Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
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CHEYENNE - A bill to mandate Wyoming share disqualifying mental health information on potential firearms purchasers with the federal background check system is still alive for a potential 2020 vote. The proposed legislation would mandate Wyoming report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System information on people whose mental health issues would disqualify them from owning a firearm. The proposed legislation would also create a legal process to reinstate rights for people in Wyoming who have been disqualified from owning a...
CHEYENNE – Only by remembering the mistakes and sins of the past, can we find a way to come together and deal with the problems of today. That was the message from a group of worshipers gathered in Cheyenne's First United Methodist Church on Saturday night for a prayer vigil. The prayer gathering led by three different congregational leaders marked 400 years since the first enslaved African was brought to a European colony in North America. "It's part of America's history, and it's the part w...
CHEYENNE — The Cheyenne Police Department has recommended sexual abuse charges against a member of the Roman Catholic clergy and another man who was seeking to join the clergy related to incidents from the 1970s and ’80s. In a news release, CPD said it has sent a recommendation for charges to the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office after a year-and-a-half-long investigation into allegations that juvenile males were the victims of sex abuse. One of the suspects was a member of the Catholic clergy and another person was seeking membe...
CHEYENNE – An effort to change the state’s trespass laws to punish violators even if they were unaware they were on private property failed to make it out of committee Thursday. The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Judiciary Interim Committee voted 8-6 against supporting the proposed legislation, which would have removed language that trespass laws only apply when someone enters private property “knowingly” without permission. The failed bill would instead have made any presence on private land, even if someone were unaware of property lines, a...
CHEYENNE — The Legislature has made removing barriers to military spouses working in the state a top priority for the interim. But it turns out Wyoming has already made it a relatively painless process. Earlier this summer, the Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee asked for a survey on how the various licensing boards across Wyoming accommodate military spouses. The survey was conducted by the Wyoming Real Estate Commission. It found the vast majority of the state’s 35 licensing boards already have con...
CHEYENNE — Student-athletes across Laramie County School District 1 are just a few short days from practice starting for fall sports. But before they take the field, court, course or track, those athletes will be testing their cognitive abilities in order to help detect concussions. The district requires all seventh-, ninth-, and 11th-grade students participating in fall sports to go through a baseline cognitive test this week as part of the district’s concussion protocols. Students in other grades that didn’t go through a congestive basel...
CHEYENNE – Before Wednesday's grand reopening of the newly renovated state Capitol, one would be forgiven if they didn't believe the four-year, multi-million-dollar project would result in something spectacular. So often in life, things just don't live up to the hype. But given the reactions of the waves of people who walked through the building Wednesday, the years of planning and work paid off in an exceptional way. "Initially, I wasn't sure (about the project). I thought $300 million was an a...
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Revenue Interim Committee has a bill on its plate that would allow cities to put an additional municipal sales tax to voters. But instead of voting on the bill, the committee hit pause this week to allow cities and counties a chance to work through major difference on the bill and find a compromise that could pass through the Legislature. Representatives from the Wyoming Association of Municipalities and the Wyoming County Commissioners Association said they are set to meet this month to try to wor...
CHEYENNE – When the Wyoming State Capitol reopens to the public Wednesday after more than four years of extensive renovations and improvements, it might be hard for people to truly appreciate just how far the building has come. It's good to keep in mind that back in the 1990s, maintenance crews were having to work around crumbling concrete, disintegrating pipes and wires that predated World War II hanging loose in the wall. Former state lawmaker Jayne Mockler of Cheyenne said when she entered t...
CHEYENNE — Wyoming’s wind is a highly desirable commodity in renewable energy. But trying to increase revenue from the industry might drive investors away from the state and into the arms of Wyoming’s three biggest competitors for wind. There has been a drive in recent years at the Legislature for Wyoming to increase taxes on wind energy production. As coal loses its value in the marketplace, and more states in the western part of the country push for their energy portfolio to consist only of renewables, state lawmakers and advocates have...
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Legislature's Joint Revenue Interim Committee will take another swing at trying to raise the state's gasoline tax after failing to connect during this year's session. The Revenue Committee voted 8-6 on Tuesday to approve sponsorship of a bill that would raise the state's gasoline and diesel tax by 3 cents per gallon. The Wyoming Department of Transportation estimates that increase would generate about $20 million in additional state revenues annually. After that new money was split up between the cities, counties and W...
CHEYENNE — The mayor of Cheyenne and the governor of Wyoming engaged in a public dispute Monday over what happened Friday during a contentious meeting about a potential Taiwanese state visit. In a news release sent from her office Monday morning, Mayor Marian Orr accused Gov. Mark Gordon of going on a “profane misogynistic temper tantrum” directed at her during the meeting. She said she decided to come forward after the weekend to make sure actions like his would not be tolerated. In his own statement, Gordon denied he tried to intim...
CHEYENNE – Four of Wyoming’s coal-fired power plants have been identified as potential targets for early closures to save money. And state lawmakers have worked to put up as many roadblocks as possible to keep Rocky Mountain Power from turning off the lights at those aging plants. During this year’s legislative session, lawmakers passed Senate File 159, which requires power companies make a good-faith effort to sell a coal-fired power plant before retiring it early. If a buyer is found, they could either decide not to be regulated by the Wyomi...
