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The Wyo Legislature’s “emergency” session to fight vaccines is political theater at its worst
The special session starting Tuesday in response to new federal COVID-19 directives gives politicians the chance to bluster and beat their chests. But it does little to help normal Wyomingites, even as the state faces multiple crises that have nothing to do with vaccines.
Ten FACTS about Wyoming’s Medicaid coverage gap
1. Tens of thousands of people in Wyoming don’t have health insurance. They earn too much to get “traditional” Medicaid, […]
County clerks: The puppetmasters of Wyoming redistricting
A key part of redrawing Wyoming’s voting districts is determining where “communities of interest” exist. No one plays a bigger role in that process than your local county clerk.
What Mike Enzi’s death says about Wyoming’s healthcare system
The medical treatment the former U.S. Senator received after his recent accident starkly contrasts the Wyoming healthcare system most of us are stuck with—counties that can’t afford ambulances, hospitals that can’t treat patients, and people for whom a trip to the ER means massive medical debt.
Why Susan Gore might go to prison
The Wyoming Liberty Group founder described allegations that she funded an elaborate spy operation as a “nothingburger.” But that burger might come with a side of prison time if it turns out she’s guilty of serious election crimes. Now that one of the project’s masterminds has been located in Wyoming and subpoenaed, more light might come to the case for investigators.
Wyo. lawmakers bend over backwards to support male-dominated industries. Those that employ women? Not so much.
With one hand, Wyoming lawmakers throw support behind the declining coal, oil, and gas industries, providing public investment and political support. With the other hand, they gut sectors where women work like healthcare, education, and retail. No wonder we have the nation’s worst gender wage gap.
Redistricting is a boring, bonkers, sometimes corrupt process in Wyoming you need to know about
Every 10 years the Wyoming Legislature redraws the voting map that determines which lawmakers represent which people. On its face, “redistricting” is dull. But it’s a critically important process that often invites creativity—as well as creativity’s relatives, corruption and abuse.
Ex Wyo Liberty Group staffer “disgusted” by Susan Gore’s spying scheme
Political economist Sven Larson worked 10 years for Gore’s Wyoming Liberty Group. In a new statement, he condemns Gore’s plot and states she has “wiped out whatever credibility she had.”
Right-wing spies target Better Wyoming
Political spies with ties to the Wyoming Liberty Group, Project Veritas, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince targeted Better Wyoming as part of a yearlong operation to gather intel and make secret recordings to weaponize against the organization.
Wyoming lawmakers eye funding options for Medicaid upgrade
The Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee will take up Medicaid expansion this week, with a focus on translating some of the $1.4 billion Wyoming will receive from the American Rescue Plan into sustainable healthcare funding for low-income residents.
Public health cuts hit communities across Wyoming
The Legislature cut more than $100 million from the Wyoming Department of Health’s budget this session, including tens of millions from mental health and substance abuse programs while the state is experiencing a suicide crisis.
The silver lining of Wyoming’s new voter ID law: A path to online registration
Wyoming’s new voter ID law will suppress turnout, as similar laws have in other states. But by forcing Wyoming residents to show IDs at the polls, the new law also eliminates the main argument against Wyoming adopting online voter registration, which increases youth voter turnout.
Wyo Senate scuttles education funding bill, sparing school cuts
In a last-day legislative surprise, lawmakers from the Wyoming House and Senate failed to agree on the details of a bill that would have dramatically cut public education funding. As a result of legislators’ failure to govern, K-12 schools will be spared budget cuts for now. But the structural problem of our education funding model remains.
Wyo Legislature looks to end fifth straight session with deep education cuts
The House and Senate have come up with two different versions of an education funding bill: One that cuts public school budgets, and another that cuts them even more. Lawmakers will end the session tomorrow debating which version will prevail.
A single vote stops Wyo. Medicaid expansion, but a movement grows
Two identical bills to update Wyoming’s Medicaid program came before the same Senate committee this session. A senator who supported the first bill flipped and killed the second. But not before a movement coalesced that will continue to fight for affordable healthcare access in Wyoming.