Free Republic

R.C. and Annia Carter survey their ranch near Ten Sleep, Wyo., on Oct. 14, 2025. The Carters have practiced regenerative or holistic agricultural practices to cultivate their pastureland. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times ================================================================ TEN SLEEP, Wyo.—The alfalfa weevil, scourge of Western ranchers, appears when the frost melts, skeletonizing leaves and profits. There are ways to limit its damage—early harvest, livestock grazing, and intercropping alfalfa with grass—but most growers opt for insecticides. R.C. Carter, a third-generation rancher in Northern Wyoming, recalled a realization he had while using a 1.5-gallon container of concentrated pesticide to spray a 60-acre alfalfa pasture. “I was...

For 15 years, Matthew Shepard’s unspeakably brutal murder on a lonely prairie in Wyoming has been a byword for the very worst of American anti-gay bigotry and a rallying cry for a more tolerant, more inclusive society. The 21-year-old University of Wyoming student was found trussed to a fence post, bleeding and half-frozen to death, in a rocky field on the outskirts of Laramie. He had been pistol-whipped so severely that his brain stem was crushed. His killers even removed his shoes, on the off-chance he broke free of his bonds and tried to run to safety. Shepard’s death inspired...

WORLAND — More than 4 tons' worth of giant pumpkins were weighed at the 2025 Wyoming State Championship Weigh-Off and Pumpkin Drop on Saturday. Then, a lot of that tonnage was hoisted 200 feet into the air and dropped to explode in spectacular fashion. The climax of the event was watching a 1,700-pound pumpkin smash the crap out of a porta-potty. The cold, windy weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of people whose “pumpkin fever” had them fiendishly devoted to their pumpkins, zucchinis, and watermelons for months. They came to see the weight of their work, then watch it...

Why pay $1.59 million for a used Gulfstream IV jet when you can potentially acquire a Fairchild C-119L Flying Boxcar military transport plane for $150? If that’s out of your price range, how about a Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter tanker aircraft for $25? Those are the starting bids for two of the 16 aircraft available at auction on the website Public Surplus. Big Horn County is selling the aircraft, mainly from the World War II and Cold War eras, after the Wyoming Supreme Court gave the go-ahead. “They’re aircraft in various stages of undress,” Paul Thur, Big Horn County Airport manager,...

- I visited a public high school in Upton, Wyoming, that's changing the conversation around college. - The school has a personalized learning structure, preparing students for one of three futures. - I was surprised at the level of individualization for every student's career and education path.

Zack Ford of the ThinkProgress blog really ought to invest in a dictionary. As the editor of the left-wing blog's LGBT section, he took the lead in blaming Christians, conservatives, and traditionalists for the deaths of 49 people in Orlando last week while simultaneously braying about conservatives "scapegoating" radical Islam. Note to Zack Ford: it's not scapegoating to blame radical Islam when a radical Islamist shoots up a nightclub. It is scapegoating to blame Christians when a radical Islamist shoots up a night club. Scapegoating, by definition, is blaming the innocent. His revolting article represents everything that's wrong with the...

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...

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 Maude family has maintained a grazing allotment with the U.S. Forest Service Buffalo Gap National Grasslands since the inception of the agency. Charles and Heather Maude have carried on the practices implemented by generations before them, including irrigating the river bottom to grow a feed crop. After the USFS alerted them that a small segment of land might be fenced incorrectly for ownership, they were indicted for theft of federal property. Those charges have been dropped, but a solution to the original issue has not yet been determined. ... Charles and Heather Maude no longer face the threat of...

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...

On May 15, the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees voted to cancel five degree tracks, including a Ph.D. in Botany, an M.A. in Molecular Biology, and a B.A. in Art History. Most notably, they also cut the bachelor’s degrees in African American and Diaspora Studies and in Gender and Women’s Studies. According to the university’s Standard Administrative Policy and Procedure, a program is considered low-producing if it averages fewer than five graduates per year at the undergraduate level or fewer than three per year at the master’s level over a five-year period. That was the case for the Gender...

The U.S. Secretary of Energy and other elected officials are preparing to travel to Wyoming for the opening of the first new coal mine in the state in more than five decades. The ribbon cutting for the Brook Mine Carbon Ore Rare Earth project will be on July 11. National and state leaders are expected to speak at the event in Ranchester. "It will be the first new rare earth mine in the United States in more than 70 years and the first new coal mine in Wyoming in over 50 years," Ramaco Resources, Inc. said in a press release....

Saying the trust of Republican voters in Wyoming election systems hinge on the outcome of the case, Republican Party leaders at the national level are asking a federal judge to let them help defend the state’s new election proof-of-citizenship law. The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a motion Thursday to intervene in the ongoing lawsuit the Equality State Policy Center is waging against Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Wyoming’s new law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. The nonprofit group sued May 9 on claims that the new law makes voting cumbersome, is unconstitutional and disadvantages minorities,...

Investigations are reportedly underway as 60,000 pounds of toxic ammonium nitrate have been reported missing while being transported from Wyoming to California.An empty railcar was found at a rail stop in the California Mojave Desert, two weeks after it had departed its initial location.Multiple entities have announced through their representatives that The Federal Railroad Administration, the California Public Utilities Commission, Union Pacific, and Dyno Nobel (the company responsible for the transport) are looking into the incident.On May 10th, the report was sent by Dyno Nobel to the government National Response Center, or NRC. Last Wednesday, the report was published in...

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...

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...

BOZEMAN, Montana — Nine felony cases connected to a game of “Crime Bingo” played by Bozeman Police Department officers will not be prosecuted, said Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell. “It’s a tough call, but dismissal of the cases is the best way to protect the defendant’s constitutional due process rights and to ensure procedural fairness in those cases,” said Cromwell in a statement. Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp revealed the “Crime Bingo” during an April 18 press conference, saying an independent review concluded “that zero of the cases had been affected by the game.” Cromwell announced last week that four...