Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
Serving the Platte Valley since 1888
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JACKSON — Jay and Karen Kemmerer, known for their long tenure owning Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, have donated $5 million to the University of Wyoming to expand an existing tourism research initiative. Energy has long been Wyoming’s largest industry, which the University of Wyoming has supported with its School of Energy Resources. While the university has had another school dedicated to environmental issues since 1994 — the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources — it has only had a dedicated tourism program since 2021. The tourism...
CHEYENNE — A bill filed for the 2025 general session would create an “enhanced” concealed carry firearm permit that would allow qualified permit- holders to conceal carry on K-12 school campuses, as well as Wyoming university and college campuses, without needing written consent from campus security. Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, the bill’s sponsor, said the idea for this bill was brought to him by a “really strong gun advocate” from the Bighorn Basin. Concealed carry is currently not permitted in Wyoming public school districts, although so...
NEWCASTLE - Wyoming native Collin Townsend has maintained a connection to his roots by collecting Wyoming license plates for more than 10 years, but the hobby has also allowed him to forge new connections with other collectors and even provides links to his own family and heritage. Townsend began collecting plates for his own personal collection and enjoyment, but he has also contributed to the Weston County Courthouse collection and recently helped finish that collection - which is displayed...
DOUGLAS - Long known as a kind kindergarten teacher at Douglas Primary School, a willing volunteer and a board member for nonprofits, Carolyn Holt Green has suffered her share of misfortunes in the 54 years she's lived here. But the Dec. 10 blaze that consumed her Douglas home and most of her belongings is among the worst. And the best. The community has been rallying around the 76-year-old retired kindergarten teacher since the fire, starting with a simple post from a friend that asked for...
CHEYENNE — A ban on cellphone use in the classroom is quickly becoming a popular policy adopted by state legislators across the country — and Wyoming could soon be one of them. At least 18 states have passed laws or adopted policies banning or restricting the use of cellphones in the classroom, according to an Education Week analysis published in June. A bill headed for the 2025 general session, sponsored by Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, would implement a statewide ban on cellphone use and smartwatches in the classroom during ins...
SHERIDAN — President-elect Donald Trump’s Agenda 47 campaign pledged to close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., in an effort to send all education work back to the states. Although eliminating the department would not only require congressional approval but also a supermajority of 60 votes in the Senate, according to a Washington Post article, local school superintendents recently shared their thoughts on the possible future of education. “It would take time. This is not something that immediately would take place, even if Congr...
JACKSON - When Tenley Thompson decided to try being the voice of a famous grizzly bear online, she didn't start with Grizzly 399, the most famous bear in the world. Instead, she started with her daughter, Grizzly 610. Unlike 399, who was relatively tolerant of human presence, 610 is known for having an attitude - a comportment that Thompson thought would play well on Twitter, which was ballooning at the time. "She's charged plenty of people," Thompson said of 610. "My favorite is when they tried...
POWELL — With everything to lose if discovered, an intelligent and well-kept man spoke softly of his past from a dark corner of a Cody coffee shop. He kept his back to the wall, his eyes shifting, aware of every customer coming through the door. As he told his story calmly, the tension of the situations — from work undercover among some of the most dangerous gang members in the country to international drug interdiction — were enough to turn a parent's hair gray. And no matter how much the m...
SHERIDAN — US Bath Store is a member of the National Kitchen and Bath Association. Its website contains pages of five-star reviews and name drops dozens of giant companies like Marriot, Disneyland and the American Red Cross to prove it is “trusted by thousands of customers, big and small.” It even has a physical address at 30 N. Gould St. in Sheridan, Wyoming. That’s why 58-year-old Russell Trahan wasn’t expecting to get scammed. The Orlando, Florida resident ordered a cabinet shelf and step for his hot tub from the online company in April 202...
LANDER - There's a famous photo of Lander taken by local photographer Ted Carlson. In it, a herd of cattle spans the center of Main Street, led by a cowboy on a horse. According to a post by the Pioneer Museum from a few years ago, this image of the Ellis ranch cattle drive was likely captured sometime in the early 1980s. It's captioned "Rush hour in Wyoming," and at one point was hung everywhere in Lander. "I would've promoted Lander as a cowboy town [when I came here] 35 years ago," said...
CHEYENNE - Union Pacific Railroad ended its eight-week Big Boy No. 4014 "Heartland of America" tour a little more than a month ago, and Ed Dickens and the Steam Team are looking full speed ahead to their future tours, while reflecting on what makes the Big Boy and Union Pacific staples among train buffs. The schedule was announced in early August, and the tour kicked off in Cheyenne on Aug. 28, passing through three dozen communities and 10 states. As part of the tour, the Union Pacific...
CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 7.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.95 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming. Prices in Wyoming are 20.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 19.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.59, while the highest was $3.59, a difference of $1 per gallon. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1.4 cents per gallon in the...
GILLETTE (WNE) — Three men were arrested Sunday evening for kidnapping and attempted first-degree murder for allegedly assaulting a 36-year-old man. Deputies responded to the Northeast Wyoming Regional Airport at about 4 a.m. Sunday for a report of a man sleeping in the entryway of the terminal building. He did not have a shirt or shoes on, and he had serious injuries to his face. His jaw was swollen and he was unable to open his left eye, said Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds. He was taken to the emergency room by EMS to be treated. Investigators...
