Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, April 15th. I'm Mac Watson.

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A developer is asking Laramie County to build an 800-unit man camp to house up to 5,600 construction workers to build data centers. Cowboy State Daily's David Madison reports that neighbors say they don't want the crime that comes with it, while the county says the workers are coming regardless.

"This is a huge project. I spoke to the county planning director. He said, 'Look, it's better to have them on site where they're not having this big commute, putting 1000s of cars on our streets and stressing our local rental market. He used the example of, 'Hey, I'm looking after the guy who's working at the checkout aisle at Safeway in South Cheyenne. What's going to happen to his rent when these six figure specialists, construction guys who are pipe fitters and electricians and others who are making a really good wage, what happens when they flood into the local rental market? What does that do to our everyday wage earner.'"

Justin Arnold, director of Laramie County Planning and Development, tells Cowboy State Daily that the camp is a response to several approved mega projects now converging on Cheyenne, including Meta, the proposed Project Jade data center and Cowboy Solar.

Read the full story HERE.

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Five candidates to Wyoming's lone U.S. House seat are condemning President Donald Trump's decision to post online a Jesus-like image of himself in Roman-style robes and other religious imagery. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that one lawmaker says there's no debate about the image.

"This brought outrage from some on the Christian right, including Kevin Christensen, one of the 10 Republican candidates for Wyoming's US House seat, he came out bold Monday night like, This is blasphemy. What's wrong is wrong. What's right is right. Two more Republican candidates, John Romero- Martinez and Matt McGinnis both said that they agreed that the image was inappropriate."

Trump's post came after he clashed publicly with Pope Leo XIV over the war in Iran.

Read the full story HERE.

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Microsoft is announcing that it will buy 3,200 more acres in Cheyenne to build data centers, tripling its footprint in Wyoming's capital city while promising to limit impacts on power rates, water and housing. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that the Tuesday announcement comes amid vocal debates about data center impacts to energy costs and water usage for the Cowboy State.

"There are, there's a contingent of Wyomingites who are very opposed to this. I talked with Senator Cale Case and he's wondering, are we being too easy on these data centers? They're getting pushed out of other places. Maybe we want to tamp that down a little until we get this figured out, because there are some big things to figure out. The thing is, you're using a resource. The more of that resource that gets used, the higher the price goes. If all of these data centers come in, bring their own power, great, but they're going to be using up a resource. That resource is going to get more expensive."

The Microsoft land purchase involves two pieces of land, one 200-acre parcel located in Bison Business Park on Wapiti Trail east of South Greeley Highway, and an adjacent 3,000-acre parcel accessible from Wapiti Trail.

Read the full story

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