Latest Wyoming News

TRUMP IMPEACHMENT-CHENEY

Cheney says she won’t quit the House after Wyoming censure

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Liz Cheney says she doesn’t intend to resign after being censured by Wyoming Republicans over her vote to impeach Donald Trump. She’s undeterred by the censure or criticism from some House colleagues over the impeachment vote. And she’s suggesting that if she were in the Senate, she’d vote to convict Trump over his role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6. Cheney describes her decision to impeach as a constitutional duty and says Trump should be held accountable. She tells “Fox News Sunday” that a lawmaker’s constitutional duty “doesn’t bend to partisanship, it doesn’t bend to political pressure.”

CHENEY-CENSURE VOTE

Wyoming GOP censures Rep. Liz Cheney over impeachment vote

RAWLINS, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Republican Party has voted overwhelmingly to censure U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Only eight of the 74-member state GOP’s central committee stood to oppose censure in a vote that didn’t proceed to a formal count. The censure document accused Cheney of voting to impeach even though the U.S. House didn’t offer Trump “formal hearing or due process.” Censure proponents said at the state central committee meeting that by voting to impeach, Cheney opposed the wishes of the 70% of Wyoming voters who chose Trump in the election.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-REMOTE WORKERS

Pandemic brings influx of remote workers to Wyoming

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic is bringing to Wyoming an influx of people who work remotely. They include tech worker Ty Lunsford, who grew up in Casper and left in 1998. In November, Lunsford moved back with his wife and three sons. He calls the move a “no-brainer,” saying his job recently went all-remote and housing is much cheaper than it was in southern California. Casper real estate agent Laurel Lunstrum says she saw a 15-20% increase in people buying homes from out of state in 2020. The demographic shift is prompting discussion about taxes in Wyoming and how new residents pay for government services.

WELFARE CHECK-STUN GUN-LAWSUIT

Wyoming resident sues county, deputies over welfare check

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming resident has filed a lawsuit against two deputies after he and his mother were stunned and arrested during a welfare check last year. The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported Thursday that Cheyenne resident Devin Bryant filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court claiming Laramie County sheriff’s deputies Jason Gillott and Ryan Lee violated his Fourth Amendment rights and acted negligently. The lawsuit alleges the deputies removed Bryant from his home in Jan. 28, 2020, before 3 a.m. and stunned him and his mother “without legal justification.” Sheriff’s office spokesperson Deputy Jeff Barnes said the department was aware of the lawsuit but could not comment on ongoing litigation.

AP-US-COAL-CLIMATE-CHANGE

Judge orders US officials to weigh coal mine’s climate costs

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A judge says U.S. officials downplayed climate change impacts and other environmental costs from the expansion of a massive coal mine near the Montana-Wyoming border. The judge ruled Wednesday that under former President Donald Trump, officials played up the economic benefits of the Spring Creek Mine expansion but failed to consider the society-wide impacts of climate change. Spring Creek is Montana’s largest coal mine. A representative of Navajo Transitional Energy Company, which owns the mine, said federal officials already met their obligations to review the project. The U.S. Office of Surface Mining was not commenting on the case.

GRAY WOLVES-COLORADO

Colorado to track, study gray wolves travel patterns

DENVER (AP) — Wildlife officials have captured and collared a lone male wolf near North Park in north-central Colorado to study the travel patterns of wolves coming into the state. The Denver Post reported that contractors for the Colorado Parks and Wildlife chased the wolf into Wyoming, where they were able to subdue it and affix a tracking collar. The department confirmed the capture on Tuesday and said state crews will use signals from the collar to learn about where wolves entering Colorado travel. Officials say the 110-pound gray wolf was seen by state staffers from the air roaming with another lone male wolf that came to Colorado from Wyoming in 2019.