Madelyn Beck

Adree Edmo officially became the first incarcerated person to get court-ordered gender confirmation surgery in July 2020. She has since been released, but her Idaho case set a precedent for how cases of gender dysmorphia will be handled within prisons. Now, her team of lawyers will be granted nearly $2.6 million in attorneys fees for the years of litigation.

Nearly $1 billion in new federal grants is aimed at helping high-need schools support students and their mental health. The grant money can be spent on things like telehealth services, ongoing teacher education, community engagement, supporting culturally-affirming practices and bullying prevention.

A newly identified sea monster from millions of years ago had a long, snaky neck and crocodile-like jaw. The critter was swimming around Wyoming some 70 million years ago, and was originally dug up in the mid 90s, before years of processing. It’s currently on display at the Glenrock paleontological museum near Casper, Wyoming.

It's not uncommon to find toxic mushrooms in the Mountain West. However, it is unusual to find death cap mushrooms, until recently.

Last September, a woman found what is likely the first DNA-confirmed death cap mushroom in our region. The extremely toxic fungus is a concern for parents and pet owners, alike.

National Park Service locations report how many people visit, how much tourists spend and how many jobs that creates every year. In 2021, those visitors spent more than $20 billion.

People rushed out to adopt pets early on in the pandemic. But now shelters are filling to capacity. New research from the University of Florida suggests spay and neuter access plays a role.

National unemployment rates continue to go down, but county job numbers in the Mountain West are extremely mixed. For example, Idaho was the only state where every county had an increase in jobs between July 2019 and July 2022. And Nevada was one of very few where every county reported job losses.

Rattlesnakes have a bad reputation in the West, often seen as a deadly fiend that we'd be better off without. However, much like sharks, they rarely kill and often inspire more fear than warranted.

Even as the fall season knocks on our door, fire dangers remain high and campers should be wary. One of the nation’s largest wildfires burning right now is the Moose Fire, just outside Salmon, Idaho. It blew up Wednesday night with driving winds, growing to more than 120,000 acres. Evacuations are taking place, and it is threatening municipal water resources.