In Other News ...
The county adopts aquifer protections, the city applies for water plan funding, and lawmakers debate anti-LGBTQ laws. The top news stories from Laramie and Albany County as of March 2, 2023.
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.
The Albany County Commission approved stronger protections for Laramie’s main source of drinking water during its meeting last week. Capping off a multi-year struggle between aquifer protection advocates and those who opposed the enhanced regulations, the commission voted along party lines to limit what can be developed on the land above the Casper Aquifer.
Reading status: Open access
A new podcast from the New York Times and Serial explores an unsolved murder that occurred in Laramie in 1985. The Laramie Reporter spoke with Kim Barker, host of The Coldest Case in Laramie, about racist policing, the fallibility of memory and the ethics of true crime reporting.
Reading status: Open access
The University of Wyoming secured much of the funding it was hoping for in the Wyoming Legislature’s supplemental budget bill. That includes $5.5 million more for the Tier 1 Engineering Initiative and $15 million for the School of Energy Resources.
Reading status: Open access
Historian Judy Knight published a three-part series in the Laramie Boomerang detailing the history of the city’s West Side neighborhood. Knight’s account chronicles the West Side’s history as a neighborhood of immigrants — first Irish, then Scandinavian, then Hispanic — and the prejudices the neighborhood has faced as a result. Part One. Part Two. Part Three.
Reading status: Laramie Boomerang paywall
Having failed to secure American Rescue Plan funding for a master water plan update, the Laramie City Council is looking to a state commission for the $1 million it will need. The Laramie Boomerang reports the council approved a grant application last month, seeking funds from the Wyoming Water Development Commission. The funding would help Laramie reevaluate its aging treatment plant and plan for the expanding water needs of a growing city.
Reading status: Laramie Boomerang paywall
Of the four major anti-LGBTQ bills still in play last week at the Wyoming Legislature, three have now died, while the last is headed to the governor.
Two bills aimed at outlawing gender-affirming care for trans youth have died. One was never introduced in the House while the other was nixed by a committee.
Wyoming’s version of Florida’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill has also died, having missed its deadline to be introduced in the House.
A bill seeking to ban transgender girls and women from competing in high school sports was advanced out of the House on Wednesday. It needs only the governor’s signature to become law.
Reading status: Open access