The Bench Sitters plead guilty to worrying about a winter being too mild and how it can bring on a summer drought.

When SafeTech Solutions presented its long-awaited report to the Johnson County Rural Health District, it came as no surprise that our community has excellent ambulance service. Both ambulance services in Buffalo and Kaycee earned praise for the quality of care and patient satisfaction. The …

The Summit, Elk Mountain and The Sisters on Interstate 80. Laramie Peak on Interstate 25. Separation Flats north of Rawlins. South Pass southwest of Lander. Piney Creek interchange on I-90. The list goes on and on.

In the five years since former Gov. Matt Mead began championing expanding Medicaid in the state, much has changed – including the state’s finances and the Affordable Care Act itself.

If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then the road to waste may be paved with free transportation.

Is it really 2020? Back at the turn of the century (yeah, 20 years ago in 2000), our little town put together Project 2020, which was a guide for the town’s future.

A few years back, a week or two in late January with daytime highs in the 40s would have been amazing. Now we are starting to take it for granted. This was the month we could expect at least a week with the thermometer well below zero for portions of each day.

An old joke about the weather:

On Feb. 10, the Wyoming Legislature will convene for its biannual budget session to hammer out the budget with even less revenue than anticipated. Word came last week from the state’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Group that the Legislature will have roughly $72 million less to work with this…

Johnson County is ground zero for an aging population explosion. The median age for the county in 2016 (45) is substantially higher than the median age for both the state (37) and the country (38). As the population ages, the need for senior services is likely to grow.

The Bench Sitters have seen a number of articles on the subject of cats over the past years. There have been essays on how to give a cat a pill and even how to give a cat a bath. Most are pretty hilarious to be sure.

I can see clearly now – the year 2020 could emerge as one of the most important years in Wyoming’s history as various trends emerge.

Over the past decade, Wyoming counties lost out on almost $100 million in delinquent mineral taxes.

Welcome back! It was nice these past couple of weeks – the pace of life was noticeably slower with kids out of school and everyone operating at about half capacity. Many friends I’ve chatted with in the past few days are reporting that they devoted the 10 days after Christmas to some combina…

This is the first column of 2020 for Sven and the Bench Sitters.

The State of Wyoming’s use of the bucking horse and rider as a symbol for the Cowboy State dates to at least 1918. The state obtained trademark protection for the symbol in 1936. That same year, it was first incorporated in the Wyoming vehicle license plate as a means of combating counterfei…

When you shop locally, 68 cents of every dollar spent stays right here in the community, supporting local organizations, charities and services.

The recent blanket of snow left Johnson County looking like a postcard from the North Pole. And so it seems the Christmas season is once more upon us.

Tis the season for making your lists and checking them twice, and we hope plenty of the gifts on your lists can be found right here in our community.

One of our favorite Bench Sitters asked, “What’s with these ‘wild’ turkeys around town? Don’t they know next week is Thanksgiving?”

It was an unusually busy weekend for Johnson County and Buffalo firefighters and emergency responders. The crews responded to two house fires Saturday night into Sunday morning. Thankfully, no one was hurt in either fire.

Monday morning the mercury was down to 10-below at Sven’s place. One of the advantages of living down the Clear Creek valley below town is the cold air that settles in the low spots and keeps the snow light and fluffy so it’s easy to shovel.

As the Johnson County Rural Health Care District board worked on its budget this spring, it was hoping to find cost savings. Like all special districts in Johnson County, the rural health care district’s mill levy has shrunk dramatically, and the district was hoping to balance its budget wit…

Veterans have willingly served our country, fully accepting that they could be called away from family and loved ones and into harm’s way at any time to defend our country and our way of life.

The thing about dinner is that, as a parent, you are expected to serve it nightly. Most frequently, what I lack is inspiration. My kids would eat a steady diet of spaghetti with meatballs and tacos, but I need a little more variety. Oh, and it should be easy. Preferably fast and not require …

Either in the spring or in the fall, nearly every year at least one of the Bench Sitters will have a minor tantrum over Daylight Saving Time.

The Bench Sitters, who are football nuts, are pretty excited over the prospects for the Buffalo Bison winning another state title this year. We know they have some playoff games and will probably meet Mountain View in the championship if they get there … but these old guys predict a repeat.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and there is much to celebrate.

Maybe I didn’t get the memo or I have never paid much attention, but when did the whole sexy Halloween costume industry take over? It appears there is no sort of guiding premise as to what otherwise innocuous costume can be sexed up. Everything is in bounds: sexy nurses, sexy teachers, sexy …

If you happened to be just about anywhere on the mountain on Tuesday morning of last week, you didn’t need a calendar to tell you it was opening day of elk season for rifle hunters.