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Wyoming hoops splits results, returns to Laramie as they face Fresno State

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Wyoming hoops splits results, returns to Laramie as they face Fresno State


The highs and lows of college basketball.

Sundance Wicks led the Wyoming Cowboys into Thomas & Mack Center last Tuesday – marking the first time that the Pokes have won against the Rebels in Las Vegas since 2003.

Team leader Obi Agbim led the charge with 19 points and five converted three-pointers.

The Cowboys shot 14-28 from distance, accounting for 42 of their 63 points.

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One could argue that it is the biggest win of the season.

However, during the first year of a new regime and chalked with young personnel, inconsistency can rear its ugly head.

After a headline-grabbing win in Sin City, Wyoming fell to San Jose State by nine in California.

Not a single starter reached double-digit scoring as the entire starting five accumulated a mere 21 points.

In 17 minutes, bench big man Scottie Ebube scored 22 points – a career-high.

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What changed in San Jose?

The Pokes shot 6/31 from three – equating to 19.4%.

Wyoming kept shooting…and they kept missing.

Free throw shooting also hurt their efforts – going 6/14 from the line.

Playing at the Provident Credit Union Event Center is not for the faint of heart.

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You will not encounter 10,000+ screaming fans, making life for the next 40 minutes a nightmare.

The chants of “airball” and referee criticism will not rain down from the rafters to the hardwood.

No.

Playing at the PCUEC is no different than playing ball at your local church.

If you are taking names and kicking butt, the crowd won’t be silenced.

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Because there is no silencing to be had.

Conversely, if you fall behind and can’t find a rhythm, San Jose’s emptiness and lack of atmosphere only amplify your woes.

It is one of the strangest environments in the Mountain West and all of college basketball.

Projected NCAA Tournament participants make the winter trek and face the greatest test of all: themselves.

Up Next

Wyoming returns to Arena-Auditorium and welcomes Fresno State to town.

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The Bulldogs have lost eight of their last nine – their lone win coming against Air Force on January 17th.

Head coach Sundance Wicks, Obi Agbim, and the rest of the Cowboys are on the precipice of facing their most brutal stretch of Mountain West play.

Starting February 1st, Wyoming will play:

  • At San Diego State (2/1/25)
  • Vs. Utah State (2/4/25)
  • Vs. UNLV (2/8/25)
  • At New Mexico (2/12/25)
  • At Colorado State (2/15/25)

Wicks has mentioned how he views each part of the season in five-game segments.

His goal is to go 3-2 or better in each.

The Pokes will have gone 2-3 or 1-4, depending on Tuesday’s result.

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Ten games follow.

Can they exceed expectations in the final stretch?

That’s why we play the games.



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Wyoming

First-responders react to Wyoming mass shooting

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First-responders react to Wyoming mass shooting


BYRON, Wyoming — In the video below, Deputy Keri Angell of the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office in Wyoming recounts the horrific scene at the home where a woman shot her four children and then herself:

First-responders react to Wyoming mass shooting

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Two fathers are grieving after a woman shot her four daughters in Byron, Wyoming, on Monday, February 10, 2025, killing three of them and leaving one fighting for her life.

Three of the girls were found dead after being shot. The fourth, age 7, remains hospitalized in Salt Lake City.

2 fathers grieving after woman shoots four daughters

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A GoFundMe campaign has been created to help Cliff Harshman, the husband of Tranyelle and father of two of the girls. It states:

Tragedy has struck, leaving us shattered and heartbroken. [Cliff harshman], a devoted husband and father of four beautiful daughters, has suffered an unimaginable loss: the passing of 3 of his precious girls. 1 still fighting in salt lake, please pray for her.

This devastating event has left Cliff and his loved ones reeling in grief, struggling to come to terms with the immense void left in their lives. The financial burden of funeral expenses, ongoing family support, and other related costs only adds to their pain.

Click here if you would like to donate.

