Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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There will be no players, no fans, no fireworks and no loud celebration at the LeRoy Hayes Memorial football field this Friday night. The Bobcat football team will be playing in round two of the playoffs at Big Horn to hopefully punch their ticket to the state championships. Meanwhile, the Lady Cat volleyball players will be in Casper aiming to bring home some hardware at their state championships. For dedicated fans, including some parents, this could make for a tough choice - to head north or south. Either way, we can all be proud of our...
Last Friday evening, many residents were surprised by loud booms and fireworks. Fair warning, it will be happening again this Friday, Oct. 31. At the town council meeting last Tuesday night, approval was given for fireworks at varsity home football games. We have to send our finalized pages out to the printer by 5 p.m. on Tuesdays prior to the council meetings, so we were unable to include the information in last week’s IR. A social media post was made by town officials the night of the game. However, some residents were upset by the lack of p...
Believe it or not, the downtown Thermopolis Moonlight Madness (MM) event is just one short week away from the date of this issue of the IR. On page 11 of this paper, you will find a full page of advertisements and information regarding the evening of October 30. New events have been added this year to enhance MM. The annual costume contest, sponsored by the Wyoming Children’s Trust Fund and hosted by the chamber, is always well attended and will kick off at 6 p.m. Prior to that, a new event, the MM Trunk and Treat will begin at 5 p.m. on 5th S...
Who do you trust to tell you the truth? Who do you believe when it comes to finding out information? Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately (ok, for the past several years, but even more lately) is that so many of the deep divides across our country right now come from the fact that we all trust different sources. Even worse, we tend to believe the sources that are telling us what we want to hear. I think a lot of debates over current issues end up going nowhere because one side implicitly distrusts anything they perceive as coming f...
More so than any other season in the Tetons, autumn comes and goes in the blink of an eye. Nothing gold can stay, as Robert Frost wrote. With school back in session and waning visitation, the valley quiets a bit as Mother Nature puts on a show. The only sensible thing to do is to spend as many hours as possible soaking it in. Slow down. Back away from the screens. Focus on what matters: people, place, passion. Pack a picnic and head for the parks, windows down on the drive for a chance to hear bugling elk. Don’t forget the binoculars. Go for a...
The Bureau of Land Management has lifted fire restrictions on all public lands managed by the Cody, Lander and Worland field offices within Hot Springs, Big Horn, Carbon, Fremont, Park, Sweetwater and Washakie counties, and a small portion of Natrona County that falls within the Lander Field Office area. Even with restrictions lifted, fire safety remains everyone’s responsibility. Next week is Fire Prevention Week. It is a good time to brush up on how you can help prevent fires of all types. For Hot Springs County that does not fall under B...
The Learning Center of Hot Springs County is hosting a United We Stand buffalo burger fundraiser on Thursday, Sept. 25 from 5-8 p.m. at the center located at 124 N. 5th St. It is a great time to unite and support a worthy local cause. There will be music and fun for all ages. Door prizes will be given away and raffle tickets will be available to purchase for some other great prizes. Because this is a fundraiser for the center, dinner will cost $10 a plate - a fair price for a delicious buffalo burger. The Learning Center helps learners at all...
by Lara Love Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I learned how to navigate the world without cable TV, internet or smartphones. I was also raised to respect my elders, to never put food on my plate unless I planned to eat it, to not take what was not mine and to treat others the way I wished to be treated. We had more freedom and less fear than children growing up in today’s world. We accepted that there would be minor risk to riding our bike, motorcycle or horse without a helmet, but we fearlessly did it anyway. I was taught to treat people with d...
What is an opinion? By definition it is a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. The opinion page in a newspaper is a dedicated space for staff and readers to present subjective viewpoints, including editorials, op-eds, and columns, which are clearly separated from objective news reporting. Editorials express the newspaper’s own position on a topic, while op-eds are opinion pieces written by outside columnists. Columns are regular features offering commentary. Letters to the editor are the opinion o...
by Jonathan Gallardo, Gillette News Record What a world we live in, where a logo change can cause a company’s stock to drop as people claim that it’s the latest battle in the ongoing culture war. Cracker Barrel announced it was changing its logo to a soulless blob of color, and a whole bunch of people went into a frenzy because apparently this change was a slap in the face to American values. Even our president weighed in on the fake controversy. You’d think he has better things to do. After all, he’s got a country to run. I studied Cracker Bar...
Hot Springs County landowners and ranchers will be in the recovery phase for several years following the devastation caused by the Red Canyon Fire. We will forever be grateful to all the firefighters that came from near and far to fight the fire and keep us safe. Members of our local fire department, local businesses and community members all deserve a big thank you, too. Crews were supported with donations of meals, water, snacks and more. They also received a flood of thank you cards. Total acreage of Wyoming comes in at approximately 1.3...
Hot Springs County is experiencing what is remembered to be the largest wildfire since the Kate’s Basin Fire 25 years ago. The Red Canyon Fire has claimed over 113,000 acres in the eastern part of our county. Members of our Thermopolis Volunteer Fire Department, along with 100s of other personnel, have been batting the blaze for a week. Friends and family members have shown up in force to help ranchers and landowners save their homes, outbuildings and livestock. Area businesses and community members have donated food and much needed items to t...
Tragic news spread across Wyoming last week when several Wyoming newspapers were forced to close their doors and dozens of people lost their jobs. Just six days later, on Tuesday, three Wyoming newspaper executives announced their purchase of the eight papers to put newsroom staff back to work and ensure that the communities were not left without a local source of journalism. Thankfully the IR was not one of the papers owned by News Media Corporation (NMC) that shut down about two dozen newspapers across five states last Wednesday. The...
Hot Springs County Fair has wrapped up for the year. Watch for our special fair section in an upcoming edition of the IR. We will run complete results along with several photos. We appreciate your patience while we process the large quantity of both. And just like that, the first day of school is right around the corner on August 18. See pages 6 and 7 for a wealth of information about Hot Springs County School District and its schools. Parents and guardians of students in the districts be sure to check bus times, school start times and school...
Hot Springs County Fair is kicking off this week with shooting sports competitions on Thursday and Friday evening at the Bob Milek Range. The horse show and ranch rodeo will be on Saturday at the fairgrounds, followed by the dog show on Sunday. From July 28-August 1 a full schedule of events will be featured. There will be a variety of animal shows, building exhibits, a tug of war, cornhole games, family fun nite, an ice cream social, a chili cook off and more. The final event will be the Junior Livestock Auction and Judges’ Choice Silent A...
This weekend, many former graduates of Thermopolis/Hot Springs County High School will return to town to share memories, laughs and stories with graduates who live in our community. Group events will be offered by the alumni association and individual classes also plan additional activities for their group. The reunion is a yearly event held the third weekend in July. See the story on page 1 for more details on reunion. We plan to run photos from the reunion in next week’s edition. The dance at the VFW on Saturday evening is open to the p...
Hot Springs County has a population that comes in under 4,700 people, but we are sure fortunate to have a summer packed with events. We’ve been treated to a rodeo and parade, brewfest, beer and brats, outlaw days, pride celebration, car show, ice cream social, freedom fest, fireworks and more! The upcoming weekend keeps the offerings coming. Discovery Days will be in Hot Springs State Park Saturday and Sunday, with an added bonus of a concert at the Thermopolis Golf Course Saturday evening. Paddle in the Park will also be available in the s...
As the people of the United States pause in their busy schedules to celebrate the Fourth of July and the freedoms we enjoy in this country, it’s an ideal time to reflect on the foundations of those freedoms. Those courageous individuals who put their lives at extreme risk by signing the Declaration of Independence stated explicitly in the document who is responsible for granting the rights of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their C...
by Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, Chair, National Newspaper Association and Publisher, The San Fernando Valley (California) Sun/El Sol Newspapers The United States Postal Service is on the brink of a self-induced collapse. The failed policies of the Delivering for America Plan have driven away customers through a combination of sky-high rate increases and degraded service. David Steiner, who will take over as Postmaster General on July 14, 2025, has a tough job to do and little time to do it with some estimates indicating the USPS could be insolvent...
In observance of the Juneteenth holiday, United States Postal Service facilities will be closed for retail services, and there will be no regular mail deliveries (except for holiday premium Priority Mail Express) on Thursday, June 19. Normal retail, delivery, and collection schedules will resume Friday, June 20. If you are a mail delivery subscriber, this means your paper is going to arrive a day late. We are publishing on our regular schedule, but no mail delivery means no Independent Record in your mailbox on Thursday. We apologize for any...
Summer does not technically start until June 20, but the weekends in Thermopolis are starting to be packed with events that show we are in full swing! This weekend, the 1890’s Riders are hosting a Bingo Run on Saturday. Also on Saturday is the ever popular Hot Spot Car Rally in Hot Springs State Park. Along with the show in park, the Rusty Old Truck Market will be set up featuring a variety of vendors. Hot Springs State Park will also be home to a tent revival featuring Levi Shetler. If you get the chance to make a trip to Kirby, Wyoming W...
This summer, we are facing some real challenges for our community. Two of our front page stories are about a few of those challenges. The prediction of an overall drop in tourism travel to the U.S. is bound to be felt in our county and around the state of Wyoming. This adds to the concerns we are already facing regarding other things that may result in a drop in visitors this summer. Another story outlines the timeline and detour route for the WYDOT Broadway Bridge project. Beginning this week, Broadway Bridge will be closed for construction...
In 2019, when I returned to my hometown of Thermopolis here in the wilderness of Wyoming, I was fortunate to become a reporter at the Independent Record. For the past many years, working here has been quite a journey and a learning experience. I have discovered so much about myself and the people of Hot Springs County. From reporting on the Town Council, the County Commissioners, the Chamber of Commerce and many other beats, I have had the pleasure of interacting with all sorts of people....
John Malmberg, Publisher emeritus Cody Enterprise Monday, May 26, is Memorial Day, a day to honor those veterans who served through customs such as marking their graves with American flags. Memorial Day should mean more to us than a three-day weekend ushering in the beginning of summer. Originally called Decoration Day, the observance was established to honor Civil War soldiers from both the North and the South who paid the ultimate price in battle. The first Decoration Day was by a proclamation made on May 5, 1868, by Gen. John Logan, head of...
Howdy, partner! All our hopes were high with the past few weeks of increasingly pleasant weather. It reached highs in the 70s and most of us were looking forward to wearing our summer clothes. Even the sunlight lasted longer and school is wrapping up. Track, golf and lots of outdoor fun was in play. But, heck, it’s Wyoming! You know the old saying, “How’s the weather? Just wait five minutes, it’ll change.” Well, that’s exactly what happened this week. The weather plummeted to cold temperatures and wet, sloppy snow and wind hit. Yuck! Where...
