News | Powell Tribune

Ayres Natural Bridge looms over LaPrele Creek.

Ayres Park shut to overnight camping due to fear of flooding

Ayres Natural Bridge Park is closed to overnight camping again this spring, according to Converse County Commission Chair Jim Willox. The closure is for safety precautions, as the LaPrele … more

By Cinthia Stimson, Douglas Budget Via Wyoming News Exchange | 3/23/23

Campers at Buffalo Bill State Park enjoy a meal before heading out for the day’s entertainment. The Wyoming State Park’s Management Plan is intended to be a 20-year plan for the park, providing the foundation for decision-making to accommodate recreation and visitor amenities in balance with the preservation of recreation, setting, and natural and cultural resources.

State Parks launches Buffalo Bill update amid process concerns

Buffalo Bill State Park west of Cody is getting a management planning makeover. The park, which encircles the 8,000-acre reservoir of the same name, is dotted with campgrounds and boat … more

By Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile.com | 3/23/23

Michigan State University’s 2018-2019 STARR Scholars pose together. Four of these students were from Park County. In the back row, Dan Beaudrie (center) is from Cody, while in the front row, Rhett Pimentel (left), Maddy Hanks (center) and Hattie Pimentel (right) are all Powell High School graduates.

Leaving a legacy: STARR Scholarship to end

After helping more than 150 of Wyoming’s top students attend Michigan State University over the past two-and-a-half decades, the STARR Scholarship is coming to an end. MSU officials … more

By Braden Schiller | 3/21/23

Powell resident Jeremy Johnston and Mike Creamer, a family member of Powell Volunteer Fire Department captain Pete DiPilla, are honored on the helmets of volunteers who traveled to Seattle for the 2023 Lymphoma and Leukemia Society Stair Climb Challenge earlier this month.

Climbing to the top to fight cancer

At every turn in the stairwell — two per floor in the tallest building west of the Mississippi River — posters dedicated to those fighting, suffering or claimed by lymphoma and leukemia … more

By Mark Davis | 3/21/23

Woman alleged to have drunkenly crashed into Cody restaurant

Prosecutors say a drunk driver crashed through the wall of a Cody restaurant on Sunday night, temporarily trapping a man under her truck. Heather L. Johnson, 58, is facing a felony count of … more

By CJ Baker | 3/21/23

Changes in the way grizzly bears are counted in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem raised estimates from about 750 to more than 1,000 individuals inside suitable habitat. If the state of Wyoming hosts a hunt in the future, Game and Fish could offer far more licenses to harvest the predator, not including permits to hunt the species outside the boundaries of what has been determined to be suitable habitat, called the demographic monitoring area.

Wyoming’s grizzly hunt could theoretically target up to 39 bears

Future Wyoming grizzly bear hunts — a near certainty if federal authorities approve the state’s petition to again remove the animals’ Endangered Species Act protections — … more

By Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile.com | 3/21/23

Moving the herd

With a herd of 400 elk wandering through the vast fields and hobby farms near Heart Mountain, Wyoming Game and Fish Department game wardens and wildlife technicians have the important job of ensuring … more

By Mark Davis | 3/21/23

State’s newest crypto venture could be cowboy coin

Wyoming still has a chance to be the first state to have an official stablecoin in the cryptocurrency financial sector. On Friday, Gov. Mark Gordon allowed the Wyoming Stable Token Act to become … more

By Mark Davis | 3/21/23

Newcastle schools locked down after high-schooler brings gun

NEWCASTLE (WNE) — Newcastle High School was in an extended lockdown on March 15 after the school was informed that a student had brought a gun to school. There have been no injuries … more

3/21/23

A Wyoming Highway Patrol K-9 poses for a photograph with the fentanyl pills, methamphetamine and pistol that were discovered in a suspect’s vehicle outside of Evanston earlier this month. The patrol’s K-9s were recently trained to detect fentanyl.

