North Dakota Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus announced today that the state’s taxable sales and purchases for the first quarter of 2025 totaled $5.65 billion, reflecting a 1.53% decrease compared to the same period last year. Despite the modest decline, Kroshus said the data show signs of underlying economic stability amid national economic uncertainty. “While we Read More…
The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has awarded the 2025 Excellence in Mining Reclamation Award in the coal category to the Buckskin Mine for its outstanding work restoring native sagebrush habitat in Campbell County. The award, which recognizes exceptional achievements in mine reclamation, will be officially presented during the 69th Annual Wyoming Mining Association Read More…
North Dakota State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler’s nomination to serve as the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education has advanced to the full United States Senate. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) approved Baesler’s nomination Friday in a party-line vote of 12-11, as part of an en Read More…
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today the promotion of two veteran law enforcement officers to newly created leadership positions within the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). Supervisory Special Agents Mike Hockett and Dane Rasmussen have been named Special Agents in Charge (SAC) for the Eastern and Western regions of the state, respectively. “Special Read More…
North Dakota’s Health Department on Monday urged volunteers and people with medical experience to join the health care workforce due to what it called an “unprecedented staffing need.” Active cases of COVID-19 in North Dakota have dropped to the lowest level in a month and the average test positivity rate appears to have started Read More…
FARGO (KVRR) – Two major blood suppliers are reporting a critical blood shortage and urging all eligible donors to make an appointment to donate blood as soon as possible. Vitalant says Type O blood, which is the most transfused blood type, and vital to helping patients in emergencies, has plummeted to under a two-day supply, Read More…
ELKO, Nev. — The first Nevada marijuana store on the Idaho border has been cleared to open in the rural Elko County town of Jackpot. Despite opposition from county commissioners in Idaho, the Elko County Commission unanimously approved a business license for the Thrive Cannabis Marketplace this week after authorities confirmed dispensary workers had Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – Recommendation Applies to Those Who Previously Received Pfizer Doses Booster doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are now recommended and available for older residents and other adults at high risk of severe disease or exposure to the virus, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH). Dr. Alexia Harrist, Read More…
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A 64-year-old Sioux Falls man convicted of wire fraud has been sentenced to 30 months behind bars and a very large amount of restitution. Richard Harkness received the sentence last week from U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier. In addition to the federal prison time, followed by three years of supervised Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (PRESS RELEASE) – Governor Mark Gordon responded forcefully this week to a letter from Congressman James Clyburn which misrepresented Wyoming’s efforts in the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP). Congressman Clyburn complained of nationwide underspending by the 426 local governments eligible to administer rental assistance. ”His unwarranted shot places blame for that problem squarely Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department said on Monday that it is tracking an outbreak of a disease that mainly impacts white-tailed deer and pronghorn. Outbreaks of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) were confirmed based on sampling of dead deer and pronghorn near Arvada in northern Wyoming as well as near Douglas, Laramie and Cheyenne. Read More…
Rapid City has issued 3,111 building permits so far this year with a valuation of $245,820,725. The valuation from January to August is the second-highest in the city’s history with the highest from 2018 with a total of $262,030,115 for the same time period. The May to August valuation is also the second highest with Read More…
A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit by the state of Missouri seeking to stop a project that would supply Missouri River water to parts of central North Dakota. The Wednesday ruling will enable the federal Bureau of Reclamation to move ahead with a water service contract for the Central North Dakota Water Supply Project. Read More…
Heartwrenching details began emerging Friday about some of the 13 U.S. troops killed in suicide bombing at Afghanistan’s Kabul airport, which included 20-year-old father-to-be and Bondurant native Rylee McCollum. Eleven Marines, one Navy sailor and one Army soldier were among the dead, while 18 other U.S. service members were wounded in Thursday’s bombing, which was blamed on Read More…
