Top of Main Podcast

In this episode of Top of Main , Bob Bonnar, Alexis Barker, and News Letter Journal photographer and videographer Walter Sprague pull back the curtain on how local journalism is evolving to better serve Newcastle and Weston County. From recording public meetings to publishing full-length town halls, they discuss how video coverage is transforming civic engagement by giving residents an unfiltered...

Election season in Wyoming is already in full swing, and in this episode, Bob and Alexis dive into the races, rivalries, and real stakes shaping the months ahead. From the Republican State Convention to high-profile matchups like the one pitting Ogden Driskill against Chip Neiman, the conversation breaks down what these contests mean — not just for Weston County, but for the direction of the entir...

This week on the Top of Main Podcast, Bob and Alexis sit down with Weston County Hospital District Board Chair Ann Slagle to break down one of the most urgent and complex issues facing our community. At the center of the conversation is the hospital district’s current compliance battle with the Wyoming Department of Audit — a situation driven by years of missing financial documentation, turnover,...

If you’re old enough to remember the game show Press Your Luck , you probably remember contestants chanting, “Big bucks… no whammies!” as they tried to land on prize money without getting wiped out by the cartoon villain on the board. That chant feels uncomfortably familiar in Wyoming politics right now. This week, Bob is flying solo to talk about what some have dubbed “Check-Gate” — the controver...

Episode 52 is a little different — instead of our usual sit-down conversation, we’re sharing the full audio from Governor Mark Gordon’s annual Meet the Press Luncheon at the Wyoming Press Association’s winter convention. In this recording, the governor opens with a pointed acknowledgment of the value of local journalism and the talent in Wyoming’s press corps, then pivots into the issues that are...

This week on the podcast, Bob and Alexis dig into one of the most serious accountability stories to come out of Weston County in years — Governor Mark Gordon’s decision to formally ask the Wyoming Attorney General to begin the process of removing Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock from office. Governor Gordon initially declined to pursue Hadlock’s removal following his first investigation in May, b...

This milestone episode marks a turning point for Top of Main as Bob Bonnar and Alexis Barker reflect on more than two and a half years of conversations, growth, and community engagement—and look ahead to what comes next. The heart of Episode 50 focuses on a topic that will shape rural America for decades to come: artificial intelligence. Drawing on Bob’s recent experience at the Four Corners AI Co...

Bob and Alexis share stories from their holiday in Newcastle and discuss the value of staying connected to the community as remote workers and how important it is to stay engaged with hometown projects while living elsewhere. They also dive into the nuts and bolts of local journalism and governance and how conversations with readers shape reporting priorities, including a new emphasis on covering...

In this episode, we take a candid look at the economic and civic headwinds facing Newcastle, Wyoming, as Bob and Alexis go off the page with former Chamber of Commerce director Susan Love to evaluate the local business climate heading into the holiday shopping season and to confront the broader forces shaping the town’s future. The discussion cuts straight to the core issues: declining civic parti...

In honor of Halloween, we go way off the page this week to delve into some of the supernatural legends of Weston County. We welcome guest host Kazen Barker to the program to bring a kid's perspective to the holiday, and visit with horror author and News Letter Journal contributor Michael Alexander. We're also joined by Dean Petersen, host of the "That Doesn't Happen Everyday&qu...

We’re going off the page with a timely conversation about one of the most talked-about constitutional issues in the country. In the wake of President Donald Trump publicly throwing his support behind a potential Article V Convention of States, we sit down with Julie Baker, a volunteer for the Convention of States movement here in Wyoming. Baker’s group will be hosting a Town Hall in Sheridan on Oc...

Bob and Alexis go off the page of the Good Book this week to visit with News Letter Journal contributor Dean Butler about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, his position as a martyr for Christ, and what it all means for us. Learn about the call to Christ from the author of Dean's Bible Blog (newslj.com) and Dean's Bible Bits (NLJ), and find out why you don't have to be religious to...

Bob and Alexis go off the page this week to tackle the toughest question of all — Is Newcastle a Dying Community? According to our weekly News Letter Journal poll, the overwhelming majority of our readers think so, and we discuss what local leaders should be doing about it — if anything. We also talk about the role citizens should play in determining the region's future, and it begins by beco...

Bob and Alexis go off the page in the wake of the unexpected closure of 8 Wyoming newspapers to explain the state of the newspaper industry, and outline for NLJ readers what efforts are being made to preserve local independent journalism in Weston County, Wyoming. We discuss the pressures on small-town businesses, and the difficulty associated with maintaining product quality in an industry where...

Go off the page with Bob and Alexis to take a deep dive into the past, present, and future of education in Newcastle and Weston County with our guest, Tom Wright. Tom was educated in Newcastle in the 1950's and 60's and served more than 40 years on the school board, and he and his wife Kay were selected as the grand marshals of the 2025 All-School Reunion Parade on July 5. We reflect on...

Bob and Alexis are joined by local historian Lucas Keeler, who takes us off the page to explore some of the more exciting moments in the early history of Weston County. From gunfights and hangings to bear attacks and Indian battles, the published author tells us why Newcastle was one of the wildest of wild west towns. Go back in time to the Custer Expedition, the birthplace of the community, the r...

Governor Mark Gordon's decision to deny an appeal from Weston County residents that would have allowed citizens to examine Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock's mishandling of the 2024 election and take action to remove her from office does not put the matter completely to bed. Just prior to Gordon's announcement, a Wyoming legislative committee discussed the "Weston County Exper...

We take you off the page to discuss Governor Mark Gordon's motives in cutting Weston County Clerk Becky Hadlock loose without any consequences for mishandling the 2024 general election. We walk you through the arguments presented in the findings of Wyoming's chief executive, and expose the level of media manipulation utilized in the release of the long-awaited decision on a holiday weeke...

We go off the page with a seasoned veteran of Wyoming politics and government to discuss the new political climate that exists in the nation and the world, and how that is being reflected in Weston County and Newcastle. Tracy Hunt served as Weston County Attorney, Weston County Coroner and Weston County Commissioner on the local level, and also had experience in state government as a Game and Fish...

NLJ Sports Editor Sonja Karp takes us off the page this week to bring us up to speed on the spring sports season in northeast Wyoming — where the weather always seems to be a factor in how and when Dogie student-athletes can perform. We get a glimpse into the work being done behind the scenes by coaches and players to prepare for the season, and discuss which programs are most likely to make a lit...

We go off the page this week to take a look at the rural business climate, and explain why we are closing our own retail office supply store and fully committing our resources to our media and marketing business to better serve the businesses, organizations and individuals in our community and region. We also update you on a shift towards transparency by local governments, and explain the role we&...

Content Warning: This episode discusses suicide and other violent acts. We go off the page this week with Sheila Matthews of ablechild.org to discuss her organization's quest to solidify the right of informed consent for parents who are being encouraged — and even coerced — into placing their children on psychiatric drugs. She wants to educate people to the potential dangers of these drugs, w...

We go off the page this week to take a deeper look at the legislative session that just concluded, and talk about how the media picked sides and exaggerated the impacts of legislative action and fed the fear of the public — instead of doing the hard work of informing them of the potential for positive outcomes from some of the measures. We also invite you to learn more about the News Letter Journa...

We go off the page this week to introduce you to University of Wyoming Cowboy point guard Obi Agbim, one of the country's top 3-point shooters and one of the Mountain West Conference's leading scorers. NLJ Publisher Bob Bonnar is reunited with the former Fort Lewis College star that he covered in Durango, Colorado, and the pair talks about their days as Skyhawks, the transfer portal, the...

This week we take you off the page to reveal the amount of time local governments are spending behind closed doors, and who is advising them to do so. We also share our perspective on a wild couple of weeks in the legislature, and the effect the Freedom Caucus' shock and awe campaign has had on some of those local governments. And we talk about a county commission meeting that wasn't, an...