Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, November 18th. I'm Mac Watson. This newscast is "Brought to you by the University of Wyoming Center on Aging. Did you know that 1 in 3 Wyoming adults have pre-diabetes, and most don't realize it? Are you tough enough to know your numbers? Take the quiz at: Find Out WY dot org."

Gov. Mark Gordon is asking the Wyoming Legislature for a little over an $11 billion dollar biennial state budget, up about $755 million from the prior budget cycle's $10.38 billion. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the governor's budget has nearly $3 billion earmarked for the Department of Health.

"It's an increase for the Department of Health, and that's while there's a subcommittee devoted to gouging the Department of Health. And so, Governor Gordon wrote in his narrative like, we need healthcare access. We need seniors and vulnerable populations to be healthy, to empower this state. Ken Pendergraft, who chairs the subcommittee that is reviewing the Department of Health's budget said, looks like an Overton Window, like maybe the governor and his agency are trying to set a higher normal than would naturally occur, so that the cuts aren't as as severe when they do come."

The governor's proposed budget increase from the 2025-26 biennium to the upcoming one represents a boost of about 7.27%.

Read the full story HERE.

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Rancher Travis Clyde, 47, was severely burned and injured in an explosion in July. Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck reports that despite suffering from third- and fourth-degree burns, Clyde is now back on his Jeffrey City ranch, thankful to be alive and all the support the community has shown him.

"They've been doing a family ranch for the past 16 years…the family didn't know about medical insurance, but obviously he, spent more than a month in the hospital in Salt Lake City in a burn care unit. So family and friends did some fundraisers, and they actually raised more than $100,000 for the family. And he is so appreciative of everybody who reached out, all the cards, he said, the prayers, the phone calls, and he said he's kind of a reserved guy…And self reliant, independent rancher. But he just says this whole thing has been humbling, you know, and he's so appreciative of how everybody has helped out his family."

Clyde tells Cowboy State Daily that he's back in the saddle already, but he still can't ride as long as he would like as he recovers.

Read the full story HERE.

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Accused of poisoning her roommate's dog so it had to be put down, the 19-year-old daughter of the Rock Springs police chief is charged with felony animal cruelty. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the dog's owner doesn't agree with backlash against the chief, saying he's a "good person."

"It's newsworthy that the police chief's daughter is charged with a felony, but in interviewing the alleged victim, the owner of the dog, she said, you know, this is devastating. I've lost my friend, I've lost my dog, but her dad's a good guy, and he's always been kind to me…Court documents touch briefly on possible motives, saying the dog bit but did not break the defendant's skin. And court documents also say that the defendant took a dislike to the dog after she moved in."

Allie Erspamer, who is the daughter of Rock Springs Police Chief Bill Erspamer, is slated to appear in court Nov. 26 for a preliminary hearing, where she will have the chance to argue that the state does not have probab