Laramie, WY – Increasing commercial air service in Wyoming is wearing out the state's smaller airports. Shelly Reams of the state Transportation Department's aeronautics division told lawmakers meeting in Casper that smaller airports are seeing more traffic from business jets. Reams says that's caused a critical need for runway and approach improvements at smaller airports. Between 2002 and 2006, commercial air service grew by more than 37 percent in the state.
Meanwhile, construction costs have increased 100 percent since 1988 -- further exacerbating the problem.

By AP

By AP

Casper, Wy – Four more Republicans say they want to
replace Senator Craig Thomas, bringing the total number of candidates for the seat to seven.
Those four are Cheyenne attorney Tom Sansonetti, former Wyoming
House Speaker Randall Luthi, of Star Valley; former state Treasurer
Cynthia Lummis, of Cheyenne; and Cheyenne attorney Bruce Asay.

Rapid City, South Dakota – Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal
has taken over as chairman of the Western
Governors' Association.
And he says the group will continue its focus on global warming
and what steps the western United States can take to produce clean
energy.
Freudenthal says it's clear that climate change is the main
issue facing the world.
He says the association will work with the federal government
and a variety of organizations to reduce the use of electricity and

Boise, Idaho – Firefighters at the Idaho National
Laboratory doused a chemical fire inside the site's Reactor
Technology Complex that sent one worker to a hospital with minor
burns and inhalation injuries.
Thirty-six other workers also were taken to the medical facility
at the southern Idaho facility for precautionary monitoring.
I-N-L spokesman John Epperson says no radiation was released and
the public was not in any danger.
The I-N-L is in the desert west of Idaho Falls -- about 70 miles

Laramie, Wy – A report out this week warns against federal subsidies for coal-to-liquid gas projects. The report by the Natural Resources Defense Council says coal to liquid technology is a bad deal for the environment, so the government should NOT fund it. Elizabeth Martin Perera wrote the section of the report of coal to liquid gas. "The carbon dioxide emissions from liquid coal, those emissions have been found by both the department of energy and the environmental protection agency to be double the emissions of conventional petroleum fuels on a lifecycle CO2 basis."

Lander, Wy – A report from the group Editorial Projects in Education was released today (Tuesday) that says only 28 percent of Native Americans in Wyoming graduate from High School.
According to the report, Wyoming seniors are succeeding. 76 percent of all students graduated from 12th grade in 2004, six points higher than the national average. But the study also suggests the state's Native American students are falling far behind. It says 28 percent received a diploma in 2006, compared to about 50 percent of Native Americans nationwide.

Wyoming – A group of investors are trying to start an investment group to grow more technology businesses in the state. Peter O'Dowd reports.

By Peter O'Dowd

Laramie, WY – More than 300 visitors came to witness a rare species of winged dinosaur at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis on Thursday.

Scientists estimate the Archaeopteryx fossil is 150 million years old. It's one of only 10 specimens of its kind in the world, and the only one held in North America.