Wyoming

Cheyenne School District May Pass Wyoming’s Strictest Library Sex Book Policy

Published

2 years ago

May 6, 2024

Cheyenne School District May Pass Wyoming’s Strictest Library Sex Book Policy

CHEYENNE — Wyoming’s largest school district is considering a library book procurement policy for controversial sexually themed materials that, if passed, would likely be the strictest in the state.

Laramie County School District No. 1 in Cheyenne is discussing a policy that would prevent new books containing “sexually explicit content” of any kind from entering elementary schools and discourage them from being included in junior and high school libraries.

People opposed and supportive of the proposed policy agree it would be the most stringent policy in a state where many school districts are tightening their regulations.

What’s defined as sexually explicit relies on a wide-sweeping definition covering all sexual acts.

In short, if a book contains a sex scene, the district’s librarians would be at least discouraged from buying it.

Since the school district established a new policy for identifying books with sexually explicit content in its circulation last year, there have been 21 titles added to it, almost at the high school level. Any member of the public can nominate books for this disclaimer.

“It’s important, because current policies are not being properly followed and have allowed sexually explicit books into our school libraries, a place with which they do not belong,” said Patricia McCoy, chair of the Cheyenne chapter of Moms For Liberty.

Marcie Kindred, one of the lead organizers of Wyoming Family Alliance for Freedom, is opposed to the proposed policy, which she said amounts to a book ban based on too wide a definition of “sexually explicit.”

“Sexually explicit does not mean without value or merit,” she said. “Sexuality is a part of our life. Teenagers are involved in that with their developmental understanding.”

She said the proposed policy also confirms the suspicions she’s had all along about people wanting to revise the district’s library book policies.

“It confirms they’re trying to keep out books they don’t like personally,” Kindred said.

LCSD1 Board of Trustees Chairman Tim Bolin declined to comment on the proposal as it’s still in its 45-day public comment period.

How It Works

Selection of library materials at the elementary level will be supervised by a district librarian or content area coordinator and cannot contain sexually explicit content.

Selections made at the junior and high school level shall be made by district librarians, who must “endeavor” to select materials, whether free or purchased, that do not contain sexually explicit content.

Materials that meet state and or federal legal definitions for pornography or obscenity will not be included in district library collections.

Kindred said this removes the element of parental choice.

A public records request performed by Cheyenne attorney George Powers shows that 29 of the first 33 nominations were made by a single person, according to an op-ed he wrote for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

Kindred also pointed to the fact that during an April school board meeting on this topic, an excerpt was read from a sexually explicit book that is not in circulation in any school library in Wyoming, as proof those fighting for the book policy changes are using “misinformation and sensationalism to scare the public into believing their lies.”

When her daughter was a freshman and sophomore at Cheyenne South High School, McCoy said she checked out books with sexually explicit material and knows other parents who have dealt with similar issues.

When McCoy attempted to read a passage from one aloud at a LCSD1 board meeting, Bolin would not let her.

Check-Out Changes

The new policy on procurement would not apply to books already in the library system.

Last year, the LCSD1 board of trustees approved a new policy that removed the district’s “opt-out” policy and replaced it with an “opt-in” policy for checking out sexually explicit books from its school libraries. This changed the responsibility to the parents to actively decide if they want their children to access sexually explicit books rather than only deciding if they don’t want to access them.

Under that change, parents and guardians have an ability to opt-out their children from being allowed to either check out any books flagged for containing sexually explicit content, allow their children to only check out specific titles containing this content, full access without restrictions, or no access to any books.

Context

In 2023, Park County School District 1 in Powell passed a new book selection and adoption policy for its school district. According to the Powell Tribune, this includes considerations such as supporting standards, user appeal, maturity, favorable reviews from “authoritative sources,” diversity of viewpoints, and representation from religious, ethnic and cultural authors.

In addition to the criteria, the librarians there are supposed to take input from stakeholders in accordance with the district’s mission and values.

The school district also created more options for the removal and restriction of existing books by developing a scoring rubric for a book’s content and the creation of a committee to review removal requests.

Sheridan County School District 1 in Big Horn is also considering new policies for removing library books from its shelves.

In Gillette, the head librarian of the Campbell County Public Library System was fired in 2023 after refusing to move contested books from the juveniles’ sections of the libraries to the adult sections.

McCoy said she is very confident the LCSD1 board will approve the new policy.

“I have faith in our community and many people I have spoken with are in favor of the new procurement policy,” she said. “It is up to us as educators, parents, and community members to protect our children’s innocence and allow them to be children.”

The policy’s review period will be open until 4 p.m. May 23. The board of trustees will decide whether to pass the procurement policy at its June 3 meeting.

Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Wyoming

Meyer’s Late Score Lifts Wyoming past Air Force – SweetwaterNOW

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Meyer’s Late Score Lifts Wyoming past Air Force – SweetwaterNOW

Naz Meyer. Mandatory Credit: Troy Babbitt-UW Media-Athletics

LARAMIE — Nasir Meyer converted a three-point play with 35 seconds remaining to give Wyoming Cowboys men’s basketball the lead for good, and Wyoming held Air Force Falcons men’s basketball scoreless over the final two minutes to secure a 66-62 victory Saturday night.

The win marked the 13th home victory of the season for Wyoming, which improved to 16-13 overall and 7-11 in conference play.

“Air Force deserves all the credit and let’s talk about a team that has every reason not to fight, but thats why they are Air Force and the cadets and I have a lot of respect for them,” Wyoming coach Sundance Wicks said. “They were not going to quit, and I didn’t drive that message home enough and hats off to Air Force because they deserved to win. We snuck away with a win. Adam Harakow showed when we need him and he was massive for us. Simm-Marten was made big plays and Naz was clutch for us late.”

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Wyoming shot 35% from the field and went 7 of 28 from 3-point range, making just two from beyond the arc in the second half. Air Force shot 49% overall and 44% from 3, hitting eight shots from long distance. The Cowboys made 13 of 16 free throws (81%) and scored 22 points off 15 Air Force turnovers while holding a 39-36 edge in rebounding.

Damarion Dennis led Wyoming with 16 points and three assists, going 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Meyer finished with 14 points and tied a career best with eight rebounds. Adam Harakow added 14 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting, his first double-figure scoring game since the first meeting with Air Force. Simm-Marten Saadi had nine points in 13 minutes, and Kiani Saxon grabbed seven rebounds.

Air Force opened with back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 6-0 lead. Meyer scored Wyoming’s first basket, and Leland Walker added a 3-pointer to make it 8-5 with 16 minutes left in the first half.

Wyoming responded with a 9-0 run over nearly four minutes, with Saadi and Harakow each connecting from beyond the arc to give the Cowboys an 11-8 lead with under 14 minutes remaining. Air Force regained a 12-11 advantage as Wyoming went scoreless for more than two minutes.

Harakow’s second 3-pointer pushed the lead to 22-16 with nine minutes left in the half, and Wyoming used a 6-0 run while holding the Falcons without a field goal for more than four minutes to build a 28-18 lead with six minutes remaining. The Cowboys closed the half on a defensive stand, keeping Air Force scoreless for the final two minutes to take a 35-25 lead into the break. Wyoming scored 15 first-half points off turnovers.

The teams traded 3-pointers early in the second half, and Air Force cut the deficit to 40-31 with under 17 minutes left before trimming it to seven 90 seconds later. Walker answered with a 3-pointer to make it 43-33 with 15 minutes to go.

Air Force used a 9-0 run during a stretch in which Wyoming went more than 3 1/2 minutes without a point to pull within one with nine minutes left. The Falcons later tied the game at 51-51 with 5:30 remaining after forcing six straight missed shots.

A pair of free throws by Meyer and a basket from Saadi gave Wyoming a 57-53 lead with under four minutes to play. Air Force answered with three consecutive 3-pointers from Kam Sanders to take a 62-59 lead with two minutes left.

Meyer scored with 90 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to one. On the next trip, he converted an and-one to give Wyoming a 64-62 lead with 35 seconds left. The Cowboys added late free throws to close out the 66-62 win.

Sanders led Air Force with 16 points and nine rebounds, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Eli Robinson added 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Wyoming closes its home schedule Tuesday against Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball at 8 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Cowgirls.

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Wyoming

Wyoming High School Basketball 2A State Tournament 2026

Published

16 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming High School Basketball 2A State Tournament 2026

The 2-time defending champ Tongue River girls, along with both teams from Big Horn will represent Sheridan County in the small school version of March Madness.

Click here to see results from the regional tournaments.

2A Boys:

First Round:

Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)

(#2E) Big Horn vs. (#3W) Shoshoni – Noon

(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Sundance – 1:30pm

(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Wright – 6:30pm

(#1E) Pine Bluffs vs. (#4W) Rocky Mountain – 8pm

Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)

Consolation Round:

Big Horn/Shoshoni loser vs. Thermopolis/Sundance loser – Noon LOSER OUT!

Wyoming Indian/Wright loser vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain loser – 1:30pm LOSER OUT!

