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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A real estate company with more than 30 rental properties is suing the city of Laramie, seeking to overturn the city’s rental regulations. The regulations – approved last month and slated to be in place by next year – establish basic health and safety standards. They declare that rentals must be weatherproofed, structurally sound, free of pests and mold and outfitted with fire escape windows, while requiring that landlords hire professionals for major plumbing and electrical work. In the lawsuit, Richard Bell of Bell Leasing alleges that the regulations are unconstitutional, favor tenants over landlords and interfere with private contracts.
Reading status: Open access
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Drug Use For Grown Ups author Carl Hart spoke with Wyoming Public Radio about the war on drugs, his own drug use, and the importance of honesty. Hart, who earned his Ph.D. at the University of Wyoming, published the book last year. In the book, Hart came out as a drug user, advocated for more compassionate treatment of drug users, and argued that drug use can be a healthy, safe, rational component of one’s pursuit of happiness.
Reading/Listening status: Open access
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The police-community working group will present recommendations to the Laramie City Council tonight. The ad-hoc group was tasked with investigating issues of transparency and oversight as they relate to the Laramie Police Department. The group is recommending changes to LPD’s mental health response model, and the establishment of other programs that would better communicate police action to the public. The group does not recommend much in the way of an oversight board – one of the main hopes of those marching in Laramie’s streets during the summer of 2020. A simple majority advanced a conservatively worded recommendation to continue investigating the possibility of an oversight board.
Reading status: Open access
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Former LPD Officer Mike Morrow was decertified by the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. The decertification means he can never again work in Wyoming law enforcement. In all likelihood, he can never work in law enforcement anywhere in the U.S., the commission’s director said. Morrow was arrested for domestic battery in 2020 and fired by LPD shortly thereafter. Morrow’s criminal conviction, and the way that crime undermined public trust in law enforcement, were cited as reasons for his decertification.
Reading access: Open access
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Albany County Schools Superintendent Jubal Yennie announced his plan to resign during a meeting of the Albany County School Board. When Yennie leaves this summer, he will have led the district for seven years. During that time, the new Laramie High School opened its doors and Yennie worked to put policies on the books, including a strategic plan and leave policies. In an interview, Yennie said division in the community surrounding COVID-19 policy in the schools had tarnished the district’s “caring culture.”
Reading status: Open access
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Anti-mask activists have reworded their lawsuit against school districts and other public entities across Wyoming. U.S. District Court of Wyoming Judge Nancy Freudenthal had dismissed one defendant after another from the lawsuit’s original draft, labeling the 128-page complaint a “confused jumble.” The plaintiffs – parents in school districts across the state who object to masking policies and other COVID-19 precautionary measures – have refiled the lawsuit, this time bringing a 15-page complaint. The new complaint is less conspiratorial than the first, but still argues that the threat posed by COVID-19 has been overblown.
Reading status: Open access
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WyoTech is moving forward with a $33 million expansion, buying two buildings it has been renting, and planning to add 90,000-square-feet to one of them. The Laramie Boomerang reports the additions will raise the school’s enrollment capacity from 650 students to 1,100. The school nearly shutdown in 2018, but has since regained about 500 students.
Reading status: Laramie Boomerang paywall
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Two unrelated structure fires displaced residents this week. The Laramie Boomerang reports the first fire occurred Wednesday morning in a mobile home, displacing a family of four. According to the Laramie Fire Department, the fire appears to have been started by an appliance being used to thaw frozen pipes. Following the second fire, at the Thunderbird Lodge on Thursday, the Red Cross assisted someone with finding a hotel room. The cause of that fire is under investigation, but LFD told the Boomerang it was likely accidental.
Reading status: Laramie Boomerang paywall
While Jeff doesn’t strike me as the most intelligent person, you would think he would be able to put his finger. The cities problem is the clown in charge. The lady is so stupid she thought she could drill the cities water well on someone else’s property. Yikes. You just can’t fix that kind is stupid.