Red states and blue states are drifting further apart, ideologically. Rural youth are migrating faster and faster to urban centers. Small town newspapers and radio stations are going silent. Families can't even carry on a respectful conversation at the 4th of July potluck! Never has it been more important for the media to step forward and moderate conversations across divides.

"Tune In, Get Informed, Get Involved": Four Wyoming Political Greats Talk Civility

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Former U.S. Senator Al Simpson, former Wyoming Governor Mike Sullivan USFWS Director and former Senate President John Turner, and Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Marilyn Kite spoke last month in Laramie.

The University of Wyoming’s Haub School and the Ruckelshaus Institute recently celebrated 25 years of collaboration in solving problems concerning the environment, natural resources and energy issues. As part of the festivities, the school hosted a panel on civility with some of Wyoming’s most respected political figures: U.S. Senator Al Simpson, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Marilyn Kite, former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director and State Senator John Turner and former Democratic Governor Mike Sullivan.

Wyoming Public Radio’s Melodie Edwards sat down with them as part of our series, “I Respectfully Disagree.”

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Melodie Edwards is the host and producer of WPM's award-winning podcast The Modern West. Her Ghost Town(ing) series looks at rural despair and resilience through the lens of her hometown of Walden, Colorado. She has been a radio reporter at WPM since 2013, covering topics from wildlife to Native American issues to agriculture.
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