暗黑爆料

Mountain West states like Montana, Colorado and Utah are seeing unprecedented population growth right now. In fact, Idaho is the fastest growing state in the nation. But that鈥檚 not the case in Wyoming where the population is shrinking. 

Elsa Froelicher grew up in Cheyenne. 

鈥淚 think Wyoming has a very small-town feel, which I adore, I love it,鈥� said Froelicher.

But she wants to see more of the world. So, when she graduates from the University of Wyoming this May, she鈥檒l be going to grad school 鈥� somewhere else.   

鈥淚t鈥檚 between University of Puget Sound, which is in Tacoma, Washington, and the University of New Mexico which is Albuquerque,鈥� said Froelicher. 

Credit Maggie Mullen

An estimated   of young people like Froelicher take their degree and leave the state. Brandon Checci is another student who plans on checking out. He鈥檚 about to finish his Master鈥檚 in accounting and will move to Omaha, Nebraska. It will be the biggest city he鈥檚 ever lived in. 

鈥淚 think the mystery of it all is actually what I鈥檓 more interested in,鈥� said Checci.

That, and there鈥檚 a job waiting for him with Union Pacific, the second-largest railroad system in the country. Checci got the position through a college job fair. He said the benefits got his attention first, but it was the amenities in Omaha that sealed the deal.

鈥淭hey have a lot more stuff that just goes on,鈥� said Checci. 鈥淭hey have a theatre in downtown Omaha, and I think they have a world-famous zoo and aquarium.鈥�

Still, kids itching to leave their hometowns isn鈥檛 unique to Wyoming - especially in other rural states. So what else is going on?

Samuel Western is a Wyoming author and cultural critic.  He said Wyoming鈥檚 problem has everything to do with its resource economy and the boom and bust cycle. 

鈥淭raditionally, Wyoming has been contracyclical. That means that when commodity prices are high people come in, and when they are low, they leave,鈥� said Western. 

But that鈥檚 not unique to Wyoming, either. Other states have faced that reality. He said what is unique to Wyoming is how it鈥檚 dealt with that reality.

鈥淲e鈥檝e just kicked the can down the road,鈥� said Western.

On the other hand, he said states with similar economies have realized that people and their ideas are better than natural resources at bringing in wealth. And they鈥檝e diversified. Wyoming he said is just starting to get that.   

Governor Matt Mead recently introduced an initiative mandating economic diversity.

鈥淭he fact that we are talking about it, that it鈥檚 in print, that means we have to have people come into the state right now in order to make it work, is a fairly novel concept,鈥� said Western.

So how do you get people to come back? One way is the state program - Wyoming Grown. Hayley McKee helped launch the program.

鈥淲e knew we needed to look at folks who were familiar with Wyoming and familiar with the Rocky Mountain region, love the outdoors,鈥� said McKee. 

One of their strategies in luring young Wyomingites back is flattery. A friend or family member who still lives in the state nominates someone who鈥檚 left. That person then gets a letter from the governor asking them to come home. McKee says she thinks that鈥檚 a powerful tool.  

鈥溾€楪overnor Mead wants me to come back from Wyoming,鈥� and it makes them feel special,鈥� said McKee.

Even if they don鈥檛 come back straight away, McKee counts on them coming home eventually. That鈥檚 something Froelicher is already planning.

鈥淚 would love to come back to Wyoming ultimately and raise my family here and spend the rest of my life here, for sure,鈥� said Froelicher. 

Again, college grads coming back to their rural states or small hometowns to start a family isn鈥檛 specific to Wyoming either, and to get people like Brandon Checci to come back, the cowboy state will have to do more.

鈥淚 think we would have to have much more growth, or at least a lot more diversified economy,鈥� said Checci.

And that鈥檚 what the state is working on right now.

This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

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