Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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By Mike Koshmrl, Katie Klingsporn and Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile.com A year after a conservation-heavy draft management plan for 3.6 million acres of public land in southwest Wyoming ignited intense opposition, the Bureau of Land Management has issued a finalized plan seeking more of a balance between landscape protection and development. The final environmental impact statement outlining BLM’s proposed Resource Management Plan for the Rock Springs Field Office was released T...
SHERIDAN — For many Wyomingites, buying a home is one of the biggest decisions of their lives, but the real estate world can be one with a steep learning curve. A first-time homeowner may wonder the difference between a real estate agent and a Realtor, or the difference between a buyer's agent and a seller's agent. Another may wonder what guarantee they have that a listing will accurately reflect the home they visit. And although rare, cases like the Gillette Realtor a...
Photo by D'Ron Campbell Margaret Weber smiles with one of the 1,750 hot dogs given to hungry attendees of the HF Sinclair 100th Anniversary Event on August 17....
Bailey Miller 5th Grade - Encampment K-12 School Bailey Miller is one of three Encampment alum returning to the hallways, having graduated from Encampment K-12 School in 2017. She will be teaching 5th grade, the role previously held by Principal Jake Johnston. “I have a bachelor’s in elementary education. I started in Casper and did two years there and I was on the rodeo team. Then I went to the University of Wyoming where I continued my education and was on the rodeo tea...
CASPER — An up-and-coming renewable energy venture on Tuesday filed an application for the construction of a large-scale solar generation and storage project that could add an additional 500 megawatts to the state’s energy portfolio. The Dutchman Renewable Power Project would see the construction of utility-scale photovoltaic solar panels, battery banks, a new substation and three miles of overhead transmission lines to bring its electric generation near Glenrock to the wider Wyoming grid. The application comes at a gan...
JACKSON — Local elections aren’t just about deciding who sits on the Town Council or heads to Cheyenne to write laws in the Wyoming Legislature. Voters decide on the makeup of their county political parties. Precinct committee people are selected every two years to make up the county central committee, according to Wyoming law, for the Democratic and Republican parties. One precinct committeeman and committee woman is elected for every 250 votes or major fraction cast for the party candidate’s representative in Congr...
CASPER — Weighing less than 1 pound, with short ears, little legs and an endearingly “scampering gait,” the pygmy rabbit is the smallest rabbit species in America. Worryingly, though, its population is also small — and getting smaller — and is now in desperate need of protection, according to a chorus of conservation scientists. In the hope of protecting the species, a contingent of conservation groups issued a notice to sue the United States Fish and Wildlife Service f...
The Rocky Mountain Region of the USDA Forest Service is hiring over 250 permanent seasonal wildland firefighters across national forests and grasslands in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Firefighter positions include engine operators, hotshot crew members, hand crew members, helitack crew members, airtanker technicians, airtanker base managers, fuels technicians, fire prevention specialists, assistant fire management officers, dispatchers, and other essential fire management positions. Job information,...
The new school year is here and pedestrian safety is a top priority for the Saratoga Police Department. In a press release, Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris said motorists should be alert when driving during the school rush hour. “The Saratoga Police Department would like to remind everyone that with the start of the school year, drivers should be extremely cautious when driving into our towns and streets,” Morris said. “When operating a vehicle please pay attention to the s...
Complex questions regarding zone changes were raised during the August 13 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commission, following a public hearing on a zone change request from retail business (RB) to residential (RD7200). David Rousa said he was requesting the zone change for his property on 804 W Bridge Avenue. Emery Penner, Director of Public Works, said the buildings on the land currently surrounding the plot were residential, making them non-conforming lots. Rousa said...
A public hearing on short term rentals (STRs) at the August 13 meeting of the Saratoga Planning Commision saw fiery discussion from a packed crowd. Many members of the public participated in the hearing, giving reasons both for and against regulation of STRs. Discussion on this issue originally began in 2023, when the Planning Commission considered creating an ordinance to limit the number of STRs in Saratoga. The proposed ordinance was tabled after Town Attorney Kylie Waldrip...
The Saratoga Volunteer Fire Department (SVFD) has the opportunity to purchase a ladder fire truck from Sweetwater county and receive a donated pumper truck from Carbon County. At the Saratoga Town Council meeting on August 6, Assistant Fire Chief Tom Westring, approached the council with an opportunity to purchase a 2000 model 75 foot ladder truck from Sweetwater County for $5,000. A new truck with these specifications - 175,000 miles and 16,000 hours - could cost upwards of $600,000 according to Creed James, SVFD Treasurer....
Property tax exemptions have been a hot topic for the past few years, as Wyoming residents have seen both values and taxes increase following the influx of new residents both during and after the pandemic. While a flurry of bills were introduced in the 2024 Wyoming Legislative Session, only four passed both the House and Senate and only three were signed into law by the governor. House Bill 3, House Bill 45 and Senate File 89 were all signed by Governor Mark Gordon while...
