Some things are easy to predict in Wyoming politics.   The liberal enclaves of Jackson and Laramie will continue to favor Democrats, despite Wyoming’s deep red reputation. Natrona County, home to a robust and influential conservative establishment, will continue to elect Republicans under the local, “big tent” tradition. And towns such as Gillette, as conservative Read More…

BISMARCK — A Republican candidate for the North Dakota House of Representatives died Monday, Oct. 5, a month out from Election Day and with no way to replace his name on the November ballot. Multiple representatives from the North Dakota Republican Party confirmed the death of David Andahl, a candidate in the high-profile District 8 Read More…

A committee of South Dakota lawmakers this week is expected to send recommendations to the governor’s office and the Legislature about how $1.3 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds should be used. But a meeting Wednesday to finalize formal suggestions could be a preview of what’s to come at next week’s special session. Legislators have been meeting for weeks with various Read More…

CASPER, Wyo. — Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon’s office said on Thursday, Oct. 1 that Gordon supports President Donald Trump’s decision to issue an executive order which aims to protect domestic mining in the United States. “Yesterday, September 30, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order and declared a National Emergency to expand the domestic mining Read More…

CASPER, Wyo. — Casper attorney and former Chief Justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court Michael Golden was presented with the Wyoming State Bar’s Gerald R. Mason Professionalism Award on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Golden’s award was presented Tuesday “during a small awards luncheon held in conjunction with the Bar’s Virtual Annual Meeting.” Wyoming State Bar President Read More…

One man died Saturday night in a pedestrian-vehicle crash west of Highmore. A 2011 Ford Taurus was westbound on U.S. Highway 14. The driver, 44-year-old Jason Ravnsborg of Pierre, told the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office that he had been involved in a car-deer crash. The driver was not injured. The pedestrian’s body was discovered Sunday Read More…

The Wyoming Public Service Commission moved to delay finalizing its investigation into the state’s largest utility on Tuesday, after an energy company made an eleventh-hour request to include additional evidence in the case.   Commissioners had initially scheduled public deliberations on its investigation into PacifiCorp for Tuesday afternoon but ultimately delayed the proceeding. The commission determined it Read More…

The following is a joint release from the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and the office of Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon. The State of Wyoming supplies 40 percent of the country’s coal used to power electric grids. The production of coal and other energy resources contributes over half of the state’s revenue, funding the government and Read More…

CASPER, Wyo — While out on his tractor baling hay,  Wyoming House 38 Representative Tom Walters was happy to talk to Oil City News about room for growth in Wyoming’s agricultural industry, but wouldn’t say how many head of cattle he had. “That’s kind of an old Western tradition,” he said. “It’s like asking how Read More…

CHEYENNE – Leading up to this year’s Aug. 18 primary election, the candidates for the Cheyenne City Council have shared their platforms, solutions and concerns during forums hosted by the League of Women Voters. We’ve compiled some additional Q&As from last week’s debates so you can get to know the candidates more in-depth. You can Read More…

NAMPA, Idaho — Just last week, St. Luke’s confirmed the death of Samatha Hickey. Hickey was a nurse practitioner with St. Luke’s Children’s team in Nampa. She spent 13 years providing care to children in the Canyon County area and five years with the hospital. The 45-year-old died from complications from COVID-19, according to St. Read More…

SIOUX FALLS | South Dakota lawmakers on Tuesday called for formal consultation processes between tribal and state governments following Gov. Kristi Noem’s handling of a conflict over coronavirus checkpoints set up by tribes.   Legislators on a committee tasked with navigating the relationship between tribes and the state criticized the governor for escalating the conflict Read More…

North Dakota’s Republican Party is supporting the reelection bid of State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler, who pleaded guilty to drunken driving in March but still dominated the June primary. More than two-thirds of the party’s 58-member State Committee voted in a secret ballot on Saturday at its meeting in Medora to award Baesler its letter of Read More…

A candidate for the Wyoming House of Representatives recently penned an open letter to the Laramie City Council, telling its members their proposed mask resolution was unconstitutional. Ocean Andrew, who is running to represent House District 46, posted the letter to Facebook on Tuesday, the same day the council was set to discuss a potential Read More…

some members of the Wyoming Republican Party expect to file a lawsuit against the state central committee after the party adopted a number of bylaw changes at its convention that critics argue are designed to consolidate power at the state level.   The changes, which were approved at the weekend gathering without debate, include a Read More…