A GoFundMe campaign has also been created to help Quinn Blackmer, the father of the two older girls, with medical and funeral costs:

They were currently residing with their mother in Wyoming, who attempted to take all 4 of her children’s lives. Brailey (9) and Olivia (7) and their two younger half-sisters suffered deadly gunshot wounds. This news shattered them. Their oldest daughter, Brailey (9), passed away on scene. Olivia (7) was life-flighted to Billings, Montana, then later life-flighted to SLC for the closest and best neurology care team. Olivia has suffered severe traumatic brain injury and is fighting hard for her life!

Click here if you would like to donate.

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After shooting the girls, their mother Tranyelle Harshman then shot herself. The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office in Wyoming said on Tuesday evening that Tranyelle died in a hospital from her injuries.

Family members and friends told MTN News that she had struggled with mental health problems, including post-partum depression, and had been in therapy.

Wyoming mom shoots 4 daughters and then calls 911

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FIRST REPORT, FEBRUARY 11, 2025

A woman shot her four young daughters and then herself inside a home in northern Wyoming on Monday, February 10, 2025.

The woman and one daughter survived, but their condition was unknown on Tuesday, according to a news release from the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office in Wyoming.

Three girls — one 9-year-old and two 2-year-olds (10 months apart in age) — were killed. The 32-year-old mother and a 7-year-old girl were found still alive.

The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office initially reported Monday afternoon that “multiple people” had been shot at the residence, including at least one fatality. The sheriff’s office did not immediately identify the relationship of the people involved.

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The woman’s sister, Savannah Rose, told MTN News on Tuesday that her sister Tranyelle Harshman shot her daughters and then herself. She said one of the girls named Olivia is still alive and being treated at a Salt Lake City hospital where she is sedated but is responding to some touch.

The Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the shooting in the small town was reported at about 1:30 p.m. when a 911 call was made from a woman reporting gunshots inside a residence and “further reported her daughters had been shot.”

Tranyelle Harsman/Facebook

Cliff and Tranyelle Harshman; children Jordan, Brailey, Olivia, Brooke

The woman told the 911 dispatcher that she believed the children were dead.

The woman also told the dispatcher the locations of the girls inside the house. Two children would be located upstairs in their cribs and two children would be located downstairs in the bedroom they shared, the press release states.

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The woman then told the dispatcher she could be found in her upstairs bedroom and that she was going to shoot herself.

“The dispatcher pleaded with the female caller over the phone for the female caller to remain on the line until responding suits arrived,” the press release states. “The female caller stated multiple times that she could not do that and that it was too late. Multiple attempts to keep her on the line failed and the call was disconnected.”

Sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement agencies responded to the residence on the 200 block of East Shoshone Street, and arrived within minutes.

Officers entered the residence and found two children ages 2 and 9 dead with gunshot wounds to the head, and two other children — ages 2 and 7 — also with gunshot wounds to the head but still alive.

The 32-year-old woman was found in an upstairs bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head but also still alive.

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The 2-year-old who was initially found alive “succumbed a very short time later due to the extent of her injuries.”

The surviving child and woman were initially taken to North Big Horn Hospital.

We will update you as we get more information.






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Lawmakers file whopping 45 bills to remake Wyoming elections – WyoFile

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Lawmakers file whopping 45 bills to remake Wyoming elections – WyoFile


CHEYENNE—Wyoming lawmakers filed a whopping 45 election-related bills in the 2025 general session — accounting for about 8% of all legislation in both the House and the Senate this year. 

Most of the bills are sponsored by Wyoming Freedom Caucus members and allies, who say voters gave them a loud and clear mandate via the very system they now seek to reform. 

Speaker of the House Chip Neiman, a Freedom Caucus Republican from Hulett, told WyoFile “we’ve got good elections.”

“But we can do a better job,” he said, adding that the legislation isn’t so much about overhauling the system as it is about improvement. 

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“Predominantly, these are proactive measures that are trying to make sure that our elections are safe,” Neiman said.

