It’s the start of a new year but I personally have the same top question from last year: When is the Dairy Queen going to open?

That’s not all in jest, although you could argue with a budget session coming up for the Wyoming Legislature there are some more important questions that need answering this year that will affect the region. 

When will it snow?

Snow levels have been low so far this season and it’s led to a scramble at area ski hill Sleeping Giant, which doesn’t have the means to make its own snow and is thus still awaiting a snowpack that as of yet has not arrived. 

Snowpacks in the Big Horn Basin are below the already low level  of last year, and if it doesn’t pick up, it could cause issues for ag and recreation at some point. 

What will the Legislature do?

As always it seems all of the legislators go into the session with a lot of different goals, but this session one is standing out above the rest: Property tax relief. The Legislature did a bit last year, raising the eligibility for a program that cuts property taxes in half to those making 125% of the median county income, but that still leaves plenty of people facing skyrocketing property taxes over the last couple of years. 

It’s an issue our Powell area legislators have all talked about, including Sens. Dan Laursen and Tim French, and Reps. David Northrup and Rachel Rodriguez-Williams. Here’s hoping our property taxes stop rising as fast as the cost of food in the grocery stores. 

When will the new NWC student center be finished?

At last check the new student center was still roughly on schedule, but there are still plenty of issues that could lead to delays, such as weather (especially if it finally snows). Still, whenever it is finished it’ll be a great centerpiece to the campus.  

What will the final land use plan look like?

The Park County Land Use Plan will once again be up for review by the county planning and zoning board members this month and then for a chance to move closer to yet another decision by the county commissioners as to whether this time, they’ll accept a plan that has now drawn some heat, and praise, from both sides. 

Business changes

There’s some more amusement options in Powell headed into the new year, with a new entertainment center having opened last year and a new game store set to open this weekend. There’s also new amusement for pets with the opening of another pet boarding place.  

And there are rumblings of other changes, new businesses coming in. And of course, what about DQ?