Wyoming News Briefs

Man accused of strangling girlfriend, holding her against her will

GILLETTE (WNE) — Officers forced their way into a home and later arrested a 37-year-old man who allegedly strangled his girlfriend and held her against her will Friday night.

Police went to the 100 block of Bay Avenue for the report of a man and woman in a fight at about 11:15 p.m., Police Cpl. Dan Stroup said. When they arrived, they forced their way into the home after they heard a woman whimpering and what sounded like strangling noises. In the home, they spoke to the man and his 30-year-old girlfriend.

The woman said she was arguing with her boyfriend, Robert Hill, when he tried to throw her to the ground. When he couldn’t, he became frustrated and stomped on her right foot to try to force her down, causing pain and swelling. The woman said Hill then dragged her into their bedroom and hit her multiple times, telling her she couldn’t leave the room.

The woman said Hill then picked up a cane with a metal head and stood over her as though he were going to hit her with it. He then allegedly covered her mouth and nose with his hand and held onto her throat, limiting her breathing. The woman said she felt like she was going to pass out.

Hill denied all allegations, Stroup said. The woman had bruises on her right leg and foot, along with marks around her neck, face and both arms.

Hill was arrested for strangulation of a household member, a felony, domestic violence, aggravated assault and kidnapping.

The woman was evaluated by EMS and released but was ultimately arrested for an outstanding warrant from Sweetwater County for failure to appear on an original charge of forgery, Stroup said.

Second mule deer in Bondurant hunt area tests positive for chronic wasting disease

JACKSON (WNE) — Another mule deer in a hunt area near Bondurant has tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The deer, which was found dead on someone’s property and later tested, is the second mule deer that has tested positive for the fatal neurological condition this year.

The first was harvested by a hunter in September.

Mark Gocke, spokesman for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Jackson office, said the detection is not surprising. Hunt area 154, where the most recent buck was found, is bordered by other hunt areas where the disease has been detected: 142, 152, and 155. 

“It’s a continuation,” Gocke said, “a progression of the disease westward.”

Chronic wasting disease causes ungulates to lose weight, stumble, drool and exhibit abnormal behavior, like lacking fear of people.

Prevalence varies in Wyoming’s deer herds from extreme, like in the Project Herd, which had an estimated 67% prevalence in 2022, to minimal, like in the Wyoming Range herd, which had an estimated 0.8% prevalence in the same year. 

But even in areas with relatively little chronic wasting disease, wildlife biologists expect it will only spread farther as more animals come in contact with prions, the virulent agents that spread the disease. Prions can be transmitted through animal’s saliva and can survive outside for over a decade.

Chronic wasting disease is 100% fatal for deer, elk and moose that have been infected. State wildlife officials and federal health experts recommend that hunters test their animals for the disease.

While there has never been a case of chronic wasting disease transferring to humans, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention don’t want to take the chance. Wyoming Game and Fish says people shouldn’t eat contaminated meat.

BLM announces oil and gas lease sale

CODY (WNE) — The Bureau of Land Management Wyoming State Office has announced an oil and gas lease sale scheduled for March 5, 2024, to offer 30 oil and gas parcels totaling 13,417 acres in Wyoming.

The BLM completed scoping on these parcels in July 2023 and a public comment period in October 2023 on the parcels, potential deferrals, and the related environmental analysis. A 30-day public protest period to receive additional public input is open and will close January 12, 2024.

The parcels the BLM has analyzed, as well as maps and instructions on how to submit a protest, are available on the BLM’s ePlanning website at: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2025221/510.

As authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act, BLM will apply a 16.67 percent royalty rate for any new leases from this sale. More information about the act is available on BLM’s online fact sheet.

Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources. Before development operations can begin, an operator must submit an application for permit to drill detailing development plans. The BLM reviews applications for permits to drill, posts them for public review, conducts an environmental analysis and coordinates with State partners and stakeholders.

All parcels leased as part of an oil and gas lease sale include appropriate stipulations to protect important natural resources. Information on current and upcoming BLM lease sales is available through the National Fluid Lease Sale System.

