It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, December 11th. I’m Mac Watson.
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Cryptocurrency billionaire Charles Hoskinson says the construction company formed to build a health clinic in Gillette did not lay off all of its employees. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that the layoffs, highlighted by Gov. Mark Gordon’s office on Friday, shouldn’t be a surprise due to the construction season.
“The governor wanted to highlight that his office is ready to serve the people who are laid off, help them get new jobs. There were just some things in the release that maybe Charles Hoskinson felt didn't paint things in the best light. He felt that saying it was the biggest layoff or the most significant, one of the most significant layoffs in Wyoming history is a big stretch…They built the project, and now it's time for them to move on to the next construction project. And so his his comment to me was, ‘Is he going to put out a release like that when the nuclear plant and camera is finished?’”
Hoskinson has just returned from Abu Dhabi, where he said he was unveiling his new block-chain project, named Midnight.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Wyoming Highway Patrol has confirmed at least 21 blowovers on Wyoming's highways during Tuesday's winter windstorm. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that wind speeds clocked as high as 105 mph.
“The Wyoming highway patrol was still collecting reports as of Tuesday, as of Wednesday afternoon, but according to the reports they had, there were 21 confirmed blowovers: semi trucks, RVs and campers, and there nine of those incidents had minor injuries, no reports of major injuries. Now this is to be expected during a Wyoming winter windstorm, let alone the first Wyoming winter windstorm of the season. But the thing is, when those road closures are enacted for high profile vehicles because of high gusting winds.”
Most of Wyoming's busiest highways were closed to high-profile vehicles under 40,000 pounds for most of Tuesday and Wednesday. WHP troopers don't proactively enforce these closures, leaving the decision to drive at the operator’s discretion.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming Public Television CEO Joanna Kail asked state lawmakers on Wednesday to fill a $3 million funding gap from federal cuts that Congress made earlier this year. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that one legislator is asking why the outlet's product is worth the backing of government.
“Ken Pendergraft, was basically like, if you're doing well, won't the private sector support you? And he asked, ‘What makes your product so special that the government has to back it?’ Joanna kale, throughout the course of that presentation, maybe not just instant to that question, but throughout the course of her presentation, emphasized that, yes, they offer programming, documentaries, but they also do public services like emergency broadcast and they actually they stream the legislative meeting so that the public can watch them, so they're very much a mix of what we think of as entertainment, information and public service.”
When the federal government cut funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting this summer, one of the Wyoming-run outlets lost a third of its funding.
Read the full story HERE.
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As Wyoming communities recoil from nuclear waste, the Idaho National Lab continues to embrace waste as an untapped resource. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that Energy Sec. Chris Wright, who visited the lab earlier this week, described the happenings there as a "nuclear renaissance."
“There are 200 different types of spent fuel at Idaho National Lab right now. Well, if you contrast that with Wyoming, where even just the topic of waste coming up in the discussions around Radiant in this resolution that was recently passed by the Campbell County Commission, there's a real aversion to anything with that word waste. That has always been the case with the story of nuclear power in Idaho…so there is maybe more of an acceptance.”
According to the Department of Energy, there are more than 200 types of spent nuclear fuel stored at Idaho National Lab.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily, after this….
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The former Bar Nunn fire chief on Wednesday received a suspended three-to-five years in prison and three years of supervised probation for stealing from the 2024 MDA Fill the Boot fund drive last year. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that 57-year-old Robert Hoover was repentant in court.
“There were members of the Bar Nunn fire department in the courtroom, and one of the things that came out was both the defense attorney and the prosecutor and maybe the judge as well. They all said that once restitution comes as he had promised, the former fire chief promised to provide restitution. His attorney said he had the check and was ready to hand it over to the court. So as soon as the restitution was provided, it was going to be going to MDA to make up for the funds that were stolen back in 2024…He apologized to the court. The judge went along with a plea agreement. So that plea agreement says that he got three to five years in prison that was suspended, and now he's on three years of supervised probation that requires him to obey every law.”
Hoover was ordered to pay a $500 fine on a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct and $10,812.03 in restitution.
Read the full story HERE.
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A Big Piney man pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing another man with a bow and arrow in February. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports Rowan Littauer’s prison sentence is up to the judge.
“What they do is they order what's called a PSI, a pre-sentence investigation report, which one judge loves to describe as a book report on your life. It goes in your childhood, your criminal history, you're thinking about this crime, all of that, and the judge likes to review that before she sentences you, because then she feels at least like she knows who you are. And so they'll review that, and they'll also just consider the case. And then when they get to sentencing and they have all that ammunition in the chamber, then that's usually when they decide whether they're going to accept the plea agreement.”
Rowan Littauer could face between 75 years and life in prison if District Court Judge Kate McKay accepts his plea agreement.
Read the full story HERE.
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Two horses that went missing north of Moran in late October still haven't been found despite aerial searches. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that an outfitter is also missing horses in the same area, and the parties have joined forces in their search efforts.
“I also spoke to a horse expert with Back Country Horsemen, and she told me that it's possible that what can happen is this fascinating adaptation by horses that will glom on to a elk herd, or bison even, and follow them and forage along with them. It's happened, apparently.”
Ron Ostrom, one of the horse owners, tells Cowboy State Daily that his horses left camp during a late-season outing in the mountains. The outfitter has two or three horses missing on the Cody side, which could bring the total number of lost animals in the general area to as many as five.
Read the full story HERE.
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Tuesday's windstorm knocked over a massive tree behind the Broadway Theater in downtown Rock Springs. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that even though the tree went through the roof, the Christmas shows will go on.
“The damage to the building has been assessed, and it's been deemed to be minor… it brought the house down in the sense that it went through the roof, but there was little to no structural damage that couldn't be easily repaired. So there are several performances in the Broadway Theater over the next few weeks, and none of those performances are going to be canceled or inhibited in any way. So the way I put it, a theater critic would say that it was an ambitious effort, but overall it was an overblown and wooden performance by the tree. It tried to bring the house down, but it failed to achieve that goal.”
Chad Banks, manager of the Rock Springs Urban Renewal Agency, tells Cowboy State Daily that the tree couldn't have fallen in a better spot. Fortunately, that was on the sidewalk and alley adjacent to the Broadway Theater, missing most of the building.
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 watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.
