Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming! I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom, for Tuesday, June 4th.

An 83-year-old South Carolina woman visiting Yellowstone National Park was gored by a bison Saturday, while hiking the Storm Point Trail at Yellowstone Lake.

Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that the bison lifted the woman at least a foot off the ground with its horns.

"Other than serious injuries we don't know how badly she was hurt. However, it's the second bison attack in the park so far this year. The first was a man in April who got drunk and kicked the bison before it attacked him - this one, there's no word on whether she provoked it or anything, but the National Park Service did warn people to stay away, and reported that the bison was defending its space."

The elderly woman in Saturday's attack sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

The Wyoming Legislature wants electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle users to pay their fair share, and for the second straight year is considering a fuel tax for EV owners fueling up at high-speed charging stations in the state.

Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson reports that EV drivers right now pay no state fuel tax, the largest source of revenue the Wyoming Department of Revenue taps into for maintaining roads.

"Electric vehicles are not taxed at all by the state on their consumption. Currently, they do have to pay a licensing fee, a $200 licensing fee when they are registered in the state. But as far as after that, and it's an ongoing use as far as taxes, there's no charges at all, and the state of Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of Transportation are trying to recoup these costs."

The tax of 4 cents per kilowatt hour would only apply to Level 3 DC fast chargers, such as the Tesla Supercharger stations. It would not include Level 2 public charging facilities that are more common in homes, restaurants, hotels, workplaces and other public locations such as malls and parking garages.

Campbell County, located in the heart of the coal-rich Powder River Basin, plans to trim spending by more than $25 million in anticipation of a prolonged coal bust.

Energy reporter Pat Maio says the cuts come as the Bureau of Land management proposes to stop coal leasing on public land.

"It's bad news because they get a lot of ad valorem revenue out of that, and they use it to fund their budget for the county… they're cutting their budget by 3%, in anticipation that they're going to be losing revenue. Coal production is down 20% year over year, first three months of the year… they could be trimming the budget from $151 million down to $125M, or more. And services get cut - everything from, you know, adult treatment to Child Services to … the recreation center, all that stuff is up for grabs on cutting."

Campbell County has been here before, as has Wyoming. As the heart of the Cowboy State's coal-rich Powder River Basin, the county is a canary in the coal mine to predict the health of the local and state's economies.

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort's new $8 million planetarium was unveiled this weekend, and even Bill Nye the Science Guy was among the highly impressed attendees. The giant 1-meter telescope is the second largest in Wyoming - and business reporter Renee Jean was there to experience the giant telescope's grand opening.

"You think it's immovable because it's so freakin big. And then you're standing there and you're getting used to it's non-moving-ness. And all of a sudden, it kicks in to play, it starts swinging around. And it's like, oh my gos