Laramie

Laramie was named for Jacques LaRamie, a French or French-Canadian trapper who disappeared in the Laramie Mountains in the early 1820s and was never heard from again. The city was founded in the mid-1860s as a tent city near the Overland Stage Line route, the Union Pacific portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and just north of Fort Sanders army post. It was named as one of the best cities in which to retire by Money Magazine, which cited its scenic location, low taxes, and educational opportunities. It is home to the University of Wyoming, WyoTech, and a branch of Laramies County Community College. The ruins of Fort. Sanders, an army fort predating LarAmie, lie just south of the city along Route 287. Laramia is the third-largest city in Wyoming after Cheyenne and Casper. It has a population of 32,711, making it the third largest city in the U.S. after Wyoming and Denver. The population of Wyoming's capital city, Casper, is about 20,000, and the city's population is about 30,000. The town is located at the junction of Interstate 80 and U.S. Route 287, at the intersection of the Wyoming-Wyoming Turnpike and Interstate 90. The name of the town was used for decades to distinguish it from other uses. The first regular passenger service began on May 10, 1868, by which time entrepreneurs were building more permanent structures.

History

Laramie is the primary city name, but also Bosler, Foxpark are acceptable city names or spellings, Jelm on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. Laramie was named for Jacques LaRamie, a French or French-Canadian trapper who disappeared in the Laramie Mountains in the early 1820s. European-American settlers named a river, mountain range, peak, US Army fort, county, and city for him. The city was founded in the mid-1860s as a tent city near the Overland Stage Line route, the Union Pacific portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and just north of Fort Sanders army post. The first regular passenger service began on May 10, 1868, by which time entrepreneurs were building more permanent structures. In 1869, Wyoming was organized as Wyoming Territory, the first legislature of which passed a bill granting equal political rights to women in the territory. As of September 2021, Wyoming does not have a hate crimes law, having failed to pass its most recent attempt at a hate crime law in March 2021. In 2004, the city became the first city in Wyoming to pass a law to prohibit smoking in enclosed workplaces, including enclosed bars, including restaurants and bars. The law was passed after the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, who was a focus of a nationwide campaign against hate crimes. In 1998, LaramIE became the subject of the award-winning play, The Lar amie Project, which was later adapted as a movie, "Laramie," starring Tom Hanks and Nicole Kidman. In the late 20th century the city was covered by an agricultural college, which opened in 1887.

Geography

Laramie is located at 41°1847N 105°3514W (41.312927, 105.587251). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.76 square miles (46.00 km²) The city is on a high plain between two mountain ranges, the Snowy Range, about 30 miles (48 km) to the west, and the Laramie Range, 7 miles (11 km), to the east. The city's elevation above sea level is approximately 7,165 feet (2,184 m) Because of the high elevation, winters are long, and summers are short and relatively cool. The growing season is short, as the average window for freezing temperatures is September 14 through June 6, while for accumulating (0.1 inches (2.5 mm) it is October 5 through May 12. The average number of rainy days per year is about 86.2 times a year, with a day that is 90 °F (32 °C) or warmer 2.2times a year. Annual snowfall averages 48 inches (122 cm) a year; the city experiences about 11 inches (279 mm) of rain a year on average. Laramies lies along U.S. Route 30 and Interstate 80, and it remains an important junction on the Union Pacific Railroad line. It is about 50 miles (80 km) west of Cheyenne, and 130 miles (209 km) north of Denver, Colorado.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 30,816 people, 13,394 households, and 5,843 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 89.5% White, 3.2% Asian, 2.8% from two or more races, 1.3% African American, 0.7% Native American, and 0.1% Pacific Islander. There were 11,994 housing units at an average density of 1,076.9 per square mile (415.7/km²) The city's median income was $27,319, and the median income for a family was $43,395. The per capita income for theCity was $16,036. About 11.1%. of families and 22.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7. of those under age 18 and 8.3%. of those age 65 or over. The median age in the City was 25.4 years, with 15.9% of residents under the age of 18; 32.7%. were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5%. were from 25 to 44; 17.4% were from 45 to 64; and 7.5. were 65 years of age or older. The city has a population of 27,204 people, with 11,336 households, out of which 23.0% had children under the Age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was2.85.