CHEYENNE — Experts in Wyoming public records law say Laramie County School District 1 officials have no legal basis for denying public access to McCormick Junior High's report on bullying. The district announced it had wrapped up its investigation into harassment and bullying at the school last week, issuing a one-page statement to parents, staff and journalists revealing "some" instances of bullying at McCormick over time. The report also noted administrators didn't always follow district policy for reporting these incidents. Now that LCSD1 h...
CHEYENNE — Laramie County School District 1 on Monday released an action plan developed in the wake of an investigation of harassment and bullying at Cheyenne’s McCormick Junior High. The multilevel plan focuses on student-centered supports, training across the district and levels of community engagement. The plan was presented at Monday’s LCSD1 Board of Trustees meeting after the district announced Friday it had concluded its investigation into incidents of harassment and bullying at McCormick. That report was summarized in a statement but n...
CHEYENNE – Laramie County School District 1 officials announced Friday that McCormick Junior High Principal Jeff Conine was no longer in charge of the school. The decision comes exactly one month after homophobic and racist flyers were found at McCormick. LCSD1 Superintendent Boyd Brown wouldn’t comment on the details of Conine’s departure, citing personnel matters. Wyoming Equality Executive Director Sara Burlingame said her understanding is Conine will now handle district administrative duties after more than two decades with LCSD1. Paren...
CHEYENNE — An executive order from President Donald Trump that could help pave the way for coal exports garnered praise from Wyoming leadership this week. But critics see it as a way to lessen local control over issues of water quality in favor of industry's bottom line. One of the executive orders Trump signed Wednesday is aimed at preventing states from using the Clean Water Act to delay or kill energy projects. The most pertinent example for Wyoming is Washington state stopping the construction of a coal export terminal in 2017. Gov. Mark G...
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Legislature will take another crack at the idea of tolling Interstate 80 as a way to help fund improvements and maintenance along the more than 400 miles of road. The Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee has made studying tolling I-80 its second highest priority during this interim session. As part of that work, the committee will look at updating studies conducted in 2008 and 2009 by the Wyoming Department of Transportation. Transportation committee co-chairman Sen. Michael Von F...
CHEYENNE — Lawmakers have been given their marching orders for this upcoming interim session by the Legislature's Management Council. The leadership of the House and Senate approved a slew of topics Friday for committees to work on during the interim session. The 10 committees and five subcommittes will deal with a broad range of issues, covering everything from revenue-broadening tax measures to how to care for an aging population. Each committee will deal with about a half-dozen issues throughout the rest of the year, and potentially draft l...
CHEYENNE — Gov. Mark Gordon said even though he thought it was a successful legislative session, he was frustrated with the lack of progress made this year in creating viable revenue streams for priorities like education. During a Thursday press conference, Gordon said the failure of several bills meant to fix part of the state’s $100 million structural deficit in education funding was a major disappointment from the 2019 general session. He said it was imperative for Wyoming to find ways to fund things like career and technical education pro...
CHEYENNE — A major settlement between the State of Oklahoma and the manufacturer of the drug OxyContin could have ramifications for lawsuits against the company filed by the State of Wyoming, the City of Cheyenne and several other cities around the state. Purdue Pharma and the State of Oklahoma settled that state's lawsuit against the pharmaceutical giant for $270 million Tuesday. The company previously paid $600 million in criminal and civil penalties to the federal government in 2007 after executives pleaded guilty to false advertising r...
CHEYENNE — While the federal government paved the way for industrial hemp production in the 2018 Farm Bill, states still need direction on how the nascent industry will be regulated before seeds can go into the ground. Once hemp was legalized by the federal government, Wyoming’s Legislature took the step to legalize industrial hemp production during this year’s general session. House Bill 171, sponsored by Rep. Bunky Loucks, R-Casper, allows for hemp to be grown in the state, along with the production and sale of hemp-based products, inclu...
CHEYENNE – Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday used his veto pen on two bills, one of which would have authorized the Legislature to sue to allow Wyoming’s coal to be exported through Washington state. Gordon also declined to sign several more bills he saw as problematic, including a bill to prevent county commissioners from creating special zoning regulations for private schools. While Gordon agreed Wyoming should sue Washington over the refusal to allow Wyoming coal to be shipped overseas out of the state’s ports, he vetoed House Bill 251 to preve...
CHEYENNE — Gov. Mark Gordon used his veto pen Tuesday to reject more than two dozen items out of the state supplemental budget passed by the Legislature this month. The vetoes started a domino effect in the Legislature with the House set to meet today, when it will most likely start the process to override at least some of Gordon's decisions. In a letter to the House on the vetoes, Gordon highlighted 29 budget footnotes that he saw as overstepping the constitutional boundaries of the Legislature. He pointed out that multiple footnotes dealt w...
CHEYENNE – The Senate voted Thursday to kill the last bill in the Legislature that would have closed the state’s primary elections to voters who switched their party affiliation. House Bill 106, sponsored by Rep. Jim Blackburn, R-Cheyenne, was voted down by the Senate on a 14-11 vote. The failure of HB 106, or the other two bills that were filed this session on the issue, came as somewhat of a surprise to many watching this session. The issue was named the top priority of the Wyoming Republican Party this year. And donors, including former gub...