Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 505
CHEYENNE — Federal regulation around gun laws has prompted some Wyoming lawmakers to work to preserve gun rights for residents at the state level. Three bills were forwarded to the Senate floor by members of the Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands, and Water Resources Committee on Tuesday. These bills would broaden access to gun ownership in the state, with one or two taking a stance against gun law regulation by the federal government. Two years ago, federal lawmakers urged banks to adopt a new merchant category code for credit card p...
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming House of Representatives and Senate approved mirror budget amendments Monday that would allow the state to send $2 million to Texas or provide resources like personnel to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. If the amendments in both chambers are, in fact, identical, and no additional changes are made to this amendment on third reading of the budget bills, the allocation will be automatically adopted in the state’s 2025-26 biennium budget and would not be up for negotiation in a joint conference committee. On both sides of the...
Nancy planned on cross-country skiing at Happy Jack in southeast Wyoming on Jan. 19, but forgot her ski jacket. Instead of waiting in the car while her husband skied, she decided to go for a stroll in the woods with her Uggs and knee-length brown parka. "I'll just take a nice little hour-long walk," she said. Nancy talked with WyoFile on the condition that her last name remain anonymous. (No word on whether she was concerned about retribution from a certain hooved critter.) The trails at Happy... Full story
CASPER, WY – A bipartisan bill honoring the life and legacy of former Shoshoni Postmaster Dessie A. Bebout passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs last week. The bipartisan legislation, introduced by U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Tom Carper (D-Del.), honors Dessie Bebout by naming the local post office in Shoshoni, Wyoming after her. Bebout, a WWII veteran, passed away last year at the age of 102. Bebout's honored c... Full story
CASPER — The homicide of Casper native Teree Becker has been solved after more than 48 years, the Westminster Colorado Police Department announced Wednesday. Years of effort and genetic genealogy are credited for identifying Thomas Elliott as Becker’s killer. Becker grew up in Casper with her parents, a brother and a sister. She was a graduate of Kelly Walsh High School and worked for a newspaper for a time. She moved to Denver shortly after graduating. “Her family said that she often lived life on the edge. They said she never met a stran...
More and more Wyoming students aren't getting vaccines. These aren't the much-maligned and distrusted COVID-19 vaccines, though. They're long-utilized inoculations against diseases like polio, diphtheria and measles, Wyoming Department of Health data shows. Wyoming requires a range of vaccines, but since 2020, the number of K-12 students securing exemptions has grown from 714 to 1,224 - an increase of 71%. There were 130 more in just the last year. The vast majority of students still get... Full story
SARATOGA — Despite the advent of the internet and social media, Wyoming newspapers still serve as an important avenue for public notices — at least according to Governor Mark Gordon, who spoke at the 125th Annual Wyoming Press Convention in Casper on January 19. Over the past several years, the Wyoming Legislature has seen a number of bills introduced which would remove public notices from the pages of Wyoming newspapers. They were proposed despite the fact that 86% of Wyoming adults cite newspapers as their most trusted source for public not...
The Green River Star was recognized for journalistic excellence during the Wyoming Press Association’s 125th winter convention in Casper last weekend. Editor Hannah Romero received five Pacemaker Awards, four of which were for first place. The article “‘Who She Is’ shares stories of MMIW in Wyoming” was chosen for first place in the General News Story Category. “Concerns over the BLM’s RMP,” a packet of articles regarding the Bureau of Land Management’s Resource Management Plan for the Rock Springs Field Office, took first place in Government I...
CHEYENNE — A Laramie lawyer has appealed the dismissal of his attempt to bar former President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., from the Wyoming ballot to the Wyoming Supreme Court. On Jan. 4, U.S. District Judge Misha Westby granted Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s motion to dismiss the case, Newcomb v. Chuck Gray, on the grounds that the lawsuit is “not yet ripe.” Laramie-based lawyer Tim Newcomb, who filed the lawsuit against Gray in November, submitted an appeal of the district court’s dismissal to the Wyoming Supreme C...
CASPER — The Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday released a draft proposal to update its Western Solar Plan, a strategic roadmap for solar energy development that could make as much as 22 million acres of federal land eligible for utility-scale projects. The updated proposal incorporates lands in five additional Western states — counting Wyoming, which is identified as a top 10 U.S. state for solar potential. It’s the latest in the Biden Administration’s hot pursuit of renewables, and it underscores the pivotal intersection of public...
Submit to Game and Fish stamp art contest by March 31 CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is accepting original artwork for the Collectible Conservation Stamp Art Contest. The subject of the annual contest is the western tanager. Submissions for the adult and youth competitions must be received by the Game and Fish Headquarters in Cheyenne by 5 p.m. March 31. “The western tanager’s vibrant colors are sure to inspire eye-catching artwork,” said Chris Martin, Game and Fish visual communications supervisor and coordinator of this...
CHEYENNE — An Albany County judge ordered the dismissal of a case that would have kept former President Donald J. Trump and U.S. Sen. Cynthia M. Lummis, R-Wyo., off future Wyoming ballots. The case was dismissed without prejudice, leaving the door open for future lawsuits regarding their access to the ballot. The matter mirrors attempts in several other states to ban the former president from appearing on state ballots based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prevents elected officials from serving in elected office if they have e...
