I was the person at the town hall who asked about nonprofits. Senator Crum's answer was unsatisfactory, and he functionally used it to brag about raising money for the municipal bond for the high school. National, state, and local nonprofits are struggling right now, and in a state like Wyoming, nonprofits play a vital role in maintaining much of our social service infrastructure. The state cutting property taxes and the national government cutting direct grants and block grants to the state means funding is drying up for these organizations, which were government grantees. I hope they consider this when they continue to cut revenue, meaning even less government AND nonprofit assistance to the people who need it most.
I listened to his non-profit answer and what I discerned from his smug statement is that the non-profits he really cares about are being funded and supported by Federal and State actions. He has whole heartily backed religious based organizations and schools to get our tax dollars. His christian nationalist bent is evident if you look at his words and deeds.
Interesting about the bond as I wonder if his bank or the bank he sold out too benefited from his "fund raising'?
Senator Crum's opening remarks makes him seem like a reasonable person working on very important issues from Water Rights, Infrastructure, Rural Hospitals, Public Education as well as the Judiciary. He seemed knowledgeable on the issues and empathetic in his approach to legislating. However, when he started explaining his rationale for the votes he made, it was clear he was willing to back junk science and ignore overwhelming, fact based pleas of the community when casting his votes.
From my vantage point, It is pretty easy to see how the GOP will take our Public Lands Federally and distribute them to the State for dispersal within the next 4 years. It will happen fast and the sales job has begun. Senator Crum seems reasonable when he says that we should be able to swap lands to make better use, he is clearly showing he has no idea that Public Lands can already be sold or swapped, when all parties agree and it makes sense. Karlee makes this point with the Pilot Hill example. Maybe Senator Crum believes the talking points he has been given on this issue, but he is a pawn in the taking of our lands.
The GOP in Wyoming from top to bottom is backing the taking and distributing of our Wyoming Public lands in the next 4 years. Just consider, in two short years, Harriett Hageman could be controlling the Wyoming SLIB in charge of dispersing these lands according to the "will of the people".
Our Federal Delegation has developed an "excellent plan" for dismantling our Land Management Agencies while selling the idea that it's a "better use". Of course it's a lie. Senator Crum believes that drivel and will promote this lie just like the one he made for the repeal of gun free zones. Black and White my ass.
The least competitive district in Albany County is HD 45, which was custom made for Karlee
Provenza. She will never have to buy another yard sign.
Representative Provenza often mentions that everyone in Wyoming receives 33,000 dollars in
benefits. If you work that out, it is over 18 Billion dollars. If you are a state employee or
state pensioner you receive benefits from the state. Or if you send your kids to the government schools you receive benefits for that. But there are many people who receive very little
Hi Tom, thanks for commenting. Not looking to argue about your other points, but I want to defend my editorial decision to call House 46 the county's least competitive district. I think this can be defended with numbers.
Both Provenza (45) and Andrew (46) first got elected in 2020 and have each been reelected twice — which makes the comparison pretty easy.
- In House 45, Provenza won 52% of the vote in 2020, ran unopposed in 2022, and won 63% of the vote in 2024.
- In House 46, Andrew won 59% of the vote in 2020, 69% of the vote in 2022, and 69% of the vote in 2024.
With the exception of the year she ran unopposed, Provenza has consistently won with less of a margin than Andrew has.
To be fair, running unopposed and then winning 63% of the vote is a pretty safe track record for any politician. House 45 is simply not as competitive (right now) as House 14, for example. But I think it's fair to rank the safety of our districts, from safest to most competitive, as House 46 (Republican) > House 13 (Democrat) > House 45 (Democrat) > House 14 (Truly competitive; should be Republican but it's Sherwood).
There are different ways to slice the numbers but the reasoning above is why I called Ocean's neighborhood the least competitive.
I suspect you're just enjoying being rude, but I'll ask in good faith: What would you have liked me to ask? I think asking Provenza and Chestek about hospital pricing transparency was a hard question. I think asking Rothfuss why people shouldn't be allowed to defend themselves with firearms was a hard question. I genuinely wanted to ask questions that got our elected representatives explaining their rationale and responding to concerns. And most of the questions came from the public, not me. What would you have liked me to ask?
I attended the update the county assessor, clerk, and treasurer held at the fairgrounds. I think that it’s the county, not the city, benefitting from the wind energy development north of Rock River. The county gets the windmills property tax, not the city, so the property tax cut affects the county less than the city
Hi Susan, thanks for commenting. I haven't looked at the county's budget yet so I can't speak to the relative effect on each entity's bottom line. However, the city has explicitly said they are receiving wind money. I am not 100% sure how it works, but those sales and use taxes are funneled back to the city via the state. In 2024, the city began paving roads with wind money. This year, they will use it for infrastructure buildout as well.
I was the person at the town hall who asked about nonprofits. Senator Crum's answer was unsatisfactory, and he functionally used it to brag about raising money for the municipal bond for the high school. National, state, and local nonprofits are struggling right now, and in a state like Wyoming, nonprofits play a vital role in maintaining much of our social service infrastructure. The state cutting property taxes and the national government cutting direct grants and block grants to the state means funding is drying up for these organizations, which were government grantees. I hope they consider this when they continue to cut revenue, meaning even less government AND nonprofit assistance to the people who need it most.
