The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
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Wyoming National Guard activates C-130s to fight LA wildfires GILLETTE (WNE) — Three Wyoming Air National Guard C-130s equipped with the U.S. Forest Service’s Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems, or MAFFS, and associated personnel were ac-tivated by U.S. Northern Command to support firefighting efforts in the Los Angeles area. Three C-130 aircraft from the 153rd Airlift Wing will travel to Channel Islands Air National Guard Base in California, where they will provide critical assistance to the state’s firefighting appa-ratus, accor...
GILLETTE — Right now, homeschool families in Wyoming are required to submit a curriculum to the local school district each year. A proposed bill would amend state law to remove this requirement. House Bill 46, the Homeschool Freedom Act, would eliminate this requirement of reporting to the school district and change the statute to say that it’s the homeschool families’ responsibility to “ensure” that a curriculum is being administered to the students. State law says a homebased educational program shall meet the requirements of a basic aca...
Hageman introduces First Amendment Accountability Act CHEYENNE (WNE) — On the opening day of the 119th Congress, U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman introduced her first bill of the new session, the First Amendment Accountability Act, described in a news release as “the next step in her fight against the weaponization of the federal government against the American people.” This bill would empower Americans to sue federal employees who violate their First Amendment rights, the release said. Hageman, R-Wyo., said in the release, “As a member of the Sel...
GILLETTE — A new bill coming through this year’s legislative session would amend the state’s animal cruelty statute to specify that predatory animals must be killed immediately if they’re intentionally hit using an automotive vehicle. In addition to tweaking who’s authorized to impose misdemeanor animal cruelty charges and their fines, House Bill 3 would ban keeping an animal alive after it’s been intentionally injured with an “automotive vehicle, motorpropelled wheeled vehicle or vehicle designed for travel over snow.” “Whacking” refe...
JACKSON — The gunman who opened fire in Yellowstone National Park on July 4 had plans for “Pro White Nationalist Violence” and “a history of expressing white supremacist and antisemitic views.” That’s according to court documents filed in federal court Friday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming, which revealed new details about the incident and the shooter, Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, a 28-year-old Floridian and employee of Xanterra Parks and Resorts. Fussner was shot and killed by park rangers after opening fire...
Three men face felony charges for Halloween stabbing in hotel parking lot GILLETTE (WNE) — Three men have been charged with felonies for allegedly beating up a 42-year-old man on Halloween night. Justus Pearson, 27, and Rye Sorenson, 27, are being charged with aggravated assault and battery, while Preston Relkin, 24, is being charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and accessory before the fact, as well as battery. On October 31, police responded to a reported aggravated assault at the Best Western Tower West ho-tel. When they a...
Treasurer accused of stealing thousands from VFW and DAV CHEYENNE (WNE) — A Cheyenne woman accused of stealing roughly $30,000 from Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1881 Auxiliary was arrested on a second felony theft charge following a court appearance Thursday. Cheryl K. Shannon was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Thursday in Laramie County Circuit Court on charges of felony theft and forgery. According to the affidavit regarding her original charge, she stole $30,000 from the Post’s Auxiliary by making unauthorized bank withdrawals usi...
CASPER — A new legislator is set to bring a bill banning sanctuary cities and counties in Wyoming to the 2025 General Session in January. The freshman representative, Joel Guggenmos, R-Riverton, confirmed to the Star-Tribune that he would be the primary sponsor of the bill. Bills banning sanctuary cities have popped up most years in the legislature, but immigration advocates are worried that these types of bills have a real chance of becoming law next year as the hardline Freedom Caucus now makes up a majority in the House of R...
Gasoline prices drop again, average now at $2.87 per gallon in Wyoming CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 2.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.87 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming. Prices in Wyoming are 14.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.29 per gallon, while the highest was $3.49, a difference of $1.20 per gal...
A bill filed for the 2025 general session would create an “enhanced” concealed carry firearm permit that would allow qualified permit- holders to conceal carry on K-12 school campuses, as well as Wyoming university and college campuses, without needing written consent from campus security. Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, the bill’s sponsor, said the idea for this bill was brought to him by a “really strong gun advocate” from the Bighorn Basin. Concealed carry is currently not permitted in Wyoming public school districts, although some school bo...
Department of Education seeks public comment on new standards SHERIDAN (WNE) — The Wyoming Department of Education is seeking public comment on the 2024 Proposed Wyoming Standards for world languages and cultures, math extended and science extended. Comments can be provided by attending a virtual meeting or submitting online at docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSey_KXqLlRLNHsD6LCaXxqKNBO3xaqVffQWF68eTRVXfvri0w/viewform by 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2025. Virtual meetings are also being held to collect comments on Dec. 16 from 4-5 p.m.; Dec. 18 f...
SHERIDAN — Over the past two years, the Wyoming Supreme Court has developed an in-house system that gives the public access to court documents. Courts in Wyoming used to operate under a case management system, but they have moved away from that, State Court Administrator Elisa Butler said. A case management system helps court clerks statewide manage all records that come through the courts, Butler said. Previously, courts leveraged case management systems to provide access to court records and docket entries through the public access t...
