Sorted by date Results 376 - 400 of 526
CASPER — A proposed bill to set aside $1.2 million for Wyoming to sue other states divesting from coal received a warm welcome from lawmakers at a committee meeting on Friday morning. The House Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee voted unanimously to advance the drafted legislation to the floor. House Bill 207 would give Wyoming’s governor and attorney general the money to challenge actions taken by other states that “impede the export of Wyoming coal or the continued operation of Wyoming’s coal-fired electric generat...
CHEYENNE — Wyoming is one of six states where marijuana remains fully illegal without any sort of decriminalization. But that could change in the near future, as state lawmakers advanced a bill Friday that would open the door for wide-ranging forms of cannabis to be grown and sold in Wyoming. Members of the Legislature’s House Judiciary Committee considered two marijuana-focused bills during their meeting Friday, one of which would require the state health officer to establish a report on the implementation of medical marijuana in Wyoming. Whi...
JACKSON — The House Revenue Committee was again disinterested in new taxes last week as it voted down a real estate transfer tax and an expansion of the sales tax from goods to services. Teton County legislators supported the real estate tax. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort lobbied against the sales tax expansion. Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Albany, was the lead sponsor on the sales tax bill. Pointing to a report on Wyoming’s estimated “tax capacity” — the ability to increase taxes while remaining competitive business-wise — she argued that Wyomin...
CASPER — A bill to prevent Wyoming fossil fuel plant closures cleared a legislative committee on Wednesday, despite opposition from the public, consumer advocates and several utility companies. House Bill 166 would prohibit the early retirement of coal or natural gas power plant units, unless a utility company takes additional steps to prove ceasing operations would not hurt customers or compromise reliability. In other words, the drafted legislation would create a presumption against coal and natural gas plant retirements. State regulators cou...
LARAMIE (Wyoming News Exchange/Green River Star) – A man who was previously sentenced for a sexual assault in Sweetwater County was recently sentenced for a similar crime in Albany County. Mark Douglas Burns, 70, of Ogden, Utah, was sentenced Feb. 17 by Albany County Second Judicial District Court Judge Tori Kricken for the 1996 sexual assault of a Laramie resident. Burns pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault in the first degree; one count of burglary; and one count of kidnapping-confinement. He received a sentence of 206 – 230 yea...
CASPER — Sage grouse reproduction numbers remained stable last year, according to initial data collected by Wyoming Game and Fish Department. State biologists closely monitor Wyoming’s iconic bird every year to ensure the population count stays at healthy levels. The department compiles the reproduction numbers each spring by counting chick and hen feathers left by hunters over several months in collection boxes. Sage grouse numbers have reached high enough levels to allow limited hunting of the bird. “Hunting is an important component of sa...
CODY — Oil and gas have been major drivers of the Wyoming economy since the Equality State achieved statehood. U.S. production of oil has risen in recent years, with Wyoming producers increasing the amount they pulled out of the ground from 2017-2019, according to the state geological survey. But as it has with so many industries, the coronavirus pandemic hit the oil industry hard. The analysis of the impact of the fluctuating oil markets was recently released by the Wyoming State Geological Survey. While the full effect of plummeting prices i...
CASPER – Executives of a bankrupt coal firm in the Powder River Basin received over half a million dollars in bonus payments in the year leading up to the company’s bankruptcy filing, court documents reveal. Lighthouse Resources paid 11 “insiders” within the company and its subsidiaries a total of $3.3 million, including at least $702,500 in bonuses, in the 12 months before filing for bankruptcy. These insiders included a president, chief operating officer, treasurer, general manager, two secretaries and four directors. The company also re...
CHEYENNE — Citing a substantial decline in the number of active COVID-19 cases and virus-related hospitalizations in Wyoming, Gov. Mark Gordon announced further easing on the state’s public health orders Thursday, along with an extension of the statewide mask mandate. Some of the main changes to the orders, which take effect Monday, will allow for more people at indoor and outdoor gatherings that incorporate social distancing and face mask usage. For indoor gatherings that follow those health protocols, up to 25% of a venue’s capacity, or a...
CASPER — The Wyoming Republican Party’s state central committee voted by a resounding margin Saturday to censure Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney for her vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump, making her the third person to be censured by the party in less than a year. The voice vote came after just 11 minutes of debate, marking the party’s ultimate rebuke of Cheney after weeks of escalating anger from conservative activists across Wyoming. Fewer than 10 members voted against the censure. Joe McGinley — chairman of the Natrona County Re...
CASPER – Oil prices have been on the road to recovery for several months after crashing last spring in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a global price war. But consumers could start to feel pinched when buying gas soon. Gas prices in Wyoming have climbed to $2.31 per gallon, as of Monday. The average national price of gasoline reached $2.46 per gallon this week. That’s more expensive than a week, a month and a year ago, according to an analysis by AAA. Energy analysts point to rising crude prices, slightly more travel and greater opt...
CHEYENNE – With lawmakers expected to weigh state budget cuts totaling tens of millions of dollars when they meet in Cheyenne next month, a poll of residents found that Wyomingites were most concerned over the possibility of cuts to the state’s K-12 education system, as well as potential tax increases. The poll, which was spearheaded by Power Wyoming, an interdisciplinary group tasked with analyzing the state’s economic future, was presented to the Legislature’s House Education Committee during a meeting Friday. The poll focused on five no...
