Rone Tempest

Thumbnail image for Two Elk Stimulus: Big paychecks but no new jobs

Two Elk Stimulus: Big paychecks but no new jobs

by Rone Tempest September 27, 2011

Over the past two years, the federal stimulus program paid the owner of a Colorado-based energy company and the company’s Wyoming representative more than $1 million in salaries and benefits …

Climbing leader rescued in Colorado

by Rone Tempest May 24, 2011

Climbing leader rescued in Colorado
Only a few days after he talked to WyoFile for the “What Price Rescue?” story about the cost of search-and-rescue in national parks, American Alpine Club …

Thumbnail image for Search for Lost Teton Skiers Cost $115,000

Search for Lost Teton Skiers Cost $115,000

by Rone Tempest May 24, 2011

America’s national parks have a tradition of coming to the rescue of visitors in trouble and recovering the bodies of those who die on park grounds. In 2009, the most …

Thumbnail image for Tales of I-80: Hydroplaning Semis

Tales of I-80: Hydroplaning Semis

by Rone Tempest March 1, 2011

By far my most terrifying I-80 moment came not in winter but in late August a few years ago in the desert badlands east of Evanston. I was traveling to …

Thumbnail image for Over Objections from Tribal Leaders, Lawmakers Pass ‘Hybrid’ District Vote Bill

Over Objections from Tribal Leaders, Lawmakers Pass ‘Hybrid’ District Vote Bill

by Rone Tempest February 22, 2011

“After violating the civil rights of Indian voters for decades, the efforts by certain Fremont County officials to re-write state law to avoid another defeat in the pending lawsuit is …

Thumbnail image for Youth Center Rises on the Rez — Kansas Couple Gives $1 Million

Youth Center Rises on the Rez — Kansas Couple Gives $1 Million

by Rone Tempest December 14, 2010

Thanks to tribal casino profits, the example of a compassionate Riverton woman and a chlorophyll dog treat, the Wind River Indian Reservation has a sparkling new $3.6 million Boys & …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming Liability Pool Reaches Limit – Nixes More Coverage in Fremont County Rights Case

Wyoming Liability Pool Reaches Limit – Nixes More Coverage in Fremont County Rights Case

by Rone Tempest October 30, 2010

“If Fremont County wants to pursue an appeal,” said Liability Pool executive director Mark Pring. “They will have to do it on their own.”

Thumbnail image for Voting Rights Case Drags on in Fremont County:  At What Cost to Other Counties and Towns?

Voting Rights Case Drags on in Fremont County: At What Cost to Other Counties and Towns?

by Rone Tempest October 26, 2010

The pending claims in the Fremont lawsuit are the largest in the Local Government Legal Liability Pool’s 23-year history. The issue of how much the pool—and therefore Wyoming counties and …

Thumbnail image for Racism on the Rez: Federal Judge Backs Tribes

Racism on the Rez: Federal Judge Backs Tribes

by Rone Tempest August 12, 2010

Lander—In an important Wyoming civil rights case, a federal judge rejected two voting schemes proposed by Fremont County as perpetuating “separation, isolation, and racial polarization in the county.”

Instead, U.S. District …

Thumbnail image for Before Deepwater Horizon Disaster – Wyomingites Had Key Roles in MMS

Before Deepwater Horizon Disaster – Wyomingites Had Key Roles in MMS

by Rone Tempest June 2, 2010

The federal agency cited for an overly “cozy relationship” with the energy industry, which may have contributed to the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster, has enjoyed extensive Wyoming political and economic …

Thumbnail image for Tea Leaves and Tea Parties

Tea Leaves and Tea Parties

by Rone Tempest April 7, 2010

Tea Leaves and Tea Parties
Some of my liberal friends have been privately berating me for writing about Henry Waxman and Nancy Pelosi needing dunce caps.
I watched Henry Waxman woodenly berate …

Grouse Listing: ‘Waranted but Precluded’; BLM Promises ‘Closer Scrutiny’

by Rone Tempest March 6, 2010

Grouse Listing: ‘Waranted but Precluded’
BLM Promises ‘Closer Scrutiny’

By Allison Winter, E&E reporter
Reprinted with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net. 202/628-6500

The Bureau of Land Management will examine oil …

Gov Seeks Fed Royalty Program Accounting

by Rone Tempest September 16, 2009

Gov. Dave Freudenthal has asked the federal Minerals Management Service to let the state conduct an audit of three years of natural gas royalties collected under the controversial federal Royalty-in-Kind …

Gov Mulls RIK Audit

by Rone Tempest September 2, 2009

Gov. Dave Freudenthal -Photo Courtesy Governor's Office

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal  is considering an audit of the state’s share of a controversial  federal gas Royalty in Kind program that paid the …

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal on Royalty in Kind

by Rone Tempest June 15, 2009

(Telephone Interview with WyoFile editor Rone Tempest, June 3,2009)
WyoFile: On October 6, 2005, the then Wyoming Board of Land Commissioners (Gov. Freudenthal; Treasurer Cynthia Lummis; Sec. of State Joseph …

Teton County Tops Party Leaderships, Petersen Heads Dems, Vaughan GOP

by Rone Tempest May 19, 2009

Leslie Petersen

When it comes to running for statewide office in Wyoming, hailing from tony Teton County can be a voter turnoff.
Just ask Jackson Hole Democrat Gary Trauner, who was crushed …

$100-million GE-Wyoming Coal Project Found Willing, Discreet Partner In Wyoming

by Rone Tempest November 17, 2008

It started with oil shale

The story behind the new $100-million GE-Wyoming coal gasification project goes back to the early 1980s when a then-California-based energy company, Tosco, was trying to extract …

Showdown at Glenrock: Brad Enzi rides to rescue Two Elk Power Plant

by Rone Tempest February 12, 2008

After years of construction inactivity and several false starts, some wags in Wyoming’s coal rich Powder River Basin began to refer to the proposed billion dollar Two Elk power plant …