By AP

St. Paul, MN – The Executive Director of Wyoming's Republican Party says Cynthia Lummis did not address the Republican National Convention today as originally scheduled. Lummis is the GOP nominee for Wyoming's lone seat in the U.S. House. Vice President Dick Cheney and President BUsh have cancelled their plans to speak at the convention, with Hurricane Gustav impacting the Gulf Coast.

By Eric Niiler

Denver, CO – Obama took the stage on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech. Willie Neal says he listened to Obama's speech with older generations of civil rights fighters.

By AP

Cheyenne, Wyo. – A record 48 people died in job-related
accidents in Wyoming last year, up by a third from 2006.

What seems to be a steep increase from last year's 36 work deaths is somewhat misleading, however.

The Wyoming Department of Employment, Research and Planning says work-related accidents killed 46 people in 2005 and 43 people in 2004.

Cheyenne, Wy – The Wyoming Supreme Court has upheld the
conviction of a Gillette man who ordered the killing of a boy who was to testify against him in a sexual abuse trial.
The court on Friday rejected an appeal from Kent Alan Proffit,Sr. He had been sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole following his conviction of conspiracy to
commit first-degree murder. A jury found that he ordered two Gillette teenagers to kill 16-year-old Bryce Chavers of Gillette.

Laramie, Wy –
State health care organizations are hoping that the latest effort to recruit doctors will be successful. Wyoming Health Resources Network Director Pennie Hunt is hopeful that a grant program that will provide up to 80 thousand dollars to local health organizations will bring more doctors to the state. Hunt says other states have had a similar program for years.
It's the first time the legislature has agreed to help recruit doctors. The deadline for applications is September 15th. A decision on who gets the grant money by September 30th.

Laramie, Wy – Wyoming will have a new starting quarterback when it opens its season Saturday against Ohio. Dax Crum is a 6-4 sophomore from Phoenix who will be getting his first major college start. Head Coach Joe Glenn says Crum has been a winner at every level, but adds that he will take some risks and says Crum needs to be careful that those risks don't end up as turnovers.
Crum was given the starting nod over last year's starter Karsten Sween. Crum and Cowboys kickoff Saturday at noon.

By Peter O'Dowd

Laramie, Wyo. – The state forestry division is asking Labor Day travelers to use caution over the weekend.

Ray Weidenhaft says all of Wyoming is dry at and risk of fire. He says the benefits of spring rains have not lasted.

Weidenhaft says fire risk in the Big Horn and Powder River basins is very high.

He says the weekend forecast calls for rain, but high winds predicted statewide will cause trouble if a fire breaks out.

Laramie, Wy – The state health department has reported seven cases of the West Nile virus so far in 2008. That's a slower pace than previous years. But Wyoming Department of Health spokeswoman Kim Deti says there's no clear reason why.

We know some things can be a factor like weather or presence of water, but it's difficult to predict from one season to the next what we might encounter or why that might be.

Laramie, Wy – Wyoming continues to buck a national trend while much of the country struggles with falling home prices. A federal report compares the second quarters of 2007 and 2008. It shows Wyoming ranked second behind Oklahoma with a four-point-four percent appreciation rate in home prices. Jim Robinson of the state economic analysis division says that might not sound fantastic to Wyoming homeowners.

Cheyenne, Wy – Wyoming has gained 12-hundred new jobs in the oil and gas industry since April.
Jim Robinson with the state economic analysis division says Wyoming hasn't seen that level of job growth since the end of 2006.
"We haven't done anything like that in a while in that one special energy sector. Can we keep that number employed? "

Even as more people got jobs in Wyoming, more were looking for work. Unemployment grew slightly but at three point six percent, it's is still among the five lowest in the country.