Wyoming
Guest Column: Out-of-State Dark Money and Misconstrued Attacks –…
As your state representative for House District 38, I feel compelled to address recent attacks on my stance regarding women’s sports.
These attacks, fueled by out-of-state dark money, have grossly misconstrued my position on an issue of profound importance.
As your neighbor, you know I’ve been a part of this community my entire life. I’ve grown up here, was married here, I ranch here, and go to church here. I care deeply about our shared values and the well-being of every resident.
Our state has a proud history of championing women’s rights. We were the first state to grant women the right to vote, earning us the title of the Equality State. This legacy is not just a point of pride; it’s a commitment that we must uphold with every decision we make.
The identity of a woman is fundamental and irreplaceable. It encompasses a unique journey, filled with challenges and triumphs that shape who she is. Our state has always recognized and celebrated this truth, and we must continue to honor it in all aspects of our society.
On a personal note, I watched two of my sisters thrive as athletes in high school and college.
Their dedication and hard work led to remarkable achievements, and I would never want to see their success undermined or taken away.
They competed with integrity, knowing that they were part of a fair and just system that recognized their abilities and efforts.
Additionally, the safety and privacy of women in locker rooms and restrooms are paramount concerns that cannot be overlooked.
Every woman and girl deserves to feel secure in spaces designated for them, free from any undue risks or discomfort. I firmly believe that ensuring these safe spaces is a fundamental part of respecting and valuing the identity of women.
I vow to protect the opportunities and rights of our Wyoming girls. Ensuring a level playing field in sports is not just about fairness; it’s about preserving the integrity of women’s sports and respecting the unique identity and contributions of women.
As your representative, I will stand firm against any attempts to blur the lines and diminish the accomplishments of female athletes.
Let’s remain committed to our values and the legacy of equality that defines Wyoming. Together, we can ensure that every girl and woman in our state has the chance to succeed and be celebrated for who she truly is.
We can’t let out-of-state attack ads from those desperately seeking power cause divisiveness within the conservative movement. I am a proud, committed, Wyoming conservative. I will always fight back against the radical left and stand firm in defending our Wyoming way of life.
If you need to reach me on this issue or any other, please call (307-265-8935), email (tom.walters@reagan.com) or visit https://waltershd38.com/ directly. Thank you for your continued trust and support
Tom Walters
State Representative, House District 38
CASPER, Wyo. — High school athletics in Wyoming could see some drastic changes in the coming years following legislative changes to the state’s education budget, the Wyoming High School Activities Association recently announced in a statement.
According to the WHSAA, Wyoming school districts are facing a projected $3.9 million shortfall in activities funding, forcing officials to consider significant cuts to high school sports and extracurricular programs.
The WHSAA shared details regarding a new “silo” funding model implemented by the Legislature, stating that the recalibrated block grant model reduced funding for student activities and extra-duty responsibilities from $46.3 million to $42.4 million, an approximately 8.4% decrease statewide.
WHSAA Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the restructuring also restricts district access to an additional $76.2 million in previously flexible funding.
“A significant portion of the [April 28 WHSAA Board of Directors] meeting was dedicated to discussing the projected funding shortfall,” Wilson wrote.
The WHSAA is weighing several strategies to address rising costs with fewer resources. Proposed changes include eliminating regional tournaments and reducing the number of teams qualifying for state events from eight to four; limiting wrestling to two classes and restricting track and field state participants to the top 16 marks; making cuts to soccer, indoor track and field, Nordic and Alpine skiing, swimming and diving, spring golf and tennis; and reducing in-person speech and debate events by half and centrally locating All-State Music events to minimize travel. The board also recommended increasing gate admission or implementing student participation fees to offset costs.
While the WHSAA release states that no plans have been finalized and the various changes are currently just possibilities, Natrona County School District 1 Board of Trustees member Mary Schmidt criticized the WHSAA’s handling of the news at Monday’s board meeting.
“I take some issues with this, [including] the sheer fact that we as Board of Trustees members have not talked about that at all,” Schmidt said. “It is not our intent and it has not been brought to us to cut our athletics or activities budget for the upcoming school year. … I take issue with them picking sports and getting the community upset and ginning them up to be upset that this is all going to be cut when that hasn’t been discussed.”
Later in the meeting, Superintendent Angela Hensley clarified that Natrona County School District 1’s athletics and activities budget saw a reduction of roughly $550,000 in the coming year’s budget, but said the local school district does not plan to cut any sports.
“Thank you, Trustee Schmidt, for saying this, because I think people are wondering — we are not planning to cut athletics and activities for next year,” Hensley said. “We do have to take a look at our entire budget as we have talked about, as we learn more about these new rules that come in.”
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Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
Cheyenne City Council has introduced a temporary moratorium, or pause, on new data center construction.
“The end goal is to actually have regulations in place, to have really heavy public involvement with this with data centers,” said Councilman Mark Moody.
The proposed ordinance is not a permanent ban on data centers and would not affect data centers currently under construction.
Councilman Moody says this is a bipartisan issue.
“I just want to make this clear, I’m not against data centers. We do need them from a national security perspective,” he said.
