CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Family Services recently announced that it will be launching a federal program this week to provide grocery assistance to more than 37,000 school-aged children across the state.

Known as SUN Bucks, the initiative provides a one-time $120 benefit per eligible child to help families cover food costs during the summer months, the department announced in a release. Gov. Mark Gordon previously authorized the program’s implementation through an executive order on April 15.

Gordon described the initiative as an essential tool to support children who may otherwise lack access to healthy food while school is out of session.

“We want our children to thrive, because when our children are successful, so too are our communities,” he stated in the release.

According to DFS, most qualifying children will be automatically enrolled in the program. The department reports that it began sending eligibility notifications this week via mail and email.

Eligible families can expect to receive SUN Bucks electronic benefit transfer cards in the mail starting in early July.

DFS Director Korin Schmidt said in a statement that the program is specifically designed to assist rural children who lose access to school-provided breakfast and lunch during the summer months, adding that the benefits will allow families to purchase groceries as needed to ensure food is available in the home for those missed meals.

The SUN Bucks cards will function similarly to other benefit programs and be accepted at any retailer participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

While tens of thousands of children are enrolled automatically, some eligible families may still need to apply, according to the press release. Residents can check their child’s enrollment status or submit an application through the DFS SUN Bucks website starting June 22.

For more information, people can visit the DFS website, email ask-sunbucks@wyo.gov or call 307-777-8786 between 8:15 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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An abandoned house near San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood that has been popular with squatters for years is now for sale.

On Yukon Street at the edge of Kite Hill in the Eureka Valley neighborhood, the house with arched windows over the garage, including one that’s broken, is listed for $1.3 million.

Listing agent Zara Rowbotham and her brother, James, put together a promotional video highlighting the home’s fixer-upper potential.

There is no running water or power at the house. Neighbors have reported to the city that squatters relieve themselves at the top floor atrium.

“They needed a place to do it, so they had the nice manners to do it in one basket,” Rowbotham said. “Unfortunately it was an outside basket right in front of one of the neighbors’ houses.”

With the nature of San Francisco’s red-hot housing market, Rowbothom said they already have a potential buyer.

Rowbothom added the city is swirling with money right now and there are few places to buy, so properties like the one on Yukon Street – even with a history of squatters – are being snapped up quickly. Rowbothom said they’re going for millions of dollars, with people paying cash a lot of the time.

Denver will use $3 million of its contingency fund money to help pay out settlements this year under an ordinance the City Council approved Monday.

The council makes a similar transfer every year, but the amount varies depending on the settlements reached, said Laura Swartz, the spokesperson for the city’s finance department.

“It is difficult to budget for settlements in advance because the amounts and timing can be unpredictable based on each case’s own scheduling, negotiations and court decisions,” Swartz said.

Every year, the city sets aside $2 million for settlements in the budget. Officials request a transfer from the contingency fund for anything needed above that amount. The 2026 transfer brings the amount that will be used to pay out settlements this year to $5 million so far.

This year’s allotment will leave the city with $30.5 million remaining in its contingency fund. The contingency fund is separate in the annual budget from the city’s reserves, which officials have been working to replenish from a recent low point.

The city has been ordered to pay millions of dollars in settlements in recent years related to the Denver Police Department’s actions during the George Floyd protests.

Earlier this month, the council approved about $2.87 million in payments for 13 people who alleged that local police violated their constitutional rights during the 2020 protests.

In April, a federal appeals court ruled that the city must also pay $14 million to another group of protesters, upholding a jury verdict. The city hasn’t yet said how it will pay out that amount.