Latest Wyoming news

ELECTION 2020-KANYE WEST

West misses deadline for presidential ballot in home Wyoming

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Rapper and music producer Kanye West has missed a deadline to submit signatures to get on the presidential ballot in his home state of Wyoming. West needed to turn in 4,025 verifiable signatures of registered voters but election officials say he hadn’t submitted any by Monday’s deadline. West has owned a ranch in the Cody area since last year. West has qualified for the ballot in states including Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Utah since announcing in July he was running on a “Birthday Party” ticket. He has failed to turn in enough signatures or proper paperwork to get on the ballot in several other states.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-CHURCH EVENTS

Two coronavirus outbreaks in Wyoming tied to churches

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Officials say two outbreaks of the coronavirus in the Wyoming county of Fremont, just southeast of Yellowstone National Park, were tied to churches. The exact number of confirmed cases is uncertain. Fremont County spokesman Michael Jones said the first cluster had anywhere between 10 and 30 confirmed coronavirus cases. Jones said the second church was hosting a camp. Officials are currently investigating the church and contact tracing possible infections. The Casper Star-Tribune reports Fremont County has had 506 confirmed coronavirus cases since March. The county accounts for more than a third of the state’s overall death toll of 37 with 13 deaths.

STREET SWEEPER ACCIDENT

Street sweeper accident kills Wyoming highway worker

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — An accident on a highway pass in western Wyoming has killed a state transportation worker. The accident happened Monday afternoon on Wyoming Highway 22. Sixty-two-year-old Wyoming Department of Transportation employee Shirley Samuelson, of Jackson, had gotten out of her street sweeper to talk to another department employee. The Jackson Hole News & Guide reports the street sweeper rolled downhill and ran over Samuelson. The accident temporarily closed one lane of the highway over Teton Pass. Wyoming Highway Patrol officials say the accident is being investigated.

WIND ENERGY TAX

Wyoming lawmakers look again at higher wind energy tax

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming lawmakers are again talking about raising the state’s tax on wind power and other renewable energy. Several previous attempts to raise Wyoming’s $1 per megawatt hour wind generation tax enacted in 2012 have been unsuccessful. Opponents say a higher tax would raise electricity costs and deter investment in renewable energy. The Casper Star-Tribune reports the Joint Revenue Committee talked to Montana lawmakers Monday about their state’s electricity taxes. A study found that raising Wyoming’s wind energy tax to $4 per megawatt hour would bring in an additional $1.9 billion as long it didn’t impede wind power development.