Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • A1

1 Want to subscribe or have a customer service question? Call 866-981-6397 Got a news tip? Call 307-266-0520. CLASSIFIEDS B8 COMICS B6 FORUM A7 MARKETS A12 OBITUARIES A5 PUZZLES B10 $2.00 Volume 125, Issue 274 A Lee Enterprises Newspaper Copyright 2018 Follow us online: facebook.com/CASTribune I need to catch up on my beauty sleep. The Grouch SUNNY 43 29 FORECAST, A9 Tuesday, November 20, 2018 trib.com Chambers out quarterback suffered season- ending injury against Air Force. SPORTS, B1 Catch up Read the latest political columns. FORUM, A7 Hefty cost race tops $9 million.

CASPER THE WEST, A2 SUDHIN THANAWALA AND JANIE HAR Associated Press CHICO, Calif. Desperate families posted photos and mes- sages on social media and at shel- ters in hopes of finding missing loved ones, many of them elderly, nearly two weeks after the dead- liest, most destructive wildfire in California history. The death toll stood at 77 Monday, with about 1,000 people unaccounted for. have an uncle and two cous- ins that I have not been able to make contact with. Paul Wil- liams, in his his son Paul Wayne Williams, in his and his daughter Gayle Williams in her one woman wrote on Facebook.

info would be Hundreds of searchers contin- ued looking for human remains in the ashes in Paradise and outlying areas ravaged by the blaze Nov. 8, with the body count increasing daily. Rain in fore- cast added urgency to the task: While it could help knock down the flames, it could hinder the search by washing away fragmen- tary remains and turning ash into a thick paste. The list of those un- accounted for dropped dramati- cally Sunday from nearly 1,300 to 1,000 as authorities continued to locate people. Social media pages gave updates on who was dead and who was safe.

Butte County Sheriff Kory Ho- nea has said he released the rough and incomplete list in hopes that many people would contact au- thorities to say they are OK. More than a dozen people are listed as without first or last names. Some names are dupli- cated. HEATHER RICHARDS 307-266-0592, Heather.Richards@trib.com A recent comment by a Bureau of Land Management official in Wyoming regarding sage grouse was refuted Monday by the agen- Washington, D.C., office. At issue is when the federal government plans to release a final report on changes to sage grouse management that could have broad implications across the West.

The Interior progress has been hampered in its goal to have a newly minted road map for the bird released to the public before the end of the year by conflicts outside of Wyo- ming, according to BLM officials in the state. are on temporary hold while (Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt) works out some details with other the Jenny Marzluf said at a Friday meeting of Wy- state sage grouse team. then, honestly, indefinite hold. We heard any A BLM spokesperson in Wash- ington, D.C., explicitly rejected that characterization Monday. BLM is actively working to resolve remaining internal is- sues before publishing the Final EISs and proposed plan amend- ments, but there is currently no definite timetable for publica- she said in an email Mon- day.

The next era for the odd bird that struts above minerals and across its ranch- land is still uncertain more than a year after the Bureau of Land Management began an overhaul of its sage grouse management strategies. That uncertainty began with the change of ad- ministration in Washington, as the new Interior Department focused on Western land issues that conflict with economic de- velopment, placing sage grouse plans in the cross hairs. Agency responses differ aLaN roGers, STAR-TRIBUNE Two male sage grouse compete for a small piece of territory last year. A Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman in Washington rejected on Monday a local characterization that the release of federal sage grouse plans are on hold. Wild search continues for missing NICK REYNOLDS 307-266-0634, nick.reynolds@trib.com For the next two years, both houses of the Wyoming Legislature will be led by representatives from Natrona County who, coinciden- tally, represent each other.

At its party caucus on Friday, Wyoming Republicans elected Sen. Drew Perkins of Casper who previously served as major- ity floor leader to the position of Senate president. Republicans tapped Rep. Steve Harshman, also of Casper, to his second consecu- tive term as speaker of the House. Two legislators from the same county being elected to top leader- ship posts is not unusual.

In 2014, Albany County Rep. Kermit Brown was elected as House speaker and Sen. Phil Nicholas, also of Albany County, was elected as Senate president. However, Perkins, who lives in House District 37, will become the first legislator from Natrona County to be elected Senate president since Republican Diemer True was named to the post in 1990. According to results provided to the Star-Tribune by Sen.

Michael Von Flatern, other members of the leadership include Sen. Dan Dockstader, who will take over for Perkins, and Ogden Driskill, who will serve as Senate vice president. In the house, Eric Barlow in his first time in party leadership will take over for David Miller as House majority leader, and Albert Sommers will move up from the House majority position to become House speaker pro tempore. Rep. Tyler Lindholm of Sundance will be elected to leadership for the first time, becoming House majority whip.

Selections are not made official until the day prior to the start of session. According to Article 3, Section 10 of the State Constitu- tion, while the Senate and House will elect one of their members, Senate president and speaker of the House, respectively, each shall of the election returns and qualifications of its to ratify their nominations. This was an option House Minority Floor Leader Cathy Connolly told Wy- oFile that Democrats planned on exercising in a roll call vote. the minority party we want our voice our she said. In an interview Monday after- noon, Connolly said that while no potential Democratic nomi- nee for House speaker has been identified, she expressed that the roll call vote was intended more to bring both the House speaker and the speaker pro tempore positions back to what they were intended to be non-partisan, at-large po- sitions rather than positions as- signed and controlled exclusively by the leadership of the party in power.

Local lawmakers to lead saGe Grouse Official in Wyoming says release on hold; spokeswoman disagrees Perkins set to serve as Senate president; Harshman to continue as House speaker Please see saGe Grouse, Page A8 Please see LeGIsLaTure, Page A8 CaLIForNIa Please see searCH, Page A8 www.UnionWireless.com (888) 926-CARE 25GB of data usage during billing cycle, Union Wireless may slow speeds. Other restrictions apply. See store for details. KEEPING YOU CONNECTED OUTHEREPlansWith Unlimited Data includes I am Union Wireless Anthony Bonitatibus Cell Site Technician Cheyenne.