JACKSON, Wyo. – Jackson Hole Public Art (JHPA) is proud to announce the
public installation of 250 Portraits, a community art project featuring self-portraits created and submitted by Wyoming residents from across the state. Launched in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary, the project invited Wyomingites of all ages and backgrounds to submit portraits of themselves or other Wyoming residents, resulting in a vibrant and deeply personal collection of artwork.

Portraits were submitted by artists ranging in age from 5 to over 80, representing residents from 16 of Wyoming’s 23 counties. Participants included individuals, families, school groups, and educators who worked with their students to take part. The result is a wide-ranging snapshot of the people who call Wyoming home, from young children just beginning to express themselves through art to lifelong residents reflecting on decades of experience and identity.

The portraits are now on display in five large-scale grid installations located throughout downtown Jackson. They can be found at the Center for the Arts, JH Book Trader, the Antler Inn, the alley at Pinky G’s, and the Jackson Hole Elks Lodge. The exhibition will remain on view throughout the summer, giving locals and visitors alike the opportunity to take in the full collection at their own pace.

The exhibit, 250 Portraits, was designed to highlight both individual identity and collective belonging, weaving together faces from communities large and small into a single, statewide visual portrait of Wyoming’s people. By placing the work in accessible, high-traffic locations in downtown Jackson, JHPA hopes to spark conversation among residents and visitors about what it means to be part of a community that spans such a wide and varied landscape.

A self-guided walking map is available to help visitors navigate between the five sites and experience other public art projects throughout Jackson. For more information and to access the 2026 Public Art Map, visit https://www.jhpublicart.org/art/2026map.

Pair your portrait with an audio story! Please consider adding your voice to another state-wide project celebrating the stories of everyday Wyomingites: Re-Storying the West.

All over Wyoming, there are little free libraries in neighborhoods for those who are looking for a new book. The process is simple. Take a book and leave one for others to experience.

READ MORE: Wyoming’s Little Libraries

We also have neighborhood food pantries for families in a pinch who need a little help. Again, the process is easy. Take a meal, and when you’re able, leave one for another family in need.

Travis Glasgow

 READ MORE: A New Local Neighborhood Food Pantry System in Wyoming

Several of the North Platte River’s access points have loaner life jackets. Once again, it’s simple. If you need a life jacket, take one, then return it to another access point for others who need it.

Bill Schwamle, Townsquare Media

READ MORE: Return The Loaner Life Jackets After You Use Them

These are fantastic programs across the state that show how much communities care about others. I found another program that I think would really fly here, and it’s already going strong in some places around the country, like Montana.

The process, just like these other programs, is simple but very effective. With Wyoming fisheries being so popular, these could help make it an even bigger global sensation.

Flybrary – Take a fly, leave a fly.

I saw this article on FlyLordsMag.com and thought it was fantastic.

Montana artist Brandi Massey is passionate about fly fishing, and she used her own experience of leaving her fly box at home when leaving for a fly fishing trip. After that experience, she remembered seeing a “Flybrary” on her social media timeline and decided to jump into action and do her own version of the “Flybrary” to ensure other fly fishing trips don’t get ruined because of not having any flies.

She had her dad build the box, got her permits, and put up her first “Flybrary” on the Blackfoot River, and has more in the works.

In the article, Brandi explained why she decided to do it.

I’ve been fly fishing since I could hold a fly pole in my hand. Always trying to catch more fish than my dad. I love the fly fishing community and this is a great way to stay connected to the community. I’m an artist and this is an amazing way to show a piece of myself to the world.

Have you ever seen a “Flybrary” out in the wild? LET ME KNOW HERE

The 22 Top Game Fish Of Wyoming

CASPER, Wyo. — Casper police believe they know the man who made an unfounded claim about possibly seeing a bomb at Banner-Wyoming Medical Center on the morning of May 19.

In that incident, 20 law enforcement officers responded and the Natrona County Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team did a floor-by-floor search, restricting non-emergency access to the hospital and roadways on the perimeter, according to Detective Andrew Hamilton’s report.

After the case was assigned, Hamilton listened to the recording of the 911 call, which came in at 4:11 a.m. that day. The caller stated, “Listen, I was there, and I think that someone has a bomb there. So I’m just calling in to tell you.”

Hamilton noted that the caller seemed out of breath.

Dispatch asked the caller where he was in the hospital. The caller said, “Just in the main part, anyways.”

The caller hung up after the next question.

Hospital security told Hamilton there hadn’t been any activity in the ER for the three hours prior to the report, and every other entrance would have been locked at that time.

The Casper-Natrona County Public Safety Communications Center logs showed the phone number had no subscriber service, but was still able to call out to 911. The GPS information said the call came from Evansville. Hamilton checked the area, but nothing was located.

The same number had reportedly called 911 eight days earlier, on May 11. That caller said it was accidental. He reportedly identified himself with the first name “Dylan” and confirmed his location to be in Bar Nunn.

A Natrona County Sheriff’s Office deputy went to the residence and contacted several people. One of them, 24-year-old New Mexico resident Caleb Jeremiah Bacallao, reportedly admitted that he’d accidentally called “and didn’t respond to officers because he did not like law enforcement,” the report said.

Hamilton listened to that call recording and noted a strong resemblance in the caller’s voice, as well as the use of “anyways” as a filler word.

Bacallao had no fixed address listed, and the people at the house in Bar Nunn said they’d told him not to come back after the May 11 incident. He was not located elsewhere.

Hamilton’s May 21 warrant request charges Bacallao with falsely reporting an emergency, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Bacallao has pleaded guilty in district court to a felony drug possession charge and two counts of theft over $1,000. In the second theft case, prosecutor Amanda Kirby told the judge Bacallao used a baby stroller to smuggle merchandise out of Walmart.

Bacallao has an agreement for probation in each felony case, with four to seven years suspended on one of them.

Public Defender Steve Mink said at the April 29 hearing that Bacallao had had his bond modified after getting accepted into Adult Drug Court. Part of his bond conditions were to work with the state corrections department on his presentence report and not violate the law.

Bacallao is presumed innocent of the false bomb tip unless found or pleading guilty.

The arrest warrant was issued on June 11.

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