Latest news with #Wyofile
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Eulogy For A Wyoming School: Students, Staff Say Farewell to Laramie Lab School
This article was originally published in Wyofile. LARAMIE—The Lab School is a family affair for Corelle Lotzer. Not only did Lotzer enroll her daughter and son in the school, but she taught math here for over a decade. Her daughter, who thrived years ago as a student in the K-8 atmosphere, returned as an adult to work as a paraprofessional — just down the hall from her mom. Because Lotzer took a year off to take care of an aging aunt, she lost tenure. So when the closure of the 138-year-old school became official this winter, she did not receive a contract with the district to continue working at one of its other schools. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Lotzer, who was raised in Laramie, instead accepted a position at Cheyenne East High School. In early May, she was still trying to figure out the logistics involved with working in Cheyenne while her other, younger kids continue their education in Laramie. 'It's been tough,' Lotzer said in a second-story room in the Lab School. The shrieks and laughter of children at recess drifted in from an open window. 'I would have rather stayed in Albany County.' Lotzer is one of 11 Lab School teachers without tenure, Principal Brooke Fergon said. 'That's probably been the most difficult challenge, that our tenured teachers have been placed in other schools throughout the district, and our teachers who do not have tenure … were not initially placed in positions.' It's not the only pain point involved in closing a school that predates the state of Wyoming itself. Many people fought to keep the Lab School open, and the past year has been a rollercoaster of emotions for school staff, students and their families as hopes have been raised and dashed, Fergon said. The school, which sits on the University of Wyoming campus, started as an educational learning site for college students studying to be teachers. It's beloved for its experiential and outdoor-based approach to learning and emphasis on inclusivity. But the school's future was thrown in doubt last summer as the university and Albany County School District 1 hit a stalemate over a lease agreement. School advocates pleaded to keep it open by some means and floated ideas that didn't stick. The Lab School no longer served its former functions, university and district officials said, and issues from maintenance costs for the 75-year-old building to district-wide enrollment trends factored into closure talks. The final Hail Mary came during the Wyoming Legislature. A bipartisan bill sponsored by Laramie Democrat Chris Rothfuss would have required UW and a coordinating district to operate a K-8 public lab school. The bill passed out of the Senate, but House lawmakers killed it in February, and that was pretty much that for the Lab School. In the last year, Fergon said, 'I think we've really been sitting in a place of uncertainty, just with all of the different avenues that could have kept the school going, and so that did feel kind of like a final door closing.' And for her staff, she said, 'even though we're not happy to say goodbye to the school, and we didn't want to see the school close, I think that having some certainty and a path forward … feels better than just sitting in limbo.' With the school year ending Thursday, Lab School students will be saying goodbye to their classrooms and dispersing to other schools in the district. Some teachers will too, but others are starting new jobs or moving out of Laramie entirely. The school community spent the last couple of months bidding farewell, some with regret about how it ended. 'We love the school,' said Lindsey Rettler, a parent with two elementary students in Lab. Rettler was experiencing a mixture of emotions, she said in May. 'Surprise, a little bit of shock, really, really sad, super disappointed and honestly, quite betrayed by those who are supposed to be leading people based on what's best for the people.' The school was established in 1887 as the Preparatory School to serve secondary education students from counties without access to high school. In 1913, it transitioned to the Training Preparatory School, used as a learning laboratory by UW's College of Education. In 1999, the private school partnered with the Albany County School District to become a district public school. The Lab School then operated as a 'school of choice,' meaning any district family could enter a lottery to enroll their kids. College of Education students continued to train in its classrooms, but they also did so in classrooms across the district, state and beyond. Historically, UW and the school district operated with a memorandum of understanding laying out terms of tenancy. Efforts to renew that MOU, however, failed to produce an updated agreement. Instead, the university announced last summer it was pursuing an extension only for the 2024-'25 school year, meaning the school would have