Semi-Finals:

Big Horn/Shoshoni winner vs. Thermopolis/Sundance winner – 6:30pm

Wyoming Indian/Wright winner vs. Pine Bluffs/Rocky Mountain winner – 8pm

Saturday, March 7th:

Friday Noon winner vs. Friday 1:30pm – Noon at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship

Friday 6:30pm loser vs. Friday 8pm loser – 3pm at Natrona County High School 3rd Place

Friday 6:30pm winner vs. Friday 8pm winner – 7pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship

2A Girls:

First Round:

Thursday, March 5th: (All games played at Casper College)

(#2W) Wyoming Indian vs. (#3E) Big Horn – 9am

(#1E) Sundance vs. (#4W) Shoshoni – 10:30am

(#2E) Tongue River vs. (#3W) Greybull – 3:30pm

(#1W) Thermopolis vs. (#4E) Pine Bluffs – 5pm

Friday, March 6th: (All games played at Ford Wyoming Center)

Consolation Round:

Wyoming Indian/Big Horn loser vs. Sundance/Shoshoni loser – 9am LOSER OUT!

Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 10:30am LOSER OUT!

Semi-Finals:

Wyoming Indian/Big Horn winner vs. Sundance/Shoshoni winner – 3:30pm

Tongue River/Greybull loser vs. Thermopolis/Pine Bluffs loser – 5pm

Saturday, March 7th:

Friday 9am winner vs. Friday 10:30am winner – 9am at Ford Wyoming Center Consolation Championship

Friday 3:30pm loser vs. Friday 5pm loser – 10:30am at Ford Wyoming Center 3rd Place

Friday 3:30pm winner vs. Friday 5pm winner – 5:30pm at Ford Wyoming Center Championship

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Wyoming

Wyoming Crow Hunters Can Blast All They Want, But Nobody Eats The Birds

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Crow Hunters Can Blast All They Want, But Nobody Eats The Birds

Mention of bird hunting might conjure up images of hunters and their dogs huddling in freezing duck blinds or pounding the brush in hopes of kicking up pheasants. But crow hunting is a thing in Wyoming too.

“It’s about the sport of it,” Dan Kinneman of Riverton told Cowboy State Daily.

He started crow hunting when he was 14 and is about to turn 85. He’s never tried cooking and eating crows or known anybody who has.

Instead, shooting crows is essentially nuisance bird control, as they’re known to wreak havoc on agricultural crops.

“All the ranchers will let you hunt crows. I’ve never been refused access to hunt crows. They all hate them,” he said.

In Wyoming, crow hunting season runs from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28. No license is required, and there’s no bag limit. Hunters can shoot all the crows they want to.

It’s a ball for hunting dogs too, Kinneman said.

“My yellow Labrador retriever, he doesn’t care whether it’s a crow or duck. In fact, he likes crow hunting more than duck hunting, because there’s more action,” he said.

Crow hunting requires skill, patience and a good set of decoys, an experienced Wyoming hunter said. The upside is, there’s no bag limit, hunters can blast all the crows they want. No one eats them, though.

Don’t Expect It To Be Easy

Kinneman said that in the days of his youth, crow hunting was as simple as driving around and “shooting them out of trees with rifles.”

However, as the number of people and buildings potentially in the paths of bullets grew, such practices fell out of favor. Crow hunting became more regulated.

And it evolved to resemble hunting other birds, such as waterfowl.

Meaning, hunters started setting out decoys, hiding in blinds and using calls to tempt crows to within shotgun range.

Kinneman is no stranger to hunting of all types. He’s taken numerous species of big game in Wyoming and elsewhere. And in July 2005, he shot a prairie dog near Rock Springs from well over a mile away.

He hit the prairie dog from 2,157 yards away. A mile is 1,760 yards.

But bird hunting has always been his favorite.

“It’s my life,” he said.

He has a huge collection of duck, goose and dove decoys. And two tubs full of crow decoys.

The uninitiated might think that going out and blasting crows would be a slam dunk.

That isn’t so, Kinneman said. He likes crow hunting for the challenge of it.

“Hunting crows is hard. They are a lot smarter than ducks and geese,” he said.

Pick Up After Yourself

Even though he doesn’t eat crows, Kinneman said he never just left them littering the ground where he shot them.

“I never let them lay out there. I always picked them up and disposed of the carcasses,” he said.

That’s good ethics and it shows respect for the ranchers, he said.

“Leaving them (dead crows) out there would be no different than just leaving all of your empty shotgun shells out there,” he said.

“You have to pick up after yourself, or the ranchers won’t let you back onto their land,” he added.

Slow Year

At his age, Kinneman isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be able to get out crow hunting. And this year has been a total bust.

“I love doing it. But this year there are no crows,” he said.

The Riverton area is along major crow migration routes.

Picking a good hunting spot is a matter of “finding a flyway” that the crows are on and then setting up a spread of decoys and a blind along the route.

But with an unusually warm winter, the crow flyways have been practically empty, he said.