Former state senator dies

POWELL - Former state legislator Carroll Miller of Shell has died at the age of 82.

Miller was a retired dentist and rancher in Big Horn County.

He served 10 years in the state Senate and six years in the state House. He retired from the Legislature in 2002.

In the Senate, Miller was a strong supporter of Northwest College in Powell. In 2002, he sponsored legislation to give community colleges the opportunity to match privately raised endowment contributions with state funds.

He is survived by his wife, Carol, three children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Small reservoir dam breaches

CHEYENNE - A 1920s-era earthen dam holding back a small reservoir east of Cheyenne has sprung a leak.

The dam along Crow Creek is used by a private property owner for irrigation.

John Barnes of the State Engineer's office said an outlet pipe at the bottom of the dam failed and part of the dam eroded away. The outlet pipe has been shut down.

Some 40 rural residents downstream were warned of the breach, but Barnes said no homes would be threatened even if the dam completely failed because the reservoir is so small.

Water is being held in another small reservoir upstream while a ditch is being dug around the failed dam to drain the reservoir so repairs can be made.

Supreme Court upholds conviction

CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction of a former University of Wyoming basketball player.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the conviction of Aaron Eugene Smith. He was convicted in Laramie of killing Henry McCone in August 2005.

Smith had argued at trial that he wasn't guilty of the killing because he was mentally ill at the time. He was convicted and ordered to serve life in prison.

Smith's Supreme Court appeal centered on an article in Wyoming Lawyer magazine. The article quoted one of the jurors in Smith's trial as saying he didn't believe that an insanity plea should rule out guilt. But the Supreme Court ruled there was no evidence the juror was biased against Smith.

Glacier Bancorp increases holdings

KALISPELL, Mont. - A Montana bank holding company, Glacier Bancorp Inc., said it will acquire Bank of the San Juans, a community bank based in Durango, Colo.

The acquisition marks Glacier's first entry into Colorado.

Bank of the San Juans has offices in Durango and Pagosa Springs, Colo. As of June 30, the bank had total assets of $146 million.

Glacier Bancorp, based in Kalispell, is a multi-bank holding company with 10 subsidiaries in 53 communities in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

As of June 30, Glacier had assets of $5 billion.

The boards of Glacier and Bank of the San Juans Bancorporation unanimously approved the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval.