Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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After several years and the efforts of a number of community members, chickens and selected other small animals, are now allowed to be raised within the town limits of Thermopolis. In a story that begins on page 1 of this issue of the Thermopolis Independent Record, you can read comments from the recent town council meeting where three ordinances regarding Limited Urban Agriculture Animals were passed. Mayor Adam Estenson said the ordinances will be reviewed in March of 2024 to determine their success. On page 11 of this issue, the legal...
by Stephen Dow, Cody Enterprise Meeteetse, like many Wyoming small towns, is on the verge of disappearing. It isn’t hard to imagine a near future where the town — with a population of 313 in the 2020 census and a median age of 52.1 years — doesn’t exist. This uncertain future is what makes a recently proposed annexation of 390 acres from Flying River Ranch LLC so exciting. If approved, the annexation would expand the town’s borders by 70%. While there is no clear plan for the land yet, some of the ideas that have been bandied about by town c...
To say it has been a long winter would be considered an understatement by many. However, spring seems to have finally arrived and the weather was beautiful over the Easter weekend. Community members were able to get outside and release some long pent up spring fever. Even a typical winter can lead to stress, depression and other issues but the level of misery was raised a bit this year. The length and severity of winter temperatures and snow levels set records around the state. Last week, our community was shaken by the loss of a young life....
by David Peck, Lovell Chronicle Every now and then we human beings, as caretakers of the ecosystem around us, have a chance to do something truly special and long-lasting for the betterment of our corner of the world. Given a chance to be caretakers, it is vital that we do things right to preserve a species that might otherwise fade away. Such is the case with the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustangs. Sixty years ago, local ranchers and community members fought tooth and nail to preserve the Pryor Mountain Wild Mustangs, calling attention to plans by...
Saturday’s fundraiser cookie jar auction for Tommy Sullivan packed the Hot Springs County Fair Building with auction items and generous community members. The auction netted the largest amount brought in at one of these local fundraising auctions that continue to prove, over and over, just how caring and giving our community members can be. Despite the snow storm that again blanketed Hot Springs County, people came from far and near to show their support for Sullivan and his family. The history of the fundraising cookie jar auctions held in t...
by Stephen Dow, Cody Enterprise The Wyoming Legislature took some meaningful steps toward long-term reform of the state’s property tax system during its recently completed general session, but the immediate financial relief many Wyoming residents needed was in frustratingly short supply. Let’s start with the positives. The body approved a bill allocating $50,000 for a study on the changes necessary to convert the property tax system to an acquisition-based model, and another letting voters decide in 2024 whether they want to separate res...
Living in Wyoming requires an acceptance that simple tasks like driving to the store can be difficult or even dangerous during the winter months. We’re used to snow, ice, wind, polar temperatures and even the occasional blizzard. But by any measure, this winter has been especially brutal for travel. On March 3, Wyoming recorded its 31st crash death of 2023. At that time last year, only 12 people had died in crashes here. In 2021, that number was 18. Some of the carnage can be attributed to this winter’s severity. We’ve experienced more storm...
With the first day of Spring right around the corner, this weekend marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, March 12 at 2 a.m. Thanks to technology, most of our cell phones will make the leap on their own. Don’t forget to set all your other clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed Saturday night or change them Sunday morning. Under legislation unanimously passed by the Senate last March, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, the seasonal changing of clocks would have effectively been eliminated in the U.S. Despite initial e...
by Zac Taylor If the groups now fighting an attempt to re-delist Yellowstone area grizzly bears need proof that their concerns state management will lead to a severe drop in population below recovery levels are not based in truth, they need look no further than the wolf recently killed by a federal trapper in Lovell. Area wolves have been managed by the states, including Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, since 2017 and if anything, the management has erred on the side of leniency. Yellowstone area wolves have clearly thrived since their placement in...
Heading into this year’s legislative session, there were nearly a dozen bills that dealt with improving access to mental health care, increasing mental health offerings in public K-12 schools and access to crisis suicide prevention. Sadly, that Wyoming is experiencing an epidemic of mental health issues is not news and Wyoming remains at the top of some rather unfortunate categories. The suicide rate in Wyoming is perennially one of the highest in the nation. While the rest of the country saw a decline in suicide rate last year, Wyoming saw a...
by John Malmberg, Cody Enterprise Once again federal wildlife officials are considering surrendering management of grizzly bears to the states. The announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service came last Friday. We hope this time it is successful. This is the Fish and Wildlife’s third attempt in 16 years to drop the Endangered Species Act protection for the grizzlies in the Yellowstone region and turn management over to the states. The population of grizzly bears in the area around Yellowstone is now estimated at more than 1,000 bears. In...
by David Peck, Lovell Chronicle This is the time of year when we doff our hats to the folks who take our school kids from event to event: our bus drivers. Hollywood has made fun of bus drivers as hapless victims of rowdy school kids hell bent on raising as much havoc as possible during a simple ride to school, and indeed, some routes surely do enjoy their share of hijinks. But Hollywood aside, where drivers really shine is on long road trips for sporting events and a variety of other activities. Games and music, ag or academic events are on a...
