by Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile The data center boom continues in Wyoming, and the state’s natural gas industry may play an increasing role in powering the computing systems with electricity. Wyoming’s largest natural gas producer, PureWest, says it’s getting into the data center power supply game and partnering with two other firms on a project near Evanston. […]
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Posted inOutdoors
Ranch owner wants U.S. Supreme Court to hear corner-crossing case
by Joshua Wolfson, WyoFile The Elk Mountain ranch owner at the center of Wyoming’s closely watched corner crossing case is preparing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, new filings show. Lawyers for Fred Eshelman asked the nation’s highest court Wednesday for a 30-day extension to file a petition seeking Supreme Court review of the case. […]
Posted inWyoming
As scrutiny of judges grows, lawmakers weigh changes to Wyoming’s selection process
By Andrew Graham For her final official appearance before a legislative committee, Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Kate Fox visited Torrington on May 19 prepared to defend the state’s judiciary system. Weeks before the meeting, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus had criticized the judiciary in a pair of blog posts. Citing recent court decisions and some judicial […]
Posted inWyoming
Wyoming nuclear developer wants legal protections for private, armed security force
By Dustin Bleizeffer Don’t mess around at a nuclear power plant facility. If you have no business there but insert yourself anyway, you will be met with armed guards who are directed to “detect, assess, interdict and neutralize” all threats — including with lethal force. Use of force in securing such facilities, including TerraPower’s Natrium nuclear […]
Posted inWyoming
Staffing shortage, DOGE-led cuts halt Cheyenne’s around-the-clock weather monitoring
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile The National Weather Service ended 24/7 operations at its Cheyenne forecasting office due to a staffing shortage and cuts by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. The office, which forecasts weather conditions for the southeast corner of Wyoming, does not have enough meteorologists to staff the overnight shift. As with other […]
Posted inWyoming
Proposed FEMA change could leave Wyoming towns in trouble when disasters damage public infrastructure
by Andrew Graham, WyoFile In an effort to slash spending by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, White House officials are considering drastically raising the threshold for how much damage a natural disaster must cause before local governments will qualify for federal help rebuilding. Under the new proposed criteria, Wyoming’s state and local governments wouldn’t have been […]
Posted inLegislature
Ban on chasing, striking Wyoming’s wildlife with snowmobiles rejected, again, by legislative committee
by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile A continued push to end a brutal form of motorized over-snow hunting did not gain traction with Wyoming lawmakers studying bills ahead of the 2026 legislative session, despite a Sublette County incident that shined an unprecedented spotlight on the practice and multiple nominations for a ban. The idea of prohibiting the use of snowmobiles to kill […]
Posted inSchools
As Wyoming gets rid of gun-free zones, schools wrestle with limited control
By Joseph Beaudet, Klark Byrd, Rachel Finch, Jasmine Hall, Hector Martinez, Braden Schiller and Ivy Secrest In Campbell County, a place where nearly 90% of voters are registered Republicans, public schools already allow workers to carry concealed guns on school property. Still, the district found itself busy this spring revising those rules ahead of a […]
Posted inState Politics
Wyoming lawmakers go after funding for state associations that sometimes oppose their bills
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile As the Wyoming Legislature has shifted further to the right in recent years, the conservative concept of local control has lost sway in debates over several topics, including guns, education and taxes. Now, some state lawmakers want more say over local governments’ spending on dues to associations that advocate on their behalf. “Elimination of publicly funded […]
Posted inWyoming
From toothpaste to beer bottles to industrial batteries, the world relies on Wyoming’s ‘white gold’
By Dustin Bleizeffer GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — After a four-minute elevator descent into the bowels of southwest Wyoming, dropping deep enough to bury the Empire State Building, a Tata Chemicals trona miner drove two Wyoming journalists in a truck 8.5 miles through catacombs, crossing under unaware motorists on Interstate 80 above, to where a crew was […]
Posted inWyoming
Judge keeps transgender woman in Wyoming sorority case, but warns lawyers against irrelevant allegations
By Maggie Mullen A federal judge denied a transgender woman’s request to be dismissed from a highly publicized lawsuit against her and a University of Wyoming sorority, but gave a warning Wednesday to opposing counsel in the case — follow the rules of the court. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson noted that attorneys for […]
Posted inEducation
How a Wyoming town agreed it needed a charter school, but ended up fiercely divided
