GRAND FORKS, N.D.—The University of North Dakota will host retired Air Force Col. Patrick “Mike” Shortsleeve, a national security and intelligence expert now working in the defense industry, for a campus presentation Nov. 5. Shortsleeve, vice president of strategic development at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., will speak at 2:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Read More…
BOISE, Idaho—Idaho General Fund revenue exceeded the state’s forecast by $90.3 million during the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, finishing 6.8% above projections. September revenue alone came in $39 million above forecast, with individual income tax collections accounting for much of the strength. Individual income tax revenue is running 18.3% above forecast year to Read More…
A record 15,908 students are attending UND this fall, marking the University’s second consecutive all-time enrollment high and seventh straight year of growth. Behind that number are gains in undergraduate enrollment, strong retention and several of the largest freshman classes in UND history. Here’s a closer look at what is driving UND’s record enrollment. More Read More…
BOISE, Idaho—A federal district court has rejected a constitutional challenge to Idaho’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, dismissing claims brought by individuals convicted of sex offenses and granting summary judgment in favor of the state. Attorney General Raúl Labrador said the ruling preserves a law that requires qualifying offenders to register and makes certain Read More…
WYOMING—The U.S National Weather Service predicts smoke from the western wildfires will begin to move eastward into the afternoon filling the valleys in Northwestern Wyoming with smoke. Jackson remains under a fire weather watch with elevated fire weather conditions predicted until at least Tuesday. On Sept. 9, during a COVID-19 press conference update, Governor Gordon Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The Brother’s Keepers Motorcycle club provided a funeral escort for a North Dakota World War 2 veteran. Harold Krueger of Kulm was honored for his service in the Marine Corp. READ FULL STORY
Idaho is small when it comes to population but very big when it comes to agriculture. Idaho ranked No. 1 among the 11 Western states in 2019 in farm income on a per capita basis. USDA data released Sept. 2 shows that Idaho farmers and ranchers produced $4,562 per person in 2019 in farm cash Read More…
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Being a member of the National Guard is rigorous, both mentally and physically. To make sure those serving get all the resources they need, the Idaho National Guard is making sure to do regular check-ins and host education programs on suicide prevention. The Idaho National Guard says there is no single factor Read More…
Fargo attorney Joseph Wetch Jr. has resigned from the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education less than two months after being appointed. Gov. Doug Burgum in July named Wetch, a Bismarck native, to serve a four-year term on the board, effective July 1. Wetch resigned Aug. 20, citing “unforseen circumstances” that made him unable Read More…
The new owners of 5 million combined acres of land and mineral rights in southern Wyoming say they plan to pursue opportunities to expand renewable energy development in addition to existing drilling and mining activity — a potential new source of revenue for the state as a third-party investment company takes over land long held Read More…
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The final field appears set for the South Dakota Legislature’s seats that are being contested in the November general election. All 70 representatives and 35 senators will hold 2-year terms, but many of the races have already been settled in Republicans’ favor because they are running unopposed. The latest list includes a handful Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota set a near record Thursday for the number of daily positive coronavirus tests, and has increased its per-capita figures for the infection to the highest in the country. The state Health Department’s update showed that 360 of the 12,629 tests in the past day came back positive, with Cass, Read More…
RAWLINS — After a month and a half of restricted activity and an ultimate lockdown because of a COVID-19 outbreak at the Wyoming State Penitentiary, inmates and their families are concerned about conditions inside the correctional facility. Sylvia Brown’s husband is an inmate at the prison, and she said she has had no contact visits Read More…
Cheyenne – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department needs help from hunters this fall to collect lymph node samples from deer and elk for chronic wasting disease (CWD) testing in focused monitoring hunt areas across Wyoming. Hunters are a very important component in helping Game and Fish understand the disease and achieve CWD monitoring goals. Game and Fish Read More…
