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 […]
Politics
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 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 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 inCommunity
Pair of Casper gravel mine lawsuits have day in court
CASPER, Wyo. — The right of landowners to “use and enjoy” their properties, due process and the government’s role in a long-simmering fight over leasing state lands for gravel mining at the base of Casper Mountain all surfaced Monday during back-to-back court hearings for a pair of separate but related cases. “The ability to use […]
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 inCommunity
(PHOTOS) Protesters show support for Wyoming unions, workers
CASPER, Wyo. — As people the world over show support for laborers on May 1 for International Workers’ Day, roughly 100 people in Casper showed solidarity in a protest organized by the Wyoming Education Association and Wyoming State American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. “Simply put, this is a show of solidarity […]
Posted inPolitics
Animated elderly woman behind police incident at Hageman town hall in Wheatland, report shows
By Andrew Graham Following a March town hall in Wheatland, an elderly woman approached Rep. Harriet Hageman and spoke in an “aggressive manner” with her hands close to the representative’s face, a Wheatland Police Department report released to WyoFile this week shows. One of Hageman’s staff members moved between the elderly woman and the lawmaker, and […]
Posted inState Politics
Legal fight over Gillette librarian’s firing expands as Wyoming lawmakers weigh action
by Andrew Graham, WyoFile A former library official is pushing back against the political forces that ended her decades-long career in the Campbell County Public Library system, bringing her second of two federal lawsuits this month, accusing local government and an activist family of discrimination and wrongful termination. The Campbell County Public Library System Board of […]
Posted inState Politics
Hot Springs County GOP sues Wyoming Republican Party for allegedly ‘interfering’ in local elections
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile Newly elected leaders for the Hot Springs County GOP are asking a district court judge “to prevent the Wyoming Republican Party from interfering in local county Republican Party elections,” a lawsuit filed Monday states. The case comes after Brian Shuck, an attorney for the state GOP, advised several county parties in March to disregard […]
Posted inState Politics
Hageman quietly resumes in-person town halls
by Andrew Graham, WyoFile Less than a month after canceling in-person town halls due to safety concerns, Rep. Harriet Hageman has restarted the process, albeit somewhat quietly and with restrictions on who can attend. Hageman has scheduled a town hall for Thursday in Buffalo and another for the following day in Dayton. She circulated invites for […]
Posted inWyoming
Report: Wildlife Refuge System ‘at risk’ with no units fully resourced amid DOGE uncertainty
By Mike Koshmrl The nation’s 573 national wildlife refuges are at risk and not a single refuge has the resources it requires, according to a recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service inventory. Put together, the National Wildlife Refuge System encompasses 96 million acres, an area larger than Montana, and includes everything from the Arctic National Wildlife […]
Posted inCommunity
(PHOTOS) Protesters collect food for area nonprofit
CASPER, Wyo. — On Saturday, protesters spoke out against President Donald Trump and the current administration while collecting nonperishable items to be donated to the Wyoming Food for Thought Project. The protest comes roughly two weeks after the “Hands Off” protests swept the nation, including Casper. Both protests have been organized by the Casper Unity […]
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers tout legislative successes, talk key issues
CASPER, Wyo. — Nine state lawmakers representing Natrona County addressed constituents at a Thursday evening public meeting, sharing what they see as some of the key wins of the recent legislative session and fielding questions on a handful of issues, from education to nuclear energy. Present in the meeting were Rep. Jayme Lien, Rep. Tony […]
Posted inCommunity
Wyoming Supreme Court to answer whether state constitution protects abortion
CASPER, Wyo. — Lawyers for the state and pro-choice advocates squared off before the Wyoming Supreme Court on Wednesday on whether the state constitution’s amendments regarding freedom of choice in healthcare apply to the issue of abortion. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of abortion protections in 2022, Wyoming passed two laws […]
Posted inState Politics
In dispute over local elections, Wyoming Republican Party attorney says law, court ruling don’t apply
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile Legal counsel for the Wyoming GOP advised county parties to disregard state statute and a Wyoming Supreme Court ruling when considering who should be allowed to vote in local party elections, according to a letter obtained by WyoFile. Instead, the attorney advised county Republicans to follow a contested party bylaw since the […]
Posted inBusiness
Trump’s ag boss declares 113M-acre logging ‘emergency.’ Will it keep Wyoming’s timber industry alive?
by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile HULETT—Jim Neiman says that the best-case scenario for his family’s timber mill at the base of the Bear Lodge Mountains is that it doesn’t shutter. The Crook County sawmill in 2022 shrunk to one shift to survive hard economic times and a dearth of available timber. Three years later, there are what appear to […]
Posted inPolitics
Barrasso, Lummis vote to allow selling federal land to fund Trump budget
by Angus M. Thuermer Jr., WyoFile In a battle over taxes and access to Wyoming’s wide open spaces, U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis voted against a measure that would have blocked the government from selling public land to help fund the federal budget. Wyoming’s two Republican senators voted Friday evening against a budget amendment […]
Posted inGovernment
Trump tariffs expected to hit Wyoming consumers, small businesses
by Rebecca Huntington, WyoFile Bakery owner Ben Ellis spent more than two years researching the ideal machine to mix and separate 400 pounds of dough before ordering heavy-duty equipment in November from the Czech Republic. “This design works incredibly well with our bakery, it’s tight and efficient in a way that we haven’t been able to […]
Posted inHealth
Lawmakers didn’t fill Wyoming’s ‘unacceptable’ maternity gaps this session. They’ll likely try again.
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile Four Wyoming birthing facilities have closed over the last dozen years — ending options for mothers to deliver babies in Riverton, Kemmerer, Rawlins and Evanston. With 11 of the state’s 23 counties lacking a practicing OB-GYN as of last year, even accessing prenatal care can be difficult. The state’s maternal care gaps […]