Education + Health Reporter

You can find me in the classroom, in the hospital and in the field at @JHNGSchools and @JHNGHealth.

Award-winning special projects: 

• Air ambulance series:
  • Part 1: Alive, but at what cost? 
  • Part 2: Wyoming wrestles with making air ambulances affordable 
• Survivors Speak  Sexual assault survivors share why they spoke when they did.
• ​Opioid series:​
  • Part 1: Wade's struggle with addiction mirrors that of others
  • Part 2: Police try to stay ahead of rising tide of opioids ​
  • Part 3: Debating how to treat our opioid addiction
  • Part 4: Self-reliance imbues an addict's recovery

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Education​

• Tugi the adventure turtle 
• Schools take new tack in supporting students 
• Parents want a rule to protect recess
• Teacher and secretary earn district kudos 
• Decision tonight on Alta school 
• Hard work pays off with cash for college 
• Read a book, then eat it at library festival 
• Teton County teachers, staff to see fatter paychecks 
• Schools: Please read on your spring break 
• CWC plans to offer 4-year degree here 
• Plan designed to ease cramped classrooms
• Instagram account promoted, showed student fights
• Middle school aims for a culture of respect 
• Dual immersion continues to evolve
• School trust lands in the spotlight
• School district sued for Casper bus injury 
• Public schools dragged into Classical debate 
• Model UN links local students to the world 
• Public weighs in on crowded middle school
• Senator pushes school security
• Scam rips ID schools 
• After-school options evaluated for Munger 
• Schools target weekend hunger 
• UW to close office in Center for the Arts
• Kids flex computer science skills in Hour of Code
• Mr. Crisp goes to Washington — to learn 
• Search for library director narrows
• District settles lawsuit
• Adamson fund set up
• Middle school debuts new podcast
• School district preps for budget shortfalls 
• Teton schools do well on most recent tests
• Class at the kitchen table
• Teton youth vote for the first time 
• Middle schoolers learn lessons about grit 
• School board election results in little change
• School counselor empathizes with students 
• School board hopefuls: Teacher ideas critical 
• Threats at high school result in suspension 
• School board candidates: Guns for teachers? No way
• School hopefuls: Balance tech and tradition
• After new assessment teachers eye change 
• Science Schools plan an integrated future
• District eyes diverse advanced programs 
• New Munger school having a few hiccups 
• Munger relieves crowding at Colter, Jackson
• Students grow deep roots with dirty hands
• Literacy Center tries to fill tutor positions 
• Patriotic exercises now daily in schools
• Walking school bus changes its direction
• School staff trained on surviving gunmen
• Kids fill Munger Mountain
• Parents gain control of kids' school tech 
• 3 incumbents are now in school board race
• Teton high schoolers do well on exam
• Seeing math in a new light
• Learning guided by Mother Nature 
• Schools to offer care for employees' babies
• District pays $191K for school materials 
• Race for school board could be just stroll
• Children's museum is 'here to stay'
• New school on track to open in September
• Sharing stories of the Muries with the world
• CLC drops program that benefits teachers
• Heading toward an independent life
• Schools now own Village parcel
• Schools boss defends high per-pupil costs
• Grads honor journey, prepare for future
• Teachers want to help by taking a benefit cut
• Name, principal shift in Summit makeover
• C-V Ranch celebrates 2 graduates
• Munger Mountain takes shape
• Educators, support staff honored
• Learning Center rates will see 6 percent hike
• Schools won't keep property tax boost
• CWC graduates look to the future​
• Schools to decide staffing plan
• Playing through history
• Teacher salaries high but stagnant last year
• Schools add security, not guns 
• Village school tops list of crowding options 
• 2018's seniors get a cash boost
• RoboBroncs go out with a bang (hopefully not literally)
• Grant supports student engagement
• ​Students continue to protest school safety
• Students writing faces grading by machines
• UW adds new major focusing on tourism
• Jackson kids win state spelling bee
• CWC gains $500,000 in Wyoming funding
• Schools avoid big hit
• Students aim high to build a new climbing wall 
• Shootings spur need for new school culture
• Teton Village parcel transfered to county 
• Computer education ordered for all pupils 
• Florida high school shooting revives talk of how to respond
• Schools closely watch Legislature on budget
• Principal to recruit teachers from Spain 
• Legislature explores uses for federal money
• Legislature considers a range of bills in session
