Wyoming News Briefs

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A relative of a man who killed his father in front of a computer science class at Casper College called him a "borderline genius" upset by the belief he had inherited Asperger's Syndrome from his father. An aunt of 25-year-old Christopher Krumm says her nephew had trouble keeping jobs and blamed the syndrome. Krumm also fatally stabbed his father's girlfriend and killed himself. Asperger's is a mild form of autism not normally associated with violent behavior.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A federal Homeland Security Department official says a dinosaur skull seized from a Wyoming home is related to an investigation into fossil smuggling from Mongolia. Louis Martinez of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations says he can't release any more detail because the investigation is ongoing. The fossil is worth up to $400,000.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The city of Cheyenne is reporting a boost in sales tax collections. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports that since the start of the fiscal year on July 1, Cheyenne has taken in about $5.89 million in sales tax revenue. That's a record for the first five months of the fiscal year, up from $5.82 million in the same period last year. Local economists say sales tax revenues in recent months have been boosted partly by strong auto sales.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming first lady Carol Mead and University of Wyoming officials are announcing that a campaign a new Literacy Research Center and Clinic at the university has raised $3.8 million in private and state matching money. The fund will be used to renovate the UW College of Education Annex Building in Laramie for the center. UW President Tom Buchanan says the center will enhance the university's literacy program.