Wyoming
Degenfelder Says Trans Rules, School Choice Among Top Priorities For Legislature
Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder believes it’s important to make her voice heard on legislation even though she can’t vote on it or draft it herself.
It’s an approach that Wyoming’s statewide elected officials have somewhat shied away from in the past, but one that others like Secretary of State Chuck Gray have fully embraced since taking office in 2023.
Degenfelder is now jumping into the mix.
“For too long, the executive branch has in many ways sat back and been reactive to the work of the Legislature,” Degenfelder said. “These issues are too important, especially when we think about education, we have to be proactive. We have to work in tandem with legislators to make sure that we’re getting these things across the finish line.”
Degenfelder shared her legislative priorities with Cowboy State Daily on Friday in an exclusive interview, which includes giving parental control over decisions made in the classroom, “protecting kids” and “ensuring Wyoming remains that beacon of freedom and excellence in education.”
Degenfelder said she’s had many conversations with legislators about her priorities for the upcoming session and believes they align with what they heard from constituents along the campaign trail.
“We can only do that if we partner with the legislative branch,” Degenfelder said.
Transgender Issues
Degenfelder wants a 2023 ban on transgender girls competing in female youth sports in Wyoming expanded to include the collegiate level. A women’s rugby coach at the University of Wyoming, Degenfelder said her desire to eliminate this participation is strictly about protecting athlete’s safety.
“When I think about my players, the No. 1 thing for me is their safety and we’ve got to protect those girls,” Degenfelder said.
When her team played an opponent that had a transgender member on their roster, Degenfelder said her players expressed safety concerns.
On Thursday, a federal court judge ruled that President Joe Biden’s changes to Title IX rules allowing transgender participation in sports and bathrooms facilities is illegal. Degenfelder said it’s important that Wyoming still address the issue to have its stance enshrined in law in case a future presidential administration acts in a similar manner.
“With all of this, it’s shown us how important it is to be proactive in our approach to project women and girls in these areas,” Degenfelder said. “We don’t know what will come next and so the more clear we can be in statute, the better.”
Degenfelder also wants to limit school bathroom access in Wyoming to biological sex.
Last legislative session, state Rep. Jeanette Ward, R-Casper, brought legislation that would have defined people’s sex as male or female by their biology at birth and forbid special accommodations for people who “identify” otherwise.
The bill didn’t get much traction for a few reasons, but since that time the Wyoming House has shifted significantly to the right, making it much more likely it could pass into law in the upcoming session. Ward was voted out of office, but Rep.-elect Jayme Lien, R-Casper, has brought it back for this session.
School Choice
Degenfelder also wants Wyoming to expand to universal school choice and lift the cap on the amount of charter schools that can operate in the state.
During the 2024 legislative session, the Legislature established income-based education savings accounts (ESAs), which provide public dollars to parents for their children to receive public education. Currently, the ESA money is restricted to certain income brackets, which Gov. Mark Gordon then narrowed further with line-item vetoes, drawing frustration from some ardent school choice supporters.
Since the application period opened for this program last week, Degenfelder said the state has already received more than 100 applications.
“We want to make sure that’s available to a greater population of folks,” she said.
Degenfelder wants these income restrictions removed so that all families in Wyoming, no matter how much money they make, receive money from the state if they want their children to seek private or charter education.
“What I want to do is create as much opportunity for a family to decide that, if it fits the needs of their child,” she said.
Guns In Schools
Degenfelder also supports a push to ban gun-free zones in Wyoming and expand concealed carrying of firearms in schools.
Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, is bringing legislation this session that would ban gun-free zones in Wyoming and allow people to carry firearms in governmental buildings and schools as long as they have a concealed carry permit.
Although the State Building Commission allowed concealed carry use in certain parts of the Capitol on Wednesday and has more rules on the way for other state buildings, Degenfelder said Haroldson’s bill is the most efficient and direct way to approach this topic.
Academic Excellence
Degenfelder also wants to enact comprehensive early literacy reforms to ensure students read at grade level and ban the use of cell phones during school instructional time, an issue Sen. Wendy Schuler, R-Evanston, is addressing with her own legislation.
She also wants to expand career and technical education opportunities and launch a blockchain partnership for competency-based learning and technology instruction in Wyoming.
The topic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mandates and environmental, social governance (ESG) scores have come center stage in Wyoming in recent years. Degenfelder said she wants to eliminate the presence of both in state education and law.
The Legislature has made the presence of DEI at UW a particular focus over the past year, leading to the school scrapping its DEI office, which Degenfelder supported.
“This is a land grant university and so that should be our focus area,” she said. “Moving away from these political ideologies that are spreading into higher education, we really need to refocus on what we do best as a land grant university.”
Although Degenfelder and Gordon have had a positive relationship in the past, some cracks formed in their relationship last November over the issue of the Kelly Parcel in Teton County. Gordon got his way on the issue as the state ended up selling the Kelly Parcel to the federal government, which resulted in a net-gain of land for the government, the main source of Degenfelder’s frustration.
“The way this went down, we lost all leverage to use that swap as leverage for a trade that best fits our needs,” Degenfelder said.
The money from this sale will be used to pursue the purchase of federal land in the Powder River Basin for mineral opportunities.
Rep. Dalton Banks, R-Cowley, is bringing a bill for the upcoming session that would prohibit any exchange of state lands that creates a net-gain for the U.S. government.
Gordon will still hold the veto power for the upcoming legislative session, but Degenfelder’s views more closely align with the majority of members in the House.
“I want to work with everybody,” Degenfelder said. “I fundamentally want to do what’s best for the state of Wyoming. Anyone who wants to join in that effort, protect our conservative values here in the state, I’m ready and willing to work with them on that.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
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.
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
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.
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.
Migrations Are Off Everywhere
Avid birdwatcher Lucas Fralick of Laramie said that warm, dry conditions much of this winter have knocked bird migrations out of whack.
“I do know that because of the weather, migrations are off all over the place,” he said.
One of his favorite species is the dark-eyed junco, a “small, sparrow-like bird,” he said.
They usually winter in the Laramie area and leave right around March. This year, they were gone by November, he said.
“They’re a cold-weather bird,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
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