Wyoming Public Radio & Media

11/10/2025

What are you seeing in your community following the cut in federal SNAP funding?

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11/10/2025

Wyoming is one of nine states in the country to have 100% of all 2025 graduating students take the ACT. Out of those nine schools, Wyoming ranked second with an average composite score of 19.1.

"Nine states in the country test 100% of their students on the ACT, and Wyoming is one of them,” said Megan Degenfelder, the Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction. “Of those nine states, Wyoming had the second highest scores behind Nebraska."

On top of seeing high test scores, three students across the state achieved a perfect score of 36. Forty-four percent of graduates increased their test scores by an average of 1.9 points by taking the test multiple times. Degenfelder said these scores show how Wyoming is holding its’ schools accountable in the classroom.

"But what I think it also shows us is [that] in Wyoming, we perform well on the things that we measure. We measure the ACT. The reason we have 100 percent of students taking the ACT is because it is a part of our accountability model. So we hold schools accountable based on scores from the ACT," she said.

Story: Wyoming News Now

Photo credit: elizabethaferry

Wyoming is one of nine states in the country to have 100% of all 2025 graduating students take the ACT. Out of those nine schools, Wyoming ranked...

11/08/2025

Going to Extremes with Mark Jenkins

As a foreign correspondent for the past 30 years, Mark Jenkins has explored the most remote, difficult and dangerous places on the planet.

Goingtoextremeswithmarkjenkins.org

11/07/2025

President Donald Trump has nominated former U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce (R-New Mexico) to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees about 10% of land in the country.

His nomination has been met with a mixed response.

The Western Energy Alliance, which represents oil and gas companies, said Pearce, as a westerner himself, understands the BLM’s mission.

“Steve [Pearce] has been a longtime friend who understands the value of energy development among other uses,” the alliance’s president, Melissa Simpson, said in a statement.

Pearce, who owned an oilfield services company, is known for supporting energy development on federal lands and fighting against the expansion of national monuments.

Photo credit: US House Office of Photography

The politician is known for his support of energy development. He could oversee 10% of land in the U.S.

11/07/2025

Bill Brewer with the Wyoming Water Development Office told the Select Water Committee that work on the replacement dam in the LaPrele Irrigation District is progressing rapidly. That’s partially due to the nature of the dam in question, which used to serve over 100 irrigators.

“One thing I would compliment is the state engineer’s office has been great on this project,” said Brewer. “Typically for dams, we 100% design that dam, get it completely finished and then the [State Engineer’s Office] looks at it. They have been willing, in this case, to look at things progressively.”

The State Engineer’s Office discovered structural issues in October of 2024, and ordered the dam to be breached earlier this year to avoid a catastrophic failure. This led to a stressful scramble of brainstorming how to support the local community that depends on the reservoir for their livelihoods. Lawmakers discussed potential alternatives during this year’s legislative session, but ultimately focused on constructing a new dam.

Photo credit: WaterArchives. org

2029 remains the expected completion date, with preparations starting in December

11/07/2025

Open enrollment for healthcare plans on the ACA Marketplace has begun, and many Wyomingites who don’t get insurance through work are starting to see their premiums for next year skyrocket.

Jason Mincer of Cheyenne knew that his monthly payment might go up this year.

“ Even with the stories that we saw in the press, [I] was surprised,” he said. Mercer works for Enroll Wyoming, a nonprofit that helps people find healthcare insurance. “For the exact same plan that I have now, and without a change in my income, [my monthly premium] had gone from about $500 a month to over $1,300 a month,” he said.

That’s because Congress didn’t renew enhanced premium tax credits, which have been central to the government shutdown. The credits increased financial assistance specifically to people earning above 400% of federal poverty guidelines.

Photo credit: http://www.franchiseopportunities. com

Tax credits that helped people earning up to 400% of federal poverty guidelines are expiring. Some 20,000 Wyomingites could be left in the lurch.

11/07/2025

Gillette’s hate crime ordinance could soon be a thing of the past.

The city government established its “malicious harms” law two years ago, adding increased penalties for crimes motivated by bias. But in their most recent meeting, city councilors advanced a new ordinance that would repeal the old one.