Gov. Doug Burgum welcomed the White House’s Coronavirus Response Coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, to North Dakota Saturday to discuss the state’s efforts to save lives and livelihoods in the fight against COVID-19. Birx, an ambassador-at-large and U.S. Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, met with the governor and first lady and held a round-table discussion Read More…
Autility company serving 146,000 customers in Wyoming has taken the next step to bring $2 billion in energy transmission lines to fruition across the state. Rocky Mountain Power announced on Wednesday it had submitted an application for regulatory approval with the Wyoming Public Service Commission, a necessary step before it can break ground and Read More…
Though she’s still in her 20s, billionaire heiress-turned-Tinseltown film producer Erika Olde (“Home Again,” “Woman Walks Ahead,” “The Female Brain”) is already a veteran player in the high-end Los Angeles real estate market. Now she’s set her sights on pristine Wyoming — records reveal the Cayman Islands native has purchased a 4.27-acre spread in a private community just outside Read More…
The Idaho Business Review has selected 21 top legal professionals as 2020 Leaders in Law honorees, recognizing them for leadership, professional achievements, mentorship and community service. The winners range from relative newcomers to the industry who are rapidly making their mark to legal aces with decades of experience. They represent five awards categories: partner, associate, Read More…
North Dakota oil production recovered slightly in June but was still near historic lows as the pandemic-induced petroleum slump continued. North Dakota, the nation’s second-largest oil-producing state, pumped out 890,109 barrels per day in June, up 3.6% from May when output hit a seven-year low. Natural gas production in June increased 2.3% from the previous Read More…
The Wyoming County Fair may have been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t enjoy the taste of the fair. Doug Anderson of the Pike Fire Department organized the Wyoming County Food Truck Rally for two reasons. “You take a big loss when it’s one of your biggest revenues Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota has new signs welcoming people to the state. The design features the new state logo and includes the first photo background used on a North Dakota welcome sign. READ FULL STORY
Aug. 7 (UPI) — A Wyoming sheriff’s deputy responded to an unusual loose animal call and ended up wrangling a runaway emu. The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office said Deputy Herlihey was dispatched to a neighborhood for an “emu on the loose call.” READ FULL STORY
Dickinson’s Fisher Industries won a new border wall contract Monday for $300 million. The wall will cover 17 miles in Laredo, Texas, next to the Rio Grande. Fisher already got more than $1.5 billion for two other contracts. READ FULL STORY
(CNN)Twelve people were hospitalized in Wyoming on Monday after a hot air balloon crash, officials said. Three hot air balloons carrying a total of 36 people crashed into the ground on Monday morning, according to Jackson Hole Fire Chief Brady Hansen. Hansen said authorities received a call just after 8 a.m. local time that Read More…
WASHINGTON, DC (KOTA) – A former Indian Health Service doctor convicted of pedophilia continues to receive a government pension; but South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson wants that to end. Johnson, along with Rep. Greg Gianforte of Montana urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to hold pediatrician Stanley Patrick Weber fully accountable for Read More…
A Towner, North Dakota rancher has been appointed by Governor Doug Burgum to the North Dakota Beef Commission. Jason Zahn will serve as a beef producer director on the commission. He joins the NDBC as one of nine voting members, all representing various segments of the state’s beef industry. Zahn and his family run a Read More…
Three Wyoming state agencies will together provide 500,000 face coverings to school districts here, the departments announced Monday. The reusable face coverings, distributed by the departments of Health and Education and the Office of Homeland Security, are currently required for use within schools when staff and students can’t maintain 6 feet of distance. The gear Read More…
IDAHO FALLS — Police arrested three people on Monday after a woman told investigators they held her captive and tortured her over several weeks. On June 22, the woman asked a stranger to call 911 for her. The woman said she had just escaped from a home on the 1000 block of Canal Street, where Read More…
By Ellen Fike, Cowboy State Daily Author Forrest Fenn confirmed this week that his treasure chest filled with $1 million worth of valuables was found in Wyoming. In a blog post, Fenn wrote that many of the people who searched for his treasure were curious where the lucky hunter found it, but he wanted to keep Read More…
