CASPER, Wyo. — Hundreds of local residents took to the streets of Casper on Saturday afternoon to protest the Trump administration. The activists joined protesters across Wyoming and beyond in standing against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk as part of the “Hands Off” movement that saw similar rallies in communities across all 50 states. […]
Politics
Posted inEnergy
PacifiCorp throws lifeline to one Wyoming power plant, confirms end of coal at another
By Dustin Bleizeffer Wyoming’s largest electric utility has thrown a temporary lifeline to the Dave Johnston coal-fired power plant near Glenrock while solidifying plans to stop burning coal at the Naughton power plant near Kemmerer by the end of this year. The move is welcomed news in Converse County, according to Commission Chairman Jim Willox, noting the Dave […]
Posted inCourt
Latest Wyoming abortion law challenge gets a hearing — and a new judge
by Joshua Wolfson, WyoFile Nearly five weeks ago, lawyers representing Wyoming’s abortion providers sought an emergency court hearing to temporarily halt new restrictions that have effectively shut down Wyoming’s only abortion clinic. That hearing has finally been set for next week. And when it happens, a new judge will oversee matters — the third jurist assigned […]
Posted inGovernment
More than $100 million at stake for Wyoming in Trump’s fed grants freeze
by Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile Food Bank of Wyoming recently learned it will not receive $535,000 that was promised in a 2023 grant — one of the many casualties of President Donald Trump’s elimination and freeze of congressionally approved, Biden-era federal programs. The elimination of the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement — a grant aimed at feeding the […]
Posted inWyoming
Memorial services, processionals planned to honor Simpson
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — People will be able to pay their respects to the late U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, who will lie in state in the Wyoming State Capitol rotunda on March 27 and 28. A processional will arrive at the Wyoming Capitol at approximately 8:45 a.m. Thursday with a military procession from 26th Street, between […]
Posted inWyoming
‘Overwhelming’ demand for child care grants demonstrates keen need in Wyoming
By Katie Klingsporn When the Childcare Interagency Working Group launched grants in January offering up to $10,000 to child care providers in Wyoming, it expected high interest. The response was overwhelming. Nearly 50 applicants submitted in the first month alone. The volume was so high it prompted the working group to adjust the program timeline. The […]
Posted inWyoming
University of Wyoming to honor late Alan Simpson
LARAMIE, Wyo. — The University of Wyoming will honor the life of former U.S. Sen. Alan K. Simpson with a public celebration of life on March 29 at the university’s Arena-Auditorium. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Simpson, one of the most accomplished and influential alumni in UW history — and an […]
Posted inWyoming
Crowd jeers Hageman at tense Laramie town hall; she calls them ‘hysterical’
By Maggie Mullen LARAMIE, Wyo. — Wyoming’s U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman provided no new details regarding the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers during a Wednesday night town hall. Her constituents, however, made one thing clear — they want answers. And many of them are angry. More than 500 people squeezed into the auditorium of […]
Posted inStatewide
DOGE is the talk of Wyoming. What are state leaders saying and doing about the Elon Musk-led cuts?
by Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile AFTON—U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman’s remark about the U.S. Agency for International Development triggered one of the most raucous rounds of applause of the evening. Even before the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency — aka DOGE — started gutting the federal government’s foreign aid branch, known by its acronym, USAID, the sophomore congresswoman […]
Posted inOutdoors
Proposed reservoir above Seminoe could threaten world-class fishery, state and anglers say
By Christine Peterson A Utah-based hydroelectric company wants to build another reservoir above Seminoe Reservoir to produce bursts of energy when demand is high, promising to bring tax revenue and jobs to a rural part of central Wyoming. Fish and wildlife groups and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, however, worry the project threatens the healthiest […]
Posted inWyoming
(PHOTOS) Alan K. Simpson: A life in photos
By Katie Klingsporn From Cody boy scout to trouble-making UW college student and prominent U.S. Senator who met with world leaders, Alan Simpson led a storied life. The lawyer, Republican politician and army veteran spent 18 years working for Wyoming in Washington, D.C., during an era when the state enjoyed unprecedented political power. Often joined by his lifelong […]
Posted inEducation
UW taking measures following Department of Education investigation
LARAMIE, Wyo. — The University of Wyoming recently announced it will cooperate with an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and is already taking steps in response to alleged “race-exclusionary” practices by a national organization that has been connected with graduate programs in one of the university’s colleges. The Department […]
