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CHEYENNE — A budget to fund Wyoming state government for the next two years was signed into law Saturday morning by Gov. Mark Gordon, hours before the midnight deadline. The governor had the final say on which amendments would be vetoed in the 2025-26 biennium spending plan, since the Wyoming Legislature submitted the budget on the last day of the session, March 8. In a typical budget session, the final week is used to submit a budget to the governor, and he usually has three days in which to sign it or use his line-item veto authority. On t...
POWELL - The Bureau of Land Management released a draft Thursday of an updated sage grouse management plan that places species protections back on track after several years of disruptions to the historic 2015 sage grouse plan. That was then credited for halting plans for costly protections for the species under the Endangered Species Act. Following 2019 court orders overturning Trump administration changes to the historic collaborative plans, the BLM has been managing sage grouse habitat...
On Friday evening we gaveled a close to the 67th Budget Session in the Wyoming Senate and House. It was a tumultuous budget year. Yet, despite political differences and policy disagreements, the Legislature passed a conservative, balanced budget that addresses our state's needs and invests in the future. Those investments include funding for nursing homes, preschool for developmentally disabled children, and home services for senior centers. The budget supports mental health efforts and funds...
There's a lot of hope, and maybe some hype, for commercial-scale rare earth element mining in Wyoming, which is home to one of the largest proven high-concentrated deposits in North America. That interest comes at a time of increasing demand for rare earths, which are essential components for modern technologies but are mined almost exclusively outside the U.S. If the hope becomes reality, it could mean a potential new, billion dollar mining industry for Wyoming. The Bear Lodge deposit near...
A federal appeals court has overturned an Obama-era moratorium for new coal mine leasing on public lands - an "unequivocal win" for Wyoming's coal industry, according to Gov. Mark Gordon. Yet the decision, which the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down on Wednesday, likely will not result in a rush on new federal coal leases in Wyoming. The three-judge panel even noted an apparent "de facto moratorium" dictated by markets that has all but erased demand for major new federal coal tracts - a...
Becoming an annual event, the Sweetwater County Library System has included the Green River High School art students in the exhibit calendar for February and March this year at the Sweetwater County Library in Green River. "Green River High School Art Department is once again proud to display artwork for the public to enjoy. The artwork on display is from Mr. Steiss's advanced painting and pottery classes and will be up through March 30th. All the students who have art on display have worked...
CHEYENNE — Federal regulation around gun laws has prompted some Wyoming lawmakers to work to preserve gun rights for residents at the state level. Three bills were forwarded to the Senate floor by members of the Senate Agriculture, State and Public Lands, and Water Resources Committee on Tuesday. These bills would broaden access to gun ownership in the state, with one or two taking a stance against gun law regulation by the federal government. Two years ago, federal lawmakers urged banks to adopt a new merchant category code for credit card p...
CHEYENNE — The Wyoming House of Representatives and Senate approved mirror budget amendments Monday that would allow the state to send $2 million to Texas or provide resources like personnel to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. If the amendments in both chambers are, in fact, identical, and no additional changes are made to this amendment on third reading of the budget bills, the allocation will be automatically adopted in the state’s 2025-26 biennium budget and would not be up for negotiation in a joint conference committee. On both sides of the...
By Representatives John Bear (HD 31), Scott Heiner (HD 18), Ben Hornok (HD 42), and Tony Locke (HD 35) In late 2023, Governor Gordon submitted his state budget. The Governor described his budget as ‘disciplined,’ ‘business like,’ ‘forward-thinking,’ ‘fiscally conservative,’ ‘realistic,’ ‘practical,’ ‘balanced, ‘prudent,’ ’sustainable,’ and ‘living within our means.’ The Wyoming Freedom Caucus has thoroughly reviewed the Governor’s budget and would ourselves describe it as UNAFFORDABLE and UNSUSTAINABLE. This is the largest budget in the history...
Nancy planned on cross-country skiing at Happy Jack in southeast Wyoming on Jan. 19, but forgot her ski jacket. Instead of waiting in the car while her husband skied, she decided to go for a stroll in the woods with her Uggs and knee-length brown parka. "I'll just take a nice little hour-long walk," she said. Nancy talked with WyoFile on the condition that her last name remain anonymous. (No word on whether she was concerned about retribution from a certain hooved critter.) The trails at Happy...
Land use planning does not usually grab a lot of headlines. It tends to happen out of the public eye; its terminology can be confusing and hard for the layperson to understand; and its impact – while significant – can seem removed from our daily lives. That’s all changed over the past few months. You can hardly open a paper or go online these days without coming across a story about BLM’s draft land use plan for the Rock Springs area. Members of the public are clearly engaged and paying attention in ways that they haven’t before. This is t...
More and more Wyoming students aren't getting vaccines. These aren't the much-maligned and distrusted COVID-19 vaccines, though. They're long-utilized inoculations against diseases like polio, diphtheria and measles, Wyoming Department of Health data shows. Wyoming requires a range of vaccines, but since 2020, the number of K-12 students securing exemptions has grown from 714 to 1,224 - an increase of 71%. There were 130 more in just the last year. The vast majority of students still get...
