GILLETTE, Wyo.—Jerry Numon trudged through the knee-high reeds along Burlington Lake with his eyes trained on his cadaver dog Pax. Numon was looking for slight head tips, changes in breathing, a drop of the head or tail and a dozen other indicators that the 6-year-old Czech German Shepherd had detected human remains.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.- The Wyoming Cowboys dropped their first game of the 2022 season to the Illinois Fighting Illini, 38-6, on Saturday. The Pokes struggled throughout the entire game, not getting much on offense, and an exhausted defense couldn’t stop the Illini.

LARAMIE, Wyo.—For the University of Wyoming Cowboys, the 2021 season fell short of their great expectations.

The team started out on a roll with four straight wins and headed into conference play undefeated. But then the Cowboys suffered four straight losses to their Mountain West opponents. From there, the team traded wins and losses each of their last four games to finish the season with a 6-6 record.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.—Tucked into a cozy tree-shaded cove on the beach of Cheyenne’s Sloan’s Lake, it’s almost possible to forget for a few minutes that the stress of inflation is causing Matt and Kristin Edwards to strategically stretch their thin budget.

Carlo Acacio strides across the garage of the nearly-completed home that his crew is building, as bare sheetrock awaits paint and hammer strikes punctuate the buzz of saws. He ducks into a mechanical room — similarly unfinished — and closes the door to escape the din.

Business owner Brian Slattery is poised for change—and inflation is partially to blame. In early January, Slattery, 42, opened the Purple Cow Cafe as a dual pizzeria and art gallery in a building that dates back to 1889. With limited options for pizza in Wheatland, he was “slammed” with customers and turned a profit immediately after opening.

LARAMIE, Wyo.—With the start of the fall semester Monday, University of Wyoming administrators began focusing on four institution-wide priorities and launching several construction projects.

Laura Redmond’s house is more crowded these days. Two of her five children—Josette, 22, and Easton, 19—moved back into their Casper home in the wake of high gas prices and soaring inflation. Redmond, 44, recently picked up a second job while trimming the family budget to keep them out of debt.

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Not since Ronald Reagan occupied the White House, MTV was in its infancy and Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” topped the Billboard charts have Americans faced the sticker shock that’s become part of daily life. As prices climb for everything from eggs to electricity, inflation is hovering at the highest levels in 40 years.

CASPER, Wyo.—Caleb Harris wasn’t looking for help. Last fall, the 39-year-old Florida native thought he had his life under control when he started using drugs again. At the time, he was working as a car salesman in Casper and had been out of jail for about two years after serving an eight-year sentence on charges related to his addiction.

For 18 years, Rob Dearing did it all as a volunteer firefighter with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.—The Wyoming Education Association filed a lawsuit against the state Thursday, accusing Wyoming of violating its own constitution by failing to fund schools adequately.

The Teton Raptor Center in Wilson has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to rehabilitate its Hardeman Barn, allowing for additional education programs and outreach initiatives.

Gillette, Wyo.—Everything is suspect out here. Debris scattered along the roadway that would normally go unseen was suddenly being scrutinized: discarded plastic Sprite bottles, tattered garbage bags, pieces of burnt wood and a faded running shoe flung behind a barbed-wire fence. Even a pile of sun-bleached bones likely belonging to a deer or antelope warranted a second look.

Gillette, Wyo.—Cheyenne the sheep made a dash across the dirt pen as 13-year-old Bailee Behnke attempted to corner him to slip on his halter. In the adjoining corals, neighboring sheep bleated in collective commiseration from behind the wooden slats in the makeshift pens at Cam-Plex in Gillette.

Euromedia Panel 2022

Wyoming Truth team discusses non-partisan reporting in an age of partisanship

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — As Michael Engelbrecht of Cheyenne Wells, Colo., lifts the cumbersome lid from a cast iron pot, he is greeted with the lively crackle of hot cooking oil. He calls to his wife, Tammy, who brings over the breaded meat she has been tenderizing with an authoritative whack on the chuckwagon a few paces away from Michael’s campfire.

Members of the new gas and diesel price working group, along with an energy industry stakeholder, shared ideas for long-term solutions to Wyoming’s higher fuel prices Friday, with many stating there wasn’t much the group could do in the short term.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—Stacy Koester apologized for her messy car. A squashed can of Bang energy drink and empty plastic water bottle were strewn on the driver’s side floor. A gas receipt was tucked into the center console beside an open box of light blue surgical gloves and half pack of cigarettes.

For Dan (“Danno”) Hedrick, of Cheyenne, leading support groups for individuals who have lost loved ones to suicide has been his saving grace.

Hedrick’s brother, David, was 42 when he took his own life on Dec. 14, 2011.