In Other News ...
The top news stories from Laramie and Albany County as of August 25, 2021.
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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Albany County launched a vaccine incentive program backed by $50,000 from the Laramie City Council and the Albany County Commission. Wyoming Public Media reports the program is giving $25 gift cards to individuals receiving their first or second shots. The program is also offering vaccinated individuals a chance to win $1,000 weekly prizes, a $2,500 grand prize or prize packages including everything from UW Homecoming tickets to AirBnB vouchers. The program has also set aside funds to help people get vaccinated with childcare, missed work or transportation compensation.
Reading status: Open access
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The University of Wyoming is requiring masks for the first month of the fall semester. The university has also launched education and information campaigns and required COVID-19 tests of all students and employees returning to campus. UW is not requiring students to be vaccinated — though the student body seems to be more highly vaccinated than the surrounding Albany County community — and declined to mandate vaccination for its residency students working in off-campus clinics.
Reading status: Open access
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Laramie’s housing crisis is driven by a lack of homes, the unaffordability of the homes that exist, and the city’s hot rental market. Wyoming Public Media reports the council is looking to alter city code and actively recruit developers, but that in the meantime, the local economy is hurt by the lack of housing. Half of Laramie’s residential units are owned by landlords, which worsens the situation. Renters are often at a disadvantage when it comes to asserting their rights and efforts to enact oversight on the city’s landlord community have been squashed by the landlords themselves.
Reading status: Open access
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Students in Laramie’s elementary and middle schools will be wearing masks for at least the first week of school. The temporary mandate will be reevaluated at a school board meeting next week. For now, Superintendent Jubal Yennie and members of the school board argued the temporary mandate was necessary to protect students under the age of 12, who cannot yet get the vaccine. A group of parents protested outside, bearing signs that celebrated personal choice and compared mask mandates to tyranny.
Reading status: Open access
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The UW Cowboys football team is almost entirely vaccinated. Wyoming Public Media reports that 96 percent of the team has been vaccinated. Head Coach Craig Bohl said only vaccinated players are allowed to attend meetings and eat with the rest of the team. Unvaccinated players have to attend meetings remotely and must eat in their rooms.
Reading status: Open access
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A new office dedicated to helping people navigate the Emergency Rental Assistance Program opened in Laramie. The office is run by Laramie Interfaith and Family Promise of Albany County and funded through the federal ERA program. That program set aside $25 billion for rental assistance for renters hurt financially by the pandemic. Wyoming received $200 million, of which $20 million was set aside for administration. Funding for the Albany County office came from that funding.
Reading status: Open access
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The first two female UW soil scientists to receive tenure shared their thoughts on diversity and inclusion in their field. Wyoming Public Media interviewed Karen Vaughan and Linda van Diepen for its Open Spaces program. The pair performed a study of the field, showing that about a third of assistant professors working in the field of soil science were women. The higher the rank — from associate professor to full professor to department head — the lower the percentage of women. Vaughn and van Diepen plan to conduct the study again in 10 years to see how the field has changed.
Reading status: Open access
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