Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming, for Monday, June 16th. 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 legislative committee is proposing three tax hikes on multiple gaming industries, and a plan to insert a money-monitoring system into gaming machines across Wyoming bars, casino-style halls and truck stops.

The flurry of draft proposals came at the end of a Thursday meeting of the Legislature's Select Committee on Capital Financing and Investments in Cheyenne.

Proponents of the increase told Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland that it's time for tighter regulations and higher taxes in light of the gaming industry's exploding presence in the state.

"We have skill based Amusement Games… all sorts of different formats of horse racing… we have lottery, we have sports betting, online sports betting, as well… Wyoming was taxing much, much lower than the average. And so some of the people were talking, especially the chair of the committee, Senator Tara Nethercott. They were talking like these have been allowed to just explode into every corner of Wyoming Life… And so they proposed three tax hikes."

Detractors, from the gaming and related industries, said the taxes will harm businesses and local workers and limit the competitive edge of companies that pay taxes to Wyoming.

Read the full story HERE.

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An Albany County Sheriff's deputy pulled over one driver for going 110mph in a 70mph zone. The next day, the same driver was clocked at 116mph.

That's not surprising, though, according to a new study which crunched data for insurance companies. Cowboy State Daily's Justin George reports that Wyoming ranks number one for fastest drivers in the U.S.

"One of the reasons why, when you talk to folks and look at the study, is there's just wide open freeways in Wyoming, and there's a great distances to travel. And as everybody knows, Wyoming is the most sparsely populated state. So what does that mean less traffic, and you combine that with the legislature setting miles per hour at 80 miles per hour at the highest, you can go fast."

In the study, New Mexico was second at 71 mph. Idaho was third at 70.5 mph. New Hampshire, Vermont and Maryland ranked at the bottom with long-distance average driving speeds below 55 mph.

Read the full story HERE.

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Since Elon Musk joined the Trump administration, Tesla owners in Wyoming have been targets of vandalism, harassment and internal strife.

But now that the Trump-Musk alliance has hit the skids, Cowboy State Daily's Zakary Sonntag spoke to several customers who said they are hoping all the drama just goes away.

"On one hand, you have some people who really are so detached, they don't care one way or the other… they're doing their best to be indifferent to all the reactions, and that includes middle fingers and derogatory statements… And then on the other end, you have some traditional electric car drivers… I spoke with one self declared bleeding heart liberal who said that all along, it's been a pretty difficult thing for her to drive the Tesla, considering this Musk Trump Allian