BOISE — Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney say they plan to appeal Tuesday’s U.S. District Court decision granting Reclaim Idaho’s request for a second chance to qualify its school-funding initiative for the November ballot, after the statewide stay-home order cut off signature gathering prior to the state’s deadline. “This decision is Read More…

Two legal challenges are brewing in the wake of North Dakota’s June election.   North Dakota’s Republican Party is researching a potential lawsuit against Democratic-NPL insurance commissioner nominee Travisia Martin, who the GOP claims doesn’t meet the five-year residency requirement to be a candidate. But it’s unclear when or if the party will sue.   Two unsuccessful Read More…

The Wyoming Republican Party is doing what most organizations can’t right now. Not only are they getting a high-profile figure to keynote their convention but that figure is actually appearing in-person. Well-known conservative activist Charlie Kirk is heading to Gillette for the Wyoming Republican Convention this weekend and for conservatives, there couldn’t be a better Read More…

Executive and legislative relationships could be set back as a result of Gov. Doug Burgum’s hefty donations to a political group that successfully targeted a powerful fellow Republican in the June election, according to a top House lawmaker.   Burgum disputes that he’s done anything out of the ordinary and denies having a rocky relationship Read More…

CHEYENNE — Governor Mark Gordon announced Thursday that Wyoming should expect a decline in economic activity this coming fiscal year and the years to follow. In a press release earlier Thursday, he said some businesses and mines may have to do layoffs, furloughs, salary reductions, benefit reductions, and consider other options as Wyoming could see revenue Read More…

Collapsing energy prices and the COVID-19 pandemic are expected to cost Wyoming up to $1.5 billion in revenues through June 2022, preliminary estimates released Tuesday show, setting the stage for steep budget cuts, new taxes, or a mix of both.   In a preliminary report delivered Tuesday to members of the Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee, Read More…

A New Jersey-based company that sells caller ID spoofing services and the state of North Dakota are asking a federal judge to decide the fate of North Dakota’s new anti-spoofing law. Attorneys for both sides have filed motions in U.S. District Court asking the judge to decide the case based on their arguments, rather than Read More…

Three pieces of legislation providing relief from coronavirus impacts for businesses and renters in Wyoming were approved by the Legislature during its two-day special session. During the session, which ended Saturday, legislators approved bills authorizing Gov. Mark Gordon to spend $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds and specifying how some of the money will Read More…

Idaho’s May 19 primary election will be the state’s first all-absentee-ballot election, a move to curb the spread of COVID-19. The Idaho Press partnered with the League of Women Voters to conduct candidate surveys for local races. Find their answers in the links below or do a ballot search using your home address at vote411.org. Tuesday, Read More…

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Before the coronavirus pandemic the state of South Dakota appeared to be able to afford to pay for historic new unemployment claims caused by an economic downturn, according to reports from the Federal Reserve in Minneapolis and the U.S. Department of Labor. But the state has reached historic new unemployment Read More…

A legal battle between the state of Idaho and a transgender inmate seeking to undergo gender- confirmation surgery may be headed to the nation’s highest court. Gov. Brad Little announced Thursday that Idaho has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court’s ruling requiring the state to pay for inmate Adree Edmo’s Read More…

BOISE, Idaho — Two civil rights groups that filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new Idaho law banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports have asked for a preliminary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect July 1.   The American Civil Liberties Union and Legal Voice filed the request Thursday. READ FULL Read More…

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Wyoming House District 45 Representative Charles Pelkey, who also serves as the Minority Whip said today in a Facebook post that Governor Gordon is “suddenly under a lot of pressure to “reopen” the economy no matter what the recommendations from health officials might be.” Gordon’s first of three orders was placed in mid-March in response Read More…

A meeting between protesters demanding an end to restrictions on businesses in Wyoming and Gov. Mark Gordon on Monday was by turns confrontational and civil as the protesters shouted chants at the Republican and later thanked him for his time. Gordon appeared unexpectedly at Cheyenne’s Rally for the Choice to Work, engaging the 50 or Read More…

North Dakota’s per capita rate of testing remains among the top 10 in the nation, while its rate of positives is hovering around 3.2 percent or so. State traffic statistics in some areas are down 53 percent as well. Meanwhile, eight states have both high testing rates and a low rate of positives, North Dakota Read More…

North Dakota’s Democratic-NPL Party has set its ticket for governor and lieutenant governor.   Hours before the candidate filing deadline on Monday, Dickinson/Killdeer veterinarian and former Killdeer School Board member Shelley Lenz — who has been campaigning for governor the past two months —  announced former state Rep. Ben Vig as her running mate.   Read More…