Laramie, Wy – The owner of a McDonald's in Gillette is trying something new to deal with a worker shortage.
The owner uses a call center in Santa Maria, California, to take orders at his drive-through in Gillette. The center takes the place of a task that used to require six employees a day.
The Gillette McDonald's is one of several dozen that are now using call centers.
The owner says some of his employees had difficulty adjusting to the concept, but they soon found that it made their jobs much easier.

Laramie, Wy – Severe thunderstorms yesterday produced hail that broke windows in Glenrock and rain that flooded streets in Cheyenne.
The National Weather Service reported a tornado northwest of
Glenrock that was headed straight for the town between Casper and
Douglas.
The tornado apparently dissipated before hitting the town. But there was plenty of large, wind-driven hail. A dispatcher for the Glenrock Police Department, says the hail broke a window at her home and a mirror on her pickup truck.

Laramie, Wy – A number of people are awaiting a federal decision on what will become of the Prebles Meadow Jumping Mouse. The ruling on whether it is an endangered species should come out in August. The state of Wyoming argues that the Prebles Mouse is not a distinct species and a group of scientists has backed that up. Yet another group of scientists has written the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service and says the mouse needs protection. If that happens Wyoming officials say it could harm economic growth because the mouse has been found in a lot of areas where development occurs.

Laramie, Wy – The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning for portions of southeast Wyoming for this afternoon and evening (Tuesday).
The Weather Service says scattered thunderstorms will develop this afternoon across the area. The slow-moving storms will have the potential to produce rainfall of two to three inches per hour.
The agency says that areas that received heavy rain over the past couple of days, including the City of Cheyenne and portions of the Laramie Range and southern Nebraska are prone to excessive runoff from the storms.

Laramie, Wy – As of tomorrow the state sales tax on groceries is gone. This year the legislature passed a bill removing the tax for two years. Proponents say it could save families a few hundred dollars each year. And the lawmaker that has pushed the hardest for this change recently is Democrat Ann Robinson. At a news conference she said this was the work of many legislators over many years, but it finally happened.

Laramie, Wy – Cheyenne Frontier Days is featured in the latest issue of the Triple-A travel magazine.
The magazine contains a three-page spread and calls Cheyenne the "best rodeo town" in the country.
Personnel with the magazine visited last year's Frontier Days to interview both travelers and participants.
Tourism officials say such articles often have a lasting impact on tourism all year.

Laramie, Wy – More than 100 commercial drivers received tickets this week in Yellowstone National Park. They came during a surprise inspection along the park's western edge.
One-hundred-seventy-six commercial buses and big-rig trucks were stopped Monday and Tuesday along U-S Highway 191, and only 16 passed without any safety violations.

Laramie, Wy – Babies born in Wyoming after July 1 will
undergo screening for more medical conditions. That's under a program administered by the Wyoming Department of Health.
Previously there has been testing for seven conditions, but will expand that to cover 28 conditions.

Laramie, Wy – On Saturday smoking and the use all of tobacco products will be prohibited in Wyoming's prisons. The women's prison has been smoke free for some time, but all of the other facilities will have to adapt to the change.
The Department of Correction's Tobacco Cessation Coordinator, Elizabeth Robison, says there may be some small problems as people adapt, but this new rule will have many benefits including saving the state money in the long term and short term.

Laramie, Wy – As the Fourth of July approaches more and more of Wyoming is under a fireworks ban. Already much of the southeastern part of the state has made it against the law to set off fireworks.
But, the people that sell fireworks think this is unfair. Fire King Fireworks is located near Cheyenne and its manager, Brian Mills, says they oppose the law because it targets their industry not because of their actions but rather their customers'.
Mills says the ban isn't affecting their business because they get so many out of state customers.