The vote was 4 to 3. Mayor Shay Lundvall, who voted against the ordinance in 2023 but allowed it to become law without his signature, supported the repeal Tuesday.

“I appreciate the comments, the emails, but I still stand by what I said before: I do not think we need this ordinance,” he said.

During public comment, which ran for about an hour, resident Laura Cox said the hate crime ordinance was unnecessary.

“I don't think having an ordinance is going to prevent any kind of crime,” she said. “We are not the sort of community that does this sort of thing on a regular basis. Not saying it never happens. I'm just saying that we're not a hateful community.”

But others, like teacher Amy Caldwell, said there were numerous examples of LGBTQ people, especially youth, being harassed and bullied.

Photo credit: Hugh Cook

Gillette City Councilors are gearing up to repeal the city’s hate crime ordinance, just two years after establishing it.

11/07/2025

Casper’s new State Forestry Helibase will feature specially-commissioned art. One of those awarded is Denver-based public artist Tiimo Mang. His sculpture, “Vigilance,” will be installed on the helibase.

“Vigilance” depicts an American kestrel, with its wings spread, surveying from above. The kestrel holds two Pulaski axes. The spire connecting the kestrel to the ground features the words “Protecting Forest and Community.”

Mang said his sculpture is inspired by firefighters and Helitak operations. A Helitak crew consists of firefighters transported by helicopter to fight wildland or remote fires. Mang considered both of these elements when designing “Vigilance.”

“I use a kestrel to represent the helicopter, and then the kestrel is holding two Pulaski tools, which is the iconic firefighting axe. And so that represents the people that work on the ground and fight the fires,” he said.

The commission comes from the Art in Public Buildings program. Since 1991, the Wyoming Arts Council has awarded a portion of construction funds to commission public art for new buildings.

Photo credit: Tiimo Mang

Denver public artist Tiimo Mang is making a sculpture of an American kestrel to be displayed at Casper’s new State Forestry Helibase.

11/07/2025

Join Wyoming Public Media and these statewide organizations to address hunger in Wyoming! bit.ly/43YHpuV

11/07/2025

Lawmakers recently debated how much say landowners should have when companies want to build new pipelines for carbon dioxide, ultimately tipping toward industry.

The draft bill in question would’ve required 66% of landowners in a CO2 pipeline's path to be on board with the project. Currently, a project would fall under Wyoming Constitution language for eminent domain, which doesn’t require that majority. In its most basic sense, eminent domain allows the taking of private property for public use, as long as there is fair market compensation.

“It doesn't go to the extreme where one person can stop or can force a project,” said Brett Moline, Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation’s policy advocacy director, to lawmakers about the draft bill. “I think it's a good middle ground. This kind of brings everybody to the table to negotiate a fair deal for everybody.”

Photo credit: Caitlin Tan

Lawmakers recently debated how much say landowners should have when companies want to build new pipelines for carbon dioxide, ultimately tipping toward industry.

11/07/2025

Across the West, AI data centers are popping up left and right in cities, foothills and even on cattle ranches in Wyoming.
With all that competition, being sustainable can give you an extra edge. Data centers suck up energy and water, and some companies say they want to use less.
That includes Prometheus Hyperscale, which is building its flagship data center near Evanston.
But is it really possible to build a sustainable data center? We try to find out.
Link in bio.

11/06/2025

Legislative attempts to bolster the integrity of Wyoming elections, which some officials statewide insist are already trustworthy, aren’t disappearing anytime soon.

That’s after Wyoming lawmakers on the interim Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee forwarded seven bills that would revamp the way the state runs and operates its election processes. Wyoming voted for Pres. Trump more than any other state in 2024.

The seven bills could make recounts more common, restrict ballot harvesting, require more signatures for independent candidates to get onto general election ballots, allow for more hand count audits, and ban the use of student and non-photo IDs when voting.

Photo credit: GPA Photo / Flickr

The legislation could make recounts more common, allow for more hand count audits and ban the use of student and non-photo IDs when voting.