to find a new home if it was to continue beyond that. Among the major sticking points: whether the district or UW should pay for things like major maintenance in the aging building. UW also cited the fact that the school 'no longer serves a significant role for teacher training in UW's College of Education,' along with security challenges regarding having a school-district-operated facility located on university grounds; the Lab School's incongruence with the state's public funding model and the fact that the school district 'has excess capacity in its existing facilities to accommodate current Lab School students.' The Albany County School District Board of Trustees voted in December to close the Lab School after considering options to move it into another district building. Trustees expressed heartache but also a fiduciary obligation before making the decision. Concerned residents bemoaned the decision, and Albany County state lawmakers took notice. Sen. Rothfuss' bill was the product of that concern. The bill brought together strange bedfellows, with co-sponsors ranging from Freedom Caucus-aligned lawmakers like Ocean Andrew to Laramie Democrat Karlee Provenza. Both serve in the Wyoming House of Representatives. The issue raised questions about the state's role in local education and what constitutes a situation so exceptional that lawmakers should meddle. Lab School supporters argued its unique role as a teaching laboratory and its century-plus of education history made it a place worth saving. 'This legislation is not about saving a school,' Rep. Andrew, R-Laramie, said on the House floor on Feb. 28. 'It is about protecting a legacy and educating future generations of Wyoming teachers.' True local control reflects the wishes of the people in the community, he continued, 'and in this case, the overwhelming support for keeping the Lab School open has been ignored. The people of Wyoming, the parents and the students have spoken, and they have been met with indifference by those in power.' But others said the state should not interfere in a matter of local concern. 'This really feels like we're being asked to micromanage a local school,' said Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper. 'I don't think this is the proper role of the state legislature.' The body ultimately killed the measure on a 24-32 vote. With that, school staff began the work of transition, making plans with its 145 students to help them figure out transfer schools and options, Fergon said.. The school counselor even brought in a 'transition curriculum' to help students navigate and cope with the stress of such significant change. There was also a staff of roughly 20 teachers along with employees like janitors and paraprofessionals. Many say they are sad to leave a school community that felt like family. Some, like Fergon, are continuing to work in the district. She will be an assistant principal at another high school.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DOGE cuts miss Yellowstone as national parks open for spring
(NewsNation) — Staff at Yellowstone National Park have lucked out thus far despite the Trump administration's attempts to slash the workforce at America's national parks. About a week into the DOGE, or Department of Government Efficiency, takeover of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Yellowstone's staffing remains 'higher than last year,' a department spokesperson told Wyofile on Monday. The 2.2-million-acre park in northwestern Wyoming has seen a nearly 3% increase over the 2024 season. 'Going into this year, we should have a total of 769 NPS employees,' park spokeswoman Linda Veress confirmed. That is up from 748 permanent and seasonal workers last year, Wyofile reported. In 2021, the park's record year for visitors, that number totaled 693. 'Not going to be great out there': Experts have candid advice for national park visitors The numbers remain steady despite mass layoffs at the National Park Service in February. According to USA Today, about 1,000 park employees were cut in what critics have called the 'Valentine's Day massacre.' Another approximately 400 employees took federal buyouts. Some jobs were reinstated following heavy criticism of the move. At the time, the park service pledged to hire more than 7,000 seasonal workers. The layoffs took place as the park service's approximately 20,000 permanent, temporary and seasonal employees prepared for the parks' busy season. National Park Service restores some jobs of fired employees, pledges to hire 7,700 seasonal workers Yellowstone welcomed its first visitors of the season on Friday. Park Superintendent Cam Sholly told Wyofile that crews are working to clear snow from the remainder of the park's roads and that the ongoing opening of the park is on schedule. The park's opening weekend saw an 11% increase in visitors over last year, Sholly said. More than 8,300 vehicles entered through the two entrances opened thus far, putting the unofficial total of visitors at 21,642. 