1981

• The tribes of the Wind River Indian Reservation launched investigations into allegations that tribal oil was being stolen. The investi­gation turned up hundreds of thousands of dollars of unpaid royalties and prompted further investigations by the federal gov­ernment. A U.S. Senate subcommittee and a special commission appointed by the Secretary of Interior raised questions about the U.S. Geological Survey's ability to manage federal and Indian oil leases and the energy industry's record-keeping practices.
• Environmentalists were outraged when a draft environmental im­pact statement recommended limited mineral exploration and development of the Washakie Wilderness. Strong opposition also came in response to proposed oil and gas drilling the Cache Creek Canyon area of the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Jackson. Pro-development interests said national energy needs made development mandatory. Environmentalists said any explo­ration or development would destroy wilderness quality.
• The Wyoming legislature passed the first severance tax increase in seven years-2 percent on oil and gas. The increased revenues were committed to cities, towns, counties, highway construction and water projects. The increase was expected to raise $75 million in 1981. Passage was made possible by a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans.
• Stymied by concerns over use of water from underground forma­tions and the potential for drawdown of wells in Wyoming and South Dakota, Energy Transportation Systems arranged to buy water from South Dakota's Oahe Reservoir for use in the proposed Wyoming coal slurry pipeline.
• While the 11th coal mine in Campbell County opened, major layoffs were occurring in the uranium mining industry. Layoffs in Fremont County's uranium fields alone totaled more than 1,000. The state's unemployment rate reached 5.2 percent-higher than at any other time since 1963.
• Black-footed ferrets were thought to be extinct until a farm dog in the Meeteetse area returned home with a dead ferret. That led to the discovery of what was believed to be North America's only colony of the rare mammals.
• The UW basketball team compiled a record of 24-6 and were se­lected to appear in the NCAA tournament. It was the best record by a Wyoming basketball team since the 1951-52 squad went 28-7.

1982

• President Reagan recommended deployment of 100 multiple war­head (MX) intercontinental ballistic missiles in a 20 square mile area of northern Laramie County. Although there was some opposition, the plan was generally accepted. Nuclear missiles had already been a part of life there for more than 20 years.
• Wyoming voters gave approval to a constitutional amendment which made it possible to use funds from Wyoming's richest school districts to improve funding in the state's poorest districts.
• Ed Herschler was elected to his third term as Wyoming governor in a landslide victory over Warren Morton. It was the first time in state history that an individual had been elected to more than two terms in the governor's chair.
• After a decade of boom, the state's economy began to feel the effects of a national recession. While the overall state economy continued to grow and Wyoming prospered more than most states, the state's unemployment rate nearly doubled as coal miners, oilfield workers and railroad employees began to join uranium miners on the unemployed rolls.
• The debate over oil and mineral exploration in wilderness areas continued as Jackson area opponents fought to keep Getty Oil from drilling an exploratory well in Little Granite Canyon, a scenic area which some wanted designated as a wilderness area.
• The legislature gave approval to Gov. Herschler's plan to develop more water storage capacity in Wyoming and authorized $114 million for the first phase.
• A plan to convert Wyoming coal into gasoline became the top project in line for federal subsidies from the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corp. The proposed multi-billion dollar plant was shelved, how­ever, after a primary sponsor backed out.
• Wyoming's congressional delegation tried to address the wilderness controversy with a compromise proposal that angered environ­mentalists and developers alike. It ended up stalled in Congress.

