Cheyenne, Wy – A booking company for Cheyenne Frontier
Days is suing an animal rights group in the wake of a decision by
the Matchbox Twenty pop rock band to pull out of a scheduled
performance this summer.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Cheyenne by Omaha,
Neb.-based Romeo Entertainment Group.
It seeks a court order to stop the group called SHARK, which
stands for Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, from contacting
any entertainers that have agreed or may agree in the future to
perform at Frontier Days.

By AP

Washington, DC – Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso has raised more
than a million dollars for his expected election bid this year.

Gov. Freudenthal appointed Barrasso last year to replace Sen. Craig Thomas who died of leukemia in June. Barrasso, a Republican, is expected to announce his run later this month.

He raised $436,000 in the first three months of this year, and now has more than a million dollars in the bank.

By Peter O'Dowd

Laramie, WY – Officials with the Shoshone National Forest say they will go forward with long-term planning after coming into compliance with federal law.

The agency had been working to update a forest plan that dated back to1986. But last April, a judge in California ruled those efforts violated several laws, including the Endangered Species Act. The plan's editor Susie Douglas says the Forest Service has addressed those issues and is ready to resume talks on modern problems affecting the forest.

Washington D-C – 20 years ago former Wyoming Senator Malcom Wallop spoke on the Senate floor and complained about the complicated U-S Tax Code. On the anniversary of that discussion Senator John Barrasso who now holds Wallop's old seat did the same thing. Barrasso says in the 20 years since Wallop's speech the tax code has only gotten more difficult. Barrasso says reforming the tax code will be difficult but he says it must happen. He says the other problem is that Government is too big and spends too much.

Cheyenne, Wy – A former Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper
who was fired for calling in a bogus drunken-driving report says he
has agreed to settle his wrongful termination lawsuit.
The patrol fired Trooper Ben Peech about a year ago.
Peech was fired after nearly ten years with the patrol over his
handling of a federal Drug Enforcement Administration effort -- a
bust that netted more than $3 million in cash during an early
morning traffic stop on Interstate 80.
Peech called in a phony DUI report to the state's drunken

Lander, Wy – If you think you have seen more snow this year then in the past, there could be a reason. A company says it dropped about 23 pounds of silver iodide during
airplane flights over the Wind River Range from November to March, in an attempt to boost snowfall. It's part of a five year weather modification study that is co-sponsored by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The state has provided $9 million for the program, which will be entering its fourth year.
Researchers also have been experimenting in

Jackson, Wy –

By Elsa Partan

Laramie, WY – Washington lawmakers are trying to kill a Bush Administration rule on health insurance because they say it would hurt low-income children.

Wyoming advocates agree. Starting this August the rule would restrict the low-income insurance program S-CHIP to families that make less than 200 percent of the poverty level. For a family of four, that's about 42-thousand dollars. Plus, states would have to enroll 95 percent of eligible kids before opening up the program to higher income brackets.

By AP

Gillette, WY – SkyWest Airlines has announced it will
begin direct air service between Gillette and Salt Lake City this summer.

The Utah-based carrier said it will begin regional service to Gillette for Delta Airlines on July 7.

SkyWest and Delta came to Gillette to capture part of the busy business travel associated with northeast Wyoming's booming economy.

SkyWest serves 155 cities in 43 states and four Canadian provinces.

By AP

Cheyenne, WY – The mountain snowpack in Wyoming is above
average for this time of year.

And experts say the abundance of high-country moisture this spring could recharge reservoirs drained low by drought.

The snow-water equivalent in the Upper North Platte drainage increased to more than 115 percent of average, and the Little Snake River drainage in Carbon and Sweetwater counties to nearly 130 percent of average.

The Upper Green River Basin is the only below-average region in the state with a snowpack of 92 percent.