Former Smith’s employee pleads guilty to stealing thousands of dollars GILLETTE (WNE) — A woman accused of stealing money from Smith’s while she worked there will plead guilty. On Nov. 14, Katheryn Cranmer, 39, reached a plea deal in which she agreed to plead guilty to felony theft and, in return, the state will recommend a four-to-six-year prison sentence, suspended for three years of supervised probation. On July 11, Smith’s reported that Cranmer had stolen $43,000 over the past six months while she was a manager at the store. Another...
CASPER — The Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday passed final rules for the Powder River Basin stating that more than 413,000 acres of land are to be blocked off from new federal coal leasing. Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon blasted the decision and stated that he will seek to have the decision reversed — even through litigation. The revision of the rules began following a court order that directed the BLM to conduct a new environmental analysis that included no new coal leasing and limited coal leasing as options. The decision to end new fed...
Pointing to new science suggesting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem lacks quality lynx habitat, wildlife managers are proposing expansive reductions in the area designated as "critical habitat" for the rare, snowshoe hare-dependent felines. Despite the lynx's almost complete absence - apart from a 2022 one-off sighting - the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has classified 9146 square miles of the Yellowstone area as critical lynx habitat for the past decade. Last week, the federal agency...
Untold numbers of scientists have explored and analyzed the history of Yellowstone National Park's famous geology, flora and fauna. They've written books and papers, given talks and penned newspaper columns. Each account adds a bit more to the park's unique evolution above and below ground. Now one of the newest sequences of the park's history is unfolding not in an Imax movie of a steaming caldera but in five feet of sediment from the bottom of a lake. And this one is layered like a parfait -...
Average gas prices drop more than 7 cents in past week in Wyoming CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 7.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.95 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming. Prices in Wyoming are 20.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 19.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.59, while the highest was $3.59, a difference of $1 per gallon. The nat...
Man arrested for sixth DUI one month into probation for fifth DUI could get up to 7 years GILLETTE (WNE) — A man who pleaded guilty to his sixth DUI offense could face six to seven years in prison. Jude Armijo, 32, reached a plea deal where he’ll plead guilty to felony DUI, and the state will recommend a six-to seven-year prison sentence to run concurrent to a five-year sentence for violating his probation. At the time of his sixth DUI, Armijo was just one month into a five-year probation that he’d been sentenced to following his fifth DUI. On...
Average gasoline prices in Wyoming down 4.2 cents a gallon in past week CHEYENNE (WNE) - Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 4.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.06 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com's survey of 494 stations in Wyoming. Prices in Wyoming are 8.3 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 25.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.75 per gallon, while...
POWELL —- A young Michigan man who allegedly poached nine mule deer in Cody over the summer is now facing more legal trouble, as investigators say they’ve also tied him to the killing of a cow last year. Twenty-year-old Josh Wielhouwer was already facing 18 misdemeanor counts in connection with deer that were killed and left to waste in Cody in August and early September. Last week, prosecutors added a felony count of property destruction for a cow that was killed north of the city in 2023. Like the deer, the domestic animal was apparently sla...
Family of three found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning RIVERTON (WNE) — A family of two adults and a toddler died after an undetected carbon monoxide leak consumed their home in Riverton. Police were initially called to the 900 block of East Adams Street Thursday morning at around 7:40 a.m. after someone reported smelling fumes in the area. “Fire department personnel found a high concentration of carbon monoxide around [the] home,” the Riverton Police Department (RPD) reported. Police and firefighters forced open the door to the residence an...
Two Park County residents found dead; carbon monoxide poisoning suspected CODY (WNE) — Two Park County residents, Jeff McKearny, 64, and Steven Werbelow, 66, were found dead in their camper on October 23. The suspected cause of death is accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, according to county coroner Cody Gortmaker. The two men were hunting near Eagle Creek Campground up the North Fork, which is where their bodies were found. Investigations are still ongoing, Gortmaker said. Werbelow, who was a Powell resident, was an accomplished t...
Juvenile shot on Hamilton Way; Police located suspect CASPER (WNE) — A minor was shot in the early hours of Saturday morning on the 3200 block of Hamilton Way, just north of its intersection with Sun Drive, in Casper. Officers were called to the incident due to a traumatic injury report and found “a chaotic scene with multiple juveniles and young adults,” according to a press release issued by Casper Police Department on Monday. The victim, who was not identified in the release, sustained “an apparent life-threatening gunshot wound.” First res...
The C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS comet is shown burning in the sky above Heart Mountain in this photo taken Sunday night near the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center. The comet, discovered in 2023, only comes to our part of the galaxy once every 80,000 years. It can be viewed for the next ten days in the early evening. Watch for where the sun sets and then look up about 15 degrees from the horizon about 45 minutes after the sun dips below the horizon....
CASPER - Wyoming's attorney general, through a settlement with a French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company, has guaranteed that Wyoming residents not enrolled in government healthcare programs can buy insulin products for $35 each month for the next five years. The settlement announced by Attorney General Bridget Hill on Friday morning with Sanofi-Aventis U.S. will be put into effect within 90 days of Sept. 27. The cost of insulin has soared over the last decade and the...
