Tom Kocal joined Townsquare Media as the LaramieLive.com Multimedia Reporter in February 2019 after a 40-year career in the newspaper business. After selling the Lanark, Carroll County, Illinois newspaper business in 2013, Tom was one of the founders of Carroll County’s only online news source. “Change is the one constant” is a mantra that motivated Tom to set out on a new adventure after his wife of 45 years passed away in early 2018. After a road trip in the summer of 2018, the lure of the west called, and Tom moved to Laramie in September 2018. “I’ve seen the newspaper and printing industries change tremendously in 40 years,” Tom said. “We started out with Ben Franklin-era hand-set type, Linotypes, and lead type printed on a hand-fed printing press, to producing news and photos for online readers that can be posted from my smart phone in my truck. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks!” Tom has two older children and 2 grandchildren. His interests include his fiancé, Julie, and her grandchildren; gardening, preserving, cooking and eating the vegetables they grow; and bicycling while enjoying the scenery and to stay in shape. Tom enjoys being an active member of the Laramie community, reporting for LaramieLive.com on the events that Laramie has to offer and meeting more unique personalities that make this community a very special place.
Thomas Kocal
Cloud Peak Bankruptcy Shows It Funded Anti-Climate Change Groups
The bankruptcy of Cloud Peak Energy, one of the largest domestic coal producers in the country, has revealed that the company maintains financial ties to many of the leading groups that have denied the human causes of global warming
Two Axles Derail on ‘Big Boy’ in Slow-speed Mishap in Rawlins
The world’s largest operating steam locomotive, 600-ton Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014, derailed Thursday afternoon as it entered the yard in Rawlins
University of Wyoming Commencement Weekend Events
Congratulations to the University of Wyoming Spring 2019 graduating class.
‘College Factual’ Ranks UW Dept. of Geology and Geophysics No. 1
The University of Wyoming’s Department of Geology and Geophysics is ranked No. 1 in the nation on College Factual’s “2019 Best Geological and Earth Sciences Colleges for the Money” list.
Final Report from the Special Olympics WY Summer Games in Laramie
Melissa Noah, Vice President of Development for the Special Olympics Wyoming, said the event was a great success.
Body of Missing Cheyenne Man Found in Medicine Bow Forest
On Sunday, April 21, deputies with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a report of a dead body located near Blair Wallis Road in the Medicine Bow National Forest between Laramie and Cheyenne.
Wyoming Board of Education to Reconsider Draft Computer Science Standards
Wyoming State Board of Education will hold a full-day meeting in Riverton beginning at 8 a.m. on Thursday, April 25, at the Fremont County School District #25 board room located at 121 North 25th St. The SBE will first convene as the State Board of Vocational Education to hear an update from the Wyoming Department of Education and vote on the State Perkins V Transition Plan.
You’re invited: Game and Fish Conservation Stamp Art Show
The public is invited to attend the 36th annual Wyoming Game and Fish Conservation Stamp Art Show at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 29. This family-friendly event will be held in Cheyenne at the Game and Fish Headquarters, 5400 Bishop Blvd.
Wyoming Highway Patrol Commissions 11 New Troopers
The Wyoming Highway Patrol recently commissioned 11 Cadets to the rank of Trooper upon the completion of their intensive training academy
Gerharter is Wyoming’s 2018 Wildlife Officer of the Year
Grant Gerharter, south Cody game warden, was named the 2018 Wildlife Officer of the Year for Wyoming