Guest Columns

Voices from across Wyoming sound off on important issues and offer personal insights in WyoFile’s Guest Columns.

‘Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life’

by WyoFile April 11, 2012

In memory of Dennis Curran, WyoFile presents his retirement column from Wyoming Business Review, published in 2010.

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Thumbnail image for Wyoming’s poor need higher wages, not drug-testing for “welfare”

Wyoming’s poor need higher wages, not drug-testing for “welfare”

by WyoFile March 20, 2012

This year, a bill was introduced — eventually defeated — to require Wyoming’s poor to submit to drug-testing as a condition to receiving public aid. Rodger McDaniel, former director of …

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Thumbnail image for Rural papers doing better than their city counterparts

Rural papers doing better than their city counterparts

by WyoFile July 12, 2011

Walk in to a town council meeting in Pinedale, Wyoming, and you’re likely to find as many as three local reporters scribbling notes and asking questions. That news in a …

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Thumbnail image for Critics Find Gaps in State Laws to Disclose Hydrofracking Chemicals

Critics Find Gaps in State Laws to Disclose Hydrofracking Chemicals

by ProPublica June 28, 2011

Wyoming’s rules are the strongest in place, although it’s unclear how thoroughly they are being enforced. The rules require public disclosure of all the chemicals except for trade secrets, which …

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Thumbnail image for Wyoming Kids’ Outdoor Time Nearly Double National Average

Wyoming Kids’ Outdoor Time Nearly Double National Average

by NewWest June 21, 2011

A statewide study, conducted by the University of Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center, shows that Wyoming children spent almost twice the amount of time outside in August 2010 (3.7 hours …

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SAGE GROUSE: Mead extends ‘core area’ restrictions

by WyoFile June 14, 2011

Reprinted with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net. Not for republication.
Wyoming’s recently elected Republican governor will uphold a key wildlife conservation strategy initiated by his Democratic predecessor, …

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Thumbnail image for Wyoming cities can regulate firearms

Wyoming cities can regulate firearms

by Doug Dumbrill May 24, 2011

Contrary to what has been stated over and over by gun rights advocates, the state of Wyoming did not completely forbid any gun regulation but theirs. Quite the contrary, the …

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Thumbnail image for Guest Column: A few rules for watching sage grouse

Guest Column: A few rules for watching sage grouse

by Kate Missett May 3, 2011

Wyoming Game and Fish Department must think sage grouse are a timid and frail bird rather than the determined and often goofy creatures I’ve come to know. But the grouse …

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Thumbnail image for Rebooting Transparency

Rebooting Transparency

by Edwin Bender March 22, 2011

The promise of the developing transparency movement in this country is greater accountability of our elected officials. Embedded in that promise is a hope for more openness, greater efficiency, …

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Thumbnail image for Dealing with structural racism

Dealing with structural racism

by Dan Neal March 22, 2011

Guest Column By Dan Neal
Somebody lied on the way to changing Wyoming law governing the creation of election districts for county commissioners.
The story begins last spring, when U.S. District …

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David Wendt: Saving Red, White & Blue Energy Jobs

by WyoFile March 8, 2011

It may be time, as U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., suggests, to “declare a cease-fire in the war on red, white and blue jobs.” But maybe we should ask who …

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Thumbnail image for Jobs, energy, policy & markets

Jobs, energy, policy & markets

by WyoFile March 8, 2011

How to best preserve American jobs, protect the environment and reduce the country’s dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels is the subject of two views — one from U.S. Senator …

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Sen. John Barrasso: Time to Put Brakes on EPA’s Runaway Bureaucrats

by WyoFile March 8, 2011

I recently introduced the “Defending America’s Affordable Energy and Jobs Act (S.228).” This legislation puts the brakes on Washington’s efforts to institute job-crushing carbon regulations. It is a rebuke that …

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Thumbnail image for As coal prices soar, Wyoming needs to increase severance taxes

As coal prices soar, Wyoming needs to increase severance taxes

by Bill Sniffin February 8, 2011

Gov. Matt Mead and the newly convened Legislators should at least look at what former Gov. Sarah Palin did in Alaska, in modifying that state’s severance tax rates.

