Wyoming Rural Electric News February 2023

BASIN ELECTRIC

RELIABILITY

POWER YOU CAN ALWAYS DEPEND ON

At Basic Electric, we understand that life doesn’t stop when the going gets tough. No matter the season or storm our members face, reliable and affordable electricity for our members’ homes, schools, and businesses is our mission. We’ll do everything we can to keep fans running, the lights on, and the coffee brewing.

STORY BY KARLA OCEANAK COVER ART BY DAVID MERKLEY & DIXIE LIRA

THE WREN MAGAZINE MOVING FORWARD

Welcome to 2023! I realize that we’re already a month into the new year but want to wish you all a happy New Year regardless. If you read my December column you probably picked up on the fact that there are some rural electric cooperatives in Wyoming who have chosen to no longer provide the WREN to their member-owners moving forward. That is a decision by their boards and cooperative management and that is certainly their choice.

However, these decisions do have an impact on the rural electric cooperatives who have chosen to continue providing this publication to you, the owners of the cooperative. This got me thinking about the fact that maybe you like the magazine but you’re not sure why you’re getting it. I’m “borrowing” portions of the rest of my column from my counterparts in Montana and Nebraska who recently wrote about why their member-owners get the magazine and who pays for it, and it’s the same for all Wyoming REA memberowners who receive the WREN.

If you’re reading this then, for most of you, it is because you or someone in your household is a member of an electric cooperative. Your membership/ ownership in the cooperative exists because you’re buying electricity from your local co-op.

The WREN is the primary communications tool for most of our Wyoming REAs. It is produced by the Wyoming Rural Electric Association (WREA), a statewide association that represents all of the rural electric cooperatives in Wyoming regardless of whether or not they take the magazine.

The WREN strives to publish a mix of utility industry news important to you as well as rural Wyoming lifestyle stories, recipes, photos and poems that we know many of you enjoy. I’m proud to say that in 2022, the WREN received

numerous awards, including three for first place in their categories, voted on by the Wyoming Press Association.

All this is to say that you are getting this magazine because your rural electric cooperative has made the conscious decision that a) this is a quality publication that they hope their member-owners (you) enjoy and learn something from, and b) it is worth the nominal cost to the members in order to keep you informed of issues important to rural Wyoming, both in the industry and your communities.

The WREA has been exploring, along with our publishers of WREN, ways to reach those folks, usually of the younger generation, who may not know about WREN, or who don’t have time to read it or would maybe like to read it in a digital version. We currently publish the magazine on the WREA website, wyomingrea.org, but if anyone has ideas for how we can reach more member-owners, please do not hesitate to contact WREN Magazine at wren@wyomingrea.org.

One final note. We’ve implemented mailing list software to reduce the number of duplicate magazines you may receive. For example, in the past, if you are a member-owner who has multiple meters, you may have received multiple copies of the magazine. With this software we’re hoping to cut down on duplicate magazines and therefore reduce the costs to your local cooperative.

SHAWN TAYLOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

MELODY TURNER, MELODY MAE PHOTOGRAPHY TORRINGTON, WYOMING

THE WREN MAGAZINE WYOMING RURAL ELECTRIC NEWS

The official publication of the Wyoming Rural Electric Association

The WREN Magazine, Wyoming Rural Electric News, volume 69, number 1, February 2023 (ISSN 1098-2876) is published monthly except for January for $22 per year by Linden Press, Inc., Periodicals postage paid at Cheyenne, WY (original entry office) and at additional mailing offices.

WREN Magazine is owned and controlled by rural electric cooperatives in the interest of the economic progress of rural areas specifically and the entire population of Wyoming and the nation generally. WREN Magazine has a total average monthly paid circulation of 41,346 for 11 months ending September 2022.

WREN Magazine is delivered to rural electric member/ consumers and other subscribers throughout the entire state of Wyoming and the nation.

Acceptance of advertising by WREN Magazine does not imply endorsement of the product or services advertised by the publisher or Wyoming electric cooperatives.

WREN STAFF

Publisher: Linden Press, Inc.

— Editorial Team — Maggie York

Alison Quinn

— Design Team — Dixie Lira

David Merkley

Shawna Phillips

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

High West Energy, Pine Bluffs –Michael Lerwick, President Big Horn REC, Basin –John Joyce, Vice President

Wheatland REA, Wheatland –Sandra Hranchak, Secretary/Treasurer

Basin Electric, Bismarck, ND – Paul Baker

Bridger Valley Electric, Mountain View – Ruth Rees Carbon Power, Saratoga – Kenny Curry Garland Light & Power, Powell – Scott Smith

High Plains Power, Riverton – Brett Gardner

Lower Valley Energy, Afton – Scott Anderson

Niobrara Electric, Lusk – J.D. Wasserburger

Powder River Energy, Sundance – Mike Lohse Wyrulec Company, Torrington – TBD

Deseret Power, South Jordan, UT – Gary Nix

Tri-State G&T, Westminster, CO – Julie Kilty

SUBSCRIPTION RATES

$22 per year, Single copies $2 each

ADVERTISING

To purchase call (307) 996-6552.

OFFICE OF WREN OWNER 2312 Carey Ave., Cheyenne, WY 82001

SEND ADDRESS CHANGES AND CORRESPONDENCE TO PUBLISHER AT WREN Magazine • 214 West Lincolnway, Suite 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001, [307] 286-8140 wren@wyomingrea.org

POSTMASTER

— Send address changes to —

The WREN Magazine, Wyoming Rural Electric News, c/o Linden Press, Inc., 121 E Mountain Ave, Fort Collins, CO 80524, [970] 221-3232. Include 3-digit co-op code.

THERE’S A LITTLE COWBOY IN ALL OF US

YOUNG CREATIVES

UPGRADE YOUR HVAC AND SAVE

Looking to comfortably heat your home this winter while being more efficient, environmentally friendly, and still save money? Consider a high-efficiency heat pump!

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Modern cold climate heat pumps can heat homes efficiently down to -13°F and operate in sub-zero temeratures as low as -20°F.

+ IMPROVES YOUR HOME’S AIR QUALITY

Natural gas and propane furnaces generate heat by burning a mixture of fossil-fuel and air. Heat pumps don’t use combustible fuel to create heat which eliminates potential exposure to dangerous combustion byproducts such as carbon monoxide.

+ SAVES MONEY COMPARED TO ELECTRIC BASEBOARD HEAT OR PROPANE FURNACES

A heat pump can transfer up to 300% more energy than it consumes, compared to a high-efficiency gas furnace’s 95% rating. Because of this, electric heat pumps can also save substantially on fuel consumption. VISIT US AT www.tristate.coop/BE

Bad to the Bone

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The blade is full tang, meaning it doesn’t stop at the handle but extends to the length of the grip for the ultimate in strength. The blade is made from 420 surgical steel, famed for its sharpness and its resistance to corrosion.