Posted inWyoming
Legendary Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson has died at age 93
CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming’s former senator and longtime statesman Alan K. Simpson has died. He was 93. Sen. Simpson’s death was first reported by WyoFile early Friday. According to the Associated Press, his family said he died early Friday after struggling to recover after breaking his hip in December. Simpson served three terms as a […]
Posted inCommunity
Rob Hendry leads slate in sweep of Natrona County Republican Party leadership
CASPER, Wyo. — Former county commission chairman Rob Hendry was elected the new Natrona County Republican Party chairman on Thursday, leading a slate of candidates that swept leadership positions in the biennial election. “We’ve got a group that’s for Natrona County, not for national politics or national agendas,” Henry told Oil City News after the […]
Posted inLegislature
Six takeaways from the just finished Wyoming legislative session
by Katie Klingsporn, Maggie Mullen, Andrew Graham, Angus M. Thuermer Jr., Mike Koshmrl and Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile By any measure, the Wyoming Legislature just completed a transformative session. In the House, the hard-line Freedom Caucus took control of a statehouse chamber for the first time in the U.S. In the Senate, leadership stunned observers when they decided the upper chamber would not […]
Posted inEnergy
Wyoming slashes taxes for coal, sets up a CO2 fund to boost oil and gas
by Dustin Bleizeffer, WyoFile It was a good legislative session for fossil fuel producers in Wyoming, as well as those who want to produce carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery. Lawmakers passed House Bill 75, “Coal severance tax rate,” which reduces the severance tax rate for surface-mined coal from 6.5% to 6% — an effort that proponents […]
Posted inWyoming
Casper women’s health clinic moves abortion measures lawsuit to Teton County
CASPER, Wyo. — Wellspring Health Access in Casper, the only procedural and medication abortion clinic in Wyoming, recently withdrew its initial lawsuit against the state and refiled it in Teton County court. The clinic originally filed suit on Feb. 28 in Natrona County, challenging House Bills 42 and 64, which impact abortion access in the […]
Posted inGovernment
The Wyoming Legislature’s 2025 general session has ended
By Maggie Mullen CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Both the Wyoming House and Senate adjourned Thursday “sine die” — Latin for recessing “without date” for resumption — nixing uncertainty about when exactly the 2025 general session would conclude. There had been chatter that lawmakers would stick it out for two more days to have the opportunity to override […]
Posted inGovernment
Musk’s DOGE to eliminate Fish and Wildlife’s tribal Lander office, USGS’ Cheyenne water science station
By Mike Koshmrl Working out of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lander office back in the 1970s, biologist Richard Baldes helped engineer a remarkable turnaround for species nearly or completely gone from the Wind River Indian Reservation, like pronghorn and bighorn sheep. Learning this week that the Trump administration’s Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency is planning […]
Posted inLegislature
Here’s what Wyoming lawmakers did with all those election bills
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile CHEYENNE—Only a fraction of the wide-ranging, election-related bills filed in Wyoming’s 2025 legislative session have made it to the governor’s desk, effectively lowering the possibility that the state’s elections will look dramatically different for voters casting ballots in 2026. Altogether, lawmakers filed 45 election bills this year — accounting for about 8% of all […]
Posted inLegislature
Senate overrides Gordon’s veto of abortion bill requiring transvaginal ultrasounds in Wyoming
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile CHEYENNE—Following the House’s lead, the Wyoming Senate voted Wednesday to override Gov. Mark Gordon’s veto of a bill that requires patients seeking abortion medications to first undergo a transvaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period. The bill will go into effect immediately. Gordon vetoed House Bill 64, “Chemical abortions-ultrasound requirement,” Monday night, citing concerns […]
Posted inEducation
Governor signs universal school voucher bill, calling it ‘remarkable achievement for Wyoming’
by Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile Gov. Mark Gordon lauded a controversial universal school voucher bill Tuesday morning before signing it into law hours later. House Bill 199, “Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act,” will represent a significant expansion of school choice in the state, offering families $7,000 per child annually for K-12 non-public-school costs like tuition or tutoring. The scholarship […]
Posted inState Government
House votes to override Gordon’s abortion bill veto
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile CHEYENNE—The Wyoming House of Representatives voted Tuesday to override Gov. Mark Gordon’s veto of a bill to require patients to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period before taking abortion medication. Gordon vetoed House Bill 64, “Chemical abortions-ultrasound requirement“, Monday night, citing concerns over the bill’s invasive nature and its lack of exceptions […]