NEWS BRIEFS for Friday, Sept. 25, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 3 days ago
State Board of Education considers suspending testing performance accountability this year
CHEYENNE — Wyoming’s 48 school districts might not be held accountable for their students’ performance on state standardized tests this school year.
Updated: 3 days ago
Report: State missed out on billions in oil and gas taxes
CASPER — Wyoming taxpayers lost billions of dollars in potential revenue from oil and gas lease sales over the past decade due to outdated royalty and lease terms, according to a new report published Thursday by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting American taxpayers.
Updated: 3 days ago
Gordon: Expect more public health orders to loosen
GILLETTE – Although there's been a recent statewide surge in active COVID-19 cases in Wyoming, residents can expect “significant changes” and loosening of some of the state’s public health orders put in place to help mitigate the pandemic.
Updated: 3 days ago
Thursday second day in a row with more than 100 new coronavirus cases
A second day of increases of more than 100 in new confirmed coronavirus cases around Wyoming pushed the state’s number of active cases to new highs Thursday.
Updated: 3 days ago
Wyoming virtual school sees large increase in enrollment
SHERIDAN — When Samantha Bublich made the decision to keep her kids at home this school year, she did so with reservations. She believes in public schools, in-person learning and classrooms where students interact with other learners on a regular basis.
Updated: 4 days ago
Gillette chorale singers adjust to year without shows
GILLETTE — Sad is a word to describe the mood of Vicki Gilmour and Karen Clarke in July as they sat around Gilmour’s backyard patio table signing cards.
Updated: 4 days ago
Cheyenne teenager is Wyoming’s first woman Eagle Scout
CHEYENNE — If you’ve noticed the new fishing line boxes at some of Cheyenne’s popular lakes and parks, you can thank Taylor Merriman-Fish.
Updated: 4 days ago
Weston commissioners take next step against state health mandates
NEWCASTLE — At its Sept. 15 meeting, the Weston County Board of County Commissioners took the next step in taking a stand against state COVID-19 health mandates when the commissioners passed a “resolution to refrain from health-related mandates” and expressed their intent to move forward with drafting and requesting a countywide variance to the state health orders.
Updated: 4 days ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020
News in Brief from Across the Cowboy State
Updated: 4 days ago
Medicine Bow fire grows to 14,600 acres
LARAMIE — The Mullen Fire increased in size to 14,653 acres and is now taking aim at the Platte River Wilderness with activity picking up as of Wednesday evening.
Updated: 4 days ago
Senators: Advance Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
CASPER — Roughly half a year before the 2016 presidential election, Sen. John Barrasso justified Republicans’ decision to block a vote on then Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland by saying the American people should “consider it as part of deciding who to support in November.”
Updated: 5 days ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 6 days ago
Park sees uptick in visitors for August
CODY — Tourism has taken a rather meandering path in Cody this summer.
Updated: 6 days ago
Lawmaker claims ‘ systemic racism ’ after caution on decorum in meeting
RIVERTON — The aftermath of a tense encounter with Fremont County’s top prosecutor was what State Rep. Andi Clifford, D-Ethete, called evidence of race-based thinking within the Wyoming Legislature.
Updated: 6 days ago
Masks are “key” to keeping schools open, Laramie County health officials say
CHEYENNE – After at least one teacher and one student at McCormick Junior High School tested positive for COVID-19 last week, the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department is urging continued use of face masks among all students and staff.
Updated: 6 days ago
Bankruptcy settlement could pay coal workers $17.3 million
GILLETTE — Some 1,700 employees of a bankrupt coal mining company would get up to $17.3 million in back pay under a proposed class-action settlement.
Updated: 1 week ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Friday, Sept. 18, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 week ago
Seidel hopes to resume Cowboy football
CASPER — More than a month after what he described as a “strong, strong consensus” among Mountain West presidents to postpone football and other fall sports indefinitely, University of Wyoming President Ed Seidel said the school is trying to resume competition in those sports sooner rather than later.
Updated: 1 week ago
Protestors gather at state Capitol in opposition to mask mandate in schools
CHEYENNE – Roughly 30 Wyomingites gathered on the grounds of the state Capitol at noon Thursday to protest against the requirements for children to wear masks in school.
Updated: 1 week ago
Bill giving tribal cops more authority over non-Indians revisited
RIVERTON — Public transparency and control by local officials were obstacles identified in the revival of a defunct 2013 legislation that would give jurisdiction over non-tribal members to Bureau of Indian Affairs police officers.
Updated: 1 week ago
Growing sage for grouse; Honor Farm seedling, transplant program expands in its second year
RIVERTON – After a successful debut last year, the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton has expanded its sagebrush-growing efforts to enhance habitat for the greater sage grouse.
Updated: 1 week ago
Virtual but not alone, Oban pounds out the 26.2 miles for the Boston Marathon
DOUGLAS — When Allie Oban qualified for the Boston Marathon on her first try, it was one of the biggest accomplishments of her life. When the in-person event was postponed, then cancelled, due to the coronavirus pandemic, it threatened to ruin the milestone she worked years to achieve. Instead, friends and family rallied around her, giving her an experience that not even Boston could provide, and all from her adopted hometown of Douglas.
Updated: 1 week ago
Gillette Sage Hoppers seek to involve local kids in aviation
GILLETTE — The wind whipped through a recent cool Saturday morning as about 20 people gathered at the Sage Hoppers RC Club’s annual Fly-In at its airfield east of Cam-plex in Gillette.
Updated: 1 week ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 week ago
Wyoming's first cryptocurrency bank approved by state board
CHEYENNE – In a crucial step in the state’s efforts to become the national leader in blockchain technology, a cryptocurrency company had its bank charter approved Wednesday by the Wyoming Banking Board.
Updated: 1 week ago
Big Horn County School District staff: policy on use of personal devices violates civil rights
GREYBULL — Big Horn County School District No. 3 staff members say a proposed policy that would make any personal electronic devices that they use to conduct school business subject to a search is a violation of their civil rights.
Updated: 1 week ago
Sparks fly at tribal relations committee session
RIVERTON — While contemplating tribal and non-tribal law enforcement jurisdiction legislation on Tuesday, State Rep. Andi Clifford, D-Ethete, sparked warnings on decorum when she criticized the county’s top prosecutor for his handling of an officer-involved shooting death last year.
Updated: 1 week ago
Wyoming refineries stung by decision; Barrasso rebukes administration after EPA denies relief
CASPER — The Trump administration delivered another blow to Wyoming’s oil refineries when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denied relief to several small operators struggling to meet biofuel standards this month.
Updated: 1 week ago
More than 100 new confirmed coronavirus cases reported Wednesday.
With several counties reporting double-digit increases in lab-confirmed coronavirus case counts, the state’s total of confirmed cases seen since the disease was first detected in Wyoming in March went up by 104 Wednesday, the biggest increase since the pandemic began.
Updated: 1 week ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 week ago
‘Decade of the elk’ for hunters as herds top goals by 32%
As elk hunters begin the general rifle season they’ll pursue animals that the Game and Fish Department found to be 32% above its population objective in the bulk of the state’s herds.
