Writer

Pat Maio

Find Pat Maio

Envelope

Latest from Pat Maio

EV Registrations, Sales In Wyoming Grow Despite Big Auto Pullbacks

Electric vehicle sales and registrations are slowly growing in Wyoming, despite automakers pulling back on production. Cheyenne-based Domino’s pizza franchises have been purchasing Chevy Bolts for its delivery fleet and plan to buy more.

Pat MaioAugust 07, 2024

Ramaco Resources CEO Randall Atkins talks with Cowboy State Daily via Zoom.

Ramaco Hires Heavy Hitter To Push Production Plant For Wyoming Rare Earths

Ramaco Resources is closer to being able to start mining rare earth minerals in Wyoming. The company announced Tuesday that it’s hired a global engineering firm to push efforts to build a processing plant outside of Sheridan.

Pat MaioAugust 06, 2024

The hills were blackened by the Pleasant Valley Fire to the east of Wyoming 270 that runs from Guernsey to Hartville.

Firefighters Gain Upper Hand In Wyoming Wildfires That Have Burned 53,200 Acres

Emergency firefighters report making “good progress” on containing wildfires across Wyoming that have burned 53,200 acres. That includes getting about 90% containment of the Pleasant Valley Fire north of Guernsey.

Pat MaioAugust 06, 2024

A sign has been posted at the entrance to Hartville that thanks the hundreds of firefighters who saved their town from destruction by the Pleasant Valley Fire.

Recovery Begins At Hartville, The Historic Mining Town That Nearly Went Up In Flames

The historic mining town of Hartville, Wyoming, came within inches of going up in flames this past week. Folks are shell-shocked as they recover from a wildfire that turned much of the land around them into an apocalyptic nightmare.

Pat MaioAugust 06, 2024

The Wildcat Creek Fire southeast of Wright, Wyoming, has burned more than 17,000 acres and is about 30% contained, fire officials report.

New Fires Add To Wyoming’s Wildland Inferno, More Than 55,000 Acres Burned

A pair of wildfires in Campbell County blew up over the weekend to nearly 25,000 acres. That’s added to the nearly 30,000 acres burned north of Guernsey and about 1,800 acres in the rugged Shoshone National Forest in northwest Wyoming.

Pat MaioAugust 05, 2024

More than 200 people showed up at the Guernsey-Sunrise High School to hear Goshen and Platte County emergency officials update them on the latest with the Pleasant Valley Fire, which has burned more than 26,000 acres.

Evacuation Lifted For Pleasant Valley Fire, But Ranchers Worried For Cattle

More than 200 people showed up at the Guernsey-Sunrise High School late Saturday afternoon to discuss the latest on the Pleasant Valley Fire. During the briefing, Goshen and Platte County emergency officials lifted evacuation orders for the communities north of Guernsey.

Pat MaioAugust 04, 2024

Lee Child, left, the pen name for Jim Grant, writes the thriller Jack Reacher novels, and his younger brother, Andrew, who is in the process of taking over the writing of the books. They are standing next to an abandoned Model T produced by the Ford Motor Co. over a century ago, near where they live on the Fish Creek Ranch Preserve south of Tie Siding in Albany County.

Jack Reacher Author Lee Child Loves His Wyoming Home, But Hates Wind Farm Project

Lee Child, author of the hugely popular Jack Reacher novels, picked up his belongings and escaped the hectic lifestyle of New York City and moved to Tie Siding, Wyoming eight years ago. He loves Wyoming but hates the Rail Tie wind farm project.

Pat MaioAugust 03, 2024

Firefighters continue to battle Wyoming largest active wildfire, the 26,000-acre Pleasant Valley Fire near Hartville just north of Guernsey. As of Saturday morning, it was 30% contained.

Pleasant Valley Fire Saturday Update: 30% Contained, Plans In The Works To Lift Evacuation Orders

Update Saturday morning: Evacuation orders for a 30%-contained wildfire that threatened Hartville and surrounding communities Friday evening may be lifted later Saturday, the Wyoming State Forestry Division said.

Pat MaioAugust 03, 2024

U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, grew up in an old homestead house near McGinnis Pass, located about 8 miles north of Guernsey, Wyoming. The century old home burned down in the Pleasant Valley Fire.

Wildfire Burns Harriet Hageman’s Family Homestead, More Evacuations Ordered

A 25,000-acre wildfire raging through the Haystack Hills of eastern Wyoming burned Harriet Hageman’s family homestead. She fought back tears talking about the “devastating” fire. Meanwhile, more evacuations were ordered late Friday.

Pat MaioAugust 03, 2024

Rocky Mountain Power Wants 14.7% Rate Hike For Wind and Transmission Costs

Rocky Mountain Power announced Friday it’s filed a request for a 14.7% increase in power bills in Wyoming. The rate hike would raise $123.5 million for new high-voltage transmission lines, a wind farm and power plants.

Pat MaioAugust 03, 2024

The 375-foot-long specialized heavy truck and trailer carrying a transformer for installation at PacifiCorp’s Aeolus substation, stops just in front of the substation before it is unloaded.

