CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The State of Wyoming, alongside a coalition of states and private parties, has taken legal action by filing a lawsuit opposing President Biden’s new rules interpreting Title IX. Title IX is a law designed to create educational and athletic opportunities, particularly for female students. The lawsuit argues that the new rules are […]
Politics
Posted inEducation
University of Wyoming shutters DEI Office; vice provost position to be created
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The University of Wyoming announced Friday that it is closing its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office. The announcement of the office closure came via a university news release. The decision was supported by the institution’s board of trustees, as well as UW President Ed Seidel. Seidel and the trustees reviewed comments from […]
Posted inLatest News
Kyle True defends proposed scaled-down gravel pit; many not convinced
CASPER, Wyo. — Kyle True, CEO of Prism Logistics LLC, stood before a crowded room Thursday evening to explain his company’s plans for a gravel pit west of Casper and allay area homeowners’ fears. “We are trying to listen, and I believe there are substantial, reasonable, applicable fears and there are inapplicable fears, and we […]
Posted inEnergy
Coal lawyer: Quick court action essential to keeping EPA rules from killing industry
By Dustin Bleizeffer One of the state’s top hired lawyers predicts Wyoming and other coal proponents will prevail in federal court to stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new coal pollution rules that most observers agree would effectively end the state’s coal industry. “I’m going to tell you right now: EPA is not going to win […]
Posted inWyoming
17,500 Wyoming enrollees lost Medicaid or Kid Care CHIP coverage over last year
By Madelyn Beck More than 17,500 Wyoming enrollees lost Medicaid or Kids Care CHIP coverage over the previous 12 months ending March. That’s because the Wyoming Department of Health is performing its federally mandated eligibility review for the services. The state paused that annual effort during the pandemic while the feds temporarily bolstered Medicaid funds to […]
Posted inState Politics
Wyoming GOP enables ouster of elected party officials — illegally some say
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile Three strikes and you’re out. That’s the new policy of the Wyoming Republican Party regarding meeting attendance for its elected precinct committeemen and women — the people who help craft the party’s policy vision. Any precinct committee person who misses three meetings in a year will be removed. Supporters say the bylaw […]
Posted inCity
Five Casper City Council seats open for 2024 election
CASPER, Wyo. — The candidate filing period for the 2024 City of Casper City Council nomination by primary begins on May 16. Five Casper City Council seats will be filled in the November 2024 election; two seats each in Wards I and II and one seat in Ward III must be filled. The filing period […]
Posted inEnergy
Gordon promises to sue after EPA moves to slash coal emissions
By Dustin Bleizeffer Gov. Mark Gordon has promised to sue over a new suite of federal rules that most observers agree will hasten the U.S. thermal coal industry’s trajectory toward extinction — an existential threat to many Wyoming communities and one of the state’s main economic drivers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued four […]
Posted inWyoming
Wyoming wolf torture case a ‘trigger’ for new Endangered Species Act lawsuit
By Mike Koshmrl Until a few weeks ago, Wayne Pacelle was undecided whether he’d join the fray of lawsuits challenging the federal government’s decision to allow western states to continue managing gray wolves. Then the news cycle spun toward Sublette County, where local resident Cody Roberts is accused of running down a wolf with a snowmobile on […]
Posted inState Government
Wyoming sues Biden Administration over new methane rule
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming has joined the states of North Dakota, Montana and Texas in suing the U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Land Management over a new rule that they have said undermines existing state regulatory programs and harms Wyoming oil and natural gas producers. The suit was filed this week in the […]
Posted inCommunity
Casper resident Julie Jarvis declares candidacy to challenge Ward for House seat
CASPER, Wyo. — In 2022, Jeanette Ward joined the Wyoming House of Representatives for House District 57. Now an incumbent, Ward will face a challenger in the 2024 election in the form of Casper resident Julie Jarvis. Jarvis recently announced her candidacy for House District 57 in a YouTube video where she laid out some […]
Posted inState Politics
Wyoming GOP censures Gov. Gordon over gun, property tax vetoes
by Maya Shimizu Harris, WyoFile CHEYENNE—The Wyoming Republican Party voted Saturday to censure Gov. Mark Gordon following his vetoes of two bills passed by the Legislature early this year. The full body at the GOP’s state convention adopted the censure on a consent list, meaning they approved the resolution along with several others and didn’t debate […]
Posted inAnimals
Rage over a Wyoming wolf’s torment persists. But will it change anything?