Updated: 1 week ago
A cautious governor confronts an ‘unprecedented time’
At Gov. Mark Gordon’s January 2018 inauguration ceremony, Sheridan musician David Munsick sang the song “Forever West.”
Updated: 1 week ago
A rally for the 'good cops': Group gathers on Town Square for pro-police rally
JACKSON – A black-and-white American flag with a centered blue stripe rose above the gathered crowd Sunday to show support for local police funding. A few dozen people stood on the corner of Town Square, backdropped with “Trump 2020” banners, waving signs to energize passing pedestrians and drivers.
Updated: 1 week ago
Wyoming oil rig boom a matter of perspective
DOUGLAS — Wyoming’s rig count skyrocketed by the end of last week, with four operating — a significant turnaround from not so long ago when the rig count hit zero, but still a far cry from the height of the most recent boom last year.
Updated: 1 week ago
About 100 Cheyenne junior high school school students told to stay home after staff member tests positive for COVID-19
CHEYENNE – Roughly 100 students from Cheyenne’s McCormick Junior High were told to stay home Tuesday after a staff member at the school tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.
Updated: 1 week ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 week ago
Lawmakers look to overhaul notary laws
CHEYENNE — Wyoming lawmakers took an initial look Friday at replacing the state’s existing notary laws to allow for more signings to be done virtually and by some out-of-state residents.
Updated: 1 week ago
Shoshone Forest seeks input on travel plan
CODY — The Shoshone National Forest has released a travel management plan that could close popular snowmobiling areas and transition many roads to trails.
Updated: 1 week ago
Tribal leader says reservation COVID patients turned away
CASPER — Emergency room staff at the SageWest hospital in Riverton allegedly turned away potential COVID-19 patients from the Wind River Indian Reservation at the start of the pandemic, Northern Arapaho Business Council Chairman Lee Spoonhunter told state lawmakers Monday, leaving tribal members to figure out their care on their own.
Updated: 1 week ago
Survey says women hit hard by COVID
CHEYENNE — The social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have hit Wyoming women especially hard.
Updated: 1 week ago
Spending cuts could cost state more in future
CASPER — Even before COVID-19, most state leaders already understood that Wyoming would be unable to cut itself out of its current budget crisis.
Updated: 1 week ago
Man sentenced to jail in wrestling club embezzlement
GILLETTE — A former treasurer of two youth wrestling clubs in Gillette will serve 30 days in jail and pay $50,000 in restitution for money he stole from them.
Updated: 1 week ago
Bridger-Teton grows by 240 acres
JACKSON — The Bridger-Teton National Forest just got a little bigger. Two hundred and forty acres bigger, to be exact.
Updated: 1 week ago
Wyoming oil, gas companies receive most royalty cuts
CASPER — Oil and gas companies operating on public land in Wyoming reaped the vast majority of royalty and lease relief from the federal government during an aid program spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Updated: 1 week ago
Sage grouse researchers endure summer heat to gauge nest survival
POWELL — Insensitive to those laboring below, the sun bore down on the shadeless Chapman Bench.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Forest protection officer ensures safety, compliance during a busy summer
BUFFALO — Already on the morning of Friday, Aug. 22, the road leading to the West Tensleep Trailhead was littered with vehicles, and the dispersed campsites along the road were all occupied.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Weston commissioners back away from public health orders
NEWCASTLE — The Weston County commissioners took a stand against COVID-19 health orders by voting 2-1 on Sept. 1 to rescind the chairman’s signatures from state/county health orders presented by Dr. Mike Jording, the county’s health officer.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Campbell Co. releases community college application after WCCC refuses
SHERIDAN — The Wyoming Community College Commission would not release a copy of the Campbell County application seeking to form a new community college district, saying in an email last week that it would be made public when a contract with an outside surveying group to assemble the feasibility study was set.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Study says federal land drilling ban would hurt economy
CASPER — A new study published by the Petroleum Association of Wyoming and the American Petroleum Institute found instituting a ban on leasing federal land to oil and gas operators would have grave economic consequences for the entire country, but especially for Wyoming.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Gordon: Public health orders may be relaxed
GILLETTE — Gov. Mark Gordon is hopeful that the state’s COVID-19 public heath orders will relax some next week.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
UW extends ‘pause’ on plans to resume in-person classes
LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming will continue its campus pause, which was initiated last Wednesday due to positive COVID-19 tests by students, until Sept. 14, the school announced Wednesday in a news release.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020 Wyoming News Exchange newspapers
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Volunteers begin Grand Teton National Park goat shoot Monday
Grand Teton National Park has selected 70 teams of volunteer wildlife shooters and is ready to launch a mountain goat culling operation Monday.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Gov, EPA outline plans to boost carbon capture, delay plant closures
Wyoming is collaborating with the Trump administration to develop strategies to extend the lives of the nation’s aging coal-fired power plants — the primary customers of the state’s coal mining industry.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Bighorn Forest hunting case appealed again
SHERIDAN — Clayvin Herrera, the Crow tribal member cited with taking big game animals out of season back in 2014, has again appealed his case, postponing the answers to several questions regarding tribal hunting rights in and around the Bighorn National Forest.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Proposed land swap angers landowners, legislators
GILLETTE — An oil and gas company’s proposal to trade land with the state has angered landowners in southern Campbell County.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Legislators struggle with school funding
CASPER — Lawmakers alternatively poked and chafed Tuesday at the boundaries of Wyoming’s education system and the court decisions that protect it as they look to solve a yawning revenue deficit and stay on the right side of the state’s Constitution.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Teton County Latinos see higher COVID rate
JACKSON — One group is taking the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak in Teton County, and it’s not young people.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Man climbs 36 Wyoming peaks in 45 days
Sarah Meiser and Teresa Gergen completed climbing all 36 peaks in Wyoming above 13,000 feet in 2015.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Man climbs 36 Wyoming peaks in 45 days
Sarah Meiser and Teresa Gergen completed climbing all 36 peaks in Wyoming above 13,000 feet in 2015.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
Powell woman hunts top predators alone
POWELL — Having identified the tracks of black bear, grizzly and wolf on a trail at the base of a rock slide, Tessa Fowler knew she was in the right place.
