Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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Fire and law enforcement are by law essential services, meaning counties and municipalities must provide those services. What is not an essential service is emergency medical services. No one really seems to know why but more and more people are asking as emergency medical services are struggling across the state and the country. During a listening session hosted by the Wyoming Department of Health last week in Thermopolis, DOH officials reported that requests for service for EMS have increased 27.1 percent in the past six years statewide. In... Full story
A once-in-a-generation political crisis that’s systematically tightened its grip on the foundations of America’s democracy is coming to a crescendo with this month’s hearings on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Thursday’s prime-time hearing held by the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Attack was the first of many. The committee has promised detailed accounts of how former President Donald Trump and a militant group of his supporters plotted and acted to overthrow the 2020 presidential election and thwart the peaceful transfe... Full story
Two major news stories broke this week in Washakie County and while there was some negative tone expressed, first at the public hearing for the ambulance service station location on North Road 11, and then later when results and comments of the sales tax survey were released, I am taking the opportunity to combat the negative with the positive. First, let’s look at the ambulance station proposal on North Road 11. Whether you are in favor or not (the special exemption was approved) there are positives. The first was the Board of Adjustment and P... Full story
One of the most important things a person in addiction recovery can do is to maintain employment. It is very important that they do not isolate and become unproductive. Employment is one way to provide daily stimulation, structure, and interactions in the world and with others. It helps to keep the mind sharp and allows the individual to engage emotionally with others in a new and healthy way. However, there can be certain obstacles when seeking work. One of the most difficult obstacles is reputation issues. This is especially true in small... Full story
On Monday, the Worland Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission will be conducting a public hearing on the special exemption request by Washakie County for a new ambulance station. In anticipation of a large crowd, the meeting has been moved from its regular location at city hall in the council chambers to the Worland Community Center. By city code a public hearing is not required for this type of special exemption but Board Chairman Scott Fritzler, seeing the number of people interested in the board’s decisions and listening to some of t... Full story
“When did we stop being the land of the brave and home of the free? When did freedom stop?” Those questions were asked of me on Monday during an interview with Democratic candidate for governor Terry Livingston of Worland. The questions are fitting as we head into this Memorial Day weekend, when on Monday, we honor and remember our brave men and women in the military who served, fought and died in sacrifice for their country. They sacrificed fighting for our freedoms here in the United States of America and for freedoms for others in their cou... Full story
When James P. Owen wrote “Cowboy Ethics: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the Code of the West,” there was a rush for businesses and organizations to accept the Code of the West as a code of conduct, despite the fact that the code has been around for decades. Burlington schools adopted it as a motto and the Wyoming State Legislature adopted the Code of the West as the official state code. With high school and college graduations going on this month and next it is a time where I try to impart some wisdom learned throughout my life. This year... Full story
More than two years ago everything changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years ago we saw some businesses closed by the order of the governors, including here in Wyoming. We saw events cancelled or the number of spectators and participants limited. Then came the masks and even for the first part of last year everywhere you went a mask was either required (school events) or recommended. Wyoming got rid of the mask mandate earlier than most states. We didn’t have the huge lockdowns that other states put their citizens through. Businesses w... Full story
So I woke up this morning to snow and thought to myself, in December we thought we would not get a white Christmas. We did. And now it looks like we may get a white Easter as well. Perhaps the snow will melt but rain and snow are in the forecast later in the week so one never knows. Speaking of Easter did you catch the feature in the Northern Wyoming News on the Maslowskis that included some Easter traditions from the Ukraine. I enjoyed learning about some of those traditions. I briefly, if only for a millisecond, thought about downloading a... Full story
So the new state legislative map with 62 House districts and 31 Senate districts is now law, becoming law, without Governor Mark Gordon’s signature. I know you are thinking did I not just talk about redistricting last week. You are right but with Gordon not signing the legislation last week my first thought, of course, was why? The governor himself and local legislator Mike Greear helped me understand why not signing this piece of legislation was perhaps the only course of action for Gordon Gordon is not the first governor to allow l... Full story
It was about dusk the other night. I was taking a walk around the property with the dogs, and the cats, before it got too dark to see anything. Across our lane is some private property and then BLM. We see people driving all the time over there so seeing lights at this time of night was not unusual. I figured it was someone who had been enjoying a day in the badlands. But my eyes stayed in that direction as I’m always curious which direction people turn and I like to watch the dogs’ reaction to make sure they don’t always run to the fence... Full story
Officials from the Wyoming Democratic Party, during a press conference last week asked for an independent commission to handle redistricting efforts in the future. With politics and personal agendas coming to light during the process this year an independent commission may not be a terrible idea. County clerks across the state worked hard on redistricting during the interim to come up with district lines that worked with special districts in their county, worked to make sure voters were not isolated, and they worked with local legislators as... Full story
It’s about an hour before tipoff for the Wyoming Cowboys and Indiana Hoosiers in the NCAA Tournament First-Four games. This is the first time the Cowboys have made the NCAA Tournament since 2015, a season my husband and I were lucky enough to choose to attend the Mountain West Tournament. The Cowboys finished fourth in the Mountain West during the regular season. I know you are thinking why go to the Mountain West Tournament that year. We had the opportunity, it was Larry Nance Jr.’s final season with Wyoming, the Cowboys were fun to watch with... Full story
Kudos to the Washakie County Commissioners, who as they have in the past, took the reins to begin the discussion of continuing the general purpose one-cent sales tax. Voters have approved the tax twice in the past eight years. The current tax has helped fund projects with the City of Worland, Town of Ten Sleep, Worland and Ten Sleep senior centers, Crisis Prevention and Response Center, Worland Community Center Complex and the Worland Fire Protection District No. 1. Four years ago the commissioners spearheaded the effort to get the tax back on... Full story
The primary election is six months away but work to impact who can vote in that election is underway in the Wyoming State Legislature with Senate File 97 – Change in Party Affiliation. The bill, similar to ones that have been filed in previous years since the 2018 governor election, would limit the timeframe when a person could change party affiliation. Currently you can change party affiliation at any time including on the day of the election. The bill, if approved would only allow an “elector” or qualified voter to change party affil... Full story
A group of state lawmakers filed a bill that bars transgender women and girls in Wyoming from participating in high school and collegiate sports that match their gender identity. The Senate voted 25-4-1 to introduce the bill and it was referred to the Education Committee on Feb. 18. The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” or Senate File 51, is sponsored by Senator Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, and six other lawmakers. In addition to implementing a ban, the measure seeks to protect students who may experience retaliation for reporting fellow stude...
