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Pat Maio

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

Inside Wyoming’s Uranium Revival At Lost Creek, Largest Producer In The US

Wyoming dominates the uranium sector mining about 95% of all production last year. Ur-Energy’s Lost Creek operation in Wyoming’s vast Red Desert is the leading the uranium boom and is largest producer in the U.S. Cowboy State Daily visited the operation last week.

Pat MaioApril 27, 2024

Emma McCarroll sells Girl Scout Cookies around Pinedale, Wyoming. Town officials report they've been receiving nasty and threatening responses to a story about McCarroll's mom being cited and fined more than $400 for selling cookies where they shouldn't have been.

Pinedale Officials Get Threats Over $400 Fines For Girl Scout Cookie Sales

Officials in Pinedale say they’ve been getting threats after a story went viral of a town code enforcement officer who issued tickets of more than $400 to the mother of a 13-year-old Girl Scout who was selling cookies in an unauthorized location.

Pat MaioApril 27, 2024

Wyoming produces much of America's thermal coal, and also is home to several coal-fired power plants.

Wyoming Threatens To Sue Over New EPA Rule Designed To Kill Coal

Gov. Mark Gordon is threatening to sue to stop EPA rules announced Thursday designed to regulate coal-fired power plants out of existence and undermine Wyoming’s economy.

Pat MaioApril 25, 2024

A large coal shovel fills a haul truck at the Black Thunder Mine in Wyoming's Powder River Basin.

After Poor First Quarter, Arch Warns Layoffs Possible At Wyoming Coal Mines

Arch Resources Inc. reported Thursday that operations of the country’s biggest coal producing region bled red ink in the first quarter, and that layoffs are possible at its Wyoming coal mines.

Pat MaioApril 25, 2024

An industrial lift system for giant machines built by L&H Industrial in Gillette, Wyoming.

Gillette-Based Machinery Company To Build, Lease Tiny Nuclear Reactors In Wyoming

Gillette-based L&H Industrial, a 60-year-old industrial machinery company in the coal-rich Powder River Basin, has partnered with nuclear technology innovator BWX Technologies as part of a blockbuster deal to launch a multibillion-dollar industry in the micro nuclear reactor field.

Pat MaioApril 24, 2024

Emma McCarroll, a 13-year-old Girl Scout, shows off some of the remaining Girl Scout Cookies that she has left to sell. She’s hawked nearly 1,200 boxes so far, good enough to pay her way to summer camp in Montana.

Wyoming Girl Scout, 13, Fined $400 For Selling Cookies

A 13-year-old Girl Scout from Pinedale was surprised when a local by-the-book municipal code officer slapped her with more than $400 in fines for selling Girl Scout Cookies.

Pat MaioApril 23, 2024

The story of a local man running a wolf down with a snowmobile, then taping its mouth shut and displaying it in a local bar before killing it has stirred global outrage and has put the small rural Wyoming town of Daniel in the crosshairs of a storm of anger and indignation.

Can Town Of Daniel Ever Regain Old Image Of Fishing And Hunters' Paradise?

Before the wolf abuse headline flashed across the world this winter, Daniel, Wyoming, was a sleepy place to get a hot dog and beer in the local bar. Now it is dealing with international outrage.

Pat MaioApril 22, 2024

Cokeville Solar Project Stalled By Mystery Ownership, Potential Litigation

A solar farm project south of Cokeville in southwestern Wyoming has stalled in Lincoln County with construction plans halted amid murky ownership and cloud of litigation. Ownership of the $175 million solar farm project has been a game of musical chairs.

Pat MaioApril 21, 2024

Wyoming To Fill 100-Year-Old Coal Mine Under I-80 Before It Caves In

In a few weeks, expect potential traffic delays in Rock Springs along the four-lane Interstate 80 when Wyoming begins pumping cement into a more than 100-year-old coal mine under the highway before it caves in.

Pat MaioApril 19, 2024

On the floor of a natural gas drilling rig, roughnecks move 100-foot section of drilling pipe into place eight miles north of Evanston, Wyoming, in this file photo.

Wyoming Oil And Gas Producers Blast Report They Should Pay $900M For Bonding

Wyoming oil and gas producers are blasting a new report that says Bighorn Basin operators should up to $900 million for bonding as an attempt to regulate them out of business.

