Wyoming

Tom Lubnau: Out Of State Money Flooding Into… | Cowboy State Daily

Published

1 year ago

July 10, 2024

Tom Lubnau: Out Of State Money Flooding Into… | Cowboy State Daily

Election season is upon us. Like manure in a barn, mailers, social media ads and billboards are beginning to bury our view shed in piles and piles of stuff we need to shovel out of the way.

In Idaho, out of state influences spent $1.2 million dollars of dark money to influence Idaho elections.

Much of the dung dropping contains totally untrue statements about candidates. There is no real recourse for the outright lies, half-truths and derogatory statements in this new era of provocative negativity

Well-financed interest groups, from out of state, are trying to influence our elections.

Why is it so dang important to these out-of-state interests to influence our elections?

Perhaps, they want to influence Wyoming policy. But to what end?

Maybe to affect broader policy discussions?

Wyoming’s political decisions can have broader implications. For instance, senators from Wyoming can impact federal legislation. Influencing state elections could help shape the national political landscape.

Businesses operating in or dependent on Wyoming’s resources and industries may seek to ensure that local policies favor their economic interests, such as favorable tax rates, subsidies, or environmental regulations. Perhaps, that is where the benefit lies.

Another consideration might be Wyoming has a significant amount of federally managed public land. Policies and decisions regarding the use of these lands (for conservation, recreation, or resource extraction) can have wide-ranging effects beyond state borders.

But a deeper analysis of these proposed reasons doesn’t seem to reveal any true economic justification for meddling in Wyoming elections to the degree we are seeing out of state dollars flood the state.

The candidates who are largely supported by these interest groups are not typically pro-business, pro-development folks. One has to wonder what the real reasons people invest significant money to meddle in our elections from out of state.

What big money interests would benefit from Wyoming taking an ultra-conservative, low government, low tax government?

One possibility is billionaires who want to treat Wyoming as a tax haven might want to invest in keeping Wyoming’s taxes law, regulations minimized and keep government from intruding on the people.

They certainly like our low-tax environment. They like a weak government that does not stand up to their whims. They like an environment where they can come to the state and not be bothered by the government.

A few of those billionaire folks have shown up and wanted to change Wyoming to the way they see it should be. (See “Little Jackson Hole” for example.) But, no real evidence exists they are financing the electoral meddling, unless it is occurring on the sly.

Another possibility is someone who is already here, who is using shills to act in their stead to influence politics the way they want them to go.

Wyoming has a disproportionate representation in the United States Senate. If they can change the training ground for Wyoming senators, they can obtain influence over candidate beholden to them?

One might suspect blowhards with extra money trying to change politics, and Wyoming is an easy target due to low population.

This possibility seems implausible. Cynicism would dictate that no one spends the kind of money that is being dumped into Wyoming from outside the state without some ulterior motive.

It’s funny, a disproportionate number of candidates who are endorsed by these out of state groups have only lived in Wyoming a couple years. What does that tell us?

More questions than answers arise. Typically, this column tries to provide researched answers, but none are readily apparent that justify the volume of dollars dumping into our state.

And, given our current chief elected official, I suspect answers as to the motives behind out-of-state dollars flooding into Wyoming’s elections are not going to be answered soon by that office.

For someone who is ostensibly concerned about election integrity, he is noticeably silent on inquiring why out of state dollars are flooding into our elections.

I’m sure we’ll hear arguments that it is their constitutional right to participate financially and anonymously in our elections. And, these organizations have the right to participate in the elections.

But someone and some level should be asking why this money is flooding into Wyoming to sway our electorate.

Historically, these tactics work. And they are not going to stop until we make them stop.

We need to do a next-level inquiry on what people stand to gain by influencing our vote. The answer is not some political platitude.

And, until we know why out-of-state actors are spending their money to sway our vote, we should vote for every candidate that is NOT endorsed by these out-of-state actors. Send a message their excrement is not welcome in Wyoming.

Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2005 – 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House.

He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com

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Wyoming

University of Wyoming sues former energy research partner for $2.5M – WyoFile

Published

3 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

University of Wyoming sues former energy research partner for .5M – WyoFile

The University of Wyoming filed a lawsuit this week seeking $2.5 million from an energy company it partnered with to research enhanced oil recovery.

