Chelsea Biondolillo

On Wednesday, the Riverton City Council Chambers will host a pre-bid conference for the Wind River Job Corps project.  Project administrators want to work with as many local contractors as possible.

The completed Job Corps complex will bring much needed training opportunities to Fremont County, as well as create over 100 permanent jobs.

May 7th is Teacher Appreciation Day.

Kathy Vetter, President of the Wyoming Education Association, taught elementary through high school students in Wheatland during her 30 years in the classroom. She says that teachers’ responsibilities have changed as students’ own roles have changed. “When I started teaching,” says Vetter, “going to school was the student’s job. Now, that’s only one of many jobs students have, that they have to divide their time amongst—and so there’s more pressure on the teachers and the students.”

Wildlife interest groups and agencies in Wyoming and Idaho are working to increase the populations of trumpeter swans in the region. Loss of habitat has limited numbers within the species. The Teton Regional Land Trust is working with the Wyoming Wetland Society, local offices of US Fish and Wildlife Services, and the Idaho Fish and Game departments to build a nesting colony in Teton valley.

The Wyoming Comprehensive Cancer Control Consortium will be starting the first statewide “Stupid Cancer” chapter to support young adult cancer survivors. 

Jessica Perez, an outreach coordinator with the Wyoming Department of Health, says that “Stupid Cancer” events focus on having fun and networking with other survivors between ages 15-39.

Former University of Wyoming football player Weston Johnson is facing mounting medical expenses in his battle against cancer, and football fans across the state are doing what they can to help.

As a senior, Johnson was a captain of Wyoming's 2009 New Mexico Bowl Championship team, and in 2011 he served as a graduate assistant coach. Jared Petrino is events director for UW athletics. He says Johnson was a natural leader who was liked by team mates and admired by fans.

The State’s Economics Division has released a Cost Living Index report for 2012 which shows an overall increase in Wyoming’s cost of living. The Index compares state economics to the National Consumer Price Index, which looks at costs over time in specific consumer goods categories, such as housing and food. For the fourth quarter, Wyoming saw a slightly higher increase than the National Average. Senior State Economist, Amy Bittner, says that counties in Central and Northwest Wyoming have seen the largest cost of living increases from 2011 to 2012.

The U-S Energy Information Administration says coal-fired electric power plants are generating more energy this year than last , but Wyoming coal production numbers are still below last year’s.

Wyoming Mining Association President Marion Loomis says that while interest in coal is up right now, the outlook for 2013 is still not good for Wyoming’s coal industry.

“We’re certainly not back to what we’ve seen in prior years, and our production is still down. It’s looking like it will still be a tough year.” 

A University of Wyoming Department of Agriculture project in Sheridan hopes to share knowledge between current and future grape growers in the state about what works and what doesn’t at Wyoming vineyards.

Recent US Census numbers show that Wyoming’s energy industry has helped increase population.  But the same report shows that Laramie County’s economic diversity is creating sustainable growth.

Wyoming’s population from July 2011 to July 2012 grew by 1.6%.  While much of that growth is energy-related, Laramie County saw an increase of nearly 2,000 residents. 

Senior economist of the Wyoming Division of Economic Analysis, Wenlin Liu says while the energy based counties could see a drop in population, he predicts that Laramie County’s growth will remain.  

Grand Teton National Park and Trout Unlimited are partnering to demolish a dam near Kelly, WY, which will restore access to the  Gros Ventre Watershed for spawning trout and non-game fish.

The Newbold Dam was once used for irrigation, but the park’s public affairs officer, Jackie Skaggs says the structure is now obsolete, and removing it will help the park.

“In the long run it saves us money in maintenance for a structure that is no longer needed, is no longer used, but greatly benefits fish and fish habitats,” said Skaggs.

The Casper Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) will be unveiling a new 25-year transportation plan for Casper and the surrounding communities, later this month. Plan organizers will be looking for public input from residents and businesses at several public meetings throughout the next year.

MPO planner, Sally Kerpchar, says the plan covers the new highway bill, plus much more. 

“The long range transportation plan looks at absolutely every mode of travel—anything that moves people or goods, it looks at,” said Kerpchar.

Senate File 104 – better known as the Hill Bill - passed in the legislative session that just ended. But it might be challenged in the next election if organizers of a new referendum can get enough signatures to put it on the ballot.

The bill removed some powers from  State Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill.  It also created a State Education Director that will be appointed by the governor.  The Director will oversee the State Department of Education.  

Winter visitors to Yellowstone National Park may soon get to explore the park on self-guided snowmobile tours, according to the new proposed Winter Use Plan released today.

The plan includes guidelines for how many visitors can enter the park on snowmobiles and snow coaches, and also allows for visitors to tour the park without a professional guide, which is currently required.

However, Park Superintendent Dan Wenk says that participants of non-commercially guided tours will still have to meet minimum standards.

Lower Valley Energy, a utility company, and the Department of Environmental Quality have entered the settlement process over a non-compliant part at their natural gas compressor station in Sublette County. The DEQ discovered the infraction during a routine inspection last October, and issued a notice of violation this January. According to their permit, the station is supposed to be using an emissions control device but they’re using a boiler to route natural gas emissions. 

Later this month in Laramie, the “Parks, Trails, and Recreation Master Plan Ad Hoc Advisory Committee” will unveil its new 30-year master plan. The committee hopes to get public input about their proposed network of play lots, recreational facilities, and hike and bike paths.
 

Committee member and City Councilwoman Vicki Henry says that one of the main goals of the plan is to create a long-term vision for Laramie’s parks and trails. The committee hopes that a new multi-sport complex and the proposed trails plan will appeal to a variety of residents.
 

Gas prices are up across the Rocky Mountain States as Canadian oil costs increase. Although this means that prices in Wyoming are back to more than $3.00 per gallon, Wyoming drivers are still paying less than the national average.

Yellowstone National Park is now generating one third of its electricity from a hydroelectric facility.  Located near the Mammoth Hot Springs Headquarters, the plant’s engineers estimate that it will save the Park about $70,000 a year.   

Park spokesman, Dan Hottle, says that the hydroelectric plant will also be good for the environment.  

“This is one example,” Hottle says, “of a project where we were able to cut our greenhouse emissions by almost 800 metric tons every year.”

A recent study conducted by the University of Wyoming’s Wind Energy Research Center highlights the benefits of sending Wyoming wind power to California.

Jonathan Naughton, a UW professor in mechanical engineering who co-wrote the study, says his team compared weather forecasts at sites across both states, generating new information to make the case for a state-to-state partnership.  “The resource and the economics alone haven’t convinced states like California to say, ‘yes, we want to buy a lot of Wyoming power’,” says Naughton.

A study released this month in Natural Areas Journal suggests that bark beetles do not increase the risk of forest fires in Western pine and spruce forests, and instead the culprit is climate change and in some cases, poor forestry management.

Researchers from conservation groups and universities say forest fires do not coincide with previous or current beetle killed trees, but instead with extended drought conditions caused by climate change.

This month, the Laramie-based 133rd Engineer company of the Army National Guard will begin training at Camp Guernsey. They’ll deploy to Bahrain in June.

The 133rd was last deployed in 2005. Company Captain Tyler Schiele says many of the outbound troops are relatively new to the guard.

“I would say it's probably going to be somewhere around 80 percent, which is pretty large considering how often people have been deployed," Schiele said. "And we have a lot of students from both Wyotech and University of Wyoming.”