Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Sorted by date Results 185 - 209 of 216
Salvador Salas, Jr., age 32, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced today to 2,040 months (170 years) of imprisonment, with 10 years of supervised release to follow if he were ever to be released from his term of imprisonment, for possessing and producing child pornography. A jury convicted Salas after a three-day trial, held in Casper, January 23-25, 2023. The court ordered $132,056 in restitution to cover the expenses for the victim’s care and treatment and $600 in special assessments. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed t... Full story
DOUGLAS — Penny arrived at Rena Gustafson’s home on Good Friday. The 14-pound Chihuahua was a great Easter present for the grandmother raising two of her grandkids, and she immediately fell in love with it. The dog, which came from the Casper Animal Shelter, spent the next three days cuddling up to her and the kids and adjusting to its new surroundings in Douglas. Rena recalls a sweet, gentle dog which loved to rest on laps, never barking or nipping at, much less biting, anyone. Then on Tuesday, Penny darted out an open screen door. Fra... Full story
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The Wyoming Department of Transportation is removing eight of its Twitter accounts after the social media platform recently announced changes to its application programming interface platform. The API platform allowed WYDOT to send automated tweets straight from the agency’s 511 tools, including travel alerts, crash alerts and road closure information. Twitter has recently announced changes to its API platform, including limiting the number of tweets per hour and implementing a fee system for those accounts. “WYDOT’s account... Full story
Wyoming may postpone spring antler hunt JACKSON (WNE) - With less than a month to go before Wyoming typically allows people to begin picking up antlers, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is mulling changing the spring shed hunting season following a winter that has decimated mule deer and pronghorn herds. Because it may take longer than usual for deep snow to recede, the department has concerns about shed hunters further stressing already beleaguered animals that haven't started making their... Full story
POWELL — Federal prosecutors have taken over the case against a Powell woman who allegedly received substantial quantities of fentanyl and meth in the mail — and they say she wasn’t the only person involved. Last week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming charged Victoria A. Zupko with felony counts of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and meth and of unlawfully using the U.S. Postal Service to facilitate a felony drug offense. Zupko was arrested on March 21, soon after she picked up a package from her doorstep and brought... Full story
BUFFALO —A federal lawsuit that seeks to prevent the U.S. Forest Service from dropping aerial fire retardant into U.S. waterways could endanger Johnson County residents' lives and property, a local leader said last week. Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics filed the lawsuit in Montana U.S. District Court in October last year. The suit accuses the Forest Service of violating the Clean Water Act, which prohibits the discharge of pollutants into U.S. waterways without a permit. The suit claims that fire retardant has been i... Full story
ROCK SPRINGS – A typical morning in class was interrupted by local law enforcement agencies searching for a possible shooter on Monday, April 3, at Rock Springs High School. Eventually, the Rock Springs Police Department and Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office confirmed there was no threat to public safety. Multiple schools in Wyoming, as well as in other states, have been dealing with this ongoing trend. The senseless prank began months ago, according to the Associated Press. Reports of shooters have been harassing schools and colleges, rai... Full story
GILLETTE -A classic favorite, this beloved breakfast pastry comes in all shapes and sizes. Covered in sugar, glazed, filled or frosted, its history is based in Dutch, Russian and French cultures. Some bakers work all night to get the rows of delectable delights ready for the morning rush. Favorites differ but can include crullers, fritters or long johns. What is it? If you guessed doughnut, your tastebuds and intellect led you down the perfect pathway and right into a bakery on a Saturday... Full story
Mountain lion captured in Gillette GILLETTE (WNE) – Charlie Anderson chose a dangerous time to refill his bird feeder. The bird feeder hung from the side of his Kendrick Avenue home, which at that moment, was also to the side of a mountain lion. But that wasn't obvious at the time. "I noticed we had some really big footprints in the snow," Anderson said. He'd heard there was a mountain lion in town, but figured it already passed through his yard. Unhurried, he took a picture with a ruler b... Full story
CODY - The cases of Carolyn Aune and Moshe Williams ¬- who are charged in the murder of 2-year-old Paisleigh Williams - will remain severed, with each facing a separate jury trial, following a March 17 ruling issued by Park County District Court Judge Bobbi Overfield. Overfield also denied the state's request to postpone Aune's April 17 jury trial. These two rulings were issued following a March 16 hearing, in which Deputy Park County and Prosecuting Attorney Jack Hatfield requested the cases... Full story
JACKSON - Hannah Garland finds it oddly comforting that she knows which moose trampled her Friday morning. "Had it been a rogue moose, I would've been constantly living on edge, like 'Are you the one? Are you the one?'" said Garland, 27, who lives in Teton Village, where moose are constant features on the landscape. But knowing that it was Yellow 72, a collared, suburban moose known for her mangy look, hair loss and springtime tick infestation, allows Garland a bit more certainty in where she... Full story
CASPER - Several members of a University of Wyoming sorority have filed a lawsuit seeking to remove the first transgender student accepted into Greek life in the school's history. Seven current members of UW's Kappa Kappa Gamma sued the sorority's parent organization, its president and the sorority's first transgender inductee in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming on Monday alleging the sorority did not follow its bylaws and policies, breached its housing contract with members and misled them... Full story
