Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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by Victoria O’Brien, Cody Enterprise There was a story I heard a few years ago, about a man in the city, who went on daily walks around his neighborhood and felt sad at how much garbage he saw, and how little was done by waste management to fix it. Eventually, he grew so tired of seeing trash on a particular strip of grass near a highway’s on-and-off ramp that he decided he would go and collect waste from the patch once a week on Thursday. It took about six months of persistent, thankless work on this man’s part to see obvious results, but,...
by Terri Lynn Geissinger Part two When we think of a Trailblazer, we often picture a lean-muscled man with a scraggly beard, standing courageously in the sunset gazing over the mountains he just traversed. He is dressed in furs and leather with a rifle slung over the shoulder and a sharp blade tucked in his knee-high boot, chewing on a piece of jerky from his last kill. Rarely do we imagine a 25-year-old petite woman, 5’2 weighing 90lbs, wearing a calico dress with a baby girl on her hip. Her sharp blue eyes, constantly looking out for p...
by John Bernhisel This is the third set of clues in the search for two silver bars hidden somewhere in the Big Horn Basin. Look for new clues each week in April. For more information, visit Big Horn Basin Treasure Hunt on Facebook. Questions: Name all the last names that appear twice in a list of U.S. Presidents. As the bird flies, how many miles is it from the Montana state line near Frannie to the Thermopolis airport? The number 19 written in binary is 10011. What is the base ten value for 100000? Grover Cleveland was the first U.S....
The official candidate filing period in Wyoming does not open until May 14, but a plethora of candidates have already made their announcements to run for state and some local offices. The closing date for filing is May 29 at 5 p.m. Following that deadline, the IR will run information on candidates who have officially filed for local and state offices. The primary election will be on August 18. We will run a special section the Thursday before election day to provide details on each candidate locally and most state and federal level candidates....
by Terri Lynn Geissinger I have four grandmothers who were Trailblazers. Two were on the Oregon Trail together in 1851. One of them, Laurette, survived a difficult birth to a baby boy at Mormon Ferry (Casper today) and was unable to continue the arduous journey. With a frail newborn and a two-year old son, the young couple watched as the rest of the wagon train moved on. My grandparents wintered over in the area at a primitive camp and barely survived. Two of their mules, who were tied close to camp, froze to death standing in place; the mules...
by John Bernhisel Look closely below for clues to two silver bars hidden somewhere in the Big Horn Basin. New clues will appear each week in April. See Big Horn Basin Treasure Hunt on Facebook for more information. Questions: Name all the U.S. Presidents who served during the first decade of the 21st century. Who are the four richest former NBA players alive today? How did a British chemist named James Smithson, who died in 1829, become famous in America? What two cities on opposite sides of the Danube River merged in 1873? How many pairs of...
by John Bernhisel The other day I was driving out on a dirt road well beyond Cowley, heading to one of my favorite running spots. It’s the kind of place I go to be alone and reflect. Out there, the noise fades and things usually make a little more sense. As I came around a bend, I saw a car creeping along awkwardly. The driver was practically hanging out the window trying to flag me down. Flat tire. Middle of nowhere. No cell service. And when he went to fix it, he realized the jack was missing. You could see it in his face. He wasn’t just inc...
by Lily Hayes Trailblazing in Hot Springs County brought many new families to our community, some here for a short time, some a lasting legacy. John Weber, a freighter with a team of sixteen horses (instead of mules) originating from Missouri to the new Wyoming town called Thermopolis. I don’t have any records regarding what was hauled, but, what I do know John’s family was with him in the wagon, his wife and beautiful daughters, some riding horseback, others driving a team. One of those was Lottie. This beauty later caught the eye of Vin...
If you look closely at these words, you may find clues pointing to two silver bars hidden somewhere in the Big Horn Basin. More clues will appear each week throughout April. See Big Horn Basin Treasure Hunt on Facebook for more information Questions: How many other counties does Park County, Wyoming touch? From what mountain range does the Big Horn River emerge near Thermopolis, that forms the southern edge of the Big Horn Basin? Of the four American Presidents that were assassinated, who lived the longest after being shot? Complete this...
Props to the Hot Springs County community members who turned out in force last Friday to support one of their own. Once again, you proved just how wonderful, and unique, you are. For a community of this size to raise that much money in one evening is something to be proud of. Seeing people come together for a good cause is something we will never grow tired of witnessing. Just like many of you, a member of the IR staff has been at nearly every cookie jar auction for the last 30 plus years. And just like many of you, we are consistently...
by Terri Geissinger John Dwight Woodruff lived an intriguing life, full of adventure and risk. Little did he know then, that his name would be listed among the most influential pioneers of Wyoming. He is credited for building the first cabin in the Big Horn Basin in 1871 which was dedicated as a State Historic Site in 1940. The handsome historic monument bears his name but says little of his remarkable legacy story. Born in New York in 1847, he was the fifth child of eleven and his father’s namesake. Before he was two years old, the family p...
Readers across the Big Horn Basin will soon have more than trivia to look forward to. Beginning in April, John Bernhisel’s weekly column Please Don’t Call It Trivia! will feature a Basin-wide treasure hunt, with two one-ounce silver bars hidden somewhere in the region. Each column will include clues that, when pieced together over time, lead to the prize. Not every trivia item will be a clue, but any could be. Much of the puzzle can be solved from home, though finding the treasure will require getting out and following the trail. This isn...
by Lauren Harper, Daniel Ellsberg chair on government secrecy Excessive government secrecy takes many forms, including denying or ignoring FOIA requests and deleting data from websites. These tactics prevent the public from meaningfully participating in self-government in every area secrecy touches, from domestic policy discussions on climate change, to foreign policy debates around international aid. Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of the public’s right to know, reminds us that the federal Freedom of Information Act, which allows the p...
by Terri Geissinger Hans Jensen was born in Denmark, April 1856, into a large family of eleven children. As a young strapping teenager, he went to work as a sailor and fisherman to help his family make ends meet. Those years on the frigid, unforgiving North Sea toughened his nerves and hardened his attitude toward the commercial fishing business of which he vowed never to return. In his early-twenties, Hans joined the mass exodus of a poverty-stricken country and boarded a steerage ship to the United States. After a brutal journey across the...
by District 20 Senator Ed Cooper Now that the session has wrapped up, it is a good time to take a look around and offer some thoughts on what we were able to accomplish on behalf of the people of Wyoming. This budget session, I was particularly proud of the renewed focus on issues that matter in Wyoming and in our small towns and counties across this state – particularly the counties I serve. We were able to keep our work local and steer clear of national issues that bring social media clicks but doesn’t benefit Wyomingites. This year, we broug...
by Jonathan Gallardo, editor, Gillette News Record It’s hard to believe that another legislative session is behind us. It hasn’t even been a month. It feels like it was just yesterday that a nice rich lady from Jackson tried to give money to lawmakers and the media made a big deal about it. Despite this slight hiccup, legislators were still able to get some work done. They came to an agreement on a budget and school finance recalibration. If you’re old enough to vote, you’re old enough to get your concealed-carry license. The legisla...
by Lily Hayes This series of Trailblazing is to share stories about those who pioneered in what is now Thermopolis, Hot Springs County, Wyoming. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this continuation of Marie Shafer Andreen Long Walker. Part one ran in last week’s IR. When they came back our plans fell by the wayside. They moved up Owl Creek, so we stayed on the Nielsen farm. In the spring of ‘21’ we went to work for Bob Kelly at the mouth of Owl Creek. Harriet was born there on May 18, 1921. The next spring early, Harry’s dad died. We thought...
Two years ago a man felt it was his right to run his snowmobileover a wolf, cause horrific injuries and suffering to another living being, tape shut the animal’s mouth, bring her into a bar, proudly display his behavior to everyone there, and after a long period of time--while this animal physically and psychologically felt the effects of these intentional actions--took the wolf outside and killed her. It needs to be recognized that the man felt pleasure while engaging in these ongoing behaviors. No society that supports--in any way--this k...
by Whitney Lucas Molitor, Ph.D., OTD, OTR/L, BCG and Allison Naber, Ph.D., OTD, OTR/L Living in rural communities offers unique opportunities to promote successful aging. Incorporating a purposeful lifestyle, developing social connections and engaging in daily physical activity is essential to achieving positive health outcomes and quality of life. Finding purpose includes exploring the activities you already engage in and being open to new possibilities. Engaging in motivating activities provides a framework for a purposeful life. The...
Is it time to stop changing our clocks twice a year? This has been visited and revisited. Like most ideas, there are those who think we should stop and those that think we should continue. Wyoming passed legislation (HB0044) in March 2020 to adopt year-round Mountain Daylight Saving Time. However, this change is contingent on federal approval and at least four neighboring Western states enacting similar legislation. It is currently in a “wait-and-see” mode regarding federal action and regional coordination. The legislature introduced ano...
by Lily Hayes This series of Trailblazing is to share stories about those who pioneered in what is now Thermopolis, Hot Springs County, Wyoming. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this article, Tim Odde found while “treasure hunting”. He and his mother, Louise, have offered to share it with us. Some dialogue is written by Louise and others by Marie, but retyped the way it was written. “Mother” Marie Shafer Andreen Long Walker started writing this in January 1971, in an address book. I found it when I was cleaning out some of their papers after t...
Questions: What are the two counties in Wyoming that begin with a vowel? Who played the male and female leads in the movie When Harry Met Sally? The sun is the largest object in the Solar System and Jupiter is second. What are the 6th, 7th and 8th largest? Name as many of the University of California campuses as you can. (There are ten.) What is the smallest whole number that is spelled with an A in English? What about B and C? Fun Facts: In 2005, a family cat was accidentally sealed inside a shipping container in Milwaukee and spent nearly a...
The Wyoming State Legislature began its budget session this week. While headlines have already appeared about various budget items debated prior to the session, the final budget bill was posted Feb. 6 — three days before the session convened — and introduced as mirror bills in both the House and the Senate. The Legislature now has approximately four weeks to complete several major tasks. In addition to passing the state’s biennial budget (a budget covering two years), lawmakers will consider 335 bills this session, including interim commi...
by Lily Hayes This series of Trailblazing is to share stories about those who pioneered in what is now Thermopolis, Hot Springs County, Wyoming. The first strings I remember holding onto and letting go, were Grandma’s apron strings. Pictures tell a thousand words and the pictures of the past always show my Grandmother with an apron on…..even while holding the smallest child; when her sons returned from war; feeding chickens; milking cows; preparing a meal; when young grandchildren rode horseback trying to get cattle through a gate uns...
America is an idea. It belongs to No One and Everyone. No one in the United States is required to carry identification on them at all times. There is an inherent understanding that freedom exists for all who live here, whether born here or not, and that freedom is upheld by the Constitution and related laws and norms. As citizens, the trade-off for this freedom is that we have a civic duty to participate in our democracy. Participation by all creates the fabric that holds us together as a country. First among those civic duties is voting. The...
