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NAVAJO COAL
Montana grants 65-day extension for Navajo-owned coal mine
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Montana officials say a Navajo Nation company may continue operating a coal mine for two more months amid negotiations over the terms of a state permit. The extension announced Tuesday keeps about 300 miners at work at the Spring Creek mine near Decker, Montana. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Navajo Transitional Energy Company have been negotiating how the department might be able to take the company to court to enforce environmental laws despite tribal sovereignty. The company's purchase of Spring Creek and two Wyoming mines in a 2019 bankruptcy sale made it the third-biggest U.S. coal company.
HOUSE FIRE-INVESTIGATION
Wyoming firefighters investigate cause of house fire
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Authorities have started an investigation into the cause of a fire that destroyed a southeast Wyoming house. Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported that Laramie County fire authorities responded Monday to a house fire north of Cheyenne near Interstate 25. Fire authorities say the fire was extinguished Monday and firefighters were handling smoldering debris and other remnants from the fire throughout the day. Authorities say no one was in the house when it caught fire. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
SCHOOL LUNCH DEBT-INVESTIGATION
Wyoming police investigate fundraiser for school lunch debt
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming school district has paid off more than $4,000 in student lunch debt after a crowd-sourced check bounced. The Casper Star-Tribune reported Monday that the Casper Police Department has opened an investigation into the “Feed Casper Students” fundraising campaign on GoFundMe aimed at paying off the Natrona County School District's student lunch debt. School officials say the district accepted about $19,000 in fundraising donations in April, the same month the check bounced. Officials say the district paid off the lunch debt for about 250 students out of its general fund, rather than re-open the outstanding debt for the students.
CODY STANDOFF
Woman wounded, man dead of self-inflicted gunshot in Wyoming
CODY, Wyo. (AP) — Police in Cody say a man fatally shot himself after shooting a woman in the head. The 44-year-old woman was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Neither her identity nor the 76-year-old man's was released. A two-hour standoff with police and Park County sheriff's deputies Monday began after the woman left a camper at an RV park and sought help at a gas station. The woman says her boyfriend shot her during an argument. Police approaching the camper say they heard what sounded like a gunshot. They later used a robot to confirm the man inside died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
UNIVERSITY-RECORDS LAWSUIT
University of Wyoming likely to appeal records lawsuit loss
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A University of Wyoming official says the school will likely appeal a judge's order to turn over records to news media outlets. University spokesman Chad Baldwin said Monday the school's board of trustees hasn't made a final decision on whether to appeal but “that is the intent at this point.” Albany County District Court Judge Tori Kricken ruled Friday that the vast majority of records sought by the Casper Star-Tribune and WyoFile should be released. The university withheld records the news outlets sought involving a trustees' decision not to renew the contract of university President Laurie Nichols in 2019. Nichols recently took a job as president of Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota.
GRIZZLIES-HUNT STUDY
Study: Grand Teton elk hunt not a major draw for grizzlies
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Scientists have concluded that an annual elk hunt in Grand Teton National Park doesn't draw in and concentrate large numbers of grizzly bears. Researchers say the November to December hunt probably takes place too late in the year for grizzly bears to seek out animal remains left behind by hunters. The researchers theorize many grizzly bears have denned up for winter hibernation by the time a significant number of remain have accumulated. The park holds the hunt to control elk numbers. The study took place after a grizzly mauled a hunter in 2011 and a hunter shot and killed a charging grizzly in 2012.
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