The handle is made from genuine natural bone, and features decorative wood spacers and a hand-carved motif of two overlapping feathers— a reminder for you to respect and connect with the natural world. This fusion of substance and style can garner a high price tag out in the marketplace. In fact, we found full tang, stainless steel blades with bone handles in excess of $2,000. Well, that won’t cut it around here. We have mastered the hunt for the best deal, and in turn pass the spoils on to our customers. But we don’t stop there. While supplies last, we’ll include a pair of $99 8x21 power compact binoculars and a genuine leather sheath FREE when you purchase the Huntsman Blade

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Cody Hotline School T-Shirt Drawing Contest

IT’S TIME AGAIN FOR THIS YEAR’S DRAWING CONTEST FOR ELEMENTARY AGED KIDS.

Cody Hotline School is looking for drawings from elementary age children’s perspective, depicting line workers performing work safely. The first place winner receives $200 and their drawing is featured on the Cody Hotline School T-shirt. Second place winner will be awarded $100 and both the third and fourth place winners receive $50 each. Please draw your ideas of a person safely working on your electric lines and power poles. Use whatever drawing material you like. Write your name, address, age and phone number, as well as your service area or power supplier’s name on the back of your drawing. Drawings need to be received by March 15, 2023.

Mail drawings to Cody Hotline School LLC, PO Box 697 Lusk, WY 82225 or turn them in to your local electric cooperative.

Bridger Hatling won the 2022 T-shirt drawing contest.

Feature Film Introduces Five Wyoming Women Artists Nominated for National Exhibit

THE WYOMING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS HAS RELEASED AN INSPIRING FEATURE FILM.

This film announces five Wyoming artists nominated for the upcoming Women to Watch exhibit at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. The Wyoming artists featured in the film are talented women from across the state whose work spans various mediums and themes, from wood and metal work to painting, land art, photography, beadwork, dance and more.

The film explores each woman’s interpretation of the exhibit theme and how they use their unique artistic craft to showcase their own style and personal expression.

Wyoming curator, Dr. Tammi Hannawalt, was chosen by the NMWA to identify five women across the state of Wyoming whose work fits the exhibit theme, “New, Future, and Alternative Worlds.”

“We are so excited to showcase the outstanding artistic work being done by women here in Wyoming. With so much talent, it was extremely difficult to narrow the nominees to just five. The nominated artists represent both Wyoming and the theme of the exhibit incredibly well.” said Dr. Hannawalt.

In the film, the Wyoming Committee of the NWMA explores the unique power of women’s art and how the vast and windswept landscapes of Wyoming inspire powerful artistic expression that sparks connection across the entirety of our state.

“As women artists, a lot of the time our art isn’t seen, but it is totally worthy of being seen. This exhibition could show us how to come back to ourselves as human beings. I believe that women have a connection within ourselves of creating life instead of destroying life,” artist Sarah Ortegon explains in the film.

One of these five Wyoming Women to Watch will be selected by the NMWA to be featured in the Women to Watch exhibit.

The exhibit will garner national attention and create visibility for the hard work and passionate art created by Wyoming women that typically goes unseen.

Watch the film at wynmwa.org/film.

For more information about the film, the five nominated artists, or to request an interview, please contact info@wynmwa.org.

For information on donating through the Wyoming Women’s Foundation to the Wyoming Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts to support work that uplifts Wyoming’s women artists, please visit wynmwa.org

The Wyoming Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts is pleased to formally announce the five Wyoming Women to Watch! Each nominee featured in the Wyoming Women to Watch film tells a powerful story using their art, explaining how they are inspired by the gorgeous, untamed state of Wyoming.

KATY ANN FOX

PAINTER | TETON VALLEY katyannfox.com

Focusing on oil painting, Katy Ann Fox uses the western, windblown mountains and sunlight to help depict the emotion and style found in her work. Her oil paintings focus on texture and harmony as she hopes to evoke feelings of peace, optimism, modesty and respect from the viewer.

LEAH HARDY

METALSMITH | LARAMIE leahmhardy.com

Leah Hardy employs insect-inspired forms which become metaphors for the present human condition using fragmented, re-contextualized or altered mechanical elements. Leah’s pieces are created to reference the human’s fascination with immortality and desire with the underlying aim to connect, communicate and gain insight.

BRONWYN MINTON

MIXED MEDIA | JACKSON HOLE bronwynminton.com

A multi-disciplined artist, Bronwyn Minton works with notions related to human interaction with the natural world. Using mixed media including drawing, animation, photography, sculpture, clay, printmaking and interactive installations, Bronwyn’s art is inclusive of scientific observation, physical involvement and cultural experience.

SARAH ORTEGON

PAINTING, BEADWORK, PERFORMANCE | WIND RIVER RESERVATION sarahortegon.com

Channeling her passion as a Northern Arapahoe woman, Sarah Ortegon believes her artwork is a way to connect to the original ways of indigenous people while also moving forward through healing, movement, community gatherings and teachings. At the heart of Sarah’s art, one will find her appreciation for Mother Earth and dedication to her heritage.

JENNIFER RIFE

LAND ART INSTALLATIONS | CHEYENNE artinthemiddleofnowhere.com

Highly influenced and inspired by the land and features of Wyoming, Jennifer Rife creates brief moments on alternate realities with her land art installations and a “middle of nowhere” state of mind. Jennifer’s pieces symbolize the resources we, as humans, extract from the earth and the scars we leave on the land.

Introducing the world’s lightest mobility scooter with anti-tip technology

Like millions of older Americans, I struggle with mobility. For years, I watched my quality of life slip away, as I was forced to stay home while friends and family took part in activities I’d once enjoyed. I thought I’d made some progress when I got a mobility scooter, but then I realized how hard it was to transport. Taking it apart and putting it back together was like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Once I had it disassembled, I had to try to put all of the pieces in the trunk of a car, go to wherever I was going, and repeat the process in reverse. Travel scooters were easier to transport, but they were uncomfortable and scary to drive, I always felt like I was ready to tip over. Then I found the So LiteTM Scooter. Now there’s nothing that can hold me back.

Years of work by innovative engineers have resulted in a scooter that’s designed with seniors in mind. They created Electronic Stability Control (ESC) that makes it virtually impossible to tip over. If you try to turn too quickly, the scooter automatically slows down to prevent it from tipping over. The battery provides powerful energy at a fraction of the weight of most batteries. With its rugged yet lightweight aluminum frame, the So LiteTM Scooter is the most portable scooter ever—but it can hold up to 275 pounds—yet weighs only 40.8 pounds without the battery!

