WyoFile

Columnist Kerry Drake asked Wyoming Hospital Association President Eric Boley if the state will be hit by major Medicaid cuts like other states. He said it won’t because Wyoming didn’t expand Medicaid, but Drake contends the state missed a golden opportunity to improve healthcare.

Aiming to cut lengthy waiting times for big energy projects, Wyoming has signed on to a federal fast-tracking initiative backed by President Trump. Leaders promise transparency, but past expedited reviews have already sparked local concern. wyofile.com/wyoming-team...

Lawmakers will try again to get an “anti-SLAPP” measure on the books in the upcoming legislative session. The draft bill aims to block lawsuits intended to silence free speech. wyofile.com/lawmakers-sp...

Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. Sen. John Barrasso celebrated the awards, which were finalized barely a year after the state began applying for Rural Health Transformation Fund dollars. #wyomingnews #ruralhealthcare wyofile.com/how-will-wyo...

Lawmakers will try again to get an “anti-SLAPP” measure on the books in the upcoming legislative session. The draft bill aims to block lawsuits intended to silence free speech. #wyomingnews #slapp #wyominglegislature wyofile.com/lawmakers-sp...

While voters determined most of the incoming Wyoming Legislature’s composition in the primary election, 32 legislative races will be decided in November. The contests vary widely in competitiveness. WyoFile highlighted five to follow. #wyomingelections wyofile.com/what-are-wyo...

OPINION: It’s past time to ditch lead bullets for nontoxic ammo, no matter how big or small the game, writes Writers on the Range columnist Ted Kerasote. #wyomingnews #hunting #lead wyofile.com/lead-doesnt-...

The Kemmerer coal mine, which employs 153 miners, will close in three years, though no immediate layoffs are planned. Now the mine's clients — a cluster of trona mines and soda ash plants concentrated in Sweetwater County — are scrambling for an alternative. #wyomingnews #coal

The $105 million donation is the largest in NPS history. It came from the largest data-center backer in the world. The contribution is raising questions about the role of private philanthropy as data-center development transforms the rural West. @mountainjournal.bsky.social #yellowstone #datacenter

Photo Friday: Federal and state agencies teamed up with volunteers to aid recovery for the 16,000-acre burn area, but there’s still a long road until wildlife can rely on the area again. wyofile.com/restoring-wy...

OPINION: Americans are staring down an arrangement that is neither fair nor honest. Guest columnist David Giralt shares four principles that should guide the fix. wyofile.com/social-secur...

Jessica Baker became an Exum guide after completing daring descents of steep ski slopes. She now wants to help other women excel in the backcountry and receive their due. #wyomingnews #america250 #stateofequality

After Wyoming passed a new school funding model, major concerns arose related to activities like sports and theater, which officials said would take painful cuts in many districts. #wyomingnews #schoolfunding

OPINION: Columnist David Romtvedt shares lessons learned in trusting our neighbors, communities and our democracy. wyofile.com/being-an-ele... #electionjudge #wyomingnews

A University of Wyoming professor emeritus has written a set of three medical operas inspired by what his family experienced after his son spent several months recovering from a 2024 car accident that almost killed him. #wyomingnews #opera #art

A combination conservation easement and migration route designation is expected to safeguard a critical New Fork River crossing for generations to come. #wyomingnews #pathofthepronghorn #conservation

Wyoming’s lax business regulations are helping to obscure the source of anonymous political mailers in Texas that have stirred significant controversy ahead of the midterm elections. The mailers are tied to a company registered in Wyoming last month. wyofile.com/wyomings-tie...

Prosecutors filed 11 charges against Greg Crandall, a longtime coroner and former funeral home operator in southwest Wyoming, two weeks before his reelection bid. They allege he “funneled $41,389.62 in public funds directly into his private business accounts.” wyofile.com/uinta-county...

A UW official told graduate students that the school stands by them following “racist remarks” in the wake of news that an international student allegedly poisoned her peer. Online comments have criticized the university for admitting foreign students. #wyomingnews #uw #poisoning

OPINION: Wyoming’s families and social circles are our first defense against suicide, writes guest columnist Dr. Kent Corso. #wyomingnews #mentalhealth wyofile.com/our-strength...

Pam Weiss decided to test herself in a 50K cross country ski race, even though she had not gone that distance before. Her win helped propel her on a track that saw her join the first U.S. women’s biathlon team and keep pace with the world’s best. #wyomingnews #america250 #stateofequality

Natrona County and Prometheus Hyperscale officials are weighing whether to tailor-fit permitting for a proposed data center complex rather than rely on the state. Watchdog groups urge caution. #wyomingnews #datacenter #permitting

Directors of a water district at Hyattville have put off condemnation of private property until after a Nov. 3 district election that could end the eminent domain efforts. #wyomingnews #eminentdomain

Superintendent of Public Instruction Megen Degenfelder credited years of focused effort. “These results show us that our statewide priority around literacy reform and efforts to raise the bar are working,” she said. #wyomingnews #standardizedtests wyofile.com/wyoming-stud...

OPINION: ​​After columnist Kerry Drake conducted an informal exit poll of voters after casting their primary ballots in August, he said a disturbing number who agreed to participate said they could not remember who they voted for just minutes before. #wyomingnews #wyomingelections

Three candidates for secretary of state remain ahead of the general election. From elections and data centers to fighting out-of-state court battles, they shared their thoughts on a range of topics at a Thursday debate. #wyomingnews #politicaldebates #datacenters #secretaryofstate

The Wyoming Legislature created the Energy Dominance Fund earlier this year, and the grants would support three energy projects: a uranium conversion plant, natural gas infrastructure near Wamsutter and a natural gas connection at a soda ash processing plant. wyofile.com/state-to-gra...