Critics say Wyoming’s elections are already secure given how few cases of election fraud are historically prosecuted. They also point to the state canvassing board that unanimously voted to certify the results of both the 2024 primary and general elections. 

Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, during the Wyoming Legislature’s 2025 budget session. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile)

One Democrat argued the Freedom Caucus’ motivations are political, potentially putting the group in a better position ahead of next year’s gubernatorial election.

Wyoming lawmakers have passed election reform bills before, but this year’s push is more intense than usual. It comes amid a rightward shift in the Legislature and continued questioning of election integrity by President Donald Trump and his allies.

The bills range from new restrictions on the voter registration process and prohibiting ballot drop boxes, to banning ranked-choice voting and curtailing the use of student IDs and Medicaid and Medicare insurance cards as acceptable forms of voter identification. 

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Two of the bills were included in the Freedom Caucus’ “Five and Dime” plan and quickly moved through the House. Both address the voter registration process. 

Another bill would codify recounts must be done by hand, and came in response to Weston County’s general election snafu now under investigation by the governor. 

Two of the most sweeping bills died late last week when Republican lawmakers — including several Freedom Caucus members and endorsees — got cold feet and killed mirror bills to ban electronic election equipment. 

“We have a lot of unanswered questions on how to get this implemented that I didn’t have answered,” Rep. Nina Webber, R-Cody, said. 

As with all legislation, the slate of bills are facing a gauntlet of deadlines this week as Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are the respective cutoffs for first, second and third votes in the chamber where they were introduced. 

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At publishing time, 30 bills remained in play. 

Differing views

Lawmakers who aren’t part of the Freedom Caucus have a different perspective on what needs fixing. They point to the long lines voters experienced in the last election and out-of-state political groups spending big to fill local mailboxes with inaccurate information. 

Queued-up voters snake around an Albany County polling station in the Spring Creek Elementary gym waiting to cast their ballots in the 2024 general election. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile)

“It’s interesting during this session that we’re spending countless hours on the security of our elections. And it’s all about tightening up where you can go and how you can fill out your ballot, or you can’t throw it in a box or whatever,” Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, told the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

At the time, the panel was discussing Senate Joint Resolution 8, “Political expenditures.”

With the sponsorship of more than half of the Senate, the resolution would ask Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to allow states to establish limits on political contributions.

“This, actually, in my opinion, this kind of activity threatens the security of our elections here in Wyoming, when you really come right down to it,” Landen said, before adding he’s heard about this issue more than any other from his constituents. 

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Being a resolution, the bill lacks teeth. But it sends a message nevertheless, Landen said. 

“If something like this went through two bodies of this Legislature, it might put a little bit of weight behind a suggested interim topic for the Corporations Committee to really take a look at this,” he said. 

The resolution passed the Senate 17-13 with one excused on Tuesday, but not before some impassioned pushback from Sen. Darin Smith, a Cheyenne Republican. 

“Voting for this is like voting to give up your guns because you were told Utopia would follow,” Smith said. 

Afton Republican Sen. Dan Dockstader took a different approach. 

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Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, during the 2025 legislative session. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile)

“In this last legislative election, there were postcards sent out with information that was not truthful. It’s my understanding [that] was dark money backing that,” Dockstader said. “Why would we support something like that? Why not support proof and transparency?”

Dockstader didn’t otherwise specify the postcards at issue. The issue of erroneous mailers sparked controversy during last year’s election and even resulted in an ongoing defamation lawsuit against a political action committee with ties to the Freedom Caucus.

Dead Democratic bills 

The two election-related bills with Democratic lawmakers as their main sponsors died Monday when they were not considered before deadline. 

House Bill 178, “Work allowance for voting,” would have doubled the hours employees are entitled to have off work to vote. 

“This year was one of the first years that I voted on the day of the election, and I stood in line for over two and a half hours,” Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, told the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee.

“And I watched dozens of people leave the room. Many were talking in line about why they needed to leave, some of which said ‘I need to get back to work,’” Provenza said. 

