CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletes and their families from around the state gathered at Kelly Walsh High School’s Harry Geldine Stadium for the 2025 Wyoming State Track and Field Championships for the second day of competition on Friday. Competition continues on Saturday with a modified schedule ahead of possible inclement weather conditions. The full […]
Dan Cepeda
Features Editor
Posted inCommunity
Stop Making Cents: US Mint to officially end penny production
CASPER, Wyo. — Change is ahead in America’s currency as the U.S. Mint makes its final order of penny blanks, bringing a certain end to the production of the coin. According to the Associated Press, the move will add up to an annual savings of $56 million in reduced material cost. President Trump said in […]
Posted inSports
Douglas High School runner to compete in Nike Outdoor Nationals in Oregon
CASPER, Wyo. — Douglas High School senior Jaden Meyer didn’t need the slew of school records she’s amassed over the past couple of years to prove what her parents already knew. “She’s always been fast,” said her father, Justin. “She’s been fast since she was little; we knew she had exceptional speed.” While she’s been […]
Posted inCommunity
Casper food pantry Joshua’s Storehouse receives surprise $25K donation
CASPER, Wyo. — Debra Davis seemed more stunned than emotional when she saw a large prop check made out for $25,000 on Tuesday evening. Davis, Joshua’s Storehouse executive director, had just stepped out of a scheduled meeting with board members to find a group of First Interstate employees standing in the pantry’s distribution center. She […]
Posted inEducation
KW’s music-makers celebrated in College Band Decision Day on Wednesday in Casper
CASPER, Wyo. — Kelly Walsh High School music students who will pursue music after high school were honored in the annual KWHS College Band Decision Day on Wednesday. The event takes inspiration from the NCAA’s National Signing Day, and reinforces the belief that students who excel in music should be given the same attention and […]
Posted inGalleries
Natrona County school kids delight in 2025 Wyoming Reads event
CASPER, Wyo. — Hundreds of Natrona County third graders gathered in the Natrona County Public Library and the nearby Nicolaysen Art Museum for the 27th annual Wyoming Reads event on Tuesday. Two different sessions were organized this year to handle the influx of students, who each received a gift bag featuring one of several carefully […]
Posted inSports
Championship Nordic KWHS skier signs to Green Bay during ceremony
CASPER, Wyo. — KWHS Nordic skier Fisk Johansson wasn’t quite sure if he’d pursue skiing in his college career until earlier this year, even after he’d won the first of two championships during the past two seasons. “I’m a mountain biker too, and I thought about maybe that path,” he said during a signing ceremony […]
Posted inGalleries
(PHOTOS) Casper fans line up for ‘Free Beer and Hot Wings’ radio broadcast on Friday
CASPER, Wyo. — There was “Free Beer and Hot Wings” served up on Friday morning at Frontier Brewing Company. Except that there were no hot wings and the beer was not free. It wasn’t a matter of false advertising, as fans of a popular syndicated morning radio show got exactly what they wanted: witty banter, […]
Posted inArts
Amid NEA cuts, future of Wyoming Arts Council federal funding uncertain
CASPER, Wyo. — Arts organizations across the country learned last week that essential federal grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, had been terminated without warning. Most of those notices arrived via emails sent over that weekend. At least five Wyoming organizations had their direct federal NEA grants terminated, according to Rachel […]
Posted inSports
KW’s Sorensen signs to wrestle at Northwest Community College
CASPER, Wyo. — Kelly Walsh High School’s Dylan Sorensen will continue his wrestling career beyond high school at Northwest Community College in Powell. Sorensen signed his letter of intent during a ceremony at KWHS on Tuesday afternoon in front of his teammates, his family and media. During his time at KWHS, he traveled to Japan […]
Posted inBusiness
Blackmore Marketplace lines up retailers, possible grocery as construction ramps up
CASPER, Wyo. — The makeup of Blackmore Marketplace Shopping Center’s growing footprint on Casper’s east side is starting to take shape. Crews are busy prepping and starting foundation work along a large parcel of land on Newport Road, stretching between East Second Street and Blackmore Road. The site is just west of the completed section […]
Posted inBusiness
New Les Schwab Tire Center planned on Casper’s west side
CASPER, Wyo. — Site work for a new Les Schwab Tire Center is underway on Casper’s west side. According to plans submitted to the city of Casper, the new facility will be located at 3325 Aerie Drive, just off Wyoming Boulevard, and situated between Talon Drive and Plaza Drive. The building is described as a […]
