The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
The Voice of the Community Since 1909, Serving Moorcroft and Pine Haven, Wyoming
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CASPER — A mine exploration project in Halleck Creek was ranked as one of the top ten critical mineral sites on the planet after assay results earlier this year revealed exceptionally high levels of rare earth elements. But this month the project owners, American Rare Earths, U.S. subsidiary of an Australian-founded exploration company, have completed their full development drilling campaign, and the new assay results suggest that soon this Albany County mine will be ranked number one. Mineral testing of samples from Overton Mountain r...
Man accused of strangling girlfriend, holding her against her will GILLETTE (WNE) — Officers forced their way into a home and later arrested a 37-year-old man who allegedly strangled his girlfriend and held her against her will Friday night. Police went to the 100 block of Bay Avenue for the report of a man and woman in a fight at about 11:15 p.m., Police Cpl. Dan Stroup said. When they arrived, they forced their way into the home after they heard a woman whimpering and what sounded like strangling noises. In the home, they spoke to the man a...
Children, mother injured in fiery crash near Ralston POWELL (WNE) — A woman and her two school-aged children suffered “extensive” injuries on Sunday evening after their vehicle crashed down an embankment and caught fire just east of Ralston. The 36-year-old woman, her nine-year-old son and her six-year-old daughter were all taken by ambulance to Powell Valley Hospital and then flown on to larger hospitals in neighboring states, said Trooper Kaycee Shroyer of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Authorities were unsure of the occupants’ place of residen...
12-year-old arrested Thanksgiving Day bound over on drug charges GILLETTE (WNE) — A 75-year-old Gillette man arrested on drug charges Thanksgiving Day has been bound over to District Court. Dickie F. Sandy waived his preliminary hearing Nov. 30, binding him over to District Court for possession with intent to deliver meth and possession of meth and liquid meth, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of cocaine and amphetamine pill possession, according to court documents. A Sheriff’s deputy, who recognized Sandy from his past work wit...
As summer turned to fall in Wyoming this year, red and gold political leaflets began to appear in mailboxes. At first glance, the oversized glossy postcards didn’t look much different than any other campaign material. They featured an official lawmaker headshot, his name, contact info and the word “conservative” several times over. The header “Legislative Update” was emblazoned on the front. Albeit early for a campaign season that won’t officially kick off until May — when the candidate filing period opens — the mailers appeared normal...
Man caught after getting stuck in snow pleads guilty to federal charges GILLETTE (WNE) — A Campbell County man who was arrested after driving his truck into a snowbank on the side of Highway 50 pleaded guilty to federal drug charges while another man involved in the drug bust has been sentenced to state prison. Jesse Ray Walthers, 39, pleaded guilty at his October change of plea hearing in U.S. District Court to a count of possession with intent to distribute meth and a count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, a...
CASPER — Wyoming’s Black Butte Mine in January 2021 applied to add federal coal reserves at its Sweetwater County operations, which supplies the Jim Bridger Power Plant and a sizable share of baseload thermal energy throughout the West. It was a run-of-the-mill application that state regulators expected to be approved smoothly. Instead, it has become mired in a nightmarishly tedious approval process that’s brought state leaders to their wits’ end. Concerns at the Black Butte Mine are among a host of recent complaints coming out of coal country...
Black 14 Philanthropy delivers 40,000 pounds of food to Laramie LARAMIE (WNE) — Cathedral Home and the University of Wyoming Food Share Pantry welcomed a delivery of 40,000 pounds of food and goods that traveled to Laramie last Tuesday. The delivery is made possible through a partnership between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Black 14’s “Mind, Body and Soul” initiative, which dispatches food to communities identified by active Black 14 players, according to a news release from the Cathedral Home. Mel Hamilton and John Gr...
JACKSON — Despite objections from some Republican lawmakers and local governments, a state task force is moving ahead with a draft bill to override local building regulations for accessory housing units like detached guest homes or mother-in-law apartments. Sen. Bob Ide, a Natrona County Republican, warned that the draft bill could add regulation — not reduce it — by layering state rules on top of local ones: “Just looks like we’ve got a one-size-fits-all homeowners association for the state of Wyoming,” Ide said. Ide raised his objections...
Information sought about missing Cody woman POWELL (WNE) — Family members of a missing Cody woman are asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to get in touch with law enforcement. Katie Ferguson was last seen on Oct. 10 in Arkansas, Ferguson’s mother, Mona Hartling, wrote in a Nov. 5 Facebook post. Ferguson had been traveling from Dothan, Alabama, to Cody with her ex-boyfriend and their two children, but “somewhere near Little Rock, Arkansas she disappeared,” Hartling wrote. Hartling shared few other details, explaining in a Saturd...
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Department of Transportation faces a shortfall in revenue of around $400 million each year, and the state is digging through the couch to find ways to increase revenue with minimal consequences for commercial and residential drivers. The combination of commercial drivers, cross-country travelers and extreme weather conditions means constant upkeep for Wyoming’s interstate highways. WYDOT is responsible for administering and distributing gasoline, diesel and alternative fuel taxes in the state, with a significant por...
GILLETTE (WNE) — A man accused of going on a crime spree throughout Gillette in which he allegedly stole several pickup trucks, drove into multiple buildings and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase has been found competent to proceed in court. Cody K. Fuger, 40, has been charged with 16 counts, including five felonies, ranging from destruction of property, theft, fleeing law enforcement and meth possession. District Judge Stuart S. Healy III found him competent to proceed in court at an Oct. 12 review hearing, based on the findings of a...
