Wyoming News Briefs

Average gasoline prices down again in Wyoming in the past week

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 3.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.18 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming.

Prices in Wyoming are 7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 57.2 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.79, while the highest was $3.99, a difference of $1.20 per gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 4.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.13 per gallon Monday. The national average is down 11.6 cents per gallon from a month ago, and stands 56.2 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

Bear spray rentals available at Cody airport

CODY (WNE) — Travelers have long been able to rent vehicles at the Cody airport, and now, they’re able to rent bear spray, too. 

After some debate last spring, Yellowstone Regional Airport leaders accepted a Montana businessman’s proposal to install an automated kiosk that allows customers to rent and return cans of spray. 

The board approved the deal on a 4-2 vote in May and TrailQuipt got its system up and running in August. 

The company charges $16 to borrow a can for two days or $28 for two weeks. Compared to buying a canister for $40 to $50, “that’s quite a cost savings for people — especially those that are flying in and can’t take it on a plane,” TrailQuipt founder Ryan Harbach told the YRA board in April. 

While the machine is generally automated, a local worker periodically inspects the returned cans by hand and restocks them as necessary. 

At a Sept. 9 meeting, Buck said TrailQuipt was working to hire a local person for the part-time role. YRA’s agreement with the company is for one year, “and we’ll see how that goes,” he told the board.

Munsick headlines relief efforts, community members follow

SHERIDAN (WNE) — A Sheridan County native country star and local groups have set up organized fundraisers to benefit those fighting the Elk Fire that has ravaged the Bighorn National Forest and surrounding lands.

Sheridan County native and country music star Ian Munsick and his wife Caroline have fundraised $114,615 for local entities fighting the Elk Fire. 

The couple started contributions with $30,000 and additional funds from Ian Munsick patch sales during The Country & WESTern Tour. 

“They are heroes and they deserve all the help that they can get,” Ian Munsick said while onstage. “I’m so damn proud to be from the state of Wyoming, where neighbors help neighbors get things done.”

The Munsicks attended the WYO Film Festival in Sheridan Sunday. 

Monetary donations are also being distributed to several entities connected to the Elk Fire through an “Elk Fire Community Resources” fundraiser established by local Dayton residents. 

The webpage was created by volunteers to support the community during the Elk Fire. 

Donations are specified to support rural fire districts, evacuees, fire recovery efforts and unrestricted funds. 

All donations made via the elkfirewyo.com page will be held by the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce Foundation on behalf of the Elk Fire Benefit Fund. A committee is being assembled to oversee disbursements from the fund according to need, the website states. Any funds remaining in the fund after needs related to the Elk Fire have been addressed will be divided equally among local rural fire districts. 

Tongue River Valley resident Lacie Schwend has raised $18,865 thus far for volunteer fire departments in Sheridan County. 

Having served on the Ranchester Fire Department — now known as the Tongue River Fire Department — in 2013 and 2014, Schwend started the fundraiser with her family. 

Public comment on Alpine charter school raises concerns

JACKSON (WNE) — Public comments submitted by Alpine residents to the Wyoming Charter School Authorizing Board were largely critical of the American Preparatory Academy.

Of the 52 written comments submitted to the board at the end of September, only two supported the Utah-based charter school specifically, while a handful supported any charter school in Alpine.

The Authorizing Board will make a decision on Oct. 10 as to whether to approve APA’s application or grant the Cody-based virtual school, Vitalis Charter Academy, the option to operate.

While there is broad support in Alpine for a new public school, even a charter, in recent weeks, residents have raised concerns over the application submitted by American Preparatory Academy Charter School.

Residents have questioned the school’s right-wing political bent, as the organization’s founders have generated controversy with disparaging comments in the past about immigrants and the LGTBQ community.

Community members also highlighted in the written comments that the Academy has a dubious legal history.

“I am not opposed to a charter school in Alpine. I am opposed to the American Preparatory Academy of Alpine,” wrote Jessica Barnhouse, an Alpine resident and parent. “The American Preparatory Academy currently has multiple lawsuits with the ACLU and has been sued by multiple states, including Nevada and Utah. Their educational track record is similarly dismal. I would not send my child to a school run by this organization.”

