Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, August 13th. 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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As a handful of Wyoming Republicans with name recognition across the state play wait-and-see with U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman and the 2026 race for governor, a longtime state legislator isn't waiting any longer.

State Sen. Eric Barlow of Gillette officially announced Tuesday he'll be on the 2026 Republican primary ballot for governor.

Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that he made the announcement at the Wright Centennial Museum in Campbell County, not far from the generational ranch where he grew up and still raises cattle.

"He's a former house speaker, so people know him from that, and he's a Republican, a former US Marine, but in his last campaign, he was accused by his his opponent as not being conservative enough… he said he doesn't like those labels and the measuring of how conservative or how liberal someone is. He says what really matters… is if you're making a difference, if you're getting things done."

Read the full story HERE.

But even the opening prayer at Barlow's announcement for governor cautioned it could be an ugly campaign. However, Barlow said if it gets ugly, it's not going to come from him.

"In the opening prayer, the pastor prayed for Barlow and his family to be able to withstand any of the misinformation, the mudslinging campaigns that can come with politics. So that was kind of kind of set up a little bit, and I think it's kind of in the back of people's mind, what kind of a campaign is this going to be? We have a year to find out."

The state's primary elections are scheduled to be held on August 18, 2026.

Read the full story HERE.

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In a 4-2 vote Tuesday, a division of Wyoming's environmental quality agency granted the request of solar power company Enbridge to increase one of its Laramie County projects' battery storage by 50%.

Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the approval came despite an emotional objection by a fourth-generation rancher living next door, who said the land will never be the same.

"The Cowboy solar project … it's a huge solar farm going in near Cheyenne, they asked for an upgrade in battery storage. They were going to upgrade from 133 megawatts to like 200, and so they presented before the Industrial Siting panel on Tuesday in a public meeting in Cheyenne, like, we know this upgrade, it's not going to impact traffic or