Arts and culture

Laramie Jubilee Days started in 1940 to celebrate Wyoming Statehood Day on July 10. The Geological Museum at the University of Wyoming is open to the public and houses more than 50,000 catalogued mineral, rock, and fossil specimens. The Fine Arts Concert Hall on campus presents frequent concerts and recitals during the school year. The Wyoming Children's Museum and Nature Center has interactive exhibits and pottery classes for children aged 3 and older. Twenty-one sites in Laramie, including the Wyoming Territorial Penitentiary, are included on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) The other sites are the Downtown Laramies Historic District, the Ivinson Mansion and Grounds, Old Main on the university campus, the Barn at Oxford Horse Ranch, Bath Row, Charles E. Blair House, John D. Conley House, Cooper Mansion, East Side School, Fort Sanders Guardhouse, William Goodale House, Lehman-Tunnell Mansion, Lincoln School, Richardson's Overland Trail Ranch, St. Matthew's Cathedral Close, Paulus Kirche, Snow Train Rolling Stock, Union Pacific Athletic Club, and the Vee Bar Ranch Lodge. The Ames Monument is a large granite pyramid dedicated to brothers Oakes Ames, a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts, and Oliver Ames, Jr., who were influential in building the Union Pacific portion of the First transcontinental railroad. The other site is Como Bluff, a long ridge extending eastwest between Rock River and Medicine Bow. Geologic formations in the ridge contain fossils, including dinosaurs, from the Late Jurassic.

Sports

The University of Wyoming Cowboys compete at the NCAA Division I level (FBS-Football Bowl Subdivision for football) as a member of the Mountain West Conference. Popular activities include skiing, snowmobiling, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, and hiking. Rock climbing, hiking, and camping are among the attractions of Vedauwoo, an assemblage of weathered granite slabs, boulders, and cliffs covering 10 square miles (26 km²) in the Medicine Bow Routt National Forest. For 27 miles (43 km) of its length as it crosses the Snowy Range, the Highway 130 corridor has been designated a National Forest Scenic Byway. The Wyoming Marathon Races, a series of running and ultra-running events held in Medicine Bow National Forest, are held annually each Memorial Day weekend. The Laramie River, which flows north into Wyoming from Colorado, is fished as are the smaller streams in both mountain ranges and the many small plains lakes in the Lar amie Basin. Other outdoor activities popular near Laramies include camping, picnicking, rafting on the LarAmie River and the North Platte River, viewing of wildlife such as mule deer, elk, moose, and pronghorn, and general sightseeing. The Medicine Bow RailTrail is a mountain bike trail, 21 miles (34 km) long, built between 2005 and 2007 on the bed of an abandoned railroad southwest of LaramIE. It starts near the town of Albany and Lake Owen and extends south to the town near the WyomingColorado border.

Parks and recreation

Laramie has 14 city parks that, among them, include playgrounds, seasonal wading pools, jogging and biking paths, baseball and softball fields, a skateboard park, horseshoe pits, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a fitness circuit court, soccer fields, picnic tables, river fishing, and a seasonally stocked fishing pond. Laramie residents also have access to the University of Wyoming's 18-hole golf course, and to a wide variety of university recreation sites. The Community Ice Arena is open for ice skating, skating lessons, hockey, synchronized skating, adult co-ed broomball, and other ice-related activities from October through mid-March. A children's hockey club, a figure skating club, university hockey teams, and adult non-check hockey teams as well as the general public use the ice arena. The community Recreation Center has an outdoor swimming pool, an indoor pool, water slides, a full-court gymnasium, cardio equipment, circuit weights, and an indoor playground, and it offers programs in adult fitness, youth volleyball, junior basketball, and aquatics. It also has a climbing wall, and fields for football, soccer, and track. It has a public country club and golf course. It offers squash courts, handball courts, Baseball and Softball diamonds, basketball courts, and football, Soccer, and Track and Field fields for children, adults, and high school students. It is also home to a public ice arena for hockey, figure skating, and figure skating.

