WyoFile

Lawmakers voted on Thursday to move forward with a bill extending postpartum medicaid coverage to a year. Without legislative action eligible moms will only be covered for two months once a pandemic era federal mandate prohibiting disenrollment from Medicaid expires, potentially in October when the public health emergency sunsets. The motion to sponsor the bill narrowly passed by a 6-5 vote in the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee meeting.

Calm waters made for a pleasant morning paddle on Rob Roy Reservoir in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest for Dave Clapsaddle and his dog Pogo on July 31. Clapsaddle, of Laporte, Colorado, was also joined by his wife Shauna Gray and their other dog Lula. The pair teamed up on a paddleboard for the morning cruise. The family often joins Wyoming friends for camping and paddling excursions on both sides of the Wyoming-Colorado border.

The seven Colorado River states — Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming — face a daunting mid-August deadline. The federal government has asked them to come up with a plan to reduce their combined water usage from the Colorado River by up to 4 million acre-feet in 2023.

SUBLETTE COUNTY—Retired trucker Kent Profit already knew he supported Wyoming House candidate and La Barge oilman Mike Schmid when he came out to Marbleton Park for brats and drinks. The Big Piney denizen was particularly fond of how Schmid traveled to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021 to join...

SHIRLEY BASIN—Mike Lockhart has been patrolling this vast sagebrush sea for hours, driving county roads and stopping at vantage points to glass for raptors as they ride aloft early afternoon thermals. The abundance of white-tailed prairie dogs and their pups provides easy pickin’s for the golden eagles, turkey vultures,...

Saying that the federal government missed a mandatory deadline, a consortium of conservation groups filed suit Tuesday to force a decision on whether wolves should regain Endangered Species Act protections in Wyoming . Four groups claim the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was required to decide by June 1 whether...

A WyoFile investigation of the three candidates vying to be Wyoming’s next secretary of state reveals marked differences in professional experience, political backing and even history of compliance with the very laws and regulations enforced by the office in question. Secretary of state is the second highest office in...

Ninth District Judge Melissa Owens on Wednesday granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit over Wyoming’s abortion “trigger law,” effectively preventing the state’s abortion ban from being enacted. Owens issued her motion at 12:09 p.m., just minutes after a temporary restraining order lapsed and a day after hearing lawyers’ arguments on the matter.

When Jonathan Schechter came to Jackson Hole as a young university graduate in 1983, one of the mountain community’s leading activists gave him a valuable insight. “The only Wyoming election that matters is the Republican primary,” Bob Morris told him. Morris, a colorful former U.S. Marine, FM radio station owner and environmentalist affectionately known by locals as “Captain Bob,” died in 2020 at age 87.

A key timing restriction protecting some wintering greater sage grouse from oil and gas development doesn’t align with the imperiled birds’ use of the critical habitat, a University of Wyoming study shows. Sage grouse generally move to winter range on Nov. 7 and stay through March 13, according...

With one candidate dropping out and a faction of Republican support coalescing around another, the race for superintendent of public instruction is sharpening as Aug. 16 primary election approaches. The winning Republican primary candidate will face Sergio Maldonado, the lone Democrat running for the office, in the November general election.

Wyoming is less than two weeks away from the primary election in one of the most significant elections of the modern era. In the Republican primary especially, there is a conflict in philosophies and approaches that will be monumental for our future as a state. The winners of this election will set the tone and priorities of our state government at a key point in Wyoming’s history.

Here’s a question Wyoming voters should ponder: If Harriet Hageman really believes the 2020 presidential election was rigged against former President Donald Trump, why did she wait 11 months to finally say so?. Opinion — Trump has repeatedly shown that a candidate’s total loyalty to him is what matters...

The Inflation Reduction Act, unveiled in a surprise announcement last week after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin came on board — proposes changes to health care — including giving Medicare the power to negotiate for prescription drug prices — as well as addressing deficit reduction, climate change and energy.

The “catastrophic” municipal water system failure in March that prompted a temporary boil advisory in Rawlins was the result of poor engineering and aging infrastructure, exacerbated by drought conditions driven by climate change. Even as crews scramble to repair and upgrade water facilities, some residents are not complying...

After two years of COVID-19 troubles that created more bumps than a midway carnival ride, fairgoers have returned. This year marks the first since 2019 that Wyoming’s summer traditions were restored to their full glory. The pandemic canceled a lot of activities in 2020. In Teton County the effects lingered into 2021.

The temporary restraining order issued last week against Wyoming’s abortion ban is only the first step in what is likely to be a more prolonged battle in the courts — one that legal experts believe could ultimately end up before the Wyoming Supreme Court. While the TRO only...

A WyoFile investigation reveals that scores of Wyoming elected officials, political candidates and party operatives personally accepted at least $3.6 million in federal relief subsidies even as many traded on anti-government-spending policy positions — including public opposition to federal COVID-19 relief funding and efforts to reject dollars for critical state-government programs.

Grizzly 1057 — the subadult offspring of famous grizzly mother 399 that wildlife officials killed last month — had eschewed its natural habitat and boldly sought human food as taught, a top wildlife official said. Grizzly 1057 left Jackson Hole earlier this year after being weaned by its...

Who needs a primary election? The Wyoming Republican Party’s insiders look like they’ve already picked the winners and losers. Opinion — Voters always have the final say, though, and the GOP’s leadership may not like who they select in two weeks to be the party’s nominees for the general election in November.