More Sheridan Area And Wyoming News From 2022

A murder case involving 3 Sheridan residents, extreme weather conditions, and rodeo royalty were some of the headlines of 2022 in both Sheridan County and Wyoming.

Click on the various links to see more of the various stories.

We didn’t have to wait long for the first big story of 2022.

On New Years Day it was announced that Sheridan residents Shantel Edlund, Casey Childers and Leo Vanbuskirk were arrested and charged in connection to the kidnapping and murder of a Montana woman, while on a drug supply run in the Denver area.

Edlund has already pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit 2nd degree murder and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Childers and Vanbuskirk are being held without bond in Colorado and are awaiting trial on charges of first degree murder, second degree kidnapping and several other charges.

They could receive the maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if convicted.

The biggest story of 2022 in Wyoming is arguably the natural disaster that happened at Yellowstone National Park, and the impact it had statewide.

The spring warm-up happened later than normal, which meant snow in the area melted slower than normal beforehand, and then accelerated when the warm-up arrived in late May.

Throw in a couple of heavy rain storms and it became too much for waterways to handle.

The worst of the damage were the roads near the north and northeast entrances to the park.

In some places, the waterways changed course.

Temporary roads were opened back in October, but permanent repairs will take several years to complete.

In Sheridan County, Connor Battlefield State Park had its own flooding issues at about the same time, but the park was able to reopen about 1 month later.

Extreme weather instances happened several times in 2022.

There was the 2 inches plus of rain in the Sheridan area on Memorial Day, which placed in the top 10 wettest days ever.

August ended up being the 3rd hottest August on record, according to the National Weather Service.

Then there was the big snowstorm and the subsequent cold snap that happened in middle to late December.

In other year in review news…the Sheridan Economic and Educational Development Authority was awarded a $20-thousand grant from the State Loan and Investment Board, to begin a feasibility study on whether to expand the current North Sheridan Business Park or to build another park elsewhere.

In May, the Sheridan County Conservation District was awarded a $585,000 cleanup grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to address asbestos contamination within the old acme power plant.

For most of the first half of the year, the Wyoming Army National Guard was looking at several places in the Sheridan area to build a new vehicle maintenance facility.

The Guard was trying to work a deal with Sheridan College, but the college declined in June, and there’s been no further updates on the proposed facility since then.

In August, Sheridan Memorial Hospital opened its new downtown clinic on the corner of Gould and Works Streets.

Sheridan High School grad Tyler Holloway won the Best Non-Commissioned Warrior of the Army National Guard as part of a national competition.

Miss Sheridan WYO Rodeo 2022 Queen Reata Cook was named Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2023.

She officially begins her reign on Sunday, January 1st.

In September the traffic switch-over started on the Ranchester railroad bridge.

The project is projected to be completed this coming spring.

A new kiln was constructed and used for the first time on the Sheridan College campus.

The kiln is for student, local, state and regional use.