Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
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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...
Police arrest man known for harassing people at Cheyenne businesses CHEYENNE (WNE) — Laramie County Sheriff ’s deputies arrested a 42-year-old man known locally for harassing and “hexing” business owners on June 20 for trespassing. On the day of Joshua Hayden-Ali’s arrest, Deputy Aaron Veldheer responded to a disturbance in progress at the Safeway supermarket at 700 South Greeley Highway. The description of the man matched that of Hayden-Ali. Veldheer spoke with the woman who said Hayden-Ali had been threatening her. She told Veldheer...
CASPER — State Superintendent Megan Degenfelder has traveled to Washington to join other states in opposition of President Joe Biden’s new Title IX rules. Wyoming is just one of more than 20 states trying to sue the Biden Administration for changes to the federal statute that provides equal protections regardless of sex in schools. Enacted in 1972, Title IX has helped women gain equal ground in sports and employment practices. Federal funding for both public K-12 schools and public universities is tied to Title IX compliance. Biden’s new regul...
CHEYENNE — Wyoming’s legislative and executive branches are investigating the growing issue of maternity health care deserts, and conversation on Friday indicated the situation may require another year of study. Five Wyoming counties — Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Big Horn and Sublette — have been classified as maternity deserts by the March of Dimes, said Franz Fuchs, senior policy analyst for the Wyoming Department of Health, during the Legislature’s Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee meeting in April. He added that seven mor...
Powell woman dies in apparent suicide at jail POWELL (WNE) — An inmate at the Park County Detention Center died Saturday night in what authorities described as an apparent suicide. The Powell woman, who’d been booked into the jail early Friday morning, was 35 years old at the time of her death. In a Monday afternoon news release, the Park County Sheriff’s Office withheld the woman’s name, saying that a family member had yet to be notified of her death. As a result, the Tribune is not publishing her name either. The sheriff’s office said dete...
Wyoming’s average gas prices are down again this week CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 1.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.27 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming. Prices in Wyoming are 5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 27.3 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.82 per gallon, while the highest was $4.19, a difference of $1.37. The national average price...
The Wyoming Department of Transportation has closed access to Wyoming State Highway 22/ Teton Pass due to a landslide at milepost 12.8 and a mudslide at milepost 15. Commuters have been asked to detour around using US 26 through Swan Valley and then into the Snake River Canyon. WYDOT crews are currently evaluating the stability of the area and investigating adjacent areas for potential safety hazards. This is being considered an extended closure, and there currently is no estimated opening...
New mental health program off to a fast start GILLETTE (WNE) — A new program to help Gillette residents with their mental health has gotten off to a fast start. Earlier this spring, the Northeast Wyoming Community Health Foundation launched Hope Source to help people pay for therapy and counseling costs. Nachelle McGrath, executive director of the foundation, said she’s received 20 applications, and ten of them have been approved. The other applications were sent back because they needed more information, and they will be re-submitted. “I...
CHEYENNE — An AI-generated candidate has filed to run for Cheyenne mayor, and county officials are investigating whether VIC, an acronym for Virtual Integrated Citizen, can appear on the ballot. Under Wyoming law, only registered voters can run for local or statewide elected office. But can a person file an artificial intelligence as a candidate? That’s the question Laramie County officials are trying to answer. Cheyenne resident and registered voter Victor Miller put VIC on the mayoral candidate form, listing a house and email address, but...
JACKSON - Brent Bien has high hopes for his ballot initiative that could cut Wyoming property taxes in half for homeowners. And he's one step closer to getting it in front of voters to make it state law. Joined by co-applicants Cheryl Aguilar and Rich Weber, Bien turned in 644 petition booklets to the Wyoming Secretary of State's Office for certification Thursday. "We're anxious to hear the results here in a couple of months," said Bien, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate who...
CHEYENNE — Forestry and public land officials said Friday that they expect Wyoming to experience an “average-to-normal” wildland fire season, with the north-central part of the state experiencing the driest conditions. In what has become an annual tradition, Wyoming State Forestry Division and Bureau of Land Management officials joined Gov. Mark Gordon in a media briefing that covered wildfire safety, prevalence and steps officials are taking to lower the risk of wildfires in Wyoming this year. State Forester Kelly Norris said when it comes...
RIVERTON — Beginning next year, Wyoming families with qualifying income will have access to government assistance for private schooling. Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 166, “Education Savings Accounts,” into law in April. His line-item vetoes significantly narrowed the scope of the legislation, but it’s still likely to spark a host of lawsuits and widespread debate as its activation date approaches. And the new legislation could cause an uptick in enrollment for Wyoming’s private schools. The passed version of the measure caters only to f...
Commissioners protest BLM coal leasing change GILLETTE (WNE) — Campbell County Commissioners are protesting the Bureau of Land Management’s recent proposal to put an end to federal coal leases in the Powder River Basin. The federal agency announced its changes to the Buffalo Field Office land use plan in mid-May, and if it goes through, it would effectively kill coal mining in Campbell County 17 years from now. The plan targets the Powder River Basin and its 12 Wyoming coal mines, which are all located in Campbell County, and would allow mines...
JACKSON — Honor Wyoming is aiming to build a majority in the state Legislature made up of lawmakers who adhere to its values, most of whom are the ultraconservative Wyoming Freedom Caucus and its allies in the Senate. That vision is outlined in a document being circulated via email around the state. It says Honor Wyoming is taking on the state’s Republican “establishment class.” Honor Wyoming’s mission is “to protect and advance liberty values through state-based grassroots and legislative advocacy,” according to the prospectus obtained by the...
Oil and gas companies in the Mountain West report thousands of drill-related spills each year, including spills of crude oil and chemical water used in hydraulic fracking, which can result in adverse effects to land, potable water and wildlife. In Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, the amount of spills over time have stayed roughly steady even as the amount of oil and gas production has increased, suggesting that regulations designed to rein in spills do not inhibit production and have more or less maintained a lid on risk. However, a new...