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THE NEW FRONTIERS OF WYOMING ENERGY

BY KARLA OCEANAK

INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Wyoming has been an energy firebrand from day one. In 1882, while Thomas Edison was busy building the world’s first power station in New York, the leaders of Cheyenne, population 8,000, were already forming the Brush-Swan Electric Light Company to bring carbon-arc street lighting to the capital city.

y 1884, Brush-Swan’s dynamo spent its daytime hours charging cast-plate storage batteries. Before dusk, the batteries were delivered by wagon to dozens of homes, slid under their porches and hooked up to their new wiring. When almost every house in the country was still lit by candle, the interiors of many Cheyenne residences glowed bright with incandescent light. This same spirit of innovation is driving Wyoming’s energy future today. To be sure, it’s a future in flux. People the world over are using more and more energy each year while simultaneously legislating the rapid elimination of climatealtering carbon emissions.

Which means that just as it was in the Wild West era we revere, it’s once again a time of gambits, upheavals and opportunities.

Now, though, we’re not newcomers. As a state, Wyoming is an established energy powerhouse. “We’re one of the largest net exporters of energy, and we want to stay that way,” said Randall Luthi, Chief Energy Advisor to Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. “To do that, we have to consider all the forms of energy that Wyoming can provide. As the Governor likes to say, we’re an all-of-the-above state.”

Todd Telesz, CEO of Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Wyoming Rural Electric Association’s main power supplier in the Powder River Basin, echoes the broad-based strategy. “Our diversified energy portfolio gives us the flexibility to maintain reliability with our dispatchables

like coal,” he said, “while also being able to capture the benefits that nondispatchable resources like renewables can bring, keeping our electricity reliable, affordable and responsible.”

At the University of Wyoming, the School of Energy Resources funds 11 Research Centers of Excellence dedicated to galvanizing innovation in the state across energy sectors. “We’re helping set up our research to offer solutions,” said SER Executive Director Holly Krutka. “And we’re ensuring our students have diverse training.”

“Wyoming is on the cutting edge of energy development and will be a key player,” said Paul Kjellander, former President of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission and current energy consultant. “The nation has a tremendous opportunity to learn from what is happening in Wyoming.”

ENERGY FUTURE

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE GAME-CHANGING POSSIBILITIES NOW BEING INVESTIGATED AND DEPLOYED TO HELP BUILD WYOMING’S ENERGY FUTURE.

WYOMING HAS BEEN THE TOP COAL-PRODUCING STATE SINCE 1986

NEW PLANT SLATED TO COME ONLINE

BY 2030

INNOVATIONS &

COAL AND CARBON NUCLEAR

Wyoming has been the top coal-producing state since 1986. UW’s Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion is working to develop viable technologies that would allow power plants to continue to burn coal while capturing the CO2 byproduct. At Wyoming’s Integrated Test Center at Dry Fork Power Station north of Gillette, researchers are testing Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) using 20 megawatts of coal-derived flue gas. In addition to innovating permanent flue-gas storage at the ITC’s CarbonSAFE wells two miles underground, they’re studying how flue gas might be used to make other products. “Carbon innovations have the potential to extend the life of coal,” said WREA Executive Director Shawn Taylor.

Watch for further CCUS innovations that will flow from the substantial incentives now in place. For example, Elon Musk and his foundation are offering $100 million in XPRIZE money to organizations that can demonstrate CO2 removal at large scale by 2025. And in 2022, the federal government rolled out billions of dollars in funding to support carbon-capture initiatives of all kinds. As we speak, plans are underway to build the largest carbon-capture facilities in the world in southwest Wyoming. Dubbed Project Bison, the system is expected to start operations later this year.

A Kemmerer coal plant retiring in 2025 will be home to a $4 billion advanced nuclear power demonstration site—Wyoming’s first foray into nuclear power generation. The technology carries the brand name Natrium, Latin for “salt.” That’s because it contains a sodium-cooled fast reactor and a molten salt-based energy storage system. TerraPower and GE Hitachi have partnered to build the plant, now slated to come online by 2030.

“Natrium is a proven technology,” Kjellander said. “This will be TerraPower’s first Natrium site in the real world, but the technology has been tested for years. If the demonstration site works, it could be a template for other facilities.”

The Kemmerer Natrium plant is designed to be much safer, cheaper and more efficient than large-scale nuclear. A typical nuclear power plant can generate a gigawatt of power. The Natrium plant will produce about a third of that.

In addition to mid-scale nuclear like the Natrium plant, micro nuclear reactors are also on the horizon, said Kjellander. They might typically be used to generate just 1 to 15% of the energy the Natrium plant will produce. They will be portable—“think box cars”— so they can be placed wherever needed, and so safe that their safety planning zone would end at the property’s fence line. Similarly, industrial-scale nuclear batteries the size of buses, made from TRISO fuel (which is safer and won’t melt in a reactor), are being developed to supply power to industrial sites and microgrids.

FIRST IN THE NATION IN WIND

NATURAL GAS RESERVES IN THE COUNTRY

THE MOST ABUNDANT CHEMICAL ELEMENT IN THE UNIVERSE

OPPORTUNITIES

WIND NATURAL GAS HYDROGEN

Wyoming ranks first in the nation in wind potential, with the highest site rankings for wind speed and power-generation potential. Just in the last three years, wind power generated in the state has more than doubled, producing 19% of the state’s electric generation in 2021. Several additional large wind projects are under development or construction, including new transmission lines to carry the wind power to other states.

In support of the state’s natural wind resources, UW’s Wind Energy Research Center is studying the complexities of wind-energy storage and transmission as well as the advancement of windturbine science and systems. What’s more, 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) earmarks $9.7 billion to help rural electric cooperatives make the transition to renewable energy sources.

Wyoming is home to some of the largest natural gas reserves in the country. UW’s Center for Air Quality is helping develop more accurate tools to measure emissions and minimize airquality impacts.

“We’ve done a lot of work on methane emissions to develop more responsibly sourced gas,” Krutka said. “Wyoming has the lowest-emitting natural gas in

Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element in the universe. It can be extracted using either fossil or renewable fuels, and it can be used to generate electricity as well as fuel transportation and more. Pure hydrogen is produced by using electricity to separate out the hydrogen—the “H” in H2O—from water molecules. When you burn hydrogen, you create energy but no CO2. The only byproduct is clean water.

Wyoming’s vision is to lead the region in the low-carbon hydrogen economy. Stakeholders from the Wyoming Energy Authority, UW’s Hydrogen Energy Research Center, the private sector, state and local governments, and other organizations are actively working together to plan the needed production infrastructure, supply chains, markets and delivery channels.

“If we can figure out how to create and store hydrogen fuel affordably, we’ll have the reliability we need without the carbon emissions,” said Duane Highley, CEO of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which serves eight of WREA’s 11 rural electric cooperatives. He predicts hydrogen power may be available at utility scale by the mid-2030s.

FUSION AND BEYOND

No matter how the ever-evolving energy mix of the future unfolds, Wyoming intends to remain in the vanguard.

In September 2022, Wyoming U.S. Senator John Barrasso, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, spoke at a committee hearing. The topic? The holy grail of energy sources—nuclear fusion— which could produce unlimited clean energy.

