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Proudly Serving the Hulet and Devils Tower Community
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Hightman drops Supreme Court appeal GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man serving prison time for stealing from his fiancée – who remains missing – in the days and weeks after she was last seen, has backed out of his appeal filed with the Wyoming Supreme Court. Nathan J. Hightman, 40, filed his intent to appeal less than two weeks after receiving a three- to six-year prison sentence — along with fines, restitution and probation — in June. The motion to waive his appeal was filed last week, as Hightman decided not to move forward after weighing his op...
CHEYENNE — Will potential voters be required to live in Wyoming for at least 30 days in order to vote? Do people need to register as a PAC if they spend more than $1000 in an election? After some heavy deliberation Thursday, members of the Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee advanced bill drafts that could create significant changes to existing Wyoming election laws. 30-day residency requirement Legislators forwarded a bill to next year’s budget session that, as written, would add a 30-day resid...
Shooting complex task force finalizes pre-proposal survey SHERIDAN (WNE) — The State Shooting Complex Oversight Task Force completed work during its meeting Friday morning that will help it identify communities interested in being home to the complex. The task force was established by Senate File 169, which Gov. Mark Gordon signed into law March 2. The task force comprises several legislators and representatives from Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Wyoming Travel and Tourism, firearm and archery m...
CASPER — Fall enrollment at the University of Wyoming continues to slide and has reached its lowest point in decades, but the school’s most recent census provided some good news for university leaders as they look to reverse worrying attendance trends. UW recorded jumps in both graduate and transfer students, while the school’s freshman retention rate also increased this fall, the university announced last month. Yet even with the gains, UW’s overall enrollment continued to decline, marking the fifth consecutive year enrollment at Wyoming...
Women in stable condition following severe crash JACKSON (WNE) — Three women are rebounding after their SUV was hit Sunday afternoon by a tanker truck hauling milk near Munger Mountain Elementary School on Highway 89. State trooper Andy Jackson said the driver of the Suburban, 63-year-old Big Piney resident Patricia Berndt, was life-flighted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after the 4:17 p.m. crash. The hospital told him that Berndt sustained serious injuries but was in stable condition Monday morning. The two other women in the c...
Gov. Mark Gordon announced this week the state will decline an invitation to apply for millions in federal Inflation Reduction Act funds aimed at shuttering low-producing oil and gas wells. The Mitigating Emissions from Marginal Conventional Wells program would pay the costs of voluntarily closing and remediating wells that produce less than the equivalent of 15 barrels of oil per day — aka “stripper” wells. Wyoming is eligible for up to $5 million of the $350 million program, according to federal documents. The funds could mostly only be us...
Solar eclipse will be visible in Western U.S. Saturday morning GILLETTE (WNE) — When Wyomingites look up at the sky Saturday morning, they should be able to see a partial eclipse. During an annular solar eclipse, the apparent size of the Moon’s disk is slightly smaller than the apparent size of the Sun’s disk, so that only the outer edge of the Sun remains visible. For those who are inside the path of the eclipse, this will give the appearance of a bright ring of light, hence the name, ring of fire. The path of annularity, in which 91% of the s...
Academics and economic development officials fear that Biden administration "environmental justice" requirements are hurting Wyoming's ability to compete for billions of dollars in federal clean energy and infrastructure grants. The grants are largely intended to help communities that stand to lose the most from the ongoing transition away from fossil fuels. Under definitions of the Justice40 Initiative, however, places like Gillette and Campbell County, might not qualify as communities that are...
Ft. Washakie man charged with embezzling funds for guns, furniture LANDER (WNE) — A federal grand jury has charged Logan James Savage, Fort Washakie, with five counts of wire fraud and one count of embezzlement, alleging he used a company credit card to make personal purchases for more than $25,000. Savage worked as the finance director for Wind River Family and Community Health Care Between July 2022 and May 2023. He was one of several employees who had been granted company credit cards to cover business-related purchases, according to the f...
Couple pleads not guilty to attempted murder, child abuse CHEYENNE (WNE) — At separate hearings with separate judges Monday, both of the defendants charged with attempted first-degree murder in connection with the alleged abuse of a two-year-old boy pleaded not guilty. Hannah Wingert, the 20-year-old mother of the child, and Joshua Moody, her 21-year-old boyfriend, were arrested for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse on Aug. 25. Law enforcement contacted them after Wingert’s stepmother called police to perform a wel...
Wyoming senators join effort to ban federal mask mandates CHEYENNE (WNE) — U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-Wyo., joined U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, in introducing legislation to prevent the government from imposing new federal mask mandates for domestic air travel, public transit systems and in schools. The Freedom to Breathe Act would also prevent air carriers, public transit authorities and all educational institutions from refusing service to those who choose not to wear face masks. On Thursday, Senate Democrats b...
As part of its commitment to help reduce suicide deaths across the state, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) is sharing key information about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and its operations in Wyoming. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and always available. The system involves a national network of local crisis centers that provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Two call centers within Wyoming are part of the lifeline network. “We believe it’s a benefi...
Baby stroller allegedly used to steal drone CODY (WNE) — The Cody man charged in July with endangering his daughter by allowing her to be in the presence of meth was recently charged with burglary, theft and conspiracy to commit burglary after he and another Cody man allegedly used a baby stroller to steal a drone from Walmart on Aug. 2. Jeremy Johnstone, 25, is accused of partnering with Brad L. Corbin to steal the drone. They face the same charges. Cody Police Officer Steven Bassett was dispatched to Walmart at around 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 18 t...
