Episode Details

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

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Some lawmakers say the Legislature didn't ask voters to settle whether abortion is health care. Cowboy StateDaily's Clair McFarland reports lawmakers claim it's because they fear the pro-abortion lobby will flood Wyoming with out-of-state money.

"I think most people went into this year's legislative session thinking that an abortion amendment Proposition would come out of it would head for the ballot this fall, and ask voters, do you want to codify this? Right? And that didn't happen. I talked to some lawmakers who said, 'Yeah, but you got to really amp up for that, because other states have had lots of out of state money come in when they have this ballot question, and then all this public messaging starts, and they can't they, they end up with that right codified instead of reversed.'"

Changing the Wyoming Constitution would take a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, then a majority vote by the people at the next general election, which is Nov. 3 of this year.

Read the full story HERE.

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Without cold winter temperatures to keep them subdued, Wyoming's summer could be dominated by mosquitoes. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that one entomologist says prepare for more flies and mosquitoes.

"Wyoming's winter has a direct impact on the life cycle of insects, and now that we've had an abnormally warm winter that could lead to a much more buggy summer with swarms of insects, the term but the ones that are going to thrive in those conditions are the ones that people don't like. It's too early to say whether we're going to have swarms of insects this summer, but the conditions are already set up for a lot of insects to thrive, as it wasn't that cold this winter, so a lot of insects that would have stayed dormant or suppressed during the colder months are already active and out and about. You're going to see more filth flies, and you could see more mosquitoes."

University of Wyoming Extension's entomologist Scott Schell tells Cowboy State Daily that the earlier mosquitoes hatch, it could lead to a higher transmission of West Nile virus which can affect livestock and humans.

Read the full story HERE.

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Police say the former CEO for the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce admitted to writing herself more than $77,000 worth of checks drawn on a chamber account. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that Amanda Knotwell's case was elevated to felony court on Wednesday.

"Anything over $1,000 is felony. So $77,000 is more than that. What's interesting is that the police chief did his accounting from the bank records, and came to an amount a little over $77,000 when he asked the former chamber president. how much she thought it was, he pulled out a spreadsheet. Apparently she had anticipated figuring this out. She pulled out a spreadsheet and gave him a number that was only $25 off from what he had found."

If convicted on the single charge of felony theft, Knotwell could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Read the full story HERE.

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Bar Nunn's mayor said it was "sleazy" that a Reid Rasner defamation lawsuit was served against a councilman during a public meeting Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports t