Wyoming News Briefs

Grizzly attack in Grand Teton was ‘surprise encounter’

JACKSON (WNE) — A grizzly bear attacked and injured a man visiting Grand Teton National Park on Sunday.

The 35-year-old Massachusetts man is in stable condition and expected to fully recover. Park officials have not released the victim’s name. The Jackson Hole Daily’s attempts to contact him were unsuccessful by press time Monday.

Meanwhile, Grand Teton biologists and law enforcement rangers are investigating the incident, which occurred near Signal Mountain Lodge.

While few details are available, park officials believe it involved the visitor, two bears and a “surprise encounter.” After being startled, one of the bears apparently attacked the man, Grand Teton Chief of Staff Jeremy Barnum told the Daily.

The park is basing that assessment on initial discussions with the injured visitor and preliminary information from the ongoing investigation, Barnum said.

Grizzly bears are typically territorial and solitary animals. It’s not yet clear why the two bears were together, Barnum said. Among other things, that leaves open the possibility of the two bruins involved in the incident being a sow grizzly with a cub, a male-female mating pair, or siblings.

Asked whether the park is planning to relocate or kill the bear believed to be responsible for the attack, Barnum said, “Not at this time.”

The incident is the first reported grizzly bear attack in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem this year. It follows a slew of high-profile incidents in 2023, including a grizzly attack that left a woman dead in West Yellowstone and a separate attack near Dubois where the victim survived.

Despite the headline-making incidents, bear biologists say attacks remain rare.

Fake Tribune website attempts to scam pet owners

POWELL (WNE) — Following reports from readers Friday morning, the Tribune discovered that a website imitating the newspaper was naming winners for the annual pet contest and requesting credit card information.

The site is a sub-domain of myfreesites. net, its registrar was first created in 2015. The domain does not currently have a website according to whois.domaintools.com. WHOIS is used to search for information including domain names and information regarding to whom the domain may belong.

The fact that the phony site is a subdomain does not mean that myfreesites.net has been involved in any wrongdoing and a report has been filed with its registrar notifying them of the misuse.

Those who may have interacted with the site have been advised to contact their credit card companies.

The winners of the pet contest will not be announced until June in the Powell Tribune’s Tribune Tails special section. No billing information is needed to participate in the contest, and the Tribune will never contact people for billing information via social media.

The Tribune’s website is powelltribune.com.

Kemmerer mayor, city administrator attend energy conference

KEMMERER (WNE) — Kemmerer received attention at the Energy Communities Alliance conference for leading the way as the first community in the country to build a natrium nuclear reactor.

Kemmerer City Administrator Brian Muir and Mayor Bill Thek traveled to Kennewick, Washington, to attend the meeting and represent their town as a pioneer for TerraPower (a company co-founded by Bill Gates) in building a first-of-its-kind advanced Natrium nuclear reactor.

With heavy hitters at the forum, including representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, the meeting brought together federal, state, and local governments to identify opportunities and challenges as well as build the partnerships necessary to support nuclear development.

Muir and Thek spoke about nuclear waste being stored safely on site in a nuclear depository until it can be transported to a permanent location.

“It is safer than it ever has been, and there are companies who are prepared to create jobs with the waste industry,” Muir said.

He said it is important to have public dialogue and engagement especially where there are concerns such as nuclear waste storage. He also said agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Economic Development, Department of Energy, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission have all come to Kemmerer to ensure safety.

Muir said Kemmerer was referred to throughout the conference, especially regarding Bill Gates’ committed investment to the community.

“We are the first to market nuclear power to the grid with small modular reactors,” he said. Muir said people at the conference told him they are jealous of what is coming to the Kemmerer economy.

“It is going well, proving itself and giving people hope. Kemmerer is a prototype for this project and a front runner in this new nuclear renaissance,” he said.

Gates will visit Kemmerer on June 10 for a groundbreaking ceremony at the TerraPower nuclear reactor site.

Man with broken leg rescued from power plant air duct at Wyodak

GILLETTE (WNE) — Several local agencies worked together Friday morning to rescue a 37-year-old man who fell and broke his leg in an air duct at the Neil Simpson Power Plant.

Deputies went to the power plant at the Wyodak complex east of Gillette at about 8 a.m. for the report of the man stuck in the air duct, and were joined by Emergency Medical Services, Campbell County Fire Department and Black Hills Energy personnel.

The man was not trapped but couldn’t move because his leg was broken, Sheriff Scott Matheny said.

A fire department news release said that firefighters used technical rescue equipment to remove the man from a “confined and elevated location.” EMS then took the man to Campbell County Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Beware of Medicaid scams

RIVERTON (WNE) — With new reports of callers wrongly seeking money, Wyoming Medicaid is alerting clients and their family members to be cautious of potential Medicaid coverage scams.

Wyoming Medicaid is part of the Wyoming Department of Health.

A handful of clients recently received calls asking for their credit card information to process payments to renew Medicaid coverage. The calls may have come from numbers that appeared to be used by previous contractors for the Wyoming Medicaid program.

Wyoming Medicaid and the related Kid Care CHIP program never charge clients directly or ask for money from individuals for enrollment purposes.

The department does use contractors to help with its Medicaid operations.