1983

• The previous plan to base 100 MX nuclear missiles in a "dense pack" formation near Cheyenne was abandoned but a new plan called for the missiles to be deployed in existing Minuteman III missile silos. When congressional approval of the plan was given, the Air Force decided that F.E. Warren Air Force Base at Chey­enne would be the command post for the missiles.
• Two Cheyenne teenagers went on trial for the murder of their father. The case drew national attention as Richard and Deborah Jahnke defended their actions as an effort to protect themselves and their mother from continuing physical and mental abuse. Richard Jahnke was found not guilty of first degree murder but was convicted of manslaughter. Deborah was convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter.
• Wyoming's economy continued to skid, with unemployment reach­ing higher than 10 percent, levels not seen since the depression of the 1930s. With more and more Wyoming workers being laid off the state's unemployment compensation fund went broke. Governor Herschler called a special session of the legislature to approve a plan that would return the fund to solvency. The downturn was becoming a significant threat to the financial wel­fare of state and local governments. The impact was felt hardest in the energy and mineral industries but all sectors were affected.
• The last passenger train through Wyoming rolled along the Union Pacific line in July as Amtrak implemented a decision to route cross-country trains over a more scenic route in Colorado.
• Wyoming's property tax assessment practices were challenged. Railroads claimed they were carrying an unfairly large tax burden. Homeowners protested proposals that would increase their share of the tax burden.
• Russell Staats was elected as mayor of Chugwater, just as he had been in every election since the mid-1930s.
• Booming only a few years earlier, Wyoming's oil industry went bust. The number of drilling rigs in the state reached a 7-year low.

1984

• Queen Elizabeth II of England visited the Sheridan area for three days in October.
• After years of effort, Energy Transportation Systems, Inc. cancelled plans for the coal slurry pipeline project from northeast Wyoming to Arkansas.
• The Wyoming Legislature voted to conduct a statewide property reappraisal. The Board of Equalization ordered an increase in the rate of assessed valuation.
• April blizzard killed thousands of sheep and cattle in northeastern Wyoming. Buffalo, Sheridan and Gillette were isolated briefly.
• The November elections brought significant Republican victories. Alan Simpson's and Dick Cheney's congressional re-election efforts won in every county. The Republican majority in the Wyo­ming House was greater than at any time in decades. A prominent Democrat said his party was in the worst shape it had been since the mid-1920s.
• The Wyoming Wilderness Bill cleared Congress after three years of haggling. It added 1 million acres of national forest land to wil­derness designation but freed another 3 million acres for possible development.
• A grizzly bear killed a hiker in Yellowstone National Park and public concerns were expressed over grizzly bear management in and around the park.
• U.S. Steel closed its iron ore mine near Atlantic City. It was the state's last iron mine.
• Four earthquakes measuring 5 or more on the Richter scale were recorded in eastern Wyoming. The largest-a quake of 5.5 on the Richter scale-was the strongest ever recorded in Wyoming outside Yellowstone National Park. None of the quakes produced more than minor damage.

1985

• An August 1 thunderstorm dumped 6 inches of rain and another 6 inches of hail on Cheyenne during a four-hour period leaving 12 people dead, more than 70 injured, and millions of dollars worth of damage. Officials called it the kind of storm that comes along only once in a hundred or two hundred years.
• Dr. John Story of Lovell was convicted on sexual assault charges. Some Lovell area women had accused Story of sexual improprieties while he performed pelvic examinations. They alleged the assaults had occurred as far back as 1967. Other Lovell residents defended Dr. Story and expressed outrage at the charges, claiming they were instigated by religious prejudice by Mormons against the non-Mormon physician.
• Ten Indian boys committed suicide on the Wind River Reservation between August 3 and September 30. Authorities brought in specialists to help cope with the problem and tribal elders conducted traditional religious ceremonies to help put an end to the deaths.
• While the nation was in the midst of recovery from a recession that began in 1982, Wyoming's economy continued to decline. Mining, construction and agriculture were particularly hard hit. Farmers and ranchers across Wyoming faced bankruptcy. Their plight was emphasized when Floyd Morgan, a Torrington area farmer, committed suicide in despair over his worsening financial situation.
• People from across the state participated in the Wyoming Futures Project, an effort to better define the economic future of the state. A report by a California research institute predicted con­tinuing problems in the minerals industries and encouraged Wyoming to focus attention on home-gown businesses and tourism for future economic growth.
• Dry conditions contributed to a rash of forest and range fires. A July fire blackened 850 acres on Casper Mountain while another 6,500- acre fire spread over the Rattlesnake Hills in Natrona County. Other fires burned land in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the Big Horn, Bridger-Teton, Black Hills and Medicine Bow national forests.
• Years of low premiums and low interest rates left insurance companies reeling and brought major increases in premiums. Other insurance companies simply cancelled policies creating problems for Wyoming doctors, lawyers, school districts, and government.
• The state's major air carrier, Frontier Commuter Airlines, terminated service to Wyoming communities and public officials scrambled to find transportation alternatives.
• The Bureau of Reclamation drained Fontenelle Reservoir when instruments indicated a growing likelihood that the dam could fail. Efforts to repair the dam began.
• Construction of a giant natural gas treatment plant near LaBarge was underway. Employment on the project provided 5,000 jobs.