Conservation groups and government agencies are using “starter homes” made of wood and brush to encourage beavers to build dams. These dams slow water, create habitat and help ecosystems become more resilient to climate change, which experts say is crucial as the West becomes drier. @apnews.com

OPINION: Separating mood-altering substances into "legal" and "illegal" categories creates a divisive construct, writes guest columnist Dr. Tom Hogarty. wyofile.com/a-problem-wi...

Yellowstone National Park and Tallgrass, a Colorado company building an AI power hub near Cheyenne, announced a $105 million conservation and stewardship fund for the country’s first national park. #wyomingnews #yellowstone #conservation #blackstone

Under Wyoming law, adults can sometimes provide alcohol to children without consequence while the minor may end up in legal trouble for underage drinking. Proposed legislation could change that. From Wyo Today Media wyofile.com/lawmakers-ad...

Republican frontrunner Chuck Gray was a no-show, but Democrat Lisa Kinney, Constitution Party candidate Jeffrey Haggit and Libertarian Shawn Johnson came to Riverton to pitch Wyoming voters on their candidacies. #wyomingnews #elections #ushouse #politicaldebates

Candidates Ana Cordova and Steve Harshman squared off to talk about AI, cellphones and teacher pay in Thursday’s televised debate. #wyomingnews #politicaldebates #superintendentofpublicinstruction #education

In some of the last votes they’ll make as state lawmakers, Wyoming Freedom Caucus members and allies voted Thursday to sponsor a slate of legislation to revamp the state’s election system. They also rejected a resolution intended to combat dark money. #wyomingnews #freedomcaucus #campaignfinance

OPINION: Watching from Wyoming, Cornell University’s Jane Doe walks a familiar, uncomfortable path, writes columnist Jessica Brauer. wyofile.com/a-lightless-...

Photo Friday: Biology major Will Anderson left no stone unturned in a search for a rare extremophile that took him and a fellow student into Yellowstone’s debris-covered glaciers. The effort was rewarded this summer with his discovery of three of the Grylloblattodea, or ice crawlers. #wyomingnews

Game and Fish’s position is rooted in a desire for local control, but some former employees aren’t buying the argument. At stake are 3.3 million backcountry acres in Wyoming. #wyomingnews #roadlessrule #publiclands wyofile.com/wyoming-wild...

Republican Eric Barlow, Democrat Kenneth Casner and the Constitution Party’s Rebecca Bextel squared off Wednesday in the one televised debate scheduled ahead of November's general election. Here’s what you need to know. #wyomingnews #governor #wyomingelections wyofile.com/four-takeawa...

Josh Dorrell's departure comes amid an effort to reform the state's top economic development shop and after Freedom Caucus members tried unsuccessfully to defund and dismantle the agency. The council's board said it will appoint an interim CEO as it seeks a replacement. #wyomingnews #businesscouncil

OPINION: Columnist Walt Gasson relives a memorable chase, where generations of hunters have danced with elk in the meadows and thick timber stands of the Wind Rivers. wyofile.com/autumn-song/

Attorneys for a former Wyoming Boys’ School resident alleging that he suffered excessive force and isolation while at the school will be allowed to use the term “solitary confinement” during trial after a judge’s ruling Wednesday. #wyomingnews #boysschool wyofile.com/judge-denies...

OPINION: Three out of four Republicans said ‘no’ to Chuck Gray. Say it again in November, writes guest columnist Bill Schwartz. wyofile.com/what-should-...

Gov. Mark Gordon opted into President Trump’s new federal tax-credit scholarship program and the education department has started laying the groundwork. So how will the program work here, and who is eligible to benefit? #wyomingnews #schoolchoice wyofile.com/trump-launch...

The proposed gravel operation at the base of Casper Mountain ignited fierce opposition in Natrona County. But the county breached its legal authority when it rezoned the area to stymie the project, the developer says. #wyomingnews #mining wyofile.com/is-gravel-a-...

The Trump administration has seven business days to comply with an order temporarily halting a major reorganization of an agency that manages nearly 200 million acres of public land. #wyomingnews #forestservice #publiclands wyofile.com/judge-halts-...

OPINION: More than 90% of Wyomingites oppose federal land sales, and our federal representatives don’t seem to care, writes guest columnist Cam Walker. #wyomingnews #publiclands #elections wyofile.com/once-theyre-...

A Wyoming microbiology graduate student from China is accused of poisoning the tea of a fellow student who had pending patents and with whom she didn’t get along. Aili Wang was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, where prosecutors allege she was seeking to return to China. @apnews.com

When she was a kid, A.J. Cargill’s parents moved from the Midwest to the chic ski resort of Sun Valley, setting her — a future world champ — afloat in a style-conscious culture she yearned to join. #wyomingnews #america250 #stateofequality

When U.S. Attorney for Wyoming Darin Smith touted an enforcement surge on the Wind River Reservation, he included three defendants who were among cases he had to reindict after judges found the first-time federal prosecutor's misconduct may have prejudiced jurors. #wyomingnews #windriverreservation

OPINION: "BearCare” catastrophic coverage plan wasn’t found to be as helpful as expected to reduce costs, but there are many ideas to explore, columnist Kerry Drake writes. #wyomingnews #healthinsurance wyofile.com/wyoming-heal...