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TRIBES-CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUNDING
Judge: Alaska corporations can get tribal virus relief money
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that Alaska Native corporations are eligible for a share of coronavirus relief funding set aside for tribes. Congress included $8 million for tribes in a relief package approved earlier this year. Tribal nations sued to keep it out of the hands of Alaska Native corporations, arguing they didn't qualify. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., disagreed in a ruling late Friday. He said the corporations can be treated as tribal governments for limited purposes. Various tribes said they are reviewing the decision and deciding on the next steps. The Treasury Department didn't respond to a request for comment.
GRIZZLY BEAR ATTACK
Grizzly bear attacks federal biologist in Montana
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A grizzly bear has attacked a federal biologist during a surprise encounter at a research site in Montana’s Centennial Valley. The Missoulian reported that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson Joseph Szuszwalak said the biologist, who was not named, was treated for serious bite wounds Wednesday before being released from a hospital in Rexburg, Idaho. Szuszwalak says the biologist heard a noise in the brush while monitoring a sage grouse research project. The attack occurred in the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Both Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Idaho Department of Fish and Game are reviewing the incident.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-WYOMING
Seven protesters arrested after march down Laramie street
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Police in Laramie arrested seven protesters and cited five more at a demonstration Thursday. Laramie police say most arrests and citations were for disorderly conduct though one charge was for “amplified noise." Protests against police brutality and racism have occurred in Laramie since June 2, a week after the death of George Floyd under an officer’s knee in Minneapolis sparked protests nationwide. The Laramie Boomerang reports protests have often spilled into downtown streets. Police warned protesters earlier Thursday they planned to cite anybody blocking a street. Protesters marched down a major thoroughfare, Grand Avenue, until they met police who forced them onto a sidewalk.
COLLEGES-ATHLETICS CUT
Wyoming colleges plan to cut athletics amid funding crisis
SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) — Two Wyoming community colleges plan to cut nearly all athletics in response to a funding crisis. Northern Wyoming Community College District trustees plan to consider a budget July 1 with an almost $4 million cut that includes $2.8 million in cuts to athletics at Sheridan and Gillette colleges. The Sheridan Press reports college officials also plan to cut two academic programs, culinary arts and hospitality management, and spending on campus police. College officials cited the coronavirus pandemic and expected steep cuts to state funding for colleges in announcing the cuts Thursday. Wyoming faces sharply reduced state revenue from fossil-fuel extraction and tourism.
SCHOOL GUN POSSESSION-SENTENCE
Wyoming teen gets up to 20 years for bringing guns to school
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a Wyoming teenager to up to 20 years in prison for bringing firearms and ammunition to his school in 2018 after he said he was upset following his biological father’s death. The Casper Star-Tribune reported that Dale Warner, brought two handguns and ammunition to Sage Valley Junior High, where he was an eighth-grade student. The weapons were peacefully taken away.. Prosecutors say Warner, now 15, was initially charged as an adult but accepted a plea deal in January. The boy’s adopted father said his son needed to be held accountable but argued teenagers who committed similar crimes were not punished as severely.
WHITE MOUNTAINS-FOREST SUPERVISOR
New supervisor at White Mountain National Forest
CAMPTON, N.H. (AP) — A former summer employee with the White Mountain National Forest has been named its supervisor. Derek Ibarguen is currently the deputy forest supervisor for the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Jackson, Wyoming. His 18-year career with the U.S. Forest Service has taken him throughout the country to national forests in North Carolina, Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Ibarguen was born and raised in Maine. He was a seasonal recreation employee at the White Mountain National Forest for five summers, starting in 1995.
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