Updated: 2 weeks ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Friday, Sept. 4, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Supreme Court rejects appeal of convicted murderer Uden
RIVERTON — The Wyoming Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of triple-murderer Gerald Uden in August, saying his claims of innocence aren’t affirmed factually.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Parties blamed in Laramie COVID spread
CASPER — Two off-campus parties held as students return to Laramie have helped spark the spread of the coronavirus there, which on Wednesday prompted the University of Wyoming to hit a five-day pause on all campus activity.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Officials tout results of carbon capture study, others skeptical
CHEYENNE — Joined by several state and federal officials at a press conference Thursday, Gov. Mark Gordon praised the findings of a study on the potential for carbon-capture technology in Wyoming.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Prosecutors may reconsider death penalty in triple murder
SHERIDAN — Sheridan County Prosecuting Attorney Dianna Bennett asked for a chance to reconsider the death penalty in the case of Dana Beartusk, who was charged earlier this year with three counts of first degree murder.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
UW pauses return to in-person classes
CASPER — Five University of Wyoming students tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday, causing the school to pause its phased return to the fall semester.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Workers injured in explosion sue EOG
CHEYENNE – Workers who were injured during an explosion at a Laramie County oil and gas field site last year have filed a lawsuit against EOG Resources, arguing the company failed to ensure the safety of those on scene.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Active coronavirus cases up by two Wednesday
The number of active coronavirus cases in the state changed very little Wednesday as the number of new confirmed and probable cases reported around the state offset the number of recoveries.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Hemp’s stumbles reveal hurdles in Wyoming’s race to diversify
ALBIN—Ron Rabou is no hemp-necklace-wearing hippy.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Stewardship pact gives Wyo more say on national forests
Gov. Mark Gordon signed an agreement Aug. 25 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture that gives the state more say in “active management” of national forests in Wyoming including logging, firefighting and invasive weed control.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Montana sage grouse estimates jump 73% in 2020
Montana biologists believe good weather and possibly the cyclical fluctuation of populations may be responsible for a 73% increase in the state’s 2020 estimate of greater sage grouse numbers compared to 2019.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Heli-tours generate noise complaints, but business good
JACKSON — Melody Ranch resident Mike May was readying for dinner on a Saturday in late July when a red helicopter came in hot overhead.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Sweetwater commissioners reject COVID resolution
ROCK SPRINGS — Sweetwater County commissioners decided not to approve a resolution against county-level health orders in light of COVID-19 during their regular meeting Tuesday morning.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Nearly 50 UW students quarantined because of coronavirus
CASPER — COVID-19 infections stemming from University of Wyoming students gathering off campus have led the school to quarantine nearly 50 students since Monday.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Lawsuits allege excessive use of force by Cheyenne officer
CHEYENNE – Two lawsuits have been filed by local residents in federal court alleging repeated incidents of an excessive use of force by a Cheyenne Police Department officer.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Blockchain industry loses powerful voice
CASPER — When a powerful incumbent Wyoming legislator loses, the defeat usually doesn’t make headlines outside of the state.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Drought, tough winters impacting big game herds
LARAMIE — Drought and harsh winters have taken their toll on the health of some big game herds in southeast Wyoming in the last few years, which could translate into tougher hunting conditions as summer turns to fall.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
Teton County residents push for land exchange along Snake River
JACKSON — Teton County has given a proverbial can a modest kick down the road, opting to wait a week on community requests to fully fund work to transfer 20 or so federally-owned parcels along the Snake River to county ownership.
Updated: 3 weeks ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Monday, Aug. 31, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 3 weeks ago
NTEC lays off 80 previously furloughed Antelope mine workers
GILLETTE — When he got the call Thursday, Aaron McAllister was hopeful he’d be going back to work nearly three months after being furloughed from the Antelope coal mine.
Updated: 4 weeks ago
Warden explains novel coronavirus procedures at prison
RAWLINS — A prison is like a small, contained city. In normal times, inmates go to work, do activities, attend church services and have access to mental health and substance abuse programming.
Updated: 4 weeks ago
Budget cuts could throw State Public Defender's office back into constitutional crisis
CHEYENNE — Just a few months removed from a Supreme Court decision forced by heavy caseloads and understaffing for the agency, the Wyoming Public Defender’s office could soon be thrust into another constitutional crisis, thanks to the 10% budget cut announced last week.
Updated: 4 weeks ago
Crowds flock to Wyo public lands during COVID summer
Christian Vivet stood beside his camper at a riverside campground in central Wyoming’s Sinks Canyon State Park, peering through binoculars at the limestone cliffs above — a landscape vastly different from his home state of Florida.
Updated: 4 weeks ago
Mine cleanup program offers glimmer of hope for Wyoming
CASPER — In one of few bright spots for Wyoming’s economy, environmental regulators say cleanup projects at abandoned mine sites have been in full swing across the state, not only producing much-needed jobs, but funneling millions of dollars into local economies.
Updated: 4 weeks ago
Pinedale accepts settlement in water testing lawsuit
PINEDALE — To regain its image, large expenses and relief from federal water quality regulations, the Town of Pinedale filed a civil complaint June 30 against former water-quality lab Zedi US Inc., claiming “professional negligence” led to inaccurate, expensive and negative results when its 2018 tests seemed to show Fremont Lake raw water was tainted.
Updated: 1 month ago
Airport tests emergency preparedness with plane crash simulation
CHEYENNE — Thursday morning, a number of plane crash “victims” were sprawled across the runway at Cheyenne Regional Airport as part of a full-scale emergency exercise.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Friday, Aug. 28, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
Statewide gaming rules will hurt reservation casinos, says expert
RIVERTON — Statewide gaming provisions enacted by the Wyoming Legislature in March could result in hundreds of jobs – and millions of dollars – lost in the tribal gaming sector.
Updated: 1 month ago
Coronavirus health orders extended again
CASPER — The public health orders put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Wyoming will remain in place through at least Sept. 15.
Updated: 1 month ago
Transition in coal country: the road to survival is uncertain
The 28-year-old man clearly had opinions on the future of coal, but wouldn’t share them until out of earshot of a group of unemployed miners at a gas station in southern West Virginia.
Updated: 1 month ago
Greater sage grouse counts tick up West-wide
Spring counts of strutting male greater sage grouse increased slightly this year across their western strongholds, possibly indicating the end of a three-year decline.
Updated: 1 month ago
Voting in a pandemic: What Wyoming learned from the primary
Pandemic concerns, combined with worries over potential mail-in ballot delays due to cutbacks at the U.S. Postal Service, created a greater awareness of election processes and a greater sense of urgency to be counted, according to some local officials — with some unprecedented results.
Updated: 1 month ago
Sen. Barrasso explores economic impact at cattle convention
ROCK SPRINGS — The impact of the coronavirus was apparent Monday at the Wyoming Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show hosted by the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.
Updated: 1 month ago
Revenue Committee rejects multiple tax proposals amid historic budget shortfall
CHEYENNE – With Wyoming bracing for its largest revenue decline in state history, lawmakers rejected every tax-raising proposal on their agenda during a committee meeting Tuesday.
Updated: 1 month ago
Legislative committee passes COVID-19 immunity bill
CHEYENNE — A bill concerning immunity and liability during a pandemic was approved to be sponsored by the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee in the upcoming legislative session.
Updated: 1 month ago
UW enrollment climbs with education grant program
LARAMIE — Fall enrollment at the University of Wyoming rose dramatically after the Aug. 10 announcement of grant funding for students from the CARES Act.
Updated: 1 month ago
Police officer resigns over social media joke
JACKSON — A Jackson Police Department lieutenant is out after community members, advocates for survivors of sexual violence, activists and politicians expressed outrage over a Facebook post he wrote that they call harmful and beyond inappropriate.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
Four wolves taken from Dell Creek Pack
PINEDALE — As gray wolves keep pushing through the edges of Wyoming’s trophy game management area, the federal agency Wildlife Services responds to requests from Wyoming Game and Fish to manage their predations.
