A city in Wyoming has been overrun with an unprecedented homeless population that’s destroyed a vacant motel and has left hundreds of pounds of feces across the area, according to its mayor.
Mayor Bruce Knell detailed the destructive behavior of roughly 200 homeless people in Casper, WY who have been creating a “mess” throughout the streets and parks, as well as a closed motel where squatters left millions in property damage.
“They destroyed everything,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s horrible.”
Homeless people who squatted at the Econo Lodge motel caused more damage than the flooding that initially closed the business down, Knell reportedly said.
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The property was condemned by the city and the bank that owns the foreclosed business boarded it up.
“It was inhabitable, and it was unsafe,” Knell told Cowboy State Daily.
Other homeless people are squatting in other abandoned properties in Casper that don’t have water or electricity.
The damage was estimated to be in the millions at the motel.Bruce Knell
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Knell said. “It’s third-world country stuff happening in Casper, Wyoming.”
“We know very well we cannot litigate our way or arrest our way out of the problem, but our police need some teeth to start dealing with the squatting,” he also told the news outlet.
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“They’re just causing so many problems.”
Meanwhile, city staff has been forced to scoop up about 500 pounds of human feces in Casper’s downtown, where many homeless people loiter, the news outlet reported.
The Econo Lodge motel was previously closed due to flooding damage.Bruce Knell
Some set up camp in local parks and bike paths, while others sleep in their cars.
Some of the crime in the city, Wyoming’s second most populated city, can be tied to homeless people, Knell said.
“In desperate times people do desperate things, and unfortunately we’re the ones left having to deal with it,” he said.
Squatting has gone on in other parts of the city besides the motel. Bruce Knell
Some people living on the streets come to Casper for a homeless shelter in the city, but when they are kicked out or denied entry, they never leave, Knell noted.
“There’s a certain part of the homeless population, whether substance abuse or mental illness, that is getting them to where they don’t want to conform to society’s rules,” Knell told the Cowboy State Daily.
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“When they do that they’re not allowed to go in the shelter, which means they’re just out and about in our community raising hell.”
Casper is just one of numerous cities facing a heartbreaking homeless problem, including the Big Apple where more than 4,000 people didn’t have a roof over their heads during a citywide tally in January.
The horrid conditions were outline by the Cowboy State Daily. Bruce Knell
The figure was nearly an 18% jump from 2022.
The NYC shelter population surpassed 100,000 earlier this year as the city continues to take on a flood of arriving migrants.
JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Transportation reopened Wyoming Highway 22 Friday afternoon after the Big Hill landslide destroyed the road near mile marker 15.
WYDOT commended Evans Construction, Avail Valley Construction, the Idaho Department of Transportation and the Caribou-Targhee National Forest for their help constructing a temporary detour.
“While temporary, this detour safely reconnects communities and gives commuting families their valuable personal time back,” said WYDOT Director Darin Westby. “This process underscores the vital importance of infrastructure like mountain passes that connect people to work, family, medical care, affordable housing and other necessities.”
The WYDOT also thanked Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and congressional delegates for obtaining federal funding for the project.
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“Together with our stakeholders, partners, contractors and community advocates, we were able to accomplish this major feat in a matter of weeks – despite expectations that it would take months, or even years – all while keeping safety paramount,” said John Eddins, WYDOT District 3 Engineer. “Of course, we have so many to thank for this achievement.”
WYDOT will continue to monitor the slide area as workers plan to complete the highway’s full reconstruction. WYDOT plans to open Teton Pass completely by winter.
A Biden administration oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming brought in $5 million Thursday, adding to federal funds from several summer energy auctions held by the Interior Department.
The largest single winning bid — more than $2 million — was for 1,300 acres in the state’s prolific Powder River Basin oil play. Overall the sale’s proceeds were modest compared with historic highs set in previous auctions in the oil- and gas-rich state. About 84 percent of the land offered in the auction was sold, totaling about 8,500 acres.
The White House also held a sale in New Mexico earlier this month that brought in $34 million and an auction in Nevada on Tuesday that no one showed up for.
The Biden administration has scaled back oil and gas leasing to curtail drilling on public lands, sparking fights with Republican lawmakers. The GOP’s House spending bill released Thursday would order the White House to hold quarterly auctions for drilling rights on public lands.
Dramedy Explores Resilience, Healing and Intimacy After Sexual Assault
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Wyoming International Film Festival will be featuring filmmaker Shoval Tshuva’s debut film Funky on Sunday, July 14th at 4 pm at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne. Set in New York City, Funky weaves humor and resiliency into a poignant, brave look at the ongoing impact of sexual assault and one women’s journey to reclaim her life and her libido.
“In my opinion,” says SHOVAL TSHUVA, WRITER and DIRECTOR, “only a woman can tell a story about a female experience and carry it truthfully.”
The film is part of the Drama #2 lineup on Sunday which will be followed by the festival’s Awards Ceremony at 7 pm. Tickets can be purchased here.