More than 1,300 fentanyl pills, nearly 4 pounds of meth seized near Evanston

EVANSTON (WNE) — A Wyoming Highway Patrol K-9 helped seize 1,349 M30 fentanyl pills and 3.89 pounds of methamphetamine on March 9 at a gas station just outside Evanston. According to a WHP … more

3/21/23

One Health opens new office in Sheridan

SHERIDAN (WNE) — First started in Montana to respond to a need to provide substantial primary care to rural populations, One Health expanded throughout the state, aiming to unite smaller, … more

3/21/23

These black Angus bovines didn’t kowtow to anyone —even cars — as they were herded down Main Street in Cowley on March 7. Many drivers politely pulled over to let the Crosby herd pass. Wyoming’s congressional delegation recently made a successful push to give Wyoming ranchers more time to comment on a new USDA proposal regarding disease tracking.

Delegation asks USDA to listen to ranchers on new ear tag rules

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is giving ranchers and others more time to comment on a proposal that would require electronic identification when certain cattle and bison are moved between … more

3/21/23

Gordon vetoes some portions of prescription drug bill

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Gov. Mark Gordon exercised his line item veto authority on portions of Senate File 151/ SEA No. 90, “Wyoming prescription drug transparency act,” before signing it … more

3/21/23

Sen. Lynn Hutchings (R-Cheyenne) brought a bill that would prevent candidates and others from sending absentee ballot request forms to voters unless the voters specifically ask to receive one. The bill, which came in response to a controversial mailer sent by then-U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney’s campaign last summer, easily passed the Legislature, but was vetoed by Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday.

Gordon vetoes absentee ballot bill aimed at Cheney campaign

CASPER — Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday vetoed legislation designed to prevent people from sending misleading absentee ballot request forms, saying late changes to the bill could produce unintended … more

By Joshua Wolfson, Casper Star-Tribune Via Wyoming News Exchange | 3/21/23

In Cody drug case, informant alleged to be supplier

Earlier this year, Tucker Wirfel helped investigators gather evidence against a suspected meth distributor in Cody. Under the supervision of agents with the Wyoming Division of Criminal … more

By CJ Baker | 3/16/23

This vacant property off of Cody’s Skyline Drive is set to be the home of a new temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church officially announced the location on Monday.

New LDS temple to be built within City of Cody

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plans to build its new, 9,950-square-foot Cody temple just west of the city’s golf course. Last week, the church acquired a 4.69-acre parcel … more

By CJ Baker and Braden Schiller | 3/16/23

Former curator of the Cody Firearms Museum Ashley Hlebinsky, shown here during the grand reopening of the museum, is the co-founder of the University of Wyoming’s Firearms Research Center.

UW launches new Firearms Research Center

While most firearms research is funded by gun control advocates, that won’t be the case with the new Firearms Research Center at the University of Wyoming’s College of Law. UW recently … more

By Mark Davis | 3/16/23

Students from Powell and Cody traveled to the state Capitol to observe the legislative session with Christian organization TeenPact. Students spent one week in the Capitol where they were able to see the importance of state government, meet with legislators and participate in interactive learning opportunities.

Powell students explore the political realm

Two Powell students recently got the opportunity to observe the political process in ways most don’t get the chance to see. Powell High School senior Owen Fink served as a page in the … more

By Braden Schiller | 3/16/23

Two piglets from a recent litter greet each other while staying warm under the heat lamps at the Travis Smith farm in Clark. Smith has been supplying show pigs to students in the region for years while also running Sage Wealth Management in Powell.

These little piggies

It takes a lot to get a pig to the winner’s circle along with happy pictures of 4-H and FFA producers holding ribbons and pigs going for high prices to supporters in the community. It almost … more

By Mark Davis | 3/16/23

Using the hydroponics columns and grow lights, herbs are able to grow in a controlled environment using water and nutrients. Students are responsible for maintaining the towers and planting the crop. Seeds are purchased or donated from the Big Horn Co-op.

Growing a partnership

What do culinary arts and science have in common? At Powell High School both of these classes share a garden, but it isn’t a traditional garden. They use hydroponic growing equipment … more

By Braden Schiller | 3/16/23