Updated: 1 month ago
Wyoming mayors push lawmakers to consider tax options amid budget crisis
CHEYENNE – With Wyoming facing a projected $1.5 billion revenue shortfall over the next two years, a few mayors from across the state asked lawmakers Monday to start seriously considering new taxation options.
Updated: 1 month ago
UW prepares for tens of millions in budget cuts due to pandemic
CASPER — Three years after it cut $42 million, the University of Wyoming is facing another reduction of at least equal size from the state. But that’s not all: The school must absorb several million dollars in lost tuition revenue and another $10 million from the cancellation of the football season.
Updated: 1 month ago
Jackson town manager promises police training after scandal
JACKSON — Jackson’s town manager responded publicly Thursday after a Facebook post by a member of the police department enraged some members of the community who are now making demands for change.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
Focus on Wyoming, CO2 research during hearing at ITC
GILLETTE — As much of the globe is focused on reducing humanity’s carbon footprint on the planet, Wyoming wants to expand its carbon research influence by innovating ways to capture and reuse waste carbon dioxide.
Updated: 1 month ago
Erroneous calls, texts spur pro-police demonstration
JACKSON — Some were calling it basement politics.
Updated: 1 month ago
Meat plant sale threatens Johnson County sheep producers
BUFFALO — According to Wyoming Department of Agriculture statistics, 34,000 sheep and lambs call Johnson County home. They outnumber the county's human population four to one.
Updated: 1 month ago
Occidental goes with private buyer in land deal
CASPER — The buyer of roughly 5 million combined acres of land and mineral rights in the southern tier of Wyoming has finally been revealed.
Updated: 1 month ago
Lawmakers want details on state budget cuts
CHEYENNE — More than a month after Gov. Mark Gordon announced the state was cutting $250 million from its upcoming biennial budget, the number of positions and programs that will be cut remains unclear – but that should soon change.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
DCI warned police of rumored antifa protesters headed to Sturgis
An intelligence officer in Wyoming’s Division of Criminal Investigation warned other law enforcement that Black Lives Matter and antifa protesters were traveling through Wyoming on their way to Sturgis, South Dakota, according to an email obtained by WyoFile.
Updated: 1 month ago
Fed’s OK of 4,250-well gas field dodges water quality question
The Bureau of Land Management has approved a 4,250-well expansion of the Moneta Divide gas and oilfield northeast of Shoshoni, leaving critical water-disposal and -quality questions to be decided by state officials.
Updated: 1 month ago
Transition in coal country: Forging paths forward
NEW RIVER GORGE, WEST VIRGINIA—The blue rubber rafts shriek as they slide down steep metal rails, each guided by a crew that will soon be floating down a 9-mile stretch of river, replete with Class III, IV and V rapids and the ghosts of now-shuttered coal mines and processing plants.
Updated: 1 month ago
Bridger-Teton campers disregard fire ban
JACKSON — While doing her job to prevent forest fires, Lesley Williams Gomez encountered what she described as entitled attitudes and reckless behavior last Friday night on Shadow Mountain.
Updated: 1 month ago
Kanye West collects signatures for presidential bid
CASPER — Kanye West is officially trying to get on Wyoming’s presidential ballot as an independent candidate this fall, a spokesman with the Wyoming Secretary of State confirmed Tuesday morning.
Updated: 1 month ago
F.E. Warren nuclear missiles to be replaced first, creating more than 1,000 jobs
CHEYENNE – In a step expected to generate more than 1,000 jobs in Cheyenne over the next two decades, the U.S. Air Force announced Friday morning that F.E. Warren Air Force Base will be the first of three locations to have its land-based nuclear missiles replaced.
Updated: 1 month ago
State seeks Jackson Hole development ideas
JACKSON — A Wyoming agency is seeking ideas for developing more than 7 square miles of trust land the state possesses within Teton County.
Updated: 1 month ago
Stanton heralds Park Service preservation of civil rights sites
Former National Park Service Director — and the latest Murie Award honoree — Robert Stanton underscored his former agency’s important role in preserving the nation’s history of racial conflicts during his award acceptance Tuesday.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Monday, Aug. 17, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Friday, Aug. 14, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
State Senate candidate Rammell’s address raises eyebrows
Rex Rammell, a Republican candidate in the Aug. 18 primary election for Senate District 14, filed to run using an address in Pinedale that has raised eyebrows with at least one of his opponents.
Updated: 1 month ago
Attorney General visits Wyoming, announces $1 million in grants
CHEYENNE — United States Attorney General William Barr visited Cheyenne on Thursday to host a roundtable to hear the concerns of local law enforcement and announce $1 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.
Updated: 1 month ago
UW president cites health concerns in football cancellation
LARAMIE — After going online exclusively during the spring and summer, the University of Wyoming soon plans to begin phasing its student body back on campus to resume in-person instruction for the fall semester.
Updated: 1 month ago
Albany commissioners reject solar development moratorium
LARAMIE — The Albany County Commission rejected calls for a solar energy development moratorium, deciding instead to propose a set of minimum standards and voiced support for developing further standards at a later date.
Updated: 1 month ago
Coal mines could store old turbine blades
CASPER — Wind energy companies will have the option of using decommissioned wind turbine blades as backfill material when reclaiming surface coal mine sites soon, thanks to a new bill signed into law earlier this year.
Updated: 1 month ago
Free class teaches kids to shoot cannons
GILLETTE — A fire that destroyed a home and workshop earlier this year has not deterred Karl Milner from doing what he loves: teaching kids how to safely shoot off mortars and cannons.
Updated: 1 month ago
A fight to the death: Bison rut is on in Yellowstone
POWELL — Bison are currently gathering in the Hayden and Lamar Valleys, moving into massive aggregations of hundreds, if not thousands, of the iconic animals of Yellowstone National Park.
Updated: 1 month ago
Teton County detectives reopen 22-year-old cold case of Cache Creek skeleton
JACKSON — Wearing black gloves, Sgt. Clay Platt opens a box full of bones that’s been sitting in the Teton County Sheriff’s Office evidence room for more than two decades.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
Private jet traffic picks up in Jackson
JACKSON — Going into the summer, Snake River boatman Jim Stanford had an expectation that it would be a relatively quiet season on the water.
Updated: 1 month ago
Car crashes still top cause of workplace deaths
CASPER — Wyoming has one of the worst rates of workplace-related deaths in the country, with the number of fatalities over three times the national average. A new analysis published on Wednesday by the state’s occupational epidemiologist shows the troubling trend has continued to persist throughout the past several years.
Updated: 1 month ago
UW classes to start online
LARAMIE — Less than two weeks before classes are to resume, the University of Wyoming’s administrators have decided to pivot to a phased reopening plan for the fall semester.
