Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, December 11th. I'm Mac Watson.

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Cryptocurrency billionaire Charles Hoskinson says the construction company formed to build a health clinic in Gillette did not lay off all of its employees. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that the layoffs, highlighted by Gov. Mark Gordon's office on Friday, shouldn't be a surprise due to the construction season.

"The governor wanted to highlight that his office is ready to serve the people who are laid off, help them get new jobs. There were just some things in the release that maybe Charles Hoskinson felt didn't paint things in the best light. He felt that saying it was the biggest layoff or the most significant, one of the most significant layoffs in Wyoming history is a big stretch…They built the project, and now it's time for them to move on to the next construction project. And so his his comment to me was, 'Is he going to put out a release like that when the nuclear plant and camera is finished?'"

Hoskinson has just returned from Abu Dhabi, where he said he was unveiling his new block-chain project, named Midnight.

Read the full story HERE.

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The Wyoming Highway Patrol has confirmed at least 21 blowovers on Wyoming's highways during Tuesday's winter windstorm. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that wind speeds clocked as high as 105 mph.

"The Wyoming highway patrol was still collecting reports as of Tuesday, as of Wednesday afternoon, but according to the reports they had, there were 21 confirmed blowovers: semi trucks, RVs and campers, and there nine of those incidents had minor injuries, no reports of major injuries. Now this is to be expected during a Wyoming winter windstorm, let alone the first Wyoming winter windstorm of the season. But the thing is, when those road closures are enacted for high profile vehicles because of high gusting winds."

Most of Wyoming's busiest highways were closed to high-profile vehicles under 40,000 pounds for most of Tuesday and Wednesday. WHP troopers don't proactively enforce these closures, leaving the decision to drive at the operator's discretion.

Read the full story HERE.

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Wyoming Public Television CEO Joanna Kail asked state lawmakers on Wednesday to fill a $3 million funding gap from federal cuts that Congress made earlier this year. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that one legislator is asking why the outlet's product is worth the backing of government.

"Ken Pendergraft, was basically like, if you're doing well, won't the private sector support you? And he asked, 'What makes your product so special that the government has to back it?' Joanna kale, throughout the course of that presentation, maybe not just instant to that question, but throughout the course of her presentation, emphasized that, yes, they offer programming, documentaries, but they also do public services like emergency broadcast and they actually they stream the legislative meeting so that the public can watch them, so they're very much a mix of what we think of as entertainment, information and public service."

When the federal government cut funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting this summer, one of the Wyoming-run outlets lost a third of its funding.

Read the full story HERE.

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