Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 423
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
CHEYENNE — State lawmakers advanced a bill draft on Monday that aims to ban all hemp-products containing any psychoactive properties, including delta-8, without providing a distinction between “synthetic” and “naturally occurring” properties. Members of the Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee were divided in their opinions of the bill. Some members said the draft was a necessary step toward protecting youth, while others hesitated over the bill’s broad language. Committee co-Chairman Rep. Art Washut, R- Casper, said the bill was “not read...
Wyoming lawmakers want to earmark $50 million to sue the federal government over implementation of national environmental and natural resource laws. Lawmakers added the proposed $50 million appropriation to a draft bill — Federal land use plans-legal actions authorized — that the Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources Committee endorsed Oct. 30. The bill authorizes the Legislature “to prosecute actions involving the proper administration and interpretation of federal acts.” Lawmakers proposed the measure in part because...
The pathway of a highly migratory western Wyoming pronghorn herd that's been known by researchers for a quarter-century is at "high risk" of being lost. That's according to a draft "threat evaluation" released Thursday by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in conjunction with an announcement that the state agency will consider identifying or designating migration corridors used by the Sublette Pronghorn Herd. "In summary, the known current and potential threats pose a high risk to the...
When it comes to the issue of declining rates of kokanee salmon in the Flaming Gorge, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is having conversations with the public about the problem and considering more drastic solutions, such as netting small lake trout on a large scale. The WGFD's Green River Region hosted a public house meeting at the Green River campus of Western Wyoming Community College on October 18 to discuss the Flaming Gorge fishery. Green River Fisheries Biologist John Walrath gave a...
SHERIDAN - Fort Phil Kearny was established by the U.S. Army on July 15, 1866 with the original purpose of protecting freighters and travelers along the Bozeman Trail from Native American tribes. Standing for only two years, the fort would become the site of a deadly battle that spelled death for 81 men. Today, the fort's bloodied history is the catalyst for ghost stories aplenty. Of two major battles at the fort, the one with the highest number of fatalities was the Fetterman Fight, also known...
POWELL — That Cameron Boni remains in jail and not in a mental health facility is a source of frustration for Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah, who’s presiding over Boni’s pending criminal charges. “This is a troubling case for me,” Darrah said Oct. 12, as he ordered Boni to remain held on $100,000 bond, “because Mr. Boni is a product of a system, in my mind, that is broken.” Court records say Boni raced into Powell at 143 mph in May, hitting four different vehicles before his Jetta slid to a stop on Coulter Avenue. No one was serio...
ALPINE - Gary Fralick's calm demeanor shifted to a hustle for the hour that a steady stream of severed heads made its way through his check station on the last Saturday of deer hunting season. The Thayne-based Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologist and his colleague, Kelsie Hayes, checked one ungulate deadhead after another. The red-shirted duo was posted up where Greys River Road exits the Wyoming and Salt River mountain ranges. Fralick knows the spot well: This fall marked his 30th...