“There is an old saying about fusion,” Barrasso said. “’It’s 30 years away and always will be.’ I believe that’s no longer the case. Innovators are working to move us beyond science. They are working to demonstrate fusion energy.”

Two months later, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California, did just that. Their fusion reactor produced more energy than was used to trigger the reaction.

So if you’re among those interested in what Wyoming’s energy future will bring, buckle up. It’s going to be a wild ride. W

WYOMING MINERALS AND METALS FOR THE

NEW ENERGY ECONOMY

Coal isn’t the only extractable resource that may play a significant role in Wyoming’s energy future.

Nuclear energy will likely grow in demand, and Wyoming mines the most uranium in the United States. The special fuel needed for the Natrium power plant is called HALEU, or high assay low enriched uranium. Unfortunately, only one company currently sells it—and it’s in Russia—which means that new suppliers are needed, potentially in the United States.

Industrial minerals and rare earth elements such as Wyoming’s bentonite and trona are also used in the production of energy-sector components such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Coal bottom ash may be a viable source of rare earth minerals as well.

A University of Wyoming alum, Karla Oceanak lives and writes in Fort Collins.

You can’t always lie down in bed and sleep. Heartburn, cardiac problems, hip or back aches – and dozens of other ailments and worries. Those are the nights you’d give anything for a comfortable chair to sleep in: one that reclines to exactly the right degree, raises your feet and legs just where you want them, supports your head and shoulders properly, and operates at the touch of a button.

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PLANTS AS PARENTS

This year the Kids’ Corner will focus on how wild organisms protect and nurture their offspring. Think bear, bird or bumble bee. But plants? Yep. Plants, too, provide resources and opportunities for their offspring to survive and thrive!

FREE-RANGE PARENTING

BORN READY

Oaks send their babies into the world surrounded by large amounts of food. An acorn is a neat package of protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, enclosed in a tough, protective shell. What’s more, the package is designed to prevent germination before the time is right. The acorns of bur oak, the only oak tree native to Wyoming, must experience winter before germination can begin. Then, the energy in the prepackaged meal allows the infant oak to develop strong roots and shoot before it must take on the task of making its own food.

Mountain mahoganies (we have two species in Wyoming) provide their offspring with tools that enable them to plant themselves! Their fruits have a long, curled, feather-like appendage at one end, which causes it to land on the ground with the heavy, sharptipped end down. Then, with changing air moisture and precipitation, the appendage uncurls and curls again, drilling the seed into the soil where it can safely germinate.

ATTACHMENT PARENTING

American licorice is one of many plants that send their offspring off to explore for new territory, thus avoiding competition with their mom and dad. Licorice fruit are like small peapods, but covered with hooked bristles that stick to any animal that walks by. Eventually they fall off, or are removed by the animal host, to release their seeds in a new place. Dandelions also equip their offspring for travel—but by the much more benign method of wind dispersal.

A few plants keep their youngsters very close to home— nurturing them on the mother plant until they are ready to live on their own. This mode of child-rearing is most frequent in stressful habitats, but is never common: Wyoming’s few examples live at high elevations. Alpine meadow-grass is able to produce plantlets instead of seeds. The plantlets are “fed” by the parent plant until fall, then the tiny plantlets find themselves in contact with the ground where they put down roots. Alpine bistort commonly replaces some of its flowers with bulbils. The bulbils develop into new plants, often producing their first leaf while still attached to the mother plant.

THESE AND MANY OTHER STRATEGIES ENSURE THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A NEW GENERATION OF PLANTS!

Frozen

BY DR. BRUCE CONNALLY

“I need to bring a heifer in.” Billy’s voice sounded tired on the phone. “She calved last night and prolapsed. The roads are slick here in Crowheart so it will be at least an hour.”

We will be ready when you get here,” I replied.

A prolapsed, or everted, uterus is a complication that can happen after a difficult birth. Putting that slippery, 50-pound organ back where it belongs is sort of like mud wrestling with a pig, with blood and mucus instead of mud. Diane prepared the large animal treatment room for the cow while I treated a beautiful Golden Retriever for an ear infection and a standard poodle with a cough. The rattle of a stock trailer announced the arrival of our cow.

Billy deftly backed the trailer into the unloading area. I peered into the trailer to evaluate my patient. BANG! I jumped back as the cow hit the side of the trailer with her head.

“She’s not happy.” Billy was pulling on his coat as he walked toward me. “I found her last night just before dark. She hit my horse when I tried to bring her in. Ended up roping her

and tying her to a fence. She was still mad when I got to her with the trailer this morning. Had to use my horse to drag her into the trailer. Not sure how she is still alive. It was 35 below overnight.”

The trailer shook as the cow tried to force the back door open.

“She is still alive,” I observed. “Let’s get her inside where we can work on her.”

The rattle of a stock trailer announced the arrival of our cow.

“The rope is still on her. We may need it to slow her down,” Billy recommended as she banged on the trailer once again. It did not take long to get her into the clinic. She was in a hurry and trying to run over anybody who got in the way. Once she was safely restrained, I had a chance to examine that uterus. Instead of being warm and slimy, it was frozen hard as a rock.

“I do not know how this cow is alive! She should have died of shock,” I marveled. “But now how do I fix her? We can’t put that back inside her and I have never amputated a frozen uterus.”

“I probably should’ve just shot her when I found her,” Billy said. “But she was trying to live so I thought I would give her a chance. Do what you can Doc. I have to go home and feed the rest of the cows.”

Billy drove off while Diane and I prepped for surgery. She opened two sterile surgical packs as I sedated the cow. Then I donned sterile gloves and began to plan for the surgery. This was not something I learned in school. The anatomy was unrecognizable because the whole uterus was turned inside out like a sock you took off. And it was frozen! I cut through the frozen material to expose healthy tissue filled with veins and arteries. Some I could identify and clamp before cutting them. Others sprayed blood as my scalpel found them.

“I need more clamps, Diane.” She was already opening another pack of sterile instruments.

“There are only two more packs of instruments in the whole clinic,” Diane advised me tersely.

“Well, you had better open them,” I said as I clamped a bleeder that had sprayed red drops on my glasses. “I am probably not much more than halfway through.”

After 45 minutes the frozen uterus was nearly separated from the heifer. Bleeding was controlled and she appeared stable. Maybe we were going to save this tough young cow. I made another cut with the scalpel, exposing another blood vessel. As I clamped and ligated the bleeder the weight of the frozen uterus was too much for the remaining tissue. The uterus hit the floor and the vagina that had been supporting it inverted back into the cow.

“Sh**!” I exclaimed. My surgical field was gone. The back of the heifer looked normal for the first time, but had I ligated all of the major vessels? Were the sutures I had placed able to control the bleeding during the rapid repositioning of the vagina?

“Was that bad?” Diane asked, looking at the frozen uterus on the floor.

