Podcasts

Bob and Alexis welcome Wyoming Press Association Executive Director Darcie Hoffland for a special one-hour long discussion about Wyoming newspapers and the important role they play in the battle for government transparency.

We invite you to go off the page for this in-depth bonus length episode where we discuss the First Amendment of the US Constitution and what it means to newspapers from Newcastle, Wyoming to Marion, Kansas. Our special 10th Episode Celebration gives you a behind the scenes look at the state of community newspapers in Wyoming and across the country as they confront a changing financial landscape and government's inherent desire to eliminate the independent third-party that is supposed to hold them accountable.

Newcastle's veteran sports reporter Sonja Karp (we call her the "Ruler of the Sports Galaxy") goes off the page with Bob and Alexis to bring Dogie nation up to speed on the state of Newcastle High School athletics. The award-winning Karpe Dogie columnist talks about the year that was and the year to come at NHS, including some memorable campaigns for some Lady Dogie athletes last year and the high hopes parents, fans and coaches have for the incoming group of athletes. While we were at it, we talked about how hard it is for Middle School success to translate into high school championships in Newcastle, and the newspaper's job to look for the positives in our programs and young athletes to encourage support from the community. Hopefully that won't be a challenge in the coming year, as Sonja throws out some promising reviews (spoiler alert!) of the Dogie/Bobcat wrestling team, and hints that good things are coming for Dogie hoops and swimming programs as well. Alexis also brings us up to speed on a really big week at the hospital — and the budget to match. We also talk about modern cows and new-fangled ranching...not that we really know anything about that stuff!

Bob and Alexis go off the page with Weston County Republican Party Chair Kari Drost, who is also an elected official (hospital board) and was one of three citizens who joined the News Letter Journal as co-Plaintiffs in the successful lawsuit against the Weston County Commissioners over the use of an illegal secret ballot to fill a vacant seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives. Drost talks about her role as county party chairman what is arguably the most Republican county in the most Republican state in the United States, and takes a stand for the rights of "the People" to be active and involved in government — and to expect their representatives to acknowledge them and their concerns. We also play a recording of the county commission meeting in November of 2021 where citizens first confronted the commissioners over their secret ballot, and Drost talks about her ongoing efforts to get the commissioners to fix an inaccuracy in their minutes from that meeting that falsely claims the use of a secret ballot is legal.

It's been a wild school year, but Newcastle Middle School Principal Tyler Bartlett said his staff and students are sprinting to a strong finish, and hoping for a peak performance on the annual WyTOPP State Assessment. As a single mom, Alexis is ready for the school year to end too, but said it has been a surprisingly productive and satisfying year for her little family despite some of the challenges the district has faced this year.