Around the 307
News, commentary, and other items of interest from the greater Wyoming landscape.
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For the week of February 16th, 2025 here are a few news items from around the 307:
Last weekend, the Star Valley Independent (SVI) published an article with some good news about Wyoming’s mule deer population. As many of you recall, the winter of 2022-2023 took a devastating toll on this iconic Cowboy State species. The latest data compiled by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) following aerial surveys conducted in December and January looks promising with high fawn to doe ratios. Read the full SVI story here.
Thursday, February 20th, the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) published this news release indicating that the eastbound lane of the Interstate 80 (I-80) tunnel at Green River is now open for head-to-head traffic following last week’s horrific crash. Some 5,000 feet of concrete barrier has been put in place by WYDOT to help guide motorists through the new traffic pattern. In the meantime, clean-up work and assessment continues in the westbound tunnel. WYDOT requests motorists use caution and drive carefully when traversing this area and to also be aware of roadside workers and vehicles.
Finally, as the goal posts keep moving I don’t know what to tell you about where things currently stand with respect to our Wyoming Legislature’s efforts to provide property tax relief to residents during this session. Toward the end of the week, Cowboy State Daily published this article summing up the wild ride is has been for property tax relief thus far. So far we’ve seen the 50% tax cut for residential property put on the table, then watched it get whittled down to 25% before going back to 50% again. There have been amendments added to provide revenue backfill and other amendments to remove backfill. There has also been a good deal of haggling on the actual home value up upon which any relief would be based as well as the timeframe when tax relief might be applicable. What a rollercoaster! Who knows how all this will play out, but let’s hope our legislators manage to get something decent across the finish line!
That’s all for today cowpokes! Thanks for reading and have a good week.
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