Barrasso, Lummis express concern over nursing home staffing rule
CHEYENNE (WNE) — U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-Wyo., sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) regarding the agency’s proposed minimum staffing standards in nursing homes.
A news release from the Senate delegation’s office said they “disapprove of the administration’s one-size-fits-all approach that does not account for the needs of rural states, such as Wyoming.”
The release said, “Should the proposed rule become a requirement, it will result in nationwide nursing home closures due to provider shortages, financially devastate facilities in Wyoming, and leave vulnerable individuals in rural communities without care.”
The letter urges CMS to rescind the proposal and work with Congress, states and key stakeholders on alternative solutions.
Yellowstone’s October visits up 26% from year ago
JACKSON (WNE) — Recreational visits to Yellowstone National Park in October were up 26% over a year ago.
The total, 299,127 recreational visits represented a whopping 75% increase from October 2019, when “several short-term, weather-related road closures likely impacted visitation,” a Yellowstone press release said.
The park compares 2023 numbers to 2019’s because 2020 and 2021 produced unusual visitation trends due to COVID-19 and 2022 saw historic flooding that closed the park for about two weeks in June.
So far this year, Yellowstone has hosted 4,446,509 recreational visits, up 37% from 2022 and up 12% from 2019.
In 2021, the year-to-date total for October was 4,789,349 visits. That figure was 3,753,531 in 2020, a year that saw the park close March 24 through May 17, with two entrances opening May 18 and the other three opening June 1.
Sales and use tax collections up 14.1% in FY 2023
CHEYENNE (WNE) — Wyoming’s total sales and use tax collections in fiscal year 2023 expanded at a strong pace, according to the state of Wyoming Economic Analysis Division’s annual publication “Wyoming Sales, Use, and Lodging Tax Revenue Report.”
Total sales and use tax collections for FY 2023 reached $1.2 billion, an increase of 15% from the previous year. The state-imposed 4% tax collection grew 14.1%, the second consecutive year of a double-digit growth.
“With this strong expansion, the amount of total sales and use taxes for fiscal year 2023 reached a new record,” said Wenlin Liu, chief economist with the Economic Analysis Division, in a news release. “However, it’s still 11.1% less than FY 2015 level if measured in inflation-adjusted dollars.”
As the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic faded, Wyoming’s economy continued to rally in FY 2023, with a lasting rebound in oil and gas drilling, robust payroll job additions, low unemployment rate and strong income growth. Compared to FY 2022, nearly every major industrial sector experienced an increase in sales and use tax collections.
Across the state, year-over-year statewide sales and use tax collections increased in 22 counties, led by Converse (42.6%) and Carbon (34.9%) counties. Albany, Campbell, Niobrara and Sublette counties each experienced over 20% increases.
Total lodging tax collections (including the statewide lodging taxes), $57.1 million for fiscal year 2023, were down slightly from the $59.1 million collected in the previous year, or -3.4%.
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