Last summer, Senate Republicans attempted to sell off millions of acres of federal public land as part of the budget reconciliation process. Now, a group of Western Democratic senators wants to send a clear message that this cannot happen again. 

“Public lands are owned by the American people and are managed to provide perpetual benefits that far outlast a 10-year budget period, a Senate career or even our lifetimes,” said Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet on a Thursday, April 30, press call. “In Colorado, they are part of our DNA, the foundation of our economy and treasured parts of our culture, geography and history … The idea of selling them is insane and something that I will never stop fighting.” 

Bennet introduced a new bill called the Public Lands Integrity Act this week alongside Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., to bar public land sales from being included in any future reconciliation processes. 

The Colorado senator said this was an appropriate venue for preventing public land sales, “because  it is this process that (Sen.) Mike Lee used to try to basically terrorize the Senate last year over this issue.” 

Lee, a Republican Senator from Utah, spearheaded the effort to mandate the sale of between 2 million and 3 million acres of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands in 11 Western states, purportedly for housing and “community needs” as part of the “One Big, Beautiful Act” last June. In Colorado, the sales could have impacted the 16 million acres managed by the Forest Service and the 8.3 million acres managed by the Bureau. 

Ultimately, it was opposition from congressional Republicans, Democrats and members of the public to the sale proposal — and the Senate parliamentarian ruling it improper for the budget reconciliation bill — that led the provision to be stripped from the final package. 

The new legislation introduced by Bennet would make public land sales a seventh exception to the Byrd Rule, which establishes guardrails to what senators can include in a reconciliation process. It is the Senate parliamentarian — a nonpartisan, appointed advisor who is often described as a referee — who makes determinations based on the Byrd Rule. 

Last year, Lee’s proposed public land sale was found in violation of the Byrd Rule’s requirement that all items in a reconciliation package must have a direct and substantive impact on federal spending or revenues.  

As Lee and other congressional Republicans continue to push for privatizing public lands, Bennet has defended the proposed legislation as necessary.

“Sen. Lee’s proposal was a radical idea, but he’s been clear ever since that he’s not giving up the fight to sell off our treasured public lands — and we aren’t done either,” Bennet said. “Public lands must be off the table to pay for short-term, partisan spending.”

Colorado House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, spoke in favor of the federal legislation on Thursday’s press call.

“More than $17 billion of our economy is driven by our outdoor recreation usage and the connection that so many people feel with nature,” McCluskie said. “More than 130,000 jobs rely on access to our public lands. And just as importantly, our public lands define who we are as Coloradans. It is really a testament to the spirit of the West when you can get out into the great outdoors, connect with nature and understand how really serene and beautiful these special places are.” 

For the second year in a row, Colorado’s legislature introduced and passed a joint resolution opposing “all efforts” that “directly or indirectly diminish the public’s voice, access and recourse in the management of national public lands,” including widespread land sales and “erosion of bedrock laws” such as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. 

While it did have some dissenting votes — from 15 Republican representatives and eight Republican senators — legislators from both parties supported the resolution. 

Bill Fales, a Carbondale rancher who owns a cattle operation that straddles Garfield and Pitkin counties, spoke of the importance of public land access for producers, especially in Western Slope counties like Pitkin, where nearly 85% of the land is federally owned. 

“Every family ranch in the valley that I know of — well, I know almost everyone from Rifle clear to Aspen — every one of them relies on public land grazing. It’s the only land there is,” Fales said, adding that cattlemen were called on to support Sen. Lee’s federal land proposal because they could buy the land themselves. 

“That is just totally ludicrous, the idea that a small family ranch will outbid the insane number of billionaires and oil companies who also treasure this land,” Fales said. “It would end multiple use on these public lands and/or federal land grazing, and the important recreation economy.”

Bennet was optimistic about the act’s chances due in part to the widespread support of public lands. Several Western Slope county commissioners expressed support for the act in a Thursday news release.

 “Our public lands, which represent 85% of our county, nourish critical wildlife habitat for fish, bird, elk and bear populations, serve as the backbone of a thriving recreational economy, and inspire the love and awe we have for this place we call home,” said Jeffrey Woodruff, Pitkin County Commissioner. “We are stewards of this land. Our residents, international visitors, and the over 40 million Americans who depend upon the Colorado River, all trust that public land will be a vital resource, not just today, but for all of the generations to come.”

Public land sales are widely opposed in the West regardless of political affiliation, according to the 2026 Conservation in the West Poll — an annual survey of eight western states, including Colorado, on environmental issues. Around 80% of the Colorodans surveyed expressed opposition to public land sales for housing development and to private companies for oil, gas and mining development. Similar rates of opposition were reported in all the states surveyed. 

“There was a time when we were passing, every generation was passing, strong bipartisan public lands bills,” Bennet said. “That has been stopped in recent years by the Republicans, particularly by Sen. Lee and Sen. (Ted) Cruz, (R-Texas), and I hope someday we actually get back into the business of passing bipartisan bills, so we can protect more land, so we can pass bills like the GORP Act.” 