“I don’t know,” I replied, staring at the cow. “I don’t know if she is bleeding internally and I can’t stop it if she is. We just wait and see.”

The heifer was not that patient. She began rattling the chute to get free. There was no reason to keep her inside, so we opened the door and released her into a small corral. I held my breath as she pushed on the gate, looking for a way to escape. But all of the activity had apparently not torn any blood vessels loose.

I felt some trepidation the next morning as I drove into the clinic. The heifer had been eating hay when we left but worries of internal bleeding had permeated my sleep. I eased up to the solid wood wall

“Dang!” I leapt back with a mixture of fear and joy.

She was alive!

on the side of the corral and peaked over. BANG! The heifer hit the wall with her head, demonstrating her displeasure with my intrusion.

“Dang!” I leapt back with a mixture of fear and joy. She was alive!

Billy seemed pleased when I called but told me he couldn’t get down to pick her up for a couple days. He showed up just before noon Friday morning.

“We have been dosing her with antibiotics each day.” I said, handing Billy a 250 cc bottle of penicillin. “She doesn’t like it much but she needs it for a few more days.”

The cow charged into the front of the trailer as Billy slammed the gate behind her. I felt relief and satisfaction watching the trailer disappear down Tweed Lane.

Spring was well on the way to becoming summer before I talked to Billy again. He brought a horse into the clinic with a laceration on a front leg.

“So, how did that heifer do?” I asked as I knelt down to evaluate the laceration.

“That was the darndest thing,” Billy responded. “I got her home but she was too wild to treat with the antibiotics. After two days I gave up and turned her out with the herd. She always stayed far away from the tractor when I fed but she gained weight and was doing well. Then in late March she went out on the pond, fell through the ice, and drowned.”

“No!” I felt like I had been punched in the gut. “We tried so hard!”

As I stood there grappling with disappointment and failure, the pragmatic older rancher gave a young veterinarian a life lesson I have never forgotten.

“Son,” he said, looking me in the eye. “No matter how hard you try, you can’t save them all.” W

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Dr. Bruce Connally practices equine medicine in central Wyoming and northern Colorado from his home in Berthoud, Colorado.

WYOMING COWBOY HALL OF FAME CO-OP SPOTLIGHT

For the 2023 editorial year, Wyoming Rural Electric News is proud to feature Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame 2022 inductees in the Co-op Spotlight section. These cowboys and cowgirls share a common history as individuals who broke the first trails and introduced the cowboy culture to this state. We know you’ll be surprised by some of the stories we collect as we travel around our member cooperative territories interviewing hall-of-famers. For more information visit wyomingcowboyhalloffame.org.

Nominations for the 2023 Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame are being accepted through February 28, 2023. If a WREN reader wants to nominate someone, you can locate the form at wyomingcowboyhalloffame.org/inductee-nomination or email Candy Moulton at wchfassistant@gmail.com. The ceremony for 2023 inductees will take place mid-September in Casper.

Patience and Genetics Work

CHRIS RENNER DID MORE THAN JUST RAISE CATTLE

Chris Renner grew up on a ranch near Meeteetse where he learned hard work and patience, which included implementing artificial insemination (AI) on his own ranch years later, creating a breed of cow that proved hardy and prize worthy.

BY GAYLE M. IRWIN

Chris attending a branding around 1970.

Itried about every breed of cattle there was,” Chris said. “I finally ended up with a Salers-Angus cross – I really did well with those. It took a good 40 to 45 years to make a good herd. My biggest joy was working with genetics on the cattle. I didn’t just raise cattle – I tried to figure them out. My son and I AI’d the cattle in the spring.” His young stock won awards.

“We had one of the best cow herds in this area at one time,” Chris said. “We got quality beef out of them. We were selling a lot of show calves out of them, too. We had seven grand champions in one year.”

“I have a lot of memories of my dad on the ranch,” said his daughter Bobbi Renner Bronnenberg. “From a personal standpoint, my favorite time with Dad was riding at sunrise on a warm late spring morning. The horses were excited to go; the saddles were comfortable because they were warm; and the smells of sagebrush and pine were amazing.”

Bobbi nominated her father for the Wyoming Cowboy Hall of Fame (WCHF). His induction into the WCHF took place in Cheyenne in September 2022, said Candy Moulton, executive director of the organization.

“It was kind of neat,” Chris said of last year’s ceremony. “When you have a bunch of cowboys running around, it’s always pretty neat.”

Son of Clifton Adison (C.A.) Renner and Grayce (Fehyl) Renner, Chris grew up on a ranch along Gooseberry Creek known as the CA Renner Ranch. The family also acquired acreage near Sheets Flat, roughly 18 miles out of Meeteetse, partway between that community and Burlington. They developed a large farm in order to feed cattle in the winter. Not only did he raise hundreds of cattle, but he also put up 4,000 tons of hay.

“If everybody else was feeding 20 pounds of hay, we were feeding 40 pounds because we wanted our cows in good shape,” he said. “Plus, I was raising 200 acres of oats – we fed

our replacement heifers oats and hay all winter. They had big, stout, heavy calves!”

He completed high school in 1963 and began ranching full time with his father and his brother, Paddy. In 1965, Chris married Barbara Perkins, and the couple also began raising registered quarter horses.

“When my wife and I got married, she had two mares her father had given to her, and I had a JB King stud horse,” Chris recalled. “We bred them, and we ended up with a herd of about 30 or 35.” Chris and Paddy worked their childhood ranch together after C.A.’s passing; they split the holdings into two operations. Chris named his Hairpin Cattle Company. He said he learned not only from his father, but also others, including Curtis and Ralph Larsen, his father-in-law Gerald Perkins and his uncle Tuff Renner.

“They were my mentors – I learned about horses, cattle and how a ranch was supposed to operate,” he said. “Ranching is hard work … but I learned all kinds of things.”

“My dad was very independent … and he was a problem-solver,” Bobbi said. “Dad was very patient with horses, cattle and kids. He would emphasize the importance of slowing down when working cattle or training a horse. He was quick to remind us not to rush Mother Nature when waiting on a cow to calve or a newborn calf to get up and nurse.”

Chris chose to stay on the family ranch because he knew the life well.

“When you’re old enough to either get on a horse or grab a shovel and dig a posthole, or irrigate or something like that, when your dad told you to, that’s what you did,” he said.

He recalled a few childhood memories, including reading by lantern light.

“We got electricity at the ranch in 1951. Matter of fact, we were right next to an oil company – they were on our property. They brought natural gas in to us a year or two before the electricity came.”

Today, Big Horn REA serves more than 3,900 meters across 1,300 miles of line, covering five Wyoming counties, Big Horn, Washakie, Park, Sheridan and Johnson, plus two Montana counties, Big Horn and Carbon. Their service includes the communities and the farms and ranches in these areas.

