Microsoft President Brad Smith announced today that Cheyenne was selected as a Microsoft TechSpark community.

Introduced last October in Fargo, North Dakota and Appleton, Wisconsin, TechSpark is a program designed to foster economic opportunity and job creation in six communities across the U.S.

Dennis Ellis will lead the program in Cheyenne and will work with local partners on programs that will help accelerate economic growth in Wyoming through regional internet connectivity, digital skills development, career pathways, nonprofit support and digital business transformation.

"Wyoming is building strong momentum to diversify our economy while strengthening traditional energy, agriculture and tourism sectors," said Ellis.

"I’m excited Microsoft is aiming to make technology a fourth leg of Wyoming’s economy which will help create good career opportunities for everyone," Ellis added.

This past December, Microsoft held an Hour of Coding event at Laramie County Community College as an early foray into the initiative.

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