Lummis blasts proposal to move Cheyenne mail processing to Denver

CHEYENNE (WNE) — U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., sent a letter to U.S. Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy regarding the USPS’ review of the Cheyenne Processing and Distribution Center and proposal to recategorize the location as a Local Processing Center.

The USPS proposal to move Cheyenne’s Processing and Distribution Center operations to Denver would mean that mail sent from one Wyoming address to another Wyoming address in certain ZIP codes would have to leave the state before getting delivered.

The proposal would undoubtedly lead to delays in mail delivery and transfer several USPS jobs, a news release from Lummis’ office said.

“Leaving the capital city of Wyoming without reliable postal service is completely unacceptable,” Lummis wrote. “Following the closure of the Rock Springs sorting facility, I have experienced firsthand unnecessary delays and interruptions in mail service that resulted from forcing Wyoming mail to be processed in another state. 

“Any attempt by the Biden administration to say this is about fiscal responsibility is laughable, given the estimated $2.5-3.3 million saved by the reorganization would pale in comparison to the $4 billion being requested for the new FBI headquarters, $3 billion pledged to the United Nations climate crusade and countless other radical left-wing initiatives that waste Wyoming tax dollars.”

Lummis supported the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 that allocated $40 billion for the USPS to modernize the nation’s postal network, not to reduce service in Wyoming, the release said.

Laramie High mock trial team to represent Wyoming at nationals

LARAMIE (WNE) — A Laramie High School mock trial team will represent the state of Wyoming next spring at the national competition in Delaware after bringing home the first-place title this fall at the state level in Cheyenne.

Mock trial is an opportunity for students to learn about the system of law by arguing both the plaintiff and defendant sides of a predetermined case. Laramie High School teacher and mock trial coach Whitney Martin said the students received the case in September and worked throughout the fall semester to prepare for the state competition.

“It’s a lot of work. It’s kind of impressive that kids sign up because it’s just an elective credit, like they don’t get anything extra out of it,” she said. 

The mock trial team has a number of “attorney coaches” from the community who help teach the students key components of the judicial system and law practices in the United States, which is key to their success at the competition.

While some students have gone on to pursue careers in law, Martin said the experience provides countless real-world skills that apply to any job field.

“It lends itself well to a lot of other areas, like public speaking — just kind of that critical thinking [and] thinking on your feet,” she said.

“A lot of mock trial is definitely specific laws, practices or legal jargon, but the foundation for everything is rooted in communication,” senior and team captain Eliza Fay wrote in an email to the Laramie Boomerang. “I have learned how to efficiently express myself, speak in public and be professional.”

Martin and the students are all excited for the national competition, but Martin also noted fundraising will be a major hurdle to getting the students out to Wilmington, Delaware.

Talks of bringing passenger rail back begin

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Plenty of uncertainties remain, but steps toward connecting Cheyenne to Denver and across the Front Range by passenger train officially began on Friday.

Communities across the Front Range were largely connected by passenger train until the mid-20th century, as many lost the funding and demand to operate.

In the decades since, there have been a plethora of efforts to reestablish this line. As momentum picks up for high-speed passenger rail from Pueblo to Fort Collins via Denver, many are hopeful this time will be different.

Cheyenne’s Passenger Rail Commission met for the first time Friday. The group is comprised of city, county and state officials, as well as one citizen representative. At their inaugural meeting, they received a presentation from the general manager of the Front Range Passenger Rail (FRPR), Andy Karsian.

“Ninety percent of the people on the highways are alone in their cars driving on the road. Especially when you get into traffic or there’s a lot of trucks, it gets antagonistic, right?” Karsian said.

“But you get on a train, you’re sitting, and it’s just chugging along, and you don’t have to compare yourself to anybody else. You can just work on your laptop and do your own thing. It’s just such a different environment to travel that we’re not used to in this corridor.”

He envisions vehicle traffic worsening, as the Front Range population is estimated to grow by 3 million between 2020 and 2050. There is little room for lane expansion on Interstate 25 in urban areas like Denver, and he sees this project as a way to ease that traffic.

