Latest Wyoming news

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming state Sen. Anthony Bouchard has disclosed that he impregnated a 14-year-old girl when he was 18. The Republican from Cheyenne describes the relationship as “like the Romeo and Juliet” story and says it is now coming to light because of “dirty politics.” Bouchard confirmed the girl’s age to the Casper Star-Tribune. He says they got married when she was 15 and he was 19, but divorced after three years and she killed herself when she was 20. Bouchard is among at least eight Republicans running against U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney after her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Billings, Montana, woman pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide in the shooting death of a Wyoming man who refused to give her and her male companion cigarettes and a ride. The Billings Gazette reported that Kristy Lynn Chavez could face between 10 and 100 years in prison if convicted in the death of 33-year-old Dennis Gresham of Sheridan, Wyoming. Chavez told investigators she asked Gresham for cigarettes and a ride, and he said no. Prosecutors said the men then got into an altercation and at some point Chavez got in the driver’s seat and began driving away before hearing five gunshots. 

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon has announced a 10-person advisory committee, including two current lawmakers, tasked with re-imagining the state’s K-12 education system. The Casper Star-Tribune reported that the Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education committee will gather input from residents on what they want the education system to include. Gordon, a Republican, said none of the members represent specific education-focused interest groups. Gordon said he first mentioned the initiative last month after the state Legislature adjourned its regular session without resolving a $300 million deficit in education funding. The committee is scheduled to meet in June. It is unclear how the group’s work will be used.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming’s health director and chief information officer have resigned after a data leak involving the personal information of tens of thousands of people who were tested for the coronavirus. Gov. Mark Gordon announced the personnel changes Tuesday. It’s not clear if the resignations are related to the data leak. A spokesman for the governor declined to comment, calling it a “personnel matter.” A state employee accidentally released COVID-19 test results for over one-quarter of Wyoming’s population in late 2020 and early 2021. Test results, names, addresses, birth dates and other information were released.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators have approved a pipeline project that will send more Bakken crude to a Wyoming oil hub. Bridger Pipeline plans to convert 27 miles of an oil gathering pipeline into a larger transmission line in McKenzie County. It also will add another 2.4 miles to the pipeline located east of Watford City. Other pipelines will transport the oil to Guernsey, Wyoming, and then to market in other states. The state Public Service Commission voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of the $21 million project. Commission Chair Julie Fedorchak says she sees it as a sign of the Bakken’s recovery following the oil downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.