Updated: 1 month ago
COVID-19 surveillance testing plan for Wyoming teachers in the works
CHEYENNE – Though details have yet to be revealed, state leaders announced Wednesday that Wyoming will implement a COVID-19 surveillance testing plan for teachers once school starts back later this month.
Updated: 1 month ago
Cheyenne journalists file labor charges against newspaper owner
Lawyers representing the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s newsroom union filed charges against the newspaper’s owners with the National Labor Relations Board last week.
Updated: 1 month ago
Teachers, parents question school reopening
As parents, students, administrators and district employees nervously eye the reopening of Wyoming schools under coronavirus pandemic rules, many are uncertain that safety plans will protect them and their communities.
Updated: 1 month ago
Democratic House candidates discuss economy, health care
CHEYENNE – Two candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in Wyoming’s U.S. House race discussed some of their contrasting views on economic policy, health care reform and social justice issues during a virtual forum Monday night.
Updated: 1 month ago
USDA rereleases plan for killing predators in Wyoming
JACKSON — For the second time in four years, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that kills wildlife it deems a nuisance has released draft plans assessing the impacts of how it does business in Wyoming.
Updated: 1 month ago
Massive Wyoming land deal put on hold
CASPER — Wyoming’s bid to purchase 5 million combined acres of land on Wyoming’s southern tier has been put on hold after its owner, Occidental Petroleum, announced it would be moving forward with another bidder.
Updated: 1 month ago
State legislators buck-back against gun group's tactics
GILLETTE — Multiple Campbell County Republican legislators and primary candidates are bucking against an outspoken pro-Second Amendment group after a bevy of political attacks targeting incumbents and other candidates ahead of this month’s election.
Updated: 1 month ago
State readies for unique election
CASPER – As COVID-19’s interruptions on everyday life began stretching into the late-spring and early summer, voters around the country began looking toward their upcoming elections – and a pivotal presidential election in November – with apprehension and uncertainty about how exactly things would work.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
'Human waste' proving a problem at Heart Mountain Ranch Preserve
POWELL — With access to some campsites and public bathrooms limited as part of efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19, surrounding areas are feeling the effects in a foul way.
Updated: 1 month ago
Response to Great American Outdoors Act mixed
SHERIDAN — While Wyoming’s congressional delegation voted against its passage, officials with the Bighorn National Forest and the Wyoming Wilderness Association expressed optimism about what the Great American Outdoors Act can do to affect access and experiences on Wyoming’s federally managed public lands.
Updated: 1 month ago
Judge to decide validity of Riverton man’s murder confession
RIVERTON – Accused of shooting his friend in the head, Mario Mills, 37, has disputed whether the confession he made during a police interview can be used in court under constitutional parameters.
Updated: 1 month ago
Group formed to protect Cody citizens from rioters
CODY — A local group has been formed by Boone Tidwell and Flint Flesher to protect Park County citizens from outside rioters and looters, and negative economic effects they said these people could wreak on supply chains outside the county, specifically between now and the Nov. 3 general election.
Updated: 1 month ago
Laramie adopts ordinance requiring use of its water
LARAMIE — Despite the urgings of the University of Wyoming, the Laramie City Council on Wednesday passed an ordinance on its third and final reading in an attempt to regulate the use of non-municipal water within city limits.
Updated: 1 month ago
Reservation schools move classes online, cancel sports
CASPER — Four Wind River Reservation-based school districts have announced they’ll keep their students at home and learn virtually for the first weeks of this school year, as Fremont County remains the Wyoming county hit hardest by the pandemic and tribal governments continue to institute a limited shelter-in-place order.
Updated: 1 month ago
Foresters try to keep up with Bridger-Teton camping demand
JACKSON — It was mid-morning when Lesley Williams Gomez’s Bridger-Teton National Forest pickup truck inched up onto the sagebrush to make room along the seldom-traveled, graveled northern stretch of Antelope Flats Road.
Updated: 1 month ago
Supreme Court won't rehear UW gun case
LARAMIE — The Wyoming Supreme Court denied a writ of review on behalf of Uinta County resident Lyle Williams, who challenged the University of Wyoming’s ability to regulate firearms on its campus.
Updated: 1 month ago
Active coronavirus cases drop by 34 with 70 recoveries Tuesday
The state’s number of active coronavirus cases fell by 34 on Tuesday as the Wyoming Department of Health reported recoveries among 70 people who have been infected with the disease since mid-March.
Updated: 1 month ago
Department of Health urges wastewater testing to detect COVID
SHERIDAN — The Wyoming Department of Corrections recently completed COVID-19 testing on staff and inmates at the Wyoming Honor Farm and state penitentiary. The honor farm returned no positive cases but 15 inmates, two staff members and seven contract health care workers at the penitentiary tested positive.
Updated: 1 month ago
Sixteen hurt in hot air balloon crash
JACKSON — Three hot air balloons carrying dozens of people lost control Monday morning and came to a crashing halt in a field near Teton Village.
Updated: 1 month ago
County attorney seeks to officers to enforce health orders
LARAMIE — Albany County Attorney Peggy Trent is aiming to add three part-time positions to her office — public health advocates that would aid in communicating and enforcing statewide or local health orders.
Updated: 1 month ago
State health experts stress importance of getting a flu vaccine
CASPER — State and county health officials along with medical facilities in Wyoming are preparing for flu season as COVID-19 continues to spread. This year, they must prepare to balance typical planning and preparation for flu season with the added challenges of the coronavirus.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Monday, Aug. 3, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
Domestic sheep grazing prompts emergency bighorn hunt
Gov. Mark Gordon has approved an emergency early season allowing hunters to kill up to 34 wild bighorn sheep in Hot Springs County’s Owl Creek drainage beginning Saturday.
Updated: 1 month ago
Minerals committee moves to support big business
SHERIDAN — A bill to create a relief program for businesses with 100 employees or more passed through the Wyoming Legislature Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee Tuesday.
Updated: 1 month ago
Three weeks after Wyo made its bid, ‘radio silence’ from Occidental
Nearly three weeks after submitting a bid to Occidental Petroleum for 1 million acres of land and 4 million acres of mineral rights, the state of Wyoming has had no word from the oil and gas giant, state officials said this week.
Updated: 1 month ago
As case numbers spike, cause of coronavirus spread harder to pin down
CASPER — As the novel coronavirus continues to spike through the summer, health officials from across Wyoming say the spread can’t be attributed to large clusters but rather to small gatherings and younger people.
Updated: 1 month ago
Rules, timing complicate state's temporary eviction relief program
CHEYENNE – After the Wyoming Legislature’s special session wrapped up in mid-May, lawmakers and Gov. Mark Gordon praised legislation creating a program to help residents avoid eviction amid the economic turmoil of COVID-19.
Updated: 1 month ago
Blooms at reservoirs, lakes caused by nitrogen and phosphorus
RAWLINS – It might look like grass clippings, blue-green scum or spilled paint on the water surface. It might be suspended in the water or attached to rocks, sediments and plants. It might be a harmful cyanobacterial bloom.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, July 30, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
Seasonal workers fuel Teton County coronavirus spread
JACKSON — Young seasonal workers are driving up COVID-19 infections through a lack of social distancing and mask wearing, health officials say.
