As a small-town newspaper publisher, I’ve always considered it my mission to shine light on local government because I firmly believe citizens have a fundamental right to know what their government is doing for them — or to them. That principle is non-negotiable for those who understand the value of an informed citizenry and the importance of accountability for elected officials.
Opinion
Over the past year, the Wyoming Press Association proposed a draft bill to close loopholes in the Wyoming Public Records Act and make it more likely that officials who abuse the law will face consequences. We lobbied aggressively for this measure, and in November, the Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee voted 13–0 to sponsor the bill for the session that begins next month. That rare unanimous endorsement sends a clear message that lawmakers recognize something needs to change.
As we pushed for reforms to deter secrecy, we readily acknowledged that many local governments already go above and beyond to keep citizens informed. These leaders don’t just follow the law — they embrace it. They welcome scrutiny, communicate openly and treat transparency as a public service, but they were not being recognized for it.
That’s why the Wyoming Press Association created the Benjamin Franklin Award for Open Government. This monthly recognition honors Wyoming’s most transparent local governments. Awards will be given through 2026 in conjunction with the state’s observance of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This honor highlights agencies that partner with their local press and make good faith efforts to share information, conduct public business in the open and empower citizens.
The award is named for the pioneering printer and publisher who famously declared to citizens that he and the other Founding Fathers had created “a republic, if you can keep it.” Franklin’s warning indicated that citizens would have to be informed and engaged if the new republic was to survive, and that admonition is as true for Wyoming today as it was for the United States nearly 250 years ago.
The first recipient of the Ben Franklin Award is Converse County, whose officials were nominated by Matt Adelman, publisher of the Douglas Budget and Glenrock Independent. He cited their consistent and proactive approach to informing the public — from publishing more public notices than legally required to using multiple forms of media to update residents regularly on projects like major roadwork.
Converse County provides a model for how government can work with the media to keep citizens in the loop, and our intent is that their recognition will inspire others. We hope that transparency will prove to be contagious, but we remain certain that recognition alone will not change Wyoming’s culture when it comes to open government. That’s why we will continue to push for legislation that promises to close existing loopholes and introduce real consequences for bad actors.
This two-pronged effort will allow us to both celebrate the good and deter the bad, and we encourage statewide associations that serve local governments — like the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, Wyoming County Commissioners Association, and Wyoming School Boards Association — to partner with us in motivating their members to commit to greater transparency. We encourage them to nominate officials or boards who are “doing it right” for this recognition, and the Wyoming Press Association welcomes the chance to hold open conversations with their boards, share best practices or make presentations about transparency to their members.
We believe the most meaningful way for Wyoming to celebrate 250 years of “keeping the republic” is by renewing and reinforcing our shared commitment to informing and empowering the state’s residents to be more engaged citizens and more knowledgeable voters. This award is obviously a “carrot” meant to move local governments in that direction, but it will ultimately be meaningless and ineffective if the corresponding “stick” isn’t created to encourage compliance with the state’s open government laws. That will be up to the Legislature, and we encourage citizens to let their representatives know that transparency and accountability are important to them.