Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 499
Albert Rueben Gaines, 31, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced to 200 months’ imprisonment for felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a machinegun. According to court documents, in January 2023, DCI agents began receiving information that Gaines was involved in the use and distribution of controlled substances throughout the state of Wyoming. In June of 2023, several incidents occurred that led to the arrest of Gaines a...
Yellowstone National Park has closed the Biscuit Basin area for the season after a hydrothermal explosion strewed boiling water and rocks skyward Tuesday morning, destroying a section of boardwalk and spurring frightened tourists to flee. No one was injured in the blast at Black Diamond Pool, which was caused by hydrothermal conditions and not volcanic activity, the park said Wednesday. Geologists are monitoring conditions, mapping the debris field and sampling water to assess any changes in the... Full story
JACKSON — Scientists aren’t sure whether it’s possible to detect hydrothermal explosions like last Tuesday’s Biscuit Basin blow-up before they happen. Still, they want to try and learn what they can about the subterranean blasts. Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly is open to the idea. “We definitely had what I’d call a close call. I’m very happy no one was injured or worse,” Sholly said. “We’ll continue to work with the scientists to figure out if there’s any better ways to improve monitoring. Obviously, we want to make sure...
KEMMERER — “It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when you’re going to see fraud. You’ve gotta get comfortable with being uncomfortable having these conversations,” said First Bank Vice President and Branch Manager David Benton. Benton, who has over 20 years of experience in the banking industry, is no stranger to monetary scams. “Our tellers are the first line of defense a lot of the time,” he said. “We train a couple of times a year to spot fraud, and we’re catching a lot of it. Most of the scams we’re seeing now involve something tha...
CASPER — Commercial livestock grazing across the West is a growing threat to the greater sage-grouse, according to an analysis by conservation groups Western Watersheds Project and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The groups analyzed documents from the Bureau of Land Management and concluded the agency’s latest proposal for managing sage-grouse habitat fails to remedy damage caused by livestock grazing across millions of acres of sage-grouse habitat. Sage-grouse, a ground-dwelling bird and iconic western species, is con...
Wyoming Republicans and Democrats reacted Sunday to President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a social media post Sunday. He also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee...
“It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when you’re going to see fraud. You’ve gotta get comfortable with being uncomfortable having these conversations,” said First Bank Vice President and Branch Manager David Benton. Benton, who has over 20 years of experience in the banking industry, is no stranger to monetary scams. “Our tellers are the first line of defense a lot of the time,” he said. “We train a couple of times a year to spot fraud, and we’re catching a lot of it. Most of the scams we’re seeing now involve something that’s ju...
Before hitting the road for the weekend, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming State Parks remind all boaters - from motorized boaters to paddlers - to be prepared and be sure watercraft are outfitted with the required safety equipment. "We want all boaters to safely enjoy Wyoming's waters. We can't emphasize enough how important it is to have a life jacket for all of the passengers in your watercraft. It is the law and life jackets are proven to save lives," said Aaron Kerr, Game... Full story
A group of hemp retailers and an agricultural organization are suing the state of Wyoming claiming that its recent ban on the marijuana-like substance delta-8 is unconstitutional. The Hemp Community of Wyoming wants an injunction or restraining order to stop the law from going into effect today. "We will fight to keep our small businesses open, keep food on the tables of our staff, and keep products coming to the hardworking people [of] Wyoming," Gillette's Mountain High Wellness store owners... Full story
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Flanked by three fellow activists, Kristin Combs was tired, hungry and catching up on messages after hours of trying to convince congressional staffers that legislation was needed following the most infamous animal welfare case in recent Wyoming history. The all-women activist crew, who traveled from around the country, had met with the offices of several congressional Endangered Species Act Caucus members: U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan), Don Beyer (D-Virginia), Raúl... Full story
JACKSON - As the Wyoming Department of Transportation aims to open the temporary Teton Pass detour next week, only three weeks after a landslide took out part of the pass, geotechnical engineers say monitoring is key. WYDOT is planning to monitor the detour with instruments. But officials did not say by press time whether they plan to staff observers on the road around the clock, a key piece of advice from outside engineers. "The once-daily reading, combined with the visual monitoring, would be... Full story
Some Republican lawmakers have sought to restrict foreign ownership of Wyoming land in recent years, but doing so could put mining industry jobs and tax revenue at risk. That’s what energy industry spokespeople told the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee Thursday during a meeting in Buffalo. “Foreign ownership in Sweetwater County and Southwest Wyoming is a benefit to the state,” Jody Levin, speaking on behalf of the trona industry and the Wyoming Mining Association, told lawmakers. Wyoming is one of several states whose conserv... Full story
WIND RIVER VALLEY-Biologists Tucker Russell and Rene Schell stopped in their tracks. Spooked out of a daybed, a mule deer doe sprung to her feet. She bounded up a gentle, grassy slope amid badlands-like rock formations overlooking the Wind River, then froze, staring right back. But Russell, with the University of Wyoming, and Schell, with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, had eyes on something else. A still-spotted fawn. Within moments, the youngster abandoned its hiding spot, bolting for mo... Full story
Kandace Sitting Eagle, 33, of Arapahoe, Wyoming, was convicted by a federal jury on Jun. 13, for aggravated child abuse, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault with a dangerous weapon. The four-day trial was held before U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson, in Cheyenne. According to trial evidence, on Dec. 12, 2023, an Arapahoe school resource officer conducted a welfare check on a 13-year-old student that had not been to school in over a month. He eventually found the child in a crawl space under the trailer where the par...
