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Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

July 14th, 2017

Second to last day of contested-case hearing in front of the Environmental Quality Council
Cooper McKim

Listen to the full show here.

New Coal Mine Faces Resistance From Local Groups

A new coal mine may open in Wyoming for the first time in 50 years. State regulators issued a permit for the Brook Mine back in December, paving the way for construction to begin. But now that permit has become the center of a controversy.  Landowners, environmental groups, and even a coal company are taking issue with it. Cooper McKim reports.  

Wyoming: Ground Zero In A New Global Wind Race?

The wind energy industry is growing worldwide, and so is the global competition between turbine-makers. That battle is now playing out in Wyoming, a state with some of the best wind potential in the nation. In the next few years two massive wind power projects are slated to come on line. To get an edge, a Chinese company is trying to win over the state’s scant pool of workers through free training to become a wind turbine technician. Inside Energy’s Madelyn Beck reports.

Wyoming Lawmakers Applaud Expedited Process For Drilling On Public Lands

Newly minted Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke just took a massive step towards streamlining the permitting process for oil and gas drilling on federal lands. Correspondent Matt Laslo reports from Washington that while Wyoming lawmakers love the move, Democrats fear it’s a dangerous first step down a slippery slope.

Even With Food Freedom Act, Wyoming Ranchers Struggle To Get Beef On Plates

Two years ago, Wyoming passed the Food Freedom Act, giving the state the most lenient local food regulations in the country. It allows Wyoming farmers to sell things other states can’t… raw milk, eggs and poultry direct to consumers. But many Wyoming food producers say, there’s still one road block: beef. As Wyoming Public Radio’s Melodie Edwards reports the issue is that federal regulations make it hard to market Wyoming branded beef outside the state where all the customers are.

Legend Of Rawhide Reenactment Raises Questions Over Native American Stereotypes

Summer in Wyoming means a variety of shows dedicated to reenacting the Wild West. There will be cowboys and Indians — except in some locations the Native Americans will be played by white actors in redface – which is the situation in Lusk, Wyoming, where the two day production the “Legend of Rawhide” depicts Native Americans skinning a white settler alive. And as Wyoming Public Radio’s Caroline Ballard reports, it’s a town tradition.

Summer Food Service Trying To Reach Kids

 

For thousands of low income children in Wyoming, there is such a thing as a free lunch, at least during the school year.  In order to provide healthy food to students who rely on free or reduced meals throughout vacation, schools and other organizations are attempting to offer free summer meals to kids. But as Wyoming Public Radio’s Alanna Elder reports, they aren’t reaching everyone.

 

School-Based Mental Health Curbs Suicide In Gillette

Schools are a steady source of more than just lunch. Teachers and counselors are also a source of support for kids who are struggling with mental health issues. But just like hunger, which doesn’t pause for summer, emotional turmoil doesn’t take a break either. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death nationally for people between the ages of 10 and 24. As Wyoming Public Radio’s Tennessee Watson reports, that’s why a unique partnership has formed in Campbell County . . . to support kids year round.

 

Laramie Health Clinic Provides Care For Those Who Have Fallen Through The Cracks

One of the major problems in Wyoming is the lack of affordable health care.  It’s an old issue and while health insurance is certainly a piece, there are few affordable places people can go who are without insurance or who are underinsured with high deductibles.  For many years Laramie has had a clinic for very low income people, it now has another health clinic for those who have fallen through the cracks. Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck has more.

Bob Beck retired from Wyoming Public Media after serving as News Director of Wyoming Public Radio for 34 years. During his time as News Director WPR has won over 100 national, regional and state news awards.
Before Wyoming, Cooper McKim has reported for NPR stations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. He's reported breaking news segments and features for several national NPR news programs. Cooper is the host of the limited podcast series Carbon Valley. Cooper studied Environmental Policy and Music. He's an avid jazz piano player, backpacker, and podcast listener.
Based on Capitol Hill, Matt Laslo is a reporter who has been covering campaigns and every aspect of federal policy since 2006. While he has filed stories for NPR and more than 40 of its affiliates, he has also written for Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, Campaigns and Elections Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Chattanooga Times Free Press, The Guardian, The Omaha World-Herald, VICE News and Washingtonian Magazine.
Melodie Edwards is the host and producer of WPM's award-winning podcast The Modern West. Her Ghost Town(ing) series looks at rural despair and resilience through the lens of her hometown of Walden, Colorado. She has been a radio reporter at WPM since 2013, covering topics from wildlife to Native American issues to agriculture.
Tennessee -- despite what the name might make you think -- was born and raised in the Northeast. She most recently called Vermont home. For the last 15 years she's been making radio -- as a youth radio educator, documentary producer, and now reporter. Her work has aired on Reveal, The Heart, LatinoUSA, Across Women's Lives from PRI, and American RadioWorks. One of her ongoing creative projects is co-producing Wage/Working (a jukebox-based oral history project about workers and income inequality). When she's not reporting, Tennessee likes to go on exploratory running adventures with her mutt Murray.