Around the 307
News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.
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We skipped last week’s post, however, here’s a look at Wyoming news items of interest from the end of June 2025 and heading into the month of July:
A flurry of unsettled weather to include plenty of thunderstorms with lightning strikes sparked a number of new wildfires across the Cowboy State over the past week. This article from Wyoming Public Media describes some of the latest wildfire incidents in Johnson County and Hot Spring County. In other parts of the state, the Horse Fire, another blazed ignited by lightening on June 13th, is now at 2,797 acres in size with 70% of the perimeter contained. You can find all the latest information and updates on wildfires across the state at the Incident Information System website or InciWeb.
On Tuesday, July 2nd, an update on the TerraPower Natrium Nuclear Power Plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming appeared in a number of news outlets. The Star Valley Independent published this article noting that review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is ahead of schedule and that permits could be forthcoming earlier than expected. The SVI story also includes a link to a radio interview with TerraPower, CEO Chris Levesque about the project. Earlier this year in January, the Wyoming Industrial Sighting Council approved construction of about 70% of the TerraPower project consisting of all the non-nuclear components of the facility.
And, as we celebrated America’s birthday on the last day of the week, here’s a fun story from Cowboy State Daily published on Wednesday, July 2nd, describing the over-the-top week of Independence Day celebration put on by the Town of Cody, Wyoming. Cody, it seems held their first Independence Day celebration way back in 1898 and they’ve been doing it up right ever since. With the nickname of “Rodeo Capital of the World”, it seems fitting that Cody’s run-up to the Fourth of July is five-days of celebration built on the foundation of the famed Cody Stampede Rodeo and Parade events. The Stampede Parade is held on July 3rd and 4th and in addition to a recent trend of grander and grander Parade Grand Marshals (“Rip” from the Yellowstone television series had the honor in 2024), other attendees to the spectacle include the governor, a host of other state officials, Wyoming’s U.S. congressional delegation, and numerous high school bands from across the state. Sounds like a fantastic way to spend a few days!
Lastly—as it’s the last week of the month, here are a few Wyoming historical events (some well known, others obscure) that occurred during the month of June.
June 29th, 1842—Oregon Trail diarist Mariett Cummings writes of Church Butte’s “spires and domes” and notes, “One’s voice would reverberate several times. We called it ‘Echo Rock.’”
Artist James Wilkins' sketch of Church Butte, 1849. From his book, An Artist on the Overland Trail. [Image courtesy of WyoHistory.org website.] June 20th, 1874—First diary entry of William A. Richards during his survey of Wyoming’s western boundary.
On July 13th, while his survey party searched for a place to camp for the night, Richards would write “the roughest mountains & deepest cañons intervening that I ever saw…”.
June 1st, 1972—Gov. Stanley Hathaway formally commends World War I veteran George Ostrom for “the first known use of the Bucking Horse as an insignia,” which Ostrom created in 1918.
The governor’s commendation concludes by stating “The Wyoming Bucking Horse is dedicated to all veterans of the state.”
That’s all for today folks! Thanks for reading and have a great week!
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