Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, January 21st I'm Mac Watson.

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Platte County commissioners unanimously approved new wind and solar energy regulations Tuesday afternoon they said protect private property rights for landowners and neighbors. Cowboy State Daily's David Madison reports that it was a difficult decision for the commissioners.

"The commissioners really grappled with it. You could tell that it was a tough call, but they said, Look, we can't impose what one Commissioner described as a blunt instrument that would allow one landowner to control 1.5 miles around from their property line that that there was a lot of talk about how your property rights end, where my property rights start, and then the county commissioners are right there in the middle trying to sort it out. I think the big takeaway for a general Wyoming audience who's been following along these various county debates over wind is that this, this was a very different type of meeting than what we saw in Douglas earlier this month, when state land board commissioners were confronted by a very upset, but very well organized and very articulate public in Converse County."

NextEra Energy, which is developing the Chugwater Energy Project in Platte County, came away pleased with the commission's decisions Tuesday.

Read the full story HERE.

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Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray is arguably the most vocal and high-profile opponent of wind-energy projects in the state, calling the industry "woke wind." But Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that he's voted to approve wind leases at least three times since 2023.

"The Secretary, for several months, has been deriding wind projects, both specifically and generally as a concept, you know, bashing woke wind and doing social media posts and other statements, and going through the minutes of the the State Board of land commissioners, you can see that he voted to approve three wind projects. One of those was a lease renewal, and two were new applications, and they were smaller, less controversial projects that nevertheless contrast with his overall position of de writing wind I asked him about that contrast, and he pointed to his specific issues with the current the prong horn and side wandering projects that are being debated right now."

The Secretary of State is also running for the lone Wyoming seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Read the full story HERE.

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Campbell County native Trey Wasserburger, a cofounder of a new rancher-owned packing plant in western Nebraska, is celebrating as the company's prime steaks hit Walmart shelves. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that Wasserburger started the packing plant out of desperation.

"This was kind of a desperation thing in 2020. The pandemic hit was three years after Trey and his wife Dana, had bought a ranch in Nebraska. And so that forced them to kind of like, rethink, how could we get our beef in stores? And led to this kind of idea for Sustainable Beef, which is a rancher-owned facility. Eight ranchers are co owners or investors in the facility…They're working on scaling up the processing right now they process around 1300 head of cattle a day."

Trey tells Cowboy State Daily that right now, they are in some Walmart stores, but Sustainable Meats will be in all Walmart stores "fairly soon."

Read the full story

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