1986

• An armed man and woman took over a Cokeville elementary school in May and held more than 150 children and teachers as hostages while demanding a ransom of $300 million. The siege came to an end when one of the couple's gasoline bombs detonated prematurely. The man, David Young, then killed his wife Doris before committing suicide. More than 75 people, most of them children, were injured by the bomb blast. Diaries written by Young were later recovered and they suggested that the former Cokeville town marshal planned to kill the children and himself as a mass sacrifice on a voyage into a world reached only by reincarnation.
• Falling commodity prices put tremendous pressure on farmers and ranchers struggling to meet their debts. And oil exploration nearly came to a halt as a worldwide glut of oil supplies pushed prices as low as $9 per barrel. The over-supply was a result of the inability of oil producing nations in the Middle East to agree on production quotas.
• The drop in oil prices also cut state revenues and that caused Governor Herschler to order a $77.7 million cut in the budgets of state agencies and educational institutions.
• Following three-term governor Ed Herschler's decision not to seek another term, Casper lawyer Mike Sullivan defeated Republican Pete Simpson in the November gubernatorial election and assured continued Democratic control of the office that would span 16 years.
• Wyoming's economic woes led to the failure of 10 banks in the state during the year.

1987

• The statewide reappraisal of property hit a major snag. In January state officials declared a default by Professional Appraisal Com­pany, the company hired to do the job. PAC's bonding company turned the project over to the Ebert Corporation but controver­sies over inaccuracies and valuations continued throughout the year.
• Potentially toxic and explosive gasses were detected in the Rawhide Village housing project north of Gillette. Tests showed the gases were coming from a coal seam located just beneath the subdivision's surface. Residents were evacuated and appeals for help went to state and federal officials for help. An emergency declaration by President Ronald Reagan finally provided home owners with the means to get out of their mortgages.
• A strike by members of the United Mine Workers Union against the Decker Coal Company in southern Montana idled hundreds of workers in Sheridan. Wages and a company proposal to subcontract certain jobs at the mines were at issue. Numerous incidents of vandalism and threatened violence strained community relationships in the Sheridan area.
• The Wyoming Legislature refused for the second time to approve a change that would have raised the minimum legal drinking age from 19 to 21. The impetus for change came from the federal government which had threatened to withhold federal highway funds to states which do not comply with a 21-year-old minimum drinking age.

