Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 721
Average gas prices remain unchanged in past week in Wyoming CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming are unchanged in the last week, averaging $3.25 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming. Prices in Wyoming are 4.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 64.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.79, while the highest was $4.49, a difference of $1.70 per gallon. The national average price of gas...
DOUGLAS – Wyoming Game and Fish Commissioners have OK'd a new compensation program that may resolve a sometimes-fiery debate over whether the state should pay livestock producers more for forage eaten off their rangeland by over-populated elk herds. The solution establishes criteria for payment eligibility based on the degree to which a local elk herd is overpopulated and the percentage of grass eaten by that game. Additionally, a ranch must allow some hunters on the property to be eligible. I...
Gordon extends executive order to aid in livestock, feed transport CHEYENNE (WNE) — As significant wildfires continue to impact Wyoming’s agricultural producers, Gov. Mark Gordon has extended the executive order which eases restrictions to transport loads of livestock feed and livestock, exempting motor carrier drivers from operating time requirements. “The extension of this EO allows our ranchers to continue to move their livestock to safety quickly and expedites bringing in necessary feed. Wyoming’s commitment to supporting agricul...
A federal judge has upheld the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's plans for managing black-footed ferrets in Wyoming, the state where the once-presumed-extinct species was rediscovered some four decades ago. The dispute over how the federal government managed the endangered weasel-like animal traces back nearly a decade to when federal wildlife managers officially designated the Wyoming population as "nonessential, experimental." That classification allows for more regulatory flexibility than...
Gas prices edge slightly higher in Wyoming in the past week CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have risen 0.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.29 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming. Prices in Wyoming are 4.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 62.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.79, while the highest was $4.29, a difference of $1.50 per gallon. The national ave...
A Wyoming law prohibiting failed primary election candidates from seeking the same office as an independent in the general election is unconstitutional, claims a lawsuit filed Wednesday afternoon in Laramie County District Court. Matt Malcom, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in Cheyenne’s House District 61 during the primary, and former Wilson lawmaker Jim Roscoe are the suit’s two plaintiffs. Roscoe represented House District 22 as a Democrat from 2009 to 2012, and then as an independent from 2019 to 2022. Malcom lost his...
Silver Spoon Fire grows to 1700 acres in northern Campbell County GILLETTE (WNE) — The Silver Spoon Fire north of Recluse has burned an estimated 1700 acres since starting Sunday morning. The Campbell County Fire Department “made good progress” on the fire Sunday, according to a Facebook post, and at 6 p.m. Monday, Southwest Area Incident Management Team No. 5 took over the management of this fire, which is about 37 miles north of Gillette. The same team is overseeing the Constitution and Flat Rock fires in Campbell County, as well as the H...
Florida man gets 15 years for fatal crash GILLETTE (WNE) — A truck driver from Florida who was found with beer cans in his cab after crashing into and killing another driver north of Gillette has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. Nicholas L. Alvarez, 39, on Aug. 15 received an imposed 8.5- to 15-year sentence for aggravated vehicular homicide, according to court documents. Alvarez pleaded guilty to the charge in May. In addition to imposing prison time, District Judge Stuart S. Healy III also ordered Alvarez to pay $11,196.08 in r...
State’s unemployment rate holds steady at 2.9% CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 2.9% from June to July, the Research & Planning section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported Monday. While Wyoming’s unemployment rate has remained low, the U.S. unemployment rate has increased in each of the past three months, rising from 3.8% in March to 4.3% in July. Over the year, unemployment rates were higher than year-ago levels in every county, with most counties ticking up two-tenths of a pe...
The political action committee affiliated with the hard-line Republican Wyoming Freedom Caucus announced late Thursday it returned thousands of dollars to the Crook County GOP after the Wyoming Senate president alleged the donation was illegal in a complaint he filed last week. "While we are immensely grateful for the Crook County Republican Party's commitment to the liberty movement, no amount of support is worth a politically motivated prosecution for the sake of another headline meant to...
New York man pleads not guilty after saying he would shoot up a school CASPER (WNE) — The case of a man who called 911 to report that he was going to shoot up several locations — including a mission, Walmart, high school and the Natrona County Library — was taken up in court recently as officials sought to determine if he should stand trial. On June 22, 2023, police arrested Bryce Montesdeoca at the Central Wyoming Rescue Mission in Casper, where he had been staying since his recent move from New York. Montesdeoca had a 9 mm pistol he claim...
Utility requests rate increase to offset fire costs, new power lines CASPER (WNE) — Rocky Mountain Power, Wyoming’s largest public utility, filed a request to increase customer rates in order to underwrite new infrastructure and cover the rising costs of insurance premiums relating to wildfire risk. The company is seeking to levy an additional $123.5 million, or an overall increase of 14.7%, resulting in an extra $17.17 per month for the typical residential customer. Around half of the increase is requested to pay Wyoming’s share of new infra...
Arch coal production stays down in PRB GILLETTE (WNE) — The amount of thermal coal shipped from Arch Energy Resources, the bulk of which comes from its Powder River Basin mines, dipped further as the industry’s slow start continued through the first half of the year. The roughly 9.7 million tons mined from Black Thunder marked the lowest production number at the mine this millennium, and its first time notching fewer than 10 million tons in a quarter, according to Mine Safety and Health Administration data. After shipping 12.8 million tons — p...
