Wyoming
Officials seek answers as layoff rumors swirl at southwest Wyoming coal mine – WyoFile
Officials in Lincoln County are pressing the owners of the Kemmerer coal mine for more details as rumors circulate about potential layoffs at the site.
County Commission Chairman Kent Connelly told WyoFile on Monday that he and others have heard about communications workers received from mine management concerning pending layoffs.
The company has “put out no press release, given us no numbers,” Connelly told WyoFile by phone. “The people who work there have said that [the company has] talked to them about it. Beyond that, I can’t get an official thing out of the mine at all. We would like to know what’s happening.”
Kemmerer Mayor Robert Bowen said he’s also heard the same reports spreading around the community in recent days without confirmation from the company.
“At this point, I’m not saying it’s not going to happen,” Bowen told WyoFile via phone, “but I’m just skeptical about anything I hear until it does happen, just because I’ve heard so many rumors that, you know, half the time it turned out be false.”
The mine owner, ECC Capital Corporation, did not respond to WyoFile’s inquiries before publication of this story.
Rumors of layoffs have circulated since the Southern California-based “specialty finance and asset management company” acquired the mine from PhenixFIN Corporation last year. The previous owner, Westmoreland Coal Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018. In addition to serving the nearby Naughton coal- and natural gas-fired power plant, the mine ships coal to trona operations in southwest Wyoming for boiler systems used in refining processes, as well as out-of-state electrical generation customers, according to local officials.
The mine produced 2.4 million tons of coal in 2024 and employed 215 workers, according to federal data. It produced more than 4.2 million tons in 2017 and employed 279 workers in the fourth quarter of that year.
Bust or boom?
Though local officials are bullish on coal’s prospect for a potential turnaround under the second Trump administration and rising electrical demand, they can only brace for a range of short-term interruptions — from layoffs to a potential closure of the mine. Even as the mine faces uncertainty, the neighboring towns of Kemmerer and Diamondville — along with all of southwest Wyoming — anticipate huge industrial growth and a shortage of affordable housing to meet demands from new projects such as a major trona mining expansion and TerraPower’s Natrium nuclear power plant complex already under construction, Connelly explained.
“I would think people [if they get laid off] would want to stay here,” Connelly said. “They would probably be trying to get hired on at these other places that are hiring.”
However, not every major industrial project that’s in motion is a sure thing, he added. While the Natrium plant and a trona expansion appear to be on track, other plans for a large solar farm and coal-to-products still face uncertainties.
“It’s 50 different things in this area around here,” Connelly said. “There’s a lot going on.”
Though there’s much promise for an expanding industrial economy in the region, local officials are still wary, Lincoln County Economic Development Director Robert King told WyoFile.
“You can’t really depend on anything until you see concrete going in the ground and buildings going up,” King said. “Too many things can happen in the process. We’ve got some high hopes, but until it actually happens, I’m just not going to hold my breath.”
Adding to the uncertainty is what appears to be a lot of chaos under the Trump administration, King said, noting confusion around federal employee layoffs and a freeze on federal grant and research programs that could make or break several industrial projects in the region.
“It’s a strange time right now,” he said.
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
Related
Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
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