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Wyo emerges from session with no long-term budget, ed solutions
The Wyoming Legislature entered the 2021 legislative session with a lofty agenda to cut education spending, stall revenue declines and guide a Wyoming economy battered by COVID-19 to a sustainable future. But in one of the longest legislative...
K-12 funding could still collapse
CHEYENNE — During the final days of the 2021 legislative session, Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow expressed both praise for an imminent K-12 school funding deal and concern for the long-term future of the state’s...
Cheney promises to keep fighting for fossil fuels
GILLETTE — Fossil fuels have been targeted by environmental groups and political policy for years, and things could get worse as President Joe Biden’s administration works through its priorities. That’s why it’s important that lawmakers, the...
I-80 toll proposal tabled
CHEYENNE - A bill that would have authorized a long-term plan to set up an Interstate 80 tolling program was tabled by a legislative committee Tuesday, meaning the proposal will not be considered on...
Republicans accuse Wyo. GOP of election fraud
Jon Conrad was done with sitting on the sidelines. The Evanston resident had been engaged at the state level for decades. Conrad had served under former Govs. Matt Mead and Dave Freudenthal, as chair of the Wyoming Workforce Development Council and...
Historic Wyo. blizzard moves needle on drought conditions
CHEYENNE — During a monthly weather briefing last week, Cheyenne National Weather Service Meteorologist Jared Allen talked about the “welcome moisture” last weekend’s record-breaking snowstorm had on Wyoming’s drought. “We had quite a...
Special session eyed to allocate federal relief funds
CHEYENNE – What can cash-strapped Wyoming do with $1.3 billion from the federal government? Plenty, if you ask members of the Wyoming Legislature. Yet lawmakers are hesitant to say such a windfall can solve the current budget crisis. It will take...
Marijuana, fuel tax bills died Monday
CHEYENNE — With about a week and a half left in the Wyoming Legislature’s general session, a slew of bills addressing everything from marijuana to seat belt use failed due to them not being considered by Monday night, their swift deaths brought...
Storm delays COVID vaccine shipments
CASPER — Vaccines headed for Wyoming will be delayed as residents emerge from a record-setting winter storm that dumped more than two feet of snow on parts of the state this weekend. Federal officials halted shipments of the vaccine into Wyoming...
Budget proposals finalized
CHEYENNE — After two days without meeting due to the historic winter storm that hit southeast Wyoming last weekend, state lawmakers will return to the Capitol Wednesday with a divide between the House and Senate budget proposals that the bodies...
Considering the cost: Study examines trade-offs in energy development
LARAMIE – A study conducted by the University of Wyoming found that Wyomingites are open to renewable energy and diversifying the economy. However, they realize they’ll have to make trade-offs, and they want their leaders to have realistic...
Tropical moisture fueled storm hits
CASPER — Wyoming was pummeled with one of the biggest snowstorms in the state’s history this weekend. The storm dropped more than two feet of snow in many parts of the state, leading to power outages, stalled travel and shuttered schools. What...
Legislature wants to use $1.2 million to help coal
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...
Marijuana bill gains committee approval
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...
Sales tax expansion, real estate transfer tax bills fail
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....
Bill to keep fossil fuel plants open approved by committee
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...
Man sentenced to 206-230 years in cold case
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....
Sage grouse numbers stay steady
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...
Data shows oil, gas industry hit hard
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...
Mine executives received bonuses before bankruptcy
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...
Restaurant, gym health orders relaxed
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...
Wyo. GOP censures Cheney
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...
Gasoline prices are moving higher in Wyoming
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...
Poll shows residents concerned about school funding, taxes
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...
Former G&F commissioner discusses his removal
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...