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BETTER WYOMING

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Hardworking Wyomingites are tired of politicians hell-bent on creating conflict.

We want solutions to our state’s real problems and opportunities to build a future for our families and communities.

That’s why we’re working to educate, organize, and mobilize folks on behalf of statewide change.

It’s up to us to build a Better Wyoming.

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Latest News

Losing health coverage can mean interrupting care for life-threatening illness.

SAVE OUR CHILDREN: Wyo. lawmakers allow thousands of kids to lose healthcare coverage

September 1, 2023

Wyoming lawmakers—many of whom often claim to want to “save our children”—are standing by as a bureaucratic boondoggle strips 7,500 kids of their Medicaid health insurance.

Gillette library director Terri Lesley and Cheyenne superintendent Margaret Crespo were both recently removed from their positions by officials promoting book bans and other national agendas.

Book-banning officials begin removing Wyoming public agency leaders

August 18, 2023

Wyoming’s public sector has struggled to retain quality workers in recent years as lawmakers have slashed wages and the political climate has grown toxic. Now, officials driven by radical religious agendas are removing experienced local leaders, including a longtime public library director and an award-winning school superintendent.

Why should politicians care?! Preschoolers don't vote!

Why is getting support for public preschool in Wyoming like pulling teeth?

August 11, 2023

The benefits of preschool are clear, but middle-class and rural Wyoming families face huge hurdles enrolling their kids. Most states have public preschool, but not Wyoming—and trying to encourage lawmakers who are busy arguing over hot-button national issues to do something about it is an exercise in frustration and disappointment.

"No money of the state shall ever be given or appropriated to any sectarian or religious society or institution." — Wyoming Constitution

“Voucher” proposal would give Wyo. parents money to enroll children in private, religious schools

August 3, 2023

So-called “school vouchers” or “education savings accounts” hand over taxpayer money to parents who pull their kids out of public schools and instead enroll them in private, religious, or home schools. The Legislature’s Joint Education Committee will hear such a proposal this week, despite the fact that the Wyoming Constitution prohibits public money from being spent at religious institutions or given to schools that have zero oversight.

Worker hours have been cut as Starbucks profits soar thanks to "efficiencies."

Cheyenne Starbucks baristas poised to unionize for better schedules and workplace

July 28, 2023

Workers at a Starbucks in Cheyenne will vote on Monday whether to join more than 340 other stores across the U.S. and become the first unionized location in Wyoming. The baristas allege a hostile workplace and erratic scheduling, but also are part of a new uptick of organized labor in Wyoming.

Childcare in Wyoming is both expensive and hard to come by.

Wyoming barriers: Young families struggle to find childcare

July 21, 2023

More than one third of Wyoming's population lives in a "childcare desert," and the cost for those who can find it can equal a second mortgage. While other states take steps to address this nationwide issue, Wyoming lawmakers drag their feet finding solutions.

We all pay more when students can't attend preschool

Wyoming barriers: The high cost of neglecting preschool

July 14, 2023

Early childhood education sets kids up for success. Children who go to preschool do better in K-12—requiring less help and driving down overall education costs—and they go on to earn more and require less government assistance. But two-thirds of Wyoming kids don’t attend preschool, and the state does not invest a dime in it, creating an early-life hurdle for many children that is both costly and difficult to overcome.

Mental illness is a growing problem among young people in Wyoming.

Wyoming barriers: Suicidal students don’t learn much

June 30, 2023

In the first of a three-part series on barriers to opportunity that young people and families face in our state, Better Wyoming looks at the Legislature’s recent efforts—and failures—to address the growing problem of mental illness among Wyoming K-12 students.

The U.S. Dept. of Justice takes "straw man" donations quite seriously.

Wyo. Freedom Caucus megadonor subpoenaed for election crimes

June 16, 2023

Susan Gore, founder of the Wyoming Liberty group and one of the state’s wealthiest political donors, is under investigation by the FBI for making campaign contributions via spies she hired to secretly record her political enemies.

"Aye" votes included, from left to right, Reps. Bill Allemand, Alan Slagle, Dalton Banks, Christopher Knapp, Tomi Strock, Ben Hornock, Sarah Penn, Tony Locke, Clarence Styvar

Session recap: The day the ‘Freedom Caucus’ voted for the biggest govt. expenditure in Wyo. history

May 20, 2023

The "small government" group voted to spend nearly a billion dollars each year of Wyoming taxpayer money to prevent private businesses from requiring masks or vaccines.

Meanwhile, almost every single Freedom Caucus-sponsored bill got a hearing, which meant lawmakers spent their time debating hot-button national issues rather than improving government or fixing Wyoming’s real problems.

Session recap: How Chip Neiman killed dozens of “boring” problem-solving bills

May 12, 2023

Making sure electricians are safe? Yawn. Training more rural nurses? Booo-ring. Scholarships for community college students to learn trades? What a snooze fest! These are just some of the bills that House Majority Floor Leader Chip Neiman singlehandedly killed by not allowing them to proceed to the House floor for debate.

It's good to pay teachers and state employees what they're worth. But they need places to live, too.

Session recap: The good, the bad, and the ugly of Wyoming’s 2023 state budget

May 4, 2023

With a windfall of tax revenue from high gas prices, the Wyoming Legislature increased state employee and teacher pay and funded some economic development. But lawmakers failed to meaningfully address the state’s growing housing crisis, and they still would rather invest billions in Wall Street than our own local communities.

The lack of mental healthcare in Wyoming remains a fatal issue.

Session recap: Legislature falls flat confronting Wyo’s mental health and suicide crises

April 28, 2023

Lawmakers acknowledged in 2023 the problems of Wyoming’s crushing suicide rate (including teen suicide) and lack of basic mental healthcare access for rural communities and uninsured people. But resistance by the Freedom Caucus to any form of government program whatsoever helped defeat several proposals that could have saved lives.

More working families can qualify for relief, and long-term reform is on the way to help with rising property tax bills.

Session recap: Relief and reform for rising Wyo. property taxes

April 21, 2023

Rising home values have increased Wyoming property tax bills. The Legislature responded with targeted relief that will benefit nearly 10,000 households while untangling complicated issues with the state’s tax structure to allow for further reforms. They managed this while avoiding the slash-and-burn approach favored by the Freedom Caucus that would have gutted funding for local towns and counties.

This demands immediate state intervention! Call the Government!!!

Session recap - Lawmakers bravely confront Wyoming's hottest non-issue: transgender student athletes

April 8, 2023

Four transgender students participate in Wyoming high school sports. For a decade, a policy governing trans student eligibility in athletics has gone unused, because local communities have handled situations on a case-by-case basis. But the so-called Freedom Caucus shares the national media’s obsession with transgender people. So, confronting this trendiest of boogeymen became a priority during the 2023 session, while other issues that affect tens of thousands of Wyoming residents went ignored.

Learn more about the grassroots work Better Wyoming is doing across the state to increase affordable healthcare access in our communities.

Learn more!

HELP US FIGHT FOR A HEALTHY WYOMING!

Better Wyoming is a proud member of the Healthy Wyoming coalition, which leads the fight for Medicaid expansion in Wyoming.

Roughly 25,000 people in our state lack access to basic affordable healthcare because the Wyoming Legislature has refused to update the state’s Medicaid program to cover low-income residents.

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Together, we can build a better Wyoming

Join thousands of people just like you to build the kind of Wyoming that works for everyone

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