News

State agencies worked hard to trim the fat in order to meet an average of 6-percent budget cuts the Wyoming Legislature put into effect this year. The Judicial Branch took a hit of 4-percent budget cut. Because the state revenue forecast is still cloudy, further cuts may be considered. As the state population grows, so does the need for the court system, which makes it next-to-impossible to cut back. Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez reports.

Next week the Cheyenne International Film festival gets underway. The event begins May 16th and runs through the 19th.  The producer of the event is Alan O’Hashi who’s been active in helping Wyoming movie makers and this venue gives them a chance to showcase their work, but as the title suggests, International films will also be shown.   O’Hashi tells Bob Beck the event was started five years ago and continues to grow.  He says they will be showing a wide range of films.

Former Newspaper reporter and author Tom Rea has a new venture, he is the Editor of WyoHistory.org. It is a history website about Wyoming.  He tells Bob Beck the idea for the website came as he was doing a job for the Natrona County School district.

If you’re looking for big, stately elk antlers to hang on your wall, the National Elk Refuge in Jackson would be a great place to find them… except the public isn’t allowed onto the elk habitat. Instead, the Refuge and the Jackson Boy Scouts are gathering and bundling antlers to sell at the annual Elk Antler Auction in Jackson next weekend to benefit elk habitat projects. Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez spoke with the Refuge’s Lori Iverson about it. Iverson says she understands why people want elk antlers, but protecting the wildlife is her first priority.

A US senate committee has introduced an immigration reform plan that includes a path to citizenship for immigrants living illegally in the U.S. Opponents claim that such a path rewards people who have broken the law by giving them amnesty.

Under current law, many immigrants seeking residency have to leave the country. Sometimes for ten years or more.  But this deportation often has side-effects.

Wyoming Public Radio's Luke Hammons has more.

Oliver Walter came to the University of Wyoming in 1970 to teach political science and became dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1989. This summer, he’ll be retiring. Wyoming Public Radio’s Irina Zhorov sat down with him talk about his tenure at UW and the future for both the school and himself. He started out talking about some changes he witnessed in his decades as dean.

This weekend a new set of graduates are leaving the University of Wyoming.  For some, they are facing an unknown job situation, but others are ready to jump into their careers.  The graduates also talked about Wyoming’s efforts to keep them in-state. Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck sat down with three graduates from U-W’s College of business and found that two are leaving and one thinks he’ll hang around a bit longer.

Alternative medicine and the vast red desert of Southwestern Wyoming are not often thought of as synonymous. The endless miles of sagebrush and open range lend themselves to an idea of a rougher existence. Not the sort of place where you might expect to find a good cup of organic herbal tea. But in our occasional series on young upstarts, one woman believes the area has a growing interest in natural health remedies and she’s out to prove it. Wyoming Public Radio’s Amanda LeClaire has more.

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UW President Tom Buchanan held back tears today as the Dave Bostrom, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, revealed the name of what will become the new performing arts building on campus--the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts.  

Buchanan says he is speechless about the dedication. But when it comes to the center, he offers plenty of praise.

“We are just completely jazzed over this event,” he enthused.

The Dean of the University of Wyoming’s College of Arts and Sciences will retire this summer, after more than 40 years at the University. Oliver Walter came to U-W in 1970 to teach political science, and became dean in 1989. He says he’s seen a lot change during his time at U-W, including growing emphasis on research, more technology on campus, and increasing diversity.  But, for him, a highlight has been the growth of the study abroad program and international relationships.

The University of Wyoming has sent Governor Matt Mead a blueprint to transform the College of Engineering and Applied Science into a top program nationwide.

In December, Governor Matt Mead’s Energy, Engineering and STEM Integration Task force released its report on how to turn the College of Engineering and Applied Science into a Tier One academic and research institution. Mead then asked UW to come up with, what Associate Provost Andrew Hansen calls, ‘the dream’ vision for achieving that goal.

Now that Colorado State University is planning to increase in-state tuition by nine percent, a University of Wyoming official says that more students might consider U-W as an affordable option for college. 

U-W Vice President for Academic Affairs Sara Axelson says even though Wyoming’s out-of-state tuition will soon increase slightly… the cost is going to be very competitive when compared with C-S-U.  She says they will work hard to point that out to high school seniors.             

An energy group says a recently released report overstated issues of water use by the oil and gas industry. The Western Organization of Resource Councils released the report last month and said regulators need to consider the quantity of water the energy industry uses, in addition to the quality.