My understanding is …

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Thumbnail image for Wyomingites Need Sunscreen in the Winter

Wyomingites Need Sunscreen in the Winter

by Kate Missett January 31, 2011

Twelve sessions of chemical peels, microdermabrasion and intense pulsed light treatments — slightly painful. At the end of my treatment, my skin looked better, and much more even. Admittedly, it …

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Thumbnail image for Voters should be free to switch parties

Voters should be free to switch parties

by Kate Missett January 25, 2011

If the Republicans were not crossing over, as they fear the Democrats of doing, how in the heck would we have elected so many Democratic governors? How do we explain …

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Thumbnail image for Wyoming Is Surrounded by More Than 100,000 Legal Pot Users

Wyoming Is Surrounded by More Than 100,000 Legal Pot Users

by Bill Sniffin November 30, 2010

Not long ago, one prominent former Wyoming drug fighter told me confidentially that it was time for our state to modify its policies. Some of the facts used to support …

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Thumbnail image for Beetle Storm – Ghost Forests in High Country

Beetle Storm – Ghost Forests in High Country

by Meredith Taylor September 20, 2010

Dubois–My husband Tory Taylor and I have been riding horseback around northwest Wyoming for more than 35 years. We outfitted wilderness pack trips into the Washakie and Fitzpatrick wilderness areas …

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Thumbnail image for What Does California “Decarbonization” Bode for Wyoming Coal, Gas & Wind?

What Does California “Decarbonization” Bode for Wyoming Coal, Gas & Wind?

by Environment & Energy Daily August 16, 2010

…California is not normally regarded as being in “coal country” because it gets most of its electricity from plants that burn natural gas. But coal-producing Western states, such as Wyoming, …

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Thumbnail image for Senate Dems Abandon Carbon Caps

Senate Dems Abandon Carbon Caps

by Environment & Energy Daily July 22, 2010

Senate Democrats today abandoned their summer bid to pass a broad energy and climate bill, instead opting to push off the politically heated debate over pricing carbon until at least …

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Thumbnail image for Battling Beetles with “Sonic Bullets”

Battling Beetles with “Sonic Bullets”

by High Country News July 12, 2010

Flagstaff–Halfway through 7th grade, Reagan McGuire quit school and became a pool shark. His father and grandfather were boxers, and McGuire, who inherited their taste for fisticuffs, turned to the …

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Thumbnail image for Consensus Building on Yellowstone Winter Use

Consensus Building on Yellowstone Winter Use

by Jennifer Lamb June 2, 2010

The Yellowstone Business Partnership held its annual conference at the Jackson Lake Lodge recently to tackle the sticky issue of winter use in Yellowstone National Park. This is not a …

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Thumbnail image for Wyoming: An OPEC of Wind Power? Planning Puts State in Good Position

Wyoming: An OPEC of Wind Power? Planning Puts State in Good Position

by Jim Whalen May 3, 2010

Cheyenne— If Benjamin Franklin had ever been to Wyoming, he may have been tempted to change one of his famous quotes to go something like this: “Three things are certain …

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Thumbnail image for UW’s Slippery Slope

UW’s Slippery Slope

by WyoFile April 15, 2010

Much of what we call “education” forecloses or shuts down or walls off meaningful questioning and free inquiry. Much of it is based on obedience and conformity, the hallmarks of …

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Why Cody, Wyoming is the New Literary Capital of America

by WyoFile March 8, 2010

By Jenny Shank, NewWest.Net
Wyoming has the smallest population of any U.S. state, but it maintains a literary output that rivals most other places.  While it’s been a quiet year so …

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Thumbnail image for Taxing The Wind – Governor Pushes First Statewide Production Levy

Taxing The Wind – Governor Pushes First Statewide Production Levy

by Environment & Energy Daily February 1, 2010

Reprinted from ClimateWire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net. 202/628-6500
By Debra Kahn, ClimateWire
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) is determined to levy a production tax on wind power …

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What do we do with all these unbuilt subdivision lots?

by sonoran_institute January 27, 2010

January 2010 – The recession and collapse of Western housing markets provides a unique opportunity for rethinking and reshaping how future development in the West plays out.

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Thumbnail image for State Oil and Gas Regulators Are Spread Too Thin to Do Their Jobs

State Oil and Gas Regulators Are Spread Too Thin to Do Their Jobs

by ProPublica January 7, 2010

by Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica – December 30, 2009 12:38 pm EST

Larry Parrish knew something was wrong as soon as he wheeled his state-owned pickup off the West Virginia highway …

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Thumbnail image for Tilting at Windmills: Strange Politics of Wyoming Wind Power

Tilting at Windmills: Strange Politics of Wyoming Wind Power

by WyoFile December 22, 2009

by Jonathan Thompson/High Country News
I first see the turbines as I speed along I-25 near Glenrock, Wyo., clutching the steering wheel as I try to avoid being swatted into oblivion …

