Wyoming
Aaron Turpen: I Jawed At High Schoolers About My… | Cowboy State Daily
Recently, I went to East High to talk to an AVID class about what I do for a living.
Being a class full of teenagers, none of them were particularly interested when I, a middle-aged guy with a “get off my lawn” beard and “I don’t like haircuts” style got up on the little stage-like platform in Mrs. Martin’s class.
Such is the way of teenagers, no matter the generation.
Most schools in Laramie District 1 have an Advancement Via Individual Determination class to teach kids things like time management, what’s required to get into secondary schools (colleges, universities, etc), and to broaden horizons a bit.
The East High AVID class, for example, volunteers at the animal shelter making toys for the dogs and tours area universities and colleges to get a feel for campus life.
So standing on the stage and introducing myself, I told this group of ninth graders about myself. I drive brand new cars, supplied by manufacturers, and then write about those cars.
I take photos of questionable quality and sometimes do videos that are often ranked as “worst car reviews on YouTube” by commentators.
I mentioned that, in order to give other YouTubers a chance, I have to cover my glamorous magazine-ready face with hair to tone down my appeal some.
Given my drip, the kids probably thought this was pretty sus.
But they soon began to perk up, learning that I’m not just some guy with some job they’d consider boring. Which was a pretty proud moment for me, as I’m pretty sure my ninth grader son would consider professional skydiving or an X-Games pro to be lame.
Once things warmed up, and Mrs. Martin gave the ultimatum for the class to start asking questions, my presentation got more interesting. I was asked how I got into writing.
My answer was that I’ve never NOT been writing. It’s just taken on different forms.
I just so happened, about a decade ago (or so) to have found a way to parlay that into driving vehicles. It was a natural evolution from being a truck driver, in my mind.
I talked about how my college degree isn’t a match for what I do as a job. I use computers, sure, but a Computer Science degree doesn’t really teach journalism or writing skills.
I know automotive journalists who have journalism backgrounds. They are very good at writing up things that read like they should be in print. I’m better at writing things that are more colloquial, as it were.
That’s my fancy way of saying I like to use first person and try to insert funny bits so I look smarter.
The questions kept coming. These kids seemed genuinely interested in how I got started, what kind of things I do every day, how a freewheeling freelance gig person does it, and so on. Many of them were pretty good.
“Do the car makers pay you?” Nope. Publications that print my stuff pay me. The automakers give me vehicles in hopes that I can get them published to a large audience. Plus I don’t wreck up their vehicles, so they trust me not to be “that guy.”
“How long do you have a car for?” Press loans vary in length, but are usually about a week.
Sometimes a little longer, sometimes shorter. I generally put between 100 and 200 miles on a vehicle while I have it. Mostly doing everyday things, but also including fuel economy testing and sometimes special uses like off-road, towing, etc.
“How many cars have you driven?” Hard one to answer. I settled on 1,000-1,500 since I average about 100 vehicles per year and also go to events and unveilings where I might get to drive more.
“What is the coolest car you’ve ever driven?” Also a hard one.
Vehicles are designed for different purposes, so I can’t say just one was the coolest.
Favorites that I’ve driven include a McLaren, a BMW i8, an Alfa Romeo 4C, a specially outfitted Jeep Gladiator from RMT Overland, several side-by-side UTVs, and things with “SRT” and “Hellcat” in their names.
I judge vehicles based on what they’re used for and have a particular bias towards off-road-ready setups and speedy roadsters.
And especially for those that range into the ridiculous category, like a family-sized SUV with over 600 horsepower or a luxury car with a price tag equal to my house. Or, in the case of the first three on my list, cars that are pure adrenaline pumpers that are made way too small for someone of my size.
“What did you want to do for a job when you were in high school?” This question was a great one. I wanted to be a writer.
At the time, I thought I would write science fiction and fantasy. Isaac Asimov and JRR Tolkien were my literary heroes. What I learned with time was that I’m far better at writing opinions than I am at writing fiction.
Fiction, for me, takes a lot of work. Writing about things I love, like cars, is pretty easy by comparison. It took many years of frustration and working a myriad of non-writing jobs to learn that.
The overall experience was a good one. And the resulting thank you cards sent to me were a nice bonus.
One ninth grader wrote “Thank you for coming and talking about your job. I didn’t care very much about cars before now. I do a little bit more.” Nice! Mission accomplished so far as I’m concerned.