A few weeks ago I wrote about our adoption of Roscoe, a mixed breed pup we adopted from New Hope Humane Society. Roscoe is the first dog we adopted from New Hope but the fifth animal. When I discussed Roscoe it was in the context of an issue of pet owners versus parents and I said then I would come back to telling you more about our youngest furchild. That time is now. Roscoe has one brown eye and one blue eye. He usually gives me a sideway glance with his brown eye as if to say "Really." I get... Full story
The Wyoming State Legislature begins the 2022 20-day budget session on Monday. There are many important decisions for the Legislature to make during this shortened session that occurs every two years. The first important decision is, of course, the budget. By all accounts, working the budget this year should be easier than the past two budgets where numerous cuts had to be made. Revenues for the state have improved, without taking into consideration the $1.2 billion worth of federal COVID funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The ARPA funds... Full story
A Tennessee school board sparked controversy last week by banning Art Spiegelman’s ‘Maus’, a graphic novel that tells Spiegelman’s father’s story surviving the Holocaust and Auschwitz, citing the book’s inappropriate language and “nudity.” Before last week, I had never heard of the book. So, I decided to check it out. Spiegelman’s abstract story depicts Jews as mice, Nazis as cats and Poles as pigs. The “nudity” in question is naked mice. Yes, you read that right. The school board pulled this book from curriculum over naked mice. People ar... Full story
This week’s issue of the Northern Wyoming News completes our third year returning to our roots and returning to a weekly newspaper. We appreciate the community’s support and especially our readers who have continued along with us on our journey. For the most part the community has adjusted to the weekly but we still hear from our readers that they miss a daily newspaper and on occasion we will get an inquiry if we will ever go back to a daily. My answer to that is I don’t know, but what I do know for certain is that our staff works hard on th... Full story
Individuals who have substance use disorders, as well as mental health disorders, are diagnosed as having “co-occurring disorders.” The coexistence of both a mental illness and a substance use disorder is not uncommon. People with mental illness are more likely to experience a substance use disorder than those not affected by a mental illness. Symptoms of addiction can mask symptoms of mental illness, and symptoms of mental illness can be confused with symptoms of addiction. There are some patterns that do present themselves, though. Ind... Full story
My Fitbit tells me I got three and a half hours of sleep Monday night and about the same on Sunday night, far short of the eight hours everyone says we need. I prefer at least five hours of sleep but sometimes it just does not work out. However, when I get less than five hours a night it is hard sometimes for the brain to stay focused for a full day so this week you get a lot of random thoughts. The first is I am not sure how my Fitbit can tell when I’m sleeping and not just cat napping on the couch, but it seems to know. I got the Fitbit f... Full story
I know most people look forward to a new year. A new year can bring a fresh start and new beginnings. It’s usually a time of reflection on the past year and accomplishments made, and to review areas needing improvement and to set new goals. Many people start this process by making resolutions. Resolutions to go to the gym, to lose weight, to spend more time with family, to look for a new job, to eat healthier, to read more books, etc. I think an area that many forget to explore when setting new resolutions, is mental health. So how would one g... Full story
On Feb. 14, Wyoming Legislators will gather in Cheyenne to start the 2022 budget session. First and foremost, the Legislature has to pass Gov. Mark Gordon’s 2023-2024 biennium budget. As legislators prepare, there is good news and bad news. The good news is the state’s budget shortfalls were not as big as originally anticipated. Gordon’s proposed budget of $2.3 billion is larger than anticipated, but still smaller than the previous two-year budget cycle. That’s thanks to a boost from federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inf... Full story
I was introduced to American Sign Language (ASL) at a pretty young age. I had a deaf friend growing up, and am hard of hearing myself, not to mention my mom used to be a special-education teacher, so she learned it as well. Some of my earliest memories involve being in school every morning, going over what day it was and what we were having for lunch in ASL. I recall some of it to this day. There are many benefits to learning ASL, especially at a young age. These benefits help the child now, as... Full story