Wyoming Public Radio & Media

07/04/2025

Earlier this month, the 137-year-old University of Wyoming (UW) Lab School sent its students home for summer vacation for the very last time. Last year, UW gave the Albany County School District notice they wouldn’t be renewing their agreement to house the school. A last ditch effort by state lawmakers to pass a bill to rescue the school also failed.

The Lab School was started as a place to train teachers. That was way back when Wyoming was still aspiring to statehood.

Virginia Chai came to the school for her teacher training. Later, all four of her children attended, and, for over a decade, she worked there as the administrative assistant. Chai said the school’s final day of classes was painful.

Several staff members say the school culture changed after the Albany County School District superintendent hired a new principal without...

07/03/2025

A number of new wildfires started across the state on July 1, mostly due to lightning strikes. Grasses are dry and primed to spread fire quickly. Fire managers are asking for help to limit new starts by being careful ahead of the Fourth of July weekend and keeping water handy.

Northwest of Gillette, the Powder River Fire is now estimated at about 870 acres with about half of its perimeter contained, according to the wildfire tracking app Watch Duty. Clearmont Fire District assisted Johnson County to keep growth minimal overnight, despite strong winds. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service helicopters and engines also assisted.

Fire managers are asking for help to limit new starts by being careful ahead of the Fourth and keeping water handy.

07/03/2025

Wyoming Public Radio is exploring the potential effects of the repeal of gun-free zones. If you or a close friend or family member have experienced or been near a shooting on public school property or state government property in a state other than Wyoming, we would like to talk to you for a news story. Must be Wyoming residents. Email our state government reporter Chris Clements at [email protected].

07/03/2025

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has its eyes on a Wyoming lawsuit. The DOJ filed a statement of interest Tuesday in the Equality State Policy Center’s lawsuit against Secretary of State Chuck Gray and his enforcement of a new voting law.

The two rules in question became effective yesterday. They lay the foundation for requirements to vote, such as proof of residency in the state for at least 30 days.

In a press release, the DOJ said these laws will “prohibit non-citizen voting and ensure that only eligible voters cast ballots.”

Previously, Pres. Trump issued an executive order supporting efforts to enforce election security.

A statement of interest lets the courts and the public know how the DOJ is thinking about the case but the department will not actively defend or support either side.

Secretary of State Gray has previously asked a judge to dismiss the case.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit against the secretary of state and his enforcement of a new voting law.

07/03/2025

Laws could vary state to state regarding which babies born on U.S. soil qualify for citizenship. This comes after the Supreme Court reduced judicial powers last week.

Federal district court judges previously blocked an executive order from President Donald Trump nationwide which eliminated birthright citizenship rights for newborns whose parents are living in the country without legal status, and in some cases temporarily.

But the Supreme Court ruled those judges went too far by issuing national, or universal, injunctions. This could mean only the states who sue the U.S. government get relief from the president’s order.

In this case, that includes Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and 18 other states. Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Utah are among states that did not sue, so the president’s order could go into effect in those places on July 27.

Birthright citizenship laws could be different in each Mountain West state after the U.S. Supreme Court reduced judicial powers.

07/03/2025

Wyoming officially put an end to most of its gun-free zones on July 1, eliminating that form of concealed firearm regulation in many public spaces across the state.

Concealed guns can now be brought to public schools, certain sections of airports, community colleges, some state agencies, the University of Wyoming (UW) and legislative committee meetings, depending on local rules.

The change comes after states that have similar laws to Wyoming’s HB 172, like Ohio, Georgia and Nebraska, saw increases in fi****ms-related injuries after their laws’ passage.

That’s according to a legislative analysis written for Wyoming Public Radio by the Gun Violence Data Hub, an initiative from the nonpartisan newsroom The Trace, which writes about gun violence in the U.S.

In all three states, the numbers of gun deaths, gun injuries and overall gun incidents increased after restrictions on carrying fi****ms were relaxed, said Ava Sasani, a journalist for The Trace who worked on the analysis.

Wyoming’s gun-free zones repeal went into effect this week. States with similar laws, like Ohio, Nebraska and Georgia, saw an increase in gun-related incidents since passing them, according to an analysis by the Gun Violence Data Hub.

07/03/2025

Wyoming Public Radio - 4th of July programs

Tune in and Listen!

https://ow.ly/46Lt50WjSus

07/03/2025

Bonanza #505: Mort Reis Lewis Papers

The television Western Bonanza first aired on NBC in 1959.

The long running program followed the lives of the Cartwright family, headed by Ben Cartwright.

https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/show/archives-on-the-air

07/03/2025

Rihanna Kelver showed up outside the Wyoming Capitol building in Cheyenne on July 1 with a black leather jacket, black Converse, thrifted jeans and a message for state lawmakers who passed a law earlier this year spelling out which restrooms transgender people can use.

“ I am sorry that you let so much fear and hurt and a need for control to drive your duties as a lawmaker, to hurt people in your community, your own constituents,” Kelver, who is trans, told Wyoming Public Radio while sitting on the grass outside the Capitol lobby. “I guarantee you, every one of these legislators has somebody in their constituency that is trans. We are a very vulnerable community to violence, discrimination and persecution globally, nationally and statewide.”

Kelver was there to protest the “Protecting privacy in public spaces act.” In addition to that law, HB 72, electeds passed a series of measures in the recent legislative general session that regulate where trans people can go in Wyoming and what they can do, like barring them from participating in school sports. HB 72 became effective on July 1.

She alerted Gov. Mark Gordon’s office and the Highway Patrol about her plans shortly before the demonstration. But when the time came to open the bathroom doors down the hall from the governor’s office, she encountered no resistance from troopers or security.

07/02/2025

The House of Representatives narrowly approved legislation recently to eliminate the next two years of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The Senate still has to vote on the cut of $1.1 billion dollars over two years, which is less than 1/100th of 1% of the federal budget. Ruby Calvert chairs the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and spoke with KHOL’s Sophia Boyd-Fliegel about what’s at stake. (KHOL received about 20% of its annual funding from CPB).

Wyoming PBS alum Ruby Calvert doesn’t want to see ‘public media go down on my watch’.

07/02/2025

The current lease for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Lander will not be terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), at least for now.

This spring, the building’s lease was one of a handful in the state that were listed on the department’s “Wall of Receipts,” which first went online in March and includes cancellation plans for leases, grants and contracts.

The office specializes in tribal collaboration and has worked with the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes to help conserve big game and fish on the Wind River Reservation for decades. Uncertainty about its future brought up concerns from community members.

But that termination is now terminated.

The office specializes in tribal collaboration and supports conservation on the Wind River Reservation.

07/02/2025

Western Tales and Poetry: New Episode
EPISODE 4: Author Katherine Standefer reads from his book "Lightning Flowers"
https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/show/western-tales-poetry/2025-06-04/western-tales-poetry-podcast