The end of a year always provides an opportunity to take a look back at local events and happenings that affect our lives, and to anticipate what the future might hold.

For the most part, 2015 was a good year for Powell, with local schools and Northwest College recognized for their academic excellence, and a continued emphasis on economic development for the city.

Some of the things that affected Powell include:

• An early spring and a mild fall made for a great year for farmers, with a record number of frost-free days. Mother nature’s mild temperament led to a bigger and sweeter sugar beet harvest, and other crops also did well.

• The community got its first chance to use the new exhibit hall at the Park County Fairgrounds during the Park County Fair. The new building is an asset for both the fairgrounds and the community.

• Powell Economic Partnership and local partners helped lay out the groundwork for the Powell MakerSpace, a 21st century public workshop to facilitate community education that is set to open in the coming weeks. It is designed to encourage invention, collaboration and teaching, and to provide access to technology and equipment to fuel those endeavors. It is not a business center — rather, a training center to serve as a nucleus for entrepreneurs and to facilitate innovation.

• The Powell Golf Club made great strides during 2015 toward eliminating its debt and placing the club in a position of growth instead of contraction. The club retired nearly $100,000 of debt this year, and that is good news indeed.

• A record number of tourists visited Yellowstone National Park this year, lifting the local economy through sales tax collections in the park and by frequenting the area’s businesses and hotels.

• Many health care changes occurred in 2015. Drs. Mike Tracy and Bob Chandler opened their own clinic, 307Health, based on a direct primary care model. Heritage Health Center, a federally funded community health center, opened in September to provide medical care on a sliding fee scale. Following that opening, the Heart Mountain Volunteer Medical Clinic closed its doors in Powell.

Some of the challenges we see for the coming year include:

• Falling oil and mineral prices are creating economic challenges at state, county and local levels. Falling state revenue means less money for cities, towns and counties. It also means a revenue reduction for community colleges, including Northwest College. The Wyoming Legislature has explored recalibrating education funding at the state level, and that could have an impact on local education funding.

• Enrollment at Northwest College has continued to decline in recent years. That could change with the impacts of declining oil and gas prices on the local economy, since college enrollment tends to increase during economic downturns. Either way, Northwest faces challenges, but administrators and faculty have proven their ability to handle them.

• Declining oil and mineral prices also mean dwindling property tax revenues for Park County, and that likely will affect funding for local tax districts, such as Park County Fire Protection District No. 1, Powell Hospital District and Northwest College.

• Wyoming communities, including Powell, continue to struggle to keep up with infrastructure needs. As infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer pipes continue to age, they must be maintained or replaced. That’s not something most residents think about much, and infrastructure projects tend to be more of a headache than something to get excited about. But infrastructure is vital to the health of any community, and Powell’s city leaders continue to plan for the city’s infrastructure needs. The big problem is finding the funding to pay for those expensive, ongoing projects.

Despite the challenges, we look forward to 2016 and to the changes it will bring. Powell has showed it’s up to the challenges, and it’s always gratifying to see area residents pull together to overcome problems and accomplish goals for the common good of the community.

Happy New Year, Powell!