'We had an outstanding opening weekend, and it was great to see everyone enjoying the park,' Sholly said. National parks cutting hours, services amid federal layoffs The country's national parks could potentially see more layoffs as DOGE aims to shrink the federal workforce. Conservationists have become increasingly alarmed as Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum last week relinquished those tasks to an assistant secretary, Tyler Hassen. Earlier this year, Burgum appointed Hassen as assistant secretary for policy, management, and budget. In a recent Fox News appearance, however, Hassen was identified as a DOGE staffer working at the Interior Department, according to The Hill. Burgum gave the former oilfield executive authority to take 'all necessary actions' to consolidate, unify and optimize the department and its bureaus. That includes funding decisions, and Hassen is tasked with overseeing the 'transfer of funds, programs, records, and property, as well as taking required personnel actions.' The Washington Post reported Thursday that Trump officials are also contemplating removing federal protections from some national monuments in the western U.S., with a goal of using public lands to increase domestic energy development. Two sources with knowledge of the talks told the Post that six national monuments spread throughout Arizona, California, New Mexico and Utah could be involved. Those sites include Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon, Ironwood Forest, Chuckwalla, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republicans who back Trump get an earful at raucous town halls
Booing crowds, a man jabbing his finger and swearing -- it is not easy these days for some Republican members of Congress as they face their constituents in town halls dominated by rage over President Donald Trump's radical cost-cutting policies. And while Republican politicians risk running into loud and angry voters, Democratic lawmakers have found themselves getting berated in public for not doing enough to oppose Trump. The ill-tempered landscape reflects the level of polarization in the United States just two months into Trump's second presidency. At one such town hall gathering this month in Asheville, North Carolina, congressman Chuck Edwards was jeered by people demanding he explain his support for Trump, who has fired off multiple executive orders to shrink the federal government and axed legions of civil servants. At one point, a man in the crowd stood up, pointed his finger at Edwards and screamed, berating him over some of the many spending cuts Republicans plan to carry out in the coming months. "You're lying. I'm a veteran and you don't give a fuck about me. You don't get to take away our rights," the man yelled. Edwards signaled for security to escort him out of the meeting. In Wyoming, a conservative pro-Trump state in the West, Republican lawmaker Harriet Hageman also had a rough time as she met with constituents in her district. As people whistled at her and held up hostile signs, Hageman said she got the message. According to the local outlet Wyofile, one man at the meeting then said to her, "Fuck you! That's what we're saying." - 'Paid agitators' - In recent weeks, these town hall meetings -- meant for lawmakers in congressional recess to confer with the people who put them in office -- have become echo chambers of angst. They have emerged as a key way for Americans to express opposition to Trump as he also enacts his anti-immigrant, anti-trans, nationalist and right-wing agenda. At the start of his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump faced huge demonstrations against him. But this time around, since he returned to office America's streets have been relatively quiet. Trump has made clear he wants to move quickly and aggressively with all his executive orders, aimed among other things at gutting or even eliminating some departments altogether as part of a small-government, laissez-faire conservative theory of governance. So many town hall meetings are turning into anti-Trump shouting matches that Republican Party officials are telling their lawmakers to just stop holding them, US media have reported. On Sunday, Trump embraced a theory first advanced by his press team that people who speak out against him at these meetings are "agitators" paid by the Democrats. "The room was 'littered' with Radical Left Lunatics, mostly Democrats, and all they did was scream, shout and use filthy language. They were largely paid agitators, with fake signs and slogans, and were only there to make TROUBLE!" Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social, refering to the Edwards meeting. - 'Fighting oligarchy' - After Republicans put out the word to stop holding such meetings, Democrats swooped in to hold town halls of their own in Republican districts. "While Republicans continue to run and hide from their constituents, Democrats are stepping up and meeting them face to face to ensure they know it's Trump, Elon Musk and their MAGA minions in Congress making their lives harder," the Democratic National Committee said Monday, referring to Trump's ever-present billionaire advisor and the slogan "Make America Great Again." But Democrats are also facing angry constituents who complain their party has been too quiet and passive as Trump and Musk carry out what critics call a lawless rampage through the federal bureaucracy. "They should try actually fighting for once. They should try to actually be the opposition party," one man told CNN as he attended a town hall Friday called by Democratic congressman Sean Casten in Illinois. With so many people livid with the Democratic Party and its leaders, some on the American left are trying to step up and lead the opposition to Trump. Senator Bernie Sanders, 83, has embarked on a nationwide "fighting oligarchy tour." He has been joined by another prominent progressive, the much younger congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They have drawn tens of thousands of people eager to fight Trump and the Republican agenda. It remains to be seen if this opposition energy will eat away at Trump and help the Democrats in isolated special elections on April 1. rle/dw/mlm/cms/lb
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republicans who back Trump get an earful at raucous town halls
Booing crowds, a man jabbing his finger and swearing -- it is not easy these days for some Republican members of Congress as they face their constituents in town halls dominated by rage over President Donald Trump's radical cost-cutting policies. And while Republican politicians risk running into loud and angry voters, Democratic lawmakers have found themselves getting berated in public for not doing enough to oppose Trump. The ill-tempered landscape reflects the level of polarization in the United States just two months into Trump's second presidency. At one such town hall gathering this month in Asheville, North Carolina, congressman Chuck Edwards was jeered by people demanding he explain his support for Trump, who has fired off multiple executive orders to shrink the federal government and axed legions of civil servants. At one point, a man in the crowd stood up, pointed his finger at Edwards and screamed, berating him over some of the many spending cuts Republicans plan to carry out in the coming months. "You're lying. I'm a veteran and you don't give a fuck about me. You don't get to take away our rights," the man yelled. Edwards signaled for security to escort him out of the meeting. In Wyoming, a conservative pro-Trump state in the West, Republican lawmaker Harriet Hageman also had a rough time as she met with constituents in her district. As people whistled at her and held up hostile signs, Hageman said she got the message. According to the local outlet Wyofile, one man at the meeting then said to her, "Fuck you! That's what we're saying." - 'Paid agitators' - In recent weeks, these town hall meetings -- meant for lawmakers in congressional recess to confer with the people who put them in office -- have become echo chambers of angst. They have emerged as a key way for Americans to express opposition to Trump as he also enacts his anti-immigrant, anti-trans, nationalist and right-wing agenda. At the start of his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump faced huge demonstrations against him. But this time around, since he returned to office America's streets have been relatively quiet. Trump has made clear he wants to move quickly and aggressively with all his executive orders, aimed among other things at gutting or even eliminating some departments altogether as part of a small-government, laissez-faire conservative theory of governance. So many town hall meetings are turning into anti-Trump shouting matches that Republican Party officials are telling their lawmakers to just stop holding them, US media have reported. On Sunday, Trump embraced a theory first advanced by his press team that people who speak out against him at these meetings are "agitators" paid by the Democrats. "The room was 'littered' with Radical Left Lunatics, mostly Democrats, and all they did was scream, shout and use filthy language. They were largely paid agitators, with fake signs and slogans, and were only there to make TROUBLE!" Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social, refering to the Edwards meeting. - 'Fighting oligarchy' - After Republicans put out the word to stop holding such meetings, Democrats swooped in to hold town halls of their own in Republican districts. "While Republicans continue to run and hide from their constituents, Democrats are stepping up and meeting them face to face to ensure they know it's Trump, Elon Musk and their MAGA minions in Congress making their lives harder," the Democratic National Committee said Monday, referring to Trump's ever-present billionaire advisor and the slogan "Make America Great Again." But Democrats are also facing angry constituents who complain their party has been too quiet and passive as Trump and Musk carry out what critics call a lawless rampage