• Study focuses on youth needs
• Legislators don't like school funding report
• New year, new grants
• When Mom or Dad is your teacher, too
• Funding changes may hit teachers 
• Raise, extension, given to Chapman by board
• Recess on the rink
• Report indicates strong student progress
• Four schools secure kids after gun threat reported
• Governor seeks to cut $66M from education
• Babies boost teacher absences
• Kidz ledrs to Santa Klas
• School briefs, Dec. 20
• Coding engages kids in and out of school
• Trip to Amazon forest offers science, service
• High schoolers learn money management
• Kids' curiosity leads the lessons
• School superintendent's contract extended through 2022
• Literacy shows off on the runway
• Generations apart, reading together
• Schools may see growing pains
• School briefs, Nov. 15
• Gregory Lane fixes likely a long way off
• Boy Scouts will accept girls. Now what?
• School briefs, Oct. 25
• Prize steer is the guest at lunch
• Trump answer on a quiz was given last year
• 'Shoot Trump' quiz sets off fiery outcry
• Commission increases capacity of classrooms​
• Enrollment in schools continues to increase
• Dual immersion reaches high schools
• Walking school bus a hit with kids
• Grads do well on college test
• Students uncertain as DACA is nixed
• State: Teton schools meeting expectations
• County kids head back to class
• Survey finds support for education funding
• New year, new faces
• ​Valley prioritizes art education
• Teachers work early to set up classrooms
• Kids get an escort for the stroll to school
• When Broncs hit UW, how well do they do?
• Cookout for kindergartners
• School supply costs pose financial problems 
• New church told no on use of schools space
• New standardized test to hit state
• School district tackles kids' summer hunger
• Classical Academy to add ninth-graders
• Kids guide to explores park up and down
• Kids explore yoga with song, play
• 50 years of Teton Science Schools
• Donations sought for kids fruit program
• Finances are 'healthy' as schools OK budget
• County students test above state averages
• Removal of bus stops irks parents
• Young artists 'paint out' the park
• Summer learning loss hits low-income pupils
• Eclipse will cause spotty child care service 
• Schools to pay for sewer main change
• Middle school plans art education change
• Wagging tails ease pretest nerves
• Student art makes environmental statement
• School psychologists keep tenure, for now
• District debates cost of sewer main change
• Graduates look to their next big adventure
• Teton Village parcel could become school 
• Who can have tenure riles school employees
• Dual immersion slots allocated for 2017-18
• Engineering projects go to space and back
• Dual immersion kids put on a show
• Teaching kids to restart a heart
• Retiring staffers fondly bid students adieu 
• Murals give students a chance to be creative
• New school might get a bigger sewer main
• Fidget spinner craze has schools asking: Is it a toy? A tool?            *see video
• Trustees opt to keep paid maternity leave
• Girls get gun confident, and safe     *see video
• CWC graduates get a ceremonious send off
• Pride and penmanship
• Hoelscher to become principal
• Schools test new kids before their first day
• Gingery chosen as teacher of the year
• Vote moves CWC campus closer to reality
• Schools compromise on activity fee
• No-school day option wins national award
• Schools think funding is likely to rise slightly 
• District breaks ground on Munger
• Schools plot changes in bus software, stops
• Small but mighty Moran
• Screen time enhances class time 
• Debate team qualifies for national tourney
• Glittery traps lure tricksters
• Dual school not an easy decision
• Teen pushes for representation of 'Black 14'
• School officials begin budget cut discussion 
• Government battles turnover
• Dual school will be Munger Mountain
• New grade school gets funded but district budget takes a hit
• District to get power to OK guns in schools
• Witnesses to history
• Young pupils celebrate literacy with Dr. Seuss​
• Engineer, students roll into STEM 
• Donors help Literacy Center thrive
• Not your average physics class
• Education cuts force hard look at priorities
• College requests less money
• High schools to change to rotating class schedules
• School district braces for budget reductions
• Valley to get separate dual-immersion school
• Spellers brave the bee
• Kelly PTO is baffled by iPad insurance idea
• Locals react to DeVos confirmation
• CWC shifts focus to West Jackson parcel
• Teacher reductions loom as real possibility
• Imaginations soar in new exhibit
• Supply lags demand in schools' sub search
• TCSD supports CWC SPET ask
• Schools wary of concealed carry legislation
• SPET: Citizens have a say
• 'Dual' school decision grows in its difficulty