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The bill would have also extended the work allowance to Wyoming’s early voting period. After it died, the bill’s main sponsor, Rep. Trey Sherwood, D-Laramie, brought a successful amendment to a runoff election bill to expand the work allowance. 

As for why the Freedom Caucus brought so many bills to change the state’s elections, Sherwood told reporters there’s a simple explanation. 

“It’s the Freedom Caucus march to the governor’s office,” she said. 

One bill in particular would revamp that race in 2026 by creating a runoff election for Wyoming’s top five elected offices. 

Laramie Democrat Rep. Trey Sherwood, right, sits at her desk during the Wyoming Legislature’s 2025 general session. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile)

The speaker’s runoff election bill 

Neiman brought House Bill 249, “Runoff elections,” to ensure the state’s next governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, superintendent of public instruction and federal office holders only move on to the general election if they earn more than 50% of the vote in the primary. 

With the state being a “Republican supermajority,” Neiman told the House Corporations Committee, most races are decided in the primary. But a crowded primary field can result in a victory in which the winner collects less than 50% of the vote, and that’s a problem in Neiman’s view. 

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“I’ve already heard where there could be potentially eight candidates in this upcoming governor’s race, and that field consistently seems to grow,” he said. 

Neiman, in fact, is among the names currently being floated for the race, alongside Secretary of State Chuck Gray, State Treasurer Curt Meier and Sens. Bo Biteman and Cheri Steinmetz. 

At 42 pages, the bill makes considerable changes to the state’s elections code. Primarily, that includes moving the primary election for the top five offices and the federal delegation from the third Tuesday in August to the first Tuesday in May. That way, if no one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two contenders will run again in August. 

All other primary election races would be kept to the traditional month of August. 

“The Secretary of State’s Office indicates that the cost of conducting a statewide runoff election is unknown,” according to the bill’s fiscal note. 

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Meanwhile, the bill includes a $2 million appropriation for a “Runoff Election Account” in the secretary of state’s office. 

While Neiman said his intention was not to impact legislative races with the bill, Rep. Rob Geringer, R-Cheyenne, pointed out that the measure in fact would bump lawmakers up to May. 

With Neiman’s support, Geringer brought a successful amendment to clarify the speaker’s original intent. 

The bill passed second reading in the House on Tuesday.

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Five Gunshot Victims, Some Dead In Byron Shooting

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Five Gunshot Victims, Some Dead In Byron Shooting


Law-enforcement agents found “multiple victims of gunshots” Monday in a home in Byron, Wyoming, the sheriff’s office says. 

Some died, some survived, according to Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn on Monday evening. 

Five people were shot, and two were taken to medical care, the sheriff told Cowboy State Daily in an interview. Law enforcement agents performed life-saving care efforts on scene as well.

Someone called 911 at about 1:30 p.m. Monday to report shots fired in a home on the south side of the town of Byron, says the statement.

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Sheriff’s personnel responded immediately, along with Wyoming Highway Patrol and Lovell Police Department personnel. 

“While securing the residence law enforcement officers observed multiple victims of gunshots within the residence, both alive and deceased,” a statement from the sheriff said.

Two victims were taken by ambulance to the North Big Horn Hospital in Lovell for emergency care, the sheriff told Cowboy State Daily.

Blackburn has asked Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to help process the scene. It is being treated as a crime scene, he added.

He warned community members against gossiping, saying a rumor that law enforcement agents had fired on scene – for example – was not true, and people generally should be careful to wait for the facts, out of respect for the victims and the investigation.

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“At this time there is no active threat to the citizens of Big Horn County,” the statement reads, adding an expression of gratitude for Wyoming Highway Patrol, Lovell Police Department, North Big Horn Hospital and Ambulance, Powell Valley Hospital Ambulance, and DCI. 

“Our hearts and prayers go out to all those (who) have been affected by this tragedy,” the sheriff’s statement says.

Byron is a small farming community in northwest Wyoming, about 12 miles southwest of Lovell.

This is an ongoing story. We will provide updates.



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