Dave's News

Former State Senator and Sheridan Mayor Dave Kinskey has been appointed to the Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors, bringing more than two decades of front-line economic development experience to the state agency tasked with growing Wyoming’s economy.

“The reason I got involved in public life was simple: I wanted to see my community thrive, and I wanted a 21st-century economy to take root in Wyoming towns,” Kinskey said. “We’ve had real wins, but the work is far from finished. I’m honored to bring what we learned in Sheridan to a board that touches every corner of the state.”

Kinskey served as Mayor of Sheridan from 2005 to 2014, a decade in which the city moved aggressively to diversify its economy beyond traditional extractive industries. During his tenure, City Hall balanced its budget, rebuilt financial reserves, streamlined development approvals, and laid the groundwork for major projects including the North Main Street interchange and the planning of what would become the Sheridan High-Tech Business Park.

The results speak for themselves. Over the last two decades, Sheridan County entities have leveraged roughly $88.2 million through 29 Business Ready Community grant and loan applications. The High-Tech Business Park is now home to Vacutech, Kennon Products, and Weatherby. Sheridan County manufacturing jobs grew from 433 in 2012 to 1,099 in 2025, more than tripling the jobs lost as extractive employment declined.

“Building the right conditions for jobs and employers doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years, sometimes decades, of disciplined work and steady partnerships,” Kinskey said. “Sheridan’s story is proof that when state, county, and city leaders pull in the same direction, Wyoming communities can compete for and win the kinds of employers that build careers, not just jobs.”

A Sheridan High School graduate, Kinskey holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and a law degree from the University of Wyoming. His private-sector career spans more than four decades and includes founding and leading M&M Home Medical, serving as Corporate Counsel and Director of Business Development for Mini Mart, Inc., and practicing law in Sheridan. 

Kinskey joins the WBC at a pivotal moment. The Council is actively reviewing Community Readiness Grant requests from Douglas and Wright at the May meeting, advancing broadband expansion under the BEAD program, and renewing partnerships with the SBDC, Manufacturing Works, and the Wyoming Women’s Business Center.

“Wyoming has so much going for it: our people, our values, our resources, our work ethic,” Kinskey said. “But none of that turns into paychecks and opportunities on its own. We have much work to do, and I’m ready to get to it.”

Earlier this month, I had the privilege of attending Dave and Donna Kinskey’s 50th anniversary celebration — a party unlike any I’d been to before. I’ve been to anniversary gatherings with sheet cakes, children weaving through clusters of relatives, and poster boards of old wedding photos and first cars. But this one included something I wasn’t expecting: a full performance.

I’ll admit, I was nervous for them. It felt risky, vulnerable — even a little audacious — to celebrate such a milestone by putting themselves on stage. My initial instinct was protective: Don’t do that. What if it flops? But what unfolded was far from a flop.

The Kinskeys danced. They told jokes. They played the piano. They entertained a full house at the WYO Theater with humor, grace, and creativity. For nearly an hour, they reminded us that life — at any stage — should be lived with joy and courage.

As I left the event, I found myself reflecting on my own hesitations. At this point in life — middle age — I was suddenly aware of how much I sometimes operate like a middle-schooler again. That same instinct to blend in, not stand out, not take a risk. The fear of being different. The worry that I’ll get it wrong.

Middle age, like junior high, can feel like an in-between. You’re no longer young, but you’re not yet reaping all the benefits of experience either. I can’t run as fast as I used to — but sometimes I still try. I’m supposed to have it together, to raise kids, pay bills, get the job done — but I’m still figuring out the rules, too.

Watching the Kinskeys, I realized what a gift it is to reach a point where you have nothing left to prove. They’ve raised their family. They’ve weathered the hard parts. And now, they’re choosing to celebrate — not just what they’ve done, but who they still are and who they might become.

Their performance was more than entertainment. It was a reminder to those of us in the middle: Don’t let the weight of responsibility keep you from trying something brave, silly, or new. Don’t become the middle-schooler who’s too scared to raise their hand.

This life is short. Our days are full. But joy and freedom are still possible — and deeply necessary.

Happy 50th, Dave and Donna. Thank you for the lesson. 

I first met former Sheridan mayor Dave Kinskey within a week of arriving here three plus years ago. We met in his office at City Hall and he filled me in on the sins of The Sheridan Press, concluding the meeting with a washing-of-the-hands gesture and how he was done with us.

Nowadays, we get along better but can’t say for certain. We had a friendly chat at the parade recently, but that was about it. When he was mayor, you always knew he was in the room. Writing about him prompts qualifiers, however: I’ve never had coffee with him or shared a meal. Never out socially with him either. I always addressed him as “mayor.”

That said, in 34 years of publishing community newspapers in five distinctly different cities (this being the last), he was the best mayor I’ve come across.

