Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, February 20th. I'm Mac Watson.

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The Wyoming House had a raw exchange Wednesday night about the check-passing controversy that's advanced into a criminal bribery investigation. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports one lawmaker admits he's received a check and didn't think it was wrong.

"House Speaker Chip Neiman, who had just a revelation and told kind of the whole story. Wednesday night, she walked into his office where he was with his wife, according to his telling, handed him a check they had discussed way back in January, that was made out to his campaign account. He handed it off to his wife, said, 'Put that in the campaign account,' and went right on with his business. He said he regretted that it had turned into a big controversy."

The House voted 37-21 in requiring the committee to continue its investigation as Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak will concurrently hold his criminal investigation.

Read the full story HERE.

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Two people are dead and more than 20 people were injured after a 34-vehicle incident in the westbound lane of I-80 near Evanston on Wednesday afternoon. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports the westbound lane was finally opened late Thursday morning as wreckers were busily clearing vehicles from the highway.

"Every wrecker in Evanston and several from Lyman were summoned to the scene so they could clear the road, and it took over 16 hours to get the westbound lanes of I-80 open again…Highway Patrol still investigating the contributing factors to these incidents…They said that bad weather conditions were probably a part of it, and a big part of it. There were white out conditions and slick roads. But they also didn't rule out that excessive speeds may have played a role."

Wyoming Highway Patrol says that the pileup occurred around 3:07 p.m. on Wednesday. In all, 22 commercial semi-trucks and 12 passenger vehicles were involved in the crash.

Read the full story HERE.

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Sen. John Kolb, the loudest voice on gambling in the legislature this session, is pushing four different bills to tighten up regulations on the industry. Cowboy State Daily's David Madison reports that Kolb says "Gaming within the state of Wyoming has exploded into a multibillion-dollar business."

"He's working on a number of bills, including a couple that were discussed today on the Senate floor. One talked about the placement of gaming machines…another bill looks at really refining the language around what is and is not a legal poker game. It's illegal. It would be illegal under this new legislation for there to be an organized game where you buy in and the house takes a cut that is just illegal. But the way the law is currently written, it's not easy to prosecute, according to Kolb and so they're trying to tighten that language to make it so you really have to be among friends."

Under current law, professional operators exploit a loophole allowing games among acquaintances. Bars take a cut of the pot, players pay buy-ins, and when authorities investigate, everyone claims to be pals.

Read the full story HERE.

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Two years after a wolf was run over with a snowmobile in Sublette County sparked worldwide outrage, animal welfare advocates are still trying to get the practice ban