By Mike Koshmrl RIVERTON, Wyo. — From her home in the South Carolina countryside town of Six Mile, Lorraine Finazzo typically spends her weekdays managing construction projects for a New York City real estate developer. Because of an incident involving a Wyoming wolf over 1,500 miles away, her productivity has waned of late. “I’m at the computer crying […]
Posted inWyoming
BLM frustrates Gov. Gordon again with new public land conservation rule
By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. A new Biden administration rule will make conservation one of many recognized multiple uses on the 18.4 million acres of public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management in Wyoming, a move that frustrated Gov. Mark Gordon and unleashed a cascade of criticism from politicians and industry. The 178-page final […]
Posted inState Politics
Closing DEI office among suggestions from University of Wyoming working group
by Madelyn Beck, WyoFile After the Legislature axed $1.7 million in University of Wyoming funding and prohibited state spending on the school’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, a university working group is proposing possible steps forward. While Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed a portion of the Legislature’s budget that would have also barred state funding for […]
Posted inLatest News
New voter law requires declaring party affiliation by May 15
CASPER, Wyo. — Until this year, a Wyoming voter could go to the polls on Primary Election Day and declare or change their political party’s affiliation. Republicans could register as Democrats, Democrats could register as Republicans, and so forth. That was known as “crossover voting.” However, the Legislature changed that during its 2023 session when […]
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers look to boost Wyoming housing supply with carrot, not stick
by Angus M. Thuermer Jr., WyoFile To support affordable housing, lawmakers next week are scheduled to examine a suite of tools including leasing of state lands for development, focusing infrastructure investments and using innovative financing arrangements. The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee will study various strategies to increase the state’s housing supply […]
Posted inElections
Wyoming’s elections will look different this year. Here’s what voters need to know.
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile How and when Wyoming residents can vote will look different this year. Two election laws related to political party affiliation and absentee voting were added to the books in 2023, making the August primaries the first major election affected by the new regulations. Under the new rules, May 15 is the last […]
Posted inWyoming
Governor announces opening of expanded property tax refund program
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Governor Mark Gordon and the Wyoming Department of Revenue recently announced the property tax refund program for homeowners is now open for applications. The Legislature appropriated an additional $20 million to further expand the program and ensure more homeowners in need are eligible to participate. “I want to thank the Legislature for […]
Posted inWyoming
Gordon moves to eliminate some Wyoming gun-free zones, but questions remain
Following his contentious veto of a sweeping ban on gun-free zones in Wyoming, Gov. Mark Gordon is leading efforts to allow concealed carry in a more targeted selection of state properties — like the Capitol. “I think it’s probably on everybody’s mind here that we should be able to reform and revise these rules to make them […]
Posted inWyoming
Gov. Gordon rejects Secretary of State Gray’s voter residency rules
For the second time in two months, Gov. Mark Gordon rejected rules proposed by Secretary of State Chuck Gray on the basis that the regulations exceed the scope of the secretary’s legal authority. Wyoming residents are currently required to provide proof of identity when registering to vote. Gray’s rules proposed adding proof of residency to the […]
Posted inLatest News
Casper Council awards $85K to Metro after debate about feeding kids vs. city agency
CASPER, Wyo. — The City’s Metro Animal Services will receive $85,000 of Optional One-Cent Sales Tax money returned by a nonprofit following a spirited debate Tuesday among Casper City councilors about whether to allocate money to a social service agency that feeds children compared to an existing government responsibility. “Truly, to me this is an […]
Posted inLegislature
Four Wyoming lawmakers announce their departure, opening door to far right
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile With little more than a month to go before candidate filing periods officially open, battle lines are already taking shape in the competition for control of the Wyoming Legislature. Four lawmakers aligned with the traditional wing of Wyoming’s Republican Party — a group known for its fiscal conservatism, pro-business policies, small-government local-control ethos and […]
