Wyoming
Elder Quentin L. Cook dedicates 201st Latter-day Saint temple in Casper, Wyoming
CASPER, Wyoming — Between 1847 and 1868, more than 60,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passed through what is now Casper on their overland trek to Salt Lake City, crossing the North Platte River at a spot not far from the new Casper Wyoming Temple.
Most early members came across the plains without severe incident, but members of the Willie and Martin Handcart Companies of 1856 suffered starvation, exposure, death and other ordeals. A significant event was the 1856 Sweetwater River rescue in Central Wyoming, in which young men carried desperate pioneers across the freezing water.
One of those young men was David Patten Kimball, great-grandfather of Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“My grandfather, Crozier Kimball, explained to me that one of the reasons these young men were heroic was because they were following the prophet,” said Elder Cook. “He taught me that following the counsel of the prophet in our own day would be equally heroic.”
Now, Latter-day Saints in Casper will participate in that kind of heroism by rescuing their ancestors through temple work.
On Sunday, Nov. 24, Elder Cook dedicated the Casper Wyoming Temple in a single 10 a.m. session broadcast to all units within the Casper temple district. It is the Church’s 201st dedicated and operating temple.
Serving 15,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 50 congregations within its district, the Casper Wyoming Temple is the state’s second dedicated and operating house of the Lord, following the Star Valley Wyoming Temple, which was dedicated in 2016. The Cody Wyoming Temple, which was announced in 2021, held its groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 27, 2024.
Elder Cook said there are great blessings for those who engage in the work of redeeming the dead, particularly in regards to a person’s own ancestors.
“I believe that the youth of the Church will have greater protection from the adversary if they immerse themselves in searching for their ancestors, preparing their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in the temple and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the ordinances of baptism and gift of the Holy Ghost, or act as a witness,” Elder Cook said.
Saints in the temple district have currently been traveling to the Fort Collins Colorado Temple or the Bismarck North Dakota Temple.
Casper Wyoming East Stake President Steven D. Higginson said, “Not only is it going to be wonderful to be close to a temple to do ancestral work, but so many more of our members will have the opportunity to serve inside the temple as temple workers,” he said. “The blessings will be just as important for those who did not have that opportunity before.”
During the two week open house from Aug. 29-Sept. 14, 27,000 people came to tour the temple.
Beth Worthen, a long-time Casper resident and chair of the temple open house committee, shared the community’s warm reception. She’s spoken with locals, civic leaders, business leaders and others who feel that the temple brings peace to the community.
“It’s our responsibility to keep talking about the temple and the feelings that it gives us and the transformational power that it holds, so that people in our community are continually reminded of that and see how it can fit into their lives,” she said.
Read more about today’s dedication in the Church News.
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.
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.
The 2026 Wyoming prep girls’ basketball season is nearly done. Two state champions were crowned in Classes 1A and 2A last Saturday. Southeast won the 1A title for the third consecutive season, and Sundance won the 2A title for the first time in eight years. Class 3A and 4A held their regional tournaments, which qualified teams for the state tournament later this week in Casper.
WYOPREPS WEEK 12 GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS 2026
These are the girls’ basketball team records for all games played through March 7, 2026. For all but 16 teams, this is the final record of the season. Those squads will play in the 3A-4A state tournament starting on Thursday in Casper.
1A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Burlington 24-5, 8-0
Riverside 14-10, 6-2
Dubois 11-10, 4-4
St. Stephens 3-16, 1-7
Meeteetse 1-20, 1-7
1A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cokeville 23-4, 10-0
Little Snake River 23-4, 8-2
Farson-Eden 16-12, 5-5
Saratoga 13-11, 5-5
Ft. Washakie 8-13, 2-8
Encampment 3-19, 0-10
1A Northeast: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Upton 16-7, 10-0
Kaycee 13-12, 7-3
Hulett 12-13, 7-3
Arvada-Clearmont 9-12, 4-6
Casper Christian 4-13, 2-8
Midwest 1-16, 0-10
1A Southeast: (Overall Record, followed by Reg. Season Points)
Southeast 24-5, 40 points
Lingle-Ft. Laramie 17-11, 31 points
Lusk 15-13, 26 points
H.E.M. 13-11, 24 points
Rock River 6-14, 12 points
Guernsey-Sunrise 2-18, 4 points
2A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Thermopolis 16-13, 5-1
Greybull 16-15, 4-2
Rocky Mountain 9-17, 2-4
Shoshoni 11-18, 1-5
2A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wyoming Indian 23-7, 6-0
Big Piney 8-16, 4-2
Kemmerer 2-21, 1-5
Wind River 2-23, 1-5
2A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Sundance 23-4, 5-0
Big Horn 21-6, 4-1
Tongue River 18-11, 3-2
Pine Bluffs 17-12, 2-3
Moorcroft 7-18, 1-4
Wright 3-23, 0-5
Read More Girls Basketball News from WyoPreps
WyoPreps 1A-2A Girls State Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps 3A-4A Girls Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026
WyoPreps 1A-2A Girls Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Poll 2-25-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Poll 2-18-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026
WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26
WyoPreps Girls Basketball Week 7 Scores 2026
Nominate A Basketball Player for the WyoPreps Athlete of the Week Honor
3A West: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cody 24-0, 10-0
Lander 21-4, 9-1
Pinedale 20-5, 7-3
Powell 16-9, 6-4
Lovell 16-10, 4-6
Worland 9-16, 2-8
Lyman 10-11, 2-8
Mountain View 4-19, 0-10
3A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wheatland 22-4, 10-0
Buffalo 13-11, 8-2
Douglas 14-11, 6-4
Burns 16-13, 5-5
Torrington 10-11, 5-5
Glenrock 12-13, 3-7
Newcastle 1-22, 1-9
Rawlins 2-21, 0-10
4A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Green River 23-2, 6-0
Natrona County 9-16, 4-2
Kelly Walsh 8-15, 2-4
Rock Springs 5-20, 0-6
4A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Star Valley 16-7, 5-1
Evanston 16-10, 5-1
Riverton 7-19, 1-5
Jackson 3-19, 1-5
4A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cheyenne East 21-3, 11-1
Cheyenne Central 16-9, 10-2
Sheridan 14-10, 7-5
Thunder Basin 14-10, 6-6
Laramie 12-11, 6-6
Campbell County 1-19, 1-10
Cheyenne South 1-21, 0-11
*The second Campbell County-Cheyenne South girls’ game was canceled.
Wyoming 3A Boys Swimming & Diving State Championships 2026
Photos from the 3A Boys State Swim Meet
Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Marcello Monterastelli Photography & Jared Newland, WHSAA
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