Wyoming

Wyoming lawmakers advance election reform bills despite feasibility warnings

Published

4 months ago

November 4, 2025

Wyoming lawmakers advance election reform bills despite feasibility warnings

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee voted Monday to sponsor a sweeping package of six election reform bills that boost manual ballot counting and expand poll watcher authority.

The bills advanced despite stern warnings from county clerks that the changes could prove logistically impossible to implement by the 2026 election cycle. Critics argued the package restricts ballot access and competition for independent candidates.

The committee’s action sponsors six working draft measures that focus on shifting the election process toward increased hand counting of ballots and enhanced oversight.

Lawmakers first approved “26LSO-0043, Random hand count audits of election results,” 11–2. The bill requires county clerks to conduct a hand count audit in one randomly selected precinct after primary and general elections to compare manual results to electronic tabulation.

The committee also voted 11–2 to sponsor “26LSO-0044, Elections-hand counting for recounts,” which mandates automatic hand recounts in close statewide and legislative races. Rep. Mike Yin, D-Teton County, and Sen. Cole Case, R-Lander, cast the dissenting votes on both measures.

Malcolm Ervin, Platte County clerk and president of the County Clerks Association, urged the committee to consider a later effective date for the changes. The bill requires the Secretary of State to adopt rules for the audits by July 1, 2026.

“I hate to be the one that comes up here and says I worry that this as written can’t be implemented effectively in ’26, but that is the reality,” Ervin said, adding the state should bear the cost of the new recount method.

A speaker from Sheridan County, Elena Campbell, supported transparency but sought more expansive audits, saying: “If the mechanics of voting are shrouded in complexity or lack transparency, trust in the electoral outcome diminishes, eroding the foundation of our very republic.”

The contested “26LSO-0045, Poll watchers-polling stations observation” passed 9–4. The bill expands poll watcher authority, clarifying they can observe all election procedures, including setup and shutdown. It allows one poll watcher per political party for each precinct served at multi-precinct locations.

Sen. Bill Landen, R-Natrona County, was strongly opposed, calling the bill excessive.

“To me, this is the bottom dweller of the whole bunch,” he said. “We’ve had testimony that, in many of the circumstances, we don’t even have venues that will hold all of these people. This is a very comprehensive bill that asks an awful lot out of our county clerks. … I don’t think it’s needed. I think it’s overkill and it does nothing for the integrity of elections in my view.”

Fremont County Clerk Julie Freese detailed the potential logistical burdens, saying her 32 precincts “could mean 96 poll watchers. This is more than my largest vote center has judges for.”

Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Laramie County, supported the measure.

“We need to provide for purity of these elections. We need to let the people know that these elections are accurate and competent,” he said.

The committee also voted 9–3 to sponsor “26LSO-0048, Elections-acceptable identification revisions,” requiring all acceptable ID for in-person voting to include a photograph. It repeals Medicare/Medicaid and public school/university IDs as acceptable forms. Secretary of State Chuck Gray said the goal was to achieve “true voter ID” to prevent voter impersonation.

Richard Garrett of AARP Wyoming asked the committee to consider alternatives for elderly voters who might struggle to get photo IDs. Garrett offered several proposals, including one modeled after Arkansas law.

“In Arkansas, we actually find that nursing home residents without a photo ID are allowed to vote at the polling place with documentation of nursing home residency provided by a long-term care facility administrator, attesting the voter is a resident of the facility,” he said. “Nebraska also allows for the same provision.”

The bill aimed at independent candidate requirements, “26LSO-0046, Elections-independent candidate requirements,” also passed 10–3, increasing the required number of signatures to 5% for district races and aligning the filing deadline with partisan candidates. Landen, Yin and Case voted no.

“What this does is close the door on independent candidates, and ultimately the question is what are we afraid of?” Yin said. “This is literally restricting access to the general election ballot in a way that kind of just says that we’re afraid of competition. … Out of all of the bills that we have so far, this is the most rankling one just because it says we’re scared, and I think it makes it very apparent that we’re scared as a legislature.”