Current legitimate numbers for Wyoming Medicaid applications and renewal are as follows:

• Wyoming Department of Health Customer Service Center 1-855-294-2127

• Wyoming Department of Health Long Term Care Unit 1-855- 203-2936

“We never ask for banking, debit card or credit card information, and our clients should never share that kind of detail with anyone who calls claiming to be representing Wyoming Medicaid or the Wyoming Department of Health,” said Lee Grossman, state Medicaid agent and division of health and financing senior administrator with WDH.

“If someone tries to convince you they need financial information to renew Wyoming Medicaid coverage, including for various waiver programs for our disabled and older clients, they are not a true representative of our department,” Grossman said. “Rather, they are trying to scam you for their personal benefit.”

Wyoming Medicaid is a joint federal-state insurance program that pays for the medical and long-term care of low-income and medically needy individuals and families.

More information about Wyoming Medicaid may be found online at https://health. wyo.gov/healthcarefin/medicaid/.

WYDOT reopens US 14A

SHERIDAN (WNE) — The Wyoming Department of Transportation has opened US 14A.

This year’s early opening is due to the unseasonably low snowfall this past winter. Accumulated snow depths and drifting on US 14A were significantly lower than previous years, which allowed maintenance crews from Burgess Junction to begin work on snow removal earlier than normal.

WYDOT typically opens US 14A the Friday of Memorial Day weekend.

US 14A is one of four mountain passes that are affected by seasonal winter closures. This 22-mile stretch of scenic mountain road is located in the Bighorn Mountains of north central Wyoming. WYDOT closes these routes in the late fall once maintaining the roads due to heavy, drifting snow makes it difficult and impractical.

Access to many forest service roads is not available and motorists are asked to stay on US 14A and not attempt to access any other roads at this time.

WYDOT reminds motorists to obey all speed limits, wear their seatbelts at all times and watch for wildlife.

Green River’s Historic Carnegie Library faces uncertain future

ROCK SPRINGS — The future of the historic Green River Carnegie Library, an iconic landmark for more than a century, remains uncertain as discussions about its future continue among county officials and preservation advocates.

Once a beacon of education and community, the library now stands vacant and weathered with signs of decay and years of neglect.

The structure served as a crucial hub for the city from its completion in 1907 until 1980 when a newer library was built nearby. Subsequently, it underwent several transitions including once accommodating the Green River Circuit Court.

Recent evaluations of the building’s state have unveiled notable structural problems, raising concerns about its safety and potential for restoration.

“It’s going to take a couple of million dollars just to keep it from falling down,” Commissioner Taylor Jones said. “And the cost of renovation is just not doable for the county.”

A pre-pandemic assessment estimated the cost of basic repairs would be approximately $350,000, but county officials believe the final expenses would be much higher.

The initial renovation estimates did not anticipate the significant surge in construction costs that followed. This unforeseen increase could substantially impact the final price tag bringing it into the millions, said Gene Legerski, Sweetwater County Public Works Director.

Legerski highlighted additional costs that have not been factored into the previous numbers.

“Those estimates don’t include what it would cost for us to get the building compliant with the ADA (American Disabilities Act), or full restoration of the foundation and other things that are critical to the building being further renovated,” he said.

The potential presence of asbestos, mold, or lead paint poses additional challenges and costs that would be included in any future plans including demolition, Legerski added.

Wyoming’s largest city, Cheyenne, gained the most population in 2023

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Nearly two-thirds of the 31 large cities and towns (over 2,000 people) in Wyoming added residents between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2023 when the largest city, Cheyenne, added the most residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

These new estimates provide a look at how the population has changed in each of Wyoming’s incorporated communities since the 2020 Census.

For cities and towns with population over 2000, Mills demonstrated the fastest annual growth (2.1%), followed by Pinedale (1.9%) and Sheridan (1.8%), while Cheyenne (585), Sheridan (338), Casper (236) and Gillette (218) showed the most numerical addition from 2022 to 2023.

Three cities, Rawlins (-138), Wheatland (-66) and Kemmerer (-43) experienced population declines of more than 1%. Rawlins is the only place that lost more than 100 residents during the year.

As of July 1, 2023, 68.7%, or 401,086 people, in Wyoming lived in incorporated places. Nearly half of the state’s residents lived in 11 cities and towns with a population of more than 10,000. Wyoming’s total population grew 2,428, or 0.4%, in 2023, and this growth rate was the same as the combined population change for these 11 large cities.

“In 2023, Wyoming’s large cities mostly reversed COVID-19-induced 2021 and 2022 population declines,” said Wenlin Liu, chief economist with the state of Wyoming’s Economic Analysis Division. “Many people with telework capabilities chose to relocate to less-populated and lower-cost areas during the pandemic.”

Woman crashes into semi after driving wrong way on Highway 59

GILLETTE (WNE) — No one was hurt Wednesday morning after a two-vehicle crash that was caused by a wrong-way driver.

A 55-year-old woman was driving a 2013 Ford when she accidentally started driving the wrong way. She was headed north on South Douglas Highway in the southbound lane, said Police Sgt. Jay Johnson.

When she realized this, she panicked and tried to abruptly turn right onto Boxelder Road. In doing so, she turned directly into a northbound semi, driven by a 55-year-old man, Johnson said.

The truck’s bumper collided with the Ford’s passenger side door and rear quarter panel. Damage is more than $1000, but both vehicles were still drivable, Johnson said. There were no injuries.

The woman admitted to driving the wrong way, and she was ticketed for improperly driving on a divided highway.