The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – Aug. 1, 2025
Published on August 01, 2025
The 129th Cheyenne Frontier Days is in the books. Judy and I enjoy the privilege of riding in the parades. This year, my previous honorary commander’s kids were visiting from their current duty station in Belgium and rode with us for one parade. The kids had a great year in school and were offered a trip to anywhere – they chose to come back home to Cheyenne. On Thursday, my grandson, who is almost three, joined us. I loved his excitement and waving to the crowd. The last Saturday, my current honorary commander’s kids made the ride with us. The work that goes into putting on the parade is incredible, and I appreciate the volunteers and those who bring floats.
The rodeo is so fun, but during the week I don’t have much time to watch. Judy and I found a seat and watched the complete finals rodeo on Sunday, and we were treated with an amazing show including a new record in the bareback final. The highlight for us was seeing a fellow East High School graduate winning his fourth saddle bronc title, tying a record for the most wins in CFD history. Having both our sons, their wives, and our two grandkids home made this CFD special.
Another thing that makes CFD special for Judy and I is Pepi singing during lunch before the rodeo. I have a few favorite songs including Amarillo by Morning, I Can Still Make Cheyenne, and Big Iron, and he waits to sing them until we get seated. Pepi has become an important part of CFD for us.
Friday night, I went to Fridays on the Plaza to hear Hoobastank. Their songs from the early 2000s are memorable and they gave a great performance. I know CFD had a full crowd with Cody Johnson, but downtown was rocking as well. It was fun to take my kids to show off what our team does every Friday night at no charge for our residents and visitors. It makes me so proud.
The City comes under the rules and regulations of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. We met with Zach Urban from HUD this week to get ahead of some issues that could affect us. It was a great conversation, and I value their help in meeting our city’s goals.
There have been a lot of conversations regarding data centers lately. We have a growing data center economy and I find that investment in our community very exciting. This week, I had a Zoom meeting with representatives from Related Digital who are getting ready to start building a data center complex in the eastern part of Cheyenne. Even though they have yet to break ground on the complex, they called to begin a conversation on how they could invest in helping make Cheyenne a better place to live and work.
I received a few e-mails this past week from people who read about the data center industry and how data centers use a lot of water and have caused increased residential electric bills. They asked good questions, and I am pleased to share that in Cheyenne, Black Hills Energy’s tariff was designed to ensure the data centers cover the cost of their development. The tariff, or what data centers pay for electricity, prevents data center expenses from hurting our small businesses and residents by increasing their rates. Historically, data centers cooled their operations using a lot of water. Because Cheyenne faces an uncertain water future, we have asked them to use new technologies for cooling that increase the amount of electricity used but reduce water consumption. They tell me they use a similar amount of water as an office building with the same number of employees.
Judy and I flew to Washington, D.C., this week to attend the promotion ceremony for Cathy Barrington. Col. Barrington was the Commander of the 90th Missile Wing here in Cheyenne and was transferred to the Pentagon at the end of her command. She was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General on Tuesday. Maj. Gen. Joseph Clearfield was so funny presiding over the ceremony. Gen. Barrington currently is the military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Steve Feinberg. Military promotions are a family affair with her parents and kids helping change the rank on her uniform to the star of a general officer. A large crowd came to help the Barrington family celebrate the promotion and we were so happy to be part of it.
This was my first visit to the Pentagon. The ceremony was held in the Hall of Heroes where the nation’s Medal of Honor recipients are memorialized. Judy and I were able to take a tour of the massive building, and I really enjoyed the hallways that display so much of the history of each branch of the armed forces and historical members of each branch. The highlight of the tour was the 9/11 memorial. That day, 184 lives were lost at the Pentagon including children as young as three years old. They have memorialized those lost on that terrible day so beautifully.
We stayed in D.C. for a couple of extra days to get a chance to see some of the sights. Thursday, we spent the whole afternoon at the Holocaust Museum. I couldn’t believe it when they told us it was closing time – the afternoon flew by. It is a horrific story so well-told by the folks who designed the museum. The two most touching moments for me were when we came to the display of shoes taken from the victims before they were murdered, and the huge pile of human hair taken from their heads. It illustrated the enormity of the loss of life and the horror of that time in world history. It left an impression on both of us.
It is hard to believe that it is already August. This summer has flown by, and school starts in a few weeks. It seems like summer is never long enough. It is my favorite time of year, and it seems the schedule conspires to keep me from doing all the things we want to do. I hope everyone finds time in what is left of summer to enjoy the perfect Cheyenne weather.