Episode Details

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, May 12th. I'm Mac Watson.

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A surge of as many as 70 proposed data centers converging on Cheyenne has prompted one councilman to propose a 12-month moratorium on new construction. However, Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that Mayor Patrick Collins says,"an outright moratorium or a ban, that's not our way."

"This moratorium, which has been proposed by Councilman Mark Moody, it would be a 12-month moratorium. It wouldn't apply to any data center that's already under construction. There's two major ones that it would affect. Microsoft has proposed tripling its size in Cheyenne. And then there's the one on the Cox ranch. We don't know who the operator is there, but that one's been put on hold until September, giving the council some time, you know, to have additional information about that development."

The moratorium idea follows a grassroots petition seeking 7,000 signatures to halt new data center construction amid questions about power and water use.

Read the full story HERE.

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Wyoming's new education funding model is leaving many schools short of money for sports and activities. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that lawmakers are urging schools against "hacking and whacking" programs while they fix it.

"What's happening is a reevaluation of how activities are funded has made it so that activities are actually seeing a shortfall. So sports, speech and debates, stuff like that. So the Wyoming high school activities Association on Friday put out a presser saying, Okay, think about limiting stuff. And so lawmakers in response are saying, 'okay, okay, hold on.' House Speaker Chip Neiman said, 'Yeah, but this also might be a good time to find some of these efficiencies that we that we could but aren't using.'"

As a whole, Wyoming K-12 school districts are receiving an extra $114.1 million in the coming school year, says a report by the Legislative Service Office. That's an 8.6% increase from the prior school year to a total of $1.95 billion, or $22,626 allocated per kid.

Read the full story HERE.

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The Trump administration has moved to open more National Park Service land to hunting. But Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that doesn't mean fluorescent orange hunting vests and rifle shots will light up Yellowstone National Park this fall.

"It doesn't sound like we're looking at any big changes in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. There already is some limited, what they call elk control hunting in on one end of Grand Teton Park. in Yellowstone itself. Forget about it. I was told that would take an act of Congress. An executive order can't change that. They would actually have to change the law. Congress would have to say, 'Okay, you can hunt in Yellowstone,' and nobody's holding their breath, waiting for that to happen."

The move calls upon the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other agencies under the Interior Department to "identify and remove unnecessary regulatory or administrative barriers to hunting and fishing on Department-managed lands and waters."

Read the full story HERE.

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Riverton police say a woman accused of lighting a