Features Reporter

David Madison

David Madison is an award-winning journalist and documentary producer based in Bozeman, Montana. He’s also reported for Wyoming PBS. He studied journalism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and has worked at news outlets throughout Wyoming, Utah, Idaho and Montana.

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Latest from David Madison

A shovel loads a coal haul truck at Navajo Transitional Energy Co.'s Spring Creek Mine.

Once Called A 'House of Cards,' Navajo Energy Mounts Wyoming Coal Comeback

Federal approvals signal a turnaround for the Navajo Transitional Energy Co., which critics once said was doomed. The company is now poised to dig millions of tons of Wyoming and Montana Powder River Basin coal.

David MadisonAugust 31, 2025

Small resort owners are fighting to keep skiing affordable as major mountains push daily tickets to record highs. It’s forcing skiers to buy single-day tickets that cost as much as some used to pay for a full season pass. At Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, single-day lift tickets for the 2025-2026 season range from $110 to $255 a day depending on the day of the week and the month. That's with discounts up to 45% offered through promotions for the resort's 60th anniversary, according to its website.

Winter Of $300 Lift Tickets Looms As Rising Costs Price Out Wyoming Skiers

Small resort owners in Wyoming are fighting to keep skiing affordable as major mountains push daily lift tickets to record highs. Deer Valley Resort in Utah and Colorado resorts Vail and Beaver Creek will charge $329 for peak single-day lift tickets this season.

David MadisonAugust 31, 2025

What began as a house of ill repute lives on as a tourist attraction for ghost hunters and history buffs drawn to Butte, Montana, where the men spent their wages in the red light district and the working women got busy building a community. The Dumas Brothel welcomed gentlemen in need of certain services for 92 straight years. Tours are available through October by visiting dumasbrothel.com.

Longest Continuously Operating Brothel In U.S. Was In Montana (And It's Haunted)

The longest continuously operating brothel in the U.S. is in Butte, Montana, and was shut down in 1982. Now it's a tourist attraction that can even be rented-out overnight for the adventurous.

David MadisonAugust 31, 2025

Wyoming state Sen. Troy McKeown, left, and Gillette Mayor Shay Lundvall

State Senator Accuses Gillette City Council Of Making Closed-Door Nuclear Deals

State Sen. Troy McKeown is accusing Gillette city leaders of hiding nuclear deals behind closed doors. "Non-disclosure agreements are appropriate to protect a company's interests, but not at the expense of the public knowing who the city's dealing with," he said.

David MadisonAugust 30, 2025

$1 Billion Pipeline Deal Is Energy Giant's First Play Into Wyoming Energy

Houston-based Harvest Midstream has signed a $1 billion deal to buy MPLX's extensive natural gas network across the Uinta and Green River basins. It’s the first major investment in Wyoming energy for the company and its billionaire owner, Jeff Hildebrand.

David MadisonAugust 29, 2025

Ur-Energy’s in-situ mining field for uranium with water rigs set up in the background.

Wyoming Passes Texas, Closing In On Being Nation’s Top Uranium-Producing State

Wyoming has passed Texas to become the nation’s No. 2 producing state for uranium. It’s poised to challenge Utah for No. 1 as nuclear energy demand booms and prices soar.

David MadisonAugust 27, 2025

American Rare Earths excavates blasted material at its Cowboy State Mine in the Halleck Creek area outside Wheatland.

Wyoming Projects In Bulls-Eye Of America’s Urgent Push For Rare Earths

After decades in obscurity, America's rare earth industry came roaring back this summer, and Wyoming is in the bulls-eye of an urgent push for U.S. production. One company's experience offers a case study of getting a new mine up and running.

David MadisonAugust 27, 2025

Mike Stephens holds up a photo of the view from his land that will be permiated with wind turbines if a proposed wind project is completed. He sued the state over leasing public land to the company.

Rancher Challenges Wyoming Wind Project Over Wildlife, Lease Rules

A Converse County rancher claims that a plan for a wind farm harms sage grouse and big game habitat in a lawsuit contesting Wyoming’s approval. He also questions the economic benefits promised and says it will destroy the views from his multigenerational property.

David MadisonAugust 26, 2025

A prolonged power outage shut down the street lights and many businesses in Rawlins and other Carbon County communities.

Much Of Carbon County Without Power For 16 Hours After Substation Hit By Lightning

The power is finally back on across much of southern Carbon County after lightning hit a power substation and left about 5,600 homes and businesses without electricity for more than 16 hours Sunday and Monday.

David MadisonAugust 25, 2025

Fed up with loud crotch rockets and cars racing around Cheyenne, the City Council is ready to crack down on vehicles that blatantly violate the city’s noise regulations. It’s considering sound camera technology to catch offenders.

Fed Up With Loud Crotch Rockets And Cars, Cheyenne City Council To Crack Down

Fed up with loud crotch rockets and cars racing around Cheyenne, members of the City Council are trying to crack down on vehicles that blatantly violate the city’s noise regulations. They're proposing to use sound camera technology to catch offenders.

