Cheyenne, Wy –
Governor Dave Freudenthal has quickly replaced two people who recently resigned from the Wyoming Health Care Commission. Democrat Dixie Roberts who is a financial planner who assume the chairperson position and Former Republican State Senator Rex Arney will also join the board. The purpose of the commission is to lower health care costs, while providing more health care access to the state. It is also supposed to look for ways to reduce medical liability insurance.

Laramie, Wy – Cheyenne city officials are considering converting the city's trash into electricity and ethanol.
The city would have to build a plant to that would remove recyclable materials from the trash. What's left is shredded and then heated in an oyxgen-deprived atmosphere, where it produces gas that can be used to generate electricity or refined into ethanol.
Slag, or ash left over from the process, can be used as cover

Laramie, Wy – All states are required to create a system to track registered voters by January first. Several states are struggling with this. Colorado just fired the company that was designing its system. That company, Accenture, is also working on Wyoming's system. Secretary of State Joe Meyer says he has had some frustration with them, but after a visit to the company's headquarters they agreed to put more resources into the project and things are going better.

Laramie, Wy – Governor Freudenthal is proposing a bill requiring sex offenders who target children to get life in prison without parole after their second conviction.
Attorney General Pat Crank is scheduled to present draft legislation to the Joint Judiciary Interim Committee in Cheyenne on Monday.
Current law imposes a life sentence upon a third conviction.
Casper criminal defense lawyer Mike Krampner says the proposal threatens to strip the state's judges of discretion about the appropriate sentence for each convict.

Laramie, Wy – Hunters killed far fewer elk on the National Elk Refuge and in Grand Teton National Park this fall than they have in years past.
Hunting season ended this week with 385 elk killed. That's down 60 percent from the average.
One reason may be that elk migration to the low country occurred earlier than usual this fall, thwarting hunters who went hunting during vacation time that they arranged in advance.

Laramie, Wy – Tuition at the University of Wyoming would
increase by two percent for the 2006-2007 academic year under a recommendation made to the college's board of trustees.
The proposed tuition increase would amount to about two dollars
more per credit hour for a resident undergraduate student -- or 60
dollars more a year for students for full time students. However, the support is not unanimous. Trustee Peggy Rounds continues to note that Tuition should be as free as possible. If approved, U-W's tuition and fees would be lower than 94

Laramie, Wy – The University of Wyoming wants to increase tuition next year by two percent or 60 dollars a year for in state undergrads. That's less than the rate of inflation, but it comes just before the legislature considers funding the Hathaway Scholarship Program. That would give Wyoming students up to 32 hundred dollars a year.
Vice President for Budget and Planning Phil Harris says they brought up this proposed increase early to take it off the table during discussions about the Hathaway Scholarships in Cheyenne.

Laramie, Wy – Next week the Split Estate law will have its first hearing before the Oil and Gas commission. The law sets up a number of rules that need to be met before a mineral developer can begin work on a surface landowners property. Although this case will have a hearing, Governor Dave Freudenthal calls the new law a success. He says disputes will always occur.
But Freudenthal says there are much fewer complaints about dealings with mineral companies than he heard before the law was enacted.

Washington D-C – A country drive might be relaxing, but it can also be dangerous.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 42 percent more fatal crashes occur in rural parts of the country than on busy stretches of highways through cities and suburbs.
A study the administration released today (Thursday) says rural
crashes are more likely to involve multiple fatalities, rollovers
and motorists being thrown from their vehicles.
Making matters worse, it takes longer for emergency medical
services to arrive at the scene.

Cheyenne, Wy – Wyoming gets a failing grade for its
standards of teaching science in elementary and secondary schools.
A review released yesterday (Wednesday) by the Fordham Institute
gives Wyoming an 'F' and ranks the state number 44 out of all 50
states and Washington D-C.
Of the surrounding states, Colorado received a 'B,' Utah got a
'C,' South Dakota a 'D,' and Idaho, Montana and Nebraska all also
got 'Fs.'
Annette Bohling, deputy superintendent at the Wyoming Department