Posted inWeather
Warm, sunny weekend with periods of possible thunderstorms ahead in Casper area
CASPER, Wyo. — A warm and mild weekend interspersed with afternoon thunderstorms is ahead for Natrona County. According to the National Weather Service in Riverton, Friday will see a high of 75 degrees and sunny skies. Chances for scattered showers and possible thunderstorms could develop in the mid-afternoon. A low of 47 degrees is likely […]
Posted inArts
DOGE cuts disrupt key five-year Nicolaysen plan weeks before scheduled start
CASPER, Wyo. — A five-year strategic plan by Casper’s Nicolaysen Art Museum was disrupted weeks before it was scheduled to launch after federal funding was suddenly disrupted. According to the NIC’s executive director, Allison Maluchnik, a local AmeriCorps VISTA position had been chosen to help lead the program, only to have that position terminated less […]
Posted inSports
‘I showed them’: Casper teen wins chance to compete at MMA world championships in Brazil
CASPER, Wyo. — Louis Wilkinson sized up his opponents at the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts, or GAMMA, USA National Championships, and knew they were larger and more experienced. This was the Casper native and NCHS student’s biggest event since he started taking the sport seriously. “I knew I wasn’t leaving without placing,” he […]
Posted inCommunity
(PHOTOS) Wyoming Vietnam Vets start journey to DC on ‘Voyage of Valor’ trip
CASPER, Wyo. — Lifelong Casper resident Tom Anderson has accomplished a lot in his 76 years of living. He has three daughters and four grandkids, and is now retired after a career in the oil business that took him around the world. Still, Tom says it’s likely that he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep […]
Posted inArts
Exit the Dragon: A conversation with WSO’s departing music director Christopher Dragon
CASPER, Wyo. — Christopher Dragon was ready to dial back his hectic work schedule when he decided to step down as music director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra after the fifth season. “My schedule was crazy,” he said during an interview with Oil City News this week. “I thought I’d want to step back and […]
Posted inEducation
(PHOTOS) School of hard rocks: Southridge rock band students record at Casper College
CASPER, Wyo. — Every rock band needs a good name, and a group of noisy Southridge Elementary Students can lay claim to their own. “We like to call ourselves ‘Feedback,’” said music teacher Jeremy Huck. “That’s our unofficial name, but it’s a fitting one for these kids.” The official name for the group is simply […]
Posted inBusiness
King of the Road: All hail to Casper’s Quesadilla King food truck
CASPER, Wyo. — Retired oilfield worker Simon Carpenter was anointed the king of quesadillas somewhat by accident. He’d dreamed of launching his own food truck for years, but never had a particular concept in mind. Thanks to his friendship with Paul Hack — co-owner the Casper Spuds baseball team — his royal destiny to conquer […]
Posted inSports
(PHOTOS) KW’s Victor Lebsock signs to swim at Adams State University
CASPER, Wyo. — Kelly Walsh High School senior Victor Lebsock has agreed to swim at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado. During a signing ceremony at KWHS on Wednesday afternoon, Lebsock said he was attracted to the university’s small class sizes and the surrounding community. “As I progress, the class sizes get smaller, and it […]
Posted inWeather
Sunny Tuesday ahead of possible rain–snow mix midweek in Casper
CASPER, Wyo. — Another shot of moisture will break up an otherwise mild week ahead in the Casper area. According to the National Weather Service in Riverton, Tuesday is expected to be blustery and sunny, as the high reaches 66 degrees and gusts hit 21 mph. Overnight, the low will dip to 35 degrees. Showers […]
Posted inBusiness
Bluepeak subcontractors cutting unmarked cable resulted in Casper-area internet outages this week
CASPER, Wyo. — Two overnight outages that affected Casper-area Spectrum and Verizon Wireless customers were triggered by a fiber-optic cable that was accidentally cut by subcontractors working for internet provider Bluepeak. According to a Bluepeak statement emailed to Oil City News, the first outage started around 8 p.m. Tuesday when a Bluepeak subcontractor working on […]
Posted inCommunity
Grants for child advocacy group CASA terminated among federal cuts
CASPER, Wyo. — The Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, announced that federal funding had been terminated by the U.S. Department of Justice, which issued more than 360 notices of termination of federal grant awards this week. CASA of Laramie County posted on social media that the terminations would directly impact their operation “as we […]