Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
Serving all of Eastern Laramie County since 1908
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In response to the results of Tuesday’s election, U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis issued the following statement: “Much of my eight years as Wyoming’s sole voice in the House has been spent fending off the disastrous policies of an Obama Administration, including former Secretary Clinton, run completely amok. Donald Trump taking the White House and Republicans keeping the Senate and House marks a chance to make up lost ground, revitalize our economy, and reverse the Obama legacy of federal overreach and the Obamacare takeover of healt...
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., issued the following statement following Tuesday’s elections. “It has been a long and hard fought election season, but yesterday millions of Americans took to the polls in order to have their voice heard and exercise their right to vote. For more than 200 years our country’s election process has been a shining example of democracy in action and this year was certainly no different. Our country faces many challenges ahead. Whether it be our growing national debt, rising health care costs or a host of other issues....
Just about any sunny afternoon of the year, the famous (and infamous) Wyoming wind blows its hardest across the high prairie. While it has been cursed millions of times for its velocity and consistency this is, in fact, an economic blessing for the people of the state. And it is during mid-afternoon when the demand is highest for electricity in hot places like southern California, Arizona and Nevada. State legislatures in states like those have been turning to renewable energy sources like...
Have you ever asked why that saying was started or what it may mean? Most of us are too busy with working and raising a family to give it much thought. In fact, many people fear or dislike large strong dogs. Well I want to share with you a true story about a very special dog. In fact, this dog made me understand why that saying was started and what it means. My son introduced me to a Rottweiler and I witnessed this dog protect my grandson from getting to close to a railroad track by softly gripping my grandson’s wrist and returning him to my s...
Less than a year ago, Congress passed a historic education bill known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). That bill took educational control away from the federal government and gave it back to the states. Congress passed it with overwhelming bipartisan support, but a group of senators believe the Department of Education is actively ignoring the law as written. Recently U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., joined the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Senator Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., along with...
The Shoshone tribe, in cooperation with the US Fish & Wildlife Services (USFWS) and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), imported a small group of American bison to a privately (tribal) owned property near Morton and Pilot Butte reservoir on Nov. 3. Since June, these entities have involved the Wyoming state veterinarian in this process to assure that they were legally importing the animals according to Wyoming statute and the Wyoming Livestock Board’s import regulations. Recent articles in local publications may have given the perception t...
The problem with our times is that the future is not what it used to be, oops then, again, perhaps it is! – A modified famous old quote. Back to the future. Same old song. Here we go again. The more things change the more they stay the same . . . well, you get the picture. Back in 1978, Wyoming voters went to the polls to vote for or against a young candidate named Cheney, who had spent most of his adult career out of the state. But this candidate had a resume that anticipated that he might m...
Is it possible that you can learn more about your home state by spending some time in and traveling through some adjoining western states? Maybe. Here goes: In Wyoming, a person often contrasts the flat high prairie of southeastern Wyoming with the mountainous high country of the northwest part of the state. It is almost as if a diagonal line were drawn across our big rectangle with the goal of making the place half prairie and half mountain. Folks involved with agriculture on the high prairies...
I would like to send an apology for omitting the name of Bauner Borgman as a senior class attendant for Pine Bluffs High School homecoming. I am sorry for leaving this out. Lois Fornstrom Pine Bluffs, Wyo....
Dear Friends, Wyoming has only one vote out of 435 in the U.S. House because of our small population. This sparse representation holds true throughout the west and so western Members of Congress must band together for the survival of our western culture and way of life. That is why I have served as the Chairman of the 54-Member Congressional Western Caucus. The Western Caucus was born decades ago as a way for westerners to speak with one voice on the issues that bind us: local control, private property rights, energy independence, and economic...
Governor Matt Mead has selected Paul Phillips as Circuit Court Judge for the Sixth Judicial District in Campbell County. Phillips fills the vacancy created by Judge Terrill Tharp’s retirement effective January 1, 2017. Phillips has engaged in the private practice of law in Gillette for over 10 years. Prior to that, he served as a law clerk for the District Court Judges of the 6th Judicial District. From 1982 to 2002, he served in the United States Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He concluded his military service at the Pentagon, s...
Governor Matt Mead held a press conference this past Monday to discuss the latest update from the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG). The CREG’s October report is a projection of state revenues used to help shape the state budget. The report shows a General Fund shortfall of approximately $156 million for the remainder of the 2017/2018 Biennium. However, $104 million of that is due to a statutory requirement to refill a savings account leaving $52 million as the more accurate figure for the shortfall. The Governor reiterated he will n...
When you have been fortunate enough to travel all over the world, why would you then spend so much time wandering around Wyoming? I get that question a lot. The answer is simple – there is just so much to see and do in our great state and we want to experience all of it. Earlier in our lives, we were fortunate to visit Canada and Mexico. I earned a Masters Degree in Cardiff, Wales. We used to own a company that promoted the Rocky Mountain States in Europe. We visited Hong Kong to line up g...
