Featured Articles in Regional News

UND Reopens Search for Dean of School of Law

The University of North Dakota is seeking candidates for the position of Dean of its School of Law, reopening the search for a leader to guide the institution into the next phase of growth and development. Reporting to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Dean will serve as the chief executive officer Read More…

Fargo North Law and Justice Students Observe Supreme Court in Action

Fargo North High School’s Law and Justice students took a trip to Bismarck on Thursday, November 20th, for a firsthand look at the judicial process. Led by Social Studies teacher Melissa Evensen, the students attended a live oral argument at the state Supreme Court and had the opportunity to meet with the justices. https://bigskyheadlines.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DOJ-Scam1.mp4 During Read More…

Attorney General Labrador Scores Legal Win Over Satanic Temple’s Challenge to Idaho Abortion Laws

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced a major legal victory Monday after a federal court dismissed a lawsuit filed by The Satanic Temple challenging the state’s pro-life laws. U.S. District Judge David C. Nye ruled that the group’s constitutional claims were legally flawed and could not be remedied through amendment, dismissing the case with prejudice. Read More…

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CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER DIES IN WYOMING PRISON

A Laramie native who was serving consecutive prison terms for taking indecent liberties with a child and drug possession has died, the Wyoming Department of Corrections announced Tuesday. Department spokesman Mark Horan said Lorenzo S. Montez, 53, died of a long-term illness Tuesday at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington. An autopsy has been Read More…

Wyoming unemployment falls to 3.5% in May 2019

CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported Tuesday that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 3.6% in April to 3.5% in May. Wyoming’s unemployment rate was lower than its year-ago level of 4% and slightly lower than the current U.S. unemployment rate of 3.6%. READ FULL STORY

After delays, Bank of North Dakota still eyeing new ‘financial services’ building in Bismarck

BISMARCK — North Dakota state officials are dusting off plans to construct a new “financial services center” after budget woes delayed the building project.   Four years ago, state lawmakers authorized the use of $17 million in assets from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota for the project, which would house the Department of Commerce, Read More…

Leadership South Dakota names 43 selected for program

Leadership South Dakota has named those selected for the 8-month leadership program. The class includes 43 members and begins in September. Leadership South Dakota is a statewide program meant to provide South Dakotans with the background, experiences and insights to assume leadership positions at the local, state and national levels. READ FULL STORY

Wyoming National Guard unit deploying to Kosovo

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming Army National Guard soldiers deploy this week for a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo. Community members are invited to attend a ceremony for the 297th Infantry Regiment on Tuesday afternoon at Star Valley High School in Afton. National Guard officials say this is the first time the Wyoming infantry unit is deploying Read More…

North Dakota DOT kicks off $370 million construction season

BISMARCK — North Dakota state transportation officials kicked off a $370 million highway construction season Wednesday, May 22, months after lawmakers rejected a gas tax increase to boost road funding.   The plans include reconstructing and rehabilitating sections of Interstate 94, reconstructing parts of Interstate 29 between Fargo and Wahpeton as well as reconstructing and rehabbing U.S. Read More…

Feds found unsafe working conditions at Amazon in Nampa. Now the company is paying.

Amazon has reached an informal settlement with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for unsafe workplace conditions at its new, local delivery center in Nampa. OSHA cited the company in March with four violations, including failing to log an injury to a worker that required treatment beyond first aid. The modular delivery center went up in November Read More…

Number of births in Wyoming falls to 15-year low

Mothers gave birth to 6,551 babies in Wyoming last year, the lowest number in more than 15 years, the Wyoming Department of Health said Tuesday.   The downward trend began in 2015. That year — which coincided with the state’s largest energy bust in decades, mothers gave birth to about 7,700 babies. Wyoming’s population dropped in the first three Read More…

North Dakota’s 2nd medical marijuana dispensary set to open

BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota Department of Health says the state’s second medical marijuana dispensary is set to open next week. The facility will be located in Grand Forks. Jason Wahl, director of the department’s Medical Marijuana Division, says the dispensary operated by We-Mend LLC is set to open Wednesday. READ FULL STORY

