Early milestones in 2025

This year is bringing several milestones or anniversaries.

• First, last month was the completion of our fifth year returning to a weekly publication as the Northern Wyoming News. The Worland newspaper first began in 1905 as a weekly newspaper, the Worland Grit. In 1939 it began publishing five days a week as the Northern Wyoming Daily News and on Feb. 6, 2019, it returned to a weekly publication as the Northern Wyoming News.

We still hear on occasion, people wondering when we might go back to a daily, all the while more and more papers publishing print copies less frequently. There is no newspaper in the state currently printing a newspaper seven days a week. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle in Cheyenne prints a newspaper four days a week now with digital editions filling in the rest of the week and the Casper Star Tribune prints an actual newspaper three days a week.

After we switched to a weekly we saw rising costs in paper for newspaper print, as well as aluminum for press plates, thus the move for many newspapers in the state and across the country to move away from print to digital. (FYI these costs are again expected to rise with recent tariffs.)

Now into our sixth year as a weekly we are excited to bring you a newspaper full of local news, entertainment and advertising from local businesses. We have been covering the State Legislature and coming up over the next few months we will be covering graduations, special festivals, local government, impacts from property tax reform and much more.

After the first year of a weekly we hosted an open house to celebrate the year, little did we know that it would be one of the few open houses held in 2020 as just a few weeks later things began shutting down.

• This brings us the second anniversary/milestone. Tuesday marked the five-year mark when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic.

I remember the first impact from the pandemic, our Worland Warriors had a great basketball season and there was anticipation of a state championship. Our sports editor Alex was going to be headed down when we got word that the tournament was canceled after the first game or two.

That started a series of event cancellations. Here in Washakie County we seemed to get back to “normal” faster than most communities, and Wyoming did faster than most states.

Here we are five years later and grocery stores are having to put purchase limits not on toilet paper (five years later no one still understands why people hoarded some products like toilet paper), but rather on eggs. The more things change …

• Finally, the third milestone/anniversary is a personal one. On Sunday, March 23, I will officially have been here at the NWN for 10 years. It is hard to believe. Where has the time gone?

My first job out of college was at the Lovell Chronicle and I was there for 16 years. This is the second longest tenure. Here at the NWN, I started out as the editor, became part of a four-member management team and then became the general manager, along with editor duties.

A few years ago, I took over, in the absence of an ad sales representative, ad sales. This was something I never thought I would enjoy but I absolutely love it. It is something completely different to anything I had ever done in the newspaper business until then.

I get to interact with business owners in a different way than as editor, reporter or photographer.

I still enjoy reporting and my favorite is government meetings and it is, in truth, my niche.

I am looking forward to another 10 years serving this community, protecting and fighting for the First Amendment and keeping you informed of all the happenings in Washakie County and beyond.

I would also like to express my appreciation, to the readers, and this community for a wonderful first 10 years here in Worland.