By AP

Cheyenne, WY – A Laramie County woman has tested positive for West Nile virus. It's the first confirmed case in the county this year.

The Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department said Friday that the woman's case brings the statewide total of confirmed human cases of West Nile to nine this year.

Most people who contract West Nile don't develop symptoms. But people can become ill with fever, headache and swollen lymph nodes. In extreme cases, it can be fatal.

By Elsa Partan

Laramie, WY – Governor Dave Freudenthal says he thinks the turmoil on Wall Street is the price to be paid for deregulating parts of the financial system.

By Peter O'Dowd

Laramie, WY – An advocate for improved medical care says Wyoming's consumer protections for health insurance are extremely low.

By AP

Jackson, WY – The executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party isn't holding his breath, but he's hopeful that either Joe Biden or Barack Obama will swing through Wyoming.

Obama visited Wyoming ahead of the state's Democratic caucuses in March. That was at the height of his state-by-state battle with Hillary Clinton for the nomination.

Bill Luckett, the state Democrats' executive director, says he hasn't heard about plans for a Wyoming visit by the Democratic ticket.

By AP

Cheyenne, WY – The school district in Cheyenne is looking into starting a virtual charter school for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Students enrolled in the school would take classes online.

District Superintendent Ted Adams says the goal is to serve youngsters in the district who are currently home-schooled. Ten home-schooled students are ready to enroll now.

It wouldn't be the first virtual charter school in Wyoming. The school district in Gillette started one a few years ago.

By AP

Cheyenne, WY – Cynthia Lummis says the government was right to bail out government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but in general should avoid rescuing private companies.

Lummis is a former state treasurer and state lawmaker, and she's the Republican candidate for Wyoming's seat in the U.S. House.

Lummis says it was OK for the government to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because the government created the companies and they're huge sources of home loan credit.

By Peter O'Dowd

Wamsutter, WY – State officials are cautious but optimistic that the town of Wamsutter in southwest Wyoming can become a thriving community.

On Wednesday, the town unveiled its plan to develop commercial buildings and infrastructure to a crowd of state and local officials.

Laramie, Wy – The population of gray wolves in Wyoming,
Montana and Idaho apparently has shrunk for the first time in over a decade.
Biologists aren't sure why their midyear estimate of the regional wolf population came in with about 350 fewer wolves than they had expected. The estimate was 1,455 animals, down slightly from an estimate of 1,513 wolves at the start of 2008.
Wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone in the 1990s and they've
been reproducing rapidly ever since. The regional population had
been growing at about 24 percent a year.

Casper, Wy – Wyoming's workers compensation system does not currently cover mental injuries such as post Traumatic stress syndrome. Some lawmakers want to change that and a legislative agreed to continue working on a bill that provides such coverage, and includes several safeguards, so that it cannot be abused. The joint labor committee will continue working on the bill and a piece of legislation to increase benefits to injured workers when the committee meets in December.

By Bob Beck

Laramie, WY – The Wyoming Game and Fish commission has decided that it is a bad idea to let people set up private Sage Grouse farms in order to enhance the population. The idea was approved by the legislature last year.

Wyoming Game and Fish Spokesman Eric Keszler says most people at a public hearing on the proposal expressed some strong concerns.