Rebecca Martinez

Wyoming has hired seven new Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety consultants to improve workplace safety in the state.

Workplace safety has been a real problem in Wyoming. The state ranked among the top two in the nation in workplace fatalities in eight of the last nine years. 

John Ysebaert of Workforce Services will oversee the program. He says that, instead of doling out fines for workplace safety violations, the OSHA consultants willhelp small businesses to develop and comply with safety requirements on a voluntary basis.

Casper residents should think twice before tossing yard clippings in the garbage. In May, the city will begin implementing its ban on putting yard waste in dumpsters to be landfilledas a cost cutting measure.

Casper has a composting program that turns yard waste into wood chips and compost for soil, but branches, grass, leaves and other organic matter still make up about 18-percent of what the city pays to put in the landfill.

Analysts are making conflicting predictions about where gas prices will go this summer. Some are forecasting record highs, while others say prices at the pump have already peaked. Businesses in Wyoming’s service industry hope for the latter, as they depend on an injection of tourism dollars each summer. Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez spoke with several businesses near Yellowstone about what might happen if gas prices climb with the temperature.

Increase in coal exports on the horizon
There are more new ports designed for coal export being proposed in the U.S. and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin coal producers are training their eye on the developments. With some of the most efficient economies of scale in the world, a larger percentage of PRB coal could be making its way across the ocean soon. What would that mean for Wyoming and the global community? Irina Zhorov reports. 

A Casper woman who huffed compressed air before causing a fatal car crash will spend at least eight years in prison. Heather Marie Christensen, 39, plead guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide last week.

Authorities say in November, she and her friend, Richard Condelario, 50, bought dust cleaner at Walmart before driving toward Christensen’s home.

Christensen says she doesn’t remember striking another vehicle, orthe wreck that killed her friend.

Vietnamese media have identified the buyer of Buford, Wyoming. Pham Dinh Nguyen placed the winning bid of $900,000 at auction last week, giving him a month to finalize payment and take over the 10 acres marketed as “The Nation’s Smallest Town.”

Sole Buford resident Don Sammons paid $155,000 for the property in 1992. Adjusted for inflation, that's about $250,000 today.

The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office has announced that groundwater pumping in eastern and central Laramie County will be restricted for the next year-and-a half.

State Engineer Pat Tyrrell  says groundwater levels in the area have been declining since the 80s.  He says his office has allocated water for irrigation, municipal use and the oil and gas industry primarily through temporary water use agreements.

The Wyoming Secretary of State’s office is warning businesses to be on guard against a fraudulent solicitation letter that appears to be a government document.

Businesses in other states, including Colorado, have received what appears to be an Annual Minutes Disclosure Statement, asking them to fill out information and pay a fee in order to comply with state and federal law.

Secretary of State Max Maxfield says the form might look like an official government document, bear an official-looking seal, and quote other laws.

Bidders and spectators from around the area and around the world flocked to Buford, Wyoming today/yesterday for the auction of what’s been called “The Nation’s Smallest Town.”

Four months after the doors of the Buford Trading Post were shuttered, the parking lot was once again filled with cars and trucks. Williams and Williams, the Oklahoma-based auction house, re-opened the Trading Post to sell of Buford’s 10 acres and five buildings, which include the service center.

Gas prices have risen quickly in Wyoming over the past month in keeping with national trends.

The average statewide cost reached $3.61 per gallon this week. That’s almost a 47-cent increase from a month ago, according to GasBuddy.com, a company that tracks prices at gas stations across the U.S. and Canada.

Wyoming’s average gasoline cost is still $.28 cheaper than the national average.

The American sheep industry has exploded in recent years, causing many producers to expand their operations. But more sheep means more people are needed to shear them, and the number of professional shearers has declined over the decades. Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez tagged along with a Wyoming-based shearer during a gig in Douglas and filed this report.

Listen to the whole show

Buford, WY is famous for its population of one. And with the upcoming auction of Buford, it has drawn the interest of people who might like to own what’s marketed as “the nation’s smallest town.” So what does it take to make a town? 

