Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Monday, November 4th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - brought to you by 4 Wyoming Pack. 4 Wyoming Pack says, "This November, Wyoming will vote to allow residential homes to be taxed at a lower, fairer rate, even the playing field, and give families a much-needed break." 4 Wyoming Pack wants you to Vote Yes on Amendment A.

The Elk Fire devastated more than 98,000 acres of forest land across the eastern face of the Bighorn Mountains in northern Wyoming. As of this weekend, the fire is an estimated 88% contained.

Now Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that a team of specialists, called a Burned Area Emergency Response team, or BAER, is evaluating damage caused by the Elk Fire.

"Fire's very much a mixed bag…. it just depends on where it is and how long it burned, as to, you know, what the effect is going to be… they brought in hydrologists, archeologists, soil scientists. They have someone of every stripe that might be having something to do with this fire. Look. At you know what? What should we do in the aftermath of all this to mitigate any negative outcomes?"

Not all of the effects of wildfire are negative. Certain species, like lodgepole pine and aspen trees need fire to germinate new seedlings. The fire can also help clear out thick grasses that have become overgrown, and the burned plants do add some nutrients to the soil.

Read the full story HERE.

When she was 26 weeks pregnant, her Colorado obstetrician urged Tasha Anderson to get an abortion. He said the little girl she was carrying was growing with her heart on the wrong side of her body, and would be born with mental or physical disabilities, or both.

But both Tasha nor her husband Sam knew they would love this baby no matter what. The Lander couple told Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland that little Jamesyn is now 18 months old, and has had 27 surgeries so far.

"It turns out, if you reroute the heart, you have to reroute a lot of other things, and so it's just been where nurses don't know where to find the veins, and the digestive system isn't hooked up right, and it's just constant. But she's a very charming baby girl. I FaceTimed her with her for a little while… she would grab the phone, give it a big old kiss, you know, and just, and she's non verbal Still, she's a year and a half, but she's, you can tell what she's thinking, and you can tell what she wants."

Tasha said her obstetrician in Colorado was half right: there was no doubt Jamesyn would have disabilities. But neither Tasha nor Sam regret having their little girl, and can't even imagine life without her.

Read the full story HERE.

Snowy weather and somber emotions didn't stop more than 200 people from gathering in Jackson's Public Square for a candlelight vigil for Grizzly 399 on Saturday night.

Some came from hundreds of miles away