Another wrote “That was a lot of fun to listen about your job. The only problem I have is English, but I’m gonna try hard to get better at writing to get a job.” To which, I would say, being able to write well is not necessarily a prerequisite to journalism. I’ve been an editor before.
“I would enjoy having a new car every week because I could not be able to decide what car to buy.” Fair enough. I think I know some automotive writers who would fall into that category. They own extremely impractical vehicles as a rule.
“I would like to try to do car racing for a bit and I like hearing about cars.” Girl after my own heart there. She should try rally. The last bit of real auto racing left.
“Thank you for not trying to use slang during your presentation.” He’s correct. I didn’t use any of the slang words in the title of this article while talking to this AVID class. That would’ve been cringe.
It was special to have the chance to show these kids that imagination can reach beyond the standard list of professional careers or stretch an existing one into something more.
Back when I was their age, there were no presentations to show me that one could think beyond the established.
Thankfully, we’re getting past telling kids that working with their hands is bad, that thinking for themselves is bad, and that college is the only option for them.
The world is more open and accessible than ever. And they have unprecedented opportunities thanks to that.
I think more of us adults should participate in opportunities like this to show kids what’s out there. The world needs writers, plumbers, engineers, teachers, cooks, and small business owners.
We should be showing these kids, who are so close to being thrown out into the adult world, that it’s not all unfamiliar and scary. That they can get somewhere based on their own dreams and ideas and that perseverance pays off.
Bucking hay can turn into bagging groceries which becomes carpentry that turns into truck driving and becomes automotive journalism. Every path is unique and no job is exactly like another.
So long as it’s not a career in politics, I think kids should be encouraged to work hard and run with their dreams. Because the world needs more workaday dreamers.
Aaron Turpen can be reached at: TurpenAaron@gmail.com
A Wyoming judge struck down three abortion laws on Friday, the latest instance of the courts here rejecting attempts by state lawmakers to curtail the procedure in the Equality State.
Retired District Judge Thomas T. C. Campbell ruled the laws violated a 2012 amendment to the Wyoming Constitution that protects individuals’ rights to make their own healthcare decisions. The Wyoming Supreme Court in January cited the same provision when it struck down two statewide abortion bans, and a different judge noted the amendment in April when he blocked enforcement of the state’s new “heartbeat” bill.
Friday’s ruling concerned three laws passed by lawmakers in 2025. One created a mandatory ultrasound requirement and a 48-hour waiting period for patients seeking abortions. The second enacted a set of new and more stringent regulations that critics said were intended to make operating an abortion clinic in Wyoming unfeasible. A third involved abortion restrictions within a larger law governing the prescription of off-label medications.
Campbell temporarily blocked enforcement of all three laws last year after the plaintiffs in the case — which included abortion providers and abortion rights advocates — filed suit in state court. But his final determination that the laws are unconstitutional did not come until Friday.
‘No competent evidence’
In his 34-page decision, Campbell wrote repeatedly that the state, which had defended the laws in court, failed to provide evidence backing its claims. He noted the state alleged that the ultrasound law serves as a way to protect women from the consequences of undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies. But the judge found that the state “offers no competent evidence that such instances are occurring with any measure of regularity.” Additionally, he wrote, the state “offered no cogent evidence illustrating that a waiting period is necessary for any purpose.”
Meanwhile, the plaintiffs showed that the ultrasound rule would not significantly lessen the risk for ectopic pregnancy complications and that waiting periods have no medical utility, the judge wrote. They also offered “ample evidence” that the ultrasound requirement lacked a compelling government interest, according to Campbell’s ruling.
“The Plaintiffs provide concise evidence undermining the medical necessity of an ultrasound prior to undergoing a chemical abortion,” he wrote. “The Plaintiffs request for relief is underscored by their evidence that abortion is inherently safe. They provide Wyoming Department of Health data indicating zero complications or deaths resulting from abortion in Wyoming. They also specifically cite clinical guidance explicitly proclaiming that ultrasounds are not medically necessary for women seeking chemical abortions.”
Campbell also took issue with what he termed a lack of evidence by state lawyers defending the law that required abortion clinics be regulated as “ambulatory surgical centers,” which come with more stringent, and costly, regulations. The state contended the law constituted a compelling interest because it closed a legal loophole, but did not provide evidence showing that “consistency of laws forms a compelling government interest,” he wrote.
He also rejected the state’s arguments that the law helped to ensure women’s health.
