This column is Part Two of my earlier discussions about how Idaho and Wyoming compare. 

When you live in a small city or town in Wyoming, you feel a responsibility to build up businesses, create jobs and increase opportunities for everyone. And when you succeed, just about everyone benefits. It is a very good feeling.

After working in economic development for 48 years, though, sometimes the thought of going to more meetings can make you a little bit weary.

When I asked John Davis of Worland what he thought about the recent news stories about how Idaho was the fastest growing state and Wyoming was the slowest, he replied: “An interesting discussion, but one that feels like déjà vu all over again. This has been a recurring situation all of my life.” 

John and I are about the same age and, yes, it does seem like we have been trying to build our communities our entire adult life. And, yet, we plod along.

Here are some comments from folks around the state: 

Foundation CEO Patrick Henderson of Sheridan weighs in: “When I first graduated from college — I moved to Pocatello, Idaho. It’s a nice community — friendly folks, diverse economy, lots of outdoor recreation and a great college. I have family that lives in Boise, and both are in the education field at Boise State. One thought is that Idaho is just a lot warmer to live in than Wyoming and has very little wind. Idaho has lots to offer with fishing, skiing, hunting and climbing opportunities. Idaho is attractive, but I still prefer my Wyoming!” 

One of the best-informed (and highly-opinionated) guys around is economist Jonathan Schechter of Jackson, who bemoans Wyoming’s worship of King Coal and finds it similar to the country’s worship of “King Trump.” 

He says: “Put more succinctly, Wyoming is putting a profound amount of energy into denying two basic realities: market forces and scientifically-grounded truth. The former is especially ironic given our alleged embrace of said forces.”

Schechter continues: “This is essentially the same phenomenon as is occurring nationally, and in both cases the process is abetted by an utterly credulous media, which lacks the intelligence, imagination, courage, and/or ability to act in ways that would enlighten its audience. In that sense, the media is little more than a fixed part of the Kabuki dance Wyoming’s legislature is leading, where the script and all roles are completely rote, leaving no room for change, initiative, or the like. Switching metaphors, an Emperor’s New Clothes phenomenon.”

Retired teacher Dennis Coelho of Cheyenne says: “I grew up in southwestern Idaho, on my grandfather’s homestead, about thirty miles south of Nampa. I have been living in Cheyenne for almost forty years, and I have often thought of comparisons between our fair state and our neighbor to the west. 

“I know that recently a similar essay comparing the states has received national recognition.

“I think a comparison has to start with geography and geology. My grandfather’s farm was at 2,200 feet, while here it is 4,000 feet higher. Southern Idaho is a-slosh in water. While grandfather’s place was on the Snake River, the actual water was in a canyon 400 feet below and useless for farming in our area. Most of southwestern Idaho draws irrigation from a dam on the Boise River, a project started around 1900 and the impetus for settlement in the area. 

“When I was a lad, circa mid fifties, Boise was about the size that Cheyenne is now, i.e. about 50,000 people. Tree-lined streets and quiet avenues filled with craftsman houses. 

“The Boise area really began to grow when a couple of tech companies, Micron for example, made a commitment to build factories and research centers in the area. To some extent, they chose Boise because there was a two-year college with ambitions to become a full university, since the state university was in a very inconvenient setting several hundred miles north in Moscow, where it dominates a small town, difficult to get to at any time but especially so in winter.

 “The economic spark started by Micron is still growing as more and more people come to the Boise area. Real estate booms, housing values and development increase. The demographics show solid growth in that 20-40 age group similar to that in Ft. Collins. 

 “No arguing with the impacts of energy development in Wyoming, but Idaho has had its own industrial impacts and problems especially in the hard rock gold and silver mining areas in the northern part of the state. 

Coelho concludes: “The thing I like most about Boise is the river running through the city. Wish we had that. But I am not moving.”

Check out additional columns at www.billsniffin.com. He has published six books. His coffee table book series has sold 30,000 copies. You can find them at www.wyomingwonders.com.