• Schools to make up snow day, but when?
• Students march to honor MLK Jr.
• Reading to dogs new at library
• Committee is all in favor of of separate dual program
• School chief: budget moves a local matter
• Schools cancelled in rare snow day
• New Learning Center ready to be assembled
• County school enrollment rises while state's falls
• Lawmakers mull school cuts
• Some kids go hungry during holidays
• Dear Santa...
• Funding for Munger clears a first hurdle
• Grants aid teachers by enhancing lessons
• District hands in texts, emails
• Schools now bracing for 10.8% budget cut
• Board delays magnet school call until 2017
• C-Bar-V makes gift tags to support Fire/EMS
• Teachers seeking a dual school
• State's tight budget pinches Teton schools
• Teachers are learners in leadership program​
• School gives thanks with food, camaraderie
• School board trustees prepping for new role
• High school students battle AIDS's stigma
• Dual, non-dual students see instruction disparity 
• Porn addiction posited as school board matter
• Robots take over school, with kids
• District explores fiscal management shakeup
• Too few Hispanic kids disrupt language plan
• New school furniture stimulates learning
• Encouraging future scientists
• High schoolers debate rule of law
• Teenagers tackle big global issues
• Politics lessons focus on issues, not drama
• K-5 school boundaries move closer to decision
• Mead tops the field in school board race
• String showcase spotlights student musicians
• Kids learn farm to table 
• District numbers begin to stabilize
• Kim Hunt named PE teacher of the year 
• District may change schoolday schedules
• Teton County School District No. 1 special election section
• Teenage abuse of drugs a worry
• Bouncing and pedaling helps students learn 
• On the prowl for predators
• Candidates concerned about reconfiguration
• Slate spurs questions in school board race
• Schools honor teachers by awarding tenure
• Wilson Elementary flips for pancakes
• Jackson schools shift homework practices
• Candidates say input from teachers is vital 
• Narrowing STEM's gender gap
• Gridlock is the rule for school rush hours
• Full circle from student to teacher
• School hopefuls back Munger grade school
• Media, health policies on district's agenda
• District seeks input on elementary schools
• Slate makes waves with other candidates
• Teach climate change? Yes, candidates say
• School board slate endorsed by Epstein
• Trout teach lessons in science
• Gingery: Media policy change needed a vote
• 'Slate' appears in school election
• New science standard finally wins state OK
• Coding school to open in Cheyenne
• Cycling to school gains momentum
• New scholarship to start next year at Journeys School 
• Library to offer free college prep workshops
• Smells like school spirit 
• It's back-to-school time for grownups, too
• Technology rolls out across Teton schools  
• No homework except reading at one school  
• Student government may form at JHHS
• Munger Mountain design advances forth 
• Free national park access for 4th-graders
• Five teens in running for Nat'l Merit money
• Library continues long-term planning
• New offerings during no-school days
• 24% of K-5 students learn in trailers
• School board to talk cell tower, media rules
• Five teens in running for Nat'l Merit money
• Local students win essay contest
• Homecoming week begins today 
• Text message caused school's concern 
• Man taken into custody after threat to schools
• Kindergartener faces the first day of school
• New elective high school class tackles gender issues
• Some seek larger gym for new grade school
• Meet the district's newest teachers
• County schools meet or exceed standards
• 'Bronc Week' made official
• Standards, not plaque, sought for new school
• School board race candidates flood in
• Verizon may expand cell tower on school grounds
• Graduation standards won't change locally
• City Kids learn life lessons
• Cultural preservation from the ground up 
• School board race heats up
• Child care facility to expand in Grove
• Teton pupils test well against rest of state
• Library's new mission, vision reflect changing times  
• Filing season for fall races
• School board to consider new media policy
• Watch for ACT scores, more after-school activities soon
• School trustees to talk buses, tech and more
• Munger Mountain construction planning on track
• Summer school wraps up
• Clarke crafts creative kids menus​
• Library cracks down on unattended kids​
• Teton County school district COO Barker resigns​
• Teacher salary freeze off the table for now
• Sewer hookup OK’d for new grade school
• ​School superintendent pleased with PAWS scores
• Munger Mountain controversy continues​
• Schools will not appear on TV show
• Trustees set to discuss TV show, new school​

