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WyoFile reporter Ron Feemster writes about a march against racism, which focused on a recent assault that seriously injured a member of the Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming. Although the victim wasn't likely targeted for his race (the two were childhood friends), a racial slur in the incident helped rekindle racial strains in the local communities. Here's an excerpt of Feemster's report: 

Kay Davis, mother of Darryn and two daughters who grew up half black and half Northern Arapaho, seized on the racial slur that her son says his attacker spoke before he threw the punch.

“I always taught my kids to be proud of who they are,” she said. “When they were born, I gave them names. And no one should be allowed to call them anything but the name I gave them at birth.”

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 This week in Peaks to Plains, Kelsey Dayton visits with Rocky Mountain region fire forecasters. Here's an excerpt:

"This spring is shaping up a lot like last year — below average snowpack in much of the state and drought conditions making for ready-to-ignite fuel. Last March the weather was unseasonably warm. Much of the state experienced above average temperatures that depleted the snowpack early and allowed the fire season to start early." 

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Kay Davis and her son, Darryn Davis at their home in Riverton. Davis underwent reconstructive facial surgery after being punched by his childhood friend, James “Skip” Crooks. Crooks is charged with aggravated assault, a felony.

By Ron Feemster, WyoFile.com

James “Skip” Crooks, a 24-year-old from Hudson who has spent more time in the correctional system than out of it since his 18th birthday, threw a single punch outside Bomber’s Sports Bar in Riverton 10 nights ago and knocked out a childhood friend he had barely seen in a decade. Crooks is white. Darryn Davis, the man he hit, is the son of a black father and a Northern Arapaho mother.

Those are the basic facts that everyone agrees on. If the story ended there, the incident might have merited only a few lines in a daily police report. We would never have covered it in WyoFile, where people and policy trump crime every week of the year. But this was no ordinary punch and, if you look back far enough, no ordinary pair of long lost friends. Nor does the discussion of the incident look like the fallout from an ordinary bar fight.

— Link to the full story: http://wyofile.com/2013/03/assault-outside-riverton-bar-roils-reservation/

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After first trying to delay a hearing before Wyoming regulators to buy more time to modify its construction schedule, Houston-based DKRW Advanced Fuels LLC today formally withdrew its request to modify its plans for the proposed Medicine Bow Fuel & Power coal-to-gasoline plant in Carbon County.

That means DKRW is out of compliance with its Industrial Siting Council permit, further threatening the company’s ability to secure financing for the project.

“The division’s position right now is they (DKRW) are out of compliance with their permit,” Industrial Siting administrator Luke Esch told WyoFile.

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WyoFile's government and policy reporter Gregory Nickerson recently wrote about Wyoming's interpretation of the "Deferred Action" program. The state has refused to give drivers licenses to DACA enrollees, prompting Wyoming ACLU to ask for an attorney general's review of the law. The article also features two child immigrants who call Wyoming home, yet can't get a drivers license to help them get to work and school without risking their legal status.

“I love this state. When I was thinking about going back to school, and whether I wanted to do it in Wyoming or in Washington, it crossed my mind that I have lived here for many years and it would be difficult to leave. I’ve learned to live in this place and I really like it,” said Ana. “I am forever grateful to Wyoming because it’s made me who I am.”

[wyofile-blog]

WyoFile is an independent, nonprofit news service focused on the people, places and policyof Wyoming. Recognizing the rapid decline in resources among traditional news outlets, WyoFile offers supplemental in-depth coverage of complicated subjects and issues ranging from tax policy to trends in Wyoming culture. Designed as a one-stop venue for Wyoming news, WyoFile produces regular commentary and analysis as well as daily summaries and links to important Wyoming-related stories in the state and national press.

Written and edited by leading Wyoming journalists and educators, WyoFile is a non-partisan public interest site for people who care deeply about the civic and cultural health of our state. The site provides news and information that enables the residents of Wyoming to become informed and engaged contributors to important public issues.