Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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Three new council members were sworn in, along with a new mayor at the Jan. 7 Worland City Council meeting. Former council member Rebecca George presided over her first meeting Tuesday night while three new members joined the nine-member council - Sheryl Ley, Mandy Horath and Bill Glanz. George noted it was the the first time in a while that there was a full council in session. The council has been short one member since the resignation of Pete Calderon in late May. George made several...
With no public in attendance, a public hearing regarding the Washakie County Business Ready Community Planning Grant lasted just over 10 minutes Tuesday night. The Worland City Council approved an expenditure of $8,000 toward a match for the grant and approved moving forward with the grant at the Dec. 17 meeting. The commissioners approved a resolution to apply for the grant and designated Clerk Lily Rakness Parra and Washakie Development Association Executive Director Leann Baker as the grant representatives. The county is the lead agency in...
The 68th Wyoming Legislature begins its general session next Tuesday, Jan. 14. You may be wondering why you should care? As I have said previously while many of the laws the Wyoming Legislature enacts may not apply to you, many may impact your life, your neighbor’s life or a member of your family. One of the most recent laws that comes to mind is the amendments that were enacted into the Slayer Rule in 2021 with Senate File 66. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Ed Cooper after discussions with Mel and Darr Lea Walker. Prior to the change the l...
Worland resident Jim Gill completed his 14 years of public service for the City of Worland this week when his second term as mayor concluded Dec. 31. Gill was first appointed to the city council by then Mayor Kreg Lombard to fill a vacancy in Ward 1 left by the death Loyd Worley. He served six years before opting to throw his hat into the ring in 2016 for the office of mayor. He was reelected in 2020 and sought a third term before being unseated in the 2024 General Election by Ward 1 Councilor R...
This week we said goodbye to 2024 and hello to 2025. In this week’s issue we listed what we deemed were the top 10 stories locally for 2024. To be fair there were many honorable mentions that did not quite make the top 10. 2024 was full of stories chronicling our achievements, heartache and decisions that impact the lives of our readers. 2024 was a busy news year and 2025 will likely not be any different. We will hit the ground fast and furious in 2025 with the grand opening of the Ten Sleep School slated for next Thursday and the following w...
The generosity of the community in Washakie County, especially during the holidays, never ceases to amaze. This year more than 160 families were provided a Christmas dinner through the Washakie County Ministerial Association’s Christmas basket program. The association’s angel tree program, the Worland fire department’s toy drive and Mad Cyclez new toy drive also helped many children have a Merry Christmas this year. Here at the Northern Wyoming News, with more than 60 bells for our senior community saw people go above and beyond to help our e...
After investing in many of their locations the past few years, Big Horn Co-operative Marketing Association announced last week the closure of some retail locations including the tire shop and farm store in Worland. According to a press release from the Association's Board, the Cooperative will "switch focus towards energy and agronomy business. All retail locations will be open until the end of December with closures affecting Basin Farm Store, Buffalo Farm Store, Greybull Farm Store, Powell...
Following the success of its inaugural Rotary Lights last year, the Worland Rotary Club is expanding the event that begins this week. For the next three weeks, people will be able to drive through the Washakie County Fairgrounds and view some of the last weekend’s entries from the Worland-Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce Parade of Lights. The Rotary Club also has some lighted inflatables to add to the viewing, along with some other lights. Rotary President Nikki Donahue said this year there are three floats what will be on display at the f...
The Bureau of Land Management completed a condition assessment of the Castle Gardens Scenic Area west of Ten Sleep that led to the removal of some shade structures. According to BLM Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Public Affairs Officer Sarah Beckwith the condition assessments thoroughly examined all developed site features, looking at things like maintenance, safety and vandalism concerns, as well as enhancement opportunities that the BLM could address. During the assessment, they noticed...
This past weekend, with me taking a four-day weekend, my husband and I and our dogs enjoyed some time outdoors, taking advantage of the actual fall weather we are having in the Big Horn Basin this year. On Thursday we helped the cross-country teams by paying our entry fees to partake in the Gobble Wobble two-mile walk. My thought was it would be a family outing with both dogs. It was a partial family outing with Alan, myself and Shadow. Roscoe, an alpha male, was not going to play well with others, which became apparent just a few steps away fr...
The staff at the Northern Wyoming News would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving this week. As a staff we have much to be thankful for including you our readers and our advertisers, all of whom see the value in local news and sports coverage, the value and importance of a local newspaper in the community and we thank you for your support this week and every week. We hope you enjoy this week’s issue that includes a wide variety of photos, features as well as news. Individually we also have much to be thankful for and due to space c...
Seven Chief Washakie FFA members teamed up with the Paintrock Hunter Mentor Program on a Young Hunters Care Project that benefited the farming and food insecurity communities. Wyoming Game Warden Matt Lentsch said the Wyoming Game Warden's Association purchased 15 doe antelope licenses for an hunt on private property. Lentsch said, "Since its inception 2007, the Young Hunters Care Project has donated nearly three tons of processed venison to families in the Big Horn Basin. This was the first yea...
