Wyoming News Briefs

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming officials say the number of homicides in the state this year fell back to average after a disturbing spike was reported last year. The Wyoming Department of Health says so far this year 21 homicides have been reported in the state, compared with 43 from the previous year. The Associated Press reports Wyoming has had an average of 24.5 homicides per year since 2005.

WIBAUX, Mont. (AP) — Three workers have been injured in a Montana oil slop recycling facility fire. Crews allowed the blaze to burn yesterday because of the danger of more explosions. The facility near the Montana-North Dakota state line is at the edge of the Bakken crude patch. Emergency officials say the fire started Saturday with a flash explosion as a truck's operator pumped flammable contents into a three-sided structure

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Protective padding will be installed at a Jackson recreation center after a 32-year-old man died after hitting a concrete wall during an indoor soccer game. The Associated Press reports Teton County commissioners have unanimously approved $4,000 for the padding, which will be installed along the east and west ends of the gym.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A plan to more than triple the airspace in which the U.S. Air Force can conduct training exercises with its Dakotas-based B-1 and B-52 bombers is still awaiting a final environmental impact statement, a year after the report was expected. The Powder River Training Complex, centered just northwest of where South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana meet, now spans about 8,300 square miles.