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…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – On Friday, Aug. 16, 2019, the Wyoming Department of Agriculture honored five individuals for their contributions to the agriculture industry and the Wyoming Department of Agriculture at the Ruthe James Williams Center on the Wyoming State Fairgrounds during the 107th State Fair. The excellence in agriculture awards are given to individuals who Read More…
Idaho officials are focusing their attention on the state’s growing opioids and substance abuse problems. The Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Advisory Group met for the first time Thursday, with Gov. Brad Little (R) calling it a “very comprehensive and complex problem.” “I’ve looked, observed, talked about, observed from a distance, and sometimes, I’ve observed Read More…
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said in a Tuesday news release that the state is “doing everything we can to launch the hemp industry.” The Wyoming Legislature earlier this year passed House Bill 171, authorizing the launching of a state hemp program. The action followed the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill in Congress, which formally removed hemp Read More…
The collapse of an irrigation tunnel near Fort Laramie could cost Wyoming and Nebraska roughly $89 million in economic losses if affected crops are a total loss, according to a new report by researchers from the two states’ universities. “If farmers are unable to sell these commodities, there will be a negative impact not only Read More…
With school starting up soon, school districts in Williams County are still trying to solve overcrowding issues. Monday afternoon, school officials, and other city and county officials met with the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the State’s Superintendent. Two school districts in Williams County have been unsuccessful at convincing voters to support tax increases to Read More…
Police in Wyoming are recommending sex abuse charges against two unnamed Catholic leaders in the state, a move that comes roughly a year after police reopened a case involving accusations of sex abuse by a local bishop who is now retired. “An investigation into sex abuse taking place in Cheyenne by members of the Catholic Read More…
GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming officials have approved a $2 million state loan to help renovate an events center. The Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board on Thursday unanimously approved the loan for remodeling parts of the Cam-Plex in Gillette. The Gillette News-Record reports the work began in July and will take about a year. The Read More…
BISMARCK — U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson postponed a trip to North Dakota planned for Tuesday, Aug. 6, Sen. John Hoeven said Monday. Hoeven’s office announced the visit Monday afternoon but said just hours later that Carson’s schedule had changed. The Republican senator’s office said they were working to reschedule. Carson Read More…
FARGO, N.D. — North Dakota’s law banning Sunday shopping from midnight to noon is now history. Whatever it is you’re in the market for, you can now shop for it on Sunday mornings in North Dakota. That’s because the state’s Blue Laws have been lifted. “Well you’ve never been able to come until after lunch, Read More…
HELL CREEK FORMATION, N.D. (WTHR) — A University of California Merced student had the experience of a lifetime finding a 65-million-year-old fossil. Harrison Duran is studying biology at the California school. As a longtime fan of dinosaurs, he decided to take a course on the history of dinosaurs his freshman year. He furthered his interest outside the Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota’s travel and tourism season is on track to beat last year’s numbers, even with weather delays to many popular destinations. Last year, more than 1.3 million visitors took in North Dakota’s state parks and events, according to the Parks and Rec. This year, that number is expected to jump. “Last year, Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo.– Governor Mark Gordon announced today he has appointed members to a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force. The Governor was inspired to create the Task Force after attending an event at the University of Wyoming organized by the Native student group, Keepers of the Fire, which sought to shine a light on Read More…
The nation’s treasury secretary initially thought lawmakers wouldn’t have to raise the debt ceiling until October or November, but White House officials have moved that deadline to early September. That’s because projected federal revenues are way down, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center, a wonky think tank that tries to avoid the partisan tit-for-tat that’s Read More…
It may look like marijuana, but industrial hemp with CBD is now legal to grow across the country. Unlike its cousin with THC, hemp won’t get you high. Instead, many use CBD for pain management, anxiety, insomnia and more. For the first time, Clarence Laub III can grow CBD hemp after several years of growing Read More…
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…
A Wyoming attorney and former municipal court judge has been disbarred after admitting that he engaged in a consensual sexual relationship with a client and lied to cover up the affair. Gregory L. Knudsen, of Torrington, will be disbarred effective July 15, according to an order from the Wyoming Supreme Court. For reasons still not Read More…
FARGO — An online story published by Forbes on Wednesday asserts that Gary Tharaldson, known as the wealthiest person in North Dakota, has become the state’s first and only billionaire. When Forbes contacted Tharaldson to ask him about Forbes’ estimate of his wealth at $1 billion, Tharaldson is quoted as stating: “Obviously we wouldn’t sell Read More…
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
CASPER — With a rate of uninsured children that’s double the national average, Wyoming has been ranked second to last in the United States for children’s health in a national study for the second consecutive year. Overall, the Equality State ranked 21st for children’s well-being on the Kids Count report, which is released in June Read More…
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…
A long-awaited new addition to the Downtown Boise skyline is about to start sprouting up. Scott Schoenherr with Rafanelli and Nahas said permits are in with City of Boise on the 11th and Idaho retail and office project. He aims to get crews on site to start construction this August. The permit values the project at $27.7 million. Read More…
The constitutionality of South Dakota’s protest laws will be argued in a Rapid City courtroom on Wednesday. Arguments in the American Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit against Gov. Kristi Noem, Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg and Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom are scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Rapid City. The Read More…
Very soon, an unmanned aircraft will be able to launch from the Montana border of North Dakota and fly to the state line of Minnesota uninterrupted and hundreds of miles away from its pilot. The North Dakota Legislature passed a bill this year infusing $33 million into UAS, $28 million of which is earmarked for Read More…
CASPER – Hospitals in Wyoming charged private insurance plans more than three times what Medicare would pay for the same care in 2017, according to a national study that looked at 14 hospitals here and nearly 1,600 facilities statewide and found further evidence that the Eq-uality State has a serious problem with health-care prices. “What Read More…
NEW ROCKFORD, N.D. — Charles William Anderson wakes up and puts on pants from Amazon, then heads to the kitchen to brew coffee from Amazon in his coffee maker from Amazon. As he sips his morning coffee sitting in his chair, also ordered from Amazon, he looks around the room to see other items from Read More…
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
ISMARCK — A new study commissioned by North Dakota officials predicts the state’s electric consumption will grow by as much as 71% over the next two decades thanks largely to expanding oil and gas activity. The North Dakota Industrial Commission reviewed the Barr Engineering Co. study during its meeting Tuesday, May 28. The commission, Read More…
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…
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…
The governor of South Dakota says she does not plan to stop the execution of a death row inmate who claims jurors were biased against him because he’s gay. The American Civil Liberties Union is urging Gov. Kristi Noem to grant clemency to Charles Rhines. He was convicted of stabbing 22-year-old doughnut shop employee Donnivan Read More…
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…
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…
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…
BISMARCK, N.D. – North Dakota regulators say the state’s oil production remained at a near-record level in March. The Department of Mineral Resources says the state produced an average of 1.39 million barrels of oil daily in March. That was down from a record 1.4 million barrels a day from the record set in January. Read More…
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…
BISMARCK — Tom Volk caught a lunker walleye on Easter Sunday, April 21, a 16-pound, 9-ounce fish that appeared to be a new state record for North Dakota. A few weeks later, it’s been ruled he’s not the state record holder. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department announced Monday, May 13, the walleye won’t Read More…
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…
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…
GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming-based coal company has received another extension to make a $1.8 million payment on a loan. Gillette-based Cloud Peak Energy disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday it reached an agreement to make the payment by the end of the day Friday or go into default. The Read More…