Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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SHERIDAN — The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Navajo Transitional Energy company announced they reached a short-term agreement late Friday that will allow coal production at the Spring Creek Mine to resume. The interim agreement will keep the mine operating for 75 days while the two parties continue negotiating a long-term agreement, according to Montana DEQ Public Policy Director Rebecca Harbage; it can last beyond 75 days if both parties agree to an extension, she added. While some of the issues that led to the closure w... Full story
SHERIDAN — The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Committee on Travel, Recreation and Cultural Resources voted to move forward with a bill that would dedicate more state resources toward gambling regulation. The bill would expand Wyoming’s Pari-Mutuel Commission — which regulates horse racing — into a gaming commission that would oversee all legalized gambling activities in the state. The same committee voted against supporting similar legislation in June, which concerned state law enforcement officials. Sheridan County Sheriff Allen Thompson... Full story
SHERIDAN — The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Agriculture Committee voted to sponsor a bill that aims to generate more funding for weed and pest management programs last week which could aid Sheridan County in its efforts to control the spread of invasive weeds. The proposed legislation would increase the fees the state charges to register pesticide products from $90 to $120 and increase the fees to renew those registrations from $75 to $105. Manufacturers that want to sell products labeled as pesticides are required to register their pro... Full story
SHERIDAN — Wyoming lawmakers have fully embraced the state’s developing blockchain industry as a potential building block for the future of its economy. A total of thirteen bills related to blockchain technology have sailed through the Legislature during its past two sessions. Combined, those laws have created a regulatory environment that has drawn national attention from companies hoping to develop the technology. The Legislature’s Blockchain Task Force — which met in Sheridan this week — hopes that its efforts to build on the state’s e... Full story
SHERIDAN — Recent reports indicate state tax revenues continued to grow through the end of fiscal year 2019, but recent disruptions in the state’s energy sector have cast doubt as to whether that growth can continue. Jim Robinson, principal economist in the Wyoming Department of Administration and Information’s Economic Analysis Division, said statewide sales and use tax collections and severance tax collections saw large year-over-year gains in fiscal year 2019. Much of the mining sector growth was driven by oil production, but even if oil p... Full story
SHERIDAN — As state officials continue discussions about how they can improve the transparency of Wyoming’s government, they have placed a greater emphasis on improving the legibility of government data. Though early transparency efforts have focused on increasing access to the state’s spending records, state officials — including Gov. Mark Gordon and State Auditor Kristi Racines — have said access alone is not enough. The state’s financial data is extensive and complex and, without the proper context, that data can be misleading or outright... Full story
SHERIDAN — The Wyoming Department of Transportation Aeronautics Commission unanimously approved a contract between the state and SkyWest Airlines Monday, officially selecting SkyWest as the state’s preferred carrier for four critical air service communities, including Sheridan. Whether the state executes the contract will depend on those four communities — which also includes Gillette, Riverton and Rock Springs — signing memorandums of understanding agreeing to participate. For Sheridan County Airport, the approval of the contract means i... Full story
SHERIDAN — A Sheridan College instructor presented research focused on addressing the challenges dwindling resources pose to livestock producers at the Mars Agriculture Center Wednesday. Rebecca Atkinson, an animal science instructor at Sheridan College, said her research has been driven by the reality that the availability of resources will wane in the near future. “Our future generations to come have a huge challenge come 2050 — how are we going to feed everybody?” Atkinson said. “So what do we do? We have to start thinking out of the box.... Full story
SHERIDAN — A recent study questions the equality of Wyoming’s tax structure and claims wealthy residents pay a small percentage of the state’s taxes. The study was produced by the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy in partnership with Better Wyoming, a liberal advocacy group. In short, the report claims that Wyoming’s tax structure worsens economic inequality by relying on taxes that are disproportionately paid by working and middle class residents. “It’s surprising to me that this isn’t more upsetting to people here, but it’s probably...
By Michael Illiano The Sheridan Press Via Wyoming News Exchange SHERIDAN — The state Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee discussed replacing direct distribution funding, crucial state aid provided to Wyoming municipalities, at its September interim meeting, which could require tax increases and redistributions of tax revenues. Rep. Mike Madden, R-Buffalo, who co-chairs the Joint Revenue Committee, explained that the state Management Council instructed the revenue committee to explore replacements for direct distribution funding in ant...
SHERIDAN — Wyoming’s reliance on the mercurial coal market has led to ongoing discussions about diversifying the state’s economy. The challenges facing Wyoming, though, exist on a smaller scale as well, with individual businesses that have relied on the coal industry having to adapt. Marva Craft, co-owner of Craftco, estimated that 75 to 80 percent of her company’s clients were firms in the coal industry. Therefore, when coal markets declined in 2013 and 2014, Craftco found its business declining also. That forced the company to adapt. “We sta...