JACKSON – Scientists have called a swarm of about 60 earthquakes under Yellowstone Lake on Tuesday and Wednesday “normal.” Bob Smith, the University of Utah geologist who wrote the book on Yellowstone National Park’s geology, and Michael Poland, the scientist in charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, said as much Wednesday afternoon. “It’s background, normal seismicity,” Smith said. He said the northern part of Yellowstone Lake where the earthquakes occurred has seen a lot of tremors ov... Full story
GILLETTE – The Campbell County Convention and Visitors Bureau's plan to use a geofencing technology to track spending habits at the National High School Finals Rodeo this summer has rubbed some people the wrong way, with one person even calling for a commissioner to resign. In March, the visitors center told commissioners about its plans to put a virtual fence around Cam-plex and around Campbell County during the NHSFR to get a better idea of the economic impact the event has. At Tuesday's commi... Full story
DOUGLAS – The $525-million-plus, 393-megawatts (MW) NextEra Energy’s Cedar Springs IV, LLC windfarm is slated to begin construction in Converse County this August, the start of a 17-month development window to bring the project online. The wind farm will be built on approximately 57,532 acres and is located 13 miles northeast of Glenrock, accessible via WYO93 northwest of Douglas and adjacent to NextEra’s Cedar Springs Wind Farms I, II and III, which switched on live just over two years ago. This is Next Era’s fourth wind farm in Convers... Full story
JACKSON - A standing-room-only crowd filled the Teton County courtroom Wednesday afternoon as Ninth District Judge Melissa Owens heard nearly four hours of arguments before deciding to temporarily halt enforcement of a new law banning abortion. Right to Life advocates lamented the ruling while many women who packed courtroom benches said the Wyoming Legislature's new law imperils women's access to health care. Owens described a key aspect of House Bill 152, dubbed the "Life Is A Human Right... Full story
POWELL — With a herd of 400 elk wandering through the vast fields and hobby farms near Heart Mountain, Wyoming Game and Fish Department game wardens and wildlife technicians have the important job of ensuring the herd doesn’t commingle with livestock or damage winter crops and fences. The community is a checkerboard of landowners who don’t want the elk on their land and others who are thrilled to have wildlife in the vicinity. Game and Fish is tasked with hazing the elk away from private land as efficiently as possible. Crews do soft pushe... Full story
BUFFALO —Wyoming cattle producers are watching a new rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this month, saying the change could provide more transparency for consumers and additional confidence in U.S. meat. The proposal would effectively close a labeling “loophole” that allows products to use “Product of USA” for beef and pork that is simply repackaged in the U.S. The rule would allow the voluntary “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” labels only on meat and poultry products derived from animals born, raised, slaughter... Full story
CHEYENNE - State lawmakers will discuss a wide swath of issues during the 2023 interim, from education to energy and mental health to state revenue. At a Thursday meeting of the Wyoming Legislature's Management Council, all other legislative committees presented interim topics requests to the 10-member board, setting the stage for the 2024 budget session. House Speaker Rep. Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale, chairman of the Management Council, said most legislative committees should plan to tackle... Full story
EVANSTON —After learning her children’s bus stop is directly in front of a registered sex offender’s house, Evanston resident Danielle White contacted law enforcement, Uinta County School District (UCSD) No. 1 staff and legislators. White said she received a digital alert a few weeks ago notifying her of a sex offender near her old address. Out of curiosity, she entered her current address. Her children’s bus stop, located at 624 Main St., was marked. The resident at this address has been convicted of assaulting children. “So I called th... Full story
CASPER — A woman charged with setting fire to a Casper abortion clinic will be held in a Platte County jail for the time being. A judge made the determination to keep Lorna Green in custody during her initial appearance Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne. Green, 22, appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Kelly H. Rankin. She was formally charged with felony arson of a facility engaged in interstate commerce, which carries a sentence of five to 20 years in prison. Green is accused of setting fire to a Wellspring Health Access a... Full story
LANDER - When Jasmine Pickner-Bell was five years old, her father, renowned hoop dancer Dallas Chief Eagle, gave her one hoop: a circle representing her inner self. "I remember he decided that he was going to show me this kind of vision that he had had about myself becoming a hoop dancer," Pickner-Bell, the enrolled Crow Creek Dakota Sioux Tribe member and South Dakota native, said. "He said there's this balance that's missing within our sacred circle." Back then, hoop dancing was a... Full story
Cheyenne City Council fails marijuana ordinance CHEYENNE (WNE) — An ordinance aimed at decriminalizing marijuana within city limits failed to receive a positive recommendation Wednesday night from the Cheyenne City Council’s Committee of the Whole. Council members Richard Johnson and Scott Roybal co-sponsored the ordinance, which would repeal and re-create code provisions specific to prohibiting marijuana in the municipality. Johnson clarified the ordinance wasn’t meant to address legalization, medical recreation taxes or the licensing of di... Full story
The Bureau of Land Management and Wyoming State Parks seek public input on a proposal to build roughly six new miles of trail adjacent to South Pass City State Historic Site. The BLM’s Lander field office released a conceptual plan that proposes several loops of trail designed primarily for hikers and equestrians near the historic ghost town. The new trails spur off of existing two-track routes as well as the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, which passes through South Pass City as it unfurls from Canada to Mexico. The conceptual t... Full story
Elevated concentrations of ozone — a human health hazard — have returned to the Upper Green River Basin south of Pinedale after years of coordinated efforts to plug leaks and reduce emissions from oil and gas production facilities there, according to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Spikes in wintertime ozone can occur when there are volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides present — in this case, mostly from oil and gas emissions. When the wind doesn’t clear pollutants out of the area, the trapped VOCs and NOx can get bak... Full story