“Of course, it is conceivable that preserving women’s health could independently invoke a compelling interest,” he wrote. “However, outside of sweeping generalizations, the State again provides no evidence or a causal link of how a surgical abortion facility, operating outside the regulatory framework of an [ambulatory surgical center], negatively impacts women’s health and welfare.”
As for the off-label medication law, which abortion advocates fear would discourage doctors from prescribing common abortion medications, the judge agreed with the plaintiffs, who maintained it was a solution in need of a problem.
Abortion opponents stymied by constitutional amendment
State lawmakers have made several attempts to limit or ban abortion in Wyoming since 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the landmark ruling Roe v. Wade. Since then, the same group of plaintiffs has repeatedly succeeded in convincing the courts that the laws violated a 2012 amendment to the Wyoming Constitution. Voters enacted the amendment after a push by conservatives who feared Obamacare would lead to government infringement on healthcare autonomy.
The amendment protects adults’ rights to make their own healthcare decisions. The Wyoming Supreme Court in January concluded that “a woman has a fundamental right to make her own health care decisions, including the decision to have an abortion.”
In the aftermath of that ruling, Gov. Mark Gordon called on the Wyoming Legislature to pursue a constitutional amendment that would settle the matter. But lawmakers instead chose to pass a law that made abortion illegal once fetal cardiac activity is detected, which can occur by the sixth week. That law is also tied up in the courts while a legal challenge proceeds.
Still, anti-abortion advocates in the Legislature promised to continue their attempts to end the practice here.
“We will not quit, we will not give up and we will not stop the fight to protect innocent life,” Speaker of the House Chip Neiman said in a video posted to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus’ Facebook page. “It’s really too bad. It’s quite a testimony, quite a statement about our judiciary that, I think once again, they’ve acted to thwart and to ignore the will of the Legislature and have complete disregard for innocent life in Wyoming.”
Neiman, a Republican who is now running for the state senate, said he expected Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz, who advocated against abortion after he retired from the Wyoming Supreme Court, to fight Friday’s ruling, presumably by appealing to the high court.
Meanwhile, the president of Wyoming’s only abortion clinic, Casper’s Wellspring Health Access, hailed Friday’s decision, while also alluding to the likelihood of more legal battles ahead.
“These politically motivated laws, which unfairly target abortion providers, harm the people we serve by creating unnecessary barriers to essential health care,” Julie Burkhart said in a statement. While we know the fight against these laws is far from over, this outcome strengthens our determination to continue providing comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion, to the people of Wyoming.”
The University of Wyoming has conducted repeated polls on abortion in Wyoming. The latest, which was released in November 2024, showed that about 10% of Wyomingites backed a total ban on abortion, with another 31% favoring abortion restrictions with exceptions for rape, incest or when a woman’s life is in danger. Another 20% preferred those exemptions and others once the need for an abortion had been clearly established. About 39% said abortion should remain a personal choice.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Wyoming officials are reminding travelers to be prepared for high winds this summer, especially those driving or towing recreational vehicles.
The Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources and the Wyoming Department of Transportation are encouraging outdoor enthusiasts to plan ahead and stay informed about weather conditions before hitting the road. Officials said highways such as Interstate 25, Interstate 80 and U.S. 287 frequently experience strong wind gusts that can create dangerous driving conditions for high-profile vehicles.
Vehicles most vulnerable during high-wind events include motorhomes, fifth-wheel and bumper-pull trailers, toy haulers, rooftop tent vehicles and passenger vehicles towing campers, boats or utility trailers.
Wyoming transportation officials may impose travel restrictions or temporarily close roads to certain vehicles during severe wind events.
Travelers are encouraged to check road conditions at wyoroad.info or by calling 511 before departing and to build flexibility into their travel plans. Officials also recommend securing external gear and understanding how wind conditions may impact their specific vehicle setup.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
-
News17 minutes agoTrump says U.S. military strike killed leader of Tren de Aragua gang
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoTraffic and pricey parking don't deter World Cup fans in Los Angeles
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoI-94 ramp closures, I-96 shutdown expected to snarl travelers flying out of DTW this weekend
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoSF Castro remembers victims of Orlando nightclub shooting 10 years later
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoDallas Schedules Additional Mosquito Control Spraying This Weekend
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMiami International Airport unveils $14 billion investment in major makeover ahead of World Cup
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoKennedy says Boston 'may have to pivot' if improvement doesn't come soon
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoE-bike cyclist dies after crash in Denver’s Elyria Swansea neighborhood