Last year’s drought could impact the Wyoming water supply this summer.

The National Weather Service says that, although recent storms have helped replenish mountain snowpack, there might not be enough to get back to normal levels of runoff, which is state’s most common water source for crops and municipalities.

NWS Hydrologist Jim Fahey says that’s because the upper soil levels were parched by the drought and will likely absorb much of the runoff. Fahey says this could become especially problematic for some people during the summer months.

Construction has begun on a new $237 million power plant near Cheyenne.

63 percent of Albany County voters approved a 25 million dollar bond issue to add enhancements to the new Laramie High School that is scheduled to open in 2015.  The state is paying for the new school, but the bond will pay for the enhancement of an auditorium, add labs and athletic facilities.  The bond is projected to cost the owner of a $100,000 home $38 a year.  Groundbreaking for the new high school will occur this summer.

On Wednesday, the Riverton City Council Chambers will host a pre-bid conference for the Wind River Job Corps project.  Project administrators want to work with as many local contractors as possible.

The completed Job Corps complex will bring much needed training opportunities to Fremont County, as well as create over 100 permanent jobs.

A lawsuit filed by Tripower Resources says the energy company is not responsible for about $885,000 in back taxes from 2008 to 2010. Tripower says it did not own the wells from which these production taxes accumulated during the time period in question. But Campbell, Crook, and Converse Counties have listed the company as tax-delinquent. They’re applying taxes from current production to the owed back-taxes. Converse County treasurer Joel Schell says, according to statute, the current owner is responsible for any unpaid taxes.     

A new project on the Wind River Indian Reservation seeks to reduce diabetes rates by helping tribal families grow their own vegetables. More than 11% of the people on the reservation have diabetes.

The project is a collaboration between community health groups on the reservation, and the University of Wyoming.

Virginia Sutter with Blue Mountain Associates is one of the leaders of the project. She says diabetes rates are high because tribal members have very different diets than they have historically.

May 7th is Teacher Appreciation Day.

Kathy Vetter, President of the Wyoming Education Association, taught elementary through high school students in Wheatland during her 30 years in the classroom. She says that teachers’ responsibilities have changed as students’ own roles have changed. “When I started teaching,” says Vetter, “going to school was the student’s job. Now, that’s only one of many jobs students have, that they have to divide their time amongst—and so there’s more pressure on the teachers and the students.”

The Laramie Area Chamber of Commerce and the Laramie Economic Development Corporation are merging aspects of their operations. They have picked Laramie-native Dan Furphy as the new president and CEO of the two organizations. Furphy is a banker who has served as board member for both groups in the past. He says he wants to attract data centers to Laramie to create jobs and he plans to continue to work with the University of Wyoming.    

A group connected with a pro-wolf organization, projectwolf.org, erected three graphic signs along entrance routes to Yellowstone National Park.

The billboards are located in Idaho, Montana and, up until today, Wyoming. They have a banner of blood dripping down over four wolves that have been shot and killed with wording that states, “This is what’s happening to your Yellowstone Wolves. Do you care?”

When you set out to tackle spring cleaning in your home or barn, the Wyoming Department of Health wants you to pay special attention to where mice might hide.

Wyoming is scheduled to lose 53 million dollars in federal mineral royalties this summer along with other federal dollars due to the sequester. 

Governor Matt Mead says higher than expected gas prices and other earnings will allow the state to overcome that loss of revenue.  But during a news conference with reporters, Mead said that he will be worried if these federal cuts continue.

An ice climber from Powell, Wyoming is lucky to be alive after spending the night in the rugged South Fork Drainage several miles east of Cody. The Drainage is world renowned for its climbing opportunities and that is what drew second year climber, 54-year old Kenneth Richmond to the area Wednesday.

Wildlife interest groups and agencies in Wyoming and Idaho are working to increase the populations of trumpeter swans in the region. Loss of habitat has limited numbers within the species. The Teton Regional Land Trust is working with the Wyoming Wetland Society, local offices of US Fish and Wildlife Services, and the Idaho Fish and Game departments to build a nesting colony in Teton valley.

An environmental group in Pinedale is trying to help residents understand water quality issues, by creating an online map of gas wells, water wells, and other hydrologic data.

Linda Baker with the Upper Green River Alliance says she got the idea for the project when water wells in the Pinedale Anticline gas field started showing traces of benzene and other pollutants several years ago.