Updated: 1 month ago
Dog helps detect invasive mussels
EVANSTON — Last week was a busy one at the watercraft inspection station at the Evanston Port of Entry, as more than 2,000 boats, kayaks, canoes and assorted watercraft were inspected by technicians with the Wyoming Game and Fish Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) prevention team. For the first time at any Wyoming AIS inspection station, those human technicians were joined for several days by a mussel-sniffing dog.
Updated: 1 month ago
Cheney, Barrasso reject suggestion of election delay
CHEYENNE — After President Donald Trump tweeted the idea of delaying the November election, several Republicans in Congress quickly rejected the idea Thursday, and two of Wyoming's federal delegates were among them.
Updated: 1 month ago
Simplot to pay $775,000 for alleged hazardous waste violations
The giant Boise-based agribusiness J.R. Simplot Company has agreed to pay $775,000 to resolve allegations it violated federal waste and community-protection laws at its phosphoric acid and fertilizer plant outside Rock Springs.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, July 30, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
Wyoming leaves door open to file for education waiver in 2021
CASPER — State officials did not file a federal waiver that would allow them to cut education funding while receiving federal stimulus money after regulatory changes nationally. But Wyoming “has a very compelling argument” to file for such a waiver next year.
Updated: 1 month ago
Gordon says budget situation still “dire” despite small improvement
CHEYENNE — As state officials grapple with an unprecedented budget crisis, Wyoming's revenues were slightly ahead of abysmal projections released in May, but Gov. Mark Gordon and lawmakers maintained Wednesday that the state's budget crisis is not going anywhere.
Updated: 1 month ago
Teton County forms animal attack response team
JACKSON — First responders have been running up the Snow King boot pack as their first round of qualifications to be part of a new animal attack response team.
Updated: 1 month ago
Public health orders extended as Wyoming cases jump by 64
CHEYENNE — As Wyoming reported its single-day record for increase in lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases Tuesday, Gov. Mark Gordon announced the state's current public health orders have been extended through Aug. 15.
Updated: 1 month ago
House speaker suggests using federal money to cover tuition
LARAMIE — The Speaker of the Wyoming House of Representatives has sponsored draft legislation that would provide $116 million to cover most of the costs of college tuition in the state. Existing federal stimulus funds would pay for the program.
Updated: 1 month ago
Arch chief says mine outlook grim without joint venture
GILLETTE — Once a money-generating juggernaut for one of the world’s largest coal producers, Powder River Basin mines have become a financial albatross for Arch Resources Inc.
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Wednesday, July 29, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 1 month ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Tuesday, July 28, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Cody RV parks boom as summer hits stride
CODY — As the hotel industry has suffered early this season, business is booming in the local campgrounds as people try to escape from the pandemic and enjoy the summer.
Updated: 2 months ago
Lawsuit tackles polling site ‘buffer zones’
CASPER — Attorneys for the state’s leading libertarian think tank are suing Secretary of State Ed Buchanan and several top Laramie County officials for a conservative advocacy organization’s right to promote conservative candidates and causes inside of a “restricted speech zone” near polling places in Cheyenne.
Updated: 2 months ago
Investigation concludes Riverton officer who killed man in shootout was justified
RIVERTON — The law enforcement officer who returned fire on a gunman three months ago in residential Riverton acted within the law to defend himself and others, according to an official analysis of the investigation.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Monday, July 27, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Cheyenne police body camera footage aids in acquittal of Abrams
CHEYENNE -- Laramie County District Judge Steven Sharpe acquitted Michael Abrams of two felony counts of attempting to injure a police officer Thursday afternoon.
Updated: 2 months ago
Draft Barrasso bill eyes new BLM wilderness areas, motor park
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso is circulating a draft bill that’s drawing opposing reactions over its provisions to create five new Bureau of Land Management non-motorized wilderness areas in Wyoming.
Updated: 2 months ago
Carbon County river restoration addresses 100-year history of use
RAWLINS – For the first time in 92 years, there is a 75-mile continuous stretch of unobstructed waterway on the Upper North Platte and the Encampment River.
Updated: 2 months ago
Judge: State must pay $600,000 in fees for trespassing lawsuit
A court loss over controversial trespassing statutes passed by the Wyoming Legislature will cost the state around $600,000 in fees and expenses to be paid to the plaintiffs’ attorneys, according to a July 16 ruling.
Updated: 2 months ago
Oil well cleanup program may spur jobs
CASPER — The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding collapse in energy markets have wreaked havoc in the oil and gas sector. An estimated 76,000 direct oil and gas jobs were slashed across the U.S. from February to June, a low not witnessed since around 2006.
Updated: 2 months ago
Gun rights group draws ire of top lawmaker
CASPER — A growing group of Wyoming lawmakers — including the vice president of the Senate — are coming after one of the state’s most aggressive gun rights groups after it lodged efforts to discredit incumbent Republican lawmakers in a number of vulnerable districts ahead of next month’s Republican primary.
Updated: 2 months ago
Feds: Laramie research nonprofit lied to get $500k in grants
LARAMIE — The federal government is investigating the Western Research Institute, a Laramie-based nonprofit, for making false claims to win more than $500,000 in research funding between 2015 and 2018, according to a document obtained by the Boomerang.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Friday, July 24, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Model: Mask wearing could cut U.S. daily deaths by two-thirds
JACKSON — A new model says if universal mask wearing went into effect today, the daily COVID-19 deaths in the United States could be cut by two-thirds by Nov. 1.
Updated: 2 months ago
Federal agreement to boost Wyoming’s uranium industry
CASPER — In a move cheered by Wyoming’s uranium industry, Gov. Mark Gordon endorsed an agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday to clarify federal and state regulation of in situ uranium production and cleanup.
Updated: 2 months ago
Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate discuss climate change, health care during forum
CHEYENNE - Candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in Wyoming's U.S. Senate race this year discussed their stances on a wide range of issues Thursday night, including health care reform, climate change and economic diversification.
Updated: 2 months ago
Nonprofits and Elk Refuge partner to save house in Jackson
JACKSON — A crowd at the corner of Cache and Simpson gasped Sunday morning as a house wobbled back and forth on a semi trailer as the truck turned off the property’s curb and onto the street.
Updated: 2 months ago
Flying on World War II bombers 'worth the money'
GILLETTE — Charles Schuler had never seen a World War II plane up close.
Updated: 2 months ago
Palisades Reservoir seeing increased crowds this summer
AFTON — The water is high and lake enthusiasts are enjoying every drop of it -- that is the story of the summer and Palisades Reservoir.
Updated: 2 months ago
Garth Brooks to play Cheyenne Frontier Days in 2021
CHEYENNE — Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation launched a new campaign Wednesday to ensure the 125th anniversary of the “Daddy of ’em All” is better than ever, and in doing so, announced one of the headliners for next year’s Frontier Nights.