I listened to his non-profit answer and what I discerned from his smug statement is that the non-profits he really cares about are being funded and supported by Federal and State actions. He has whole heartily backed religious based organizations and schools to get our tax dollars. His christian nationalist bent is evident if you look at his words and deeds.
Interesting about the bond as I wonder if his bank or the bank he sold out too benefited from his "fund raising'?
Senator Crum's opening remarks makes him seem like a reasonable person working on very important issues from Water Rights, Infrastructure, Rural Hospitals, Public Education as well as the Judiciary. He seemed knowledgeable on the issues and empathetic in his approach to legislating. However, when he started explaining his rationale for the votes he made, it was clear he was willing to back junk science and ignore overwhelming, fact based pleas of the community when casting his votes.
From my vantage point, It is pretty easy to see how the GOP will take our Public Lands Federally and distribute them to the State for dispersal within the next 4 years. It will happen fast and the sales job has begun. Senator Crum seems reasonable when he says that we should be able to swap lands to make better use, he is clearly showing he has no idea that Public Lands can already be sold or swapped, when all parties agree and it makes sense. Karlee makes this point with the Pilot Hill example. Maybe Senator Crum believes the talking points he has been given on this issue, but he is a pawn in the taking of our lands.
The GOP in Wyoming from top to bottom is backing the taking and distributing of our Wyoming Public lands in the next 4 years. Just consider, in two short years, Harriett Hageman could be controlling the Wyoming SLIB in charge of dispersing these lands according to the "will of the people".
Our Federal Delegation has developed an "excellent plan" for dismantling our Land Management Agencies while selling the idea that it's a "better use". Of course it's a lie. Senator Crum believes that drivel and will promote this lie just like the one he made for the repeal of gun free zones. Black and White my ass.
The least competitive district in Albany County is HD 45, which was custom made for Karlee
Provenza. She will never have to buy another yard sign.
Representative Provenza often mentions that everyone in Wyoming receives 33,000 dollars in
benefits. If you work that out, it is over 18 Billion dollars. If you are a state employee or
state pensioner you receive benefits from the state. Or if you send your kids to the government schools you receive benefits for that. But there are many people who receive very little
benefits from the state.
Hi Tom, thanks for commenting. Not looking to argue about your other points, but I want to defend my editorial decision to call House 46 the county's least competitive district. I think this can be defended with numbers.
Both Provenza (45) and Andrew (46) first got elected in 2020 and have each been reelected twice — which makes the comparison pretty easy.
- In House 45, Provenza won 52% of the vote in 2020, ran unopposed in 2022, and won 63% of the vote in 2024.
- In House 46, Andrew won 59% of the vote in 2020, 69% of the vote in 2022, and 69% of the vote in 2024.
With the exception of the year she ran unopposed, Provenza has consistently won with less of a margin than Andrew has.
To be fair, running unopposed and then winning 63% of the vote is a pretty safe track record for any politician. House 45 is simply not as competitive (right now) as House 14, for example. But I think it's fair to rank the safety of our districts, from safest to most competitive, as House 46 (Republican) > House 13 (Democrat) > House 45 (Democrat) > House 14 (Truly competitive; should be Republican but it's Sherwood).
There are different ways to slice the numbers but the reasoning above is why I called Ocean's neighborhood the least competitive.
Sorry Jeff. It's not all about numbers and percentages, there are other factors.
Provenza has no viable candidates in her district to run against her.
Ocean Andrew does.
It would have been difficult to find easier questions than you did to ask the panel.
Guess you don't want to emberass your friends with difficult questions.
Hi Tom,
I suspect you're just enjoying being rude, but I'll ask in good faith: What would you have liked me to ask? I think asking Provenza and Chestek about hospital pricing transparency was a hard question. I think asking Rothfuss why people shouldn't be allowed to defend themselves with firearms was a hard question. I genuinely wanted to ask questions that got our elected representatives explaining their rationale and responding to concerns. And most of the questions came from the public, not me. What would you have liked me to ask?
I attended the update the county assessor, clerk, and treasurer held at the fairgrounds. I think that it’s the county, not the city, benefitting from the wind energy development north of Rock River. The county gets the windmills property tax, not the city, so the property tax cut affects the county less than the city
Hi Susan, thanks for commenting. I haven't looked at the county's budget yet so I can't speak to the relative effect on each entity's bottom line. However, the city has explicitly said they are receiving wind money. I am not 100% sure how it works, but those sales and use taxes are funneled back to the city via the state. In 2024, the city began paving roads with wind money. This year, they will use it for infrastructure buildout as well.
2024: https://laramiereporter.substack.com/p/wind-development-paves-city-streets
2024, Part 2: https://laramiereporter.substack.com/p/city-councilors-approve-biennium
2025: https://laramiereporter.substack.com/p/city-supplemental-budget-tackles