Masks are now required in Teton County, the result of a long-sought countywide mask order the state approved as COVID-19 makes its return to the valley. The order includes some exceptions. State Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist signed the order Monday, hours after the Teton County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon is pleased that a federal court in Wyoming reached a decision Tuesday that “will allow Wyoming and three other energy producing states to restart legal challenges to an overreaching Obama-era rule,” according to the governor’s office. Gordon’s office says the Wyoming federal district court’s decision comes after a Read More…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – South Dakota is trying to lure Minnesota businesses to relocate by promoting its looser coronavirus restrictions, but Minnesota’s governor predicted businesses would stay put. South Dakota is spending $369,500 on an advertising campaign in Minnesota now through Labor Day. Ads will air on TV, radio, social media, and in print, according to a Read More…
LARAMIE – The University of Wyoming has released a more detailed plan of what partial closures might look like if the number of COVID-19 cases on campus spikes, as well as the “decision points” that could trigger changes this semester. Representatives of the university administration and the consultants who have been hired to manage the Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. — Leaders of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota sued the federal government Wednesday due to a Department of Interior opinion that sides with the state over valuable mineral rights beneath a portion of a man-made lake on the Missouri River. The Three Affiliated Tribes’ lawsuit said the Interior Department Read More…
The Wyoming Supreme Court today issued an order disbarring Laramie lawyer Michael J. Pearce from the practice of law. Pearce, who is currently serving a one-year suspension of his law license for previous professional misconduct, failed to respond to a formal disciplinary charged filed by the Office of Bar Counsel of the Wyoming State Bar. Read More…
UPDATE: Laramie County prosecutor David Singleton and attorneys for the defendants questioned Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations Special Agent John Briggs on Thursday during the start of the preliminary hearing. Laramie County Circuit Court Judge Antoinette Williams is presiding over the hearing, which was extended to an as-yet-unannounced date. — Ed. Wyoming Division of Criminal Read More…
Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk shredded through the Badlands — and snubbed the rules — while visiting the national park with his family on Sunday. “Driving through Badlands with my family, no other cars in sight. Saw a downhill section and stopped so I can skate it,” Hawk wrote on Twitter. The 52-year-old then Read More…
CASPER, Wyo — Soon more locations in Natrona County will be offering simulcast gaming machines that will let residents bet on live horse races taking place at the Wyoming Downs racetrack near Evanston. The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) passed a resolution Tuesday, July 7, authorizing Wyoming Downs, LLC to expand pari-mutuel wagering operations on Read More…
SHERIDAN — Athletes who planned to compete for teams at Sheridan College or Gillette College in the upcoming school year will not have a chance to play at the Division I level of the National Junior College Athletic Association locally. Faced with the need to cut nearly $4 million from its annual budget, Northern Read More…
FARGO, N.D. – Nearly three years ago, Elon Musk tweeted “You can now drive anywhere in the US using the Tesla supercharger network.” But he forgot about one state: North Dakota. “I joined Twitter on that tweet to tell him that we still exist,” said Brian Kopp, a North Dakota Tesla owner. For the past Read More…
Wyoming’s unemployment rate fell to 8.8% in May, as the state began to recover from the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Equality State had the nation’s third lowest unemployment rate for the month, trailing only Nebraska and Utah, federal figures show. The national unemployment rate, meanwhile, stood at 13.3%. In April, Wyoming unemployment Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. – In April, North Dakota saw a 500% increase in online sales tax revenue because more people were staying at home and shopping, according to North Dakota Tax Department officials. North Dakota Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger said last year North Dakota took in half a million dollars in April, in 2020 that number has Read More…
AMERICAN FALLS – Congratulations to Brett Jones, of Rock Springs Wyoming on a new catch-and-release state record rainbow trout. Jones caught the huge trout while fishing American Falls Reservoir on May 25. The 31.25-inch monster was just long enough to break the previous record of 30.5 inches, held by David Raisch since 2018. State records Read More…
Noting that the announcement came with “heavy hearts,” officials confirmed Saturday that the two bodies recovered from a backyard in Idaho were the remains of the missing children of “doomsday cult” mom Lori Vallow. Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, had been missing since September. Their remains were found Tuesday, buried on the property of Read More…