Wyoming

Wyoming takes a stand against out-of-control political spending

Published

3 months ago

February 28, 2024

Wyoming takes a stand against out-of-control political spending

Clements is the president of American Promise, a nonprofit advocate for amending the Constitution to allow more federal and state regulation of money in politics.

On Feb. 13, in the deep red state of Wyoming, a majority of state House members voted for Joint House Resolution 0002, calling on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to ensure transparency in election spending and allow states to regulate corporate, union and other political contributions.

Wyoming legislators demonstrated again the deep, cross-partisan support for amending the U.S. Constitution to empower Americans to stop the systemic corruption that comes from out-of-control political spending. While the resolution didn’t receive the needed two-thirds vote, the strong majority support (35-26) shows that Wyoming lawmakers, as with most Americans, know the urgency of ending the domination of dark money and outside influence in elections.

Americans oppose out-of-control political spending because it undermines their own rights of free speech and a level playing field in voting and representation. Past Supreme Court decisions – Buckley v. Valeo, reinforced by Citizens United v. FEC – removed power from voters and state and federal lawmakers to set limits on political spending. The theory – unprecedented for 200 years of American history – is that those with massive financial resources have a “free speech” right to deploy those resources, with no limits, to influence election outcomes. Spending in elections by groups, billionaires and even foreign governments has been rising at an alarming rate. Nearly $16 billion may be spent in the 2024 cycle alone, up more than 30 percent from the last presidential election.

The American government is supposed to be of, by and for the people, but our current pay-to-play politics has deteriorated into a government bought, paid and sold to the highest bidder. Social media and advertising disinformation campaigns are funded from the shadows, influencing elections with no accountability. Worse, foreign actors exploit the dark money system to manipulate elections and serve their own interests.

Americans have had it with this dangerous Supreme Court-imposed theory about money and free speech. In Wyoming, recent polling shows that 87 percent of voters agree that the coercive influence of money in politics threatens democracy. The constitutional amendment to enable states and Congress to set reasonable limits to regulate campaign spending is favored by 75 percent of Wyoming voters. These extraordinary super-majorities mirror what American Promise is seeing in polling and ballot initiatives around the country.

Now, Wyoming and others are vying to join the 22 states that have taken formal action to advance the For Our Freedom Amendment, the only enduring way to regulate political spending by giving the states and Congress power to set reasonable limits. In November 2023, 86 percent of Maine’s voters approved a law banning spending in elections by foreign government-controlled entities. Maine’s voters, concerned that unhinged claims of “free speech” rights to unlimited election spending might even extend to foreign actors, showed foresight in including a resolution calling for the constitutional amendment: After the foreign money ban was passed, foreign-owned corporations sued in federal court, claiming a free speech right to dominate Maine’s elections with their money. The For Our Freedom Amendment would put an end to such foolishness.

In Pennsylvania, legislators introduced a bipartisan resolution calling for the constitutional amendment solution. Wisconsinites and Arizonans are organizing to move their state into the victory column, and Minnesotans have an amendment resolution moving through the legislative process. Momentum is building because Americans are tired of having the fate of the country and our communities determined by an elite donor class. But that elite is outnumbered. The fact is, 86 percent of Republicans and Democrats agree that money in politics is a threat. It’s time to act, and that’s exactly what these states are doing.

The vote in Wyoming is part of the tipping point that brings constitutional solutions faster than many realize when the need is clear. This constitutional amendment process is the time-honored way that Americans drive reform in the darkest hours. At the beginning of the 20th century, when division, political violence, gender-restricted voting and white supremacy dominated much of the country, The Washington Post’s editors solemnly sniffed at those proposing constitutional amendments. Over the next several years, Americans ratified four amendments, the first of twelve that Americans would secure in the 20th century.

Now the promise of American democracy is on the line again. As Wyoming just showed, Americans know what to do.

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Wyoming

National Golf Invitational: A year after near-miss, Wyoming sets up another run at a postseason title

Published

4 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Press Room

National Golf Invitational: A year after near-miss, Wyoming sets up another run at a postseason title

Long after Wyoming had finished its first round at the National Golf Invitational, head coach Joe Jensen was still waiting on the returns. His men had played the first 18 holes at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona, in 6 under to land in third, three shots off the lead, but Jensen was waiting on the university to finalize the team GPA.

The number should be around 3.7 – so Jensen’s anticipation was coming from a place of pride, not fear – but this is where the slightly self-deprecating team motto is debunked.

“Quite honestly I have a solid group and I’ve always had,” Jensen said. “If there’s a program slogan that defines us – and we all laugh about it – it’s that we’re better people than we are players and we poke fun at ourselves for that.”

