CSD Staff
Latest from CSD Staff
Guest Column: Trump Is Right — It’s Time To Trust Parents And Local Communities
Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder writes, “I fully support President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the federal Department of Education. … This is not about eliminating education — it’s about improving it.”
CSD StaffMarch 25, 2025
Guest Column: Gun Free Zones Do Not Work
Former US Attorney Kip Crofts writes, "Have you ever heard of a case where a person who woke up prepared to go to a school and use his gun to kill people, has been deterred upon getting there and seeing a sign that says, 'Gun Free Zone.' So he turns away and goes for a latte’ instead?"
CSD StaffMarch 23, 2025
Guest Column: Wyoming Needs To Fund Schools - But Also Remember Why They're There
Guest columnist Gail Symons writes: When World War II broke out, boys accelerated their high school graduations then left to join the fight. People made sacrifices to provide them an excellent education, though their lives often ended in very real sacrifices."
CSD StaffMarch 23, 2025
Guest Column: Steel-Toed Boots And Freedom -- How Wyoming Workers Are Saving Themselves
Marcie Kindred, executive director of the Wyoming State AFL-CIO, writes, "A trona miner had approached me days earlier about holding a rally to protect mine safety regulations from federal funding cuts. 'Without MSHA, miners die,' he said plainly."
CSD StaffMarch 21, 2025
Guest Column: Al Simpson -- "Be Honest And Do What Is Right For The People We Represent”
Don Hardy, author of 'The Life of Senator Al Simpson,' writes, "I was 16 years old when a tall attorney looked at me and smiled. 'You don’t know it, Don, but I do: you are a salvageable human being.' That didn’t seem likely since I had just landed on a two-year district court probation."
CSD StaffMarch 20, 2025
Guest Column: Senator Al Simpson. A Wyoming Treasure.
Former Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead writes, "During this time of division it is a great loss to lose someone like Al who didn’t view people with opposing views as enemies or with hate. Al did not shun those with opposing views, but instead, he listened."
CSD StaffMarch 19, 2025
Guest Column: Wyoming Could Lead Nation With Election Integrity Reforms If Gordon Signs Bills
Secretary of State Chuck Gray writes, "Yesterday, at the White House, President Trump reiterated that proof of citizenship for registering to vote is one of the key election integrity priorities of his administration. Gov. Mark Gordon should listen to President Trump and sign HB156 into law."
CSD StaffMarch 17, 2025
Guest Column: Al Simpson And The Press
Mary Kay Hill, Al Simpson's longtime press secretary writes, "Al had a relationship with the press. It was complicated. He experienced the highest peaks of media praise and suffered the valleys of media condemnation. He expected authenticity and he despised a double standard."
CSD StaffMarch 16, 2025
Rob Wallace: Al Simpson -- A Wyoming Kid Who Conquered The World
Guest columnist Rob Wallace writes of a photo in Al Simpson's room: "In the front row looking directly at Al were presidents Trump, Bush, Obama, Carter, and Clinton all laughing uncontrollably at something he had just said. It was the perfect memory of a kid from Wyoming who conquered the world."
CSD StaffMarch 14, 2025
Guest Column: Wyoming Senate Delivered Historic, Conservative Wins
Wyoming Senate President Bo Biteman writes, "We have all heard of the 'five and dime' plan, but I stand with the people of Wyoming who say 'not another dime' when it comes to growing government."
CSD StaffMarch 03, 2025
Guest Column: The LGBT Folks Aren’t Trying To Force Their Lifestyle On Anyone
Guest columnist Tex McBride writes, "When you see the books they write in the library, or taking a cautious step into society, it isn’t because they're trying to recruit your child into the gay community. They're doing it in an effort to let your family member know they aren’t alone."
CSD StaffFebruary 26, 2025
Guest Column: SF 40 Addresses Unconstitutional Housing Mitigation Fees
Guest columnist Rebecca Bextel writes, "The Wyoming legislature needs to stop this practice now by passing SF40 before other counties are lured into financial jeopardy by following Teton County."
CSD StaffFebruary 26, 2025
Guest Column: We Have A Plan and We’re Sticking To It.
Rep. John Bear writes, "The Wyoming Freedom Caucus came to the 2025 session with a plan. We have executed that plan. Now we are waiting on our colleagues in the Senate to do the good work of the people and pass these common sense measures."
CSD StaffFebruary 23, 2025
Mandy Fabel: The Cost and Cure to Contempt
Columnist Mandy Fabel writes, "Are we even capable of open dialogue and relationships that span opinions beyond our own? I have seen the answer first-hand in my job of running Leadership Wyoming. And that answer is yes."
CSD StaffFebruary 23, 2025
Guest Column: Teton County’s Workforce Housing Regulations Are Unconstitutional
Guest columnist Austin Waisanen writes, "'Workforce housing' fees — a bad idea that drives up the cost of housing and unconstitutionally places the burden of other people’s housing on individual property owners — may soon run their course in Wyoming."