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Kinskey is up the nose of a number of citizens because of city negotiations with the firefighters union, fluoride in the water system, the dismantlement of the city’s ward system, the development of high-tech data systems in Sheridan and many other issues during a tenure of nine years as the city’s top official. Why, there’s even a bumper sticker about his ambulance service. Too, the Press has been in court with the city over open records. There are likely grudges and gripes involving him that I cannot imagine. Yet, infrastructure was addressed and he took pride in being a fiscal tightwad, and that’s not a slur. There’s new industry here and possibly more on the way. The council is engaged more so than many other similar local governing bodies, indicative of citizens wanting to serve with him. He was a force for Sheridan. (Some will posit for himself as well.) For the office of mayor of a city around 18,000 people, that’s enough, and then some. One critic of his, citing the fluoride issue, acknowledges his like-him-or-not record: “when he became mayor,” he says, “the city came to life.” Another seasoned observer noted how he was a “get on board or out of my way” type of mayor.

Most of the mayors I’ve encountered while publishing the local newspaper were indistinguishable from the office furniture in City Hall. A few stand out, of course. But by and large, they were ready to have their photo taken for declaring a particular “day” for some group, or ready with a pair of scissors for a ribbon cutting and little else. Kinskey was different. He was informed, confident, competent and engaged. (He did ribbon cuttings as well and has had his photo in the Press a lot, including just two days ago.)

••••••

I know first-hand he can be “diva-esque” and thin-skinned. He’s called us out on what we would deem little things and expecting space for rebuttal. There are instances where he could’ve used more tact. Still, there’s a mutual appreciation of how “plain talk” often works well in providing clarity and expedition.

I’ve seen him be fair. One example. Earlier this year, when the Press and the Sheridan County School District 2 were fighting over public meetings and public records (we still are), he called and took me for a ride all over Sheridan, basically discussing the city’s economic potential. The past, the current, the future; that sort of thing. We visited a number of sites, just the two of us in his Suburban. Not once did he get in any licks on Superintendent Craig Dougherty, a man whom he publicly and heatedly argued with in January at the Whitney Benefits educational summit. Though he certainly could have piled on — either in reinforcing a point of view or while making small talk.

Kinskey is transitioning to represent Sheridan and Johnson counties in the state Senate. The vote that put him in Cheyenne is apt: Johnson County commissioners voting for him; a split county commission here. There’s likely some background on that, but hey, that’s politics in a public arena, recalling President Teddy Roosevelt’s famous quote. I doubt there’s a statue in the works a la John Loucks regarding him, but do believe he’ll champion Sheridan and Johnson counties at the state capital given his experiences in business, law, politics, contacts and to some degree, self-promotion. He’ll prosper and in doing so, like the old saying, he’ll lift the other boats.

In Dave Kinskey’s nearly 20 years in public office, economic development was his “north star.” 

He wants to help ensure there is plenty of opportunity for future generations of Wyomingites and work to prevent Main Streets lined with plywood-covered storefronts.

“If you’re not moving forward, you’re slipping backwards,” Kinskey said.

Now on the Wyoming Business Council Board of Directors, economic development will continue to be his guiding light. He was inspired by a push among Wyoming’s lawmakers to abolish the business council, which came about a year and a half after announcing his retirement from the Wyoming Senate, an office he held for a decade.

“I just thought that I’ve got to come off the bench, I’ve got to do whatever I can to get the word out about how a community really can change its future, and doing that in part with assistance from the business council,” Kinskey said.

Kinskey helped orchestrate some of the business council’s greatest successes in Sheridan while he was mayor. Among them was the first phase of the High Tech Business Park. Planning for the park began in 2007 and was spurred by the North Main Street revitalization initiative and master plan from 2008 to 2010.

Ultimately, the first phase of the park was completed in 2017, a few years after Kinskey was appointed to a vacant seat in the Wyoming Senate. It is now home to three of Sheridan’s most prominent manufacturing employers — Vacutech, Kennon and Weatherby. The High-Tech Business Park has helped facilitate a dramatic increase in manufacturing jobs.

Kinskey said he once spoke with a Sheridan woman whose son got a job at the business park and moved a few blocks away. He’s using a Facebook page to help share similar stories, as well as the business council’s successes and shortcomings across Wyoming.

“I want to get the word out that the business council does something really important, and without the business council and its ability to help communities plan and direct funds towards those next plans, we’re going to lose something very critical for (the state’s) future,” Kinskey said.

Wyomingites are fiercely independent, Kinskey added, and as a result he wants to help illustrate the business council’s grassroots approach. Many of the business council’s projects and programming begin at the local level with extensive community input, much like the High Tech Business Park in Sheridan.

Former business council board member and co-chair Mark Law, a Sheridan business owner, recently left the board. While appointments aren’t made based on geography, it helps to have a local person on the board.

“It never hurts to at least be in a position to advocate for your community as well, maybe give them some extra background (information),” Law said.

He encouraged Kinskey to attempt to serve on the board because Law felt he was a strong mayor with an understanding of economic development, especially given his intimate involvement with the High Tech Business Park.

Economic development goes beyond projects like the business park, though, Law said. He praised Kinskey’s involvement in developing walking and biking trails in Sheridan, as well as its art community.

“If you look at the arts scene that’s going on in Sheridan — the statues, the tourism — it’s allowed Sheridan to become something other than a watering hole on the way to Yellowstone and become more of a destination,” Law said.

Kinskey wants to see Sheridan continue to grow and thrive.

“We’re in love with Sheridan. We’re raised there and we want to see it thrive, see it prosper, want to see it there for the future,” he said.

Kinskey was appointed to the business council board of directors earlier this year for a three-year term ending March 1, 2029.