Governor Mead Delivers State of The State Address To A Hopeful Legislature

Governor Mead delivered his first State of the State address yesterday and with it comes an optimistic outlook that Wyoming is on top of its game. In the address, Governor Mead spoke about some of the main issues he wants to deal with during his term as Governor.

To start his address the Governor stated that the "state of the state" is very good! Wyoming's budget is high and capable of funding many State wide projects. Also, instead of a drop in population Wyoming has seen growth. Governor Mead also had an optimistic outlook at our state's unemployment rate which dropped from 7% to 6.6% and will hopefully continue to lower.

The new budget proposal is a topic that will not be discussed lightly during the legislative session as there are many issues around the state that require large amounts of funding. On topic the Governor supports is spending $52 million on State Highway and roadway restoration. Roadways are the main source of importing revenue as well as exporting Wyoming's abundance of natural resources.

Governor Mead also hopes to create jobs, grow and diversify our economy and build on Wyoming's natural resources. Possible areas where he hopes to do that is in energy, agriculture, tourism and workforce. The governor also wants to develop wind and gas fire turbine projects. Development of those items means manufacturing those items as well and Governor Mead hopes to bring manufacturing companies to Wyoming to reduce costs.

In his address, Mead said "Wyoming has what the U.S. needs." Available land, wind and climate are all natural advantages that he hopes our state can capitalize on.

The allocation of $14.5 million in general funds for the recruitment of multiple data centers is another topic Governor Mead is in support of. He hopes that bringing in data centers will help keep Wyoming competitive. Wyoming is on the cutting edge of many technologies that can be improved through projects. Currently the University of Wyoming is working with GE on coal gasification and is also one of the nations leaders in exploring carbon capture. Mead also stated that "technology will help keep our energy industry competitive." Governor Mead says he supports using technology to its maximum advantage to improve state government and business climate, to enrich personal and work lives and to improve the quality of patient health care.

Wyoming's 32nd Governor voiced that he also supports all our extractive industries which include coal, oil, gas and carbon capture. He also supports continuing the manufacturing sales tax exemption in which forty other states support. Currently in Wyoming over 200 businesses already use the exemption. Mead is also interested in the legislature strengthening agriculture and travel industries through increases of range land assessment and tourism promotion.

These are just some of the topics that Governor Mead touched on and there are plenty more issues in store for the Legislature this session. If you are interested in reading more you can visit the Office of The Governor's web page at