COVID-19 Freelance:

• Air ambulances grapple with how to fly positive, high-risk patients
• Hospital gifted UV light cleaning robots 
• Hospital purchases more ventilators 
• Teton County case count grows to 7 
• Elective procedures postponed to conserve resources 
• ​Third coronavirus case confirmed in Teton County 
• Child care tough to find in face of pandemic 
• First COVID-19 case confirmed in Teton County, Wyoming
• St. John's Health suspends elective procedures 
• Good Samaritan Mission stays open 
• As positive cases increase, health officials, hospitals look to options 
• Schools prepare for remote education, no matter how long closures last 
• Hospital continues COVID-19 prep, sets up tent for evaluations ​

General Assignment

• Rodeo royalty 
• State sets fines after 2 deaths in trench 
• Designer cowboy 
• Highway 31 collision kills one, injures one 
• Trench investigation goes to prosecutor 
• Three live after avalanche burials
• Big snow brings joy, avalanches
• Men's death in trench still being investigated 
• Federal closure dismays workers 
• Fed workers cope with record shutdown 
• Legislative session starts with a flurry of bills 
• Keenans have first baby of the year 
• Bush speechwriter recalls his boss 
• Survivors speak 
• Investigation ongoing in collapse of trench
• Buried workers perished alone 
• Kombucha boom is boon for craft drink lovers
• Death of 2 in crash of glider is probed
• Bustin' mutton
• Horse therapists have a lot to teach
• Baking for life's sweetest events
• Baby cows announce the coming of spring​
• Ed Murray accused of sexual assault
• Girafficorns find the wild 
• Wagner wears every kind of hat
• Locals travel to help Harvey victims repair
• Nature's role in design​
• Hole avoids eclipse apocalypse
• Locals and visitors share tales from totality
• Eclipse awes everyone in the valley
• Campers try their luck
• Tasters bring expertise to food competition
• NPR correspondent builds trust every day 
• Fourth parade wows crowds
• Creepy man offers ride, parents are put on alert
• ATV accident kills teenager
• Potato farmer and dancer extraordinaire
• Moo's screams for handmade, pure ice-cream
• Voters set to decide on SPET
• Election judges unsung heroes of polls 
• Celebrating Stagecoach Band's 48 years
• 2,500 Sundays of the Stagecoach Band
• Turnover solutions are varied
• Young workers decide to move
• Rex Specs has your dog's eyes covered
• Event coaches women on running for office
• Jackson goes kooky for cookies
• It's the dog days of winter
• Doglsed start to take over Town Square
• Women to rally on Inauguration Day
• Fifth time's the charm for family
• Shovel wins big support on Kickstarter
• Unity will save us, activist says
• Alpenhof listed on historic register
• Stio to open in Teton Village​
• Half of library staff facing housing stress​
• Signature wines are 'best of both worlds'
• Rotarians pour wine to aid veterans
• Stock up on salmon at market feast and sale 
• Meet you at The Wort for a 75th celebration
• The long legacy of Jackson Lake Lodge
• Y'stone events toast Park Service's 100th
• Slow eats, fast wheels essential for food tour 
• DMOS Collective wins Pitch Day
• Phillips blessed Hole with his music, heart
• Entrepreneurs rev engines for Pitch Day
• Teton’s lottery luck is average
• Pups put their best paw forward​​​
• Hodges was a force, on and off the baseball field
• ​Lower Valley: No more outages expected
• Jackson has no juice during 3-hour outage
• Teton Motors grows for Subaru​​
• Park plays with negative space, funk
• Teen time on screens explored in movie
• ​Past, present, future on display at Video Blitz
• Two photographers to show bobcats and more
• Gleason cuts and prints scenes of nature
• Nature's patterns inspire Walker's show
• Mountain peaks and music highlight Hennes show
• Gibson plays with atmosphere, new locations
• Learn about time-lapse videography in the park 
• Colorful collages combine Western and pop styles
• Two Grey Hills to host potter, weaver 
• Grand Teton Gallery goes bold and bright 
• Prints inspired by kids' art show at center

