skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump pushes House GOP to pass his budget bill; Medicaid critical for maternal and infant health in rural CO; Fear of detention prevents some WA migrants from getting food; Report says many AL adults want college degrees but face barriers; MT Native leaders say civic engagement brings legislative wins.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Kristi Noem incorrectly defines habeas corpus during a Senate hearing. Senate passes a bipartisan bill to eliminate taxes on tips, and Native American civic engagement fosters legislative wins in the West.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

New Mexico's acequia irrigation system is a model of democratic governance, buying a house in rural America will get harder under the Trump administration's draft 2026 budget, and physicians and medical clinics serving rural America are becoming a rarity.

A big future for WY historic arboretum hinges on state legislature

play audio
Play

Monday, February 3, 2025   

Lawmakers could salvage plans to restore a historic Wyoming arboretum after the legislature cut initial funding from the supplemental state budget. Its future now depends on bills in committee.

Companion bills introduced in the Wyoming House and Senate would recognize the Cheyenne-area High Plains Research Station and Arboretum as an official state historic site. The center was used a century ago to research and grow trees that could handle the area's harsh climate.

Jessica Friis, horticulturist for Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, helps steward the site.

"A lot of those trees are still standing today," Friis pointed out. "We'd like to return to that original mission where we can grow these tough plants in that greenhouse and make them available."

Friis pointed out today, trees grown there could be used for reforestation after wildfires and other modern needs. The bills now sit with the committees on agriculture and appropriations.

Megan Stanfill, executive director of the Alliance for Historic Wyoming, said the site is more than 2,000 acres in size, and includes an active grasslands research station, historic buildings, the Cheyenne National Cemetery and a Girl Scout camp.

"You have all of these different aspects, where it's outdoor recreation, it's historic sites, it's cultural heritage, and then it's also a place of solitude," Stanfill outlined.

If the area becomes an official state historic site, it would be cooperatively managed by the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming State Parks and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Disclosure: The Alliance for Historic Wyoming contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Cultural Resources, Education, and Women's Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The 2025 Florida hurricane season, from June 1 to Nov. 30, is predicted to be above average with 17 named storms. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

As Florida emergency response officials conduct their annual statewide hurricane preparedness exercise this week, emergency managers are grappling …


Health and Wellness

play sound

Groups fighting for immigrants' rights and health care access asked lawmakers in Sacramento on Tuesday to reject proposed cuts to Medi-Cal for undocum…

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report showed programs serving domestic violence survivors in Ohio are stretched thin, with hundreds of people who need help being turned away …


Nearly 20% of Washington's labor force is foreign-born. (DisobeyArt/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Immigrants' rights advocates are voicing concerns that migrant communities in Washington may be avoiding visiting food banks or getting food assistanc…

Social Issues

play sound

According to researchers from Michigan State University, Yale and Johns Hopkins, ransomware is now the leading culprit behind U.S. health data …

About 19% of electricity in the United States is produced by nuclear plants. (Maksym Yemelyanov/Adobe Stock)

play sound

As Oregon legislators consider the possibility of allowing a nuclear reactor in Umatilla County, opponents rallied at the State Capitol this week to …

Social Issues

play sound

Education is a major challenge for kids in foster care in Pennsylvania, according to a new report. Nearly 20,000 children and teens are served by …

Social Issues

play sound

North Dakota housing assistance offices helping with rent vouchers and discrimination cases are having to do more with less as federal changes take sh…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021