Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, December 24th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom.

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Residents in a Laramie County subdivision said they felt terrorized by squatters who had moved into an abandoned home and turned it into a drug house.

The HOA president, who also happened to be a retired police officer, grew suspicious at the comings and goings at all hours of the night - and the house itself was in violation of county codes and seemed to have become a magnet for trouble.

Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that it took months of collaboration with local officials, but eventually, the house in the Happy Valley subdivision was torn down.

"This happens from time to time, that drug house moves into a neighborhood, and things just start to go downhill from there. But what can you do about it? Really? You know, that's a question, and it's it's taken quite a bit of time, but the HOA, by working with Laramie County, was able to not only get the people out there that were bringing that in the neighborhood, but also ultimately tear the house down altogether by working with the county on its covenants."

Now that the home has been demolished, the owner has plans to put up a new modular home, one that meets all county and HOA codes.

Read the full story HERE.

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Last week the Bureau of Land Management filed its record of decision for a controversial land-use plan in southern Wyoming, finalizing its Resource Management Plan for roughly 3.6 million acres overseen by the agency's Rock Springs office.

Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that local officials have vocally opposed the BLM's plan, saying it's far too restrictive toward energy development, livestock grazing, recreational access and other uses.

"Sweetwater County sits right smack dab in the middle of that territory. So I talked to one of their commissioners, and he said, you know, we're kind of in the state of limbo. We're feeling… the support from Governor Gordon and our congressional delegates… But the thing you know, kind of one is careful what you wish for. They'd like to see it not overturned, but just kind of held up and sent back down for further review. But what's that mean? That means we're going to have to go through further review. So that means more work to be done, more digging into that 1700 page document."

The Congressional delegation could play a key role going forward. There's a chance the BLM plan could be subject to revision, and possibly nullification, through the Congressional Review Act.

Read the full story HERE.

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The Wyoming Supreme Court has denied a new trial to a woman convicted of murdering her boyfriend's 2-year-old daughter, because it didn't agree with her argument that merely failing to take the dying toddler to the hospital for nearly a day couldn't be child abuse.

31-year-old Carolyn Aune was convicted of first-degree murder last year in the 2021 killing of her boyfriend's 2-year-old daughter. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the little girl died of internal injuries after having been punched or stomped in the stomach.

"Carolyn Aune o