Unlike Wyoming, PacifiCorp is turning away from fossil fuels. The parent company to Rocky Mountain Power, the state’s biggest electric utility, announced Friday that its biennial Integrated Resource Plan is expected to include substantial investment in renewables — and no new investment in coal or natural gas. The 2021 plan will be finalized next Read More…
An agreement has been reached by Bakken Energy and Basin Electric on key terms and conditions to purchase the assets of the Dakota Gasification Company (Dakota Gas), a subsidiary of Basin Electric, and the owner of the Great Plains Synfuels Plant (Synfuels Plant). Located near Beulah, ND, the Synfuels Plant holds a distinguished place in Read More…
Drought that has plagued North Dakota all summer worsened again in the past week, with exceptional drought beginning to creep into the southwest after appearing in the east last week. Exceptional drought — the worse of four categories, now covers nearly 16% of the state, up from 14% last week, according to the latest U.S. Read More…
A 41-year-old Cheyenne anesthesiologist who disappeared while hiking in the Wind River Mountains over the weekend was found dead on Monday by a Sublette County search and rescue team. Tip Top Search and Rescue announced late Monday afternoon that the body of Thor Hallingbye was discovered in Fremont County. Earlier, the rescue unit said Hallingbye was last Read More…
Jay Pickett, the actor who starred in “Soda Springs,” an independent movie filmed in Idaho, died on Friday. He was 60. Pickett had credits in over 50 films and was featured in soap operas such as “Port Charles, “Days of Our Lives” and “General Hospital,” according to IMDB. An actor who often played cowboys, Pickett was Read More…
ROCK SPRINGS — Visitors to the Flyrks.com website will now have an easier time finding information about aviation and the range of amenities in Sweetwater County. The new and improved website is part of a wider effort to be more responsive to airline passengers, pilots, and the community in general, said Airport Director Devon Brubaker. “The Read More…
BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) – Headlines about housing from 1992 editions of the Idaho Statesman feel eerily familiar. Growth puts squeeze on number of available rentals in area Report says Idaho has housing woes Officials look for ways to ease growth burden Forum focuses on need for more affordable housing That year, Cecil Andrus — Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – District Court Judge John Grinsteiner retires in one month, which left the Supreme Court questioning whether the South Central Judicial District chambers would be filled, relocated or abolished. Because of the increasing caseload in the area, the judgeship will remain in Mandan. The district consists of nine counties with more than Read More…
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – Wyoming Department of Transportation has received notification from their public affairs office, that a driver’s license phone scam had started circulating July 16th. Text messages are being sent to cell phones regarding false final notices for license waiver validations. Other D.O.T. offices have been experiencing the same scam for the last 6 to 8 Read More…
Wyoming Game and Fish commissioners backed agency staff last week and approved compensation for trophy game damage to stock that amounted to $388,696 less than two ranchers claimed. With one dissenting vote in the two separate cases, the appointed citizen commission approved $71,339 to Josh Longwell of HD Ranch and $11,626 to Christian Peterson of Read More…
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Les Schwab Tire Centers, the nation’s highest-ranked, most customer-focused tire retailer, announced Monday it has reached an agreement to acquire Plains Tire Co., an 80-year-old tire company with nine stores in Wyoming. Les Schwab will purchase Plains Tire for an undisclosed sum, said Les Schwab CEO Jack Cuniff. READ FULL STORY
(The Center Square) – Wyoming is launching a reemployment campaign to help encourage Wyomingites back into the workforce following the pandemic. It’s a campaign simply to let people know they exist and offer a wide variety of services for free, according to Ty Stockton, communications manager for the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services. He noted the pandemic Read More…
Alawsuit filed in federal court in late June alleges that Paul McCown, the former chief financial officer at Wyoming Catholic College, defrauded an investment firm out of $15 million. According to the suit, filed by New York-based advisory firm Ria R Squared, McCown is accused of faking bank statements that falsely said his bank account Read More…
About 125 soldiers from a Bismarck-based National Guard unit will be sent to the U.S. border with Mexico later this year for an undetermined amount of time, the North Dakota guard said Tuesday. The soldiers from the 957th Engineer Company are expected to begin the deployment this fall, the military said. READ FULL STORY
CASPER, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon is donating a wild bison hunting license to be raffled in order to raise funds to support Wyoming wildlife conservation. It is the third year in a row Gordon has donated a wild bison license for such efforts. “The bison is the symbol of Wyoming and a fitting hunt Read More…
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Carson Wentz will be looking to set some new ways with a fresh start, but there are some traditions he is keeping alive. Among them is his annual charity softball game in North Dakota. Wentz, along with several other former players from North Dakota State, partake in the event to help raise money for Read More…
In 2017, Caitlin Long, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley, was just trying to donate some Bitcoin to her alma mater, the University of Wyoming, she says. But the University of Wyoming wasn’t set up to accept Bitcoin donations, and because her Bitcoin had appreciated in value, her donation would go much further if Read More…
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Governor Brad Little and State Controller Brandon Woolf announced Monday Idaho cities with populations below 50,000 will start receiving their share of $54 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Governor Little and the Idaho Legislature unanimously accepted the federal funds, which will be used by local government in Idaho to respond Read More…
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A $2.75 billion project aimed at protecting Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota, from chronic flooding is gaining ground. It’s getting a $569 million loan from the Environmental Protection Agency. Also, local officials have picked an international consortium to build and provide some up-front capital for a key piece that involves diverting Red Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — 15 cars on a Union Pacific train derailed at around 2:15 am Monday near Hillsdale, Wyoming, UP Senior Communications Manager Mike Jaixen said in an email on Monday afternoon. No injuries were reported and crews are working to clear the tracks, according to Jaixen. Those efforts are expected to continue into Monday Read More…
JACKSON, Wyo, — With Fourth of July on the horizon, a report produced by WalletHub shows that Wyoming is ready to celebrate American independence. Ranked the 7th most patriotic state in the U.S., statistics indicate that Wyomingites demonstrate a distinct love for one’s country. To determine where citizens have the most American pride, WalletHub compared the Read More…
HUDSON, S.D. — A 10-year-old boy who died in the Big Sioux River saved one of his younger siblings who had fallen into the water, family members said. The body of Ricky Lee Sneve was recovered Saturday night, Lincoln County sheriff’s officials said. His mother, Nicole Eufers, told the Argus Leader that Ricky was out on the Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. — When Governor Mark Gordon announced this June that Wyoming has been selected for the construction of a new “advanced” nuclear reactor, he said it would be “game-changing and monumental” for Wyoming. The system that would be built at one of four sites in Wyoming is called the “Natrium” reactor. It was co-developed by TerraPower, founded Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — The U.S. Marshals Service and numerous Treasure Valley law enforcement agencies conducted a joint operation for less than two weeks that resulted in 91 arrests. According to a statement released by the U.S. Marshals Service, police arrested 43 gang members of the Aryan Knights, a white supremacist prison gang founded in Read More…
BOISE – On Tuesday, May 18, Idaho Governor Brad Little appointed Lori Wolff to take over as administrator of the Division of Human Resources (DHR). “Lori Wolff has a proven track record leading several major projects for operational and technology improvements within state government, and I am confident she will carry over that focus on Read More…
A freshly transplanted barbecue pitmaster is on the verge of opening a new Boise restaurant. Neighbor Tim’s BBQ is preparing to launch in a small space at 7802 W. Goddard Road, across from Capital High School. Hungry Idahoans can watch the business’ Facebook page for updates on the opening date: “Very, very soon,” Neighbor Tim’s proclaimed in Read More…
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Idaho Power is asking to increase two rate adjustments with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. If approved, the average monthly bill could increase by $2.71 for a homeowner using 950-kilowatt hours per month, the power company said Wednesday. Here’s what Idaho Power says is the reasoning behind the request. READ FULL STORY
Wyoming is partnering with tech mogul’s Bill Gates nuclear power company to build the state’s first Natrium advanced nuclear reactor power plant. The state’s partnership with the firm founded by Gates, TerraPower, and Washington state power firm Pacificorp was announced Wednesday in an event hosted by Gov. Mark Gordon, according to Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Read More…
CASPER, Wyo. – In 1941, the land about nine miles west of Casper looked like most of the areas outside of city limits – miles of flat , wind-swept prairie covered in sage, migrating antelope and numerous other small critters. That changed with breakneck speed the following year, when the United States Army Airforce commissioned Read More…
BOISE, Idaho — It’s no secret that businesses across the Gem State are struggling to find employees. One restaurant, 208 Pho and Vegan, has had to temporarily close two of its locations due to the lack of workers. An Ngyuen, the owner of the Vietnamese restaurant, has three locations of 208 Pho and Vegan. The Read More…