Wyoming

Wyoming’s abortion fight returns to Teton County courtroom — and judge that overturned bans – WyoFile

Published

12 months ago

March 12, 2025

Wyoming’s abortion fight returns to Teton County courtroom — and judge that overturned bans – WyoFile

Wyoming abortion providers refiled their challenge to the state’s newly enacted clinic and ultrasound regulations on Tuesday in Teton County after a Natrona County court failed to act on a request to hold an emergency hearing on whether to temporarily block the laws.

Court records obtained by WyoFile show the change landed the case in the courtroom of Teton County District Judge Melissa Owens, who sided with the same plaintiffs in November when she struck down two broader state abortion bans. The venue switch means Owens could hear arguments in the legal challenge to Wyoming’s newest abortion restrictions around the same time as the Wyoming Supreme Court considers her ruling against the broader bans.

In a Tuesday court filing, lawyers for Wyoming abortion providers say the inaction in Natrona County District Court left them with no choice but to refile the case elsewhere, as the new regulations have forced Wyoming’s lone full-service abortion clinic to cease providing reproductive health services.

Wellspring Health Access is pictured in February 2025 in central Casper. The clinic provides abortion services. (Joshua Wolfson/WyoFile)

Abortion providers and advocates filed suit in Natrona County on Feb. 28, the day after the rules went into effect, but the case did not advance. Natrona County is home to Wellspring Health Access, the state’s only facility to provide in-clinic abortions.

The plaintiffs are asking a judge to halt enforcement of the new laws until the court challenge can be heard.

“Although Plaintiffs requested an emergency hearing on their motion for [a temporary restraining order blocking the law], no such hearing was set,” the providers’ newly filed memorandum states. “Because Plaintiffs and their patients are experiencing ongoing, severe, and irreparable injury — including direct harms to Plaintiffs and their patients in Teton County — Plaintiffs have no choice but to dismiss the Prior Action without prejudice and re-file it in the form of the present lawsuit in the hope of securing a timely hearing.”

New laws, new regulations

At issue are two laws passed by the Wyoming Legislature during the session that concluded last week. The first creates a series of new regulations on abortion clinics in Wyoming by requiring such facilities to be licensed as “ambulatory surgical centers.” Abortion rights advocates say rules that come with such a designation are intended to be onerous and impractical. Supporters of the law maintain the regulations are necessary for the safety of women seeking abortions.

The second law requires abortion patients to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound and a 48-hour waiting period prior to receiving abortion medications. The measure prompted a similar debate over whether it was genuinely intended to increase patient safety or simply serve as an obstacle to discourage abortions. Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed the legislation, saying mandating the procedure was invasive and often medically unnecessary, but lawmakers overrode his decision.

Activist Cristina Gonzalez led chants with a megaphone during a reproductive rights rally in Lander on Jan. 18, 2025. (Katie Klingsporn/WyoFile)

Regardless of the new laws’ intent, they had a dramatic effect on Casper’s Wellspring Health Access. The clinic had performed 71 abortions between the start of the year and Feb. 27, founder and president Julie Burkhart wrote in a court document in support of the motion for a temporary restraining order. Immediately after the passage of the new, more intense set of regulations, the clinic ceased providing reproductive health services, and in the following five days, referred 56 patients to other clinics for abortion-related services, almost all of them out of state.

Meeting the new standards demanded of ambulatory surgical centers would require “substantial and costly renovations and reconstruction,” lawyers for the plaintiff write. A further hurdle, they add, is a new requirement that physicians maintain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital.

“The laws will force Plaintiff Wellspring to shutter its clinic … and compel many Wyomingites seeking abortions to carry pregnancies to term against their will with all the physical, emotional, and financial costs that entails,” the plaintiffs argue.

Change of venue

The lawyers in the newly filed legal challenge also represented the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the abortion bans passed by lawmakers in 2023. One targets medications; the other is a broader prohibition. That challenge was filed in Teton County, and Owens quickly halted enforcement of the bans with a temporary restraining order. She later ruled they violated the Wyoming Constitution.

One of the plaintiffs in that case — as well as the newly filed lawsuit — is a doctor who practices in Teton County and has provided abortion services in that community. That didn’t stop abortion opponents from arguing that filing the abortion ban challenge in Teton County — a liberal enclave in a deeply conservative state — amounted to venue shopping, or filing the case in a jurisdiction where plaintiffs are more likely to obtain a favorable ruling.

The front doors at the Teton County Courthouse, framed by trees — The Teton County Courthouse. (Angus M. Thuermer, Jr./WyoFile)

When Owens blocked a ban on medication abortions in June 2023, for example, the Wyoming Freedom Caucus decried her as an activist judge. “The pro-abortion Left can only win by going forum shopping with judicial activists,” the hard-line group wrote on Twitter at the time.

Those who know Owens told WyoFile in 2023 that she’s motivated by the law, not politics.

“Melissa has the ability to avoid the noise around this case, and I think a lot of other attorneys or judges may not,” Casper attorney Pam Brondos said ahead of Owens’ ruling on the abortion bans. “Melissa will follow the law, and I have no doubt that she’s going to make her decision and not be influenced with what’s happening within the political sphere.”

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

5 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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Wyoming

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

Published

17 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.

One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.

“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”

The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”

The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.

It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.

The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.

Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”

Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”

The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.

SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.

Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”

Both bills go into effect July 1.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule – SweetwaterNOW

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule

Samuel “Tote” Harris. Photo from gowyo.com

LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.

Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.

The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.

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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.

The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.

Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.

With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.

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