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile ALPINE—Nothing stirred on this residential corner of spread-out homes, though the school bus was due in just 10 minutes. The sun had yet to peak over the hulking mountains east of town, and a lone robin chirruped across the cold blueish pre-dawn light. Six minutes later, at 6:51 a.m., a group of […]
Posted inCourt
Federal court sets deadline in UW transgender sorority sister lawsuit
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile A federal court has ordered six students who sued their University of Wyoming sorority for admitting a transgender woman to fish or cut bait because they have failed to take action on the pending case for nearly a year. In March 2023, the plaintiffs — Jaylyn Westenbroek, Hannah Holtmeier, Allison Coghan, Grace […]
Posted inState Politics
Citing court losses, Freedom Caucus turns attention to Wyoming judges
by Andrew Graham, WyoFile Like President Donald Trump’s efforts to detain immigrants in an El Salvadoran prison and slash the federal government through executive orders, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus’s agenda has hit roadblocks in the courts. And like the president, the caucus is targeting the court system in response. Trump has responded to adverse rulings by […]
Posted inState Politics
Wyoming’s new voter registration law spurs legal fight
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile A Wyoming voting rights group filed a federal lawsuit Friday challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new voter registration requirements. Set to go into effect in July, the law requires a person to provide proof of state residency and U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. It represented a key priority of the […]
Posted inLatest News
Governor: Paying for both public ed, expanded school choice poses ‘substantial concerns’ for Wyoming
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile RIVERTON—School choice advocates made major legislative advances in Wyoming this year with the passage of a universal school voucher program and the removal of caps on charter school approvals. Now, paying for these initiatives on top of the state’s already large constitutional obligation to fund public education will be a challenge, Gov. […]
Posted inLatest News
Wyoming intends to approve Microsoft data centers’ emissions permit for 128 backup diesel generators
by Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile State air quality regulators are seeking public comment on Microsoft’s proposal to install a battery of 128 diesel-fired electric generators associated with new data and computing facilities it plans to construct five miles southeast of Cheyenne. Microsoft, which already operates a handful of data centers in and around Cheyenne, has a contract with […]
Posted inAnimals
Speed unknown factor in death of Grizzly 1058, one of 399’s offspring
By Rebecca Huntington A grizzly death attributed to a fatal vehicle strike has triggered an outpouring of rage on social media about people driving too fast, but law enforcement could not determine whether speed was a factor in the collision. The bear that died, Grizzly 1058, is one of the famous “quads” of their even more […]
Posted inGovernment
Tribes urge Trump to undo planned DOGE closure of Fish and Wildlife’s Lander Conservation Office
By Mike Koshmrl FORT WASHAKIE, Wyo. — Art Lawson sometimes feels like he’s doing the work of five people in his job overseeing wildlife on the Wind River Indian Reservation, a Yellowstone-sized landscape that’s home to the full suite of native species, from grizzly bears to wolverines. The Department of Government Efficiency’s planned closure of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s […]
Posted inEnergy
Wyoming draws interest in new nuclear and low-carbon fossil fuel investments
by Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile LARAMIE—Wyoming is on the cusp of a nationwide nuclear power resurgence with the backing of a presidential administration that also promises to overhaul federal regulations to ensure the state’s coal, oil and natural gas are positioned to meet booming electrical demand while lowering carbon emissions, Gov. Mark Gordon told an audience of […]
Posted inWyoming
Unanswered questions about Wind River teen’s death drives tension and grief
by Andrew Graham, WyoFile As the sun set over the Wind River Reservation on Friday evening, more than 75 people gathered in Fort Washakie to remember Stephanie Bearstail, a high school senior who died March 4 under suspicious circumstances. Laughter and tears intermingled with spoken remembrances of Bearstail, whose friends and family knew her as funny, […]
Posted inEnergy
Governor sees ‘opportunity’ for Wyoming in Trump tariff war. Economist sees ‘disaster.’
by Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile Gov. Mark Gordon said he sees “opportunity” for Wyoming in President Donald Trump’s tariff wars. At a press conference last week, he echoed the Wyoming congressional delegation’s praise for Trump’s economic policies as a tool to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. and level the nation’s trade imbalance with much of the […]
Posted inCourt
Wrongful death suit challenges Thermopolis cop for illegally entering home
by Andrew Graham, WyoFile The first police killing in the town of Thermopolis’ history started with an investigation into methamphetamine use by workers at a local McDonald’s. It ended with a bloody, close-range shootout inside a trailer home after an officer shouldered his way inside without a warrant. The officer, Sgt. Michael Mascorro, suffered a gunshot […]