SARATOGA — Despite the advent of the internet and social media, Wyoming newspapers still serve as an important avenue for public notices — at least according to Governor Mark Gordon, who spoke at the 125th Annual Wyoming Press Convention in Casper on January 19. Over the past several years, the Wyoming Legislature has seen a number of bills introduced which would remove public notices from the pages of Wyoming newspapers. They were proposed despite the fact that 86% of Wyoming adults cite newspapers as their most trusted source for public not...
CHEYENNE — A Laramie lawyer has appealed the dismissal of his attempt to bar former President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., from the Wyoming ballot to the Wyoming Supreme Court. On Jan. 4, U.S. District Judge Misha Westby granted Secretary of State Chuck Gray’s motion to dismiss the case, Newcomb v. Chuck Gray, on the grounds that the lawsuit is “not yet ripe.” Laramie-based lawyer Tim Newcomb, who filed the lawsuit against Gray in November, submitted an appeal of the district court’s dismissal to the Wyoming Supreme C...
Fifty years ago, the Endangered Species Act was signed into law by President Richard Nixon with the intention of establishing a clear process for recovering species on the verge of extinction. In the years that have passed since its enactment, this well-intended law has taken on a life of its own and has dramatically shifted from its original purpose to the point where it does far more harm than good. Since its passage, the ESA has become a weapon wielded by the Left to appease environmental activists that has punished landowners and...
A new call-to-action published January 9 in the journal Cancer details practical steps for the oncology research and clinical care communities to expand access to clinical trials and enable patients to participate closer to their homes. The paper, authored by members of an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Task Force including Dr. Banu Symington, oncologist/hematologist at Sweetwater Regional Cancer Center, illuminates the importance of enabling patients to receive trial related...
Preparation and communication is the secret to cooking for large groups of people, according to Robert Adams, the new chef manager at Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County. Unidine, the hospital's contracted food service provider, made a good choice with Adams, said Chief Clinical Officer Kari Quickenden. "We are excited to have Chef Rob on board," Quickenden said. "He is committed to taking our meal service and retail programs to the next level." Adams said he grew up with a love of cooking....
Hone your fishing skills and see how you stack up against other anglers during the Mac Attack Fishing Contest, targeting lake trout less than 25 inches at Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The two-day contest is Jan. 13-14. Participants will compete for eight prize categories and enter into five drawings, including two youth drawings. Registered participants can fish from shore, ice, or boat. The Green River fisheries biologists endorsing the Mac Attack are concerned that the large number of lake trout l...
Loading an unwilling bull into a trailer can be daunting, even if it is for its own good. Bulls tend to be testy and their size presents a special challenge. My dad’s approach involved roping the bull, dragging it to the trailer, attaching a block and tackle and then – after a good deal of cussing and a lathered-up saddle horse or two – we might wrench it into the trailer. We never hurt a bull, but we had some impromptu rodeos in the process. It didn’t always work, especially if the bull was distracted by somebody’s yappy dog or a party of...
Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County now offers Mako SmartRobotics, an advancement in joint replacement surgery that will transform the way total knee and hip replacements are performed. Mako SmartRobotics consists of three unique components – 3D CT-based planning, AccuStop haptic technology and insightful data analytics. The technology can help surgeons plan for better outcomes like less pain and quicker recovery times compared to manual surgery, helping patients get back to the things t...
The Medical Staff of Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County recently elected new officers for the coming year. During a recent meeting, the medical staff elected to retain General Surgeon Brianne Crofts, MD, as chief of staff, and Hospitalist Alicia Gray, MD, as vice chief of staff. Anesthesiologist Steven Croft, MD, will continue to serve as secretary/treasurer. The MHSC Medicine Department elected Radiation Oncologist Joshua Binks, M.D., as chairman, and Pulmonologist Rasheel Chowdhary, MD,...
Sweetwater Aquatics Team traveled to Pinedale on Saturday, December 9, to compete in the Polar Bear Plunge hosted by Sublette County Swim Team. For some, it was their first meet. For other veterans, it was an opportunity to "show off" all the hard work they have been putting in at practice. SWAT practices at the Green River Highschool five nights a week and these awesome athletes swim between two and six miles a night while preparing for swim meets. Part of the team practices at Western Wyoming...
December 7, 1941 is a “date that will live in infamy” as stated by President Theodore Roosevelt in his famous speech after the events of the Pearl Harbor bombing. That event let to the United States involvement in World War II. President’s Roosevelt’s speech was a call to arms and a declaration of war against this act of aggression by a foreign nation. He never wanted us to forget what happened. President Roosevelt concluded his speech by saying “With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain...
At approximately 4:10 p.m. Sunday, December 3, Green River Fire Department with Castle Rock Ambulance to back were paged to Expedition Island for a reported deer stuck in the ice. The original report came in from the Wyoming State Fire Marshal Inspector who noticed the deer struggling. Wyoming Game and Fish and Green River Police Department arrived on scene shortly after the original report. Wyoming Game and Fish requested GRFD's Swift Water Rescue Team to help remove the deer. Upon arrival by G...
The Rocky Mountain fur trade was the topic this week for over a hundred Green River High School Wyoming History students at a special presentation hosted by the Sweetwater County Historical Museum. Aidan Brady, the museum's Public Engagement Coordinator, was the program's presenter, and the era of the fur trade, which peaked during from the 1820s through the 1840s, his topic. The fur trade began flourishing in the early 1820s. When the demand for beaver pelts in the east and Europe skyrocketed,...
