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Articles written by Daniel Powell


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  • Supporting one of our own

    Daniel Powell|Mar 26, 2026

    Last Friday night, community members filled the fair building to support and acknowledge one of our own. A man who has given much to our community and who has never sought any kind of recognition for his efforts. That man is John Gerrells. Those who are privileged to live in this community for any length of time quickly become aware of a thing called the Cookie Jar Auction. An event which is periodically held in Thermopolis, at which funds are raised to assist a community member in need. While i...

  • Council welcomes new police department hire

    Daniel Powell|Mar 26, 2026

    On March 17, the Thermopolis Town Council held a regular meeting taking up a number of routine matters, and welcoming the newest hire for the police department. Local resident Casey Fisher was sworn in by Mayor Adam Estenson and will be heading for training at the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas in April. Her training is set to be completed by the end of July, when she will take up her duties with the department. Chief Pat Cornwell advised the council that another hire is in the...

  • Chamber to host Civics Bee event

    Daniel Powell|Mar 26, 2026

    The Thermopolis - Hot Springs County Chamber Board held their February meeting to discuss upcoming events and projects. The chamber will be sponsoring the Regional Civics Bee event in Thermopolis on April 14. The chamber is a sponsor for Trailblazer Days scheduled for June 12- 14, as part of this year’s 250th Anniversary Celebration of the United States. The Board accepted the resignation of Tia Gillespie at their January meeting. It was suggested that director Meri Ann Dorman reach out to anyone who has shown an interest in filling that v...

  • Boys track team takes first at Wind River

    Daniel Powell|Mar 26, 2026

    The Hot Springs County High School track and field team kicked off their spring season in Pavillion last Saturday. Unusually warm temps, azure skies and a slight breeze, combined to make the Wind River Ice Breaker a bit of a misnomer. While the venue was small, the event was anything but. Seventeen schools sent teams to match up at Wind River - making the meet feel both a bit crowded and more than a bit challenging for the competitors. While the thinclads lined up on the track, parents and other family members shed layers of clothing in the...

  • Commissioners move forward with airport hanger project

    Daniel Powell|Mar 19, 2026

    With their regular meeting canceled for Tuesday, March 17, the Hot Springs County Commissioners held a special meeting on Monday, March 16 to take up the issue of funding for the proposed airport hangar project. The project proposes to construct a new 9,000 square foot aircraft hangar at the Hot Springs County Airport in order to accommodate requests for overnight heated hanger space for aircraft utilizing the airport facilities. Currently, the county has no county owned hanger space at the new airport, so frequent requests to overnight aircraf...

  • Man sentenced on vehicle homicide charge

    Daniel Powell|Mar 19, 2026

    On February 11, 2026, former Cody resident, Harold Colten Chlarson, 32 years of age, was sentenced in the District Court of Hot Springs County. Chlarson had been charged with five alleged criminal offenses, arising out of a single-vehicle accident, which occurred on May 16, 2025, between Thermopolis and Meeteetse on Highway 120 West. Included in the charges were felony counts of aggravated motor vehicle homicide, and possession of a controlled substance. Killed in the accident was Avery Heston, a 23 year old man from Texas, who had recently...

  • Wrestlers continue to shine

    Daniel Powell|Mar 19, 2026

    Following up their success in the state championships in Casper last month, the Hot Springs County High School boys and girls wrestling teams have spent the past two weekends competing at the Junior State Tournament here in Wyoming, and then traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, for the USA Folkstyle Nationals. Two boys and three girls wrestled in both freestyle and greco at the Junior State Tournament two weekends ago. Lilly Quintanilla and Cannon Boren each captured Triple Crowns, by winning state...

  • Tracksters gear up for season

    Daniel Powell|Mar 19, 2026

    Once again, the calendar has rolled around to the season of high school spring sports in Wyoming. Practices kicked off last week for the Bobcat track team who look to capitalize on the highly successful season which the team had last year - culminating in a regional championship and a second place finish at state. With over forty students on the team roster this year, the team will hit the pitch joined by returning state triple-jump champion Logann Farrell and last year’s 800 meter champion, Cole Keller, both of whom will be looking to r...

