Features Reporter

John Thompson

Latest from John Thompson

Mark Fillmore of Cheyenne washes his 2020 Chevy 2500 Silverado. While his is a work truck, Fillmore said he has another truck at home and that he's a truck guy through and through.

What Is It About Pickups That Wyoming Drivers Love So Much?

Pickups have become blinged-out luxury rides with a workhorse DNA, but whether they use them for utility, status or both, there's no denying Wyomingites love their trucks.

John ThompsonSeptember 16, 2023

The Price/Sommers Schoolhouse at the Green River Valley Museum.

Wyoming's Legacy Of One-Room Schoolhouses Preserved In Big Piney

One-room schoolhouses were common around Wyoming, including Big Piney in Sublette County. Before class, students would often chop wood and haul coal and water after traveling many miles to school either on foot or by horseback.

John ThompsonSeptember 10, 2023

Doug and Trish Biggs of Carbondale, Illinois, are traveling through Wyoming this summer in their Fleetwood Storm motor home. By luxury RV standards, the Briggs are roughing it in their 31-foot 2017 model.

RVs Are Luxury On Wheels As Custom Coach Travelers Roll Around Wyoming

Pinedale RV park hosts travelers from all walks of life, all states and several foreign countries, many far from roughing it in custom coach RVs which can easily cost more than most homes in Wyoming (except Teton County).

John ThompsonSeptember 04, 2023

Slim Pickens with a bull elk he shot in the Wind River Mountains.

Wyoming Hunting Guide Learned The Cowboy Way From Famous Grandpa, Slim Pickens

Western actor Slim Pickens had a special bond with the cowboy way of life and Wyoming. Now his grandson carries on the family legacy as a hunting guide in Sublette County.

John ThompsonSeptember 04, 2023

An illustration of the sculpture "Requiem" Lander artist David Alan Clark is creating for Rock Springs to memorialize the Chinese Massacre of 1885. The event made national news at the time, including this illustration that was published in Harper's Weekly on Sept. 26, 1885.

Rock Springs To Memorialize Darkest Day With Sculpture Dedicated To Chinese Massacre of 1885

City officials have approved $154,000 for a 7-foot sculpture and interpretive display memorializing the Chinese Massacre that claimed the lives of 28 coal miners in 1885.

John ThompsonSeptember 03, 2023

Campbell County rancher Guy Edwards was surprised after 70 sheep were rustled from his northern Wyoming ranch that 48 of them were returned shortly after.

48 Rustled Sheep Reappear On Campbell County Ranch

Northeast Wyoming sheep rancher Guy Edwards says media coverage related to an early July theft of 70 sheep must have given the rustlers cold feet, because 48 of them have been returned.

John ThompsonAugust 28, 2023

What The Heck … Is That Giant Face On The Hill Overlooking Green River?

Mansface Hill on the west edge of Green River rises above the town with its unique rock formations that, from a certain angle, look like a man’s face in profile.

John ThompsonAugust 28, 2023

Redneck Rescue owner Nick Cummings has a growing YouTube channel featuring some of his gnarliest rescues from remote areas around Wyoming, like this vehicle and trailer stuck at Palisades Reservoir.

Sometimes It Takes A Redneck To Get Out Of The Gnarliest Places In Wyoming

During his time rescuing snowmobiles in the backcountry and pulling pickups out of mud holes in western Wyoming, the owner of Redneck Rescue in Alpine said he’s also been credited with saving a few marriages.

John ThompsonAugust 28, 2023

What was once a cattle shipping point on the Transcontinental Railroad, the town isolated town of Carter, Wyoming, doesn't list a population estimate on its sign today.

Wyoming Places: Carter, Now A Ghost Town, Is Named For State's First Millionaire

Now it's all but a ghost town, but in Wyoming before statehood, William A. Carter established his namesake town in Uinta County. A cattle baron, merchant and politician, he became Wyoming's first millionaire.

John ThompsonAugust 27, 2023

Tour guides Joe Dean and Wayne Morrow outside the Evanston Roundhouse.

Ghosts Of Wyoming's Railroad Heyday Haunt Evanston's Historic Roundhouse

The Evanston Roundhouse's heyday was in the early 1940s when its 350-person crew maintained steam locomotives and train cars of all shapes, sizes and purposes.