He said there needs to be more public input and regulations regarding data centers in Cheyenne.
The ordinance would require city staff to study data center impacts such as electricity usage, electricity tariffs, closed-loop cooling systems, groundwater impacts, agricultural impacts, and land value.
Cheyenne LEADS, the economic development corporation for Cheyenne and Laramie County, reported in November 2025 that there are 12 operational data centers in Wyoming, five under construction and plans for 43 data centers announced across the state.
“There needs to be more public input with this, and also to see how many we can sustain here in this community, cause there are talks of 43, and then another day 70. How many can we sustain here?” said Councilman Moody.
The proposed moratorium will now go to the Public Services Committee on Monday, May 18 at noon in the Municipal Building.
Sheridan will play in the North Regional Tournament at Gillette, while the South Regional Tournament will be played at Rock Springs.
North Regional Tournament at Gillette:
Checking record vs. highest team in the quadrant not involved in the tie, Thunder Basin gets the #1 Northeast seed over Campbell County, because the Lady Bolts went 3-1 vs. Sheridan, whereas the Lady Camels went 2-2.
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 NE) Thunder Basin vs. (#4 NW) Jackson – 11am
(#2 NW) Natrona County vs. (#3 NE) Sheridan – 11am
(#2 NE) Campbell County vs. (#3 NW) Kelly Walsh – 1pm
(#1 NW) Cody vs. (#4 NE) Worland – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Thunder Basin/Jackson winner vs. Natrona County/Sheridan winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh winner vs. Cody/Worland winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Thunder Basin/Jackson loser vs. Natrona County/Sheridan loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Campbell County/Kelly Walsh loser vs. Cody/Worland loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
South Regional Tournament at Rock Springs:
Friday, May 15th:
(#1 SW) Laramie vs. (#4 SE) Torrington – 11am
(#2 SE) Cheyenne East vs. (#3 SW) Green River – 11am
(#2 SW) Rock Springs vs. (#3 SE) Wheatland – 1pm
(#1 SE) Cheyenne Central vs. (#4 SW) Cheyenne South – 1pm
Semi-Finals:
Laramie/Torrington winner vs. Cheyenne East/Green River winner – 3pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Rock Springs/Wheatland winner vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South winner – 5pm Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
Consolation Round:
Laramie/Torrington loser vs. Cheyenne East/Green River loser – 3pm LOSER OUT!
Rock Springs/Wheatland loser vs. Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne South loser – 5pm LOSER OUT!
Saturday, May 16th:
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
TBA vs. TBA – 10am LOSER OUT! Winner qualifies for the state tournament.
2 10am winners vs. each other – 1pm 3rd Place
TBA vs. TBA – 1pm 1st Place
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Gina Douglas
July 30, 2024 at 1:27 pm
In his recent guest column Representative Tom Walters asserts that “Every woman and girl deserves to feel secure in spaces designated for them, free from any undue risks or discomfort. I firmly believe that ensuring these safe spaces is a fundamental part of respecting and valuing the identity of women.” That is his way of saying that the What is a Woman Act (which defines sex and gender by plumbing) is necessary to make females feel safe.
Actually, that’s not how our legal-system works. If any person commits a crime, that person faces criminal charges. Everybody else is innocent until proven guilty. Nobody is protected from things that might happen. Nobody is protected from fear. But about transwomen, there is nothing to fear, but fear itself.
In Colorado, access to gender-segregated facilities has been determined by “innate sense of gender-identity” since 2007, and there has NEVER been a reported case of a woman being assaulted by a transwoman in one of those facilities. So women are equally safe, with or without the protection, that this act would theoretically provide.
This act is just a shiny-object to distract us from the fact that women are not safe from gun-violence or being raped on the street, and Republicans are not willing to do anything to fix that. But Republicans are certainly able to pass laws to protect women from what poses no actual danger, and then host a barn-dance to celebrate their great accomplishment.
Two years ago, sensible Republicans voted down the Freedom Caucus’ transgender-hysteria bills, because they know such bills are unjust, and bad for tourism. But last year, after attacks from dark-money, out of state, fake public-interest groups – they passed Chloe’s Law, banning gender-affirming care for youth. Now, the dark-money attacks, instead of stopping, have quadrupled – since they proved to work so splendidly.
These attacks will never stop, and it won’t be long before the Clown-Caucus runs the state as if we were Idaho, where if a doctor has to choose between saving a baby or the mother, the doctor has to save the baby and let the mother die. Today the clown-caucus is protecting women from transpeople, tomorrow they will be protecting women from the harmful effects of birth-control medications and devices.
At every rally, Trump talks about the three women who were murdered by illegal-migrants this year. But he never talks about the nine transgender-women who were murdered by regular-ole Americans in the same time-period.
Wyoming is the Equality State because women are treated as equals. Because of this, Wyoming women are strong and independent. They are not helpless southern-belles or debutantes. But this bill, and the views of the Freedom Caucus, as expressed by Walters, insults that strength and independence. It is paternalistic. It asserts that women need protection from phantom-fears, or LordyLordy, they might just faint dead-away from fears that a transwoman’s Elastic Man penis is going to squeeze through the cracks in the stall and attack them.