  • Basketball honors keep coming

    Daniel Powell|Mar 19, 2026

    Another fantastic season has come to a close for the Bobcat and Lady Cat basketball teams. Both teams were crowned regional champions in Riverton last month, and then both teams ground their way into the championship games at state in Casper. The Bobcats finished their highly successful season with an overall record of 24-4, and went undefeated in the 2A Northwest quad. And, oh yeah, there was also that back-to-back state championship hardware the Cats brought home from Casper. To say it was a spectacular season hardly does the team justice....

  • Town approves request to park liquor license

    Daniel Powell|Mar 12, 2026

    On February 28, Thermopolis Town Council held a special meeting for a public hearing on a request to “park” a liquor license, which is held by Big Spring Spa. The license cannot be extended at this time because Big Spring Spa is not in possession of a full-year lease for their space in Hot Springs State Park. Rather than surrender the license, or transfer it at this time, Big Spring Spa requested that the town approve its request to “park” the license at the property located at 309 Arapahoe Street. With the town council’s approval of that requ...

  • Cats earn second state title

    Daniel Powell|Mar 12, 2026

    The Hot Springs County High School Bobcat basketball team earned their way into the state tournament with a regional championship in Riverton two weeks ago. They went into the final challenge in Casper last weekend as the number one seed from the west and the number one ranked team in 2A basketball. After going undefeated in the west conference in the regular season, the Cats now had to take on some of the top teams from the east to win a shot at another state championship. Up first were the...

  • Commissioners hear monthly reports

    Daniel Powell|Mar 12, 2026

    At their second regular monthly meeting in February, the Hot Springs County Commissioners heard reports from various departments, pertaining to on-going work of the county. FBO Airport Manager Nate Messenger reported that it had been a relatively slow month at the airport. There were 118 flight operations, with 574 gallons of aviation fuel, and 957 gallons of jet fuel sold. The necessary Class A Operation License has been renewed. Road & Bridge Director Shane Rankin, advised that the warm weather had allowed his department to continue with...

  • Thermopolis wins home tournament

    Daniel Powell|Mar 12, 2026

    Thermopolis opened its doors to wrestling enthusiasts last weekend, hosting the annual Wrestle-Opolis event at the high school. Teams came from all over the Big Horn Basin and some came from much farther away - Newcastle for example. Parking was at a premium and wait times were influenced at local restaurants - but that didn't seem to dappen anyone's good time. And why would it - what could be more Wyoming, than a family outing to a wrestling tournament on "307 Day"? With the influx of grapplers...

  • Lady Cats earn second at state

    Daniel Powell|Mar 12, 2026

    There is a tongue-in-cheek line in an old song from the seventies, which laments that "all good things must come to an end." And, it's the same for the remarkable 2025-26 Lady Cats basketball season. While the outcome at the Wyoming High School Basketball 2A Championships wasn't what the Lady Cats would have preferred, their season was a huge success for the team, their coaches and for the school. After qualifying as the number one seed from the West Regional Tournament, the Lady Cats went into...

  • Travel and Tourism board changes meeting date

    Daniel Powell|Mar 12, 2026

    At the February meeting of the Travel & Tourism Board, they reviewed the status of their on-going projects, and discussed other future projects. The organization received the sum of $12,433.30 from the lodging tax for the month of January, 2026. That sum represents a decrease of 14%, over the same time period in 2025. For the calendar year 2025, receipts of lodging tax funds were down about 2% over the previous year. In on-going projects, bids are being solicited for the cost to produce, and to install, the signs for the wayfinding project. Pro...

  • State champion wrestlers

    Daniel Powell|Mar 5, 2026

    Boren, Myers bring home state championships The Hot Springs County High School Bobcat wrestling team has battled their way through a long and grueling season. With each match, however, the team has made significant strides toward competing at last weekend's State Championship Tournament in Casper. In the team standings, the Bobcats completed their successful season with a seventh place finish, securing 121.5 team points. Cannon Boren and Dyllan Myers were each named All-State for their efforts...

  • School board holds meeting

    Daniel Powell|Mar 5, 2026

    The Hot Springs County School Board met for their regular monthly meeting on February 19. Thermopolis Middle School Principal Darren Luebbe kicked off the district share portion of the agenda reporting that the change to a four-day week has proven to be a boon for both students and staff at the middle school. He reported that both the girls and the boys teams were crowned conference champs in wrestling and the boys basketball team had won the conference championship this year. In another monthly share item, Hot Springs County High School...