Updated: 2 months ago
Murder suspect not competent to stand trial, psychologist says
POWELL— A man accused of murdering a former girlfriend in Cheyenne and then leaving her body in the foothills south of Cody is not competent to stand trial, according to a forensic psychologist retained by the man’s attorneys.
Updated: 2 months ago
Grizzly attacks in 2020 run at record high
JACKSON – A male grizzly spooked out of a daybed by a 41-year-old Cody resident out hunting for antlers resulted in a helicopter ride to the hospital.
Updated: 2 months ago
Environmental act overhaul could be significant for state
CASPER — Wyoming produces more minerals from public land than almost any other state in the country and also maintains some of the most coveted wildlife habitats in the world.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, July 23, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Wednesday, July 22, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Jackson mask enforcement more ‘educational’
JACKSON — No matter how effective you feel cloth face coverings are, if you refuse to wear one in public businesses in Teton County, you could be hit with a fine.
Updated: 2 months ago
Experts: State laws apply in Riverton despite Oklahoma decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s July 9 decision negating state law enforcement authority on an Oklahoma Indian reservation should not affect law enforcement on the Wind River Indian Reservation, including police activity in Riverton, experts say.
Updated: 2 months ago
Anatomy of a protest: How a Laramie march became a movement
By June, Billy Harris had grown sick of his girlfriend’s stepdad watching Fox News coverage of the George Floyd protests and “spewing constant [expletive deleted] hate.”
Updated: 2 months ago
Unemployment falls below 8%
CASPER — Wyoming’s unemployment rate fell to less than 8 percent in June, the state Department of Workforce Services announced Tuesday.
Updated: 2 months ago
Rest area closure causes litter problem for community residents
DOUGLAS — No, it’s not a pretty sight – far from it, in fact.
Updated: 2 months ago
Cowboy Polo tradition continues at Big Horn Polo Club
SHERIDAN — Turning toward the polo goal in the first chukker of play, Steerhead Ranch player Paul Scherf suddenly tumbled to the ground. His ranch horse tossed his head then dutifully stood over Scherf, as if confused as to why his rider was suddenly on the polo field.
Updated: 2 months ago
Judge says he’s ‘sad’ about council meeting, but has no regrets
GILLETTE — For the first time in more than four decades, Doug Dumbrill isn’t part of the local legal or judicial system.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, July 16, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Supreme Court upholds conviction of former Buffalo chamber leader
BUFFALO — The state’s highest court has affirmed the conviction of former Buffalo Chamber of Commerce CEO Angela Fox.
Updated: 2 months ago
Cody restauranteurs sidelined by COVID
CODY — With her husband hospitalized in Billings because of the COVID-19 virus and their Cody Steakhouse restaurant temporarily closed, co-owner Julie Cocchia has changed her mind about the novel coronavirus.
Updated: 2 months ago
Lummis raises more than U.S. Senate rivals
CASPER — U.S. Senate candidate Cynthia Lummis remains significantly ahead of her rivals in fundraising heading into the final weeks of Republican primary campaign season, according to numbers filed with the Federal Elections Commission this week.
Updated: 2 months ago
Cheyenne boy goes viral after protecting sister from dog attack
CHEYENNE — The first time 6-year-old Bridger Walker held his baby sister, he wouldn’t let anyone take her out of his lap. His parents saw how special their bond was from the moment they met, but that love was proven in actions July 9.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Wednesday, July 15, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Prosecutors decide not to charge retired bishop
CASPER — Natrona County prosecutors have again decided not to pursue sexual abuse charges against retired bishop Joseph Hart, who has been accused of abusing boys dating back to the early 1960s.
Updated: 2 months ago
Wyoming races to meet demand for COVID-19 testing
Wyoming native DeAnn Cougler lives in Munich, Germany and frequently returns to her home state to visit friends and family and conduct field research for her doctorate studies in philosophy. She’s studying cultural factors that impede economic diversification in coal and energy communities in transition.
Updated: 2 months ago
In budget talks, Gov highlights cuts to programs for vulnerable
Programs to help Wyoming’s elderly, poor, incarcerated, addicted and mentally ill will all see budget reductions, Gov. Mark Gordon told lawmakers on Monday morning as he prepared the state for 10% cuts to most government agencies.
Updated: 2 months ago
Comet NEOWISE
The comet NEOWISE whizzes through the night sky above Heart Mountain, around 3:30 a.m. July 12 north of Cody. The comet’s once-in-a-lifetime close passage by the sun "is cooking the comet’s outermost layers, causing gas and dust to erupt off the icy surface and creating a large tail of debris," NASA explained in a recent write-up. The comet is visible with the naked eye just after sunset, but binoculars offer better views as the object hurtles back toward the outer reaches of the solar system. (Photo by Greg Wise, Powell Tribune)
Updated: 2 months ago
Carnival, musical act cancel on state fair, replacements found
DOUGLAS — The new Wyoming State Fair leadership had drafted some changes they wanted, then COVID-19 happened so they adjusted plans to meet the latest rules or obstacle . . . but one they didn’t really count on was the long-time carnival vendor pulling out at the last minute nearly two weeks ago. That was on top of the grandstand show also cancelling for 2020.
Updated: 2 months ago
Gillette College wants more communication in college district operations
GILLETTE — The Gillette College Advisory Board would like to be more involved in conversations about any future cuts of the Northern Wyoming Community College District’s budget.
Updated: 2 months ago
Case of man accused of murdering mother heads to district court
CHEYENNE — After more than a year of competency reviews and mental health treatment, the murder case of James Wallace was bound over to Laramie County District Court on July 2, following his preliminary hearing.
Updated: 2 months ago
‘Green House Model’ selected for Buffalo skilled nursing facility
SHERIDAN — Officials say that the Green House model, in which residents are housed in individual rooms with common living areas, could be more resilient to a pandemic than the traditional nursing home setting.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Tuesday, July 14, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Gordon approves $250 million in cuts
CASPER — Gov. Mark Gordon has signed off on more than $250 million in state budget cuts that includes furloughs and layoffs for state employees, a significant hit to senior services and a $90 million reduction to the Department of Health amid a worsening pandemic.
Updated: 2 months ago
Despite judge’s ruling, tribe won’t drop dispute with law firm
RIVERTON — Days after being sanctioned by a Wyoming District Court Judge for violating the state’s civil conduct rules, the Northern Arapaho Tribe’s leaders vowed Thursday to continue the fight against their former law firm, Baldwin Crocker and Rudd.
Updated: 2 months ago
Campbell County looks into forming own college district
GILLETTE — If Gillette is going to have its own community college district, it will ultimately be the voters who have the final say.
Updated: 2 months ago
Eaton ‘extremely paranoid,’ lawyer says
CASPER — Dale Wayne Eaton — the man whom Natrona County prosecutors are trying to put back on death row — has a mental state so precarious that he may not be able to participate in a hearing to evaluate him, said a defense lawyer.
