GILLETTE, Wyo. — As the Aug. 18 primary election approaches, County 17 is introducing candidate questionnaires to help voters make informed decisions at the ballot box.

Every candidate in the primary field was sent the same three questions and given a limit of 500 words, which could be distributed among their answers as they saw fit. To ensure a fair and direct line to the community, all responses are published exactly as submitted, without edits or alterations.

Candidates were asked:

• What are the most crucial challenges your constituents are facing?
• If elected, how will you address these challenges?
• What qualities or qualifications do you possess that have prepared you to meet these challenges?

Questionnaires are being published on a rolling basis online through Aug. 11. They will be accessible via the County 17 Election Tracker.

Qwenton Eagle Oviatt (R), Wyoming secretary of state

What are the most crucial challenges your constituents are facing?

The most crucial challenges my constituents are facing are low voter turnout, outdated election processes that make voting harder than necessary, a business registration system being exploited by scammers, and a wide fracture within the Wyoming Republican Party.

If elected, how will you address these challenges?

If elected, I will address these directly.  I will push for a long overdue election cleanup bill to make voting easier while ensuring strong security.  I will implement top tier screening software and a small enforcement team to stop fraud using commercial registered agents.  I will also work closely with county clerks to give them the training and uniformity they’ve requested.  On party division, I will focus on repairing our Republican Party by practicing Alan Simpson’s collaboration and Mike Enzi’s 80/20 rule, bringing people together instead of tearing them apart.

What qualities/qualifications do you possess that have prepared you to meet these challenges?

What prepares me for these challenges is my diverse real world experience. I have worked in Wyoming’s oil fields, supported National Science Foundation research in Antarctica, built small businesses, and currently serve as an academic advisor at Central Wyoming College. As a certified mediator, I’ve learned how to bring people together to solve problems. This practical background gives me the judgement and skills needed to deliver real results for Wyoming.

Related

Laramie Jubilee Days 2026 is in full swing!

Have you ever wondered about the history of Laramie’s signature summer event?

It Started Out As A One-Day Event

In fact, the first such celebration was known as ”Equality Days.” And despite the “Days’ as opposed to “Day” in the title, that very first celebration was a one-day event. It was held in conjunction with the anniversary of Wyoming Statehood on July 10, 1940

That’s according to the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. That first celebration included a “fiddlers’ contest, chariot races, and a parade” according to the Heritage Center.

But people liked it so much they added two more days the following year and started calling it “Jubilee Days.”

Jubilee Days as it is now wouldn’t be possible without help from the city and private volunteers. To quote a 2025 City of Laramie news release “City of Laramie staff team has a big hand in coordinating the event. To ensure a successful week of events, this team includes staff members from various departments, including Parks & Recreation and Solid Waste.”

Private citizen volunteers also handle a wide range of duties, ranging from helping with parking to picking up trash to setting up and tearing down booths, to name only a few.

In doing so they are practicing some of the values that make both Laramie and Wyoming such a great place to live, such as pitching in to help neighbors and going the extra mile to do what is needed!

There are many great old Western movies set in Wyoming. For many years, the Western cowboy theme was all the rage in theaters. We’ve shown many of those old movies on this page. Here is one we missed.

Wings Over Wyoming is an alternate title for the 1937 64-minute American Western film Hollywood Cowboy, directed by Ewing Scott and George Sherman. The movie stars George O’Brien as a film star who thwarts a protection racket targeting local cattle ranchers and is available to stream on Tubi.

Why was this Western originally released under the title Hollywood Cowboy? Later, the title and the poster were changed. Something to do with marketing, I’m sure. George O’Brien is a vacationing Hollywood cowboy star who is forced to become a real-life hero when eastern racketeers try to run a protection scheme on local Wyoming cattle ranchers.

The plot is simple, as was often the case with old cowboy movies of that time. The hero is on vacation in Wyoming. He gets a job at a local ranch run by Violet Butler and her niece to escape city life, only to battle an eastern crime boss running an extortion and protection racket against local ranchers. The mobsters harass and kill ranchers for protection money, including causing stampedes by bussing herds with a biplane.

The film was directed by Ewing Scott and George Sherman, and released on May 28, 1937, by RKO Pictures before being re-released as Wings Over Wyoming in 1947.

It is notable for blending classic Western elements like horses and guns with modern 1930s elements such as cars and airplanes.

Below is a gallery of great old movie posters, all Westerns made about old Wyoming.

A movie poster is supposed to attract people to see the flick by showing them what they like.

In the case of that means beautiful women, tough men, fistfights, guns, and action scenes.

Often an old movie poster for a bad movie is just as bad as the movie itself. It told little of what the movie was actually about.

But who cares, they were all about the same thing. That same sill plot over and over again. Before TV that’s all people had to watch, and it was considered good, at the time.