Sen. Enzi Gets A Gavel - The First Accountant Ever To Chair The Budget Committee
Republicans now are the majority in both chambers in the U.S. Congress, which means they control all the gavels on Capitol Hill. Wyoming's senior senator, Mike Enzi, gets to wield one of those gavels in the all-important Budget Committee.
Senator Enzi is quiet and unassuming, but his D.C. office is adorned with Wyoming paraphernalia. Today, he’s at his most gleeful, if still subdued, because of his new chairmanship.
New Legislators Find Their Way
The Wyoming legislative session is underway and it features 3 new Senators in Cheyenne and 14 newly elected Representatives. It’s a big stage for the newly minted lawmakers and 31-year-old Tyler Lindholm is excited. He is a tall, thin, and confident 1st year Representative from Sundance. Lindholm served in the Navyhas, chaired the Crook County Republican Party and is ready to jump into the legislature with both feet. But legislative protocols and the abundance of legislation can be a challenge for newcomers.
INSIDE ENERGY: When Oil Prices Drop, Size And Location Matter
We’ve been hearing a lot about crashing oil prices lately. Crude oil is selling for $46 barrel today compared to over $90 a year ago. The price drop is great news for consumers and terrible for oil companies. But not all oil companies -- or oil fields -- are created equal. When oil prices drop, size and location matters.
INSIDE ENERGY: Oil Price Slide Worsens Company Debt Woes
Companies have been borrowing more and more to drill in America’s oil fields, with some estimates having oil and gas industry debt jumping more than 50 percent over the last five years.
This trend was occurring long before the dramatic slide in oil prices of the last six months, which hit a new lows this week at $46/barrel. The price dive is now making it a lot harder to pay off those mounting debts.
Jillian Balow Is Wyoming's New Schools Chief
Last week, Republican Jillian Balow was sworn in as Wyoming’s new Superintendent of Public Instruction. Balow is now working to rebuild the state’s Department of Education, formerly led by Cindy Hill. There are quite a few vacancies to fill and the current legislative session could shake things up for the state’s K-12 schools. Superintendent Balow spoke with Wyoming Public Radio’s Aaron Schrank about the road ahead.
Boomtown Schools: One Reason Wyoming's Standarized Test Scores Could Be So Mediocre
There was a big surprise in the annual state rankings released by Education Week recently. Wyoming made the top 10 list for best places to get your child an education, the only state in the Western U.S. The reason is Wyoming spends more on education than any other state. But even paying $18,000 per student--50 percent higher than the national average—Wyoming’s standardized test scores are very mediocre when compared nationally.
Fort Washakie Stories Part II: 'We Have A Team'
This school year, we're following the academic progress of students at Fort Washakie High School—a struggling school on the Wind River Indian Reservation. Academic achievement—like most things at the high school—is on the rise. Thanks to its recent switch from charter to public, there’s a brand new school building in the works here. And students here have just taken a step that seems small, but is key to earning Fort Washakie its stripes as a traditional high school on the reservation. They've put together a basketball team.
Lynne Cheney Looks Into The Life Of James Madison
Lynne Cheney and her husband, former Vice President Dick Cheney, will be in Laramie on February 17th discussing her new book called James Madison: A Life Reconsidered. The Cheney's will discuss the book at the Marian Rochelle Gateway Center at the University of Wyoming. The discussion begins at 4 p.m.
Grammy Nomination 'Opens Doors' For Laramie Band
A Laramie-based band has been nominated for a Grammy Award. The album ‘Decisions’ features the band Blinddog Smokin’and legendary Louisianna blues singer Bobby Rush; it’s up for Best Blues Album. As the band’s founder Carl Gustafson tells Wyoming Public Radio’s Micah Schweizer, the Grammy nomination has also led to award nominations in the roots music capitols of Memphis and New Orleans.