David MadisonAugust 17, 2025

Why Do People Still Care About The Farmer's Almanac?

The Farmer’s Almanac and the Old Farmer’s Almanac just came out with their annual mid-August forecasts for the coming winter. But why, with satellite technology and computer-based forecasting models, do people still care about these booklets?

David MadisonAugust 16, 2025

Dyno Nobel is known for making explosives for Wyoming’s mining industry, and now it may be shipping right to your door. The company announced Friday it’s building a new plant in Cheyenne and a partnership to turn its waste CO2 into food cooling packs.

Cheyenne’s Dyno Nobel Wants To Turn Explosives Waste Into Food Cooling Packs

Dyno Nobel is known for making explosives for Wyoming’s mining industry, and it may soon be shipping right to your door. The company announced Friday it’s building a new plant in Cheyenne and a partnership to turn its waste CO2 into food cooling packs.

David MadisonAugust 15, 2025

Other Authors

After 56 Years, Taco John’s Says Adios To Its Cheyenne Corporate Headquarters

Taco John’s was born in Cheyenne and, for 56 years, was Wyoming-based with its headquarters here. Now the chain has said adios to Cheyenne, completing a move of its home base to Minnesota. It’s an emotional break for many, former execs say.

David MadisonAugust 14, 2025

Wyoming Weighs Bill To Give Abandoned Mineral Rights Back To Landowners

Lawmakers are proposing to let landowners reclaim long-abandoned mineral estates, resolving tangled ownership dating to the homesteading era and protecting the rights of property owners.

David MadisonAugust 14, 2025

Raised solar panels allow sheep to graze under them, allowing dual-use of the land while also providing shade and shelter for the sheep.

One Of Wyoming's First Combo Agriculture-Solar Farm Can’t Find A Buyer For Its Power

A $155 million project in Goshen County that would be one of Wyoming’s first agriculture-friendly solar farm says it can’t find a buyer for its power. That has cost the project an investor, but developers say it’s not dead.

David MadisonAugust 14, 2025

A dragline moves coal at the Black Butte mine in Sweetwater County.

Expansion Speeds Up As Federal Regulators Accelerate Black Butte Mine Expansion

The Department of the Interior announced Tuesday it is accelerating a federal review of Black Butte Mine expansion in Sweetwater County, setting a 28-day timeline for completing an environmental impact statement that typically takes years to finish.

David MadisonAugust 13, 2025

The antelope coal mine in Wyoming's Powder River Basin, operatied by Navajo Transitional Energy Company.

Delegation, Gordon Cheer Trump Administration OK Of Wyoming Coal Mine Extension

The Trump administration has approved 14.5 million more tons of coal for the Antelope Mine in the Power River Basin. The Wyoming delegation and Gov. Gordon are applauding the decision, which extends the mine’s operations through 2037 and protects 359 full-time jobs.

David MadisonAugust 11, 2025

The EPA is considering clawing back $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar power, including $30 million for Wyoming. Some supporters say it’s wasteful spending, while opponents argue residential solar fits Trump’s goal to unleash energy.

EPA Planning To Rescind $7 Billion In Federal Solar Grants, Including $30M For Wyoming

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is drafting termination letters that would claw back $7 billion in Solar for All funding nationwide, including about $30 million designated for Wyoming.

David MadisonAugust 10, 2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a 10% bonus tax credit for “nuclear communities” with significant nuclear-related employment. That won’t include Wyoming nuclear hubs like Kemmerer and Gillette because the act says the credit is for urban areas. In Kemmerer, Bill Gates-backed TerraPower is already working on its planned nuclear power plant.

Wyoming’s Emerging Nuclear Hubs Don't Qualify For ‘Nuclear Communities’ Tax Break

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes a tax credit for “nuclear communities” with significant nuclear-related employment. But, this doesn't include Wyoming nuclear hubs like Kemmerer and Gillette because the act says the credit is for urban areas.

David MadisonAugust 10, 2025

Powell, Wyoming, resident John Lea was fast asleep after working a graveyard shift when his trailer home caught fire. He may have burned up in the inferno if not for his chocolate Lab Belle, who woke him up just in time to escape the growing flames.

Chocolate Lab Named Belle Saves Wyoming Man From Burning Trailer

John Lea of Powell was fast asleep after working a graveyard shift when his trailer home caught fire last week. He likely would have died in the blaze if not for his chocolate Lab Belle, who woke him up just in time to escape the growing flames.

David MadisonAugust 09, 2025

Uranium Energy Corp.’s Irigaray plant in Powder River Basin. Thanks in part to recent fast-tracking by the Trump administration, UEC is poised to significantly expand its operations in Wyoming.

Uranium Operation Is Wyoming’s First Fast-Tracked By Trump’s New Energy Rules

Uranium Energy Corp. is the first Wyoming uranium operation to be fast-tracked by the Trump administrations new permitting rules. The facility, 40 miles northwest of Rawlins, plans to go from semi-dormant to a leading U.S. producer in 12 months.

David MadisonAugust 09, 2025

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