Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, March 11th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Cowboy State Daily Morning Show With Jake! From 6 to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday, host Jake Nichols brings you news, weather, sports AND in-depth interviews with news-makers from across Wyoming - presented with Jake's unique humor and lively commentary. Just click on the Cowboy State Daily homepage and join the live broadcast!

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The jail in Sweetwater County took custody of 12 people Thursday for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The sudden influx, which consisted entirely of males between the ages of 21 and 41, is well above the jail's daily average of ICE detainee bookings. But it's not unheard-of - that's what a Sweetwater County Sheriff's spokesman told Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland.

"Last month, they averaged less than one per day. Last February, 2024 they averaged zero, and saw zero on a daily basis, and so this was an influx. The spokesperson for the sheriff, Jason Mower, said, Well, you know, we do see influxes, though. That's not unheard of to have just a spike out of nowhere. And he didn't answer which agencies arrested them, but he did confirm that ICE didn't have an operation in the county last week. So you know, what's a probable scenario is, local or state law enforcement are coming into contact with people and seeing what has been characterized as an inflated, a much larger than usual ICE wanted list in the national database and then taking people in on warrants."

The Sweetwater County Detention Center is the only Wyoming jail with a federal contract in place by which it doubles as a long-term holding facility for ICE detainees.

Read the full story HERE.

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A hearing for another double-digit rate increase for Rocky Mountain Power is coming before the Wyoming Public Service Commission on Tuesday, and it's ringing some alarm bells with Wyoming residents.

If a double-digit rate increase is approved, total rates since 2024 will have spiked more than 30%, according to Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean.

"Their original ask is 14.7%, that would add about $17 a month to an average residential bill that uses, say, 700 kilowatt hours. There is a settlement stipulation between Rocky Mountain Power Wyoming, Office of Consumer advocates and Wyoming industrial energy customers, that would lower that percent to 10.2% with a return on equity of up to 9.65%. that's still double digits, though, and if you look at the rate increases that have been approved over the past year, they got that 8.3% bump in January of 2024, they had another one in July that I think was 11.9%... with these continued requests for rate increases… there just doesn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel."

Cost-of-living adjustments to social security incomes have not kept pace with inflation, so utility rate increases hit senior citizens and those on fixed incomes particularly hard. It doesn't seem that the pressure will let up any time soon, with power-hungry AI computing centers on the horizon, and the continued struggle with inflation.

Read the full story HERE.

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A lawsuit related to a near-fatal house fire in a small town near Green River has taken a strange turn, with sanctions against an attorney for citing fake cases generated by AI.

The lawsuit centers on damages incurred by the Wadsworth family, when their house caught fire in February o