Local Lookout: Hospital loan denied | $3M for wildfires | New BLM boss?

Natrona Collective Health Trust declines Converse County hospital loan request
Oil City News
The Natrona Collective Health Trust has denied a $29.2 million loan request from Memorial Hospital of Converse County that would have been used to purchase the Summit Medical Center facility in Casper. In a statement, the Natrona Collective Health Trust writes that the request was declined due to the agreement that binds the trust with Banner Wyoming Medical Center. Per the agreement, the trust is unable to provide monetary support to a health care provider that competes in the same geographic market as Banner, Oil City News reports. Read the full story.

FEMA awards $3 million to state for Campbell County’s 2024 wildfires
Gillette News Record
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has awarded $3 million to the Wyoming Forestry Division to help pay for firefighting efforts in the Flat Rock Fire and Constitution Fire, which combined to burn nearly 80,000 acres in the fall of 2024. The money pays for fire-line suppression, structure protection, fire-line construction, mop-up and evacuation operations. The state applied for the funds in late 2024 as part of a federal cost-share program. The total cost for each of the fires was $2 million, meaning the state is responsible for the remaining $500,000 for each fire, the Gillette News Record reports. Read the full story.

Veterans urge senators to vote ‘no’ on BLM nominee Wednesday
Wyoming Public Radio
The U.S. Senate is expected to consider President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday. Steve Pearce, a former Republican New Mexico congressman and Vietnam War pilot, has proved to be a controversial pick to manage 245 million acres of federal land. Some veterans are among those urging senators to vote “no” on his nomination, saying he could push to sell off public land, Wyoming Public Radio reports. They point to a letter Pearce sent the former Speaker of the House in 2012 around reducing the federal budget deficit by “divesting the federal government of its vast land holdings.” The letter also said: “Over 90% of this land is located in the western states and most of it we do not even need.” Read the full story.

Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism celebrates success, remains optimistic
Green River Star
With the lodging tax coming up on the ballot later this year, and plans for continued local development underway, Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism is celebrating past successes and feeling optimistic for future growth. CEO Jenissa Meredith explained that the tax is paid by visitors staying in hotels and campgrounds and used to market the area as a visitor destination and to enhance amenities that locals enjoy as well. The lodging tax has been on the general election ballot every four years in Sweetwater County since 1991 and will be on the ballot again this November, the Green River Star reports. “The last election of 2022, we had 82% voter support, so that was the highest in the state,” Meredith said. Read the full story.

Albany County School District 1 moves forward with building demolition
Laramie Boomerang
Albany County School District 1 is nearing the next step to begin demolition of the former Slade Elementary School as school trustees also unanimously approved a slate of maintenance projects and equipment purchases during a recent meeting. The board voted to seek a new appraisal after the company, which is managing the project, expressed concern that the initial valuation of the property was unusually low compared with other district properties. The district is now awaiting a new appraisal and demolition permits from the city of Laramie. Read the full story.