Our opinion page allows for letters to the editor, which we enjoy receiving, because we consider them an important part of our paper. We want our readers to have a say on issues and happenings in our community. This week we have a letter to the editor in response to the Joint Powers Water District reorganization article that ran in last week’s edition. We thank the authors for keeping it civil as they express their opinion on this important issue. We also thank them for reading our paper. Our goal is to inform our readers on a variety of issues...
by Dave Bonner, Powell Tribune Here we go again. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has advised Congress and the president that the debt ceiling —the amount of debt that the U.S. is authorized to take on — will need to be raised. Again. The current level of the federal government debt ceiling is $31.4 trillion, and the clock on the national debt is spinning so fast that the treasury secretary says that it will be exhausted within the month. If it seems like this is a repeat performance, that’s because it is. The debt ceiling was last raise...
Late last year, the governor’s Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education advisory group delivered its final recommendations to Gov. Mark Gordon. Its recommendations aren’t policies or prescriptions, but guiding principles for elevating the state’s K-12 education system. Those recommendations came on the heels of the release of the state’s draft “Profile of a Graduate” — seven “competencies” drafted by the State Board of Education and meant to address what parents, educators and communities believe Wyoming students need to know to b...
When our society finds a better way to archive public records for the people, it will have the full support of this newspaper. Public notices (legals) are the surest way to let the citizens know how their tax dollars are being spent. They also create a permanent and secure record of the business of your government and they have run in these pages since this newspaper began. That won’t always be the case. Publishing on-line has been a boon to getting news into the hands of more people, and in getting government information to its citizens. B...
by Jurri Schenck We have been here before and we are going to better places. It’s easy to take the black pill and only see the negative in our circumstances. Why not? We have inflation, a possible world war, a toxic political environment, etc, etc. What will you choose? To give you some hope and vision, it is important to remember that there have been situations like this in the past. There have always been turning points where the context looked extremely dire. A beautiful picture to illustrate this is watching a large flock of birds flying i...
As we welcome in 2023, residents of Thermopolis and Hot Springs County have much to be thankful for and some interesting changes in local government to look forward to. The first week of January, judges will be swearing in our local county and town government officials to serve their future terms. We have a new county commissioner who will be joining two on the commission who have served for several years. Other reelected county officials will also be swore in next week. For the Town of Thermopolis, we will have a new Mayor and a new Town...
Our community has a lot to be thankful for this Christmas. We may have more than some and less than others, but ultimately we all make a choice to continue to live in, or care about, our little one stoplight town. Merry Christmas to each and every one of you, near and far, who are reading this. Thanks to those of you who are serving in the military and giving up your holidays, your years of living in Hot Springs County and Wyoming, to try to make the world a safer, better place. Thanks to the many volunteers who put in countless hours to put on...
Thermopolis and residents from surrounding areas have been working their way into the Christmas spirit. Lights and decorations are going up at houses and businesses, school Christmas concerts and programs are scheduled, special sales are going on at local businesses and craft fairs and more are being held. This Saturday, the annual Lighted Christmas Parade. Bundle up and line the streets to see some fabulous entries make their way through downtown beginning at 6 p.m. Following the parade, Santa Claus will be at Hazel-n-Pearls so be sure to...
However you spend your Thanksgiving, take a moment to give thanks for someone or something. Be thankful for friends, family, fur babies, a roof over your head, food on your table, your job, etc. Even if all these do not apply, be thankful for the ones that do. As Friday rolls around, we enter the Christmas shopping season, full steam ahead. Locally we have our own Merry Christmas Market giveaway going on. Black Friday is Nov. 25 followed by Small Business Saturday on Nov. 26, a relatively new American tradition. While Black Friday has been an...
Thermopolis has a full schedule of events coming up starting this Saturday with the Backpack Program Fundraiser and Holiday Affair Craft Show at the Thermopolis Middle School. Saturday night, 4-H Achievement night will be held at the fair building to celebrate the accomplishments of youths in the county. The Annual Christmas Bazzar will be Nov. 26 at the fair building. Nov. 25 is Black Friday and kicks off the Merry Christmas Market shopping. Shop Small Town Saturday is Nov. 26. Watch for ads from businesses in next week’s edition. The Ducks Un...
The 2022 General Election is over other than canvasing write-ins, dealing with any requests for recounts and making voting numbers official. Let’s now look forward to welcoming new faces in our places of local, state and federal government as they prepare to take their seats in a few months. Some have said this is one of the most important midterm elections our nation has faced. Local politics have a national impact and every vote counts. Locally, citizens have campaigned and supported their candidates with passion and vigor, debating the i...
Tuesday, November 8 is 2022 General Election voting day. Some will vote absentee prior to Tuesday, but many will be voting that day. Locally, we have a few very important races that will be decided. We have two candidates running for Town of Thermopolis Mayor, three candidates running for two seats on the Thermopolis Town Council, two candidates running for the single House District 28 seat and eight candidates seeking three seats on the Hot Springs County Board of Trustees. Kirby and East Thermopolis also have a few important races going on...
One of the most highly contested races in the general election for Hot Springs County voters is the eight person fight for three positions on the Hot Springs County School District #1 Board of Trustees. Two incumbents and six challengers all want to have a seat on the board for the next four years. The school board district positions are nonpartisan offices. Candidates do not run under the merits of any political party affiliation. Awhile back, a committee made up of HSC Republican party members sent out questionnaires to the eight school...
