CODY — A new $20 million, 2,000-acre statewide shooting complex broke ground Saturday south of Cody, with plans to officially open in 2027.

Community members and state representatives have worked on the project since 2022. Once complete, it will be Wyoming’s first-ever statewide shooting complex.

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Wyoming officials break ground on $20 million statewide shooting complex near Cody

The facility will be a first of it’s kind, with 8 different types of firing ranges open to both the public and for regional competitions. Hundreds gathered for the groundbreaking on Saturday, including longtime Cody-area resident Samuel Kuntz.

“I figured this is a historic event and I wanted to be part of it,” Kuntz said Saturday afternoon. “This is fantastic and it will fit right in with the spirit of this community.”

Kuntz said the facility belongs in his home state.

“Shooting is a very big passion of mine,” Kuntz said. “In my opinion, it is paramount to not only being a Wyoming citizen but a U.S. citizen. So, having this wonderful shooting range this close to home is going to be fantastic I am extremely pumped up about it.”

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and Wyoming Senator John Barrasso attended the groundbreaking and fired the first two ceremonious shots. The facility is being built on state land and required various legislation to approve $10 million in funding from the government.

That lengthy process began with State Senator Larry Hicks, who brought the idea forward four years ago.

“I just authored a bill called the Second Amendment Defense Act,” Hicks said.

That bill, followed by a phone call with the Governor, started the process in 2022. Hicks said it required many different community members and other entities but that he’s proud to see it become a reality because of what it represents.

“Part of it’s our culture, you know?” Hicks said. “Wyoming has the highest gun ownership in the nation. So, it’s consistent with I think the values and the philosophy that I think the vast majority of people in the state of Wyoming share.”

Board member James Klessens was among the many that helped bring the idea to life, focusing on the facility’s potential economic impact.

“The main premise of the project has been economic development,” Klessens said. “It was created to attract more people to the community as tourists, visitors to the community, but we also know that when we host these kind of events that the shooting industry will play closer attention to those communities.”

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Klessens and Hicks both agreed that the facility could bring other businesses to the area, and with travelers coming from all across the competitions, it could provide a major economic boost.

“Ultimately, I just think this is going to be a win-win for Wyoming,” Hicks said.

Kuntz, and many others, couldn’t agree more.

“Whether it’s for self-defense, hunting or just for fun, it is part of the Wyoming spirit,” Kuntz said.

A Wyoming judge temporarily blocked the state’s newest abortion limit, halting enforcement of a law that prohibits most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally around six weeks of pregnancy.

Natrona County District Judge Dan Forgey on Friday granted temporary injunctive relief against the Human Heartbeat Act while the case plays out in court.

The plaintiffs “made a sufficient showing of irreparable injury,” Forgey wrote, adding that “the state defendants did not persuasively argue otherwise.”

He also said the plaintiffs had made “a sufficient showing of probable success” under Article 1, Section 38 of the Wyoming Constitution, which protects individuals’ rights to make their own healthcare decisions.

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The ruling is the latest turn in Wyoming’s long-running abortion fight and comes just months after the Wyoming Supreme Court struck down two earlier abortion restrictions, finding they violated the state constitution’s healthcare autonomy protections. That January decision reshaped the legal landscape in Wyoming and prompted lawmakers to try again with a narrower ban tied to the detection of fetal cardiac activity.

The law, passed during the Legislature’s 2026 session and signed by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon on March 9, took effect in March. It bars abortion beyond roughly the sixth week of pregnancy, once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The measure includes exceptions for medical emergencies that threaten a woman’s life or health, but not for pregnancies caused by rape or incest.

“Where the act does not align to my pro-life stance is in the concern for specific vulnerable populations,” Gordon wrote in a letter to lawmakers Monday.

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It echoes his reservations and expected legal fight when signing the law in March.

“I resoundingly share the determination to defend the lives of unborn children and support the intentions behind the Human Heartbeat Act,” he wrote in a statement. “Regrettably, this Act represents another well-intentioned but likely fragile legal effort with significant risk of ending in the courts rather than in lasting, durable policy. Rather than finding a remedy that saves the unborn, I fear we have only added another chapter to the sad saga of repeatedly trying to force a specific solution.”

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Gordon’s signing made Wyoming the fifth state to bar most abortions at that stage of pregnancy, along with Florida, Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina. Thirteen other states bar abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.