In its promotional materials, APA touts classical studies, “patriotic education,” small class sizes and no: cellphones; “critical race theory”; diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum; or social-emotional learning. 

The Town of Alpine has given general support for a lease of town-owned property for “a charter school,” but a formal lease agreement has not yet been made.

Motorcyclist dies in crash near Cody

POWELL (WNE) — A 56-year-old motorcyclist died in a Saturday night crash outside of Cody. 

The Wyoming Highway Patrol identified the deceased as Joe Lees of Illinois. 

According to a preliminary summary from the patrol, Lees was traveling southeast into Cody on Wyo. Highway 120N and was just north of Road 2AB when the crash occurred.

The highway curves to the right, and the speed limit drops from 70 to 35 mph in that area, but the patrol says the motorcycle didn’t appear to slow down and didn’t make the turn. The bike continued straight and hit the concrete curb on the opposite side of the road, the patrol says, causing the vehicle to fall sideways, hit a metal delineator post and go down a steep embankment. 

Lees — who was not wearing a helmet — came off the rented machine in the crash, according to the report; speed was listed as a possible contributing factor. 

The death was the seventh fatal crash in Park County this year, all since mid-June, according to patrol statistics. 

That’s up from four traffic fatalities in Park County in all of 2023 and is approaching the eight lives lost in 2022. 

DCI creates cold case database

RIVERTON (WNE) — When Kathleen Pehringer’s daughter came home from school, her mother wasn’t there. Kathleen’s purse and glasses were gone, but her vehicle was parked on the street outside. Known as a responsible and punctual woman who took classes at Central Wyoming College, her absence sparked concern. She was never seen again. 

Pehringer is just one of many Wyoming cold cases that are getting a new breath of air with the debut of a new initiative by the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation. 

The new cold case database project aims to spotlight cold cases that have stalled out over the years, from homicides to sexual assaults to arson, and was recently unveiled on the DCI’s webpage. The files include everything from unidentified homicide victim cases to missing people like Pehringer who are believed to have been murdered. 

Similar to the missing persons database maintained by the DCI, law enforcement divisions across the state have been asked to dust off old case files and submit records for the project.

Some details are limited from the public’s view, but the database also contains full case information for investigators to share across departments in an effort to assist one another. 

“[Members of the public] are not going to get suspects’ names,” explained DCI Commander Ryan Cox to the Joint Judiciary Committee earlier this year, adding that the details released to the public are aimed at generating tips for old cases. 

The full case files available to law enforcement agencies are meant to foster collaboration. 

To learn more about this and other cold cases, or to make a tip, visit https://wyomingdci. wyo.gov/operations/cold-cases.

Wyoming AG announces Sanofi settlement on insulin costs

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Attorney General Bridget Hill announced a settlement with Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC (Sanofi), which guarantees that Wyoming residents not enrolled in government health care programs can buy Sanofi’s insulin products for $35 per month for the next five years.

The soaring cost of insulin over the last decade has increased scrutiny on insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefits managers from the Attorney General’s office and other attorneys general around the nation.

Concerns arose regarding whether insulin manufacturers deceptively priced their insulin products, requiring citizens to pay inordinately high prices for insulin. This settlement is a result of those concerns.

The terms of the settlement will come into effect within 90 days of Sept. 27.

The settlement requires Sanofi to provide insulin products — including Admelog, Lantus, Toujeo, Apidra and any biosimilar of those products that Sanofi markets in the U.S. — at $35 per monthly prescription for customers choosing to pay with cash. To take advantage of the pricing, consumers will need to register for a savings card on a Sanofi affordability website. Once Sanofi’s affordability program is in place for Wyoming, the Attorney General’s office will release additional information about how Wyoming residents can purchase a month’s supply of Sanofi insulin for $35.

In addition to the $35 monthly prescription rate, Sanofi has agreed to implement an enrollment message program to assist pharmacists and patients in determining eligibility for its low-cost insulin. 

The system will alert patients about this low-cost alternative at pharmacy counters throughout the state when patients are filling their prescriptions. 

Sanofi has also committed to continuing its Patient Connection Program that provides free insulin to Wyoming citizens in financial need.

Wyoming utility sends help to Helene survivors

CASPER (WNE) — Hurricane Helene has impacted ten states and affected areas as far as 400 miles from its landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region. 