John ThompsonAugust 26, 2023

Local officials are attempting to save at least some of the buildings located at the old state hospital in Evanston. But state officials are planning to start knocking the buildings down next summer.

Tired Of Being Wyoming’s ‘Bastard Stepchild,’ Evanston Rallies To Save Historic Buildings

Evanston and Uinta County officials claim underhanded politics at play in decisions to demolish buildings on the old Wyoming State Hospital campus, saying they’re frustrated at being treated as the state’s “bastard stepchild.”

John ThompsonAugust 25, 2023

Officials in Montana, Wyoming and other places around the West are frustrated by a lack of information from the federal government about plans to reintroduce wild bison.

Feds Spending $25 Million On Bison Restoration, But Won’t Give Details

The Department of the Interior announced its plans to restore wild bison herds in states across the West months ago, but has been quiet about the plan ever since. A Montana congressman is calling for transparency.

John ThompsonAugust 21, 2023

Other Authors

Left to right, John “Coop” Cooper, Dakin Sloss and LeAnn Cooper. Sloss is an entrepreneur who financed the Satchitanada Ranch, a state-of-the-art greenhouse in Sublette County. The Coopers run the greenhouse.

State-Of-The-Art Sublette County Greenhouse Helps Fill A Wyoming Food Desert

Vegetable production in the 5,000-square-foot greenhouse includes tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, kale, lettuce, arugula, and beets. It's so popular, it can't currently keep up with local demand. But there are plans for three more greenhouses.

John ThompsonAugust 19, 2023

Wyoming Hay Growers Enjoy Mild Summer, High Prices

It's a good year for crops and livestock in Wyoming. Farmers are putting up quality alfalfa and grass hay and preparing to sell into strong markets.

John ThompsonAugust 18, 2023

Evanston Poised For Spillover From Utah, Nation’s Fastest Growing State

About 90 miles from Salt Lake City, Evanston and Uinta County officials say they are starting to see spillover from Utah growth, which is No. 1 in the nation.

John ThompsonAugust 17, 2023

Why Presidents Can’t Designate National Monuments In Wyoming

Democratic presidents dating back to Jimmy Carter have used the Antiquities Act to create new national monuments in Western states without any congressional participation. But it can't happen in the Cowboy State due to a legal loophole that Wyoming politicians pushed through in 1950.

John ThompsonAugust 15, 2023

A proposal in the federal COWS Act would pay U.S. farmers to change their cattle manure management so cows poop outside instead of indoors, a practice that would reduce methane.

Feds Want To Pay Farmers To Change Pooping Habits Of Cows

An amendment to the Farm Bill was recently introduced by a California senator that proposes to reduce methane emissions by changing the pooping habits of cows.

John ThompsonAugust 14, 2023

The Jackalope Motor Inn in Pinedale frequently offers clever quips on its billboard.

Wyoming Couple Creates A Hiker Haven From Run-Down Pinedale Motel

Tyler and Kayleigh Hofer took a chance when they bought and refurbished a run-down Pinedale motel but found a ready clientele of hikers crossing Wyoming on the Continental Divide Trail.

John ThompsonAugust 13, 2023

A herd of cows graze Wyoming rangeland in this undated photo.

Cattle, Sheep Pack On Pounds With Best Wyoming Range Conditions In Recent Memory

Wyoming ranchers report they’re expecting a strong market for cattle and sheep, which are packing on pounds on the state’s best range conditions in recent memory.

John ThompsonAugust 13, 2023

Wyoming Landmark Nordic Inn, Brenthoven's Restaurant Closed For Good

For the first tourist season in more than 70 years, the Clinger family isn’t welcoming visitors and locals at its landmark Alpine, Wyoming hotel The Nordic Inn and restaurant, Brenthoven’s. They’re closed for good.

John ThompsonAugust 12, 2023

A pet bulldog wears an American flag kerchief around its neck at a Fourth of July celebration

Until Dogs Get Adopted, Rock Springs Animal Shelter Let's Them Go On 'Doggy Dates'

Until the dogs get adopted, the Rock Springs animal shelter is allowing its dogs to go out on 'dates' with volunteers and others who love animals but, for whatever reason, can’t provide them a home.

John ThompsonAugust 12, 2023