Wyoming

Early voters are lining up around Wyoming, outpacing primary turnout – WyoFile

Published

1 year ago

October 25, 2024

Early voters are lining up around Wyoming, outpacing primary turnout – WyoFile

Early voting for the general election is on pace to easily eclipse the scant primary-election turnout in Wyoming’s most populous counties.

Laramie County residents are even breaking early voting records.

“It’s phenomenal,” County Clerk Debra Lee said.

The primaries in August yielded the lowest statewide turnout since 2016. But now, Lee says, Laramie County residents are showing up in droves. More than 7,000 people had voted early in person there as of Monday, not including absentee ballots. The entire vote count for the primaries there was 18,554.

Early voting has been popular in Campbell County, too.

“It’s definitely busier than the primary was,” Election Coordinator Michelle Leiker said.

And while the rather long ballot has resulted in the occasional wait for voters, Leiker said the re-registration process has been the primary cause of slow downs.

“A lot of them missed the November 2022 election, and they didn’t respond back to the postcard that they received in the mail,” she said. “And so I had to purge about 8,000 people that were registered from the 2020 election.”

Campbell County started the year with about 12,000 registered voters, but that had already climbed to about 15,000 a week or two ago, Leiker said. That’s compared to 20,000 voters in 2020.

Sheridan County purged about 4,000 voters after the 2022 election, according to Election Supervisor James Temple. As of Wednesday, about 1,000 came back to re-register.

“So it has just been non-stop madness,” Temple said. “But so far, we’re holding our own. If we can just get through one more week, I think it’ll be a really good election.”

Lines and absentee ballots

In Albany County, early voting has attracted decently long lines, according to Election Coordinator Stacey Harvey, so get ready to wait if you show up during a high-traffic time of day.

Residents cast their vote at the Natrona County Elections Office on Oct. 14, 2024. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)

“On a busy time, [it’s a] 20- to 30-minute wait, probably,” she said. “It’s been wild. It’s good, we like it.”

Beyond voting in person, Fremont County Clerk Julie Freese said absentee ballot data suggests they’re on track to eclipse absentee vote counts from 2016, but not the higher-turnout and absentee-heavy 2020 race. Primary numbers have already been eclipsed, she said.

She added that voters are still requesting absentee ballots, but they should be mindful that the ballots must be back to county offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

“We do still keep getting absentee requests, which is getting close to the time frame where it’s a little bit concerning,” Freese said on Monday.

The U.S. Postal Service recommends locals send in ballots at least seven days before the deadline, giving absentee ballot holders less than a week to mail it back in, or two weeks to bring it to a drop-box.

There’s been a bit of a slower start in Natrona County, Clerk Tracy Good said.

“I’m not gonna lie, last week, I was kind of like, ‘Where is everybody at?’” she said.

But it’s picking up this week, and she expects they’ll soon be processing around 800 people a day as the election nears.

All election staff WyoFile talked with felt confident about the number of election judges and volunteers they’ve been able to attract for the general election, even if there are still a few vacancies and some more training to do. In Sheridan County, Temple said he even plans to keep some of the judges on the clock to help enter voter registrations into the state system the day after the election — something he says they have 30 days to do.

“We’re hoping we can have them done in as little as five to six days this time,” he said.

To see what’s on your own ballot before heading to the polls, go to your local elections web page, or vote.org. To figure out where to cast your ballot, the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office has also launched a new polling place locator on its website.

WyoFile’s election guide covers races for U.S. Congress and the Wyoming Legislature, as well as judicial retention and the proposed constitutional amendment.

BEFORE YOU GO… If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to WyoFile. Our work is funded by readers like you who are committed to unbiased journalism that works for you, not for the algorithms.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

4 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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Wyoming

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

Published

16 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.

One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.

“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”

The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”

The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.

It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.

The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.

Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”

Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”

The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.

SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.

Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”

Both bills go into effect July 1.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule – SweetwaterNOW

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule

Samuel “Tote” Harris. Photo from gowyo.com

LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.

Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.

The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.

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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.

The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.

Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.

With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.

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