The Mayor’s Minute from Mayor Patrick Collins – July 10, 2026

Published on July 10, 2026

The United States of America turned 250 years old this past weekend, and our community showed up to celebrate. I am so proud of the Cheyenne & Laramie County America 250 Commission that spent over two years planning our semiquincentennial celebration. Saturday morning started with a patriotic parade in our historic downtown. I have participated in downtown parades for many years, and this was one of the largest and most enthusiastic crowds I have ever seen. Judy and I rode in a beautiful 1957 Belair convertible driven by Rubin and his wife, Carol Ann. High school bands, military, and the Messenger Memorial Hitch and their beautiful Percheron horses made it epic.

I joined Gov. Gordon, Chief Justice Lynne Boomgaarden, and Majority Floor Leader Sen. Nethercott at the Capitol to commemorate the holiday. I spoke about how the American West has played an important part of our country’s story. We had important roles in connecting a young nation with the transcontinental railroad, giving women the right to vote and hold office – decades before the rest of the nation caught up – and generations of Wyoming residents who have served in the military and defended our nation. Cheyenne has never simply observed history; we have helped make it.

Saturday night, it seemed like half of Cheyenne showed up to listen to the Cheyenne Symphony and watch the annual fireworks show. When I stood up to welcome everyone to the show, the crowd stretched as far as I could see in all directions. The Symphony told me it was the largest crowd they had ever played before. My favorite moment of their concert was when they played songs from each branch of our military and invited veterans from that branch to stand and be recognized. A special choral group – the Wyoming Celebration Choir – was formed for the concert and joined the Symphony to sing a few songs. The crowd joined them in singing America the Beautiful and God Bless America with so much enthusiasm. Once the sun set, the Symphony played while the fireworks show started. I will admit that I am not a huge fan of fireworks, but when you match the fireworks with live music played by Cheyenne’s Symphony, it was a show to remember.

The Cheyenne & Laramie County America 250 Commission was made up of Sean Ambrose, the artistic director for the sold-out performance of 1776 at the Civic Center; Ruthann Hubbard, who used her decades of CFD experience to direct our patriotic downtown parade; Tom Bass, who led the private fund raising and media outreach that made the celebration possible; Randy Rhodes, another CFD veteran who managed the City/CFD fireworks show; Diane Prunty, who led the educational effort to educate our school aged kids over the past few months about the amazing history that founded our nation; and Nathaniel Trelease, who has spent more than two years as chairman of Cheyenne’s effort to celebrate America’s 250th. His leadership and our committee’s hard work made the 4th of July one of the best celebrations in Cheyenne’s history. Thank you to them and everyone who volunteered to make the day happen and honor our great nation.

Cheyenne is growing and our transportation system needs to grow as well. WYDOT invited LEADS, City, and County officials to talk about what the transportation priorities should be to match the growth. The group will ask the Metropolitan Planning Organization to expedite a regional plan to preserve future road alignments and begin to help prioritize which roads need to be built and when. I appreciate WYDOT’s leadership and the group’s willingness to collaborate to help build our future.

I joined around 20 Laramie County nonprofit directors at their monthly networking meeting to share the City’s 6th Penny sales tax ballot projects. It was an honor to spend time with a group that is making huge difference in our community. We talked about how the 6th Penny works, the Aug. 18 election date, and the details for each of the projects the city of Cheyenne has put forward. The projects include a new fire station, fire engines, supporting the Greenway, equipment needed by the police department, continued funding for road maintenance, replacing Johnson Pool, remodeling our existing Municipal Building, and improving downtown. Details can be found at www.cheyennecity.org/6thPenny.

The Wyoming Business Council and Governor’s office are working with the federal government to establish new Opportunity Zones in the state and Cheyenne. Opportunity Zones are designed to encourage development by providing significant federal tax credits to the investors. The Zones are in economically distressed areas and are designed to encourage long-term private investment. I am excited that their effort could lead to redevelopment of underutilized or vacant properties that will further diversify our local economy and provide quality jobs for our residents. I appreciate the WBC taking time to educate me on Opportunity Zones and the impact they can have.

City Council’s Finance Committee approved leasing land the City is purchasing for an affordable housing project with First & Union. It is one of the last steps we need to take before they break ground and build the 184 housing units. The lease payments will go into a special revolving fund we can use in the future to partner on additional affordable housing projects. This whole project happened because Related Digital donated $3.5 million to the City to complete the last piece of the funding stack. I can’t wait for the ribbon cutting on the first units that should happen in the spring of next year.

It is hard to believe Cheyenne Frontier Days will start in a week. This year is flying by. More than 50 people gathered in the Public Safety Building to go over the final safety and operational details for putting on the “Daddy of ‘em All”. Law enforcement from local, state, and federal agencies – fire departments, ambulance, national weather service, city departments, emergency management, Cheyenne Frontier Days, and elected officials all met to iron out the last details before we host the rodeo, night shows, pancake breakfasts, parades, and thousands of visitors to Cheyenne. Adding the new Morning Star American Indian Village and Chute 9 were included in the planning and will be must sees this year.

A quick warning for those who are driving too fast in the city. The court has updated the bond schedule, and it includes some large fine increases for speeding and excessive noise. City Council made it a goal to improve safety on our roads by slowing down traffic and improving neighborhood quality of life by reducing vehicle noise. The new court bond schedule supports the goal.