Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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Editor’s Note: This the last in a 3 part series WOLVES ARRIVE IN YELLOWSTONE, CENTRAL IDAHO (Continued) MIKE JIMENEZ, WOLF PROJECT LEADER FOR THE NEZ PERCE TRIBE: Mike Jimenez was the project leader for Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho’s wolf reintroduction program. He continued to work on wolf issues post-reintroduction, eventually serving as the management and science coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Northern Rockies region. He retired in 2016 and lives near...
CHEYENNE — If residents don’t want an apartment complex or other type of housing development in their neighborhood, it may soon take more of them to trigger a formal protest. Right now, it takes just 20% of neighbors to sign a zoning protest to trigger a necessary supermajority vote by a local board like a city council to make zoning changes that allow for multi-unit dwellings and apartments. Last week, lawmakers discussed raising that bar to 50% under Senate File 40, “Zoning protest petition- amendments. On Tuesday, the S...
EVANSTON — “I don’t answer to the state; I answer to the people of Uinta County. If I see an unpaid bill of $700,000, I’m going to go after it,” Uinta County Sheriff Andy Kopp recently told the Herald. On Monday, Jan. 13, Kopp sent a letter to several Wyoming legislators on the first day of this year’s general session. “I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the current state of mental health support in Wyoming’s county detention centers, particularly for individuals awaiting transport to the Wyoming State H...
CHEYENNE-The House Freedom Caucus' proposed ban on "environmental, social and governance" investing threatens Wyoming's pensions and stock market returns, the state's investment chiefs say. Those warnings sparked a flurry of changes by the legislation's sponsor, Gillette Republican Christopher Knapp, as he scrambled to achieve the caucus' ideological goals without tanking the state's returns. Money managers on Friday had excoriated the bill, telling lawmakers on the House Mine...
CHEYENNE-Dalton Banks stood on the House floor Monday and argued his proposal isn't a taking of private property owners' rights and liberties, as some of legislative colleagues claimed. At issue was House Bill 118, "Limitations on net land gains for the federal government," legislation that would prohibit land deals in Wyoming that result in a net-gain of acreage for the federal government. An amendment brought Monday to the House floor would have exempted private landowners...
GILLETTE - The Campbell County Prevention Council plans to roll out a new suicide prevention training program this spring. The program's ethos stands in stark contrast to another program that was supposed to be implemented last summer, said Ashley McRae, the county's suicide prevention specialist and a board member of the Campbell County Prevention Council. "It was completely unsafe," McRae said. "It would've probably set us back 30 years." That state pilot program went up...
POWELL - Shortly after being sworn in as the country's 47th president on Monday, Donald Trump declared that "the golden age of America begins right now." Gov. Mark Gordon is equally optimistic that it will be an especially good time for the state of Wyoming. Speaking to representatives of the state's newspapers on Thursday, Gordon said the departure of the Biden administration and arrival of Trump's team means "we're going to be paid attention to." Under the Trump...
CHEYENNE — Communities across the state are lacking in workforce housing, defined as homes affordable to middle-income people. Experts cite many reasons for Wyoming’s housing crisis, and an overregulated environment for builders is among them. In 2023, local residents protested and ultimately derailed a plan by a Cheyenne developer who wanted to build an apartment complex with exercise facilities, a swimming pool and up to 195 units as workforce housing. Following a zoning protest that spurred a required supermajority City Co...
SHERIDAN - A bill to offer broadscale property tax relief could have adverse impacts on local governments and tax authorities, according to various organizations. House Bill 169 - Homeowner tax exemption - 2025 and 2026 - would exempt 50% of a home's first $1 million in fair market value from property tax assessment. In Sheridan County, that would mean the median home would be assessed for a fair market value of $143,241.50, rather than an estimated value for 2024 of...
JACKSON - Should partisan politics trickle all the way down to the local level, potentially impacting decisions about how to educate children as young as 5? That's a question on the minds of lawmakers from the opening day of the Wyoming Legislature on Tuesday, when Senate File 98 was already on the drawing board. The bill would require school trustee candidates to declare a party affiliation when running for a seat. It is sponsored by Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, who is vice...
CHEYENNE - Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon welcomed members of the 68th Wyoming Legislature on Wednesday and reminded them that their legislative decisions have consequences. "I congratulate you on your election and wish you Godspeed. We do have a lot to do, and I have no doubt that the people in this room can get it done," Gordon said. "We have serious responsibilities that require us to work together to serve those who have entrusted us with our positions, and we are all part of...
Editor’s Note: This the second in a 3 part series TRANQUILIZED On Jan. 10, 1995, a 20-person capture crew based out of Alberta’s Switzer Provincial Park started working to capture the first wolves bound for the states. Aerial crews darted 28 wolves from what they believed were 11 different packs during the operation, and Canadian trappers managed to nab more — many of which were collared and returned to the wild to monitor the donor wolf population. By month’s end, 14 wolves h...