Environmental problems

A former industrial site for the production of aluminum, arsenic acid, strategic metals and cement had arsenic concentrations in on-site water well samples 3,100-times higher than DEQ cleanup levels. The site has been storing a 1,000-ton pile of contaminated flue dust from Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex, an Idaho superfund site, under a tarp since the 1980s. In 2011 L.C. Holdings entered the DEQ's "Voluntary Remediation Program". The site is located 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Laramie, Wyoming, and is now owned by L.c. Holdings. The company says it is working with the state of Wyoming to clean up the site. The DEQ says the company is working on a "voluntary cleanup" plan to clean the site up and remove the flue Dust from under the tarp, which has been stored for 30 years. It is not clear if the company will be able to remove the dust by the end of the year, or if the site will have to be closed for the rest of its operations. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has not commented on the issue of whether or not the company has agreed to a voluntary cleanup plan for the site, or whether it will be forced to close the site in the near future. It has been reported that the site has a history of problems with arsenic in its water supply, including arsenic in the water supply from a previous owner.

Government and laws

Laramie has a councilmanager form of government. The council, the city's legislative body, consists of nine members who serve overlapping four-year terms. Two members of the council are elected from each of three wards. Laramie is the county seat of Albany County and houses county offices, courts, and the county library. In 2015, Laramies passed an LGBT anti-discrimination bill. The ordinance bans discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations such as bars and restaurants. The city's council picks a mayor and vice-mayor once every two years at the first council meeting in January. It also appoints citizen volunteers to advisory boards, and oversee the city staff. It is the only city in the state to have a council manager form ofgovernment. The current council is made up of seven Republicans and three Democrats. The mayor is a Republican, as are the vice- mayors of both the city and the town of Laredo, the town's largest city. It has a population of 2.2 million, the second largest city in New York state, after Lompoc, with 1.7 million residents. It was the first city to pass an anti-discriminatory bill in 2015, banning discrimination in employment and housing. The law also bans discrimination in public accommodations, such as restaurants and bars, and in public places such as public parks. It takes effect on January 1, 2016. It's the first time the city has passed a law banning discrimination against the LGBT community.

Education

Albany County School District #1, the only school district in the county, is headquartered in Laramie. St. Laurence, a Catholic school of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne, formerly served children in grades K6. In 2009, about 13,400 students were enrolled there at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. WyoTech campus offers 9-month courses in Automotive Technology, Collision & Refinishing Technology, and Diesel Technology. The University of Wyoming also offers a Lab School (colloquially referred to as "Prep") for K9 students. Snowy Range Academy, a charter school, serves children ingrades K7. It closed on June 30, 2016 as its costs had increased and the numbers of students had declined. It opened in 1951 and in 2016 it had 30 students; it now occupies the campus of a Montessori school. The main campus of the University of. Wyoming is in Lar amie. A branch campus of Laramies County Community College is also in Laromie. The LaramIE County Community. College offers 9 month courses in. Automotive. Technology,Collision & refinishing technology, and diesel Technology. It also offers. a variety of specialized industry programsincluding High-Performance Power Trains, Street Rod, Trim and Upholstery, Chassis Fabrication, and Applied Service Management. The school district has 19 public schools in an area of 4,000 square miles (10,000 km²) including Laramia, Centennial, Rock River, and rural locations.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming = 97. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 71. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 88. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Laramie = 5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 31,407 individuals with a median age of 26.5 age the population dropped by -0.15% in Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,781.74 residents per square mile of area (701.16/km²). There are average 2.13 people per household in the 11,642 households with an average household income of $34,949 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 3.80% of the available work force and has dropped -0.12% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 35.96%. The number of physicians in Laramie per 100,000 population = 213.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Laramie = 11.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 49.8 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 89. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 231. 79 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 12.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 71, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Laramie, Albany County, Wyoming which are owned by the occupant = 44.58%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 38 years with median home cost = $109,490 and home appreciation of -1.30%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $6.52 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $6,676 per student. There are 11.9 students for each teacher in the school, 197 students for each Librarian and 154 students for each Counselor. 5.04% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 27.33% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 19.83% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).