Free Republic

The Wyoming Supreme Court has struck down two pro-life laws banning most abortions, allowing the killing of unborn babies to continue. In a 4-1 ruling on Tuesday, the court declared the bans unconstitutional, citing a 2012 state constitutional amendment that protects the right to make health care decisions, despite the fact that killing babies in abortions is a denial of health care for unborn babies. The laws, passed in 2023, included a comprehensive prohibition on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest or to save the mother’s life, and the nation’s first explicit ban on abortion pills. “A woman has a...

A Wyoming lawmaker arrested for drunken driving told cops he boozed it up behind the wheel to cope with “anxiety,” authorities said. Bill Allemand, a Republican in the Wyoming House of Representatives, was pulled over in Buffalo when officers spotted him driving erratically around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to a police report obtained by WyoFile. An open can of beer was found in the front-seat cupholder next to Allemand, while four unopened cans were found in the passenger seat — and there was even a loaded handgun in the seat alongside him. “[Allemand] admitted that he drinks while driving for...

Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Republican, is running for Senate in Wyoming next year, seeking to replace retiring GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who announced last week that she would not ​run for re-election. Trump quickly gave Hageman his "my Complete and Total Endorsement, writing in a Truth Social post hours after she launched her campaign that he knows Hageman well and she "is a TOTAL WINNER! Harriet has ALWAYS delivered for Wyoming, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate." Hageman, 63, was elected to be the state’s lone representative in Congress in 2022 after ousting then-Rep. Liz...

The girl Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers say they rescued from two kidnappers told her sister before the incident that she was being followed and that someone AirDropped to her a photo of a gun pointed at the house where she was staying, court documents say. The Wyoming Highway Patrol on Nov. 29 arrested two men who were traveling with a 16-year-old girl, on claims the two men were kidnapping her from her home in Wisconsin. They struggled with cellphone pings in the sparse state and resorted ultimately to scouring the state’s roadways until they found the girl, the agency said...

President Trump on Monday pardoned a trail runner who took a brief detour on a prohibited trail while attempting to break a record running up and down the tallest peak in the Teton Range of Wyoming. Michelino Sunseri, 33, ran up and down the 13,775-foot-tall Grand Teton peak on Sept. 2, 2024, in a record-shattering 2 hours, 50 minutes, 50 seconds. On his way down, Sunseri used a shortcut to avoid casual hikers, but going off-trail in a national park is prohibited due to concerns of erosion. Sunseri was convicted of a misdemeanor in September for taking the frowned-upon cut-through....

In what later became a public example of the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office’s new immigration enforcement powers, the agency arrested a pair of undocumented truck drivers Tuesday, one operating with a license that was suspended because of a DUI after the driver reportedly bypassed a Wyoming Port of Entry. That driver originated from Venezuela and was going 17 mph over the speed limit while evading inspection, Laramie Sheriff Brian Kozak said in a Tuesday social media video discussing the arrest. That driver had no commercial driver’s license and was driving on a Colorado operating license, which was suspended due to...

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Investigators in Wyoming sought to identify two men they believe left a homemade bomb in front of the state Capitol, causing the building’s evacuation after a passerby found the object and brought it inside. The bomb, at a time of heightened political angst in the U.S., put the sleepy capital of the least-populated state on edge for awhile, with drones overhead and officers with bomb-sniffing dogs combing the Capitol grounds. But a day later, things appeared back to normal. No security was visible at the 135-year-old, sandstone building where visitors have always been able to more...

Wyoming and 10 other states’ claims that giant investment companies conspired to drive coal production down and drive prices up — increasing people’s energy costs — are at least plausible enough to keep a lawsuit alive, a judge has ruled. Wyoming filed suit in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Texas in late November against Blackrock Inc., State Street Corp. and Vanguard Group Inc. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton led the litigation. Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming also signed the complaint. The states allege the three massive investment companies acquired substantial stockholdings in...

One of the most famous trial attorneys of the 20th century and a proud son of Wyoming, Gerry Spence, died overnight Wednesday, at the age of 96. Spence was a legend among the trial bar — especially for his civil practice and criminal defense work. =============================================================== One of the most famous trial attorneys of the 20th century and a proud son of Wyoming, Gerry Spence died overnight Wednesday in his Montecito, California, home at the age of 96, his family says. Spence was a legend among the trial bar, especially for his civil practice and criminal defense work. He was...

In a groundbreaking development, the United States has initiated the opening of a new rare earths mine for the first time in over seven decades. This historic project, situated in Wyoming, has the potential to transform the U.S. economy and bolster its national defense. The discovery was documented in a recent economic viability study published by an independent source, which estimates that the Brook Mine holds up to 1.7 million tons of rare earths and critical minerals, with a vast untapped area still to be explored. The mine is poised to significantly reduce America’s reliance on foreign sources of these...

