CASPER, Wyo. (AP) – Casper residents could see a spike in fees for the city’s recreation centers and pools as official try to keep up with rising energy costs.      The Casper City Council will review proposed fee increases Thursday afternoon. The potential increases would affect fitness classes at the Casper Recreation Center as well locker and space rental fees at the Casper Ice Arena and city pools.      Council Vice President Paul Bertoglio says the fee increases are part of an annual effort to keep up with energy costs.      —      Information from: Casper Star-Tribune – Casper, http://www.trib.com … Read entire article »

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) – Gov. Dave Freudenthal was among those who agreed with canceling a talk by 1960s radical William Ayers at the University of Wyoming earlier this month.      The university released e-mails from the governor’s chief of staff Chris Boswell and others regarding Ayers’ visit in response to a records request by the Associated Press.      Ayers co-founded the Weather Underground, an Vietnam Era anti-war group that claimed responsibility for bombings.      Boswell says in one e-mail that Freudenthal would personally call for rescinding Ayers’ invitation if UW President Tom Buchanan preferred. The university cited security concerns in canceling Ayers’ talk.      Ayers spoke at UW on Wednesday night after a federal judge forced the school to host him. … Read entire article »

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – Black Hills Power says in a letter to the state Public Utilities Commission that it has reached a settlement with two of three parties in a rate case.      Terms haven’t been disclosed, and the PUC must approve the deals. The settlements are with PUC staff and a group of industrial businesses worried about the proposal for a 26.6 percent revenue increase.      If it is approved, the average increase in utility costs across all customer groups would be 34.2 percent.      Black Hills Power filed the request last September in large part to cover the costs of a new generating plant in Wyoming.      A third party representing residential customers says it has not agreed to a settlement and still plans to fight the proposed increase. PUC Chairman Dusty Johnson says that means the case likely will go … Read entire article »

GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) – A former Campbell County fire chief has been sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison on child molestation charges.      Thursday’s sentence means Gary Scott faces nearly 40 years in both state and federal prison.      District Judge John Brooks called Scott a classic sexual predator who needs to be in jail.      The 55-year-old Scott pleaded no contest last fall to 14 state molestation charges. He is already serving a 24-year federal sentence on 10 felony convictions of taking children across state lines for sexual abuse.      Authorities say most of Scott’s victims were cadets in a junior firefighter program that he started after he became fire chief in the early 1990s. They say the abuse continued until he was arrested in 2007.      —      Information from: The Gillette News Record – Gillette, http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com … Read entire article »

POWELL, Wyo. (AP) – Congressional legislation would have the National Park Service study future options for managing and conserving a former Japanese internment camp in Wyoming.      The former Heart Mountain Relocation Center is between Powell and Cody. The bill would study and collect public input on options for long-term management of the 123-acre site, which held more than 14,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II.      The sponsor of the bill is Wyoming Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis, who says the interment camps were a dark period in U.S. history but preservation at Heart Mountain can help people learn from that era.      A private, nonprofit foundation has been leading efforts to preserve the site over the past couple decades.      —      Information from: Powell Tribune – Powell, http://www.powelltribune.com … Read entire article »

SHERIDAN, Wyo. (AP) – The Wyoming State Republican Convention starts Thursday in Sheridan.      The highlight of the three-day convention comes on Saturday, when all statewide GOP candidates will address party delegates and alternates at the Sheridan Junior High School.      The party will work on its platform and hold campaign seminars on Thursday and Friday. … Read entire article »

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) – Construction of a bike path from Jackson to Grand Teton National Park and a new irrigation system on the National Elk Refuge will begin this month with the use of federal stimulus funds.      The bicycle pathway along North Highway 89 received $1 million in funding while, the irrigation project received $4.3 million.      The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved the irrigation project last year. Officials say the aim of the new irrigation system is to improve winter forage for elk and bison.      A third stimulus project makes improvements to the Jackson Hole and Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center exhibits with $211,000. The exhibits will open April 2011. … Read entire article »

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) – Casper residents could see a spike in fees for the city’s recreation centers and pools as official try to keep up with rising energy costs.      The Casper City Council will review proposed fee increases Thursday afternoon. The potential increases would affect fitness classes at the Casper Recreation Center as well locker and space rental fees at the Casper Ice Arena and city pools.      Council Vice President Paul Bertoglio says the fee increases are part of an annual effort to keep up with energy costs.      —      Information from: Casper Star-Tribune – Casper, http://www.trib.com … Read entire article »