It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming! I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom, for Thursday, May 30th.
South Dakota authorities charged a former Gillette police sergeant Tuesday with triple homicide.
Jay Ostrem served in Gillette for several years, and later was mayor of Centerville, South Dakota. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Ostrem was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the Monday night shooting deaths of three people in Centerville.
“The allegation is that one of the three victims had rubbed his genitalia on Ostrem’s wife four days prior. And when she told her husband about this, on Monday, he reportedly stormed out of the house and got into this incident…. The former mayor of Gillette told me that Ostrem was a friend and a nice guy. He said that this seems really out of character, that he was usually a clear thinker, and he said that he is inclined to look a lot deeper into this case, and really get an idea what's going on before jumping to conclusions.”
Former Gillette Mayor Frank Latta said people should remember the U.S. Constitution’s premise, that defendants are innocent until proven guilty.
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Ballooning property taxes and how to mitigate them has dominated discussion in the Wyoming Legislature in recent years.
But Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson reports that the problem is not unique to Wyoming, as Wyoming property tax bills are reflecting larger trends in the West and United States.
“Wyoming's property tax rates have been a hot button topic in the state over recent years. But it's not just limited to Wyoming. This has been an issue that's been across the nation seen in pretty much every state, red or blue. And it's an interesting thing to consider that all these states are kind of dealing with the same problem. It's been caused by the some of the a lot of the same problems brought on by the COVID pandemic, and the very low mortgage rates that were seen around that time.”
Wyoming’s property taxes are low on a national scale, particularly when considering the state’s complete lack of income tax. And property tax makes up only 28% of Wyoming’s overall tax base, compared to an average of 72% for most other states.
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Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has been going national this month, pushing Wyoming's desire to be ground zero for America's next nuclear revolution.
Cowboy State Daily’s Pat Maio reports that the governor has made presentations from Virginia to Alaska, pushing the state’s nuclear friendliness.
“Wyoming is a case study on what we've done already to date. And I would say it's fair to say from all the people I've been speaking with over the last several months on this issue, that Wyoming is very well in the lead on this, which is a good thing, because, you know, it's got the possible potential to bring more jobs to the state of Wyoming.”
Wyoming’s feather in the cap for its sales pitch is the Bill Gates-backed TerraPower Natrium reactor demonstration plant coming to Kemmerer.
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The city of Sheridan is considering giving a quarter of a million dollars to a woman whose home was destroyed in a February police standoff and shootout - that is, if she agrees not to pursue any other claims against the city.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the homeowner, Karo Hamilton, tallied an estimate of over $490,000 dollars for a rebuild of about the same size as her former home.
“Her insurance company is supposedly paying around $270,000. There could be more, according to the talk Tuesday night, the vote on this matter. So Hamilton has signed the settlement but the city has not.”
The city did not vote on the agreement, but is scheduled to do so at its June 3 meeting.
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While most people were planning Memorial Day barbecues, Wyoming’s hardcore skiers and snowboarders - like Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson - were still getting some turns in with about a half-foot of fresh high-elevation snow.
“While many people were thinking about doing barbecues and maybe jumping in the water, I was doing quite the opposite, by clinging onto winter's last grasp up in the snowy range above Laramie. They actually had some legitimately wintry conditions for a couple of days…. We got to the top and we started skiing, and it was phenomenal… You know, our skis are slicing through the snow like a knife through frosted cake.”
Leo says that there’s really no offseason for those hardcore skiers and snowboarders who really want to hit the slopes - so long as the conditions are just right.
And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming’s only statewide newspaper by hitting the subscribe button on cowboystatedaily.com. I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
Radio Stations
The following radio stations are airing Cowboy State Daily Radio on weekday mornings, afternoons and evenings. More radio stations will be added soon.
KYDT 103.1 FM – Sundance
KBFS 1450 AM — Sundance
KYCN 1340 AM / 92.7 FM — Wheatland
KZEW 101.7 FM — Wheatland
KANT 104.1 FM — Guernsey
KZQL 105.5 FM — Casper
KMXW 92.5 FM — Casper
KBDY 102.1 FM — Saratoga
KTGA 99.3 FM — Saratoga
KJAX 93.5 FM — Jackson
KZWY 106.3 FM — Sheridan
KROE 930 AM / 103.9 FM — Sheridan
KWYO 1410 AM / 106.9 FM — Sheridan
KYOY 92.3 FM Hillsdale-Cheyenne / 106.9 FM Cheyenne
KRAE 1480 AM — Cheyenne
KDLY 97.5 FM — Lander
KOVE 1330 AM — Lander
KZMQ 100.3/102.3 FM — Cody, Powell, Medicine Wheel, Greybull, Basin, Meeteetse
KKLX 96.1 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep, Greybull
KCGL 104.1 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin, Lovell, Clark, Red Lodge, MT
KTAG 97.9 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin
KCWB 92.1 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin
KVGL 105.7 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Basin, Ten Sleep
KODI 1400 AM / 96.7 FM — Cody, Powell, Lovell, Basin, Clark, Red Lodge
KWOR 1340 AM / 104.7 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep
KREO 93.5 FM — Sweetwater and Sublette Counties
KGOS 1490 AM — Goshen County
KERM 98.3 FM — Goshen County
Check with individual radio stations for airtime of the newscasts.