Updated: 2 months ago
Growing tensions with China could affect land deal
CASPER — If Wyoming plans to double down on minerals to save its future, then trona – one of the Equality State’s most critical natural resources – is probably its safest bet.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Monday, July 13, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Immigration rights activists respond to Supreme Court decision
CHEYENNE — In the early hours of Feb. 3, 2012, Erica Delgado lit her trailer at 3008 Terry Road, space 17, on fire while she and her 11-year-old daughter were inside.
Updated: 2 months ago
Cody Stampede crowds down, competitors up
POWELL — Amid the current pandemic, attendance at both the Cody Stampede rodeo and parade sank significantly from typical years. However, “it seemed like, all in all, it went well,” Stampede Board member and Park County Commissioner Lee Livingston said Tuesday.
Updated: 2 months ago
After lifetime in bowling, alley owner wins national award
GILLETTE — It’s not hyperbole to say that Mike Divis has spent his life at Camelanes.
Updated: 2 months ago
Friends find bison jump in Carbon County
RAWLINS – It all started in 1991.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Friday, July 10, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Sublette County rejects Bondurant resort proposal
PINEDALE — An upscale resort that would have nearly doubled the population of Bondurant was denied Tuesday by Sublette County commissioners who said the high-end guest ranch didn’t square with their comprehensive plan.
Updated: 2 months ago
Experts: Local participation, planning key to surviving coal’s downturn
EVANSTON — For communities long dependent on the revenues and jobs created through coal production and coal-fired power plants, the rapid decline in coal’s share of energy production over the past decade is terrifying.
Updated: 2 months ago
Health Department pulls back proposed addition to vaccine list
CASPER — Citing challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the state Department of Health has withdrawn a proposal to add a new vaccine to the required list for school children.
Updated: 2 months ago
Wyoming collects $1 billion in PPP benefits
CHEYENNE — As the coronavirus pandemic caused a nationwide shutdown, unemployment rates skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, with businesses closing their doors to help prevent the virus' spread. By the end of March, initial unemployment claims in Laramie County had increased more than 1,000%.
Updated: 2 months ago
DCI raids hemp farm, nabs crop (or terrible weed), presses charges
Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents in November raided an Albin hemp farm, operated by two people instrumental in legalizing the crop in Wyoming, court filings show.
Updated: 2 months ago
Coronavirus hospitalizations tick upward
CASPER — The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Wyoming has steadily risen in recent days, as a recent spike in confirmed cases in the Equality State has continued into mid-July.
Updated: 2 months ago
Gordon says Occidental bid above board
GILLETTE — Gov. Mark Gordon is defending a decision by the State Loan and Investment Board to go ahead with a state bid for a package of assets owned by Occidental Petroleum.
Updated: 2 months ago
Judge nixes tribal lawsuit against past attorneys
RIVERTON — After the majority faction of the Northern Arapaho Business Council waged a nearly one-year lawsuit against its former law firm for withheld funds, a judge ruled this week that the contested $1 million had been returned to the tribal entity before their complaint was filed.
Updated: 2 months ago
Appeals court rules grizzlies must remain listed
POWELL — A panel of federal judges ruled today that grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem must remain under Endangered Species Act protections.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, July 9, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Cheney next to vote on Great American Outdoors Act, park funds
U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney is the next member of the Wyoming delegation to face a bill to permanently fund a program that brought $23 million to Wyoming schools in 2016, a bill her Senate colleagues opposed.
Updated: 2 months ago
Municipal judge resigns, sparks shouting at Gillette council meeting
GILLETTE — Gillette Municipal Court Judge Doug Dumbrill abruptly resigned during Tuesday’s Gillette City Council meeting, then got into a shouting match with the audience, most of whom were there to protest Mayor Louise Carter-King and the rest of the council.
Updated: 2 months ago
Regulators approve first new coal mine in decades
CASPER — Wyoming environmental regulators have approved a coal firm’s application to construct the state’s first new coal mine in nearly half a century.
Updated: 2 months ago
Report confirms culture of bigoted bullying at junior high
CHEYENNE - McCormick Junior High School had an established culture of racist, homophobic and ableist bullying that some staff either took part in or didn't feel comfortable reporting to administration.
Updated: 2 months ago
Wyoming man develops new stormwater filter system
LARAMIE — Four years ago, Brian Deurloo woke up during the early hours of the morning. A vision had come to him, one that involved an innovative solution for dealing with stormwater.
Updated: 2 months ago
Orphaned, rehabilitated bear returned to wild
JACKSON — When Taz McBride first laid eyes on “Hissy” he was up close with the tiny black bear in his Melody Ranch backyard.
Updated: 2 months ago
State, Campbell County pursue rare earth opportunities
GILLETTE — As flagging coal and oil revenues continue to implode the Wyoming budget by hundreds of millions of dollars, momentum is growing for a more down-to-earth solution.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, July 2, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
Sheriff dismissed fears about deputy saying citizen needs ‘professional help’
In February, Albany County Sheriff David O’Malley dismissed concerns raised by a Laramie resident about a controversial deputy by telling a county human resources official that the complainant needed “professional help” and was “difficult to listen to.”
Updated: 2 months ago
Questions surface regarding Occidental purchase
CASPER — Gov. Mark Gordon’s office says it could submit its first formal bid for 5 million acres of Occidental Petroleum-owned land in southern Wyoming next week in what would be the first official step in closing one of the largest public land purchases in American history.
Updated: 2 months ago
Laramie council approves resolution for police oversight board
LARAMIE — The Laramie City Council passed a resolution Tuesday directing city staff to identify options for creating a civilian oversight board and other measures aimed at increasing community involvement in policing.
Updated: 2 months ago
State releases initial guidance for fall reopening of K-12 schools
CHEYENNE — Lunch in classrooms, widespread hand sanitizer stations and face coverings are just a few of the features Wyoming students can expect to see if the state’s schools return to in-person instruction this fall.
Updated: 2 months ago
NEWS BRIEFS for Tuesday, June 30, 2020
News in Brief from across the Cowboy State
Updated: 2 months ago
West enters partnership with Gap, adding jobs in Cody
CODY — With what Kanye West describes as a “business enterprise” developed between his Yeezy brand and Gap Inc., the Cody-based company is expanding and planning to add more jobs to the local economy.
Updated: 2 months ago
Legislators study education ‘block grant’
SHERIDAN — Legislators recently discussed issues of transparency and fidelity within school funding models around the state, with testimony from a county superintendent setting the stage for how legislative decisions impact individual school districts.
Updated: 2 months ago
Commissioners eye making Gillette College independent
GILLETTE — The Campbell County Commission has instructed county employees to begin investigating what it would take to withdraw Gillette College from the Northern Wyoming Community College District.
Updated: 2 months ago
Coronavirus health orders remain unchanged
CASPER — The three broad public health orders that were set to expire this week have been extended, with no changes, through mid-July, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon announced Monday, as the state continues to grapple with a spike in coronavirus cases.
Updated: 2 months ago
Sheridan students repair school devices as part of class
SHERIDAN — Two computer science classes offer Sheridan High School students the chance to receive practical skills and aid the school district they attend.
Updated: 1 year ago