Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Friday, June 6th. 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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Wyoming lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a state Constitution amendment proposal that, if enacted and approved by the voters, would remove the Constitution's structures for property taxes.

But Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that when the two chairmen of the Joint Revenue Committee looked back two days later, they said that draft takes the call for property tax reform too far.

"Senator Bob Ide on Tuesday, was like, I want to make a draft to get rid of property tax out of article 15 of the Wyoming constitution… There's lots of talk, especially among Republicans, some Republicans in the Wyoming Legislature about getting rid of property tax in favor of something like a sales tax hike. And so that's the trend. But… I believe what the chairman of that committee cast as maybe unintentional, or maybe too far is then doing that would also get rid of, like, industrial taxes, mineral property taxes, not just focus on the little old lady who can't afford to live in her own house."

Property tax reform was a top voter issue ahead of the 2024 General Election. Property tax collections in the state for fiscal year 2024 were $2.057 billion dollars.

Read the full story HERE.

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A Wyoming Supreme Court's ruling Thursday kicked a lawsuit against a Cheyenne hospital over a little girl's death back down to a lower court.

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center had asked the high court to dismiss a motion its lawyers had filed seeking immunity against a lawsuit the family of a 7-year-old girl had filed against the hospital.

Cowboy State Daily's Justin George reports that the hospital is basing its argument on the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act, which affords public institutions legal protections.

"The lawsuit stems over the death of a seven year old girl, Amelia Young, who died in 2021 from tracheitis, which is a pretty common illness, but one that can be fatal with children if it's not treated. Her attorney claims that she was misdiagnosed and was sent home from the ER without treatment, and she died the next day. So the family has sued Cheyenne Regional Medical Center but, but what's interesting about this case is that the hospital is fighting it, mostly on the basis that it's not liable under Wyoming law because it was contracted physicians assistant and nurses who worked on and examined the little girl. So that's what makes this case different than most."

The hospital had asked the courts for total immunity, which was denied, and the hospital appealed all the way to the Supreme Court. In recent months, the hospital asked for that appeal to be dismissed as its legal strategy had shifted, and the justices granted that motion Thursday.

Read the full story HERE.

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Two weeks out from the latest deadline for the Chinese owner of TikTok to either sell its U.S. operation or go dark, a Wyoming entrepreneur remains optimistic about buying the popular social media app.

Reid Rasner, CEO of Omnivest Financial, has been making a push