“Big Horn strives to provide reliable power with excellent service,” said Jeff Umphlett, Big Horn REA general manager. “By providing electric service to the farms and ranches and other accounts using electric service, Big Horn is fulfilling its mission of providing a valued service which helps our membership enjoy a high quality of life and adds value to our members’ products and services.”

Chris finds that quality of life on his ranch. He now leases most of the Meeteetse area property while he and Barbara live at the house.

“It’s a unique piece of property,” he said. “There’s quite a bit of wildlife on it. My nearest neighbor is five miles away.”

Peaceful beauty, strong memories, and pride and love for family envelope Chris’s life. In her WCHF nomination, Bobbi wrote, “If Chris’s life is measured by the love of his family, the number of friends he has, the quality of the cattle and horses he has raised, then he has done very well.”

Chris said, “Being able to work with the family and with those mentors … that was the best thing that happened to me.” W

Gayle M. Irwin is a freelance writer based in Casper.

5 OZ FRESH GINGER, UNPEELED AND THINLY SLICED

1 CUP SUGAR

3/4 CUP WATER

1/8 TSP SALT

1 1/2 CUPS (12 OZ) BOURBON

CITRUS

1 ENVELOPE UNFLAVORED GELATIN

1 1/2 CUPS SPARKLING

3 CUPS FRESH ORANGE JUICE (ABOUT 10 ORANGES)

MINERAL WATER

3/4 CUP FRESH LEMON JUICE (ABOUT 6 LEMONS)

ORANGE SLICES

Combine ginger, sugar, water and salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a small bowl, discarding the solids. Combine orange juice, bourbon, sparkling water, lemon juice, ginger syrup and orange slices in a large punch bowl or pitcher. Stir to combine and serve over ice. Serves 10 unless you like bourbon a lot. This recipe uses our own home-grown grapefruit, oranges and lemons.

MARYANNE SMITH TORRINGTON

1/4 CUP COLD WATER

8 OZ CREAM CHEESE

3 TBS SUGAR

1 CUP MILK

1/2 CUP BOILING WATER

1 6 OZ CAN FROZEN LEMONADE, THAWED

1 QT STRAWBERRIES

Soften gelatin in cold water, then dissolve in boiling water. In a blender combine cream cheese, sugar and milk. Add cooled gelatin to cream cheese mixture. Add lemonade and blend. Pour into 1-quart mold and refrigerate until jelled. Unmold and fill center with strawberries.

JANET COLE LAKE SUNDANCE

1 CUP BUTTER OR MARGARINE, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

1 CUP SUGAR

1 LARGE EGG

1 TSP VANILLA

1 1/2 TBS LEMON PEEL, GRATED

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg, then vanilla. Gradually stir in flour until blended. Stir in lemon peel. Drop heaping half teaspoonful 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Gently press a few sliced almonds onto center of each unbaked cookie. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until edges are golden brown. Cool completely.

KAYE WILSON LYMAN

EASY LEMON COOKIES

1 15.25 OZ PKG LEMON CAKE MIX

2 LARGE EGGS

1/3 CUP VEGETABLE OIL

1 TSP LEMON EXTRACT

1/2 TSP LEMON ZEST

1/3 CUP POWDERED SUGAR

30 FE B 2023 COUNTRY COOKS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon extract and lemon zest until well blended. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough into a bowl of powdered sugar. Roll dough in sugar until lightly coated, then place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes until the bottoms are light brown. NANCY DENK RIVERTON

Send complete recipe by March 10! Please include your name, address and phone number.  wren@wyomingrea.org |  [307] 772-1968  214 W. Lincolnway Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001  wyomingrea.org/wren-submissions SUBMIT A RECIPE SUBMIT A RECIPE Send complete recipe by MARCH 15! Please include your name, address and phone number.  wren@wyomingrea.org |  [307] 286-8140  214 W. Lincolnway Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001  wyomingrea.org/wren-submissions

 wren@wyomingrea.org

 214 W. Lincolnway Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001  wyomingrea.org/wren-submissions

Please include your name, hometown and a title.

Please submit high-quality digital files* or an original we can scan, as well as details about the artwork, the artist’s name, and the co-op. *Use the highest quality setting on your camera, or save digital artwork as a .jpg or .tif file with at least 300 dpi resolution.

If you would like your work returned, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

Our son bought an EV recently. That’s not a big deal in America in the year 2023, I suppose. After all, his younger sister has been driving one for some time. But his is a pickup truck. In our family, pickup trucks are king. Cars are what you drive to get to the airport or maybe to church. Trucks are what you drive to get to the places you love. But an electric truck?

Like everybody else west of the 100th meridian and east of the Sierra Nevada, I’ll confess to a certain degree of skepticism. I’ve driven gas and diesel trucks since Cliff Hansen was the governor and the notion of only being able to get 200 miles before I have to recharge the battery was a non-starter with me. Likewise, my experience with batteries suggests that temperature –especially ultra-cold temperature – is a big deal. Visions of being stranded halfway between Wamsutter and Jeffrey City in December because the vehicle ran out of juice danced in my head.

But I have to say I might be rethinking this just a bit. Clark’s truck is no wimp. It will pull the same trailer that my truck pulls with the same ease. It has impressive acceleration. If you want to go fast, you can certainly do so. With a few after-market bells and whistles, it’s a real truck. He pulled a trailer up to the home place with it like it was nothing. That’s when it hit me – the realization that we’d been through all this before right there at the center of the Gasson Family universe.

BY WALT GASSON

The home place is off the grid – like way off the grid. Back in the 1950s, we used the same old kerosene lanterns that my grandparents used 50 years before. There was a certain romance, I suppose, to their soft glow. But I remember being a little fella trying to read Outdoor Life in that soft glow and struggling, even with my young eyes. Next came Coleman gas lanterns. The kind that you filled with Coleman fuel and pumped full of air – the kind that was just a very controlled version of a bomb. As anyone who ever used one can tell you, there were some anxious moments when you had to grab a flaming lantern and hope it didn’t blow up before you could get it outside. Then came propane lights. But as Kim and I grew more mature, we noticed that they weren’t quite as bright as they used to be. No doubt this had nothing to do with us aging, but rather a gradual decline in the quality of the propane … so we went solar. That was a turning point. Suddenly, it was bright in there. We could see to read. We had a porch light for the first time in 50 years. We could run a blender! In small steps, we had advanced a century in just a few years.

My point is this: Old school truck people like me can dig our heels in if we like. We can grump and rant and rave about this new technology. We can resolve to drive internal combustion engines until the polar ice caps melt and Boise becomes a port city. But the future seldom looks like the past and it’s clear that change is in the air. I drive a gas truck – one that I really like. But I’m betting that my next one will come with a charging cord. W

Walt Gasson is a fourth-generation Wyoming native and the director of endorsed businesses for Trout Unlimited.

“

The future seldom looks like the past and it’s clear that change is in the air.