The final bill sponsored was “26LSO-0047, Elections-voting machine and voting system tests,” which passed 11–1, with Yin again dissenting. The bill clarifies testing procedures and removes the previous presumption that voting machines were properly prepared.

The committee tabled “26LSO-0049, Election transparency,” an omnibus bill that would have mandated paper ballots and lowered the period for early in-person absentee voting.

The body previously supported “26LSO-0041, Ballot drop boxes-prohibition” during its August meeting. Under that proposed change, marked absentee ballots must be mailed or hand delivered to the clerk, explicitly banning the use of receptacles by officials.

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Wyoming

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

Published

5 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

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.

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.

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.

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

Wyoming High School Basketball 2A State Tournament 2026

Published

17 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

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:

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

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:

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

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

(#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:

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

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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Wyoming

Wyoming Crow Hunters Can Blast All They Want, But Nobody Eats The Birds

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Crow Hunters Can Blast All They Want, But Nobody Eats The Birds

Mention of bird hunting might conjure up images of hunters and their dogs huddling in freezing duck blinds or pounding the brush in hopes of kicking up pheasants. But crow hunting is a thing in Wyoming too.

“It’s about the sport of it,” Dan Kinneman of Riverton told Cowboy State Daily.

He started crow hunting when he was 14 and is about to turn 85. He’s never tried cooking and eating crows or known anybody who has.

Instead, shooting crows is essentially nuisance bird control, as they’re known to wreak havoc on agricultural crops.

“All the ranchers will let you hunt crows. I’ve never been refused access to hunt crows. They all hate them,” he said.

In Wyoming, crow hunting season runs from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28. No license is required, and there’s no bag limit. Hunters can shoot all the crows they want to.

It’s a ball for hunting dogs too, Kinneman said.

“My yellow Labrador retriever, he doesn’t care whether it’s a crow or duck. In fact, he likes crow hunting more than duck hunting, because there’s more action,” he said.

Crow hunting requires skill, patience and a good set of decoys, an experienced Wyoming hunter said. The upside is, there’s no bag limit, hunters can blast all the crows they want. No one eats them, though.

Don’t Expect It To Be Easy

Kinneman said that in the days of his youth, crow hunting was as simple as driving around and “shooting them out of trees with rifles.”

However, as the number of people and buildings potentially in the paths of bullets grew, such practices fell out of favor. Crow hunting became more regulated.

And it evolved to resemble hunting other birds, such as waterfowl.

Meaning, hunters started setting out decoys, hiding in blinds and using calls to tempt crows to within shotgun range.

Kinneman is no stranger to hunting of all types. He’s taken numerous species of big game in Wyoming and elsewhere. And in July 2005, he shot a prairie dog near Rock Springs from well over a mile away.

He hit the prairie dog from 2,157 yards away. A mile is 1,760 yards.

But bird hunting has always been his favorite.

“It’s my life,” he said.

He has a huge collection of duck, goose and dove decoys. And two tubs full of crow decoys.

The uninitiated might think that going out and blasting crows would be a slam dunk.

That isn’t so, Kinneman said. He likes crow hunting for the challenge of it.

“Hunting crows is hard. They are a lot smarter than ducks and geese,” he said.

Pick Up After Yourself

Even though he doesn’t eat crows, Kinneman said he never just left them littering the ground where he shot them.

“I never let them lay out there. I always picked them up and disposed of the carcasses,” he said.

That’s good ethics and it shows respect for the ranchers, he said.

“Leaving them (dead crows) out there would be no different than just leaving all of your empty shotgun shells out there,” he said.

“You have to pick up after yourself, or the ranchers won’t let you back onto their land,” he added.

Slow Year

At his age, Kinneman isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be able to get out crow hunting. And this year has been a total bust.

“I love doing it. But this year there are no crows,” he said.

The Riverton area is along major crow migration routes.

Picking a good hunting spot is a matter of “finding a flyway” that the crows are on and then setting up a spread of decoys and a blind along the route.

But with an unusually warm winter, the crow flyways have been practically empty, he said.