Amy Bittner is senior economist at the state Economic Analysis Division, and her office is the contact for the state’s census data center program.

 “Essentially, cities and towns are incorporated places. They have an official boundary, they have a local government,” Bittner says.

Wyoming motorists can expect some delays around roadwork projects planned for this summer. The Wyoming Department of Transportation plans to begin repairs on 31-million dollars-worth of flood damages on the state’s roads.

Cody Beers is a spokesman for WYDOT’s District 5, which covers most of central and northwest Wyoming. He says increased snowpack and the long cold winter caused heavy, concentrated flooding in his area, especially outside of Yellowstone National Park.

Cattle-ranching is hard enough without having to worry about Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis.

A national company, U.S. Livestock Producers, has begun selling warranty packages to ranchers who want to insure their herd against certain diseases. Among those covered is Bovine Brucellosis, which is spread by elk and Bighorn sheep, and has recently caused cattle losses in Northwestern Wyoming.

Listen to the Whole Show

Listen to the story

The Wyoming Film Office has grand plans for the state’s film industry, and it’s making progress. A prime-time network sitcom, and a major Hollywood movie have filmed here in the past year, but shooting in the Cowboy State still brings its own challenges. Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez filed this report.

Former Cowboys Basketball star and three-time All American Kenny Sailors of Laramie will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri this fall.

Sailors, who is now 91, is the second Cowboy to join. His first college-level coach, Everett Shelton, was inducted in 2006.

“Ev was the greatest coach I’ve ever played for, and I’ve played for about 25, 26 coaches,” Sailor said. “He had a real knowledge of the science and tactics of the game of basketball that I frankly don’t think a lot of coaches have today.”

Listen to the interview

Former Cowboys Basketball Star and purported creator of the jump shot will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Missouri this fall. At age 91, Sailors is the second Cowboy to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez spoke with him this week. He says a lot has changed since his days on the court.

The Bureau of Land Management has begun taking comment on its plan to open up 461-thousand acres of public land in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming for Oil Shale Research, Development, and Demonstration Leases.Oil shale development involves extracting a petroleum-substance called kerogen that can be cooked and potentially turned into a liquid fuel.Western Resource Advocates spoke out against the plan today.

Listen to the whole show

Listen to the story

Since 1999, civic initiative called Leadership Wyoming has sought to connect the movers and shakers from the private, public and non-profit sectors statewide. Participants leave their jobs for a few days each month to learn about different issues in different communities across Wyoming. Recently, Wyoming Public Radio’s Rebecca Martinez tagged along on the group’s visit to Lander. She filed this report.

Wyoming has dropped from the top 10 happiest states in America, according to the Gallup Healthways Well-Being Index.

Gallup surveys Americans for their emotional and physical health, behaviors, work environments and nutrition and medical access.

Surrounding states, including Utah, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska –all made the top 10 list in 2011, but Wyoming has dropped to the middle of thepack at number 21.

Dan Witters leads analysis of the Well-being Index. He says emotional health and work environments in Wyoming have deteriorated in the past year.

A federal agency has dismissed a permit application for a proposed project that sought to divert water from Western Wyoming to the southeastern portion of the stat and Colorado’s Front Range through a 500-mile pipeline.

Listen to the show

Listen to the story

The Wyoming house voted to introduce a bill that would require people applying for public assistance to submit to drug testing. If an applicant tests positive for controlled substances, his or her eligibility would be suspended.
Republican Sue Wallis of Recluse supported the bill. She says drug testing is a normal part of many jobs, so it’s fair to require it of people receiving state support.

The Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Interim Committee has passed a final draft of a wolf management plan. The state must maintain no fewer than 10 breeding pairs or a hundred individuals and would protect wolves in Yellowstone and the Wind River Reservation, designate them as trophy game in parts of the Western Mountains, and allow people to shoot them on sight in the remaining 85 percent of Wyoming.