Health​

• Rotator cuff surgery technique tricks body with bovine implant 
• Teton County GOP decries abortion post 
• Study finds variation in hospital pay scales 
• There's a waiting list for the shingles vaccine 
• Your ACL pops, and that's just the start
• Hospital board eyes childcare expansion
• Sage Living building to start this summer 
• Mumps visit Jackson with help from tourist
• St. John's hires new chief nursing officer 
• Flu season drags on, Wyo. rated moderate
• Study: Teton County is healthiest in state
• State's middle class faces highest premiums in US 
• Blue Cross payments slow so far this year 
• Medicare dings St. John's for readmissions 
• Abortion bill awaits governor's signature
• Medical marijuana? Lawmakers say pass
• New nonprofit offers medical translation
• Legislature eyes new rules for optometrists 
• Hospital  cuts benefits for part-time workers 
• Mental health care strengthened in county
• Grant boosts resources for sexual health 
• Schwartz pushes Medicaid expansion
• Legislature considers abortion restrictions 
• From bedridden to book deal 
• A diet cookbook with cake, not kale salad 
• Malpractice trial clears doctor of negligence
• Verdict coming soon in malpractice trial 
• Malpractice lawsuit goes to district court 
• Parkinson's fighters get a start in Jackson 
• Lung cancer death: It's not predictable
• Medicaid encircles Wyo.
• Incumbents, advisor win 4 hospital seats 
• Investor doctors make waves 
• Most hospital hopefuls: Expand Medicaid
• Breathe and bathe in trees
• Hospital hopefuls talk rural healthcare 
• Hospital: IT system to better protect data 
• Political action group forms in hospital race
• Vaccinations get kids ready for the school year 
• Doctor: disciplinary record is behind me 
• Tetons' medical waste goes to Salt Lake City
• Colon cancer danger hits young folks, too
• 10 candidates compete for hospital board 
• Women in Teton County wait to have kids
• Doctors on TV? Using telehealth gains steam 
• Fundraiser seeks to offset cancer costs
• Patient: Support St. John's with an MRI
• Jackson doc's work saves lives in Africa
• Time to reminisce, pass on wisdom
• County won't press opioid claims alone
• St. John's adds robot to its surgical staff
• Burkland reflects on long career in therapy
• Canine influenza is on Tetons radar
• It's mosquito season so deter the tiny biters 
• Hospital's finances turn positive in April 
• Local enrollment in ACA is about the same as 2017
• State AG wants lead in opioid battle
• Keeping doctors hard for hospital
• Hospital pursues holistic approach to pain
• Gasping for air
• Big discovery for brain science
• An aging population costs hospital more
• A way for all types to give
• Scientific discovery made in Jackson 
• Hospital has no pact for air ambulances
• Teton County ranked 19th healthiest​
• County considers suit against opioid makers
• Doozy of a flu season reaches into Wyoming
• Doctors accuse hospital of bias
• Hospital copes with IV bag shortage​
• Vaping a growing teen trend
• 2018's first baby meets his family
• Hospital workforce housing not full
• Veterans: VA Choice isn't functioning well