SHERIDAN — Sheridan County sent an invoice to The Sheridan Press projecting the paper’s public records request regarding the former elections supervisor’s termination would cost $4,000. Former Sheridan County Elections Supervisor James Temple was fired Nov. 12, one week after Election Day. Temple told The Sheridan Press in December he had no disciplinary history as a county employee. The Sheridan Press submitted a public records request Dec. 3, shortly after learning Temple had been fired. The Press requested emails betwe...
CHEYENNE - The first day of the 68th Wyoming Legislature's general session got off to an emotional start Tuesday, punctuated by moments of religious declaration, as the Wyoming Freedom Caucus officially took control of the state's House of Representatives. During the legislative session, it's typical to see lawmakers begin with the Pledge of Allegiance and a formal prayer. But on Tuesday, several lawmakers made their own statements of faith, citing Bible verses and offering...
CHEYENNE - The 68th Wyoming Legislature will convene for a 40-day general session starting Tuesday, and more than 600 bills sponsored by committees and individual lawmakers are expected to be filed for consideration. The topics of greatest concern to Wyoming residents – and therefore most likely covered by the state's media - include education funding and school policy, property tax relief measures, affordable housing, election policies and gaming legislation and the s...
JACKSON — As valley leaders discussed priorities for the Wyoming Legislature’s general session that starts Tuesday, Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr warned the delegation about “a lot of really scary bills that are being proposed right now.” One bill that has been filed aims to punish towns and counties seen as giving sanctuary to undocumented immigrants. Freshman Rep. Joel Guggenmos, a Freedom Caucus member from Riverton who won 55% of the vote in his Republican primary...
POWELL - The American bald eagle needs no introduction. It first appeared on a coin in 1776 on a Massachusetts copper cent, and it was emblazoned on the coat of arms for the new country's Great Seal in 1782. But somehow it took 242 years as America's favorite emblem to finally get its due, and the majestic bird still faces serious environmental threats. In December, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law officially naming the bald eagle as the national bird. Meanwhile,...
CASPER - Matthew Thomas always had a desire to author a children's book, and while working in Jackson Hole, he came up with the idea of writing about the local wildlife. Two animals especially captured Thomas' attention: Hoback the Moose, a majestic bull moose also known as the King of the Tetons, and Grizzly 399, known as Queen of the Tetons. This week, Thomas told the Star-Tribune that he had already started his book, titled "Queen of the Tetons: The Legacy of 399," well...
CHEYENNE — More of Wyoming’s teenagers are joining the workforce, with health care and social assistance among their top employment choices, according to Wyoming Department of Workforce Services data. DWS Research and Planning Research Supervisor Michael Moore presented labor statistics for workers between 15 and 19 years old to the Wyoming Workforce Development Council on Thursday during its quarterly meeting. “We all know the number of youth working in the U.S. and Wyoming has declined over the last couple of decad...
POWELL — The Yellowstone area grizzly will not be delisted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Biden administration, as the service instead announced an alternate proposal Wednesday. Idaho had asked for an evaluation of the grizzly bear listing and Montana and Wyoming, which together represent the three states with Greater Yellowstone Area grizzlies, had also petitioned the service to delist the area grizzlies. The service found the petitions “not warranted.” Instead, the service proposed changes to how the grizz...
BUFFALO - Local leaders are hoping that an active uranium mine in southern Johnson County will yield much-needed mineral tax revenue in the coming year. Uranium Energy Corp. purchased Uranium One Americas and its Christensen Ranch and Irigaray Processing Plant in December 2021. For two years, the uranium production company monitored rising uranium prices and solidified plans to ramp up production once the process proved profitable. The company resumed production this August...
CHEYENNE - Members of the public may soon be allowed to concealed carry firearms within the Wyoming Capitol and its underground extension after the state's top five elected officials unanimously passed a set of rules governing a new policy Wednesday morning. Firearms are currently prohibited in the state Capitol, but Gov. Mark Gordon promised, after vetoing a 2024 bill that would have lifted all gun-free zones statewide, to consider lifting gun-free zones in state-owned...
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a 3 part series By the 1930s, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s wolves had been systematically hunted and trapped out of existence. In their absence, it didn’t take long for humankind to rethink the wisdom of eradicating the ecosystem’s apex canine predator. Aldo Leopold, a visionary conservationist, thought of reversing course as early as 1944. “Why, in the necessary process of extirpating wolves from livestock ranges of Wyoming a...
JACKSON - Beverly Boynton has lived in Kelly for decades but only been walking the Kelly parcel for two or so years, thinking about the pristine square mile of sagebrush and wildlife habitat as the National Park Service maneuvered to buy it from the State of Wyoming. The more she walked the parcel, the more she understood how valuable it is for wildlife. Last spring, Boynton wanted to hike the parcel but was stopped by a herd of 1,000 elk that she didn't want to stampede. She...
LARAMIE - There is a rugged beauty to southeast Wyoming. A new organization wants to help combat veterans experience that beauty in a positive way. Laramie Range Adventures for Veterans is a new program connecting combat veterans with hunting, fishing and wilderness experiences, as well as with fellow veterans. Daniel Haff, LRAV founder and president, said the concept of bringing veterans to the outdoors has its roots in the military experience. Haff, a U.S. Army veteran who w...
