By Peter O'Dowd

By Bob Beck

Laramie, WY – While some states and large corporations are nervous about their retirement accounts in the declining economy...the State Treasurer says Wyoming workers do not need to worry.

Joe Meyer says the state retirement program was set up to take a financial hit. He recalls that when the stock market crashed in 1987, the state lost 500-million dollars in three weeks. After that, Meyer says they adjusted the fund so that it could better weather a storm.

By Elsa Partan

Laramie, WY – As Congress tries to make a deal to rescue the nation's economy... we asked people in Wyoming what they think about the bailout and how the failures on Wall Street affect their lives. Here are some of their thoughts:

Stephanie Carter: "I feel that the corporations need to be accountable for what they've done. As a small business owner, they're not going to bail me out if go under or give bad information."

Larry Grimm: "It hasn't really affected me much, but I bet it's going to affect my retirement."

Laramie, Wy –

Casper, Wy – A jury in Casper has convicted a man there of kidnapping and murder in the death of a woman last year.
The same jury will begin deliberations Thursday whether Donald
Rolle, 47, should get the death penalty for his convictions.
Donald Rolle, 47, testified this week that he kicked 40-year-old
Jennifer Randel and slammed her head onto a truck dashboard. But
Rolle said he acted only after she came at him with a knife after
they went out on a date.
The jury deliberated for about six hours before finding Rolle
guilty on Wednesday evening.

By AP

Billings, MT – Cattle ranchers near Yellowstone National Park would have to test their entire herds for brucellosis and vaccinate them against the disease, under a plan offered by Montana livestock officials.

The plan, still in draft form, is required for Montana to regain its federal brucellosis-free status. The state lost that status in September following infections on two ranches within the past two years.

By Addie Goss

Laramie, WY – Bark beetles may speed up the effects of climate change. The National Center for Atmospheric Research has launched a study of forests from Wyoming to New Mexico that have been ravaged by bark beetles.

Alex Guenther is the lead investigator. He says trees cool the atmosphere. They also release particles that form the starting point for raindrops. "So without these trees in the forests," he says, "then we expect warmer, drier weather in these forests."

By Elsa Partan

Kemmerer, WY – The Wyoming Outdoor Council says the federal government's proposed land-use plan for Kemmerer does not protect crucial migration routes for wildlife.

By AP

By Elsa Partan

Laramie, WY – Trauner says it was clear to him that the person who identified herself as Sierra on the phone during the news conference had an agenda. He says it was a dirty tactic: "One of the reasons that we're in the dire straights that we're in today is because people are playing Washington politics and doing and saying anything to win and hoping nobody pays attention."