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Thumbnail image for Underused Drilling Practices Could Avoid Pollution

Underused Drilling Practices Could Avoid Pollution

by ProPublica December 14, 2009

As environmental concerns threaten to derail natural gas drilling projects across the country, the energy industry has developed innovative ways to make it easier to exploit the nation’s reserves without …

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Thumbnail image for Wyoming’s “Roadless Rule” Warrior US District Judge Clarence Brimmer

Wyoming’s “Roadless Rule” Warrior US District Judge Clarence Brimmer

by WyoFile November 10, 2009

The environmentalists’ boogeyman walks with tiny, uncertain steps. He’s 87 years old, suffers from an arthritic knee and worries about stumbling and falling down. He’s also slowly shrinking — he …

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The Sage Grouse Report – Wyoming Ground Zero of Three Year Study

by WyoFile October 26, 2009

We project that future oil and gas development will cause a 7–19 percent decline from 2007 sage-grouse lek population counts and impact 3.7 million ha of sagebrush shrublands and 1.1 …

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Smart Growth in Hard Times – Developing the Northern Rockies

by WyoFile October 22, 2009

There has been a massive consumption of private land in the West, and our communities cannot afford to service the sprawling development patterns.

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The Interstate-80 Railroad – Time for “Maintenance Fees”

by WyoFile October 21, 2009

Let’s face it, I-80 is not a road. It’s a railroad disguised as a highway. Over four decades, it has turned into something entirely different from what it was designed …

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EPA: Chemicals Found in Wyo. Drinking Water Might Be From Fracking

by ProPublica August 26, 2009

Federal environment officials investigating drinking water contamination near Pavillion, Wyo., have found…

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GUEST COLUMN: How much is enough? Good Question!

by Equality State Policy Center July 26, 2009

Energy companies now extract over 450 million tons of coal, over 2,254 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and over 53 million of barrels of oil from Wyoming annually. These …

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GUEST COLUMN: Bring Severance Tax Rates Into State Budget Discussions

by Equality State Policy Center June 22, 2009

Bring Severance Tax Rates Into State Budget Discussions
Hikes should be part of an overall review of revenues and tax investments
By Dan Neal and Sarah Gorin
No more Centennial Singers?
No more Geology …

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Green River Diversion Plan A Big Rip-Off Of Wyoming

by Bill Sniffin April 20, 2009

In dry Wyoming, it has been said that water is more precious than gold.
If this is true, recent efforts by a Fort Collins entrepreneur to suck water from Wyoming’s Green …

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Annie Proulx’s new Red Desert book

by Annie Proulx April 20, 2009

Author Annie Proulx

Photographer Martin Stupich

This book is not intended as another plea to save the greater Red Desert. Many tries for conservation by people who love the place have come …

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Obama’s New Man at Interior: What Ken Salazar Means to Wyoming

by Laton McCartney December 19, 2008

All photos courtesy of Senator Salazar Senator Ken Salazar

Okay, Ken Salazar opposed saving the black-tailed prairie dog. But give President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to head up the Interior Department a …

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R.I.P.: Casper Star-Tribune Free Obituaries

by julianne September 29, 2008

Selected Star-Tribune Obituaries, Click Here
A Piece of Modern-Day Wyoming History
The World After Newspaper Obits, a companion piece.
“He loved to play the harmonica, listen to the police scanner, and draw cabins …

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Teapot Dome Redux

by WyoFile September 15, 2008

Warren Harding

Dubois — How is a more than a century old oil scandal relevant today? Let us count the ways.
In March, 1921, Warren G. Harding, was sworn in as our …

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Teapot Dome Scandal Excerpt: Marines Invade Wyoming

by Laton McCartney September 15, 2008

Book Excerpt: Marines Invade Wyoming
From the Halls of Motazuma to the Oil Fields of Teapot Dome
In April, 1922 Albert Bacon Fall, President Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, secretly leased the …

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A Powerful Event in Cheyenne, Roughnecks Lose Round in House

by alexandra February 8, 2008

Reader Reactions
Journalists are supposed to investigate and expose public servants, we’re supposed to remind them that they’re being watched. But the atmosphere in Wyoming’s state capitol so heavily favors the …

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A Whiff of Wyoming Injustice, Fairness for Our Fallen Workers

by alexandra February 5, 2008

Author Alexandra Fuller

I am about as unlikely an advocate for Wyoming roughnecks’ rights as you could find. For one thing, I’m a writer — hardly a dangerous profession (unless you …

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