VIRUS OUTBREAK-WYOMING

Wyoming extends COVID-19 public health orders through July

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming will again extend public health orders to contain the coronavirus amid a resurgence of the illness. Gov. Mark Gordon announced Monday the latest orders set to expire Wednesday will now be in effect through the end of July. Gordon says he’s disappointed to see case numbers rise in Wyoming. The statewide orders prohibit more than 50 people at a time from gathering in confined spaces without restrictions. A range of exceptions include grocery stories and people traveling in groups to work. Up to 500 participants and audience members may attend events with adequate social-distancing and sanitizing measures.

WYOMING-DEATH PENALTY

Wyoming governor: Death-penalty moratorium could save money

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming may implement a moratorium on the death penalty to save money as the state faces a budget crisis. Gov. Mark Gordon told a legislative committee Monday having the death penalty is a “luxury … that we will no longer be able to afford.” The state faces an up to $1.5 billion deficit due to economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and downturns in the energy industry. The Casper Star-Tribune reports Gordon is seeking a 20% reduction in state spending in the months ahead. Wyoming currently has no prisoners on death row. Wyoming’s last execution was in 1992.

WYOMING SHOOTING

Sheriff’s officials: No eyewitnesses to Wyoming shooting

ALCOVA, Wyo. (AP) — Sheriff’s officials in Wyoming continue to investigate a fatal shooting but say they aren’t aware of any eyewitnesses. The shooting happened late Friday at a trailer home in Alcova, a community near Alcova Reservoir about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Casper. The Casper Star-Tribune reports the man shot owned the home. Natrona County sheriff’s Sgt. Taylor Courtney said Monday deputies who’d heard about a fight arrived to find people trying to help the wounded man. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene. Officials haven’t released the victim’s name but say the shooter was cooperative.

UNIVERSITY ENROLLMENT-DECREASE

University of Wyoming expects 19% decrease in enrollment

LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — The University of Wyoming says it expects about 1,900 fewer students to enroll in the upcoming semester than were enrolled at the university in fall 2019. The Laramie Boomerang reported that 6,212 undergraduates enrolled in fall 2019. Preliminary figures indicate that next semester there will be a decrease of nearly 19%. The university says 1,170 graduate and professional students are expected to enroll, a 39% decline from the previous year. The school says the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and a depressed energy sector in Wyoming are the overwhelming factors for students choosing not to return.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-WYOMING

University of Wyoming reports first virus case among staff

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The University of Wyoming says one of its employees has contracted the coronavirus. The school says in a statement Friday that it’s the first time someone living or working on campus has tested positive. The Casper Star-Tribune reports that the school says the man went into self-isolation on July 3 when he began feeling symptoms. He says he believes he contracted the virus at a private appointment off-campus. According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, Wyoming on had 1,839 confirmed cases and 21 deaths due to the virus as of Saturday.

AP-US-GRIZZLIES-NORTH-CASCADES

Conservation groups upset by North Cascades grizzly decision

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The forested mountains in and around North Cascades National Park have long been considered prime habitat for threatened grizzly bears, so environmental groups are criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to scrap plans to reintroduce the apex predators there. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt on Tuesday announced his agency will not conduct the environmental impact statement needed to move forward with the plan. That drew swift rebukes from conservation groups, who have worked for decades to grow the tiny population of about 10 grizzlies in the vast North Cascades ecosystem. They called it a political decision that ignored science.