CSD StaffFebruary 20, 2025
Guest Column: Another Municipal View on Property Tax Relief
Star Valley Ranch Mayor Ruzena Rok writes, "In Lincoln County, locally assessed residential valuations have increased 122% over the past 5 years. For many families who want to stay and raise their children in Lincoln County they simply can no longer afford to do so."
CSD StaffFebruary 18, 2025
Guest Column: I'm Fighting For Moms And Ranchers. John Bear Says That Makes Me A "Lobbyist."
Rep. Karlee Provenza writes, "Last week in this publication, Rep. John Bear called me and some of his other non-Freedom Caucus colleagues in the Wyoming House 'lobbyist-legislators.'"
CSD StaffFebruary 15, 2025
Guest Column: A Perfect Storm on the Horizon
Upton Mayor Nick Trandahl writes, "The misconception that small Wyoming towns like Upton are sitting on any sort of fat whatsoever in our budgets is mind-blowing to me and, frankly, it's uninformed.
CSD StaffFebruary 13, 2025
Guest Column: A Testament to Wyoming’s Culture of Opportunity, Merit and Excellence
UW President Ed Seidel writes, "Since Josh Allen was crowned MVP last week, the university hasn’t been just celebrating. We also are reaffirming a powerful truth: Excellence is built where opportunity is given, merit is recognized and hard work is rewarded."
CSD StaffFebruary 11, 2025
Guest Column: Let's Repeal Gun Free Zones
State Sen. Cheri Steinmetz and John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, write, "By identifying and targeting gun-free zones, attackers can ensure they will be the only armed people present."
CSD StaffFebruary 06, 2025
Guest Column: Lobbyists on the House Floor Are Wasting Your Money
Rep. John Bear writes, "There are some skilled lobbyists who have found their way to the House floor, and they even cast votes on bills. These lobbyist-legislator hybrids have made it clear who they represent, and it’s not the people – it’s the government."
CSD StaffFebruary 06, 2025
Guest Column: Bringing Law And Order To Digital Wild West -- Protecting Our Children Online
Rep. Martha Lawley writes, "I have long been concerned about the safety of our children online. I want to make sure Wyoming is doing all that it can to protect children from online pornography."
CSD StaffFebruary 01, 2025
Guest Column: The Freedom Caucus “Five And Dime” Plan Failed
Rep. Karlee Provenza writes, "For the Freedom Caucus to claim that it has somehow stopped 'woke' investments is dishonest. So is the claim that its Five and Dime plan was a success."
CSD StaffJanuary 31, 2025
Guest Columnist Ray Hunkins: The Whirling Dervish President
Guest columnist Ray Hunkins writes, "Donald Trump is off to the most incredible start of any president in my lifetime and unlike his first term, he knows what he is doing and how to do it."
CSD StaffJanuary 31, 2025
Guest Column: Protecting Private Property Rights -- A Core Wyoming Value
State Rep. Rob Geringer writes, "If a rancher, farmer, or homeowner decides that selling their land to the federal government is in their best interest, it is not the role of the state to stand in their way. That decision belongs to the property owner and the property owner alone."
CSD StaffJanuary 28, 2025
Guest Column: Saving Our Rangelands -- The Urgent Battle Against Invasive Grasses
"In his State of the State address, Gov. Gordon called cheatgrass 'as flammable as gasoline.' Last summer’s wildfires in Wyoming have proven how accurate that description is."
CSD StaffJanuary 28, 2025
Guest Column: A Wyoming Hunter's Call -- Uphold Our Heritage with the Clean Kill Bill
Guest columnist Josh Coursey writes, "The Clean Kill Bill respects the importance of predator management while drawing a hard line: If someone intentionally tortures and brutalizes an animal in Wyoming, they will face real consequences."
CSD StaffJanuary 24, 2025
Guest Column: American Coal Council Welcomes New Administration -- Renewed Commitment To Coal
Emily Arthun, CEO of the American Coal Council, writes, "As the nation moves forward under President Trump’s second term, the coal industry is poised for a resurgence."
CSD StaffJanuary 23, 2025
Guest Column: A Tale Of Two Funerals
Guest columnist Ray Hunkins writes, "So far this winter there have been two funerals of people who had an impact on my life, Jimmy Carter and Jack Finnerty. I attended their funerals, one in person and the other, virtually."
CSD StaffJanuary 23, 2025
Guest Column: Protecting Women’s Sports -- Pushing Back Against Males Competing with Our Girls
Harriett Hageman and Megan Degenfelder write, "When Ronald Reagan first proclaimed a National Women in Sports Day in 1987, he never imagined “feminists” would be advocating for males to play against women and girls in sports..."
CSD StaffJanuary 15, 2025