cities across the country. from a recent visit shannon -- cheyenne, wyoming. in cheyenne, we spoke with republican governor matt mead. >> describe who lives in way of owning -- who lives in wyoming. >> we think of ourselves as a cowboy state. and we are. but we have high-tech people here. we have innovators. diverse in terms of our interest, and in terms of things that in the visuals are working that individuals are working on. so, while we are small in terms of a population, we are take in

quality in the people that we have here. >> you mentioned your population. how many people live in wyoming? people. 585,000 have a desire to become big just to become big. what we want is diversity and growth that matches our values and matches what we have to offer. >> what is your main economic driver? first, but are the also farming. we are proud of energy. we export more energy than any other state. havee proud of tourism, we it of old national lawn -- we have beautiful national monuments. ag helpsggie -- the

support minerals. those of the three big ones. we are coming up hard on number four, which is technology. we have made some great progress in the last couple of years on expanding technology. we are building a unified network. it is a backbone across the state. that is remarkable for the state with such few people. we are growing and we are diversifying. those three are the biggest, but we are moving into other areas as well >. or an area an event in wyoming that has had an impact on you? >> growing up on the ranch, my family always talked about how wyoming was developing through its ag roots. that is part of our history, and it is part of our character, and

it permeates the citizens here and the frontier spirit that we still have. i still believe that we control our destiny. wyoming, wents in have had, if we go back in history, one of the first states -- that allow the women the right to vote. >> have any of these events in history affected you politically? >> i would say that politically they have in a sense that i think i represent wyoming people , all of wyoming people. my people can agree or disagree, and they can see what the independent spirit shows that we hardork hard, and we work for her family, our community, and our state.

care about our families, and a lot of hard work is needed. not only for our families, but for ever state. >> your family has a long history of representing the government. my great grandfather was in the state senate here. i did not know him. but i know of him through my grandfather and parents. he had a passion for wyoming. wyoming always meant a lot for him, and he felt that public service was important. was a countyr commissioner, and a governor, and a two-term u.s. senator, and may mom ran for governor and was successful. but those dinnertable conversations were about giving the publicrving sector. that was part of my childhood and what i believe in. >> i want to go back to something we talked about

earlier. growing up on the ranch. you?id that shape i say, and of course, i am biased, but growing up on a ranch is the best childhood available. not only in terms of what you terms experience, but in of learning responsibility. there is a cause-and-effect that is often immediate. if you don't water your pastors, you will see the result. if you do not feed your don't water- if you your pastors, you will see the results. if you do not feed your livestock, you will see the results. get into yourease livestock, those things happen. onteaches you to get back and keep charging forward. but i think it really serves me well now that there is

consequences for actions. take this into politics as well, in other words, i could not tell my dad that the pastor did not -- did not doasture well. that is a fly. so i see that is the same thing here. isr 50% of our land controlled by the federal government, so why -- while we have a great ability to control where we want to go, the federal government has a great part of that. the federal government has a number of regulations for mining of minerals, and so we fight that daily. one of the biggest challenges with the federal government does, in terms of how it plays in wyoming, is probably the

biggest challenge. we also face challenges because we are a small population. say,e different than california, or texas. for example, delivering health care, you would have to travel very far to get a primary care checkup. that is why connectivity is such a big issue. we are a role state. state.re a rural the issue on water is important to me. the army corps of engineers and the epa has such broad discretion in determining on what they say is water for the u.s.. are, not just where waters but where waters could be.

we think that broad discretions discretionnd broad on land issue is very concerning. we are concerned about what they are trying to do. they want to control the rivers and the streams, but they want to go down to the mud puddle level. we are hoping they withdraw restrictions on waters. >> what do you hope to do as your term in -- as governor and beyond? >> we want to focus on a new strategy called energy, environment, and strategy. combining energy strategy and environment, and we are not accepting an either or plan, we want a robust energy sector and a clean environment. as part of that, we are working on being proactive.

we are also working on a water strategy right now. we want to be very proactive. we want to protect wyoming water and make sure that we are using it as we should, and that we are conserving as we should, and then in terms of connectivity, we have a chance to be the next state to go to broadband, and for the smallest day, to do that would be a wonderful a consummate. on a day-to-day basis, we want to get stronger. i am proud of the fact that out of all of the states, we have the lowest poverty rate when it comes to kids, and i'm proud of the fact that we are working on a ten-year plan to reduce homelessness in wyoming. those things are important as well. we represent all of the citizens, those that are doing well, and those that are struggling. we will continue on that work to make sure that every citizen in wyoming has the best chance for a great quality of life.

>> find out where c-span's local are goinghicles next. you are watching american history tv, all weekend, every weekend, on c-span 3. week, american artifacts takes viewers into archives, museums, and historic sites around the country. next, we visit fort mchenry national monument and historic shrine in baltimore to learn about the birth of "star spangled banner." 200th anniversary of the british bombardment of the fort during the war of 1812. the raising of the garrison flag over the fort on the mining after,- the morning inspired francis scott key to write the words that became our national anthem. >> welcome to fort mchenry. at tir