Economy

Thumbnail image for Rare Stake: Can Wyoming help serve world’s hunger for rare earth minerals?

Rare Stake: Can Wyoming help serve world’s hunger for rare earth minerals?

by Allen Best May 1, 2012

A newly opened mine near the city of Sundance raises the prospect of a new industry for Wyoming. The project’s owners believe they’ll have the infrastructure to compete with China.

Thumbnail image for China’s rare earth role

China’s rare earth role

by Allen Best May 1, 2012

Today, China delivers 97 percent of the world’s rare earth elements and uses 60 percent to 70 percent. How it came to monopolize the rare earth supply chain is a …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming’s Permanent Mineral Trust Fund can’t entirely protect the budget from volatile commodity prices

Wyoming’s Permanent Mineral Trust Fund can’t entirely protect the budget from volatile commodity prices

by Samuel Western February 21, 2012

Wyoming’s Permanent Mineral Trust Fund provides a mostly stable stream of revenue to the state’s general fund. Yet state lawmakers are trimming budget plans right now, revealing that even $5.4 …

Thumbnail image for Two Wyoming towns wither while company asks for $100M to bring about salvation with coal-to-gasoline plant

Two Wyoming towns wither while company asks for $100M to bring about salvation with coal-to-gasoline plant

by Allen Best February 14, 2012

Many residents of the towns of Hanna and Medicine Bow foresee a time when there will be too few people and too thin of an economy to keep going their …

Thumbnail image for Safe Bet? Wyo officials weigh investment in DKRW’s coal-to-liquids proposal

Safe Bet? Wyo officials weigh investment in DKRW’s coal-to-liquids proposal

by Dustin Bleizeffer February 14, 2012

The company seeking to build the nation’s first coal-to-gasoline plant in Wyoming has trimmed its request for taxpayer-backed bonds — allowing them to bypass legislative approval and rely only on …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming stimulus spending draws mixed reviews

Wyoming stimulus spending draws mixed reviews

by Ruffin Prevost September 13, 2011

CODY — With the nation’s unemployment rate stuck at 9.1 percent amid continuing signs of a faltering economy, President Barack Obama last week proposed a new round of up to …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming’s sage grouse strategy sets bar for rest of the West

Wyoming’s sage grouse strategy sets bar for rest of the West

by Emilene Ostlind August 9, 2011

Doug Cooper stands on a ridge looking east across the grassy swales of the 7 L Livestock Company ranch just north of Casper. One hundred and fifty years ago, his …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming lawmakers differ on approach to debt ceiling

Wyoming lawmakers differ on approach to debt ceiling

by Ruffin Prevost August 2, 2011

The members of Wyoming’s Congressional delegation, all Republicans, have each said for months that federal spending must be sharply curtailed as part of any deal to raise the debt ceiling. …

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 Hispanic Wyoming:  The Jobs Machine of Campbell County

Hispanic Wyoming: The Jobs Machine of Campbell County

by Samuel Western May 3, 2011

Campbell County’s booming growth has provided opportunity not only for transient, poorly educated laborers, but for people with different skill sets: equipment operators, educators, managers, retailers and merchants. Hispanics with …

Thumbnail image for Partisan Split on Public Broadcasting

Partisan Split on Public Broadcasting

by Dustin Bleizeffer April 5, 2011

Wyoming Public Media general manager Jon Schwartz said he believes the real motive to defund is driven more by ideology than economics.

“This House bill that passed is, in an ironic …

Thumbnail image for Casper’s Last Neighborhood Grocery Struggles to Survive

Casper’s Last Neighborhood Grocery Struggles to Survive

by Kate O'Hara December 21, 2010

Bill and Nancy Wayte own Grant Street Grocery, the last neighborhood grocery store in Casper. In its heyday, Casper had 99 neighborhood grocery stores. The Waytes sell high-quality goods, donate …

Thumbnail image for Hauling Gold on the Chief Joe: Montana Officials ‘Take Step Back’ to Review Transport Plan

Hauling Gold on the Chief Joe: Montana Officials ‘Take Step Back’ to Review Transport Plan

by Ruffin Prevost November 17, 2010

Montana officials have pledged to “take a step back” and re-evaluate a plan to haul tens of thousands of tons of contaminated mine tailings next summer from Cooke City, Mont., …