PINEDALE — Following days of statements, La Barge businessman Mike Schmid capped the week of his removal from the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission with a statement on Jan. 29, countering a statement released by Game and Fish President Pete Dube the day before. Schmid announced in a Facebook post on Jan. 25 that, among other things, his “role as a commissioner and freedoms as an American were too conflicting.” The following morning Game and Fish Department staff received an email stating Schmid was no longer on the commission. Dube relea...
CHEYENNE - Facing massive cuts to the state's K-12 schools budget, one lawmaker has proposed a bill to study the cost-saving benefits of consolidating Wyoming's 48 school districts into 24. "We, as a Legislature, fully understand that we have to rein in costs for education. Rather than making cuts to teacher salaries, personnel or closing down schools, I thought this was a better avenue to pursue," said Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, who is sponsoring House Bill 77. "I spent two years chairing...
JACKSON — The new, fast-spreading coronavirus variant first discovered in the United Kingdom has been detected in Teton County, and health officials are repeating their plea for people to only gather with household members. “Our community is in perhaps the most critical position we have faced yet in the course of this pandemic,” Teton District Health Officer Travis Riddell said in a press release Saturday. “With the identification of the COVID-19 variant along with cases of COVID-19 rapidly rising in our community, we are asking all residen...
CASPER — The chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party on Friday said Western states are “paying attention” to the effort by some in Texas’ far-right to try to secede from the United States. Appearing on former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast last week to discuss Rep. Liz Cheney’s vote to impeach Trump, Eathorne made the comment in response to a Bannon question about what conservatives should keep in mind in light of their movement’s recent political losses. “We need to focus on the fundamentals,” Eath...
CASPER — Several Wyoming Republicans spoke out to condemn the violence unfolding in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The interruption halted the certification of electoral votes, triggered a mass evacuation and left at least one person dead. Gov. Mark Gordon said he was “heartbroken,” calling the events at the nation’s Capitol an “assault on our democracy.” “The United States of America is resilient,” Gordon said in a statement. “It has weathered many storms because of...
CHEYENNE — The exterior doors of the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department were vandalized with fake blood early Thursday morning, a few days after a protest was held at the Wyoming State Capitol against public health orders issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kathy Emmons, executive director of the Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department, said the vandalism occurred early Thursday morning, likely around 5:30 a.m. The timeframe was determined because a copy of the Wyoming Tribune Eagle had already been delivered when the fake b...
GILLETTE – A research team at the University of Wyoming has found a way to use a microwave to turn coal into graphite. Using copper foil, glass containers and a conventional household microwave oven, UW researchers have demonstrated that pulverized coal powder can be converted into higher-value nano-graphite. “This method provides a new route to convert abundant carbon sources to high-value materials with ecological and economic benefits,” the research team wrote. Nano-graphite is used as a lubricant and other items like fire extin...
The coronavirus pandemic continues to kill residents throughout the Cowboy State, with the Wyoming Department of Health claiming COVID-19 killed 26 Tuesday evening. Three Sweetwater County residents were included in the total. According to data from the WDH, COVID-19 has caused 464 deaths out of 38,954 lab-confirmed cases and 6,615 probable cases reported since the pandemic started. A probable case involves a person who exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 and was in contact with someone who tested positive for the disease, but was not tested...
CHEYENNE – About 250 people demonstrated in front of the Wyoming State Capitol Monday afternoon to protest a statewide mask mandate and other COVID-19 related restrictions. Calls to "Stop the tyranny," "Free Wyoming" and make Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon a "one-term governor," were the rallying cries the protesters belted out after about an hour of listening to elected officials and other citizens decry the mask mandate, including outgoing Rep. Scott Clem, R-Gillette, who challenged people to b...
POWELL — As the sun came up on the new year Friday, a series of significant fee increases took effect at Wyoming’s state parks. All fees are increasing, from single day use passes to annual permits, with some increasing as much as 60%. For Wyoming residents, daily use fees at state parks, recreation areas and archaeological sites will move to one rate year-round, with no more discount for off-season rates. They’re increasing from $4 and $6, depending on the season, to $7 year-round, while a visit to a historic site now costs $4 (up from $2-$3...
CASPER — A piece of legislation tucked into the federal spending bill signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday could help speed up the development of carbon capture technologies in Wyoming and across the country. Long championed by Wyoming lawmakers, the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act aims to boost carbon capture research and ease regulatory hurdles. Carbon capture involves trapping, reusing or storing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas and pollutant emitted when fossil fuels are burned. The act a...
CASPER – In a highly anticipated decision, the Bureau of Land Management approved a massive oil and gas project proposed in eastern Wyoming. The federal agency issued a final record of decision on Wednesday, allowing five energy companies to extract federal minerals within the 1.5 million acre project area. The oil and gas companies will now be able to take the next steps in their plan to drill 5,000 wells in Converse County over the next several years. The final environmental review, published in July, allowed for the construction of up to 5...
JACKSON — County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday morning to extend the wastewater facility deadline at the Hoback RV Park, allowing tenants to continue using a failing septic system through May, should their landlords let them. The vote comes more than two weeks after RV park residents asked the Teton County Board of County Commissioners to intervene. Some elected officials said their votes might not make a difference. “This really is in the private sector, and there is not much else we as the county commissioners can do,” Commi...