DOUGLAS - When graphic novelist and author Jason Viola visited Douglas elementary schools last week, he found not just a warm welcome but an excited bunch of students eager to learn about his writing and art. Viola came from Boston, Massachusetts where he co founded a non-profit organization, Boston Comic Arts Foundation. Through his foundation, Viola assists others through the power of comics to educate, inspire and bring people together. "I co-founded the Boston Comic Arts Foundation to...
RIVERTON - On Monday afternoon, a semi-truck loaded with hurricane relief supplies rolled out of Riverton High School and began the long journey to North Carolina. Dozens of RHS National Honor Society students stood by for the sendoff, exhausted from a long day of packing boxes and satisfied with the completion of a multiweek effort. "The idea first started during our NHS meetings shortly after the hurricanes," said RHS Student Council and Honor Society member Aquinnah Wiblemo. "Some of our...
CHEYENNE — Senate Vice President Dave Kinskey proposed a rule to fellow Wyoming legislative leaders on Thursday that would have expanded media access for photographers and video crews on the chamber floors. The proposal came after lawmakers voted, and later rescinded, a proposal to bar media access on the chamber floor entirely. Kinskey, R-Sheridan, proposed a rule to the Management Council that would have allowed photojournalists and TV broadcast journalists behind the bar on the chamber floor, unless otherwise directed by the presiding o...
CHEYENNE — As the 2024-25 school year began, teachers across Laramie County School District 1 had a new lesson to add to their first day agenda: How to comply with the district’s new parental rights policy. Specifically, teachers had to explain to students the new rule that requires teachers to report students’ preferred names to their parents. School districts across the state were mandated by the Wyoming Legislature to pass a parental rights policy outlining the situations in which the schools are required to notify parents about chang...
CODY - Cody chiropractor Vince Kalkowski and his son Garrett vividly recall the close encounter they experienced with a grizzly bear on October 3 east of Meeteetse. "All seven of us left camp and headed up the same drainage that day. My friend's daughter got her first bull on that trip and the other guys helped her take care of it," he said "Since I still needed to fill my tag and it was still early, my son and I decided to keep hunting." Kalkowski and his son, after tying up their mules, hiked...
BUFFALO - On Thursday mornings, there's no livelier place to be than Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4969 in Buffalo. The coffee is brewing and pancakes and bacon are on the stove before sunrise. Veterans representing nearly every branch of the U.S. military come for the breakfast, and they stay for the camaraderie. "It's just a tight-knit gathering of folks that have experiences in common," said Jurgen Hakert, who served in the Air Force for 23 years. At the VFW, every member is, as the name...
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Legislature could be back on track to fully funding its K-12 public schools after a committee of state lawmakers voted Friday to adopt a $66.3 million cost adjustment. The state funds its public schools through the K-12 education resource block grant. Every year, the Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee must make an external cost adjustment (ECA) recommendation from this block grant to the governor and legislative body by Nov. 1. There are two different funding models that calculate the cost of education fun...
SHERIDAN — When it comes to housing, Sheridan is already doing some things right. The city and county have adopted a joint planning agreement that governs land use in a 60 square mile area surrounding the town, Stephen Whitlow, a consultant with Abt Global — a firm working with the Wyoming Community Development Authority on a Statewide Strategic Housing Action Plan — said at a forum in Cheyenne on Oct. 21. The joint planning agreement between Sheridan County and the city is focused on preserving agricultural and rural areas, while also devel...
CHEYENNE — More than a dozen Wyoming schools had received threats of either an active shooter or a bomb on campus as of Monday afternoon, according to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. Part of a national trend, Wyoming is not unique at this moment, and these threats appear to be “spilling over” from other states, DCI’s Ryan Cox told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Based on current information, it appears that threats have been made in other states in the past month. Schools and local police departments are responding to threats...
JACKSON - Rain and snow fell Saturday evening on Town Square as a group of soaked, candle-holding mourners listened to wildlife guide Bo Welden talk about one of his life's most meaningful, one-way relationships. "Seeing 399 is like falling in love for the first time," he said. "Every time you got to see her, it was kind of like you forgot to breathe. You will just bail on your friends and your family to go spend time with that first love. And I argue people do that with 399 all the time."...
GILLETTE - Dogs from Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa and more were at the Cam-plex Wyoming Center last weekend for the first American Kennel Club scent work trial held in Wyoming. Hosted by the Icelandic Sheepdog Association of America, three judges - from South Dakota, Arizona and Idaho - were on hand to judge the dogs on how well and how quickly they could sniff out cotton swabs scented with essential oils hidden throughout different rooms. "It's like police dogs, only there's no drugs or...
GILLETTE —- Gillette College is in the process of approving new language to give more direction to students and teachers on artificial intelligence when it comes to academic dishonesty and potential uses in the classroom. The additions to the college’s academic dishonesty policy and classroom syllabi were developed by the college’s AI task force, which was put together this spring. The task force, led by Dean of Letters and Sciences Martin Fashbaugh, has been working throughout the summer on a slate of broad goals related to developing the c...