Thursday, February 28, 2013

Manufacturer Magpul being wooed to Cody?

When a Colorado manufacturer of firearm accessories threatened to leave the state if legislators there pass a proposed 15-round cap on magazines, Wyoming lawmakers jumped at the chance to invite the company to move north.

Earlier this month, members of the Legislature signed an informal resolution encouraging Magpul Industries to relocate to Wyoming.

“We just wanted to draft a resolution to tell them we think they’re a great company and Wyoming is a great place to do business, and we would love to have them do business in Wyoming,” Rep. Kendell Kroeker, R-Evansville, told the Casper Star Tribune.

Lawmakers in Cheyenne apparently weren't the only ones who thought bringing a manufacturer into the state would be a good idea.

In Forward Cody's February newsletter, the head of the economic development group, James Klessens, said folks began encouraging him to recruit Magpul to Cody immediately after Colorado legislators passed the bill limiting magazines out of committee.

“Within minutes of that initial action, my phone started ringing and emails came in from Cody residents, some who I knew, others I didn't, alerting me to this opportunity. Over the last two weeks, I have received dozens of messages on this topic and on similar actions proposed in New York compelling Forward Cody to 'go get them!'” wrote Klessens. “Believe me, we are on the hunt.”

He went on to make the broader point that he's thankful for the way the Cody community is engaged in trying to make the city a great place to live and work.

Whether Cody, or any place in Wyoming, can land the roughly 200-employee manufacturer remains to be seen.

Rep. Bunky Loucks, R-Casper, told the Casper Star Tribune yesterday that he's had five or six conversations with a Magpul executive and “they seem to be interested in Wyoming because of the proximity.”

However, Loucks also acknowledged numerous states have reached out to the company.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

AUDIO: The Ronnie Bedford Trio

A Ronnie Bedford Trio made up of Jeff Troxel on guitar, Collin Ingram on bass and (of course) Ronnie Bedford on drums, performed at Powell Valley Healthcare's Long Term Center on Feb. 11. We have a photo in today's paper.

It was a great evening of jazz and, since photos and type don't typically do music justice, I also brought along my mic. Below you can hear three of the songs the trio played.

All The Things You Are (5:51 minutes)
Straight, No Chaser (6:42 minutes)
Oleo (5:25 minutes)

Friday, February 8, 2013

Wyoming Windfalll: Are you on the list?

Wyoming wants to give you your money back.

The Unclaimed Property Division of the Wyoming State Treasurer’s Office is advertising the “Wyoming Windfall” for 2013 — approximately $3.4 million in unclaimed property. This year’s list contains approximately 10,200 names of owners of unclaimed checking and savings accounts, insurance benefits, stock and other funds, wages, refunds, deposits and overpayments.

State Treasurer Mark Gordon says the average claim is less than $100, but some owners have claimed $100,000 or more, according to the Associated Press.

Funds that have been held by a company or by another state for a specified number of years and have not or cannot be paid to the owner are then placed in protective custody by the state treasurer. The
Unclaimed Property Division safeguards and makes an effort to return the funds to the rightful owner, at no cost to the owner.

The Wyoming Windfall has been successful in returning more than $27.7 million to approximately 43,300 owners since the Unclaimed Property Law passed in 1993.  Last fiscal year, over $2 million was claimed by owners or heirs.

Any person who finds his or her name on the list, or the name of a relative, should call the Unclaimed Property Division at 307-777-5590 or write to: Wyoming Unclaimed Property Division, 2515 Warren Ave., Suite 502, Cheyenne, WY 82002.

The Wyoming Windfall also can be accessed online at www.wywindfall.gov.

Below is a spreadsheet listing the folks and businesses with unclaimed property whose last known address is in Park County. If that doesn't work for you, you can download the list as a PDF file.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Fifty bald eagles in Basin? Nope.

A photograph of more than 50 bald eagles in a tree is making the rounds on Facebook this week. A Powell woman's post claimed the photo was taken in Basin, Wyo., but here at the Tribune, we had our doubts.

After a bit of research, it turns out the photograph was actually taken by Chuck Hilliard, a photographer in Seattle, Wash. He posted on his Facebook page Thursday morning to clarify the photo is his, and that it wasn't taken anywhere near Basin or Wyoming.

As of Thursday morning, the post saying the photograph was taken in Basin had been shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook, so we just wanted to clarify that the photo wasn't taken in the Big Horn Basin.

Our friends at the Basin Republican Rustler didn't believe it was a local photo.

Wrote Republican Rustler editor Karla Pomeroy on Hilliard's Facebook wall: "We live in Basin and knew right away was not taken here and we've been investigating. We'll try to spread the word of where the photo originally came from. It is an awesome photo."

Incidentally, the photograph is similar to one by Powell photographer Richard Brady that we published in the Powell Tribune earlier this week. He traveled more than a 1,000 miles from Wyoming to take the photograph. Brady’s photo of 50 bald eagles in a single tree was taken in Canada during the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival, held in November in British Columbia, Canada.