Welcome to the Laramie Reporter’s “In Other News” segment, a biweekly rundown of the top news stories from Laramie and Albany County as reported by local, state and national media. Subscribe to our newsletter to get this rundown in your inbox every other week.
-
Laramie’s working group for police-community relations is nearing the end of its work. The group will bring recommendations to the city council, probably in December. Those recommendations could include the creation of a civilian oversight board and a new procedure for dealing with mental health calls. The group is hosting a series of public forums next week to gather input from the community about these and other ideas related to policing.
Reading status: Open access
-
A Laramie man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for threatening voicemails he left members of Congress and a state legislator. Wyoming Public Media reports Christopher Podlesnik left voicemails for Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, as well as Florida Representative Matt Gaetz and Wyoming State Senator Anthony Bouchard, variously threatening to shoot and kill them in the days following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Bouchard has himself made and shared violent memes about the execution of Anthony Fauci and the bayonetting of local school boards.
Reading status: Open access
-
The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees approved a delay of the institution’s reorganization plans, but it approved several immediate changes and gave administrators the power to make more. WyoFile reports UW is moving ahead with some shifts — merging computer science and electrical and computer engineering into one department, for example — and axing four degree programs. But larger structural changes will come later. The trustees will still have to approve some core components of the overall reorganization plans, such as the creation of a new School of Computing and any other degree program eliminations.
Reading status: Open access
-
During the same board meeting, UW trustees extended the university’s mask mandate. Support for the mask requirement, however, is waning as campus case counts remain low and vaccination and boosters are available to more people than ever. Student and staff leadership said their constituents largely support the mask policy and would feel unsafe or unable to work on campus if the requirement was lifted.
Reading status: Open access
-
Meanwhile, vaccines are optional for most UW employees. The Casper Star-Tribune reports the university will wait until courts decide the legality of federal vaccine mandates for large employers and institutions. Public health experts, officers and doctors throughout the state have repeatedly urged that vaccines are safe and effective, but vaccination mandates remain rare in Wyoming. The state has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
Reading status: Casper Star-Tribune paywall
-
Construction of the new Slade Elementary School continues. The Laramie Boomerang reports the school is still scheduled to open next fall. Supply chain problems have made construction more difficult for the developer, and School Board trustees rejected a change order during their last meeting that would have delayed project completion. The new school will be a few blocks north of the current Slade Elementary and have room for 460 students — 200 more than the current school.
Reading status: Laramie Boomerang paywall
-
Albany County Commissioners appointed a new assessor. Chelsie Mathews, formerly a deputy assessor, will serve out the remainder of Grant Showacre’s fourth term. The assessor seat will be on the ballot in 2022 and Mathews will have to run and win to keep the office. Mathews’ competitors either acknowledged her qualifications or outright endorsed her during their interviews with commissioners Friday.
Reading status: Open access
-
The Albany County School Board also appointed a new member last week. Steve Gosar joins the board, having been appointed to replace Mark Bittner, the trustee who resigned last month amid health concerns. Gosar was selected from a pool of 16 applicants.
Reading status: Open access
-
And a Laramie Middle School student shared why she got vaccinated. Wyoming Public Media spoke with Kinli about what it was like to be the last one in their family to get the shot, and how it feels to finally be protected.
Listening status: Open access