Newly published research exposes the role gas drilling infrastructure played in shrinking habitat for northeast Wyoming's dwindling sage grouse population - and it also provides a blueprint to help the imperiled species continue to exist on industrialized landscapes. In the Powder River Basin, a coalbed methane industry boom around the turn of the century brought with it some 30,000 wells, thousands of miles of roads, power lines and pipelines, along with scores of wastewater ponds resulting... Full story
Wyoming Game and Fish biologists and technicians have spent the last year and a half feeding four captive bobcats ground meat infected with chronic wasting disease. The study isn't to see if bobcats can contract the disease - it hasn't been shown to cross the species barrier to carnivores like big cats - the goal is to see what comes out the other end. The results so far have been promising. Only 2% of the chronic wasting disease prions that go into a bobcat's mouth can be detected in the... Full story
As summer turned to fall in Wyoming this year, red and gold political leaflets began to appear in mailboxes. At first glance, the oversized glossy postcards didn't look much different than any other campaign material. They featured an official lawmaker headshot, his name, contact info and the word "conservative" several times over. The header "Legislative Update" was emblazoned on the front. Albeit early for a campaign season that won't officially kick off until May - when the candidate filing p... Full story
Fresh grizzly bear bloodlines are expected to arrive in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem this summer, adding genetic diversity to a population of animals that's been isolated for a century. The infusion of genetics will come from the North Continental Divide Ecosystem, and it will roll down the highway in the form of a slumbering grizzly or two. Why truck in grizzly bears to a population last estimated at nearly 1,000 animals? Montana and Wyoming - which have hashed out an agreement - are... Full story
JACKSON — Wolverines officially have federal protection after federal wildlife biologists determined the species is “less secure” than previously believed in the face of climate change and habitat loss. On Tuesday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the elusive, rare alpine-dwelling mesocarnivore — an animal whose diet is only slightly above 50% meat — would be listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. The decision comes after a lengthy legal battle between envir...
CHEYENNE — As several agencies within Wyoming state government continue to struggle to provide services due to a shortage of full-time employees, the Wyoming Department of Transportation this week announced a $2,000 hiring bonus program. The “strategic” move is to help the department find enough staff to meet its mission in providing state services, according to a WYDOT news release, and is available to all permanent positions. “We recognize the importance of attracting skilled and dedicated individuals to join our team,” said Taylor Rossetti,...
The last month of the year will be one to watch for those who are both for and against abortion access in Wyoming. The week of Dec. 11 will feature two significant court hearings and the closing of a Jackson clinic — leaving only one physical facility to provide elective abortions in the state. “It’s going to be a tense week,” said Right to Life Wyoming president Marti Halverson, referring to the hearings. “There’s a lot hanging in the balance, obviously,” echoed Sharon Breitweiser, executive director of Pro-Choice Wyoming. “Right now, t... Full story
Wyoming leaders blame Biden administration coal policies as well as bureaucratic delays they claim are deliberate for layoffs at the Black Butte coal mine in southwest Wyoming. Nineteen miners were notified this week that they'd lose their jobs, and more layoffs could be in the works, according to reports. WyoFile was unable to confirm the information with Black Butte Coal. Gov. Mark Gordon's press secretary Michael Pearlman told WyoFile, "We don't have any concrete information, although we had... Full story
JACKSON — With a Dec. 14 hearing fast approaching, both sides in a closely watched legal fight over abortion access in Wyoming agree on one thing: pressing ahead. “This case needs to get decided and we need to move it forward,” said Special Assistant Attorney General Jay Jerde, who is defending two laws passed by the state Legislature. One is a general ban on abortions with some exceptions and the other outlaws medication abortions. Ninth Judicial District Court Judge Melissa Owens asked the parties Thursday if an upcoming Dec. 14 summa...
POWELL — Authorities investigating the disappearance of a Cody woman found dried blood and an apparent bullet hole in the vehicle she was last seen traveling in, court records say. The SUV is owned by Katie Ferguson’s ex-boyfriend, Adam Aviles Jr., who was arrested last week amid the investigation. Aviles is facing a federal charge that alleges he illegally possessed ammunition, but the 26-year-old has not been charged in connection with Ferguson’s disappearance. Ferguson was last seen in early October, as she began heading back to Wyomi...
BUFFALO - Jeanne Peterson and her husband, Robert Suchor, weren't necessarily surprised to find an ancient tree beneath the surface of their property east of Buffalo. Destined to become an RV campground, the couple's land sits just south of the Bureau of Land Management's Dry Creek Petrified Tree Environmental Education Area, where petrified trees provide evidence of a much different landscape 60 million years ago than exists today. "There's more to the desert than meets the eye," Peterson...
CHEYENNE — A Laramie lawyer has sued Secretary of State Chuck Gray, attempting to bar former President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., from appearing on future ballots in the state. The complaint, filed earlier this month, is one of many attempts in U.S. courts to disqualify the former president from ballot access. Similar lawsuits exist in Michigan, Colorado, Minnesota and New Jersey, the Missouri Independent reported. In a news release sent out Tuesday, Gray spoke out against the lawsuit. He said it was weaponizing the U.S....
LYMAN — A meeting was held Tuesday in Kemmerer during which the proposed TerraPower nuclear plant was discussed and residents questioned the timeline and safety of the proposed plant. The meeting, held by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, played to a full house as concerned residents were on hand to hear how the plant would be operated and the safety provisions would be implemented at the TerraPower nuclear plant near Kemmerer. TerraPower has not yet submitted an application for construction, so many of the questions Kemmerer residents had a...
