Associated Press

A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit
that Encana Oil and Gas filed against a tribal judge on the Wind
River Indian Reservation.
     Judge Alan B. Johnson of Cheyenne last week dismissed Encana's
lawsuit against John St. Clair, the chief judge of the Shoshone and
Arapaho Tribal Court.
     Encana sued St. Clair in February claiming the tribal court had
no jurisdiction over the company. The lawsuit followed St. Clair's
ruling that Encana must answer a wrongful death lawsuit filed by

The state Education Department has granted
20 school districts waivers from meeting a state law requiring a
16-to-1 student-teacher ratio in kindergarten through third grades.
     The waivers are good for the 2012-13 school year.
     State schools superintendent Cindy Hill says the 16-to-1 ratio
is challenging for some districts but she's confident all will
eventually reach the mandate that was set by the 2011 Legislature
as part its education reform initiative.
     State law allows districts to seek a waiver from the Education

Federal regulators have granted a rehearing for
further consideration of a Colorado businessman's proposal to build
a pipeline to deliver water from southwestern Wyoming to southeast
Wyoming and Colorado's Front Range.
     Aaron Million of Fort Collins had sought a permit from the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for his project because a
system of turbines and reservoirs that he plans to build along the
pipeline would generate electricity. However a FERC official said
in February that Million's application was premature and lacked

The number of students receiving free and
reduced-price meals at Wyoming public schools increased this year
even though the state's economy has been steadily improving.
     Statistics from the Wyoming Department of Education show that 37
percent of students in Wyoming receive breakfasts and lunches
subsidized by the federal government.
     The 33,052 students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals
represent a 2 percent increase over the 2010-11 school year.
     Nutrition program supervisor Tamra Jackson of the state

An environmental group says it has reached
an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to remove some corrals it
says could impede pronghorn migration in western Wyoming.
     The group Western Watersheds sued last year over the corrals in
the Bridger-Teton National Forest east of Kelly in Jackson Hole.
     The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports
ranchers use the corral while they graze cattle on public land in
the Gros Ventre River drainage. The group says the corrals weren't
built in accord with federal rules and could impede antelope

The price of natural gas has fallen below $2 per 1,000 cubic feet for the first time in more than a decade.
 The U.S. supply of natural gas is growing so fast that analysts worry the country's underground storage facilities could be full by fall and lead to further price declines.
     On Wednesday, the futures price of natural gas fell to $1.984
per 1,000 cubic feet, its lowest level since January 28, 2002, when
it hit $1.91.
     There is so much natural gas being produced - and still in the

Federal prosecutors say three people
bilked $3.7 million from investors by claiming to develop wind
farms in Wyoming and South Dakota. The projects never were built.
     A federal indictment filed in Cheyenne says phone solicitors
made cold calls to investors nationwide, telling them the wind
farms were being built by a private firm and the U.S. government.
     Utah residents Robert Reed and Lauren Scott and California
resident Christopher Ponish have pleaded not guilty to felony fraud

A group of citizens has filed a lawsuit
challenging Wyoming's newly adopted legislative redistricting plan.
     The lawsuit charges that state lawmakers bent over backward to
make sure incumbent state senators didn't have to run against each
other and accuses the plan of failing to give less-populous
counties fair representation.
     The lawsuit filed Thursday in Laramie County District Court
seeks to block Gov. Matt Mead and the other four statewide elected
officials from implementing the redistricting plan.

 The State of Wyoming has settled a federal
lawsuit filed by an anti-abortion group.
     Under the settlement, the state admitted that state officials
violated the constitutional rights of WyWatch Family Action by
removing a display of materials it posted in a tunnel leading to
the state Capitol last year.
     U.S. District Judge Nancy Freudenthal approved the settlement
and dismissed the lawsuit on Thursday.
     Under the settlement, the state admits that it
unconstitutionally prevented WyWatch from engaging in protected

 Wyoming continues to monitor slumping natural gas prices that officials say threaten to cost the state
millions in lost tax revenues.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports that natural gas prices averaged $2.10 per thousand cubic feet at the
Opal Hub in western Wyoming through the first few weeks of March. That's down from $2.52 in February. This time last year, gas prices averaged nearly $3.80 per thousand cubic feet.

The Wyoming tribe that earlier this month received the nation's first permit allowing members to kill bald eagles for religious purposes has renewed its legal challenge against the federal government over permit language that prohibits killing the birds on the tribe's reservation.

The Northern Arapaho Tribe has filed an amended federal complaint Friday against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

U.S. Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso have joined a bipartisan coalition of senators in expressing concerns over proposed cuts in the U.S. nuclear forces.

The two Wyoming Republicans joined other senators in sending a letter with their concerns to the chairman and ranking member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

The letter states support for the U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile force.

The United States currently has 450 Minuteman III missiles with 150 missiles each at three air bases, including F.E. Warren Air Force Base at Cheyenne.

The state of Wyoming is asking a federal appeals court to reconsider its recent decision that the state
can't sue the federal government over how many snowmobiles are
allowed in Yellowstone National Park.
Wyoming had argued that limiting snowmobiles to 318 a day was
arbitrary and would hurt tourism and tax revenue. A panel of the
10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month rejected the state's
arguments, saying it failed to show the rule would harm the state
economically.
 Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead on Wednesday noted that Yellowstone is

A bear expert says a study has found that people using bear spray during grizzly bear encounters are injured
far less often than people using firearms.
     University of Calgary's Steve Herrero says that 98 percent of those who used bear spray
walked away unharmed, and no people or bears died.
     He says 56 percent of those who used firearms were injured, and
61 percent of the bears died.
     The firearms study involved 269 incidents with 444 hunters. The
bear spray study had 72 incidents with 175 people, though some of

Major League Baseball expanded its playoff format to 10 teams Friday, adding a second wild-card in each league.

The decision establishes a new one-game, wild-card round in each league between the teams with the best records who are not division winners, meaning a third-place team could win the World Series.

This is the only change in baseball's playoff structure since the 1995 season, when wild-card teams were first added.