As quickly as South Third Street between Big Horn and Coburn was open it was closed, according to a report at the Worland City Council meeting Tuesday. City Attorney Kent Richins reported that he received a call Tuesday morning from Earl Bower regarding the property that had been leased to Schlumberger. Bower left a message that the gate had been open that morning. The street had been closed for the past several years due to an agreement with the property owners Earl Bower Farms. “And so I quickly sent email to his attorneys and basically s...
Yes we are now more than two weeks removed from the Nov. 5 General Election but it seems to be what most people are still talking about so here are three more random thoughts on this year’s election cycle. (I promise this is it for this year.) Despite President-elect Donald J. Trump winning both the electoral college votes and the popular vote this year, talk of abolishing the electoral college rages on. I am a supporter of the electoral college because in my belief it gives small populations, such as Wyoming a voice in the presidential e...
In July, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon announced that Wyoming is advancing its systemic approach to mental health care reform. The next phase of the Governor’s suicide prevention efforts is now in motion. Under the WY We Care initiative, select counties will participate in an intensive community suicide prevention program through the PROSPER Project. PROSPER (Proactive Reduction of Suicide in Populations via Evidence-Based Research) represents over five decades of research into optimal strategies for suicide prevention and intervention, d...
I learned several things leading up to, during and after this year’s General Election. •First, many people truly do not understand the election process, know the Constitution or state statute. Many people do not realize that municipal, county, state and federal offices are sworn in, in the new year. They do not take office right after the election. Some special districts, such as school districts, swear in newly elected members to begin serving in December. Perhaps I know this information based on the numerous elections I have covered dur...
Current Ward 1 council member Rebecca George was elected as the city's next mayor, unseating Mayor Jim Gill in Tuesday's General Election Unofficial results had George winning 64% of the vote with 1,373 votes to Gill's 764 votes. There were also 117 undervotes meaning voters did not cast a vote in the election. George said Tuesday night, "I am honored by the community and grateful for those who supported me in this race for the mayor of Worland. I am excited to be the mayor-elect. I encourage us...
Halloween was last week. The election was this week. Still need something scary to fill that fear void? Check out my favorite podcast Monsters Among Us Podcast. I came across it many months ago and it is my favorite. I love the stories, the format and the host. The host is Derek Hayes and per the podcast website, he “currently calls the mountains above Los Angeles, California home but originates from the backwoods of Southeast Ohio. He’s worked in the film industry for 10 years in addition to producing oddity inspired artwork on the side. A c...
More than 500 Washakie County voters have already cast their ballots in the 2024 General Election, according to Washakie County Clerk Lily Rakness Parra. Rakness Parra said Friday morning that they have sent out 676 total absentee ballots and received 525 back ahead of the Nov. 5 General Election. Voters are deciding on several local and federal races as well as a state constitutional amendment. Absentee ballots are accepted through November 4. Deadline to register to vote is past but interested persons will be able to register at the polls... Full story
The State constitutional amendment on next Tuesday’s ballot is just one of many important decisions voters face in Wyoming and Washakie County. There is much to decide in Tuesday’s General Election, from federal races to the City of Worland’s next mayor and how the Legislature will handle property taxes in the coming years. Of course, selecting the next president, mayor, city council, school board, cemetery board, fire board, conservation district board are all important, but one of the most important decisions on the ballot is Const...
Voters are being asked to amend the Wyoming Constitution to create four property tax classifications, from the current three. The question voters are asked to vote “for” or “against” is as follows: “The adoption of this amendment would separate residential real property into its own class of property for purposes of property tax assessments. The amendment would authorize the legislature to create a subclass of owner occupied primary residences.” Currently under the State Constitution and Wyoming Statute there are three classificat... Full story
Who knew one of the biggest things to divide the Worland community would be bras and tank tops on display at Pioneer Square. There was much debate about the Bras For A Cause display during two city council meetings and even more debate on social media, most of it civil. As I read and listened to comments from people on both sides, I came to a few realizations. First, I have come full circle from my comments on this space a few years ago when I wrote that I didn’t feel the push you see everywhere, especially in October, was necessary anymore. E...
The investigation into an accidental fire at the Green Hills Golf Course is still underway to determine the exact cause, according to Worland Fire Chief Chris Kocher. Kocher said Worland Fire was dispatched at 5:41 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9 to a structure fire. They were able to contain the fire, at the golf course maintenance building to the front portion of the building. He said there was a little bit of smoke damage to the second set of rooms but no smoke or fire damage reached the back...
Accolades were bestowed Tuesday at the Worland City Council upon Worland Police Sgt. Sean Duffy who retired from the force after 20 years and 2 weeks. Mayor Jim Gill said, "I'm extremely privileged and proud to recognize one of our officers. You've done a wonderful job for us over the many, many years and I can only say that your dad's (former mayor Dave Duffy) got to be looking down with a great deal of pride this evening." Chief Gabe Elliott said Duffy has been a pillar for the department and...
One of my all time favorite memes is the one that states, “My brain has too many tabs open; 4 of them are frozen and I have no idea where the music is coming from.” For this week’s column I am going to try and go through some of those tabs open in my brain and jot down some random thoughts so I can close them and open some more. 1. Who said NASCAR’s Championship Chase was boring? Last Sunday’s race as Kyle Larson dominated the final stage, the drama unfolding was who was going to advance to the playoffs and the Round of Eight. That question...