  • Hospital board approves policy revisions

    Daniel Powell|Mar 5, 2026

    The Board of Directors of Hot Springs Health held their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 24. Dr. Mattson Mathey requested the board to approve two policy revisions: one affecting the HIM Medical Records Policy and one affecting the Medical Staff By-Laws. Both changes were approved by the board. CEO Scott Alwin introduced Kayla Sterling, who was recently hired as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at the hospital. She will be providing individual and couples counseling services, as well as doing patient case management. Alwin advised...

  • Basketball teams bring home regional wins!

    Daniel Powell|Mar 5, 2026

    Lady Cats win in final game against Lady Chiefs The Thermopolis Lady Cat basketball team was in Riverton last weekend to compete in the 2A West Regional Tournament. Coming into the event as the number one seed from the Northwest, the Lady Cats were positioned to do great things. At last year's tournament, Thermopolis lost in the championship game to the Lady Grizz of Rocky Mountain. This year would be different. On Thursday, in the opening round the Lady Cats faced off with Kemmerer and won...

  • Council approves liquor licenses, leaves one pending and one tabled

    Daniel Powell|Feb 26, 2026

    On February 17, the Thermopolis Town Council took up a few citizen requests and also reviewed several liquor license renewal requests for the new year. The council approved liquor license renewals for the following establishments: OEB, LLC.; 7 Lazy S Café & Bar, LLC; Thermopolis Liquors; Mack’s Market Inc.; OEB Salon, LLC.; Double R Store, LLC.; Maverick Inc.; VFW Post #2281; Pizza Hut; and One Eyed Buffalo Brewing Company. The council agreed to renew the liquor license for Los Cabos, provided that the entity makes contact with the town on or...

  • Hot Springs County Commissioners approve gravel pit

    Daniel Powell|Feb 26, 2026

    Following a public meeting on February 17, the Hot Springs County Commissioners approved a request to establish a gravel pit on property owned by the Brown Trust, located north of Highway 170 off of Owl Creek Road. The pit was approved for a period of five years and will be utilized in the upcoming Highway 120 West project, as well as other projects. The Land Use Planning Commission had recommended approval of the request, provided that the owners of the pit agreed work with the Road & Bridge Department for any upkeep needed on the road used to...

  • Chamber board prepares to host annual banquet

    Daniel Powell|Feb 26, 2026

    The Thermopolis - Hot Springs County Chamber Board held their regular monthly meeting on February 12. A number of on-going projects were updated for the board. In on-going projects, the chamber continues to work on issuing the 2026 City/County Map. The board has scheduled a board get-together at for March 17. The chamber will be sponsoring the Regional Civics Bee event, which will take place in Thermopolis on April 14. The board will host its banquet on March 14. The theme for the event will be “Our Roots Run Deep.” Tickets for the banquet are...

  • Bobcats send ten to state

    Daniel Powell|Feb 26, 2026

    Hot Springs County High School Bobcat wrestling team has had a remarkable season this year and rolled into the 2A West Regionals at Rocky Mountain High School in Cowley last weekend looking to qualify wrestlers for this week's state championships in Casper. In what can only be called a successful outing, the Cats finished third in the team standings and will send ten grapplers to Casper this week. Five Bobcats made it to the championship rounds where two were crowned regional champions. Returnin...

  • Lady Cat wrestlers prepare for state

    Daniel Powell|Feb 26, 2026

    It has been a long season for the Hot Springs County High School Lady Cat wrestlers, a season which has seen a wealth of success for the team’s five grapplers. Last weekend, the team was in Powell for the 2A West Regional Tournament, an event to determine which wrestlers would qualify to compete this week at the state championships. As a team, the Lady Cats finished 12th (out of 24) in the team standings and brought home an individual championship. Considering the gravity of the regional tournament, coach Travis McDermott said, “The Lady Cat...

  • Boys, girls basketball teams head to regionals as #1 seed

    Daniel Powell|Feb 26, 2026

    Bobcats face Wind River in Riverton on Thursday The Hot Springs County High School Bobcats wrapped up their regular season last week with two big wins over Wind River and Rocky Mountain. Both games proved easy for the Cats - with wins by 48 points and by 38 points, respectively. With that, the Cats head into the 2A West Regional Tournament this week being undefeated in conference play and being the #1 Seed from the northwest. Wind River has been working its way through some tough seasons of late, and again, proved no match for the red hot...

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