Hugh Cook

The Great American Rail-Trail is a 3,700-mile conversion initiative that would stretch from Washington, D.C. to Washington state and the Pacific coast. First announced in 2019, more than half of the trail's mileage has been opened for usage in several states. Just over 500 miles are planned for the trail in Wyoming. Most existing rail to trail conversions along the trail's projected route are in municipalities.

The personal finance website WalletHub ranked the Oil City second nationwide as having the lowest average increase in household credit card debt. The findings, which were released earlier this month, lists 182 cities large and small. Some other cities in the region were ranked as having lower increases while other experienced higher credit card debt loads in 2022.

The Wyoming Game & Fish Department recently approved a permit that allows for twice the number of deer than normal to be culled in response to rising chronic wasting disease (CWD) rates in city limits and the Black Hills region. The city has applied for a deer culling permit in previous years to reduce conflicts between residents and deer, though this wasn't related to concerns over CWD.

Two sets of "Track N Go" snow tracks have recently been installed on marked police vehicles to help in navigating the city's streets during periods when normal driving conditions are difficult or impossible. They've proven valuable so far, especially to serve residential neighborhoods whose streets may not be plowed regularly and to bring in essential workers that may not be able to make it to work otherwise.

House Bill 118 was signed into law by Gov. Mark Gordon on Feb. 28 and provides an additional several million dollars for funding pensions. Debate focused on how much should be added to the account and its solvency given current contributions and the state of the stock market, among others. It also aims to encourage additional volunteerism in these professions and will go into effect this summer.

The Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force recorded 800 tips that were submitted in 2022, the most ever in their history. This has risen from around 200 in 2018. The increase has put a strain on the handful of agents tasked with investigating these leads. The increase also follows a nationwide trend of sextortion cases targeting minors.

Sheridan County Prevention is in the process or working towards applying for a grant next year from a national organization that would help with their suicide and substance abuse prevention efforts and that would also increase community involvement in them. The grant also requires that a more comprehensive effort be taken to focus on the general health and well being of the community, an initiative that's to be called "Healthy Sheridan County."

Ted Waddell is the featured guest of a reception on March 7. Works on display will include illustrations from his "Tucker the Bernese Mountain Dog" children's book series, which are written by his wife, Lynn Campion. It's free and open to the public. The event is part of the museum's 18th Illustrator Show, which includes other works from Waddell that are on display until April 23.

Open Spaces show rundown for March 3, 2023

Friday, March 3 marks the last day of the 67th Wyoming legislature. It was a 40 day session and a lot happened. Many bills were introduced and many died. Governor Mark Gordon has already signed some into law and he has 15 days from the end of the session to act on bills. Wyoming Public Radio’s Kamila Kudelska spoke with Northeast Wyoming reporter Hugh Cook and Energy and Natural Resources reporter Caitlin Tan.