Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Wednesday, April 30th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Wyoming Community Foundation, who asks you to give back to the place you call home. "5 to thrive" is YOUR opportunity to leave a legacy for generations to come. Support the community nonprofits you care about with a gift through the Wyoming Community Foundation. Visit wycf.org to learn more.

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A Wyoming federal judge Monday ruled against a Rock Springs couple who sued their local school district, on claims the district helped to socially gender-transition their high school daughter without their knowledge or consent.

U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl ruled that Sean and Ashley Willey's lawsuit doesn't carry enough proof that Sweetwater County School District No. 1 violated their parental or religious rights. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Skavdahl judged the case early in the school district's favor and dismissed it.

"This concludes two years of litigation, three years of controversy where the Wiley's had sued the school district there in Sweetwater County like saying they have this policy that's like, respect students privacy, hide pronouns and names from parents. And the judge came back on Monday and dismissed the case and said, Look, they honored the students request to be called by alternate name and pronouns, but they weren't doing active hiding, they weren't doing active burying."

Sean and Ashley Willey's daughter attended Black Butte High School in Rock Springs from 2021-2023. During that time, peers and multiple teachers started referring to her by a male name and pronouns. Her mother Ashley, who is a teacher in another school in the district, did not learn of her daughter's new identity until a district-wide training in March of 2022.

Read the full story HERE.

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Authorities believe that a woman found dead outside her wrecked vehicle on White Mountain on Sunday is a Green River woman who has been missing for more than two months.

Though her identity has yet to be forensically verified pending an autopsy, the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office said circumstantial evidence points to it being 41-year-old Melissa Amadio, who was last seen on Feb. 26th. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that the description of the vehicle she was driving and other personal effects indicate that the deceased woman is Amadio.

"White Mountain is a flat Butte… and it runs north, south, the distance of Rock Springs… there's a county road that traverses along the rim, and so at some point she her car careened off of that road and rolled down … the side of the Butte, and it was found kind of wedged in a in a ravine… given the color of the car, because it was a kind of tan gold, so as the snow is melting, it's going to be harder to see. And so from what I understand, it was found by people on dirt bikes who were riding the area on Sunday, Sunday afternoon… her body had been ejected about 30 to 50 feet away from the vehicle."

Amadio's brother posted about his sister's death on the Missing People of Wyoming Facebook page, asking for "space" and promising to provide updates about funeral arrangements. He thanked everyone for their efforts in helping to find his sister.