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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. “This is an incredibly difficult task but we must respond to the financial circumstances the state is facing,” Gordon said in a statement. “These cuts will impact families across the state, will affect the services we provide and will have an effect on dollars that flow into the pri...
CASPER — Wyoming ranked 16th in the country for overall children’s well-being in a national report that found the Equality State above average generally, though the state continues to struggle with youth health. Last year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count report ranked Wyoming 21st; in 2018, Wyoming was 18th. The rankings are based on four broad categories: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. The data lags somewhat and is typically a year or two old. On economic well-being, Wyoming ranked 10th overa...
CASPER — The University of Wyoming is preparing to absorb $35 million in cuts in the coming years, reductions that are expected to hit every public agency here as state revenues continue to plummet. Gov. Mark Gordon instructed agencies and the university to prepare for cuts, as the novel coronavirus and downturns in the coal and oil industries have taken huge bites out of the state’s economy. The university is preparing for a 10 percent cut in each of the next two years, which amounts to $17.5 million annually. The cuts come four years aft...
CASPER - More than half of Wyomingites say they're comfortable attending large outdoor events this summer, according to the latest University of Wyoming survey on the impacts of coronavirus. The study found an overall drop in support for following measures recommended to slow the spread of the virus. Still, while the number of people who are changing their routine, washing their hands and avoiding physical contact with others continues to drop, the majority of the nearly 500 people surveyed...
CASPER – Wyoming has received roughly $32.5 million in federal funding to help its 48 school districts offset costs incurred because of the novel coronavirus, the state announced last week. The money, part of the gargantuan stimulus bill passed by Congress several weeks ago, will be doled out to Wyoming’s districts according to previously established formulas for providing federal money to districts with low-income students. It cannot be used to offset existing expenses — like payroll — but it can be used to offset the cost of steps taken b...
CASPER — Wyoming had the second-highest suicide rate in the United States in 2018, according to data released earlier this month. More than 25 Wyomingites out of every 100,000 died by suicide that year, a sweeping report by the American Association of Suicidology found. That was well above the national rate of 14.2 and barely trailed New Mexico, which had the highest rate in America. It was, however, lower than Wyoming’s rate in 2017, when the figure was more than 27 people per 100,000. “It’s one of our top priorities, easily,” said Lindsey M...
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming House killed an amendment last week that would’ve brought the Equality State back into a national survey that asks middle and high schoolers questions about their health and behavior. The state is one of only four that don’t participate in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which asks middle and high school students to answer 49 and 89 questions, respectively. The data is then used to identify trends and inform public health decisions on a local, state and nationa...
