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Riverton Lawmaker Wants To Crack Down On Internet Porn In Wyoming

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2 years ago

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Riverton Lawmaker Wants To Crack Down On Internet Porn In Wyoming


State Rep. Sarah Penn, R-Riverton, wants to protect women and children by expanding Wyoming’s obscenity laws on creating and distributing pornography.

Penn is proposing a bill that, if passed, would expand the state’s obscenity laws by addressing specific types of pornography and penalties for scenarios where children have been exposed to it on the internet.

The production and dissemination of pornography as a whole is already illegal in Wyoming, aside from publications of “literary, artistic, political or scientific value,” or applications performed in the course of law enforcement and judicial activities.

Penn’s bill, titled “Pornography and Obscentity-Crimes and Penalties,” would specifically add “visual depictions of rape or sexual abuse” to what is considered “obscene material” under the law.

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Currently, obscene sexual conduct in Wyoming is limited to depictions people will likely find “patently offensive.”

Penn said the addictive nature of porn transfers the images of these acts portrayed on a screen into people’s real lives.

“This industry lines its pockets when it leaves this content up and they hook minors,” Penn said. “This bill attempts to help them feel the effects of their decisions by way of their pocketbooks.”

And sometimes these pornographic acts are not staged. Productions of rape and child pornography continue to be a growing problem, with many websites allowing users to submit their own content, then making little effort to remove it.

Penn said she is bringing her bill as a way to decrease the rate of this type of content being available on internet porn sites.

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“We need to protect our children and those victims of abuse who may continue to be victimized when these images are uploaded,” she said.

Perception

To most people, a depiction of rape or sexual abuse would likely already qualify as obscene material, but that’s not enough, Penn said.

Sitting through a few Wyoming library board meetings recently, Penn said she heard some people defend books containing graphic written and visual descriptions of these types of acts as not being offensive.

“These things are obscene, whether written or visual, and I believe Wyoming should make that statement,” Penn said in an email. “Let it be black and white, no questions.”

Penn’s bill would only pertain to content published to a website and would have no impact on school library books, a topic that was addressed in similar legislation in 2023.

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Increased Penalties

The bill also increases penalties for people convicted of publishing obscene material on the internet.

Current law states that if pornography produced or disseminated in Wyoming is viewed by an adult, the person found guilty of producing or disseminating it can receive up to a year in prison and $1,000 in fines. If that pornography is accessed by a child in Wyoming, the penalty is a fine of up to $6,000 and a year in prison.

Penn’s bill greatly increases those punishments, with a fine of up to $1,000 for each day the material is accessible on the internet, and $6,000 for each day it was actually accessed by a child.

The legislation also directs the Wyoming attorney general to provide a way for people to report internet porn, which the state attorney general can then pass off to the U.S. Department of Justice as federal violations of child exploitation and obscenity.

Under the new bill, a person who publishes material to minors on an internet website where more than a third of the content is considered harmful to minors shall be found guilty unless they use reasonable age verification methods to verify the age of the person trying to access the material.

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What is considered reasonable age verification are methods that use government-issued identification or any other procedure that reasonably relies on public or private data to verify the age of a user.

Any site found guilty of retaining personal identification material shall be found guilty of a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine.

Leo Wolfson can be reached at Leo@CowboyStateDaily.com.



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Wyoming

FROM WYOFILE: Company eyes Wyoming for massive crude oil pipeline

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March 2, 2026

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FROM WYOFILE: Company eyes Wyoming for massive crude oil pipeline


A pipeline company has proposed a massive new “expansion” to ship Canadian crude to a storage facility and interconnect to other pipelines near Guernsey, potentially giving Powder River Basin producers a leg up in the North American market.Casper-based Bridger Pipeline formed a subsidiary, Bridger Pipeline Expansion to get Canadian crude to Guernsey. The pipeline would stretch 645 miles from Phillips County, Montana, to Bridger’s oil storage terminal and pipeline interconnect near Guernsey.
The expansion would open the spigot for 550,000 barrels per day of crude, the company says. Although the crude would mostly pass through eastern Wyoming, the venture opens opportunities for Wyoming oil producers in the region for more transportation access to U.S. refineries and shipping ports, according to Bridger and local industry officials.“It would be the biggest project in our history, if it comes to fruition,” Bridger Pipeline spokesperson Bill Salvin told WyoFile on Friday. “We are, however, in the really early stages of the project. But we’re very excited about it.”Industry trade groups speculate the Bridger Pipeline Expansion is part of a competitive scramble to fill a gap left by TC Energy’s Keystone XL project. That company, in 2021, abandoned the controversial project in the face of major opposition and protests. It would have transported Canadian tar-sands oil into the U.S. market via a route extending through Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Among many challenges for Keystone XL was acquiring new rights-of-way easements. Though the Bridger Pipeline Expansion proposal requires some new rights-of-way, that’s not the case for the 210-mile Wyoming segment, according to Salvin.“All of that distance is within, or parallel to, existing pipeline corridors,” Salvin said.

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The Wyoming segment would pass through Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Goshen and Platte counties.Bridger Pipeline, a subsidiary of Casper-based True Companies, submitted a notice of intent to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality in January and noted it will formally initiate environmental applications to the agency. Salvin told WyoFile he’s uncertain about the full spectrum of regulatory requirements in Wyoming.However, the company regards the Cowboy State as a great fit for the project, he said. “This [project proposal] just highlights how important the region is and how Wyoming is a very good place for energy projects like this.”Reached for comment, the Petroleum Association of Wyoming said the proposed pipeline only stands to benefit Wyoming producers and the state.“Investments like these, along with continued growth in areas like the Powder River Basin, show Wyoming will continue to play an important role in the nation’s energy markets,” PAW Vice President and Director of Communications Ryan McConnaughey told WyoFile. “Connecting in Guernsey allows product to be transported to refining hubs like Cushing, Oklahoma.” WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

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

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17 hours ago

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March 2, 2026

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 High School Basketball 2A State Tournament 2026

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1 day ago

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March 1, 2026

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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:

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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

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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:

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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

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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

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(#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:

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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

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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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