Wyoming

Opinion | Public land — land of the free — defines Wyoming

Published

9 months ago

June 25, 2025

Opinion | Public land — land of the free — defines Wyoming

I wasn’t born in Wyoming, but, as the old saying goes, “I got here as soon as I could.” For me, that was August of 1960 when my parents packed up the kids and headed west from St. Louis, a station-wagon version of Lewis and Clark. On our way home from the Pacific, we bent south, like William Clark, and found ourselves along his fork of the Yellowstone River in the Sunlight Basin. I was not quite 10 years old, and the North Absarokas were an obsidian-tipped arrow straight into my soul.

Up until that week, my idea of freedom was a hundred acres of timber along a creek that cut its way down a steep valley through the bluffs of the Mississippi, dove into a culvert under a four-lane highway, and found its way down the rip-rapped bank to join the Father of Waters. It was a marvelous place for a bunch of suburban kids — oak, hickory and wild cherry on the uplands, giant sycamore and soft maple along the creek, whose dappled waters trickled over limestone outcrops and lingered in gravel-bottomed pools — but it was a tiny spark of wildness in a landscape that had been thoroughly settled. Even the kids knew that.

If we left the creek and climbed up toward the ridges on either side, we ran into the back fences of suburban yards, carefully mowed and festooned with “No Trespassing” signs. Now and then, an irate householder would catch a glimpse of us in the woods and yell — we disappeared into the shadows like smoke.

So the water and timber and wildflowers and snowfields and peaks of the Shoshone National Forest were like a revelation of God to me. The family came back again and again over the next several years, and I was loosed with a flyrod, four Muddler Minnows and a smashed peanut butter sandwich to follow the creek as far as curiosity and gumption would take me.

After college, I settled down in the Midwest to start a family, but every summer, I was back for as long as the company could spare me, with a wife and two apple-cheeked little girls in tow, to taste the freedom we had somehow lost back east.

Then, I had a chance to come to Wyoming full time. The offer was exhilarating, but I thought it over before I accepted, not because of what the job entailed, but because of how I felt about the West. They say familiarity breeds contempt, or at least boredom, and I wondered whether the sage and mountains might lose some of their shine for me if they were always at the back door. I decided to take the chance.

That was 1983. In the years since, I’ve rambled around most of the state, from Devil’s Tower to the Bear River Divide, Jenny Lake to Vedauwoo. I’ve hunted, fished, canoed, hiked, photographed, picnicked and contemplated my navel, and I’m pleased — and relieved — to report that the big sky has never lost its shine for me. In fact, the love affair has deepened over time as I’ve come to appreciate the subtle charms of the sage as much as the flower-strewn meadows above timberline. It wasn’t until I moved to Wyoming that I experienced September and October here, arguably the best months of the year, not only in the West but anywhere.

All of this is set against the backdrop of public land. I own 34 of the BLM’s 1:100,000-scale maps covering Wyoming, 32 of the USGS quads, and an assortment of national park and forest maps on the side, all of them dog-eared and stained from days spent crammed into backpacks. I’m proud to say I’ve worn out two compasses, something that never could have happened behind the Midwest’s fences.

Wyoming is many things to many people. The boosters tout its minerals; the politicians brag on the rugged independence of its people. But, let me tell you: public land is what defines Wyoming. It’s why I came; it’s why I stay. I think I share that sentiment with many other residents.

You hang a “No Trespassing” sign on Wyoming, and it will be no different than Illinois, with a lot less rain and much longer winters. If all I have left is the view of the Tetons from a crowded parking lot and locked gates off every highway, I can think of better places to spend my time.

Back in the 1930s, America’s poet laureate, Archibald MacLeish, looked at the state of the nation and asked a penetrating question:

We wonder whether the great American dream
Was the singing of locusts out of the grass to the west and the
West is behind us now:
The west wind’s away from us
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We wonder if the liberty is done:
The dreaming is finished
Or if there’s something different men can dream
Or if there’s something different men can mean by
Liberty . . .
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Or if there’s liberty a man can mean that’s
Men: not land
We wonder
We don’t know
We’re asking
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I wonder whether there’s liberty a man can mean that’s men, not land. Here in Wyoming, I think there’s little doubt. Public land means my freedom.

Don’t you sell an inch of it.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

47 minutes ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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Wyoming

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

Published

13 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

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.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule – SweetwaterNOW

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule

Samuel “Tote” Harris. Photo from gowyo.com

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.

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