Ask Flora – May 2023
Did you know that 70 percent of the food that we eat benefits from pollination? Plants cannot produce a fruit or a seed without fertilization – pollinators are a vital part of this process. Pollination helps the plant to produce viable seeds, increases production and promotes more variety within our food supply, with better nutritional qualities. Plants like fruit trees, berries, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, melons and flowers depend on pollinators.... more
Guest column: Conservation?
While we may not all agree on what conservation is, or the best way to promote it, we have a pretty good idea of what it is not. This is what it is not: It is not an expansive and exclusive ecotourist resort along the Upper Hoback River. In the name of conservation, Mr. Ricketts is taking the fragile Upper Hoback River and overlaying it with a high-end resort that will offer among other things, a wellness center with a doctor, a European spa, exercise facilities, a beauty shop. ... more
Mothers don’t get enough credit
Motherhood is one of those things that we’re never quite prepared for. We think we are, because we’ve read books, listened to podcasts and chatted extensively with other moms, but until we’ve experienced a 4-year-old throwing up on top of our sleeping head at 2 a.m., we just can’t quite grasp what it’ll really be like. ... more
Living – Life – Large
We have become so lethargic and slothful that we don’t even want to carry cash in our pockets.... more
Nature is cruel; we shouldn’t be
I don’t have those answers, but what I do know is that after this “catastrophic” and “devastating” winter, the least we can do for the animals still fighting to survive is slow down, pay attention and “give them a brake” when we’re driving.... more
Letter to the editor: Look up, Wyoming!
Light pillars aren’t formed the same way as the Northern Lights. Light pillars occur in freezing temperatures when flat, hexagonal ice crystals form lower in the atmosphere than they usually would. When this happens, the crystals form a collective, giant mirror that can reflect light sources like city or car lights. Even though it looks like the light pillars are beaming up into the sky, the opposite is true. Light traveling up into space is actually being reflected back down to Earth by the ice crystals. We see it as multiple columns of light. ... more
Neurons and math but you lost me at math
First of all, I wouldn’t have allowed it and simply proclaimed, “My nerve cells and my temporal lobes don’t know they’re first cousins, and I’d like to keep it that way.”... more
True tax reform
True conservative tax reform begins when the state makes structural changes that lessens the state’s dependence on the minerals industry and addresses spending on services to which Wyoming residents have become accustomed to. In 2021, a three-person family with an income of $67,000 and owns a home valued at $290,000; pays on average $3,990 in taxes and receives right at $27,550 in services (i.e. local government, public safety, special districts, K-12 education). This is a good deal compared to the tax burdens in surrounding states. ... more
Legislative work reflects Wyoming values
The supplemental budget bill pays $8 million for property tax refunds to residential homeowners, restores deep cuts made during the pandemic to health care for Wyoming’s poorest citizens, fully funds K-12 education and brings pay for state employees up to their 2013 real wage levels. The supplemental budget restores funding for dental care for the approximate 40,000 Wyoming children on Medicaid who need it. The supplemental budget also allocates $129 million for the construction and maintenance of schools and $70.4 million for an inflation adjustment for K-12 teachers, staff and school operations. The supplemental budget bill does right by our Wyoming people, providing tax relief, strengthening Wyoming schools and providing help to the most vulnerable among us.... more
Wyoming Equality fighting to protect transgender student athletes
“It is frightening to know that there is only so much that we can do to protect our child and her self-esteem from a sometimes harsh and cruel world. What we do know, however, is that living in secrecy and shame is not good for any of us. God made our child, and our belief is that God does not make mistakes. God gave us this child and trusts us to raise her with His supreme guidance. We will be seeking that guidance as well as our Wyoming-made values as we consider joining a lawsuit to protect our daughter and ensure that her constitutionally protected rights are enforced.” ... more
Letter to the editor: Traps are a safety hazard on public lands
As an avid outdoorswoman, I implore state and local wildlife management agencies to expeditiously implement the models of modern-day wildlife biology and ethics through laws and regulations that reflect empirical evidence.... more
Dear editor: No place for toxic policies in Wyoming
There is no place for these toxic policies in Wyoming. ... more
Going the distance
In less than 2 minutes, Jenks captured gold in the event, broke a state record and garnered 3A indoor track All-State honors.... more
Guest editorial: Failure to expand Medicaid costs us all
However, Wyoming’s refusal to expand Medicaid only exacerbates the problem. Wyoming is one of 12 states that has not expanded Medicaid. When expanding Medicaid was first introduced, Wyoming declined for fears that the federal government would not continue to pay the lion’s share of the premiums. Fourteen years on, the United States government still pays 90 percent of the premiums.... more
Legislative Update – March 1, 2023
I will highlight four bills that passed the House on Wednesday.... more
Legislative Update – Nov. 22
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from interim work of the 66th Legislature.... more
Vern: 'No Name'
My name is Vern McWilliams and I’ve been in and around the cattle, horse and general ranching lifestyle for 60 years.... more
Eiden: Investigating SCUF's spending
As I researched expenditures versus income in Sublette County, I found that we’re spending far more than we make and while a few of our county commissioners find it acceptable to continually use our reserves, that is not sustainable. ... more
Roscoe: Legislative Update — Special Session summary 2021
On Oct. 26, both houses of the Wyoming Legislature convened for a special session.... more
Lawton: A community of river guides copes with loss
The Grand Canyon boating community — devoted to each other and to the Colorado River — was shocked to learn this fall that we’d lost two of our own.... more
Legislative Update – Oct. 27-28
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from Cheyenne and the Special Session of the Wyoming Legislature.... more
McWilliams: Take it or leave it
Take it or leave it. I had just completed some marvelous carnie feat that allowed me to present to this girl that I had known since first memory, one of the finest pieces of jewelry that we, me or her, had ever seen before.... more
Marston: This rancher has radical ideas about water
If Jim Howell, a fourth-generation rancher in western Colorado, has a guru, he’s Allan Savory, the champion of intensive cattle grazing even on semi-arid land.... more
Legislative Update – Oct. 21
Hello Sublette County, this is Albert Sommers reporting to you on Thursday, Oct. 21, prior to a Legislative Special Session.... more
Gordon: Government should be limited with as few regulations as possible
From Gov. Mark Gordon.... more
Woodruff: Let's redefine those bucket lists
What did we learn this summer and fall? We learned that people who’d been cooped up, thanks to COVID-19, flocked to our national parks and forests. Once there, many were eager to empty their bucket list of must-do activities in the outdoors.... more
Wellington: Please don't pet the wildlife
“I can’t believe that person is getting that close.”... more
Sniffin: Here was the time when I missed the best part of America the most
The rain was falling in sheets. The wind was howling. The temperature was 40 degrees and I could see my breath. My raincoat was soaked through and my umbrella was inside out. It was late at night and I was standing on a street corner in Cardiff, Wales, waiting for a bus.... more
Barrasso & Lummis: IRS wants to spy on your bank accounts
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 targets are middle-class families in Wyoming and across the country.... more
Barrasso: Biden and Democrats are the party of chaos
For eight months, the Democrats have been in control of the White House and Congress. In that time, America has veered from calamity to calamity.... more
Sniffen: Yellowstone Part 2 – Wow, what a place!
“Like No Place on Earth” was the official slogan for Wyoming’s tourism division a few years ago. I liked the slogan but thought it referred more to Yellowstone National Park than anywhere else in the state.... more
Babbitt: Chaco Culture National Park is under siege
It is not an exaggeration to say that New Mexico’s Chaco Culture National Historical Park is under siege. A surge of oil and gas development threatens this ancestral site, recognized as one of the architectural marvels of the world and revered by Native Americans who consider it a living presence.... more
Sniffen: Liz vs Harriet could be a big-time heavyweight boxing match
Donald Trump made a big Cowboy State splash this past week when he anointed Harriet Hageman as his choice to run for Wyoming’s lone Congressional seat against three-termer Liz Cheney.... more
Pyne: Welcome to Yosemite, the new Pyrocene Park
The Pleistocene epoch that began 2.6 million years ago sent ice in waves through Yosemite.... more
Legislative Update – Sept. 7
Hello Sublette County this is Albert Sommers reporting to you from interim work of the 66th Legislature. On Sept. 1, the Wyoming Wildlife Taskforce met in Casper, and I am a legislative member of that taskforce.... more
UW game day ‘back to normal’ – so much fun for the Cowboy State
And by the way, the Pokes won last Saturday! But there was so much more going on besides a football game.... more
Surdam: Mask up and vaccinate
Dr. Dan Surdam, MD, is an emergency medicine physician at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center and Amy Surdam, FNP, is the COO of Stitches Acute Care Clinics and Lt. Col. in the Wyoming Army National Guard.... more
Hageman: Biden's land grab
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.... more
As Lake Powell dwindles, wonders are revealed
On May 9, protected by neoprene, I bobbed around in a flooded canyon in Utah’s Lake Powell.... more
Barrasso: Biden must pull Stone-Manning BLM nomination if he's serious about domestic terrorism
This originally ran as an op-ed in the July 19 edition of USA Today.... more
Hey Phoenix Zoo, that ferret is from Wyoming
This past spring, I noticed that Wyoming’s black-footed ferret is a rock star at the Phoenix Zoo. In fact, you might think the elusive little critter was native to Arizona.... more
My dad’s been doin’ my thinkin’ long enough – True stories with Vern
True stories with Vern.... more
This could tear your clothes – True stories with Vern
The latest installment in stories from Vern.... more
Lummis: Why I'm founding the Financial innovation Caucus
Wyoming has always boasted pioneers.... more
Double clutch it, Bill – True stories from Vern
When the siren went off in the little town where I went to school, just like in any other small metropolis, the volunteer fire putout crew sprang into action.... more
Barrasso: MAP Land Act will make accessing Wyoming's federal lands simpler and safer
From Sen. John Barrasso.... more
Balow: Addressing our school funding crisis
From Wyoming State Superintendent Jillian Balow.... more
Buchanan: Dangers of the "For the People Act"
I write today to offer my opinion on recent legislation before Congress.... more
Celebrating Wyoming's history of remarkable women leaders
Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso... more
Open government is key to honest government
When government fails, it’s the rare public official who says, “Oops. My fault.”... more
Gilliland: SF103 bad for Wyoming's economy
On Thursday, Feb. 25, SF103 a 90/10 license allocation and fee increase bill was filed by Sen. Larry Hicks.... more
Funding Wyoming's K12 educational program
House Rep. Albert Sommers provides context and corrects the record.... more
Nesvik: Presidential suspension on mineral development bad for Wyoming's wildlife
Brian Nesvik is the director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. He has worked on behalf of Wyoming wildlife and people for over 25 years.... more
As Wyoming Legislative session resumes, committees begin advancing critical bills
From Rep. Eric Barlow and Sen. Dan Dockstader... more