Scores: National Golf Invitational

While Jensen’s point is clear, nevertheless here is Wyoming contending for a postseason title – again. The Cowboys played in the inaugural NGI last spring and were part of a five-team horserace in the final round. Wyoming finished second to Texas State by a single shot after having a one-shot lead going into the final hole.

“It was so close and for us to finish second, it was such a great learning experience,” Jensen said. “So fond, fond, fond memories.”

On Friday, each of four teams had the lead at some point during the round: Wyoming, TCU, Butler and Richmond. Ultimately, TCU finished at 9 under for the overnight lead, with Richmond in second at 8 under and Butler in fifth at 4 under.

Washington State’s Preston Bebich and TCU’s Jack Beauchamp lead the individual race at 5 under.

For Wyoming, junior Patrick Azevedo, in the No. 4 spot, birdied half his holes, including five straight from No. 13 to 17. Including Azevedo, Wyoming counted three rounds of 3-under 69 plus a 75 from Davis Seybert in the No. 5 spot, with whom Jensen spent the majority of the day. Leading scorer Jimmy Dales posted an uncharacteristic 77 after a marathon week that included graduation, moving, driving home to Michigan and then flying back to Arizona.

“I’m cautiously pleased with how we played,” said Jensen, who knows from experience how tight this tournament will likely be.

Jensen, who has led Wyoming for 23 seasons, is a guy who loves his job and someone who tries to cultivate a family-like team atmosphere. He jokes that Wyoming leads the nation in parents. But rankings-wise, Wyoming is a team that’s always in the conversation though often a little bit outside at-large selection into NCAA Regionals.

“We’ve been that team that we sit from national ranking 75 to 125,” he said. “So if we’re not going to make it – and we’ve been always real close, real close, real close – for us to be able to come back (to the NGI) is exciting. So you bring the guys back, and it’s just fun to compete.”

Jensen sees the NGI satisfying a tremendous need in college golf, where each year it only gets harder to qualify for the NCAA finals. For his team, playing in a postseason environment could be a difference-maker when it comes to cracking that bubble into an NCAA Regional. That said, Wyoming players are paying little attention to the acronym at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes.

“There’s no way you’re going to tell our kids that this is not the NCAAs or this is not a valued postseason experience,” Jensen said. “That’s what it feels like, and it does so much good for our program.”

Jensen has been in this business long enough to know that there are always tough holes around the corner. He is working hard to coach his players to weather those better and cultivate an environment where his players can play free and with confidence. It has been a commentary within the group.

“To me, this event, I’m using it as a little bit of a springboard into next year because I think we can be competitive next year,” Jensen said. “I’m not afraid to say that.”

That starts, Jensen noted, with being relevant this week. So far, so good.

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Wyoming

Yellowstone Grizzlies Observed Farther East In Wyoming — And Earlier

Published

11 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Press Room

Yellowstone Grizzlies Observed Farther East In Wyoming — And Earlier

Fred McClanahan Jr. is a native of Fort Collins, Colorado, but he loves Wyoming because of its more conservative mindset and abundant wildlife, especially grizzly bears.

“It’s the grizzlies that keep me coming back,” he told Cowboy State Daily.

And he got a special treat after he left Cody last week headed for Yellowstone National Park. As always, he was eager to watch and photograph Yellowstone’s bears.

But he’d hardly gotten out of town when he saw his first bear of the day — a grizzly out for a brisk stroll along the shore at Buffalo Bill Reservoir west of Cody.

“I had just made it out of the tunnels, and there he was,” McClanahan said.

He was referring to a series of three tunnels along Highway 14-16-20 between Cody and the Buffalo Bill Dam, the last of which is the Wyoming’s longest highway tunnel.

‘He Was On A Mission’

The bear was busily lumbering along a dry section of the reservoir bed “that hadn’t filled in yet,” he said.

McClanahan caught some video of the grizzly going on it way in the middle of a typical Wyoming springtime snow flurry.

The bear wasn’t distracted by highway traffic, or anything else, McClanahan said.

“He was on a mission. I’m not sure where he was headed or what he was after, but he was really moving,” McClanahan said.

Bears Moving Down Toward Cody

McClanahan has been visiting Yellowstone since the early 1980s. He tries to make two trips per year, one in the spring and one in the summer.

“I still have the canceled check from the first time we made a reservation for the motorhome at the Fishing Bridge campground. I think it was $9,” he said.

Back then, about the only places to see grizzlies were between “2 miles outside the of park and 2 miles inside the park,” he added.

But in recent years, grizzlies have become commonplace at lower elevations east of the park.

“I have friends who live in the Wapiti area (a rural community west of Cody). They say grizzlies are seen there frequently,” McClanahan said. “I just saw that one, at Buffalo Bill, but I’ve heard about several others.”

There were two incidents in Park County last year that ended badly for the grizzlies.

