Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Wednesday, March 5th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Cowboy State Daily Morning Show With Jake! From 6 to 10 a.m., Monday through Friday, host Jake Nichols brings you news, weather, sports AND in-depth interviews with news-makers from across Wyoming - presented with Jake's unique humor and lively commentary. Just click on the Cowboy State Daily homepage and join the live broadcast!

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Wyoming Treasurer Curt Meier and Secretary of State Chuck Gray are both dreaming big about Trump's golden age, particularly when it comes to its legacy industries like coal.

The two want to see a port sited in the state of Washington, which has already blocked such an effort once, so that Wyoming can send its coal to market in the Pacific Rim countries. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that during a discussion last week aimed at refocusing the state's economic development agency, the Wyoming Business Council, both Gray and Meier expressed support for trying again for a port on the west coast.

"Curt Meier has already gone out and sought a legal opinion to find out if Wyoming bought land in Washington, would that create legal standing in the event that Wyoming tries again to build a port in Washington to take coal to market? So what happened last time Wyoming tried to do that, Washington blocked it. It's said that, according to its environmental laws, that this was a hazard, you know, that would be bad for the environment… Wyoming's contention at the time they brought a suit, and their contention is that's really a violation of the Interstate Commerce Clause. You can't block a land locked state from doing legal business because you just don't like coal anymore, and so they filed suit. But the legal process took a long time, and the case fell apart when the developer went bankrupt."

While Gray and Meier have sparred, sometimes publicly, the two men seemed to agree about the idea of an investment vehicle in Washington, or some other West Coast State, to help further assure the chances of a port effort in Washington, or in another West Coast state.

Read the full story HERE.

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With one swoop of the pen, Wyoming will offer public money for private education to all grade levels while expanding its voucher program for pre-K students.

Gov. Mark Gordon announced Tuesday that he'll sign House Enrolled Act 52 into law, a bill that creates universal school vouchers for the K-12 level. Cowboy State Daily's Leo Wolfson reports that the law will also provide income-based pre-K educational saving accounts, or ESAs, for children 4 years and older in Wyoming.

"This is a pretty big deal, $7,000 per child, no matter a parent's income. So you can make $200,000 a year, or you can make $20,000 a year, you'll still get 7000 for your child to access private education with public dollars. Also part of that bill, it expanded the already existing program for pre K school choice in Wyoming, boosting up the cap from 150% of the federal poverty level to 250% of the federal of the federal poverty level… And Wyoming is the only state in the country still to offer school choice for pre K students."

Gordon said he believes providing support at the start of a student's education will lead to higher-performing students down the road and eventually a better workforce, as well as help working families.

Read the full story HERE.

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Wyoming legislators have fought back against a Biden administration effort that some say tri