Federal agencies and the Biden administration must be more flexible and encourage technological innovations like carbon capture that can enable low-carbon energy while keeping coal and other fossil fuels in the nation's energy mix, a new report by the Western Governors' Association concludes. The association released its Decarbonizing the West report Tuesday, an initiative spearheaded by Gov. Mark Gordon, who is wrapping up his 2023-34 tenure as the organization's chairman. Among the report's... Full story
JACKSON - There's no timeline yet for how long Teton Pass will remain closed after a weekend landslide left a gaping hole in the highway linking the communities and economies of Idaho and Wyoming. But Wyoming Department of Transportation crews have pinpointed the area where the ground had been shifting under the highway, and that "acceleration of movement" has stopped, WYDOT spokesperson Stephanie Harsha said Sunday. The landslide isn't the only threat to the corridor, which shuttles goods and p...
Within hours of the sighting on Wednesday, Frank van Manen caught word that there was a grizzly sow with five cubs in tow spotted in Yellowstone National Park. Five cubs following mom is so unlikely that van Manen, who leads the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, pondered an explanation. Maybe, he said, there was an adoption event: Sometimes two female siblings produce cubs in the same year, and one ends up with the other's youngsters. "We've seen that before, with adoptions taking place," van... Full story
After sparring in court over the first 10-year phase of the Regional Haze Program, state and federal regulators - along with environmental groups and industrial polluters - are preparing for battle in the next phase of the effort that is intended to gradually restore "natural visibility" at some 156 national parks and wilderness areas. Wyoming's second-round "state implementation plan" awaits approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is expected to begin accepting public... Full story
Wyoming’s elected officials are standing with former President Donald Trump after he was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in a New York case. Trump, who is seeking to win the presidency in November, is facing up to 4 years in prison for trying to illegally influence the 2016 election by falsifying business records to hide a hush money payment to a porn actor who claimed they had sex in 2006. Wyoming senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis both released statements on social media platforms on Thursday stating that D...
A gas exploration company with Florida ties is pursuing plans to pull groundwater out of existing coalbed methane wells in southern Wyoming, then pipe it into the lower reaches of the water-stressed Colorado River Basin. The project was formally initiated in December, when the State Engineer’s Office received 21 groundwater test well applications from Mark Dolar of Dolar Energy, LLC. The test wells are all located on Bureau of Land Management property south of Rawlins in the Atlantic Rim gas field. Two test well applications have since been r...
Wyoming's largest energy supplier sued state regulators Thursday claiming they wrongly reduced a rate hike by disregarding federal requirements. Filed in U.S. District Court by PacifiCorp, the parent company of Rocky Mountain Power, the suit asks the court to overturn the commission's January decision to approve only part of an electricity rate hike sought by the Oregon company, which is the largest utility operating in Wyoming. The complaint names Wyoming Public Service Commissioners Mary... Full story
It’s been nearly five years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision recognizing tribes’ treaty-based hunting rights, and two months since a lower federal court issued an order related to tribal elk hunting in the Bighorns. Still, many of the fundamental legal and policy questions about where, when and if certain Native Americans are bound by state hunting regulations remain far from resolution. Meanwhile, the landscape of case law in which observers expected the lingering leg... Full story
Several Wyoming residents were recently sentenced in the U.S. Attorney's Office for a variety of offenses. Child Pornography Ricky Lee Smith, 55, of Laramie, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography. According to court documents, On Jun. 25, 2023, law enforcement received a CyberTip from a provider of cloud-based services regarding the user of a Verizon phone with a Wyoming number that traced back to Smith, who is a registered sex offender. Investigators... Full story
As home to about 38% of the planet's remaining greater sage grouse - far more than any other state or province - and the architect of key conservation measures, Wyoming has a lot to gain or lose from upcoming changes to the complex, multi-agency matrix of rules and regulations governing management of the imperiled bird and its habitat. Those stakes were top of mind Wednesday evening for Natrona County rancher Doug Cooper and others who attended a BLM information session on the agency's recently... Full story
In Wyoming, someone can be deemed a danger to themselves or others, be committed to the state hospital for severe mental illness, be released, go directly to a store and buy a firearm. Such gun purchases violate federal law, and potentially state law. But because Wyoming is one of only three states that don't regularly report people who have undergone mental health adjudication to the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, pre-purchase enforcement is all but... Full story
