Lexie Garrett peddles happiness in the form of one-of-a-kind, Wyoming-made handbags. At Alexis Drake, clients can customize every detail of their bags, from the leather and piping to zipper tabs, linings, patches, monograms and hardware.

In 2021, Danette Lucarini Reeves, 37, and her husband Kyle Reeves, 41, left Colorado in search of a more rural and affordable lifestyle in Wyoming. Rent on their apartment in Parker, Colo., outside Denver, was about to increase from $1,800 to $2,200 per month—more than they could afford on their income from Kyle’s trucking company and Danette’s part-time photography business.

At the beginning of the year, Katie Overstreet, 25, could not wait to get her bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Sean Wilde holds down five jobs to make ends meet. At Cheyenne Central High School, he is the head coach of the cross country and track teams, as well as assistant coach of the indoor track team. He also works as a junior stylist at Sierra Trading Post and as a massage therapist.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - In the 10 years she has been working as a hairstylist, Kristina Gebhardt has never seen prices skyrocket the way they have in the last two years.

Becky Steele, a Cheyenne resident, loves to bake. She’s attending Escoffier Auguste School of Culinary Arts in Boulder, Colo., and has already launched a home-based business, Broadway Cakes and Creations.

Kimberly Amen, a third-grade teacher at Pioneer Park Elementary School in Cheyenne, is now following new computer science learning standards on coding and digital citizenship – without having received any training in these subjects. This extra requirement, coupled with Amen’s regular workload and fewer support staff, adds even more responsibility to an educator whose hands are already full.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.--After a year in retirement, former Cheyenne East High School art teacher Dave Rowswell is returning to the classroom as a substitute teacher.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Inflation can be the unwelcome guest at many of life’s biggest moments. It’s the bewildering cost of living accompanying a young person heading to college and the gut-churning hit to retirement funds creeping up on people inching closer to exiting the workforce.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.—A curtain of lush green leaves and vines drapes the storefront windows at the Hawthorn Tree apothecary in downtown Cheyenne. Beyond the verdant curtain is a peaceful space filled with rows of glass jars containing tea leaves and aromatic spices.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Tucked into a cozy tree-shaded cove on the beach of Cheyenne’s Sloan’s Lake, it’s almost possible to forget for a few minutes that the stress of inflation is causing Matt and Kristin Edwards to strategically stretch their thin budget.