Cheyenne, Wy –
For the first time, the Wyoming Department of Employment has documented the wage gap by county. A wage gap is the difference between what a man makes on the job versus what a woman makes. In Laramie County, the wage gap is the smallest in the state. The Wyoming Department of Employment's Sylvia Jones says women there make 70 cents for every dollar that men make.
"What you see is that the wages are closer together not because the wages for women are hugely higher than they are in other counties, it's just that the wages for men are lower."

Laramie, Wy – A federal appeals court has ruled against a Wyoming law that allows people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence to regain their gun rights. The tenth circuit court of appeals ruled that the law failed to meet federal guidelines. Under the law, people could apply for reinstatement of their gun rights, and have their misdemeanor domestic violence offense expunged. Jennifer Zenor (zee-nor) is the director of the coalition against domestic violence and sexual assault. Her organization did not oppose the bill when it was passed by the legislature.

By Elsa Partan

Laramie, Wyo. – The owner of Elephant Head Lodge west of Cody says she's not sure it was the right thing to let the Gunbarrel fire burn so long before trying to contain it.

Debbie Millard says she's grateful to the fire crews that protected her guest lodge Tuesday, but the situation is frustrating.

"You know it's just one of those things when you don't really know if it's better to do what we just did, or whether it was something that they should have acted on from the beginning," she said.

By Yanmei Xie

Denver, Colo. – Denver is awash with free booze this week, with lobbyists throwing open parties in order to rub elbows with Democratic big shots.

A Wyoming delegate, however, won't be able to enjoy that perk. He just graduated from high school.

By Peter O'Dowd

Cheyenne, Wyo. – The governor says he continues to oppose the state acquisition of new pipelines to increase the price of natural gas exported from Wyoming.

Dave Freudenthal says he's skeptical that the constitution would allow such a deal. He says the government should not interfere with the private market.

By AP

Jackson, Wyo. – Fire managers in Grand Teton National Park and the adjacent Bridger-Teton National Forest have raised the fire danger rating to very high.

A combination of high temperatures, strong winds, low humidity and the potential for lightning prompted the managers to issue a so-called "red flag warning."

Ron Steffens, the fire use monitor for Grand Teton National Park near the Idaho border, says, "The very high fire danger rating reflects a seasonal drying of vegetation in the low- and mid-elevation areas.

By Peter O'Dowd

Laramie, Wyo. – A preservation group says historic buildings in America's national parks have been left to crumble, while administrators focused too long on other priorities.

Even the Park Service recognizes the problem.

An official in Washington says the situation is dire for historic buildings in Wyoming and across the country.

Randy Biallas says the Park Service has enough trouble raising renovation money for high-profile buildings like Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

Cheyenne, Wy – The Ralph Nader campaign has turned in
about 8,200 signatures to get the consumer advocate's name placed on the presidential ballot in Wyoming in November.
Wyoming law requires the signatures of 3,868 registered voters
for a candidate to qualify for the ballot.
Nader turned in his signatures to the Wyoming Secretary of State
on Monday. The office is now checking those signatures to see
whether enough of them belong to registered voters.
Nader made the ballot in Wyoming in 2004. He's scheduled to make

Cheyenne, Wy – The Governor has not given up in his quest to get tax breaks for homeowners. In a letter to legislators he is asking that they consider what is called the Homestead Tax Exemption. It could provide a tax break for the average homeowner that averages 300 dollars a year. But Freudenthal knows he has some convincing to do.