• St. John's may tighten its link to University of Utah
• MRI facility promotes 'day-spa' atmosphere
• Insurance deadline is looming
• Colo. firm to design hospital's rest home
• Loss of CHIP menaces kid care
• Urologist Finkelstein joins St. John's group
• Assessment prioritizes pressing health needs
• Health insurance free for some
• First-quarter income sees a dip at St. John's
• St. John's will offer new cancer therapy
• Near death experience prompts writings of joy
• Education is needed on underage drinking
• Family planning grant needs to be extended
• Paging Dr. Miller ... without luck
• Healing a joint effort at St. John's​
• Living Center bidders down to pair of firms​
• New model of healthcare opens in Jackson
• Rule change for Medicare to cost $1.3M
• Eggs get a close look from Public Health
• Health costs to rise 48 percent​
• Hospital looks to add more worker units
• St. John's sees great year for donations
• Women plan in case babies, eclipse, arrive together
• Cancer patients can now get physical therapy
• New MRI machine coming to St. John's
• Senators likely to vote to repeal Obamacare
• Hospital is preparing for mob of eclipse fans
• Protective spectacles are a must for eclipse
• Hospital set to open outpatient pharmacy
• Health care bill a mixed bag
• Hospital gets in gear for summer's bustle
• Cancer hits family hard​
• St. John's employee housing takes shape
• Senior home to benefit from pharmacy deal
• Town moves to curb booze sales to minors
• Health bill could push uninsured rate higher
• Hospital to expand Sublette partnership
• Senior Living Center wins
• Suicide prevention hit by state cuts
• Telehealth to add psychiatric options
• Hospice helps patients die with dignity
• Cash low for program that aids moms-to-be
• Report: Jackson suffers from lack of psychiatric care 
• St. John's picks senior care boss
• Patients relieved by ACA survival 
• Alzheimer's care plan needs public input
• Nurse builds health with basics
• Advocacy group aims to boost Living Center
• New laws on abortion go into effect in July 
• Studio owners help clients get strong
• Free teen heart screenings at St. John's

Environment/Outdoors

• Coexisting with our constellations 
• Perfect storm for low flows 
• Youth rally for Mother Earth 
• New book says 'Give cougars space'
• Avalanche workshop draws flurry of skiers 
• Bears in the news: it's a lot lately 
• Tetons might get 2 new weather stations
• The fear of rabies is growing, but there's no need to go bats
• Displaced owlets given a home in Northern Utah 
• Solar sustainability boasted at new school
• Beaver takes a chomp out of Snow King tree
• Still holding tight to the wild
• Late summer's bounty
• Ok, so a bat bit you. Now what?
• Rabies-positive bat captured in Wilson along Snake River
• Rabid bat confirmed, a first for the county​
• Air quality worrisome amidst haze
• Bear jams and moose joy abound in autumn​
• Bringing the sea to students
• Kids get a peek under the ice
• On the prowl for predators
• Murie Center honors spirit of conservation​​
• Grizzly lesson plan runs into resistance​
• Some successes in Lava Mountain, Cliff Creek firefighting efforts​