Pat MaioApril 19, 2024

Industry: Wyoming’s Orphan Wells Not The Problem The Feds Say They Are

Data on plugging oil and gas wells turned over by the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission shows orphan oil and gas wells in the Cowboy State aren’t the problem federal agencies say they are.

Pat MaioApril 17, 2024

Rocky Mountain Power Wants Another 12.3% Wyoming Rate Increase

Rocky Mountain Power announced Tuesday that it wants to raise monthly power bills for 144,511 Wyoming customers by 12.3%, or about $139.4 million for residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Pat MaioApril 16, 2024

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A pronghorn with a trio of drilling rigs in the background.

New BLM Drilling Rule Could Put Wyoming Oil And Gas On Life Support

The Cowboy State's oil and gas industry says a new BLM drilling rule could leave large and small operators on life support, and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming says it may sue over it.

Pat MaioApril 16, 2024

Uranium Resurgence Is Putting Wyoming On The International Map

Wyoming is experiencing a resurgence in the uranium industry for a number of reasons including: tightening global supplies, the U.S. is embracing tiny nuclear reactors as a form of clean energy, and fears are growing over dependence on Russia.

Pat MaioApril 15, 2024

A coal mine near Kemmerer will provide the raw material for an effort to make a line of skincare products from Wyoming coal.

Utah Company To Invest Millions In Making Cosmetics From Wyoming Coal

A group of investors with hundreds of millions of investment dollars have bought 136 acres of land near the Naughton coal-fired power plant in Kemmerer and are digging up the landscape to make way for a new line of skincare cosmetics made from coal.

Pat MaioApril 13, 2024

Small Oil And Gas Companies May Sue To Overturn BLM Drilling Limits

Independent oil and gas firms say they may sue to overturn new BLM rules issued Friday for drilling on public lands that make the process for bidding on leases more expensive.

Pat MaioApril 12, 2024

Wyoming, Idaho Chase Billions In Funding To Make Region A Nuclear Hub

Wyoming and Idaho officials have been quietly meeting for months as part of a working group to target billions of dollars in federal funding for advanced nuclear projects to make the region a U.S. nuclear hub.

Pat MaioApril 12, 2024

Wyoming's extraction industries are crying foul over a new BLM rule that would give solar and wind developers an 80% cut to rents and fees.

Wind, Solar Projects Get Huge Federal Assistance From Biden Administration

The Biden administration on Thursday announced a new rule which would give solar and wind developers an 80% cut on rents and fees on public lands. Wyoming mining and petroleum groups say it creates an uneven playing field.

Pat MaioApril 11, 2024

Peabody Energy Corp.'s North Antelope Rochelle mine in Wyoming's Powder River Basin is the world's largest and most productive coal mine.

Peabody Sees Lowest First-Quarter Wyoming Coal Production In Over A Decade

St. Louis-based Peabody Energy Corp. reported Thursday that it won’t hit financial guidance targets for its first quarter, partially in response to dismal coal production out of Wyoming’s coal-rich Powder River Basin.

Pat MaioApril 11, 2024

A 2.71-mile stretch of US Highway 30 near the Kemmerer port of entry will be realigned to the north so that a coal mine operator can access more than 9 million tons of coal reserves. The road will be moved to the left of the truck that is heading toward the port of entry.

$30 Million Project Underway To Move 3 Miles Of U.S. Highway 30 To Access Coal

Work is underway on a $30 million project to move U.S. Highway 30 in Lincoln County to access more than 9 million tons of coal. The work will require more than 50,000 dump trucks moving 1.2 million cubic yards of dirt.

Pat MaioApril 09, 2024

The sewage wastewater treatment plant for Kemmerer is 42 years old, and is likely to need to be replaced as part of a $40 million $50 million improvement to the region’s sewage needs.

Kemmerer’s 42-Year-Old Sewage Plant Not Up To Demands Of New Energy Projects

With 12,000 workers expected to come to the Kemmerer area to work on new energy projects, there is real concern that the 42-year-old sewage plant doesn’t have the capacity to handle the population influx.

Pat MaioApril 08, 2024