HAPPENING REGIONAL MAP

01 | SOUTHEAST

CENTENNIAL ONGOING

Nici Self Historical Museum: Museum grounds and exhibits open Thu-Mon 12-4p. Free. Info niciselfmuseum.com.

CHEYENNE

MARCH 4-5 & 11-12

Used Book Sale: Mar 4 8a-6p; Mar 5 9a-4p; Mar 11 8a-6p; Mar 12 9a-1p. Several locations throughout Frontier Mall, 1400 Dell Range Blvd. Info 369-2940 or 421-1755.

CHUGWATER

FEATURED EVENT

MULE DEER DAYS

ROCK SPRINGS  MARCH 10-11

Wyoming Game and Fish has partnered with the Muley Fanatic Foundation to host the first ever Mule Deer Days. The event will feature an entire hall dedicated to fun activities for youth and adults, including air rifle shooting, Indoor Archery and more educational activities including:

· Mule Deer Migration obstacle course

· Wildlife ID station with pelts and skulls from Wyoming animals

· Wildlife forensics activity

· Hunter Ethics trail

Location: Sweetwater Events Complex

Cost: $20/day or $30 for a 2-day pass

For more information contact the Muley Fanatic Foundation at 307-785-3133.

SOUTHWEST

MARCH 3 & APRIL 7

2023 Karaoke Contest: Stampede Saloon & Eatery offers a chance at “Fame & Fortune” the first Friday of each month. Contestants will compete for a $20 gift certificate. Finalists will compete on May 5. Winners of the first three contests February-April will compete for a grand prize of $500. Info 307-422-3200, thestampedesaloon. com, facebook.com/stampedesaloon.

MEDICINE BOW

ONGOING

Museum and Gift Shop: Open daily 8:30a-4:30p. 405 Lincoln Highway. Info 307-379-2383.

02

NORTHEAST

BUFFALO

THURSDAYS

Bluegrass Jam Session: 6:30p at Occidental Saloon. Free. Info 307-684-0451.

CLEARMONT

MARCH 1-30

3rd Annual Quilt Show: 10a-3p ThuFri. By appointment on off days. Free. Clearmont Historical Center. Quilts on loan for show. Info Sandy 307-758-4685, 307-752-9214.

ONGOING (THROUGH MAY)

Museum Winter Hours: 10a3p Thursdays and Fridays or by appointment. Clearmont Historical Center. Free and open to the public. Info Sandy 307-758-4685, 307-752-9214.

GILLETTE

ONGOING

Ava Community Art Center: Info 307-682-9133 or avacenter.org.

HULETT

ONGOING

Hulett Museum and Art Gallery: 8a-4p Mon-Fri, free. Info 307-467-5292. Senior Center Events: 145 Main Street. Carry-in dinner 12:30p third Sun. Rolls and coffee 9a Thu. Info 307-467-5743.

MOORCROFT

ONGOING

West Texas Trail Museum: Now open year-round 9a-5p, Mon-Fri. Info 307-756-9300.

Senior Center Events: Coffee and rolls 9a Wed. Toenail clinic 9a fourth Thu, dinner 6p fourth Thu. Info 307-756-9550.

NEWCASTLE

FRIDAYS

Bingo: 7:30p, VFW Hall, free.

SECOND & FOURTH WEDNESDAYS

Gigi’s Closet: 9a-1:30p, First United Methodist Church. Gently loved clothing available for babies to adults. Info 307-746-4119.

SUNDANCE

WEDNESDAYS

Storytime: 10:30a. Crook County Public Library. Info Tonia 307-283-1008.

UPTON

FIRST & THIRD WEDNESDAYS

Bingo at Senior Center: 6:30p, $10 for 10 cards. Info 307-468-9262.

ONGOING

Senior Center Activities: 1113 2nd St. Lunch is served at noon Mon-Fri, $4. Call for reservation before 9a at 307-468-2422 or 712-400-9056. Coffee and treats at 9a on Tues. Exercise program at 9a every Tue and Fri. Card elimination and potluck every third Mon at 5:30p. Ask about medical equipment loans. Info 307-468-9262.

CODY

ONGOING

Cody Country Art League Gallery: 9a-5p Mon-Sat, 836 Sheridan Ave. Info 307-587-3597.

DUBOIS

THIRD WEDNESDAYS

Wyoming Health Fairs Monthly

Wellness Screen/Blood Draw: 7-10a, Dubois Medical Clinic. Appointments encouraged. Info 307-455-2516, whf.as.me/dubois.

FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAYS

Farmer’s Market: 2:30-4:30p, Headwaters Arts & Conference Center. Featuring local produce, baked goods and bread, dairy products, jams and jellies, herbs and salves. Info 307-455-2027.

FRIDAYS

Story Time: 11:30a. Dubois Branch Library, 202 N First St. Free. Stretches, story, songs, crafts, and fun! Ages birth-5 years. Info 307-455-2992.

GREYBULL

SECOND SATURDAYS

Greybull Ladies Coffee: Greybull Library. Info 307-765-2100.

HYATTVILLE

ONGOING

Ice Skating: Medicine Lodge Hyattville. The ice is ready! For times check facebook.com/ FriendsofMedicineLodge.

JACKSON

MARCH 2 & 4

Tribal Talks - Breaking

Boundaries: 6p, Teton County Library. Free and open to the public. Presented by Central Wyoming College and Wyoming Humanities. Indigenous presentations on current and contemporary subjects are designed to encourage dialogue and engagement between the Teton County community and outreach for tribal communities. Educational offerings provide insight into both the historical and contemporary issues of tribal people. Info Emy@thinkwy.org.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

LANDER

SATURDAYS

Acoustic Music Jam: 11a-1p, Lander Bake Shop. Info 307-332-3237.

ONGOING

First Friday: New artist and local musician each month. Art show reception 5p, music 6p. Middle Fork Restaurant. Info 307-335-5035, facebook.com/MiddleForkCafe.

RIVERTON

WEDNESDAYS

Acoustic Music Jam: 6:30-8:30p, Holiday Inn Convention Center, free. Join in or listen as musicians and dancers perform. Info 307-856-8100.

PreK Tales & Tunes: 10:30a. Riverton Branch Library. Ages 3-5. Free. Info 307-856-3556.

Starlight Storytime: 5:30p. Riverton Branch Library. Ages birth-5. Free. Info 307-856-3556.

THURSDAYS

Toddler Move & Groove: 10:30a. Riverton Branch Library. Ages birth-2. Free. Info 307-856-3556.

MARCH

MONDAYS

Toddler Storytime: Meeteetse Library. Mondays after school - all kids grades 1 & up. Legos, board games, crafts and more. Any kid not in school. Stories songs, games, crafts and more.

SHELL

MONDAY-FRIDAY

Antelope Butte Ski Area: Open Monday-Friday 9:30 - 4pm. 28 Forest Service Road 244, Shell, WY. Info 307-529-1052.

