Wyoming
Meet (some of) the faces behind Banner Wyoming Medical Center
As a regional trauma and referral center, Banner Wyoming Medical Center is the largest hospital in Wyoming and provides comprehensive heart, stroke and trauma care and more to the people of Wyoming. The hospital’s team is made up of people with a genuine desire to take care of their friends, family and neighbors and to keep that care in the state.
These are just some of the faces behind Banner Wyoming Medical Center.
Meet Tom,
Tom Sherwin was a pipe welder for more than 15 years before deciding he needed a career change. After more than a dozen knee surgeries and a lot of time spent in hospitals over the years, his wife encouraged him to think about a career in health care.
At first, he thought he might be a paramedic but ultimately decided to pursue a respiratory therapy degree at Casper College. He’s now been a respiratory therapist for more than 11 years and began managing Banner Health’s Sleep Lab in Casper in 2019.
“It’s important to me to give every patient the best care,” he said. “I’ve been on the other side, and I know how much a kind word means.”
Tom grew up on a 30,000-acre ranch west of Casper and enjoys everything outdoors, including bow hunting, fishing, hiking, rock hounding, and prospecting. If he’s not outside, he enjoys spending time with his wife, four daughters and grandson.
Meet Sam,
All of the males in Sam Liday’s family are firefighters, so it seemed clear that
might be his career path as well. His mother is a pharmacist and he thought
about following in her footsteps, but she talked him out of it. Firefighting
didn’t feel like his life calling, so he decided to pursue nursing school.
“I knew I wanted to do something that would have an impact,” said Sam.
Originally from Idaho and educated in Montana, Sam is accustomed to life in
the West and moved to Casper almost two years ago with his girlfriend who is
from here. She is a firefighter. Sam is a nurse on Banner’s Wyoming Medical
Center’s Neuro Unit.
When Sam isn’t at work, he enjoys everything outdoors, including hunting,
skiing and especially fly fishing along the North Platte River.
Meet Kindal,
A dog-adoring, sun-worshipping, golf-loving LPN.
Kindal Kott moved to Wyoming from a small town in Texas when she was 13. After high school, she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do for a career, but knew she wanted to stay in Casper.
“I really like Wyoming,” she said.
Kindal decided to get her CNA license and has worked on Banner Wyoming
Medical Center’s Medical Unit for about three years. She was inspired by
her co-workers and one of her cousins who is a NICU nurse to pursue
nursing school and has been holding down her job as an LPN while
attending nursing school at Casper College.
“I just felt like it was the right thing to do,” she said.
In Kindal’s limited free time, she enjoys walking her two blue heelers
and playing golf.
Meet Jonica,
A dog-loving, walleye-fishing, amateur-bowling paramedic.
A scary experience as a teenager is what led Jonica Fields to health care.
A tumor was discovered in her sinus cavity when she was just 14, which forced
the Worland-native to spend a lot of time at Children’s Hospital in Denver.
Fortunately, the tumor was benign and able to be removed, and she’s been
able to lead a normal life.
Jonica decided to pursue her paramedic degree but after graduating about
10 years ago, there were no job openings in the ambulance department. She
pivoted and decided to take a job in Banner Wyoming Medical Center’s lab as
a phlebotomist and waited about 6 months for a paramedic job to open.
Today, she’s in nursing school.
“I really love the ambulance, but I don’t feel like this is the kind of job I can do
until I’m 65,” she said.
In her free time, Jonica loves just about anything outside, especially if there
is no cell service.
Meet Hong,
A humidity-loving, family-adoring, joyful-cooking laundry aide.
Hong Hatterman moved to Wyoming from Vietnam after she met and
married her Wyoming-born husband. His mother, Hong’s mother-in-law, is
also Vietnamese, which helped ease the big transition.
“The hardest thing was the weather,” she said. Even after 26 years, she says
she still misses the humidity in Vietnam.
She doesn’t have the opportunity to return to Vietnam very often, but the
family gets together to cook traditional food that feels like home, and she’s
able to instill some of her cultural traditions in her two children.
Hong came to work at the hospital and worked in housekeeping for two
years before transitioning to laundry, where she has spent more than 17
years. She said she has thought about going back to school to become a
nurse, but she loves people and the teamwork in the laundry department.
“When you’re happy with what you’re doing, time flies,” she said.
For more information on the faces behind Banner Wyoming Medical Center, and all of the services they provide, visit the Banner Wyoming Medical Center website or follow them on Facebook.
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A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.
One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.
Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.
“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”
The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”
The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.
It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.
The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.
Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”
Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”
The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.
SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.
Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”
Both bills go into effect July 1.
LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.
Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.
The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.
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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.
The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.
Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.
With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.
Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.
The 2026 Wyoming prep girls’ basketball season is nearly done. Two state champions were crowned in Classes 1A and 2A last Saturday. Southeast won the 1A title for the third consecutive season, and Sundance won the 2A title for the first time in eight years. Class 3A and 4A held their regional tournaments, which qualified teams for the state tournament later this week in Casper.
WYOPREPS WEEK 12 GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS 2026
These are the girls’ basketball team records for all games played through March 7, 2026. For all but 16 teams, this is the final record of the season. Those squads will play in the 3A-4A state tournament starting on Thursday in Casper.
1A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Burlington 24-5, 8-0
Riverside 14-10, 6-2
Dubois 11-10, 4-4
St. Stephens 3-16, 1-7
Meeteetse 1-20, 1-7
1A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cokeville 23-4, 10-0
Little Snake River 23-4, 8-2
Farson-Eden 16-12, 5-5
Saratoga 13-11, 5-5
Ft. Washakie 8-13, 2-8
Encampment 3-19, 0-10
1A Northeast: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Upton 16-7, 10-0
Kaycee 13-12, 7-3
Hulett 12-13, 7-3
Arvada-Clearmont 9-12, 4-6
Casper Christian 4-13, 2-8
Midwest 1-16, 0-10
1A Southeast: (Overall Record, followed by Reg. Season Points)
Southeast 24-5, 40 points
Lingle-Ft. Laramie 17-11, 31 points
Lusk 15-13, 26 points
H.E.M. 13-11, 24 points
Rock River 6-14, 12 points
Guernsey-Sunrise 2-18, 4 points
2A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Thermopolis 16-13, 5-1
Greybull 16-15, 4-2
Rocky Mountain 9-17, 2-4
Shoshoni 11-18, 1-5
2A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wyoming Indian 23-7, 6-0
Big Piney 8-16, 4-2
Kemmerer 2-21, 1-5
Wind River 2-23, 1-5
2A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Sundance 23-4, 5-0
Big Horn 21-6, 4-1
Tongue River 18-11, 3-2
Pine Bluffs 17-12, 2-3
Moorcroft 7-18, 1-4
Wright 3-23, 0-5
Read More Girls Basketball News from WyoPreps
WyoPreps 1A-2A Girls State Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps 3A-4A Girls Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026
WyoPreps 1A-2A Girls Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Poll 2-25-26
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3A West: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cody 24-0, 10-0
Lander 21-4, 9-1
Pinedale 20-5, 7-3
Powell 16-9, 6-4
Lovell 16-10, 4-6
Worland 9-16, 2-8
Lyman 10-11, 2-8
Mountain View 4-19, 0-10
3A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wheatland 22-4, 10-0
Buffalo 13-11, 8-2
Douglas 14-11, 6-4
Burns 16-13, 5-5
Torrington 10-11, 5-5
Glenrock 12-13, 3-7
Newcastle 1-22, 1-9
Rawlins 2-21, 0-10
4A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Green River 23-2, 6-0
Natrona County 9-16, 4-2
Kelly Walsh 8-15, 2-4
Rock Springs 5-20, 0-6
4A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Star Valley 16-7, 5-1
Evanston 16-10, 5-1
Riverton 7-19, 1-5
Jackson 3-19, 1-5
4A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cheyenne East 21-3, 11-1
Cheyenne Central 16-9, 10-2
Sheridan 14-10, 7-5
Thunder Basin 14-10, 6-6
Laramie 12-11, 6-6
Campbell County 1-19, 1-10
Cheyenne South 1-21, 0-11
*The second Campbell County-Cheyenne South girls’ game was canceled.
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Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Marcello Monterastelli Photography & Jared Newland, WHSAA
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