Beginning August 8, registered Republicans in Carbon County began receiving election mailers for supporting Garrett Irene, John Espy and Sue Jones as incumbent candidates for the Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCC). There was just one problem. None of the candidates knew about the mailers until they arrived in the mail, nor were they aware of the group which paid for the mailers: The Western Way Action PAC (Political Action Committee). While the mailers were...
It was a puzzling evening on July 25 as the Saratoga Friends of the Library held their first Adult Puzzle Competition at the Saratoga Branch Library. Six teams of two people raced to see who could be the first to complete the same puzzle. It sure was a challenge. The 500 piece puzzle of a beautiful peacock was the hardest I have ever done. There were so many intricate designs you really needed to look closely to get it finished. I am thankful for my partner, Brenda. I...
Fresh off a regulatory defeat, and amid ongoing legal battles and skyrocketing wildfire liability costs, Rocky Mountain Power is once again asking to charge its Wyoming customers more for electricity. Rocky Mountain Power, Wyoming’s largest electricity provider, filed a new rate request with state regulators on Friday asking for an increase of $123.5 million, or an overall 14.7% hike, citing renewable energy investments and skyrocketing insurance costs for wildfire liability....
Photo by Joshua Wood Paxton Buffington, left, hugs her mother, Samantha, after selling her goat at the Carbon County Fair's Junior Livestock Sale on August 9....
Fires are on the forefront of people’s minds recently following a relatively small wildfire near Jack Creek and two calls for hay bales struck by lightning. With the Hanna RR 316 Fire of 2020 still in people’s minds, some may be concerned about where they may evacuate to. “We did have some people raise some concerns about where they would go if a fire made a big run, which can happen,” said Saratoga Police Chief Mike Morris. “The fire departments did an amazing job getting on this and knocking it down and staying on it, bu...
CASPER — A multi-billion dollar trona production project in Sweetwater County is nearing the finish line. Pacific Soda LLC’s Dry Creek Trona Mine Project would produce approximately 440 metric tons of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and 6 million metric tons of soda ash annually. Soda ash is a highly marketable commodity with applications ranging from glass manufacturing to metallurgy and cosmetics. The project, first proposed in 2020, is in a race against the clock to win approval before the Bureau of Land Management update...
BUFFALO — A dark money political action group is throwing resources into GOP primaries across Wyoming, Idaho, Ohio, New Hampshire, Indiana and others, including the Senate District 22 Republican Primary between Reps. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, and Mark Jennings, R-Sheridan. Make Liberty Win, a super PAC based in Alexandria, Virginia with no known ties to Wyoming, has sent dozens of mailers attacking Republicans, including Crago, and backing Freedom Caucus members or those closely aligned with the hard-right of the party. The P...
“It’s Contagious!” has been used to strike fear in many people over the years, maybe even more so in the last few years. When we hear this phrase we try to do everything we can to avoid whatever is being spread. It starts with one, then spreads to others. Two weeks ago, I led a group to Mexico to do a mission trip. We had 13 people in the group, seven from Saratoga, and five of those were teenagers. We travelled through Juarez and then six hours South into the middle of MX. Our plan was to conduct a Volleyball Camp, work...
I read a book years ago by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale called, “The amazing results of positive thinking” and I recommend it as an inspiration and encouragement to your spiritual life. He explains that our mind is constantly bombarded with all types of persuasions and each of us are held accountable to manage them. We have the ability to resist and ignore the negative influences that distracts us or we can pray and seek the Lord for a stronger discernment and sensitivity to deception. It was during this time of studying how the...
Saratoga Friends of the Library are excited to host a new program on local Indian lore by Chilly Rollison. Entitled “Battleground: Plains Indians in the upper North Platte River Valley,” Chilly’s presentation will detail the various tribes who migrated into and out of the North Platte River Valley from about the 1500s to the 1880s, he said. His presentation on Thursday, August 22, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Saratoga Branch Library will delve into the various interactions of the tribes including their wars and their allianc...
At the August 6 Saratoga Town Council meeting, members of the governing body learned about a potential new investment vehicle for the Town. Troy Hunsucker from Wyoming CLASS, an investment solution for public funds, gave a presentation on a local government investment pool which gives an opportunity for a higher rate of return on town investments. Municipalities utilize investment opportunities to maximize a rate of return on varying funds while still under the umbrella of all state and federal laws. According to Treasurer...
Pickleball was back in the Saratoga Town Council’s court as a proposal for a pickleball facility was presented at the August 6 meeting of the governing body. Cindy Loose and Cindy Carnes, representing the Good Times Pickleball Association, went before the council in order to ask the Town for land to develop a “state-of-the-art pickleball facility.” Carnes said the group currently has 25 members that play off and on at the Platte Valley Community Center Gym. “Curr...