CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A Wheatland man is the winning bidder to bring a gas station and convenience store back to Chugwater by this fall.

Chugwater Mayor LaDonna Sand says Alex Cadar submitted the only bid Friday to build on the site where the Horton's Corner store burned down three-and-a-half years ago.

Local residents since have had to drive 25 miles to Wheatland or 45 miles to Cheyenne to buy gas. Many locals have been stockpiling gas at home.

Sand says Cadar's $400,000 bid includes a promise through the federal Community Development Block Grant program to hire around 18 people when the store opens.

The fire happened when a man crashed into Horton's Corner after driving off Interstate 25. The town of Chugwater bought the lot when the owners decided not to rebuild.

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