In May 2023, a large male grizzly near Highway 14-16-20 west of Cody was mistaken for a black bear and shot by a hunter.

In September 2023, a grizzly was spotted near the base of Heart Mountain between Cody and Powell and appeared in a “Your Wyoming Sunrise” photo in Cowboy State Daily.

Unfortunately, that bear became too habituated to human-occupied areas and food sources, so wildlife agents captured and killed it.

A Robust Population

A grizzly sighting at Buffalo Bill Reservoir isn’t surprising these days, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Large Carnivore Specialist Dan Thompson told Cowboy State Daily.

“It’s definitely not out of the ordinary to have grizzlies seen in that area. We have a lot of grizzly activity on the South Fork and North fork this spring. Essentially another obvious indicator of a robust grizzly bear population,” he said.

Spring is prime time to spot grizzlies at lower elevations, he added.

“It’s pretty standard when bears come out of the den to move lower,” Thompson said. “That’s where it greens up first. So we generally see that move to lower elevations out of the den.”

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Basketball Loses Another Incoming Freshman

Published

18 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Press Room

Wyoming Basketball Loses Another Incoming Freshman

LARAMIE — Wyoming, for now, has lost a dozen players this offseason to the transfer portal.

Dylan Warlick, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound incoming freshman at the forward spot, is the latest to enter free agency, announcing his decision Thursday night on social media.

“First, I would like to thank the University of Wyoming and the entire coaching staff for believing in me and giving me the chance to play the sport I love,” the Edmond, Okla., product penned on X, formerly Twitter. “With the recent departure of coach Linder, I have requested a release from my NLI and will be reopening my recruitment.”

The first wave of transfers came almost immediately following a one-and-done showing at the Mountain West Tournament.

Six, including potential faces-of-the-franchise Cam Manyawu and Keal Combs, announced their intentions to leave Laramie. Brendan Wenzel, a graduate transfer, bolted, too. So did Caden Powell, Jacob Theodosiou and Jonas Sirtautas.

For the second straight offseason, Jeff Linder was tasked with a near complete rebuild. That appeared to be going smoothly.

Wyoming’s fourth-year head coach snagged guards Obi Agbim, Tyree Ihenacho and Matija Belic. He then added a pair of big men out of the portal, too, in Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams and Touko Tainamo.

Four incoming freshmen were also inbound. That list featured guards Oliver Faubert, Dominic Pagonis and Jehvion Starwood, along with Warlick in the frontcourt.

Boy, have things changed.

News broke on May 9 that Linder would be leaving to become a top assistant on Grant McCasland’s staff at Texas Tech. Those two worked together once before in west Texas, coaching at Midland College from 2006-08.

Linder capped his tenure on the high plains with a 63-59 overall record. He led the Cowboys to an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament in 2022. They lost to Indiana in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

With Linder’s departure came another mad dash to the portal.

Agbim hit the bricks. So did Ihenacho and Yamanouchi-Williams. Faubert and Pagonis also intend to play elsewhere. Now, so does Warlick, who was ranked the second-best recruit in the state of Oklahoma by 247sports.com. He helped lead Edmond North High School to consecutive state championships, averaging more than 20 points as a sophomore and 15.1 during his junior campaign.

Davidson, San Jose State, South Alabama and Abilene Christian all offered the 3-star prospect. Wyoming sealed the deal last November.

“We can’t wait to add Dylan Warlick to the Cowboy family,” Linder said in a prepared statement on national signing day. “Dylan has been on our radar for some time after a great underclassman career in Oklahoma high school basketball. Having won multiple state championships at Edmond North High School, in the highest classification in Oklahoma, we knew there was something special about his will to win and ability to effect winning. Two traits that cannot be discounted.

“We loved his ability to elevate not only himself but his teammates and program as well. Dylan also had much success on the Nike EYBL circuit with Team Griffin, where he competed at an elite level, game-in and game-out. Dylan brings a combination of toughness and skill to the wing position. He’s an exceptional scorer in the post and has a relentless mindset to rebound. His size and athleticism allow him to defend multiple positions and bring versatility to that end of the floor. We can’t wait for Dylan to bring his winning edge to Laramie in 2024.”

Or so we thought.

Warlick is the first player to announce his intentions to transfer since Sundance Wicks was officially hired May 12 as the 23rd head coach in Wyoming basketball history.

Here’s what Wyoming’s basketball roster looks like today:

F – Touko Tainamo (Denver)

G – Matija Belic (UC-Santa Barbara)

G – Jehvion Starwood *

F – Oleg Kojenets **

G – Kobe Newton **

G – Nigle Cook **

G – Levi Brown #

G – Cort Roberson #

* True freshman

* Returner

# Walk-on