There are few rights more fundamental than bringing up your children as you choose. Strangely we have largely given up that right. For more than a century government has been the main provider of K to 12 education in the United States, as well as in other major countries. Our education syste…
Reclining in my favorite chair recently in vanishingly small Inez, Wyoming, I found myself close to tears. My wife Maria sat beside me to ask what was troubling me.
After a quick visit this past week, I can honestly say my Yellowstone National Park is a different place than from any other time I have seen it in the last half century.
The University of Wyoming opened its doors in 1886 as Wyoming’s land-grant institution, created to be a partner with communities in our state. From partnerships with our community colleges, articulating courses to build toward seamless student transfer, to our partnership with the Wyoming Bu…
Remove the statue“Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send the homeless, the tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the garden door.”
As cases of COVID-19 spike in many locations, the Laramie City Council has discussed plans to pass a resolution asking Albany County to work with the State of Wyoming to make the wearing of protective face coverings mandatory in businesses and many public areas.
Since Covid-19 has dismantled the stability of our small businesses, healthcare system, schools, local and state government, Main Street programs all over the nation have held fast to their mission to revitalize historic districts while uplifting the heart of their communities. As one of man…
As with the country as a whole, Wyoming is in an economic downturn. The dual impacts of reduced productivity from COVID-19 and the broader decline of the fossil fuel markets have resulted in reductions in both our state revenue and our overall economy. Rather than dwelling on the state budge…
Finally, “Black Lives Matter” gains traction. Showing videos and telling stories that bring attention to the large numbers of deaths by police and the cases and deaths by Covid-19 among African-Americans has led to this long-delayed confrontation with our prejudiced society. What we see with…
I am writing to address measures that are necessary to slow the spread of the virus known officially as SARS-CoV-2, but commonly COVID-19. I want to discuss face masks, in particular.
“Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.” – Matthew 10: 26
RED DESERT — Jim Smail’s Scottish grandfather came to America and homesteaded in Farson back in 1915.
Food insecurity is a largely invisible problem, most typically experienced within the privacy of a home or kept an uncomfortable secret in a school setting. Walk into any grocery store in Wyoming and it’s hard to imagine how anyone might not have enough to eat, but that’s the irony of hunger…
On the surface, the Wyoming Republican Party appears to be a healthy juggernaut.
“Look at our farmers markets today, bursting with heritage breeds and heirloom varieties, foods that were once abundant when we were an agricultural nation, but that we have lost touch with. Bringing all these back helps us connect to our roots, our communities and helps us feed America the …
As a group of top Wyoming officials work to prepare a bid for the potential purchase of 1 million acres of surface land and 4 million acres of mineral rights, Wyoming is facing substantial revenue shortfalls that must be addressed.
Laramie is having a historic summer as incredible numbers of people have taken to the streets in our small community and across the country. I wish I could say these events were a celebration marking some happy milestone of achievement.
A big thank you to first respondersWe are so blessed to live in this community! I wish to convey my heartfelt thanks to the law officers and the firemen of our county, some who helped us some time ago and some who helped us recently.
More than a century ago, Wyoming residents lived through a flu pandemic much the same way people deal with the coronavirus today: restricting business activity and keeping their distance from others.
I choose to write on the Fourth of July for two reasons. One is that I celebrate my father, Col. Jerome Henry Lentz, who liberated the first concentration camp. He taught me with his life what it means to fight for freedom and to honor the American flag. The second is vitally important this …
The University of Wyoming still wants to keep you in the dark.
As I look out my window, the smoke from the Bush fire is belching upward behind the fabled profile of the Superstition Mountains. The fire has closed Highway 87 that joins the Phoenix metro area to Payson, one of its exurbs. Some small communities are evacuating.
Last week, the White House stated that the economy will “come back strong” after Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced “It should not take long for us to see the economic recovery unfold.”
Wyoming, in several ways, has been forever changed.
We’ve arrived at the generation of which Ronald Reagan warned. “Freedom,” he said, “is never more than one generation away from extinction.”
Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court’s latest adventure in legislating, has already seen enough compelling analysis to raise some troubling questions. Here’s a quick overview.
To our Laramie community:
Candidate could do nothing useful for electorateTo the editor:
It is amazing how stressful times often bring out the best in people.
I’m black, and for years I’ve been saying that if you peel back a layer or two of anything, you find racism.
Republicans used to vastly outnumber Democrats in the Wyoming Legislature. Their 77-12 super-majority seemed destined to last forever.
In one way or another, these past couple of months have been difficult for all of us. The bad news seems to just come in waves – worries about the pandemic and sickness, worries about schools and child care, worries about jobs and the economy, seemingly insurmountable budget shortfalls for o…
In addition to pastoring Highlands Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne, I am the leader of the Peace and Justice Team for the Wyoming Interfaith Network (WIN). As its name indicates, WIN is a diverse organization of people of many faiths, e.g. Islam, Judaism, Unitarian Universalism, Baha’i, Nati…
Wyoming legislators have what they obviously think is a fool-proof plan to avoid ever having to address Wyoming’s state budget crisis, and they’ve been enacting it for years.
We blew this popsicle stand. We skedaddled. We flew out of our nest. We ventured cautiously out in to the world. Hell, folks, last week, Nancy and I went on a real road trip, ha!
As we navigate trying times in the wake of COVID 19, we must embrace vision in order to beef up Wyoming’s economy. We have a rare opportunity to diversify by adding value to Agriculture and becoming more self-sufficient in the process. By housing the supply chain from farm to fork in-state, …
As we poke our heads above ground to survey the damage visited on our shores by the coronavirus, it is imperative that we move forward with an intelligent, focused, and effective plan of action for rebuilding the economies and promise of our communities, our states, and our country. While th…
Despite all the wishful thinking and frustration with safeguards, the fight against the COVID-19 virus continues as the number of cases and deaths is increasing.
Everyone understands that Wyoming is dependent on its oil and gas industry. And since we are in competition with other hydrocarbon-producing states, we need to find ways to attract investment in exploration and production. The worst thing we could do is continue with expensive and unnecessar…
Albany County has an opportunity with wind energyTo the editor:
When historians see that their nation is in big trouble, facing the proliferation of protests that raise bedrock questions about American race relations, and locked in disputes over the proper pacing of “re-opening” after the regime of social distancing, it is time for people in my line of w…
Gov. Mark Gordon’s anguish was unmistakable when he and a host of rodeo officials recently announced the cancellation of several marquee Wyoming summer events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the May 25th murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, hundreds of thousands of Americans peacefully protested for police reform. Protests are producing changes, with reform bills already passed in Minneapolis and in New York state.
I’ve heard many people say that Wyomingites have been practicing social distancing our whole lives. That’s likely true. Being able to get away and fish for hours without seeing a soul is one reason residents live here and others visit often. These last few months made us all appreciate Wyomi…
Today, in the face of COVID-19, what advice can I give to people about getting out and seeing Wyoming?
In the middle of a night, someone threw a brick through the window of an 82-year-old Laramie man. Pete Gardner is well-known for the political messages displayed in his yard. On his front door is a tribute to Caesar Chavez, the iconic advocate for immigrant farm workers. Mr. Gardner also pos…
The ongoing protests in Laramie against systemic racism, police brutality and other racially motivated actions by police forces across the country have been mostly peaceful and non-confrontational up till the past few days. We are also impressed that most participants are wearing masks out o…
Recently Wyoming’s U.S. Sen. John Barrasso called Sen. Chuck Schumer’s state of New York a fiscal cesspool, and then pledged to oppose the use of any taxpayer dollars to subsidize it. This language may provide red meat for hard-right conservatives, but let’s remember that here in Wyoming, we…
As Laramie Main Street works along side partners to develop strategies to rebuild the economy, we want to share insight with the community into our holistic, grassroots approach to economic development.
It is hard to draft words when you know from the beginning they won’t be sufficient.
Our national parks are an important source of pride for our country. But they are in the midst of a rising crisis that has been building over many years. Simply put, they are falling apart. They are in desperate need of repair and maintenance. Fixing them will require billions of dollars.