1988

• Forest fires raged through Yellowstone National Park and surrounding forest lands throughout the summer and early fall blackening hundreds of thousands of acres and creating smoke clouds that spread out over the entire region. The fires kindled sharp disagreements over National Park Service policies which allowed natural fires to burn unchecked for a portion of the summer. Later, as the scope of the fires increased, more than 25,000 firefighters from all over the nation, including more than 5,000
• U.S. Army and Marine troops, were brought to the area for a fire containment effort that cost at least $115 million.
• Wyoming lawmakers reluctantly approved legislation that raised the legal drinking age from 19 to 21. The change came in the face of the likelihood that Wyoming would lose millions of dollars in highway funds unless it complied with the federal mandate.
• State voters gave overwhelming approval to an amendment to the state constitution which created a tier system of taxation. The amendment arose from a Supreme Court ruling that the existing system of taxing industrial property at one rate while taxing other property at another rate was not in accordance with the state's constitutional mandate of fair and equal taxation. The Wyoming Legislature resolved the problem by creating an amendment that legalized a tier system under which industrial property would be assessed at a rate of 11.5 percent while homes, agricultural prop­erty and small businesses would be taxed at a rate of 9.5 percent.
• It was another dry year in Wyoming with precipitation levels 40-70 percent below normal.
• Two women employees of the Wyoming State Penitentiary were held hostage for 11 hours by two inmates hoping to gain a meeting with news reporters. Eventually the two women were released unharmed.

1989

• Wyoming's congressional representative Dick Cheney was named Secretary of Defense by President George Bush. Teton County's state senator John Turner was named to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• International attention was focused on Jackson Hole as U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze held pre-summit meetings in Grand Teton National Park.
• Casper Republican Craig Thomas defeated Hudson Democrat John Vinich in a special election to select a replacement for Dick Cheney's Senate seat.
• The Wyoming legislature took the first steps toward a reorganiza­tion of state government.
• Large numbers of tourists streamed into northwest Wyoming as curiosity about the effects of the 1988 forest fires helped produce a solid tourist season.
• The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Wyoming Supreme Court's award of priority water rights to 500,000 acre feet of water each year to the tribes of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The decree capped a 12-year, multi-million dollar legal battle and raised concern among non-Indian irrigators along the Wind and Big Horn rivers.
• Soda ash production from mines west of Green River reached record levels for the second year in a row.

1990

• The University of Wyoming began a massive review of all programs and operations that officials said could lead to a complete re­structuring of the university.
• Former Governor Ed Herschler died of cancer.
• Below average stream flows were predicted when the state experi­enced the fourth consecutive year with minimal fall and winter precipitation.
• Conflict between the tribal officials on the Wind River Indian Reser­vation and state water management authorities flared as the Indi­ans implemented plans to utilize tribal water rights for in-stream flows in the Big Wind River. State officials and non-Indian irriga­tors expressed fears that such actions would produce negligible biological or economic benefits and would harm farmers who needed the water for their crops. The state engineer said he would not enforce protection of in-stream flows by closing headgates if the actions would harm non-Indian irrigators. Tribal officials asked the Bureau of lndian Affairs to enforce tribal rights.
• Kern River Gas Transmission Company announced plans to begin construction of a major new pipeline from southwestern Wyoming to California. The line was expected to carry significant quantities of Wyoming natural gas to rapidly expanding markets on the west coast.
• Construction of expanded facilities for the production of soda ash at Tenneco's Green River plant began after a major new joint venture was announced involving Tenneco and Asahi Glass Com­pany, Japan's largest glass manufacturer.
• The Wyoming Legislature established a new state holiday and named it the Martin Luther King, Jr. Wyoming Equality Day. Additional steps in the reorganization of state government which began in 1989 were approved.
• The 1990 census was conducted amid predictions that the state's population would be pegged at about 475,000. That figure was similar to the count in 1980, but far below the 516,000 figure which was estimated for Wyoming at the peak of the energy boom in 1983.

Top Wyoming News Stories, 1990*

1. Execution date set for Mark Hopkinson
2. Death of former Gov. Ed Herschler (Feb. 5)
3. Sullivan, Simpson, Karpan win in 1990 Elections
4. Thousands celebrate Wyoming Centennial
5. Laramie woman charged with child abuse for drinking alcohol while pregnant
6. Wyoming reservists called to service in “Operation Desert Shield”
7. State’s economy shows mixed condition
8. Legislature designates Martin Luther King, Jr.-Wyoming Equality Day
9. Mother, three children murdered in Thermopolis; juvenile taken into custody
10. Crook County rancher John Dorrance fights with Game and Fish over exotic game ranch