The university in 2024 signed a contract with Houston-based ACU Energy to advance research at the university’s Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media, according to the university’s complaint filed Monday in Wyoming’s U.S. District Court. ACU Energy agreed to pay the university $15 million over the six-year research period. The company, according to the complaint, was to pay the university $2.5 million annually with two payments each year.

While the university kept up its end of the bargain — by assembling a research team, training research members and incurring costs to modify laboratory space — ACU Energy “failed to pay the University even a cent owed under the Agreement, leaving $2,500,000 outstanding in unpaid invoices,” the complaint alleges.

ACU Energy did not respond to a WyoFile request for comment before publication.

Old Main, the University of Wyoming’s oldest building, is home to administrative offices. (Tennessee Watson/WyoFile)

The company notified the university in February that it was terminating the contract, and the university notified ACU Energy in May of its breach of contract, according to court filings. The university asked the court for a jury trial.

Enhanced oil recovery refers to methods used to squeeze more crude from reservoirs that have already been tapped for primary production, extending the life of an oilfield.

The university commonly accepts money from private businesses in return for lending resources and expertise to advance research. The Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media is part of the university’s Research Centers of Excellence in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

The Center of Innovation for Flow Through Porous Media, led by Mohammad Piri, a professor of petroleum engineering, bills itself as “the most advanced oil and gas research facility in the world.” The center conducts research at the university’s High Bay Research facility, which “is funded by $37.2 million in state dollars and $16.3 million in private contributions, with an additional $9.2 million in private gifts for research equipment,” according to the center’s website.

The center has received donations from oil industry heavyweights like ExxonMobil, Halliburton and Baker Hughes.

Piri was tapped to serve as “principal investigator” for the UW-ACU Energy partnership, according to the university’s complaint. As of press time, ACU Energy had not filed a response to the lawsuit.

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Wyoming

Search for fugitive wanted for child-sex crimes leaves Wyoming town on alert

Published

16 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Search for fugitive wanted for child-sex crimes leaves Wyoming town on alert

With a population under 600, Byron, Wyo., is generally a quiet town. In recent weeks, streets have been even quieter as both local and federal law enforcement search for 39-year-old fugitive Anthony Pease, who is wanted for six counts of sexual assault involving a minor.

Authorities have been searching the area for weeks, and a reward for information leading to an arrest now sits at $2,000.

See how the search impacts the town:

Search for fugitive wanted for child sex crimes leaves Wyoming town on alert

Saturday morning, law enforcement shared there was a confirmed sighting of Pease near town and reminded residents to remain vigilant by locking their doors and reporting suspicious activity. According to Wyoming’s Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, before the weekend sighting, Pease hasn’t been seen since Nov. 1.

The Big Horn County Schools Superintendent, Matt Davidson, told MTN News a school resource officer on staff stays up to date with the latest on search efforts, and some parents say they’ve been keeping their kids indoors when they’re not at school.

As the search continues, the mayor as well as some residents, say they are taking law enforcement’s advice while keeping a watchful eye.

“I never used to lock my house during the day. I didn’t even lock my vehicles at night. In fact, a lot of the time I’d leave the keys in them. I’ve talked to other people and there is quite a few people that are nervous. I would hope that a lot of us are nervous because this is a bad thing,” said Byron Mayor Allan Clark.

In fact, investigators could be seen around Byron knocking on doors and scanning land outside of town.

“There’s just so much area and a low population, so much area for him to hide and seek shelter,” Clark said.

With so many wide-open spaces and abandoned buildings in the area, Clark understands why the search has gone on so long.

According to the US Marshals Service, Pease is 5 feet 11 inches tall and may also be going by the name Abraham. They also ask that anyone nearby who has a collection of silver dollars to ensure they are still there, and if not, to report to authorities.

Marshals say Pease is considered dangerous, and the public is told to not approach him and instead call 9-1-1. As the search has stretched over six weeks, many residents hope a capture will bring life back to normal.

“I hope that they capture him soon, and I hope that us as community members and around the area keep our eyes open and report anything suspicious,” said Clark.

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