A federal trial in a whistleblower lawsuit filed against the state of Idaho that was slated to start April 15 has been canceled because the state has settled the case. Former Idaho Department of Labor purchasing agent James Cryer sued the department in December 2016, claiming the department retaliated against him and fired him for Read More…

Wyoming governor seeks solution on quandary over big game migration corridors

Gov. Mark Gordon is pulling together a citizen’s group to help find a happy medium between energy and conservation interests seeking regulatory certainty around migration corridors in the southwestern quadrant of the state, his office announced Tuesday.   In a statement, Gordon called on Wyoming residents representing industry, agriculture and conservation to find a state-level Read More…

UW trustees name three candidates for acting prez job

LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees named three candidates for the position of acting president Friday. Two are no longer university employees and the third has been a university employee for less than a year. Chris Boswell, UW’s former vice president for governmental and community affairs, and Bill Mai, former vice president Read More…

Wyoming Tourists Spent Over $3.8 Billion in 2018

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — An independent report states that visitors to Wyoming spent more than $3.8 billion in 2018, an increase of 6.8% from 2017. The report by Dean Runyan Associates released Monday by the Wyoming Office of Tourism shows a steady increase in traveler spending and visitor volume in the state since 2007. According Read More…

North Dakota’s Triangle Petroleum Files for Bankruptcy

Triangle Petroleum Corp., which has interests in North Dakota’s energy and commercial real-estate markets, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday with a reorganization plan under which bondholder J.P. Morgan Securities LLC will get all of the equity. Triangle’s debt consists mostly of a $2 million secured term loan from JPMorgan Chase Bank NA and $167 million under Read More…

Two New Members Join the Wyoming Transportation Commission

Gov. Mark Gordon, with the approval of the state Senate, recently appointed Jon Dolezal, of Evanston, and Lee Filer, of Cheyenne, to the commission. Dolezal represents Commission District 3, which includes Uinta, Lincoln, Sublette, and Teton counties. Filer represents Commission District 1, which encompasses Goshen, Platte, and Laramie counties. Both will serve six-year terms. Dolezal Read More…

It Sounds Like Kanye Is Heading Back to Wyoming

2018 was a busy year for Kanye West. Last spring, the multi-hyphenate announced he would deliver a handful of seven-track projects, four of which were under the G.O.O.D. Music banner. In addition to recording his eighth solo studio album (Ye) and a collaborative album with Kid Cudi (Kids See Ghosts), Kanye also executive produced projects by Pusha-T, Nas, and Teyana Taylor—all of Read More…

New North Dakota state record walleye caught

HEART RIVER, N.D. – UPDATE: According to Tom Volk, the Game and Fish Department confirmed his Walleye caught Sunday is the new state record. ORIGINAL STORY: A possible new state record Walleye was caught Sunday. The Game and Fish Department says Tom Volk of Lincoln reeled in the 16 pound 9 ounce, 32.5 inch fish Read More…

Medicare Penalizes Ten Wyoming Hospitals

Medicare has penalized nine Wyoming hospitals this year for high rates of readmission and Aspen Mountain Medical Center in Rock Springs for a high rate of hospital-acquired illnesses. According to data from health news organization Kaiser Health News, hospitals can receive cuts to their reimbursements from Medicare. This includes up to three percent per Medicare Read More…

Wyoming Dinosaur Center offers hands-on paleontology

CODY — Colossal dinosaur skeletons are a prime attraction at major museums in big cities like Chicago, Berlin, New York and Washington, D.C. But none of those institutions can match what Wyoming offers for a hands-on, citizen-science thunder-lizard experience in the heart of dinosaur country. “Paleontology is not accessible to the general public, and it’s Read More…

Report says 10 Wyoming hospitals penalized by Medicare

ASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A report says the federal government has penalized nine Wyoming hospitals for high readmission rates, and another one for high levels of hospital-acquired medical conditions. The Casper Star-Tribune reports that the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Kaiser Health News says the federal Affordable Care Act allows Medicare to cut payments to the hospitals. Read More…