Bennet introduced the GORP Act, or Gunnison Outdoor Resource Protection, last year to add protections to more than 700,000 acres of public land in and around Gunnison County. 

“In the meantime, what we’ve got to do is make sure that they know that we’re gonna fight every single effort to sell off the public lands of the United States, and that’s what the Public Lands Integrity Act is meant to do,” he added. 

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaiʻi State Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday approved House Bill No. 1800 CD1, the state’s supplemental budget bill for the fiscal biennium 2025-2027.

The measure was finalized in a joint conference committee after both chambers initially passed different versions. The bill will now be up for final reading in both chambers before heading to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

The appropriations are as follows:

General Fund

Fiscal Year 2026: $10.42 billion

Fiscal Year 2027: $10.63 billion

All Means of Financing

Fiscal Year 2026: $19.77 billion

Fiscal Year 2027: $20.31 billion

“This budget uses cost-saving measures to help keep our promise to address the high cost of living and deliver meaningful tax reform to Hawaii’s citizens, especially our working- and middle-class families. At the same time, we are strengthening the State’s resilience through responsible long-term investments that promote regional economic development and environmental stewardship,” said Senator Donovan M. Dela Cruz, Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (Senate District 17 – Portion of Mililani, Mililani Mauka, portion of Waipi‘o Acres, Launani Valley, Wahiawā, Whitmore Village).

“The CIP budget reflects our commitment to protecting health and safety, preserving and modernizing state facilities, and investing in the critical infrastructure and public assets our communities rely on. These investments also support affordable housing, strengthen education, and advance economic development that will help sustain thriving communities across Hawai‘i,” stated Senator Sharon Y. Moriwaki, Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means (Senate District 12 – Waikīkī, Ala Moana, Kaka‘ako, McCully).

“This budget reflects the House’s continued collaboration with the Administration and the Senate to take a balanced, responsible approach to preserving core government services and strengthening our safety net for Hawaiʻi’s residents—especially those who rely on these services as a lifeline,” said Representative Chris Todd, Chair of the House Committee on Finance (House District 3 – portions of Hilo, Keaukaha, Orchidlands Estate, Ainaloa, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Acres, and parts of Kurtistown and Kea‘au). “It prioritizes critical needs across housing, agriculture, natural resources, transportation, public safety, and economic development, setting a strong foundation as we respond to federal funding cuts that have impacted Hawaiʻi and required the state to urgently step up to support our residents.”

From left, Jonny Willmore and McKenzie Willmore pose for a photo outside the Wandermind shop in downtown Idaho Falls. | Cody Roberts, EastIdahoNews.com

IDAHO FALLS — Wandermind, a retail shop and community space that caters to neurodivergent individuals, is holding its grand opening downtown this Saturday.

Wandermind co-owners McKenzie Willmore and Jonny Willmore told EastIdahoNews.com that the shop is full of tools, puzzles, hobbies, skill toys, games and other resources that those diagnosed with things like ADHD or autism can find helpful or rewarding.

The idea of the store came from McKenzie finding out she had ADHD several years ago, after she had her daughter. She said changes in her life made it so all the systems she had in place to help her stay regulated and perform went out the window. As she did research on ADHD, she said it was a moment of self-discovery for her.

“I was thinking — wouldn’t it be cool if there was a place that had all these tools and resources for people who find themselves in these kinds of situations and have a place where you can totally be yourself, find things that are exciting to you or helpful to you, and also be able to meet people in your community that are in that same group?” McKenzie said.

As she hyperfocused on opening a store, McKenzie said she discovered a path to make her idea come to life. They’ve stayed on the path, and now the shop is set to open downtown across from the Civitan Plaza.

McKenzie said her favorite items in the shop are notebooks and hobby supplies. Jonny said his favorite parts are the skill toys, particularly the fingerboards and fingerboard skate park, as he owns the fingerboard company Tsunami Decks.

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“People with neurodivergence, they love stimulation and hits of dopamine,” Jonny said. “That’s where fingerboarding, kendamas, yo-yos come in because people who have this neurodivergency, they will have a better gratification from the dopamine hits with these kinds of skill toys because it is a little bit more delayed.”

“With hobbies like kendamas or fingerboarding, it’s perfect for somebody to stimulate their senses and satisfy those needs,” Jonny said.

McKenzie said the shop also has a community space where people can get together and work with LEGOs, puzzles, Magna-Tiles and other items to relax and have fun.

“We have a beautiful mural coming along in there too that is going to change that space and make it welcoming and comfortable,” she said.

The shop also has a sensory regulation room — a dark, controlled environment used to help individuals manage overstimulation, reduce anxiety and improve focus. It has a hanging pod, a blackout tent, galaxy lights and a bubble lamp.

“It’s dark, it’s quiet,” McKenzie said. “It’s so cozy. We’ve almost fallen asleep in there.”

Wandermind will be holding its grand opening celebration on Saturday, May 2, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A sensory-friendly celebration will also be held on Sunday, May 3, at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Its address is 549 Park Ave, Idaho Falls.

“Creating safe spaces is something that we’re really passionate about, and I think it’s exciting to be able to do it on this scale and share it with the larger community,” McKenzie said.