CHEYENNE - Former state Sen. Cal Taggart of Lovell always remained engaged in politics and a host of other activities after he left the Wyoming Senate in 1984.

Taggart, who died Wednesday at the age of 80 in Sun City, Ariz., where he and his wife, Irene, winter, was a consistent source of news tips and story suggestions.

He was unique and he was funny.

Two former Senate presidents who served with Taggart said he was conscientious about looking after his constituents in the Big Horn Basin.

But he also was pretty independent and did not always follow the Republican Party line or caucus position, said Eddie Moore of Douglas.

"He was a good guy," said Sen. Gerald Geis of Worland. "He did a lot for Wyoming. He looked after the Big Horn Basin."

Taggart earned the nickname "fast lane" for his vigorous and persistent attempts to get rid of the 55 mile per hour speed limit in 1979 and thereafter.

"He always wanted no speed limit," Geis said in a telephone interview last week.

He added that Taggart, who was an insurance underwriter, kept active and had an active mind.

"He would call me a couple times a year and tell me what I should be doing," Geis said.

Moore recalled that Taggart's favorite saying was, "Don't get mad. Get even."

Gov. Dave Freudenthal noted that Taggart was an old friend of his mentor, the late Gov. Ed Herschler, a Democrat.

"He was an incredibly independent legislator who voted what he thought was right, and sometimes he was with us and sometimes he was against us but he was always a man of principle and of great humor," he said.

Taggart was colorful and a warm human being, who played a key role on a number of severance tax and environmental votes that were crucial to the state's interest, he added.

"When the votes were very close, it was often Cal Taggart who would help with enough Republican votes to get things passed to help both the environment and the tax base," Freudenthal said.

In 2001, former Gov. Jim Geringer proclaimed Feb. 6 - Taggart's 77th birthday - as "Cal S. Taggart Day" in recognition of his contributions.

"Cal S. Taggart is a quintessential example of what makes our state so great," Geringer's proclamation said. "His compassion, leadership and strong sense of state and community have positively influenced the lives of so many in Wyoming."

After he left the Legislature, he was a behind-the-scenes force in getting Lovell chosen as the site of a new prison in the early 1990s. Lovell won out over 12 other communities including two other finalists, Casper and Torrington, for a minimum or medium security prison.

As an incentive, Lovell bought private land and provided utility hookups, a package Taggart said was worth $400,000.

But then a consultant hired by the state to do a prison study recommended immediate construction of a high security prison at a "central location."

That sank Lovell, a Big Horn County community that is not far from the Montana border.

The Legislature voted to build the maximum security prison in Rawlins instead.

It was a major disappointment for Taggart.

So, too, was the failure of his bill in 1979 to raise the highway speed limit from 55 mph to 65 mph.

The bill passed the Senate, bringing the national news media to the Legislature to witness the rebellion, but failed in the House. Opponents feared the loss of millions of dollars of federal highway money if the bill passed.

The hated 55 mph speed limit became law in 1973 as an energy conservation move during the oil embargo.

The Senate in 1981 and again in 1982 passed bills to raise the speed limit, only to have them fail in the House.

Although he lost the speed limit bill, Taggart got through another measure to limit the fine for traveling between 55 mph and 74 mph to $25. This law also kept the violation off the motorist's driving record.

Much later the states were allowed to raise the speed limit.

One of my favorite Taggart stories he told himself during a "roast" of Herschler when the Democrat was governor.

Taggart told of how they were in a group on an economic development trip years before as part of the "ambassadors" program to bring new businesses to Wyoming.

He said he and Herschler paired off to tour a tunafish factory in California.

We will miss him.