1.5 Million-Pound Trailers Haul Transformers To Huge New Wyoming Wind Substation

PacifiCorp is using giant, specialized 1.5 million-pound trailers to haul transformers to a new substation near Medicine Bow. The new station will serve Wyoming wind farms generating more than 2,000 megawatts of power.

Pat MaioAugust 02, 2024

A dragline and shovel work to fill a large haul truck at Peabody Energy's North Antelope Rochelle coal mine in northeast Wyoming.

Sales Drop 16% For Peabody Energy, Largest Coal Producer In Wyoming And The U.S.

Peabody Energy Corp., the largest coal producer in Wyoming and United States, reported Thursday that it’s second quarter sales are down more than 16%. The company also lowered its expectations for the rest of the year.

Pat MaioAugust 01, 2024

Other Authors

A large wildfire comes right up to Highway 26 in eastern Wyoming.

Eastern Wyoming Wildfire Nearly Burned Through Historic Fort Laramie

A 23,000-acre wildfire that prompted evacuations and road closures in eastern Wyoming also threatened the historic Fort Laramie complex. Located about 8 miles northeast of Guernsey in the Haystack Range, the Pleasant Valley Fire has not been contained.

Pat MaioAugust 01, 2024

About 28,000 acres have burned around the Hartville and Guernsey areas in easter Wyoming, leaving a lot of scorched earth behind.

Wyoming Firefighters Battle Flames, Heat And Rattlesnakes Near Guernsey

The Pleasant Valley Fire has consumed more than 28,000 acres in Goshen and Platte counties in eastern Wyoming. Firefighters are furiously battling flames, heat and rattlesnakes, but the fire remains 0% contained.

Pat MaioAugust 01, 2024

This striking image shows a large wildfire advancing on the eastern Wyoming communities of Hartville and Guernsey. It was shared by Juliana Schile to the Wyoming through the Lens Facebook page.

‘It Was Armageddon’: Eastern Wyoming Community Evacuated By Wildfire

Hartville and a neighboring subdivision in eastern Wyoming were evacuated overnight Tuesday when a fast-moving wildfire ballooned to more than 25,000 acres. “It was Armageddon,” is how a local woman described watching the flames advance.

Pat MaioJuly 31, 2024

A bolt of lightning nearly cut this giant wind turbine blade in half. It's getting some notice, just a few hundred feet from the busy Interstate 80 corridor just west of Cheyenne.

Landfill May Be Next Stop After Lightning Blows Up Turbine Blade Near Cheyenne

A half-shredded blade hanging from a wind turbine west of Cheyenne is catching attention from the thousands of drivers who go past it along Interstate 80. It was nearly torn in half by a bolt of lightning, and its next stop could be a Wyoming landfill.

Pat MaioJuly 30, 2024

$Kamala Harris is backing off her previous anti-fracking stance, but former President Donald Trump doesn't buy it.$

Kamala Harris Does 180 On Fracking, Says She Won’t Ban It: Trump Not Buying It

Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, told a national publication that she will not seek to ban fracking if she’s elected. That's a 180 degree flip from what she said earlier.

Pat MaioJuly 29, 2024

A loaded coal train rolls past the Dry Fork Station power plant about 10 miles north of Gillette, Wyoming.

Wyoming Budget Could Take Big Hit With Coal Production Down 25%

Wyoming revenue collection is ahead of forecasts, but a freefalling state coal industry could change that quickly. A new state budget report warns the impact of a 25% drop in coal production for the first half of 2024.

Pat MaioJuly 29, 2024

A satellite plat at Uranium Energy Corp's Christensen Ranch site in Wyoming. TerraPower's new nuclear plant planned for Kemmerer could run on Wyoming uranium.

Wyoming-Based Ur-Energy Offers $60M Stock Sale To Grow Uranium Holdings

Casper-based Ur-Energy said Friday that it’s raising $60 million in a public offering of stock to expand its uranium mining footprint, including in Wyoming. “We are preparing our war chest so that we are ready for any opportunities," the CEO told Cowboy State Daily.

Pat MaioJuly 28, 2024

John Davis, a homeowner in the Fish Creek Ranch Preserve, walks past Ponderosa pines that line hills to the east of Laramie Plains where a Spanish energy company wants to build a 500-megawatt wind farm.

Fight Over $500 Million Rail Tie Wind Farm In Southern Wyoming Far From Over

Deep-pocketed donors who live in the 4,300-acre preserve near Tie Siding, Wyoming, aren’t giving up their fight over the wind farm. They’ve kicked in money for a legal challenge of the controversial $500 million wind farm project.

Pat MaioJuly 27, 2024

A team of workers helped build a makeshift version of its approach to wind energy in Paso Robles, California, for testing out with the military for possible applications on the battlefield.

Bill Gates-Backed Wyoming Wind Energy Startup Raising Nearly $13 Million

Airloom Energy Inc., a Laramie-based wind energy startup with ties to Bill Gates, is raising nearly $13 million to promote its novel design of wind energy loops that operate horizontally and low to the ground instead of the giant turbines that dot Wyoming's landscape.

Pat MaioJuly 26, 2024

Page 3