It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, August 20th. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Converse County Tourism Promotion Board! Discover Douglas and Glenrock in beautiful Wyoming, where rich history, outdoor adventure, and welcoming communities await. Feel the Energy of Converse County at www.ConverseCountyTourism.com.
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The Wyoming Highway Patrol voiced its official support Tuesday in Casper for a state-level law decommissioning non-English proficient commercial truck drivers.
As a result, the legislative Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee asked its staffers to draft a bill that would expand Wyoming Highway Patrol inspectors’ current enforcement of federal English proficiency regulations to all law enforcement agents in the state. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland has been following this story.
“In the past, I've asked Wyoming Highway Patrol about this issue, and … I've gotten hard data and figures and things about enforcement of the non English speaking truckers… but Tuesday, the agency took a stand and came out big and said, We want to enforce on this issue, and we want to see state legislation that would help us, because it would expand enforcement capabilities beyond just our inspectors, out to our troopers, out to county sheriffs, out to city police to where any trekkers that are taking county roads to try to avoid a port of entry could then be decommissioned if they cannot read the signs, converse with the general public, fill out log books in English.”
Committee Co-Chair, Representative Landon Brown, said he wants to solicit as much input as possible before the committee’s third and final interim meeting in Cheyenne Oct. 20.
Read the full story HERE.
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Black Hills Energy announced a blockbuster $15.4 billion merger Tuesday with another regional energy provider that the companies say will help them compete with larger utilities.
Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the all-stock merger with Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy will serve about 2.1 million customers across eight states to form a single company that hasn’t been named yet.
“It's a true merger. They're both good companies. Have low debt. It's not one strong company buying out another, or anything like that. And they both serve rural areas, so they're similar in that regard… I asked them the number one question… What are our rates going to look like? And the CEO from Black Hills said, Yeah, nothing is happening. The rates are staying the same… however, with the merger, it is likely... any future rate increases could be less and farther apart.”
Along with Wyoming, the new company will provide electricity and natural gas across parts of Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska and South Dakota.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Wyoming Department of Health has reached out to hundreds of people they believe may have been exposed to rabies during their stay at a Grand Teton National Park lodge over the last four months when a bat colony infected with the disease was discovered in the attic.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that they still need to reach hundreds more, and the sooner the better.
“It's a virus, but it's not spread virally. You can't get it from breathing the air or from surface contact… It's transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal, usually via a bite or a scratch. So there are potentially 500 people who stayed at the Jackson Lake Lodge who shared space with a colony of brown bats. Now there's been no confirmation that any of those bats had rabies, but the Wyoming Department of Health and other agencies are responding as if there was a possible infected individual, just so they can play it safe, because rabies is fatal.”
Bats and skunks are known to carry the rabies virus in Wyoming, but bats are the most common carriers. That’s why nobody’s taking chances with the potential exposure at Jackson Lake Lodge.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming became the first state in the nation Tuesday to launch its own digital currency, a stable token that is backed by the U.S. dollar and short-term U.S. Treasury bills.
The Wyoming Stable Token Commission reported that the blockchain-based stable token offers the means to make “secure, transparent and efficient digital transactions” worldwide. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck says the move puts Wyoming at the forefront of the entire stable token industry.
“It means that people across the world soon will be able to purchase this, make transactions, and it puts the state at the forefront in the nation of this blockchain technology and using it. And according to what people are saying, it's going to help with the country's deficit, because people are going to be buying our state token, which is backed by US Treasury bonds. So that means it's going to make U.S. treasury bonds more attractive, in some ways, to investors.”
Buyers will get access to the Frontier Stable Token through Wyoming-based digital asset exchange Kraken in the coming days.
Read the full story HERE.
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A week after lightning touched off what has grown into the Red Canyon Fire, the largest wildfire in Wyoming this fire season has consumed about 114,000 acres.
Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the Rocky Mountain Area Complex Management Team 2 in charge of fighting the fire has thrown tremendous resources at the blaze.
“There's almost 500 people on there. Now there's a lot of area aerial resources. It is still growing, but not nearly at the rate it was. It's close to 114,000 acres as of the last report, which is still a very large area. But it represents less than 10,000 acres from the previous day's report. So they're getting a handle on it… the costs are adding up. I mean, you can't really help it, but the estimated costs for fighting this fire so far is $5.6 million.”
The fire remains at 28% contained, burning mostly grass and brush about 11 miles east of Thermopolis. The containment is mostly on the western side and northern part of the wildfire.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming lawmakers lamented a predicament on Tuesday: political dread of raising taxes, and a projected $400 million annual shortfall for the state’s highway department.
So Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the legislative Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee took a cautious approach to a proposed bill to increase Wyoming’s fuel tax from 23 cents per gallon to 33 cents by the summer of 2027.
“There was testimony for and against, you know, with people like, hey, just be careful that little old ladies aren't gonna bite the difference, whether it's actually at the pump, or the cost of groceries with the cost of shipping - and then there were other people like, well, roads and their quality affect every industry… but in this a little political clarity emerged where some of the committee members were saying, I feel like we have to support this, because WYDOT has these ongoing massive shortfalls in funding, and yet bad flyers and campaign insults are going to circulate about me if I do.”
The committee amended the bill so that the two-part, 10-cent tax hike would not go into full effect until the summer of 2028, instead. Then they voted to table the bill and debate it again at the committee’s Oct. 20 meeting in Cheyenne.
Read the full story HERE.
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People riding bicycles on Wyoming state trails might have to start paying permit fees, much like what ATV and dirt bike riders do.
The Legislature’s joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee on Tuesday passed a draft bill calling for annual bicycle permit fees of $10 for residents and $20 for nonresidents on state trails - in addition to any daily park use fees. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that advocates say these fees are sorely needed to keep up with ever-growing demand from mountain bikers – residents and tourists alike.
“If you're going to ride a motorized vehicle, like an ATV or a dirt bike, you have to get those permits, you have to get those stamps that you pay for and put on your vehicle. So it'd be the same thing for bicycles, and it would function the same way - it would raise money to go back into trail maintenance. And what a lot of people are saying is, yes, this is important, because Outdoor recreation is, is growing and growing and growing, and mountain biking is one of the fastest growing segments of that.”
The State Parks and Cultural Resources office says that money raised from bicycle permit fees could also be used to match federal grants, bringing in even more money to build and improve trails.
Read the full story HERE.
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The 44th Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale is off to a strong start. The gallery in Cody opened Friday evening - and although the famous Western art auction isn’t for another month, more than $20,000 of art was sold before the night was over.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi was at the opening at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West on Friday evening, along with dozens of artists, patrons, and curious Cody residents.
“It's a very colorful show. That's the direct words of the director of the show, Kaitlin Parker. She said, there's a lot of… landscapes at different times of the day when the sun is dancing on the horizon. There's lots of neon pieces, and there's pieces like they've never had before. One of the most striking ones is a saddle, life size saddle made entirely out of hand-formed acrylic, so it's a transparent saddle that's sitting in the middle of the gallery. And of course, this is a million dollar show. The pieces are appraised at a value of over $1.25 million and they could reach that much, if not more at auction.”
The work of 104 artists will be displayed at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West until the live auction on Sept. 19.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
