Wyo. Republicans Now Fighting To Preserve Obamacare Funding
One of the biggest Supreme Court cases of this term could wipe away the insurance subsidies that tens of thousands of Wyoming residents now rely on under so-called Obamacare. Matt Laslo has the story from Washington on how Wyoming Senator John Barrasso is now scrambling to find a Plan B for a law he's staked his name as a doctor opposing.
"We Have No Place To Hold Them:" Rural Counties Struggle With Those Detained In Mental Health Crisis
If you want to get the full picture of how the Title 25 process works in Wyoming you need to talk to Chel Bleckler. That’s because she spent over a decade working in an E.R. in Cody, where a big part of her job was working with Title 25 patients.
New Laws Hope To Stop Spread Of Disease Between Bighorn And Domestic Sheep
When it comes to the spread of disease from domestic sheep to bighorn sheep, it’s not that different from the arrival of Europeans in the Americas when small pox and other diseases killed millions of indigenous people. Without a built-in immunity, pneumonia can wipe out an entire bighorn sheep herd in no time. And that’s why, last week, the Wyoming legislature passed a pair of historic bills that will effectively keep the two species apart.
Tobacco Prevention Campaigns For Native Americans Tell Kids To 'Keep It Sacred'
In most schools, campaigns to keep students from smoking use simple slogans like “Be Smart, Don’t Start,” but those targeting Native American kids are a bit different. On Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation, you’re likely to hear more nuanced catchphrases like “Keep It Sacred,” and “Traditional Use, Not Commercial Abuse.”
"There Are Empty Beds:" Counties Turn To Crisis Center As Alternative To Hospital, Jail
The Cloud Peak Counseling Center in Worland looks more like a nursing home than a psychiatric hospital. It’s a small building with murals on the walls and a game room with leather couches. In fact it isn’t a hospital at all. It’s a “Crisis Stabilization Center:” a place where Title 25 patients in the area can be taken for psychiatric treatment for the first three days that they are held. It only has a few beds, but here in in the Bighorn Basin, where the nearest psychiatric hospital is hours away, it has had a huge impact.
INSIDE ENERGY: Why Gas Taxes Won't Fix Our Infrastructure Problem
It’s no secret that America’s roads are in trouble.
Our highways, interstates and bridges are crumbling and there's an estimated $90 billion dollar annual shortfall in funding to make the fixes.So, now would be a good time to raise gas taxes, right? That’s the main funding source for road infrastructure, has been for decades. Wyoming, and Iowa have raised theirs in recent years, other states are considering it. But, as Dan Boyce with our Inside Energy team tells us, gas taxes are not a long-term solution.
Landowners, Industry Disagree On Drilling Distance
People packed into a public hearing Monday about proposed changes to the rules governing how far oil and gas drilling has to be from homes and schools. The Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is proposing to increase the "setback" distance from 350 feet to 500 feet.
Freshman Legislators Had An Up And Down Session
At the start of the Wyoming legislative session three freshman lawmakers from three corners of the state explained their goals and what they hoped to achieve. Now that the session is over, the three share their experiences. Cheyenne Republican Senator Stephan Pappas said he was impressed with the ideas the Senate was asked to consider.
Old Instrument Inspires Pianist Chi-Chen Wu On New Recording
Here’s something that will be of particular interest to anyone who’s ever played the piano. Chi-Chen Wu teaches piano at the University of Wyoming and has a new CD out this month.