In response to a plea for help from Georgia Power, Rocky Mountain Power is sending crews, emergency management and support personnel from Utah, Wyoming and Idaho to aid in power restoration efforts following the catastrophic damage caused by the Category 4 storm. 

At least 133 deaths in six Southeastern states have been tied to the storm, according to reporting by the Associated Press. 

Roughly 6 million energy customers experienced some level of disturbance due to the hurricane, according to the Edison Electric Institute, an association representing American electric companies. 

Twenty-three RMP employees equipped with 14 trucks and associated heavy equipment are headed east to help restore power to impacted communities. 

“Our crews are fully prepared and ready to respond as they work tirelessly through the deployment to restore power to customers in Georgia and to support our fellow line-crews across the affected states,” said Chris Spencer, vice president of operations at Rocky Mountain Power.

Rocky Mountain Power is part of a nationwide network of utilities that provide mutual assistance during emergencies and disasters. 

Around 50,000 electric utility workers from 40 states, the District of Columbia and Canada are working to restore power where it has been lost, according to the Edison Electric Institute. Power has been restored to over 4.5 million customers, but some areas experienced such extreme infrastructure damage that a complete rebuild is required, according to Rocky Mountain Power.

Police apprehend suspect in attempted homicide

GILLETTE (WNE) — The Gillette Police Department arrested a 31-year-old man who was the suspect in an attempted homicide that occurred Friday morning.

As of 10 a.m. Saturday, officers had arrested John Stetson Bosh, according to the City of Gillette. Friday afternoon, the city asked residents to be on the lookout for Bosh, who allegedly stabbed a 30-year-old woman early Friday.

In the early hours of Friday, police responded to a report of a stabbing at a home in the 900 block of West Eighth Street. When they arrived, they found a 30-year-old woman who had been stabbed repeatedly in the torso and arms. The woman was transported to Campbell County Health.

The suspect, identified as Bosh, fled the scene before officers arrived. He was caught Saturday morning.

Tuition freeze extended

RIVERTON (WNE) — The Wyoming Community College Commission Thursday agreed not to increase tuition for the state’s eight community colleges. 

The commission has held steady on the $105 per credit hour tuition for in-state students for the past five years. A recommendation to hold the line on tuition came from the college presidents and the college Trustees Association. 

Dr. Brad Tyndall, president of Central Wyoming College and the current president of the presidents, shared the recommendation to the commission at its meeting at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs. 

Don Erickson, a trustee at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne and the president of the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees, reported his associations’ recommendations, also not to increase the tuition rate. 

The current tuition is $105 per credit hour for in-state students, $158 per credit hour for Western Undergraduate Exchange (and Nebraska) students, and $315 per credit hour for out-of-state and international students. 

The Community College Commission considers tuition fees on odd-number years. The total cost to attend a Wyoming Community College depends on fees charged by each college in addition to the tuition. 

County tests election equipment again before general election

JACKSON (WNE) — Teton County Clerk Maureen Murphy and her staff were back to testing election equipment Thursday in preparation for the general election. The hope among clerks is that the testing will have to be done only once this time around.

County clerks around the state are required to publicly test all electronic ballot counting machines that will be used at voting centers. It is usually done weeks in advance of Election Day, but a dispute in Laramie County left clerks scrambling in August to retest their equipment just a week out from the primary election.

Although Murphy independently decided to retest her own equipment, Secretary of State Chuck Gray sent a request on Aug. 15 that each and every county that failed to comply with guidance on public testing of voting equipment double check their machines.

Reports showed some counties did not assign a different number of valid votes to each candidate for an office during the public testing, as required by state statute. 

In Teton County, there were a few races in the first equipment test where candidates had the same number of votes. Murphy said she and other clerks cleared up the mistake with the company that provides the machines and test decks. No candidates have the same number of votes, which she pointed out to people at Thursday’s public testing.

Last week, clerks also met with Secretary of State Gray in Rock Springs at the Wyoming Association of County Officers meeting and discussed the reason equipment needed to be retested.

Murphy continues to have full confidence in the equipment and the security measures in place: “We all agreed that it was human error that caused the retest in the primary and it wasn’t the machines,” she said.