We have seen several pictures of Burns and Pawnee Homecoming royalty, but almost nothing about Pine Bluffs royalty (with exception of the photo on the front page of the king and “queen”). We would like to congratulate the following students who were our royalty: Freshman attendants: Hyleigh Fornstrom and Justus Golding Sophomore attendants: Hallie Christofferson and Doug Fornstrom Junior attendants: Kenzie Graves and Wyatt Fornstrom Senior attendants: Melissa Fornstrom and Hunter Thompson Queen and King: Montanna Chrystal and Kyle Steger Bes...
To the voters of Senate District 6, Kym Zwonitzer has stepped forward as an independent candidate in your district. How fortunate you are. Her business background is much needed in the legislature. Since she is married to Representative Dave Zwonitzer, she has had the opportunity to observe the process it takes to be a knowledgeable and effective Senator to represent you. Anthony Bouchard is a one-issue candidate. He is a volitile radical from California who has lived here only a few years. His agenda is to put guns in schools. Do you think...
Last week we visited about my work on the House Natural Resources Committee and this week I want to drill down further into the energy production that is so crucial to jobs in Wyoming and revenue for our state government. Wyoming coal, oil, gas, and uranium quite literally keep the lights on in America and power our economy. Whether they know it or not, millions of Americans rely on Wyoming energy and the State of Wyoming relies on the revenue from that energy. Part of my work on the Natural Resources Committee is keeping our public lands open...
Governor Matt Mead announced a new initiative to promote the outdoor recreational industry in Wyoming. The Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources will work with private and public stakeholders to develop recommendations to grow Wyoming’s strong outdoor recreation economy. Expanding outdoor recreation was suggested by the Governor’s 2015 Task Force on Forests. “Wyoming has world-class opportunities for hunting, fishing, photography and other outdoor recreation. Many of our fondest memories are with friends and family in the outdoors,...
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is encouraging Wyoming high school juniors to apply to be a Senate page for the spring session in Washington, D.C. There are a total of 30 page positions in the United States Senate each session. One of those positions is reserved for Enzi to sponsor a young adult from Wyoming to serve as a Senate page. The deadline for applications is November 2. “The page program allows students to have a front row seat during debates in the U.S. Senate,” said Enzi. “The program will provide experiences that participants will...
There are stretches of Wyoming that seem to go on forever. Our tongue-in-cheek state motto of the Big Empty really makes sense when you are driving across these vast places. My late dad used to complain about that stretch of Highway 26 from Casper to Shoshoni as “96 miles of nuthin.’” There have been some boring afternoon trips that would qualify for that assessment. Recently, we were in the Eden-Farson area, which to those who do not know, is between Rock Springs and Pinedale. North of Farso...
U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is encouraging students and graduates from all backgrounds to apply for a spring internship in his Washington, D.C. office. The deadline for applications is November 4. “An internship in my office is rich with opportunity and provides students with firsthand knowledge and experience,” Enzi said. “Interns are an important part of the office. They also have the chance to meet some remarkable people, work on projects and experience the dynamic of living in Washington, D.C.” The internships, which include hands-o...
Dear Friends, The House Natural Resources Committee oversees the federal agencies that own nearly half of Wyoming. In 2009 I began my career in Congress on this Committee. At the end of this year, I will finish my career as Wyoming’s sole U.S. Representative as the Committee’s Vice Chairman. Looking back at my time on the Resources Committee, I am proud to say that I have: Protected the responsible, multiple use of public lands by the people of Wyoming including producing energy, ranching, hunting, and recreating. Exposed the tens of mil...
October 9, 2016 Dear Parent, Tonight could have been a disaster for your son in the Pine Bluffs Park tonight. I had taken advantage of the nice weather to lay a track for my dog. When I pulled up to the park, I noticed several children on the other side of the park playing ball. I went to the far side so my dog would not be distracted by the activities. I laid my track for my dog, let it age and then went and got her out of the car to work. She had her nose into the grass as she should and after I made my first turn, she had found her first...
As readers of this column know, I am no fan of the “new” JC Penney Company. It is my contention that old James Cash Penney (whose first store was right here in Wyoming, in Kemmerer), is spinning in his grave as to how his successors have managed to ruin that company. But I loved the old Penney’s. I took a trip down memory lane at that company’s long-time store on Main Street of Sheridan recently during a recent trip. There, smack in the heart of the town, is an old-fashioned Penney Store,...
What is happening to America? America was once known for its world class business with first class service and company pride. I live in a small town of Pine Bluffs and I have witnessed the decline of that world class pride in the delivery of large items I purchase by phone and Internet. One such major carrier has repeatedly delivered boxes to my address completely covered in road dust. That road dust contamination is so bad it is hard to read the shipping labels. Forcing the driver and the consumer to handle these filthy cartons because of poor...
U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Lee (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Ben Sasse (R-NE) pressed the Obama administration about its potential multimillion-dollar bailout of select insurance companies through Obamacare’s Risk Corridors Program (RCP). In a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt, the senators question the legality and the availability of funds to settle claims for payment under the RCP. The l...