Wyoming

(PHOTOS) Protesters collect food for area nonprofit

Published

1 year ago

April 19, 2025

(PHOTOS) Protesters collect food for area nonprofit

CASPER, Wyo. — On Saturday, protesters spoke out against President Donald Trump and the current administration while collecting nonperishable items to be donated to the Wyoming Food for Thought Project.

The protest comes roughly two weeks after the “Hands Off” protests swept the nation, including Casper. Both protests have been organized by the Casper Unity and Solidarity Project, or CUSP — a local group formed in February.

“We were looking around and didn’t see anyone responding to what’s going on,” CUSP member Jane Ifland said. “We wanted to take a two-pronged approach, and so CUSP will have both a political action side and a mutual aid side.”

Organizer Amber Bland said CUSP members knew they wanted to incorporate a donation drive or fundraiser in Saturday’s protest, and ultimately decided to support Wyoming Food for Thought because of the problem food insecurity poses.

“Food insecurity was, by and large, the biggest issue that we agreed as a group to focus on, especially with the food banks taking such a big hit [through Department of Governmental Efficiency cuts].”

In March, the Food Bank of Wyoming lost roughly $535,000 of funding when DOGE cuts eliminated a USDA grant that allowed food banks to purchase fresh food directly from Wyoming suppliers.

In addition to the food drive for Food for Thought, Bland said CUSP established an online fundraiser raising money for the Wyoming Food Bank. People can donate here.

Bland said CUSP plans on hosting many more mutual aid events and projects in the future, from clothing drives to fundraisers and possibly creating or working on a community garden.

“There’s a lot we have in the works and are excited about, but at the moment we’re still getting started,” she said.

At Saturday’s protest, attendees voiced anger and concern about a number of issues, including the deportation of Maryland man Kilmar Abrego-Garcia to CECOT, a detention center in El Salvador. The federal government initially referred to Abrego-Garcia being sent there as a mistake, but later walked back that stance. Despite a 9–0 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that he must be sent back, the Trump administration and the El Salvadorian government have stated that he will not be returned to the country.

“We’re seeing an outright attack against our Constitution,” Ifland said. “It flies in the face of everything that America stands for.”

Other topics on protesters’ minds included tariffs, DOGE cuts, reproductive rights and more.

CUSP’s next rally is scheduled for May 1 from 5 to 6 p.m. at Healing Park on Conwell. Ifland said the rally will be a show of support for the Wyoming Education Association and the Wyoming State AFL-CIO.

(Tommy Culkin, Oil City News)

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Wyoming

Casper approves Wyoming Boulevard property rezoning

Published

4 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Casper approves Wyoming Boulevard property rezoning

CASPER, Wyo. — The Casper City Council voted Tuesday to approve on first reading a zoning change for a vacant 2.4-acre parcel located at 1530 SE Wyoming Boulevard, transitioning the property from residential to commercial use.

The ordinance reclassifies Lot 4 of the Methodist Church Addition from Residential Estate to General Business. Located between East 15th and East 18th streets, the irregular-shaped property has remained undeveloped since it was first platted in 1984.

While original plans for the subdivision envisioned a church and an associated preschool, Community Development Director Liz Becher reported those projects never materialized.

According to Becher, the applicant sought the rezoning to facilitate the potential installation of a cell tower or an off-premises sign. Under the new C-2 designation, a cell tower up to 130 feet in height is considered a permitted use by right, though any off-premises sign would still require a conditional use permit from the Planning and Zoning Commission. The applicant also owns the adjacent lot to the north, which the city rezoned to general business in 2021.

Becher said the change aligns with the “Employment Mixed Use” classification in the Generation Casper comprehensive land use plan. This designation typically supports civic, institutional and employment spaces.

Despite the new zoning, the property remains subject to a subdivision agreement that limits traffic access. Entry and exit are restricted to right turns onto or from East 15th Street, and no access is permitted from East 18th Street.

The council will vote on two more readings of the ordinance before it is officially ratified.

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Wyoming

Two men detained in Wyoming in connection with deadly shooting at downtown Salt Lake hotel

Published

16 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Two men detained in Wyoming in connection with deadly shooting at downtown Salt Lake hotel

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Two men were detained in Wyoming in connection with a fatal shooting at a downtown Salt Lake hotel that killed one man.

Carlos Chee, 23, and Chino Aguilar, 21, were both wanted for first-degree felony murder after the victim, identified as Christian Lee, 32, was found dead in a room at the Springhill Suites near 600 South and 300 West.

According to warrants issued for their arrest, Chee and Aguilar met with Lee and another woman at the hotel to sell marijuana. During the alleged drug deal, Aguilar allegedly shot and killed Lee after he tried to grab at his gun.

MORE | Shootings

Investigators said they found Lee dead in the room upon arrival, as well as a single shell casing on the floor and a small amount of marijuana on the television stand.

The woman told investigators she had met Chee on a dating app and that he agreed to come to the hotel to sell her marijuana. She had been hanging out with him in the room, which Lee rented for her to use, when Lee asked them to leave. Lee was then shot and killed following a brief confrontation.

Chee and Aguilar allegedly fled the scene in a 2013 Toyota Camry with a Texas license plate that was later found outside of Rock Springs, Wyoming just a few hours later.

The two men were taken into custody and detained at the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.

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Wyoming

Man shot, critically injured by deputy during ‘disturbance’ in Rock Springs, Wyoming

Published

1 day ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

Man shot, critically injured by deputy during ‘disturbance’ in Rock Springs, Wyoming

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyoming (KUTV) — A man was hospitalized with critical injuries after he was reportedly shot by a deputy responding to reports of a disturbance.

Deputies with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Rock Springs Police Department responded to the Sweetwater Heights apartment complex in the 2100 block of Century Boulevard just after 4 a.m. on Monday to investigate reports of a disturbance involving an armed individual.

Information that dispatch received indicated that the individual had shot himself. When officials arrived, they found the individual on the balcony of an upstairs apartment “who appeared to have a gunshot wound consistent with the initial report,” a press release states.