Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, January 21st. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - brought to you by Visit Casper. Visit Casper invites you to come enjoy the Casper International Film Festival, January 31 through February 2. A broad range of films from local and international filmmakers will be shown. Learn more and get your tickets at visitcasper.com.

–

One of the most popular political topics in Wyoming is private property rights and how far, or not, they should extend.

On Monday, that topic took center stage in the Wyoming House over a discussion on a bill that would require the sale of all private property to the federal government in Wyoming be matched with a corresponding decrease in federal land.

Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson reports that House Bill 118 would mark a significant change for those wanting to sell their land for recreation or other purposes to the federal government, and likely limit most of these transactions moving forward.

"There was a lot of back and forth discussion about this in the House on Monday. Very interesting. It basically came down to what should get a bigger priority, restricting the federal government's growth, or private property rights. At the end of the day, the Wyoming house chose restricting the federal government as his preference… They're really kind of trumpeting the horn of state sovereignty."

The bill sponsor, Rep. Dalton Banks of Cowley, said just because federal land transfers have been accepted throughout Wyoming's statehood doesn't make it right. He also said his bill protects property owners from federal overreach and sweeping government mandates.

Read the full story HERE.

--

All three of Wyoming's members of Congress joined a body-jam of people in the U.S. Capitol's rotunda as Donald Trump took the oath of office to become the 47th president of the United States.

Sean Barry, reporting for Cowboy State Daily, says the 11th-hour change to the swearing-in ceremony, moving it from outside on account of cold weather, created uncertainty as to whether all lawmakers who wished to attend could actually fit in the circular indoor space beneath the Capitol Dome.

"Because there was a finite amount of space in the capitol rotunda, it was never clear whether all lawmakers who wished to attend would be able to attend, especially given the number of non lawmakers such as tech CEOs and Cabinet picks and former presidents and first ladies. There was never any question that Senator John Barrasso as the Senate Majority Whip, the second ranking member in the Republican Party in the Senate, whether he would be able to attend, certainly he would."

Barrasso could be seen in the live video feed of the ceremony. A spokeswoman for Senator Cynthia Lummis, along with a spokesman for Representative Harriet Hageman, confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that they were there as well.

Read the full story HERE.

--