Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • A1

1 TIMES OF CLOUDS AND SUN 46 31 FORECAST, B6 Wednesday, January 9, 2019 trib.com CLASSIFIEDS D1 COMICS C6 MARKETS C8 OBITUARIES A5 PUBLIC RECORD A10 PUZZLES D3 $5.00 Volume 125, Issue 324 A Lee Enterprises Newspaper Copyright 2019 Follow us online: facebook.com/CASTribune My priorities are napping and snacking. The Grouch Want to subscribe or have a customer service question? Call 866-981-6397 Got a news tip? Call 307-266-0520. Flame on Firm allowed to exceed flaring limit. CASPER THE WEST, A2 Making a mark Art 321 shows work of Joe McGowan, who was killed at 21. ARTS CULTURE, C1 Fresh ideas to make the most of the season LOOK INSIDE KATIE KING 307-266-0581, Katie.King@trib.com The Casper City Council bid farewell to three members at meeting, including longtime Councilwoman Kenyne Humphrey, who was elected to her Ward 3 seat in 2006 and served four terms as mayor.

than give everybody a boring speech, for those of you who know me, I have to shake things up a little said Hum- phrey, who is leaving alongside council members Jesse Morgan and Dallas Laird. Humphrey, who has changed her hair color many times while serving, then placed a towering cotton-candy colored wig on her head and played a photo montage showcasing her many different hues. guys are going to have an amazing new she said. Humphrey, who works at Mountain Plaza Assisted Living, announced more than a year ago that she would not be seeking re-election. She cited stress as the primary reason for her departure.

on the Council) kind of takes a toll on your health. I work 50 hours a week, and then running to meetings and I she said. Morgan and Laird also made brief remarks. NICK REYNOLDS 307-266-0634, nick.reynolds@trib.com Legislative leaders addressed both houses of the 65th Wyo- ming Legislature on Tuesday af- ternoon, outlining the goals they hope to achieve over the next 40 days: addressing the volatile revenue picture, finding reasonable solutions for health care and education and building a stable workforce that can endure into the future. However, the path to getting there, particularly in the House, was a large and looming ques- tion hanging over the pomp and circumstance of the general ses- opening day.

Newly-elected Senate Presi- dent Drew Perkins, R-Casper, ad- dressed the 30-person body with a general speech of where the Legislature was headed: finding a solution to the seemingly endless cycle of booms and busts while improving the revenue side of the state budget, an area where he and second-term Speaker of the House Steve Harshman, R-Casper, are in agreement. While following a similar nar- rative in the House, Harshman presiding over a younger body with 10 new members made sure to emphasize themes of bi- partisanship and progress as the 60-person House of Representa- tives begins its work. Leadership sets priorities JOsH GaLeMOre, STAR-TRIBUNE Rep. Tyler Lindholm, R-Crook, reads over documents as he waits for the proceedings to begin Tuesday during the first day of the 65th Wyoming legislative session in Cheyenne. Legislative leaders outlined goals they want to achieve over the next 40 days.

Outgoing leaders say their goodbyes SETH KLAMANN 307-266-0544, seth.klamann@trib.com Several attorneys and labor offi- cials have raised alarm about an air ambulance bill that the Wyoming Legislature will consider, warning that it unravels the grand bargain of compensation and will leave injured workers with hefty medical bills. just think a breach of trust between industry and la- Cheyenne attorney George Santini said. breaking the promise that was made, and the promise that was made was that if injured on the job, take care of What this bill would do, he said, is say: too expensive, on your The measure in question is House Bill 35, a product of the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee. It would essentially offer air ambulance companies a choice in terms of receiving pay- ment for transporting injured workers: Take roughly double the Medicare reimbursement rate, or go bill the worker directly for the rest, a process known as balanced billing. a product of a yearslong lawsuit between the state and four air ambulance companies, which challenged the set fee schedule for transports.

The companies successfully argued that the fee guidelines were pre- empted by the federal Airline De- regulation Act of 1978. Last week, Rep. Eric Barlow, the co-chair, said the bill was an attempt to protect work- ers from the exorbitant bills that are common of air ambulances. One of the companies that flies in Wyoming and sued the state, Air Methods, was charging $49,800 for an average flight in America Concerns raised about bill CATHERINE LUCEY, JILL COLVIN AND LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON President Donald Trump made a somber televised plea for border wall funding Tuesday night, seeking an edge in his shutdown battle with congressional Democrats as he declared there is humani- tarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the Addressing the nation from the Oval Office for the first time, Trump argued for funding on se- curity and humanitarian grounds as he sought to put pressure on newly empowered Democrats amid an extended partial gov- ernment shutdown. Trump called on Democrats to return to the White House Trump pleads on TV for wall funding to fix aIr aMBuLanCe Attorneys and labor officials say workers would be on hook CasPer CITy COunCIL Humphrey, Laird and Morgan depart as two members are sworn in 2019 session begins in Cheyenne Please see BILL, Page A9 Please see PrIOrITIes, Page A9 Please see COunCIL, Page A9Please see sHuTdOWn, Page A9 www.UnionWireless.com (888) 926-CARE 25GB of data usage during billing cycle, Union Wireless may slow speeds.

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