THERMOPOLIS

SECOND SATURDAYS

Send complete information by MARCH 15!

Please send events occurring in the month of May by March 15, and June by April 15 for inclusion in the WREN.

Also, be sure to include the date, title, description, time, cost, location, address and contact information for each event.

Photos are always welcome.

Great Until 8!: 4-8p. This event showcases the businesses who are staying open until 8p or later in town. Shop after 5p and enter in for a chance to win $100 gift certificates. The $100 gift certificate will be valid at the business with the winning receipt. Info 917-589-7852, mainstreetthermopolis@gmail.com.

04 | SOUTHWEST

LYMAN

THURSDAYS

Storytime: 11a, Lyman Branch Library, all ages are welcome, free. Info 307-787-6556, uintalibrary.org.

MOUNTAIN VIEW

MONDAYS

SATURDAYS

Farmer’s Market: 9-11a, Little Wind Center at the Fremont County Fairgrounds. Info 307-851-7562.

ONGOING

Library Activities: PreK Tales & Tunes Wed 10:30a; Starlight Storytime for birth-5 Wed 5:30p; Toddler Move & Groove birth-2 Thu 10:30a; LEGO Club grade 2-5 Thu 4-5p. Info 307-856-3556, fclsonline.org.

METEETSEE

MONDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS

Meeteetse Recreation District: Yoga every Monday & Wednesday at 10:30am. Info 307-899-2698, meetrec.org

Look for more events at wyomingrea.org/news.

QUESTIONS & SUBMISSIONS:

 wren@ wyomingrea.org

 [307] 286-8140

 214 W. Lincolnway Ste. 21C Cheyenne, WY 82001

 wyomingrea.org/ wren-submissions

Cub Scout Pack 7798 Meeting: 3:45p, Presbyterian Church on 3rd Street. We are always accepting new boys who are in 1st to 5th grades. Info MarNae at 307-677-2566.

WEDNESDAYS

Storytime: 11a, Uinta County Library. Info 307-782-3161.

ONGOING

Community Classes: Fitness, computer, workforce and kids’ classes are available. Valley Learning Center, times and prices vary. Info 307-782-6401, valleylearningcenter.coursestorm. com.

PUZZLE

ANSWERS

FOR SALE

CLASSIFIEDS

WREN CLASSIFIED ADS ARE $0.75 PER SIX CHARACTERS

GEOTHERMAL COAL NATURAL GAS OIL BIOMASS WAVE WATER NUCLEAR SOLAR WIND LAPTOP TV BLENDER OVEN TOASTER TEAPOT MIXER HAIR DRYER VACUUM HEATER

Aermotor Windmills and parts, cylinders, pipe, rod, submersible pumps, motors, control boxes, Hastings 12 ga. bottomless stock tanks, Shaver Outdoor Wood Boiler Furnaces and more. In business for more than 77 years. Herren Bros., Box 187, Harrison NE. 1-308-668-2582.

For Sale! Goulds 3ST1H1A4 Centrifugal Water Irrigation Pump ”1-1/2 X 2” Never used. 3500 RPM. Internet cost: $3K to $3500. Asking $1500. Bought for house but pumps 175 Gal/Minute. Way too big! Have stats and wire diagram. Call John (307) 752-7028, Sheridan, WY.

New & Used Coal Stokers, parts, service & advice. Available for most makes. Thanks. 307-754-3757.

Pain Balm, best topical for muscle, joint or chronic pain. Resolve your aches, pain, soreness & Arthritis discomfort. Works within minutes. 100% pure essential oils like juniper berry, rosemary, ginger & more! Free standard shipping anywhere in the United States. Call 702.234.3866

WANTED

We Pay Cash For Mineral & Oil/Gas Interests producing & non-producing. 800-733-8122.

Frontier Auto Museum Looking For Oil Company Gas Pumps, Globes And Signs. Also looking for general antiques for our antique shop. Please go to our website FrontierAutoMuseum. com. Located in Gillette WY, our passion is to preserve Wyoming history and the nostalgia of the past, especially Parco, Sinclair, Frontier, Husky and any car dealership along with all brands. We are also always looking for neon motel or store signs, WY license plates and WY highway signs and State Park signs. Please call Jeff Wandler 307-680-8647 wandlerfrontier@ gmail.com or daughter Briana Brewer 307-660-2402 relics@frontierauto.net.

WANTED CJ or Wrangler reasonably priced. Any condition but rusted. 512-797-1664.

$Cash for old cars$ 1900-1970, muscle cars, 2 doors, convertibles, regardless of condition any 1930’s cars, early Dodge power wagons, older Jeeps & Broncos. Older non-operating Volkswagen buses with multiple windows. Randy Erwin, rerwin@wyoming.com, 307-212-1341, Sheridan.

MISCELLANEOUS

Soon Church/Government uniting, suppressing “Religious Liberty” enforcing “National Sunday Law.” Be Informed! Free materials. TSBM, PO Box 374, Ellijay, GA 30540, tbsmads@yahoo. com, 1-888-211-1715.

38 FE B 2023

Sacred Stone of the Southwest is on the Brink of Extinction

Centuries

ago, Persians, Tibetans and Mayans considered turquoise a gemstone of the heavens, believing the striking blue stones were sacred pieces of sky. Today, the rarest and most valuable turquoise is found in the American Southwest–– but the future of the blue beauty is unclear.

On a recent trip to Tucson, we spoke with fourth generation turquoise traders who explained that less than five percent of turquoise mined worldwide can be set into jewelry and only about twenty mines in the Southwest supply gem-quality turquoise. Once a thriving industry, many Southwest mines have run dry and are now closed.

We found a limited supply of turquoise from Arizona and purchased it for our Sedona Turquoise Collection . Inspired by the work of those ancient craftsmen and designed to showcase the exceptional blue stone, each stabilized vibrant cabochon features a unique, one-of-a-kind matrix surrounded in Bali metalwork. You could drop over $1,200 on a turquoise pendant, or you could secure 26 carats of genuine Arizona turquoise for just $99 Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. If you aren’t completely happy with your purchase, send it back within 30 days for a complete refund of the item price.

The supply of Arizona turquoise is limited, don’t miss your chance to own the Southwest’s brilliant blue treasure. Call today!

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THE TALLEST SNOWMAN

STEAM

CHALLENGE

Help

Here's what to do:

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Next, challenge your kids to build a giant snowman together! No time limit here, just teamwork and communication.

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Talk with your kids about different ways they can use the marshmallows to make their snowman taller. Maybe they stack lots of big ‘mallows; maybe they make layers of big ones and use smaller ones for support. Bigger kids might use toothpicks as supports or to string marshmallows for snowman arms.

materials:

You will need large and small marshmallows, toothpicks, and a ruler, plus a black and an orange marker to draw the snowman’s face.

4 “KINDNESS JARS” Check out This month's activity: