After the first four months of Wyoming’s fiscal year 2017 elapsed, figures published by the state show some uptick in economic activity in the state thanks in part to a pickup in the oil and gas sectors. Other sectors of the economy have not fared as well, however.

A set of economic indicators published by the Economic Analysis Division of the State of Wyoming Department of Administration and Information this month show mixed results as the state’s economy struggles to improve from languid performance the last couple years.

For Adam Clarke, manager of Valley Foods in Saratoga, operating a grocery store is nothing new; it's been the family business for three generations, starting with his grandfather who opened a grocery store in Nebraska in 1939.

Burns Insurance, winner of the Saratoga/Platte Valley Chamber of Commerce 2016 “Business of the Year” Award, was honored again for their professional staff and generous community involvement.

Two years ago, Lois Buchanan put her bar on the market because she felt it was time after 22 years.
"I wanted to start on my bucket list and there are some things I would like to do," Buchanan said. "And with Daniel (her husband who passed away) being gone it just wasn't as interesting and I lost the enthusiasm for it. The bar needed a breath of life and I knew it."

In February, Danny Burau, owner of Saratoga's new restaurant Firewater Public House, told the Saratoga Sun in an interview that he hoped the restaurant-which was undergoing renovation at the time-would be open by the first weeks of summer in order to capitalize on the Valley's lucrative summer tourism season.