© 2024 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

April 10th, 2015

Miles Bryan

Wyoming ACLU Abruptly Closes, Leaving Many Without A Voice

When WPR visited Wyoming American Civil Liberties Union Director Linda Burt at her sunny Cheyenne office she was packing boxes in between phone calls. She didn’t seem like someone who had just found out she was losing her job.

“A guy who used to be on the [ACLU] board just called me to commiserate,” she said. “He suggested I come visit him in Las Vegas, so I could always do that.”

Without Medicaid Expansion Wyoming Lawmakers Try To Solve Health Care Needs

Despite a heavy push by hospitals and businesses the Wyoming legislature once again voted down Medicaid Expansion this year.  It means the state will not receive 120-million dollars in federal funds a year to address some 17 thousand people who do not have health care coverage and it will also not help address the millions of dollars of uncompensated care faced by hospitals who are forced to treat those without insurance.  The Legislature’s Joint Health and Labor committee will spend the next several months trying to find a Wyoming solution to these issues without federal dollars. 

Pine Beetle Timber Boom Prepares To Go Bust

When you hear the word “boom” in the West, you usually think of the energy industry. But in the last 15 years, there’s been another kind: a timber boom. That’s thanks to the mountain pine beetle, a tiny ravenous bug that’s now chomped its way through over 40 million acres of forest in the U.S., moving north into Canada, expanding its reach as the climate warms.  To clean up all that dead wood, forest managers have turned to the timber industry, leading to a surge in jobs and enterprise. But now, the bugs have almost eaten themselves out of food.

New Book "Coal Wars" Examines Future Of Coal Country

The “war on coal” is a catchphrase typically used by industry-backers to rally against the Obama administration, but in his new book, "Coal Wars," author Richard Martin, comes at the issue from the other side. In addition to being an author, Martin works for Navigant Research, one of the world’s leading clean energy consulting firms, and as he explained in an interview with Wyoming Public Radio’s Stephanie Joyce, while he see coal’s decline as inevitable, the book is his attempt to understand what that means for people in coal country.

INSIDE ENERGY: Why Oil Workers Are Still Paying $600 To Live In A Closet

Oil prices have fallen by over half since last summer. In oil producing states like North Dakota, that's caused widespread layoffs and a huge slowdown in oilfield activity. But one thing hasn’t changed — rents. In and around the Bakken oil field, they are among the highest in the nation.

Few Wyoming Students Are Learning Computer Science Skills

One way to tell how schools are doing with computer science is to look at how many students take the Advancement Placement exam for the subject. And, in the entire state of Wyoming, over the past four years, just one student took the AP computer science exam.

That one student was Casey Mueller—and the distinction is news to him.

“I was not aware of that, actually,” says Mueller. “I was kind of shocked in one sense. But, on the other hand, there was part of me that wasn’t surprised.”

Hiking In Style: Wyoming’s Trails Get A Touch Of High Class

On Easter Sunday, six hikers tumble out of cars and gather at the East Trailhead of Turtle Rock, East of Laramie. Chuck Adams, the hike’s organizer, gathers them in a circle.

He says, “This is the fourth High Society hike that’s been in the works. The other three have occurred in Oregon, so this is the first in Wyoming so congratulations. You should feel special.”

StoryCorps: How One Woman Helped Her Sister Through The Struggle Of Alcoholism

Lynn Carlson and Laura Griffith-Carlson talk about Laura’s problem with alcohol. Laura is now ten years sober, and Lynn recounts the difficulties she had with caring for her sister while they lived in Laramie. This story was recorded by StoryCorps in Cheyenne.