Around the 307
News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.
[Want to modify the number of weekly emails you receive? Find out how at the end of this post.]
The week of February 11th, 2024 was a tough one around the Cowboy State. Here are the news items we think you’d like to know:
Early in the week, news reports began to emerge about an avalanche fatality that occurred the preceding Friday (February 9th) in Carbon County, Wyoming. The incident occurred in an area of the Sierra Madre Range known as “Avalanche Alley” near the Wyoming-Colorado border. The victim, who was riding a snowmobile, was a family man and councilman for the town of Saratoga. Read the Rawlins Times article about the tragedy here.
Please note with the snow we’ve received this week, avalanche warnings locally remain forecast as “Considerable” by the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center.
Avalanche incident location, near Battle Pass, Sierra Madre Range, WY.
Tuesday, February 13th, Sheridan police officer Sgt. Nevada Krinkee was shot and killed while attempting to serve a trespass notice on a male subject near the intersection of 5th Street and Val Vista Street in Sheridan. The suspect, who barricaded himself in a nearby home, was killed following a 30-hour standoff. On Wednesday, Governor Mark Gordon issued an order for flags to be flown at half-staff statewide in honor of the slain officer. Read news coverage of this heartbreaking event at The Sheridan Press.
A police department Special Response Team at the scene of the suspect standoff in Sheridan on Wednesday. [Photo credit Clint Wood, The Sheridan Press.] Also on Tuesday, apparently the ice is getting thin at Boysen Reservoir (between Riverton and Thermopolis), however, that’s not preventing people from trying to drive on it! At least two vehicles have taken an icy plunge during the past week! Read the Cowboy State Daily story here.
A Subaru was one of two vehicles to break through the ice on Boysen Reservoir in recent days. [Photo credit Cowboy State Daily via Facebook.] Lastly—it is with disappointment I report the initiative to reduce property taxes by 50% won’t be making it onto the 2024 ballot this fall. The initiative required 29,730 valid signatures to be filed prior to the start of the legislative session (with 15% of voters from at least 16 Wyoming counties represented—you can read the specifics of the signature requirements here). The Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office confirmed Tuesday the ballot initiative committee did not meet that deadline. If there is any good news, the committee still has time to bring the initiative to the 2026 ballot as signatures can continue to be collected until April 2025. Click this link, property tax cut ballot initiative, to read the proposed initiative verbiage. And, you can read the full story here on WyoFile.
I know this week’s news wasn’t very uplifting, but as my British grandfather would say now is the time to “keep calm and carry on”. Thanks for reading—see you next week!
Want to customize your Close to Home 307 subscription and the number of emails you receive each week? Please click this About page link and scroll to the latter half of the page to learn how to update your settings.