hi there, loyal Pine Bluffs Post readers! It’s the new guy you’ve been seeing around the area since mid-October with camera in-hand covering several events. It’s a new year, new start and a new editor... wait a minute! Yes, you heard me correctly. As of this issue, I am the new editor and general manager of the Pine Bluffs Post. So I felt this section of the newspaper is a good place to formally introduce myself and let you know what you can expect from your local newspaper going forward. Now, I could have taken the easy way out and simpl...
Oh no, not again. Or as the old bumper sticker read: “Please God, give me one more boom. This time I promise not to piddle it away” or words to that effect. Our governor and members of the Legislature are preparing for one of the more difficult budget sessions in memory as severance tax revenues are plummeting because of low oil and natural gas prices worldwide. Wyoming is a commodity state, which means that its economy booms or busts, based on the prices that are charged for energy in the for...
It’s that time of year again. Time to make a lot of long-term (12 month) promises to yourself that you’ll most likely not keep. I think I’ve managed to keep a few New Year’s resolutions in my entire life, including one this past year – well almost. The other day, though, I was reading an article about New Year’s, resolutions, losing weight, yada, yada, yada....and one suggestion in particular that stood out from all of the others was completely logical. Now, I’m no Mr. Spock. I try to use logic...
If my late father had a favorite winter day, it would have occurred on Dec. 22, 2015, this year. That was the day when the nights started getting shorter and the days started getting longer. As he got older and entered the long dark winter of his own lifetime, I think those ever-longer nights and ever-briefer days would remind him of his own life slipping away. He always looked forward to Dec. 22. He would have a spring in his step as he got up early to mark the fact that we had all made it...
We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: Dear Editor— I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O’Hanlon 115 West Ninety Fifth Street Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe e...