Viewers see a newborn moose calf struggling to stand mere seconds after it entered the world. The sun shines and the wind blows through a nearby pine tree. As the calf’s mother licks its back, cleaning amniotic fluid away from its fur, the newborn lifts its back legs and tumbles. It’s one of the most intimate moments a human can witness in the animal world. And researchers have a six-minute video taken not by a human, but by a small camera similar to a GoPro attached to the mother’s neck. “Watc...
Hightman drops Supreme Court appeal GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man serving prison time for stealing from his fiancée – who remains missing – in the days and weeks after she was last seen, has backed out of his appeal filed with the Wyoming Supreme Court. Nathan J. Hightman, 40, filed his intent to appeal less than two weeks after receiving a three- to six-year prison sentence — along with fines, restitution and probation — in June. The motion to waive his appeal was filed last week, as Hightman decided not to move forward after weighing his op...
Shooting complex task force finalizes pre-proposal survey SHERIDAN (WNE) — The State Shooting Complex Oversight Task Force completed work during its meeting Friday morning that will help it identify communities interested in being home to the complex. The task force was established by Senate File 169, which Gov. Mark Gordon signed into law March 2. The task force comprises several legislators and representatives from Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming State Parks and Cultural Resources, Wyoming Travel and Tourism, firearm and archery m...
CASPER – Katrina Ferrell helps people in crisis. As program coordinator for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, she assists callers who may be feeling desperate or despondent. The lifeline provides free emotional support and resources day and night. “I think we make a really big difference in a lot of lives,” she said. For years, Wyoming has struggled with one of the nation’s worst suicide rates. And for years, it did so without a lifeline staffed by local folks. That’s no longer the case. Wyoming is now home to a pair of call centers t...
Women in stable condition following severe crash JACKSON (WNE) — Three women are rebounding after their SUV was hit Sunday afternoon by a tanker truck hauling milk near Munger Mountain Elementary School on Highway 89. State trooper Andy Jackson said the driver of the Suburban, 63-year-old Big Piney resident Patricia Berndt, was life-flighted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center after the 4:17 p.m. crash. The hospital told him that Berndt sustained serious injuries but was in stable condition Monday morning. The two other women in the c...
LARAMIE — Stephanie Fortman had a gut feeling about a sale of some land near Laramie. Something wasn’t right. The seller told her he was building a house and wanted to sell the property quickly, below market value, to finance his new home. “Quickly,” Fortman, an associate broker at Mountain Valley Properties said. “That’s a word I learned — quickly.” The reason for the speed, she eventually discovered, is that the seller was trying to profit from selling a piece of property he didn’t own. In the absence of concrete evidence, Fortman moved ahe...
Solar eclipse will be visible in Western U.S. Saturday morning GILLETTE (WNE) — When Wyomingites look up at the sky Saturday morning, they should be able to see a partial eclipse. During an annular solar eclipse, the apparent size of the Moon’s disk is slightly smaller than the apparent size of the Sun’s disk, so that only the outer edge of the Sun remains visible. For those who are inside the path of the eclipse, this will give the appearance of a bright ring of light, hence the name, ring of fire. The path of annularity, in which 91% of the s...
Ft. Washakie man charged with embezzling funds for guns, furniture LANDER (WNE) — A federal grand jury has charged Logan James Savage, Fort Washakie, with five counts of wire fraud and one count of embezzlement, alleging he used a company credit card to make personal purchases for more than $25,000. Savage worked as the finance director for Wind River Family and Community Health Care Between July 2022 and May 2023. He was one of several employees who had been granted company credit cards to cover business-related purchases, according to the f...
CHEYENNE — Members of the Joint Revenue Committee moved to draft legislation during their Monday meeting that would amend the state constitution and implement an acquisition value property tax system in Wyoming. An acquisition value property tax system assesses a property at its market value from the time the property was purchased, with limited annual tax increases until the property is resold, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Acquisition value is defined under HB 100 as “the purchase price paid for the acquisition of pro...
CHEYENNE — Over the past few years, the labor market has undergone major changes and has ultimately led to a labor shortage across the country. Even if every unemployed person in the country found a job, there would still be around 3.5 million open jobs. But in April of this year, the national unemployment rate was 3.4%. It hasn’t been below that since 1953. Americans are working, but it’s more a surplus of jobs than a lack of people willing to work. Recent data released from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce revealed Wyoming is one of the state...
Couple pleads not guilty to attempted murder, child abuse CHEYENNE (WNE) — At separate hearings with separate judges Monday, both of the defendants charged with attempted first-degree murder in connection with the alleged abuse of a two-year-old boy pleaded not guilty. Hannah Wingert, the 20-year-old mother of the child, and Joshua Moody, her 21-year-old boyfriend, were arrested for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse on Aug. 25. Law enforcement contacted them after Wingert’s stepmother called police to perform a wel...
As part of its commitment to help reduce suicide deaths across the state, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) is sharing key information about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and its operations in Wyoming. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and always available. The system involves a national network of local crisis centers that provide free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Two call centers within Wyoming are part of the lifeline network. “We believe it’s a benefi...
Wyoming senators join effort to ban federal mask mandates CHEYENNE (WNE) — U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-Wyo., joined U.S. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, in introducing legislation to prevent the government from imposing new federal mask mandates for domestic air travel, public transit systems and in schools. The Freedom to Breathe Act would also prevent air carriers, public transit authorities and all educational institutions from refusing service to those who choose not to wear face masks. On Thursday, Senate Democrats b...
