Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, February 24rd. I'm Mac Watson.

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Wyoming troopers and their families say low pay, lost overtime, and short staffing are driving burnout and resignations. Cowboy State Daily's David Madison reports that the Wyoming Highway Patrol Association's first-ever social media blitz — run by a 25-year veteran who doesn't use Facebook — has gone viral.

"There's one titled, 'Why I want my husband to quit the Highway Patrol,' because they've gotten down to the point where they can't pay overtime, and so patrolmen are called out in the middle of the night. They don't earn overtime, and so they are paid in Flex Time, which gives them more time off, which only aggravates the staffing shortages. And so there's a lot of issues facing the Highway Patrol."

Currently, the Wyoming Highway Patrol has experienced a 56% attrition rate among sworn officers over the past five years, with 178 troopers voluntarily resigning.

Read the full story HERE.

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The University of Wyoming on Monday said it disagrees with a House budget tweak that lawmakers framed as a negotiation. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that UW is adamant: No cuts are appropriate, period.

"On Saturday, what happened was the House said, 'Okay, we'll only cut you 20 million, but then there's another 20 million that we will also cut if you don't find $5 million in savings.' And there was all sorts of debate on the House floor, like this is the result of negotiations. 'We had a really good meeting. Haven't you heard of 'Art of the Deal?' The University came out loud and clear Monday and said, 'We are not okay with any cuts, including this one.' So what happens next is the Senate, which has funded the university fully proposed to fund the university fully, will enter negotiations with the house which has proposed the cut."

The Wyoming legislative Joint Appropriations Committee's majority in January advanced a proposed $40 million cut, or about 10%, to the state's portion of UW's two-year operating budget.

Read the full story HERE.

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Breaking up a fight between two women at a Laramie bar led police to discover the 2-year-old child of one had been left home alone for hours. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that court documents say police found the child in a dark, 90-degree room wearing a soiled diaper.

"So, in the bar fight revealed a potentially much worse situation that could be going on. They go to the place, and what they found was pretty disturbing. A two year old in the home by itself, shut in a room, and it was like 90 degrees in the room, there's a space heater turned up the max in there, which could be potentially dangerous as a fire hazard. She was charged with child endangerment, and she also got two charges of interference with the police officer, one for not being cooperative at the bar and another, when they arrested her and took her to jail, she backhanded one of the deputies at intake, apparently pretty hard. And so that actually was a felony."

According to court documents, 25-year-old Kayla Marie Clark is still in jail in Laramie County on an $80,000 bond.

Read the full story HERE.

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The Wyoming House passed a bill Monday to kill Jackson and Teton County affordable housing policies. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland re