GILLETTE, Wyo. – It was a changing of the guard of sorts for the Gillette City Council with existing, outgoing, and oncoming members gathered at the Gillette College Pronghorn Center early Friday morning.
While the council’s special meeting agenda contained several items, the discussion between new and old members- including Mayor-Elect Shay Lundvall and Mayor Eric Hanson- made one thing abundantly clear: the council has its work cut out for it with the future of Gillette on the table.
The county seat for Campbell County, Gillette is one of the largest population centers in Wyoming; it’s 34,267 residents making it the third-largest city in the state behind Casper’s population of 59,782 and Cheyenne’s 66,266.
Campbell County is widely known as the top producer of Wyoming coal; the county’s active surface coal mines accounted for over 90% of the 238 million short tons mined in Wyoming in 2021, according to the…