through the federal bureaucracy. "They should try actually fighting for once. They should try to actually be the opposition party," one man told CNN as he attended a town hall Friday called by Democratic congressman Sean Casten in Illinois. With so many people livid with the Democratic Party and its leaders, some on the American left are trying to step up and lead the opposition to Trump. Senator Bernie Sanders, 83, has embarked on a nationwide "fighting oligarchy tour." He has been joined by another prominent progressive, the much younger congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They have drawn tens of thousands of people eager to fight Trump and the Republican agenda. It remains to be seen if this opposition energy will eat away at Trump and help the Democrats in isolated special elections on April 1. rle/dw/mlm/cms/lb
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A Bill That Would've Outlawed Running Over Wolves, Coyotes with Snowmachines Failed in Wyoming
Chasing and killing predators like wolves and coyotes with snowmachines remains legal in Wyoming even after some lawmakers tried twice to ban the practice Thursday. The two efforts, a bill called Taking of Predators on Private Lands and another an amendment to an anti-wildlife torture bill, failed largely because the agricultural community says running over carnivores with snowmachines is necessary to manage domestic livestock in the state's most-rural areas. National media and members of the public, on the other hand, are confusing the practice with hunting. 'I've talked to too many producers, particularly sheep produces, that say using snowmachines has become a tool for them,' says Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and retired sheep rancher. While efforts to ban running over wolves and coyotes with snowmachines have been proposed in past years, this was the first time it gained much traction. Southwest Wyoming Rep. Mike Schmid proposed the amendment and standalone bill in response to an incident last year in Daniel, Wyoming, where a man ran a wolf over with a snowmachine, duct taped its mouth shut, and paraded it around a local bar before shooting it. Backlash after photos and videos of the wolf were released was swift and fierce, with calls to boycott the state. Schmid said the ordeal was a 'black eye' on Wyoming, and prohibiting the ability to run wolves over would help that to heal. Other lawmakers disagreed, Wyofile first reported. The bill and amendment would have allowed people to run wolves and coyotes down with snowmachines on private land but not on public land. It's a distinction that Magagna says doesn't matter to the ranching community, who run livestock on a mixture of federal, state and private land. 'We need to move away from the concept that property line boundaries make a difference,' Magagna says. 'If you want to say you can run over a coyote on private land but in 200 feet it's on public land, that's not practical at all.' Running an animal over with a snowmachine — even if the animal is a predator like a coyote or wolf — is not fair chase, says Sabrina King, a hunter and lobbyist for the Wyoming Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. BHA's Wyoming board voted to support the bill to ban the practice. 'Our members found what happened in Daniel offensive and there was a lot of blowback to the sporting community' she says. '…We need to be sure on public land — whether it's a big game animal like elk or a carnivore like a wolf — that we treat animals with respect. And running them over with a snowmobile should not be allowed on public land.' She adds that the agricultural community cannot claim that property lines don't matter when chasing predators but do matter when hunters face trespassing violations if they touch private land while trying to access public land. 'If the boundaries exist for us then boundaries exist for them too,' she says. While the ability to run animals down with snowmobiles will still continue in Wyoming, a bill to prohibit torturing wildlife was passed out of the House and is now in the Senate. That bill, called simply Treatment of Animals, says that once a wild animal is in someone's possession, they are legally required to kill it quickly. Related: Activists Are Defining Hunters by One Wyoming Man Who Tortured a Wolf. What Are Actual Hunters Doing About It? The bill would prevent something like what happened in Daniel, says Magagna. The livestock lobbyist agrees that bringing a wounded wolf into a bar was 'horrible' and is a bad look for Wyoming. If the anti-torture bill passes and someone runs a wolf or coyote down with a snowmachine, they would be required to dispatch the creature. At that point, he says, the snowmachine is no different than any other method of hunting an animal, he says, adding, 'any tool has the potential to cause suffering to an animal.' But for King and others who testified in favor of the snowmachine amendment, the torture bill doesn't go far enough by still allowing an animal to be chased by a machine.