Wyoming decides to leave National School Board Association POWELL (WNE) — The Wyoming School Board Association, which includes Park County School District 1, is no longer a member of the National School Board Association (NSBA). Kim Dillivan, PCSD1 board chairman, said he does not anticipate a change to the school board’s professional development as a result of Wyoming’s exit. Individual school boards can still be a member of the NSBA, but Dillivan does not see a difference between membership to the NSBA or the Consortium of State School Board...
CHEYENNE — Wyoming legislators laid back a bill draft that would increase diesel fuel tax due to concerns over interstate commerce conflict and whether the increase was substantial enough to generate a sufficient amount of revenue for the state. During the first day of a two-day meeting in Casper, legislators on the Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee also voted 13-1 to sponsor an electric vehicle tax bill, which would create a $200 annual fee for EV owners and a $100 annual fee for plug-in hybrid vehicle owners. If a...
Driver booked for assault after hitting pedestrian with car CHEYENNE (WNE) — A male pedestrian was transported to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center Thursday evening after a driver struck him with his vehicle. The victim is in custody, and the driver has been booked into the Laramie County jail on an assault charge. Koby Rodriguez, 25, was arrested on the charge of aggravated assault with injury after an altercation at 5:40 p.m. Thursday. Rodriguez told police that, after exiting Interstate 80, waiting at a light to turn onto North Greeley H...
Visionary building fiber internet system throughout Gillette and Wyoming GILLETTE (WNE) — Since the start of 2023, Visionary Broadband has added hundreds of miles of fiber internet in communities across Wyoming, and it’s set to go live in parts of Gillette in a few weeks. Visionary has spent much of 2023 installing a fiber network throughout the Cowboy State. CEO Brian Worthen said the “figure-8 ring system” that’s been laid out will give Campbell County and other Wyoming communities more reliability when it comes to their internet connectio...
GILLETTE — For more than two decades, Campbell County has used treatment courts to help those with substance abuse issues turn their lives around, get sober and become productive members of society. Now, Campbell County is looking to expand it even further. It was recently chosen by the state to be the site of an adult diversion program that is based on the treatment court model. To start, the program will focus on non-violent misdemeanor offenders with select mental health issues that can be treated with medication. If Campbell County is s...
Streaming service airs episode on missing Gillette woman GILLETTE (WNE) — The story of missing Gillette woman Irene Gakwa recently aired on a nationwide streaming service. The 25-minute episode titled “American Dream, American Nightmare” follows Gakwa’s journey from Nairobi, Kenya, to Gillette where she disappeared in early 2022. The episode is part of Paramount Plus’ “Never Seen Again” series, which documents families sharing the stories of lost loved ones. Featured on the show are Gakwa’s brothers, Kennedy Wainaina and Chris Gakwa and Chris...
Driver kills mountain lion on Moose-Wilson Road JACKSON (WNE) — A vehicle hit and killed a mountain lion Thursday evening on the Moose-Wilson Road, a fatal strike that follows a series of other deadly encounters between cars and animals in Jackson Hole. A motorist struck the roughly two-year-old female cat at about 6:30 p.m., said Mark Gocke, a spokesman with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Mountain lions are intelligent, social carnivores that occasionally make public appearances in Jackson Hole. This spring, for example, a young cat w...
A black bear sits in a tree in Willow Grove Cemetery in Buffalo on July 26. The bear was first spotted near Meadowlark Elementary School before crossing Cemetery Road. Police and Game and Fish wardens followed it and attempted to corner it so they could tranquilize it. Unfortunately, the bear climbed about 50 feet up the tree and couldn't be safely tranquilized, so wardens closed the cemetery and waited for the bear to come down. It finally did and moved out of the cemetery during the night....
Minnesota man placed on probation for high-speed chase outside Cody POWELL (WNE) – A Minnesota man who recently led police on a high-speed chase on the North Fork Highway has been released on probation after spending two-and-a-half weeks in jail. On July 24 in Park County District Court, Kirk D. Raymond, 53, pleaded guilty to a felony count of interference with a peace officer; it relates to Raymond trying to injure a pursuing Park County Sheriff’s deputy. Raymond’s guilty plea came as part of a deal with prosecutors that involved three other...
Mountain lion cubs. Snow geese. Foxes. Great horned owls. Bald eagles. Chickens. These animals were all Wyoming casualties of the latest strain of the bird flu that swept across the country the last two years. In neighboring states, there were even reports of grizzly and black bears being euthanized after contracting the virus. The most recent outbreak killed at least hundreds of birds in Wyoming, but health officials say the true number is likely higher because most bird flu stats in the U.S....
Nine school districts to participate in RIDE pilot CASPER (WNE) — Some Wyoming school districts will soon see the first fruits of a statewide effort to rethink the public K-12 education system. Gov. Mark Gordon’s office announced Wednesday that nine Wyoming school districts will participate in a pilot program beginning later this summer that aims to focus on more competency-based and student-centered learning. This initial pilot emerged from recommendations that came out of Gordon’s Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) Ad...
The Bureau of Land Management is moving to modernize federal bonding requirements meant to ensure the cleanup of abandoned oil and gas wells. The reforms come more than 60 years after the agency last updated the minimum bond amounts companies must pay before they can drill on BLM leases, Biden administration officials announced Thursday. If finalized, the rule would put companies under more pressure to see their drilling projects through — a notable change to a federal program that has struggled to prevent wells from being abandoned in the p...