The FRPR is currently putting together a Service Development Plan for the Federal Railroad Administration to seek federal funds. This plan will identify routes, stops, frequencies, infrastructure upgrades, timelines and finances.

Lummis says she voted ‘no’ on NDAA to protect privacy rights

CHEYENNE (WNE) — On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., announced that she voted not to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 because she did not want to support a measure that “erodes the people of Wyoming’s right to privacy by rubber stamping warrantless surveillance of American citizens under FISA.”

“I will not enable the FBI, CIA and NSA to use back door channels to take away your freedoms, which is why I could not support this extension in the NDAA,” Lummis said in a news release.

The release said Lummis voted no “to shield the people of Wyoming from being unconstitutionally spied on by the federal government after the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included an extension to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without reforms that would strengthen privacy rights.”

Regardless, the NDAA passed both the House and Senate and is headed to President Joe Biden for his signature.

Cody man charged with several felonies after pursuit on foot

CODY (WNE) — A Cody man is in custody after a police officer chased him down. 

Levi Howes, 36, faces charges of child abandonment, the seizure of narcotics including fentanyl and meth and the illegal possession of ammunition.

Howes claimed he was taking his five-year-old daughter to school when he was arrested on the morning of November 17.

Howes, a felon, was in possession of 50 rounds of 22 WMR ammunition and methamphetamine. He also admitted to being in possession of fentanyl, according to court documents.

While conducting a traffic stop, Cody Police Officer Tanner Wichern reported that he noticed Howes driving a white Honda with a broken windshield.

“I recognized Levi from prior contacts and was aware his driver’s license status was suspended,” said Wichern in the affidavit.

Wichern completed his traffic stop then tailed Howes until he reached the 500 block of 19th Street, where Wichern discovered the vehicle with its lights on and the engine idling. It was later confirmed by Wichern that Howes’ 5-year-old daughter was in the backseat of the vehicle without a seatbelt on.

A witness informed Wichern that Howes “took off around the corner.” Wichern pursued Howes on foot until Howes reached a fence with a German Shepherd beyond it and refused to go any further.

Upon searching Howes and the area, Wichern found two bags containing methamphetamine.

Howes is being charged with several misdemeanors and felonies, including the intent to deliver a controlled substance, specifically methamphetamine, and two counts for the possession of more than three grams of methamphetamine and fentanyl. 

He is also being charged for knowingly allowing his child to remain in his vehicle where methamphetamine or fentanyl was present, and child abandonment with criminal negligence.

Howes is currently being held at Park County Detention Center on a $50,000 bond. 

Oil prices fall below $80 per barrel .; natural gas prices also decrease

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The West Texas Intermediate monthly average price for crude oil fell to $77.68 per barrel last month, according to Dylan Bainer, principal economist for the state’s Economic Analysis Division. 

Average active oil rigs were 11 in November, and the conventional gas rig count was four. A year ago, there were 21 oil rigs and four conventional gas rigs.

The November 2023 natural gas price at the Opal Hub averaged $4.68 per million British thermal units, $0.28 less than last month. The Henry Hub natural gas price averaged $2.71/ MMBtu in November, $0.61 less than last month.

Mining sector sales & use tax revenues continue to improve.

“November sales & use tax collections from the mining sector were up $4.7 million (+49.8%) year-over-year,” according to Bainer. This is the 27th consecutive month mining sector collections have increased year-over- year. Total collections summed to $86.6 million, $13.0 million (+17.7%) more than November last year.

Oil and gas employment is still down compared to pre-pandemic levels.

“Oil & gas employment in the state numbered 8700 jobs in October 2023, 500 less than October last year,” said Bainer. Before the COVID-19 pandemic started to have a large impact on the economy in April of 2020, oil and gas employment in the state numbered nearly 12,000 jobs.

Mining employment is still down compared to pre-pandemic levels.

“Relative to February 2020 (before the pandemic hit the labor market in March 2020), total employment has surpassed pre-COVID levels, but employment in the mining sector has still not fully recovered,” said Bainer.

Compared to February 2020, total employment was up 3600 jobs in October 2023, but employment in the mining sector was down 3,100 jobs.