Yoder man heads electric group

Wally Wolski of Yoder was recently elected president of the board of directors of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, according to a press release.

He is the 34th president of the 67-year-old organization and the third person from Wyoming to hold the office.

Wolski has been on the board of Wyrulec Company, an electric cooperative headquartered in Lingle, since 1987.

In 1988, he became his co-op's representative to the board of the Wyoming Rural Electric Association, then headquartered in Casper. He was elected president of that organization in 1994 and served until 1997. In 1998 he was elected to the NRECA board, representing Wyoming.

The association is the lobbying and education arm of more than 900 electric co-ops in the U.S.

Club manager receives certification

Dale Volker, general manager of The Powder Horn in Sheridan, has received a "certified club manager" designation with the Club Managers of America.

Volker was approved after successfully passing a certification examination, a press release indicates. He joins more than 1,400 other club managers worldwide who have achieved the distinction.

Retirement system hires executive

Trent May has been named chief investment officer of the Wyoming Retirement System, a press release states.

May comes to the position from Deer Creek Capital Partners, a firm he started in 2002. His investments focused on technology, biotechnology, telecommunications and consumer cyclical industries.

SBA offers small business site

The Small Business Administration has launch a new Web initiative built specifically for small businesses.

The objective is "to create a transparent and connected democracy, and aims to provide small business owners, bloggers, and the government with a place to discuss and share information about starting and running a successful business," a press release indicates.

The Web site can be found at Community.Business.gov.

Microresearch acquires Rebel Testing

Microresearch Corp. has signed a contract to acquire all the stock of Gillette's Rebel Testing, an oil and gas service company.

Microresearch Corp. is a Los Angeles-based public holding company whose core business is focused in the oil and gas industry.

Jackson B&B's pet policy cited

The Bentwood Inn of Jackson was recently recognized as the "Pet Friendly Inn of the Month" by the Pet Gazette, an online site.

The Gazette's Web site M3www.petvr.com lists more than 5,500 pet friendly bed-and-breakfasts, inns, resorts, and hotels, a press release indicates. The Bentwood Inn, a five-room bed-and-breakfast, has a long-standing, pet-friendly policy.

Compensation costs in West released

Compensation costs in the West among private industry employers averaged $29.23 in December, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Wages and salaries averaged $20.79 and accounted for 71.1 percent of all compensation costs.

Legally required benefits averaged $2.55 per hour worked, accounting for 8.7 percent of the total.

The cost of insurance benefits averaged $2.12 per hour worked and represented 7.2 percent of total compensation, while paid leave was $1.93 per hour or 6.6 percent of all costs.

Feds sue railroad over marijuana

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department is suing Union Pacific, seeking more than $37 million in penalties for allegedly allowing rail cars to be used to smuggle drugs across the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

The Justice Department claims that on 37 different occasions from November 2001 until October 2006, Customs and Border Protection officers found a total of more than two tons of marijuana on Union Pacific rail cars coming into the U.S. The government wants $33.6 million in penalties for those incidents.

Another lawsuit said 17 kilograms of cocaine were found behind a false wall on a rail car in 2003. That suit seeks $4.1 million.

State provides organic assistance

Wyoming agricultural producers and handlers interested in organic production can apply for grants to help offset costs associated with certification.

The Wyoming Business Council Agribusiness Division and the Wyoming Department of Agriculture are offering a program to help producers and handlers become organically certified.

The grants cover 75 percent of organic certification costs up to $750.

To qualify, a producer or handler must become certified between Oct. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2009. Certification must be obtained before applying for the grant. The deadline to submit grant applications is Oct. 15.

For more information, contact Terri Barr at (307) 777-2807 or by e-mail at terri.barr@wybusiness.org.

Center names executive director

Lynne Whittington has been promoted to executive director of the Northern Wyoming Mental Health Center in Sheridan.

Whittington has been with the center since 1999, when she joined the organization as coordinator of the Supported Independence Program. She then served as quality assurance coordinator and most recently as clinical director.

Northern Wyoming Mental Health Center provides mental health and substance abuse treatment services to Crook, Johnson, Sheridan and Weston counties.

Farmers' market meeting set

The Wyoming Farmers' Marketing Association will hold its Third Annual Farmer's Market Conference April 17-20 at the Ramkota in Casper.

The conference will provide information for specialty crop producers, farmers' market managers and farmers' market vendors, a press release indicates.

For more information, visit {M3www.wyomingfarmersmarkets.org or agriculture.state.wy.gov.

CLIMB offers welding program

CLIMB Wyoming will offer a welding program in Casper for single mothers starting in May, according to a press release.

The Cheyenne-based organization helps train and place women in well-paid nontraditional jobs. To learn more about the welding program, call CLIMB Wyoming in Casper at 237-2855, or e-mail Shannon@climbwyoming org.

Minneapolis airport tops list

A survey of travelers concluded Minneapolis-St. Paul International is the best airport of its size in North America and third best in the world.

The findings are a result of the global air service quality program administered by the Airports Council International. In 2008, more than 200,000 questionnaires were completed by travelers at 108 airports around the world.

Casper maintains service to Minneapolis-St. Paul via Northwest Airlines.