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.
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The Laramie Reporter has continued its 2022 campaign coverage with candidate features for the House District 14 race, the Republican primary for sheriff, the Democratic primary for sheriff and the Albany County Commission race. Future candidate features will highlight city council races. Additionally, the Laramie Reporter highlighted crossover campaigning — when candidates switch parties to compete in a particular primary contest or to take advantage of vacancy appointment procedures.
Reading status: Open access
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A wrongful death lawsuit against a former Albany County Sheriff’s deputy has come to a close. Wyoming Public Media reports in 2018, then-Deputy Derek Colling shot and killed an unarmed man following a traffic stop. Robbie Ramirez’s death inspired a local, sustained movement for police accountability and transparency. In 2020, the victim’s mother, Debbie Hinkel, brought a federal lawsuit against Colling, then-Sheriff Dave O’Malley and the Albany County government. A settlement has now been reached, although details of that settlement remain undisclosed. In a statement, Hinkel said the lawsuit had been successful in bringing certain facts to light. But many of those facts are sealed under court order, and Hinkel invited other government agencies to reopen their investigation.
Reading status: Open access
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The debate between the University of Wyoming and state lawmakers surrounding what should be taught in UW classrooms continues. The Laramie Boomerang reports professors, legislators and the UW Board of Trustees argued the issue during the board’s meeting in Pinedale this month. During the last legislative session, Lingle Senator Cheri Steinmetz tried to ax the university’s Gender and Women’s Studies program with a budget amendment. Professors and university administrators passionately defended the program — and the wider issue of the university’s academic freedom — and the amendment was changed. But UW still had to report to lawmakers on its academic offerings. And the board meeting in Pinedale makes it clear the issue is far from over; Steinmetz “doubled down” on her earlier attacks on the program.
Reading status: Laramie Boomerang paywall
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Also at the Pinedale meeting, UW administration announced its intentions to focus less on new construction and more on programming and student recruitment. The Laramie Boomerang reports President Ed Seidel told the board, “I don’t think we can any longer do the ‘if-you-build-it-they-will-come’ model.” The university has seen a flurry of new construction across the past decade, and especially in the past five years. For the past two years, enrollment has declined and the university has slashed some degree programs. But UW Provost Kevin Carman said the university needs to “shore up” faculty and staff numbers before it can hope to grow enrollment.
Reading status: Laramie Boomerang paywall
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The Rail Tie Wind Project is one step closer to construction, having secured Department of Energy approval. Wyoming Public Media reports the Department of Energy approved the project’s interconnection request, which will allow it to hook into already existing transmission lines in the area. Rail Tie is expected to produce around 500 megawatts between its more than 100 wind turbines south of Laramie. Construction has yet to begin, but the project has been a point of contention in the community for years. Nearby landowners fought a well-funded campaign against the wind farm, saying it would diminish their viewsheds and could have other impacts on wildlife and cultural fixtures. But an unlikely coalition of conservative pro-business people and progressive environmentalists pushed the Albany County Commission to approve the project. Eventually, the commission did approve. One commissioner cited the need to take action on climate change, as demanded by young people in the community, as a deciding factor in her decision to approve.
Reading status: Open access
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The Laramie Reporter highlighted the science behind wastewater COVID-19 testing, as well as the science underlying plant communication, in a pair of recent features. A University of Wyoming lab is testing Laramie’s wastewater for the presence of COVID-19. Different concentrations point to different levels of transmission throughout the community. Wastewater testing gives policymakers — and everyday individuals — advanced warning of pandemic spikes. Those spikes show up in wastewater data long before other metrics, such as hospitalizations. In a separate lab at UW, a graduate student is researching the communication that goes on between a plant and its microbial neighbors living in the soil beneath it.
Reading status: Open access