Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, August 14th. I'm Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by the Converse County Tourism Promotion Board! Discover Douglas and Glenrock in beautiful Wyoming, where rich history, outdoor adventure, and welcoming communities await. Feel the Energy of Converse County at www.ConverseCountyTourism.com.

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A Wyoming legislative committee chair is removing a former speaker of the state House, and one of the state's foremost public records law experts, from the schedule of an upcoming meeting because of a political column he writes.

Former House Speaker Tom Lubnau writes a column for Cowboy State Daily that is sometimes fiery in tone, and often critical of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, a group of Republican lawmakers with a social-conservative focus.

Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Lubnau, a Republican himself, was removed from the agenda for Thursday's legislative Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee meeting.

"Tom Lubnau, besides being former House Speaker, is probably the foremost expert on the Public Records Act in Wyoming… And so he was going to testify, not not for the press, but for the government… And Senator Cale Case let him know here a couple days ago, like, Oh, whoops. Never mind. My co Chairman doesn't want you on there. Your column is problematic. So I reached out to Chairman Christopher Knapp, and he said, Look, this column is beneath a level of civil discourse that I would expect from someone testifying before this committee… Lubnau conversely, was like, I've been testifying before legislative committees since 1986 without issues."

Lubnau said his political column is a product designed to both entertain and inform people, and its nature doesn't affect his ability to show decorum at a legislative meeting.

Read the full story HERE.

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A Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office training exercise on Flaming Gorge Reservoir on Wednesday turned into a real rescue for five deputies and a K-9 on board.

The department's Marine Unit was conducting a joint training exercise near Buckboard Marina with the K-9 division to acclimate the police dogs to being on a boat and the water, when the unexpected happened, according to Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson.

"It was a landing vessel, which means the back end folds down to allow people to get on and off. They were coming in slow, lowered the back end. Lowered it too low, and… the boat took on water, tipped it over, and that's what put them in the water… there was a captain who was in a partially enclosed cabin and a canine because… they were training the dogs to get used to being on a boat in case they ever had to do a water rescue… so one of the canines was on the boat when it tipped over and its leash got tangled, and so it rolled over with the boat, and when its handler noticed the dog didn't come out… He dove in and got it off and got his dog out…. another deputy ran back and made sure that the… captain who was in the cabin, got out."

Sweetwater Sheriff's Office Deputy Jason Mower said the result was a "best-case scenario" for having a boat overturned, and added that it highlights the need to always be vigilant and prepared.

Read the full story

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