Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, February 4th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Wyoming Senior Olympics! Experience the excitement of the Winter Games, February 20–22 in Pinedale, and support the SAFE Initiative. For event details and the full schedule, visit wyoming senior olympics dot com.

–

If U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman decides to run for governor of Wyoming in 2026, she'd be the overwhelming favorite. That's according to a poll conducted in late January by Washington, D.C.-based polling firm Cygnal.

Cowboy State Daily's Jimmy Orr reports that Hageman has a 72% favorability rating in Wyoming and leads her next closest competitor by more than 30 points, which has resulted in an outpouring of people asking her to run.

"A senior advisor to Harriet told me people would governors, senators, politicians would kill for the numbers that Harriet has. I mean, she has a 72% approval rating, a favorable opinion of likely primary voters and 60% of likely Republican voters have a very favorable impression of her. These numbers are gigantic, absolutely gigantic… if she were to enter the race right now against possible candidates for governor, She enjoys a 30 plus point advantage over the next top person. So these numbers are remarkable. They're huge. And if she were, in fact, decided to run for governor, which she could, it is, it is a huge, huge margin."

Hageman's senior political advisor, though, says don't expect any announcements soon, as Hageman is focused on her current job.

Read the full story HERE.

–

The Senate Education Committee passed on a 3-2 vote Monday, a resolution to ask voters to amend the Wyoming Constitution to dramatically change the way school construction is approved and funded in Wyoming.

Senate Joint Resolution 6 would overturn the previous Wyoming Supreme Court rulings that made school construction a state responsibility. Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson reports that it would return Wyoming to its previous school bond system, in which school districts go to their local voters for approval of bond initiatives that would be used to increase mill rates to provide funding for new construction projects.

"Currently, all these projects are approved on a state level and by the legislature. Is how they do it. It's a result of a 2001 Wyoming Supreme Court decision. This would basically return those decisions and the money that would be needed to support these projects to the local communities… A lot of people throughout Wyoming are worried about their property tax rates, so it may be a little hard to see them approving school construction projects."

If the resolution is passed by the Legislature, it would still need to go before the voters in 2026 to make an amendment to the state Constitution.

Read the full story HERE.

–

The Wyoming House of Representatives are working with two bills that expand Wyoming's ban on biologically-born males competing in female-only sports.

If it becomes law, House Bill 60 would expand Wyoming's 2-year-old ban on males competing in girls' interscholastic sports — which currently affects grades seven through 12 — to