Forced electric load reduction and possible rolling blackouts in Maryland. Electric system in crisis. Got Coal?

The Department of the Interior (DOI) is moving to expand a mine in Wyoming to unlock up to 14.5 million tons of coal. The DOI approved a mining plan Friday for the Antelope Mine in Converse County, Wyoming, that will expand coal mining across more than 850 federal acres and extend the mine’s life through 2037, according to the DOI. The Antelope Mine expansion is the latest move by the Trump administration to boost the American coal industry and clear the way for conventional and reliable energy sources, contrasting with the nation-wide Biden-era assault on the resource that also hit...

The operation was years in the making. The Florida-based company announced plans for its KelTec West factory in Rock Springs in 2022. Wyoming’s Second Amendment-friendly culture and politics played a big part in choosing Rock Springs when the company decided to expand its operating capacity, KelTec West plant operations manager Chris Williams told Cowboy State Daily. “At the time (2022), Florida was teetering purple,” he said about the political climate there. “Wyoming is a solid red state, and it looks like it’s going to stay solid for decades to come.” Other firearms companies that recently set up shop in Wyoming,...

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) on Sunday said he has confidence in Attorney General Pam Bondi despite reports that she is feuding with FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino over her handling of the case related to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. “I do,” Barrasso said, when asked in an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press” about whether he has confidence in Bondi. “We ran to make this country safer and more prosperous. Pam Bondi and her team are getting hardened criminals off the streets,” he continued. “America is safer with Pam Bondi as attorney general.”...

In a groundbreaking moment for the American mining industry, the Fluor Corporation has confirmed the feasibility of large rare earth element deposits at Ramaco Resources’ Brook Mine in Wyoming. This announcement marks a significant step towards redefining the United States’ position in the critical minerals market. The confirmation by Fluor not only solidifies the economic potential of the Brook Mine but also positions Ramaco Resources as a key player in reducing the country’s dependency on foreign sources of rare earth elements. Ramaco Resources, initially known for its operations as a metallurgical coal miner, was thrust into the spotlight with this...

Federal officials on Monday took a first step toward reopening vast areas of public lands in two Western states to new coal sales as part of President Donald Trump’s push to expand U.S. fossil fuel production. The Interior Department proposal comes after the Biden administration, citing climate change, tried to end sales of the fuel from the nation’s most productive coal fields — the Powder River Basin in northeastern Wyoming and southeastern Montana. The Trump administration is instead considering selling leases for coal mining on more than 2,600 square miles (6,800 kilometers) of federal lands in that region, according to...

The Wyoming Democratic Party’s State Central Committee is operating at a loss and could be left with about two weeks worth of funding by the end of the year, its treasurer said during a Sunday meeting in Rock Springs. In its federal and non-federal accounts, the state party had $36,580.20 as of May 1, Party Treasurer Dudley Case said at the meeting. But the party has been spending more money than it has been raising each month, which has led to a $21,795.32 loss this year. That's about a $5,000 loss per month, in the first four months of the...

Ranchers say their hands are tied as reintroduced wolves—listed as endangered—are feasting on cattle instead of hunting elk and deer.. Descendants of rewilded wolves are taking a heavy toll on cattle in Northern California and Oregon, killing calves and full-grown animals and putting stress on cow-calf operations and ranchers’ pocketbooks. Because wolves are listed as an endangered species under state and federal law, ranchers are hamstrung: They can’t shoot or harass these protected predators. The penalty for killing a wolf is steep; federal law carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine, unless a rancher...

A series of devastating wolf attacks occurred over Memorial Day weekend at the Lost Marbles Ranch, Crystal River Ranch and McCabe Ranch, leaving two calves dead and others injured. A broad daylight attack at the Lost Marbles Ranch, carried out by three wolves from the notorious Copper Creek pack, took place in the heart of the calving grounds, a large meadow where ranchers actively monitor mothers and newborns during the critical calving season. The wolves separated a cow and a calf from the main herd, severely injuring the calf. While many in the public romanticize the idea of seeing a...

According to an email sent May 13, 2025, by Department of Natural Resources Director Dan Gibbs, Nicole Rosmarino is the sole finalist for the director of the State Land Board, which is the state’s second largest landowner with 2.8 million surface acres and 4 million mineral estate acres. Gibbs said, per statute, the board provides public notice for 14 days prior to a formal appointment which will occur at the next regularly scheduled public board meeting, which is June 11 and 12 in Denver. An email sent to DNR confirmed the hire Friday. The mission of the State Land Board...