Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Monday, January 20th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - brought to you by Visit Casper. Visit Casper invites you to come enjoy the Casper International Film Festival, January 31 through February 2. A broad range of films from local and international filmmakers will be shown. Learn more and get your tickets at visitcasper.com.

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Anyone who lives with wind knows the truth in the saying, "It's not the cold. It's the windchill." When Wyomingites get out and about this morning, they'll experience both.

The National Weather Service anticipates dangerous windchills as low as minus 50, as the coldest air of the subzero surge smothers the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that in Wyoming, forecasts call for windchills ranging from minus 15 to minus 45.

"When you've got this massive cold, dry air that's sticking around, even a slight breeze can send the temperature, how it feels, plummeting. And some of the lows that we're looking at across Wyoming on Monday, which is going to be the coldest that it gets… it doesn't take long for exposed skin to be subject to frostbite. When temperatures get that low, like we're at minus 45 we're talking 10 minutes top if that before you're putting yourself at risk, if you stay out without the proper coverings, and even with the proper coverings, you want to limit your exposure to that kind of cold as much as possible."

Anyone brave enough to confront the cold will want to bundle up, but even several layers of winter clothing won't completely eliminate the dangers these severe windchills present.

Read the full story HERE.

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Wyoming wallets have been on fire when it comes to homeowner's Insurance rates, with customers reporting their rates doubling and tripling in the Cowboy State, even for longtime customers.

Devastating wildfires this past season that burned more than 850,000 acres in Wyoming didn't help, either - and Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that what's happening now in California could even have broader impacts on the nation's economy as a whole.

"People have seen double and triple premiums. People have been told by their insurance company, sorry, but you live in Story, so we're not going to renew your policy at all, and then they're left scrambling trying to find somebody to insure them, while meanwhile and a fire is actually bearing down on their community. So we know in Wyoming, we've seen, already seen some issues, this California situation… insurance regulations are written to try to ensure that a company's rates reflect the cost of doing business in a particular state… there's a recent Harvard study that looks at this, when there's a huge natural catastrophe elsewhere, inevitably rates across the nation start going up."

The Wyoming Department of Insurance Commissioner told Cowboy State Daily that he thinks the ripple effects from the recent California fires herald price increases ahead.

Read the full story HERE.

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The Joint Appropriations Committee of the Wyoming Legislature made about 20 changes to Gov. Mark Gordon's biennial budget Friday