State Briefs

WBC pauses Kickstart program for review

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Wyoming Business Council paused its state-funded Kickstart: Wyoming program last week for review and improvement following a six-month trial period.

Kickstart, launched late last year, provides up to $50,000 in grant money to Wyoming startups with fewer than 50 employees. It’s one of several initiatives funded through 2018 economic diversification legislation.

More than a dozen startups received a total of $640,000 in funding since the program launched, but only 10 percent of applicants were selected during that time. Companies in Teton and Albany counties received the bulk of the funding.

“It’s a very competitive program so far,” said Sarah Fitz-Gerald, Wyoming Business Council chief strategy officer. “It shows there’s a lot of entrepreneurship in Wyoming, and that’s great to hear.”

Fitz-Gerald said the group always planned to make improvements, ultimately deciding to pause completely to implement stakeholder suggestions.

“This is the first program of its kind in Wyoming,” she said. “We’re still fine-tuning who qualifies and how to issue funding.”

Soon, the Business Council may shift from Kickstart’s monthly funding cycle and streamline applicant correspondence.

“We stood the program up quick,” Fitz-Gerald said. “We’re really proud of what we’ve done so far, and a few of the companies are absolute standouts.”

She noted Casper-based minerals liberation company Disa as one example.

Founded by two University of Wyoming graduates, Disa provides new, patented technology to help energy and mining companies improve efficiency, lower costs and reduce waste.

Rock Springs man fined more than $5000 for poaching

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — Rock Springs resident Christian J. Cosby will pay more than $5000 in fines and have his hunting and fishing privileges suspended for two years after pleading guilty to the intentional illegal taking of a bull elk in 2017 and taking a mountain lion with an illegal caliber firearm in 2018.

In the fall of 2017, Green River Region Game and Fish enforcement personnel received multiple tips suggesting Cosby had illegally killed a large bull elk in an area he did not have a license for and had entered the bull in a local contest. 

During an initial interview, Cosby claimed to have killed the bull with a bow in Elk Hunt Area 93 on the evening of Sept. 27 and packed it out to his truck on Sept. 28. However, evidence showed that he had been in the vicinity of Aspen Mountain south of Rock Springs on those days and had not been in Area 93 as he stated, according to a Wyoming Game and Fish Department press release.

Cosby was charged with the intentional illegal take of an antlered big game animal, using an illegal caliber firearm to take trophy game, failure to wear fluorescent orange clothing while hunting trophy game and using artificial light to take wildlife.

On Jan. 10, 2019, Cosby pleaded guilty to the intentional illegal take of an antlered big game animal and taking a trophy game animal with an illegal caliber firearm and was ordered to pay $5055. The elk antlers and compound bow used during the commission of his crime were forfeited, and his privileges to hunt and fish in Wyoming and 46 other Wildlife Violator Compact member states was suspended until Jan. 10, 2021.

Gillette man guilty of unemployment fraud

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man accused of defrauding the Wyoming Unemployment Insurance program has pleaded guilty to the charge.

Gerald Roderick-Jackson, also known as David Jackson, was convicted in Natrona County District Court of under-reporting his income to continue receiving unemployment insurance benefits. Under state law, that constitutes fraud.

Roderick-Jackson pleaded guilty to obtaining benefits by fraud and was ordered to pay $982 in restitution plus $735 in fines and fees.

Robin Cooley, director for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, says the agency places a high importance on maintaining the integrity of the unemployment insurance program.

“As stewards of the funds which help unemployed workers stay afloat while they look for permanent employment, we take cases of benefits fraud very seriously,” Cooley said.

Since 2016, the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services has had 25 fraud prosecution convictions in various counties. Those convictions have resulted in more than $247,000 in total restitution.