Thumbnail image for Taxing The Wind – Governor Pushes First Statewide Production Levy

Taxing The Wind – Governor Pushes First Statewide Production Levy

by Environment & Energy Daily February 1, 2010

Reprinted from ClimateWire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net. 202/628-6500
By Debra Kahn, ClimateWire
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) is determined to levy a production tax on wind power …

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 …

Thumbnail image for Feds Gone Wild, Part III: RIP, RIK? New Bill Would Kill Industry’s Darling

Feds Gone Wild, Part III: RIP, RIK? New Bill Would Kill Industry’s Darling

by WyoFile September 16, 2009

For more than a decade, West Virginia Democratic U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall watched powerlessly as the Bush administration and a Republican Congressional majority made Royalty in Kind the main method …

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 …

Thumbnail image for Feds Gone Wild

Feds Gone Wild

by Laton McCartney September 1, 2009

On a cold, blustery January 28, 2009, the newly appointed Secretary of the Interior of the United States, Ken Salazar, arrived at the headquarters of Minerals Management Service at the …

Despite Exceeding Benchmark Goals State Fired Jackson Equities Manager

by Ben Gose July 29, 2009

Despite Exceeding Benchmark Goals State Fired Jackson Equities Manager
By Ben Gose
Wyoming’s extreme focus on income—as opposed to “total return,” the measure that most money managers focus on—can lead to some …

Thumbnail image for Should Wyoming Rethink Investments? Despite Recession, Time May Be Right

Should Wyoming Rethink Investments? Despite Recession, Time May Be Right

by Ben Gose July 29, 2009

Are Wyoming’s leaders being too conservative with the billions of dollars in our permanent funds?

It sounds like a crazy question to be asking today, as the country muddles through the …

Thumbnail image for Wyoming News Reader

Wyoming News Reader

by WyoFile July 15, 2009

NEW: For the best, hand-picked, eclectic selection of current news about Wyoming from newspapers, magazines and websites…

GUEST COLUMN: Bring Severance Tax Rates Into State Budget Discussions

by Equality State Policy Center June 22, 2009

Bring Severance Tax Rates Into State Budget Discussions
Hikes should be part of an overall review of revenues and tax investments
By Dan Neal and Sarah Gorin
No more Centennial Singers?
No more Geology …

Royalty in Kind vs. Royalty in Value? – The $290,024,880 Question

by WyoFile June 15, 2009

State Received $290,024,880 in 2008 from Troubled Royalty in Kind Program. Gov Dave Wants Review.

“No Easy Answers” for Wyoming Economy

by Samuel Western June 15, 2009

Sheridan— In an interview with WyoFile, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig recommend Wyoming wean itself from a commodity diet.
Hoenig was in Sheridan earlier this month to …

A Quick History Of American Severance Taxes

by WyoFile February 8, 2009

Severance tax collections evolve in stages that depend upon price, the amount of mineral left in the ground, and the shape of a state’s finances.
In America, severance taxes began in …

Bankruptcy in Big Sky: Mile High Clubs in Trouble

by Samuel Western December 19, 2008

Sheridan — In the past year, the west has watch with grim fascination as some of the Rocky Mountain’s poshest resorts have careened down the black-diamond slope.
The Yellowstone Club of …

Wyomings Farmers’ Markets. But Don’t Try To Sell Bread.

by Samuel Western September 22, 2008

Sheridan: The leaves are turning. If you’re in Sheridan and it’s Thursday, it’s time to hie yourself to the Farmer’s Market.
But Sheridan, luckily, is not alone in offering fresh produce. …

Fuel Costs and the New Isolationism

by Samuel Western August 11, 2008

Sheridan – Think of Wyoming as the giant ocean that it once was, with vast stretches of water between islands and atolls. Imagine traveling by boat. The more time and …

The Wyoming Baby Boom

by Samuel Western June 30, 2008

Sheridan – Wyoming is getting younger and richer.
Rarely do these two demographics merge and create happy endings. Wyoming is trying to be the exception.
The money part is pretty straightforward. Wyoming’s …

Does Wyoming Get Enough for Its Mineral Riches? Severance Tax Reform in the Cowboy State

by Samuel Western February 8, 2008

In December 2007, Governor Sarah Palin gave Alaskans a nice present.

Courtesy Image

She signed legislation boosting Alaska’s severance tax. The state would now take 25 percent of taxable income derived from …