The 2023-'24 winter proved the third deadliest for Yellowstone wolves in the decades since Canis lupus was reintroduced to the landscape in 1995. Overall, 13 wolves were shot by legal hunters, caught by trappers, killed by poachers or died of suspected hunting-related injuries. Like in past winters, the vast majority of wolves that met their fate after straying beyond the protections of Yellowstone National Park did so in Montana, near the park's northern boundary. Eight wolves were legally hunt...
Delta-8 THC and similar hemp-derived substances will remain illegal to sell in Wyoming following a federal district court judge's decision today not to grant a restraining order or injunction on the ban. "Public interest is best served by denying Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction," U.S. District Court Judge Kelly Rankin wrote Friday. "The Court appreciates the hardships [the ban] places on Plaintiffs. It is unfortunate their businesses face financial strain and they cannot use the...
Devils Tower on pace to have busiest year ever GILLETTE (WNE) — Devils Tower has been on a record-setting pace so far in 2024. Through June, 192,682 people visited the national monument in Crook County. That’s up more than 5000 visitors from 2021, which is the busiest year on record for Devils Tower. In 2021, 550,712 people visited Devils Tower. It was the first time the national monument broke the 500,000-visitor mark, and it happened as the country started to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic and people began flocking to the outdoors. But...
The Wyoming Department of Transportation would like to remind motorists of the new penalties for violating highway closures to light and high profile vehicles that went into effect July 1. The "Light and high profile vehicle closures bill" (SF0113) passed in the 2024 legislative session. The bill language notes that, "any person who willfully fails to observe any sign, marker, warning, notice or direction" for closures to light, high-profile vehicles is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon...
Wyoming has narrowed its definitions for who can bid on state oil and gas lease parcels, disqualifying parties that intend to conserve the land rather than produce the mineral resources. The change, made under emergency rulemaking in June, was mandated by House Bill 141 – State land oil and gas leases-operator requirement, which the Legislature passed during the budget session. Rep. Cyrus Western (R-Big Horn) brought the bill on behalf of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming. The association r...
GILLETTE - The last several months have been a whirlwind for Crook County ranchers Shondah and Randall Otwell. They have been putting the finishing touches on their product, the water rippler, which they hope will make life easier for ranchers all across the country when it hits the market this fall. The water rippler solves a problem that has plagued the agricultural industry for generations. In the winter, water tanks freeze over and ranchers have to go out to each tank and break the ice...
Kidnapped man lands up to 14 years in prison GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man who pleaded guilty to the second-degree sexual abuse of a minor received has been sentenced to ten to 14 years in prison. Zackery Minard, 22, was found in bed with a 14-year-old girl by the girl’s mother, who called her boyfriend, Timothy James Ott. Ott, 30, and a friend beat up Minard, put him in a car trunk and drove him out of town, eventually abandoning him on a country road. The temperature outside was about 35 degrees. According to Minard, Ott told him to wal...
When grass on private land intended for livestock gets munched first by elk - and other big game - wildlife managers are taking steps to better compensate ranchers left with hungry animals. A proposed Wyoming Game and Fish Department regulation change came about because of elk populations that have exceeded state goals and caused landowners problems, said Craig Smith, the agency's deputy chief of wildlife. "It's reached a point where we do feel like we need to do something a little bit extra in...
GILLETTE — In June, someone claiming to be Lt. James Davis with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office contacted a Gillette woman, saying there was a warrant for her arrest. The problem was that no one under that name and title works with the sheriff’s office, and the 62-year-old woman was scammed out of $1750 in Bitcoin the caller instructed her to send. Almost two weeks before that, this fictitious Lt. Davis called a 76-year-old man in Gillette and told him that he had to pay a $3500 fine — in Bitcoin — for missing jury duty. The man sent the c...
Local woman sentenced for role in state park death CHEYENNE (WNE) — In connection with the death of a man in Curt Gowdy State Park, Gizelle Kellum has pleaded no contest to accessory after the fact as a relative. This misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in prison and/or a $750 fine. Judge Steven Sharpe sentenced Kellum to 180 days with credit for 175 days of time served. Kellum’s varying accounts during the investigation were cited by the prosecution as a reason for the charge. Stacey “Jason” Mullen was found unresponsive at Curt Go...
CASPER — A federal judge has halted the implementation of new Title IX rules in Wyoming, Alaska, Kansas and Utah. A lawsuit, filed in May, was initiated by a coalition of states and organizations, including Moms for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation and Female Athletes United. In April, the U.S. Education Department released new regulations for Title IX, which is a federal statute meant to protect students and school employees from sex-based discrimination. Tuesday’s ruling by a U.S. District Court judge in Kansas blocks the rules, which...
JACKSON - The pace picked up in Wilson as soon as Teton Pass reopened at noon Friday. Cars lined up to drive up Highway 22. Gas pumps at Basecamp bustled. Travelers, locals and construction workers grabbing lunch could only discuss one thing: the road. A paved, two-lane bypass reconnected Jackson Hole and Teton Valley, Idaho, less than three weeks after the Big Fill landslide on June 8. It's a short-term fix that Wyoming Department of Transportation and Evans Construction crews have been...
