The Open Range Record article archive
Complete archive of news articles, investigations and columns published by The Open Range Record, Wyoming's Independent News Source.
- Cole: The Ongoing Outrage of the United Nations
How can one explain the U.N. selection of Iran to a four-year term on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women? Or selecting Cuba to serve on the U.N. Human Rights Council? This is simply outrageous! - Driskill's Private Meeting with Prometheus and Radiant Lobbyist
Less than three weeks after a narrow primary victory, former Wyoming Senate President Ogden Driskill reportedly met privately in Hulett with a Prometheus Hyperscale executive and a lobbyist who represented Radiant Industries before a legislative committee. Dri... - Lange: End the Circular Firing Squad with Runoff Elections
No matter whom you supported, if you are led by your better angels, you should want to know if your candidate can garner a majority rather than slide into office with a mere plurality. The best way to end this biennial bellyaching is to have a runoff election. - Media Silence in Thayne as WYGOP Expands Court Wins
The contrast between the substantive policy actions taken in Thayne and the media blackout highlights an ongoing disconnect in state political reporting. Throughout the spring and summer, legacy outlets dedicated extensive coverage to party disputes and proced... - Editorial: President Trump Can't Veto the First Amendment
Trump can dispute a story, produce contrary evidence, and demand a correction. If it’s defamation, test it in court. Throwing out three news outlets because he thinks they’re fake news is wrong. - WY Vehicle Registration Taxes Drive Down New Car Sales
Because Wyoming's tax formula permanently anchors every assessment to the vehicle's original factory sticker price rather than its current market value, rapid auto inflation over the past decade has created a severe mathematical disparity between older and new... - Federal Legislation and Gillette Fuel Plant Reframe Wyoming’s Nuclear Landscape
As Congress considers measures to reduce administrative delays for nuclear licensing, Wyoming communities and industry stakeholders continue to assess the specific scope, material inputs, and regulatory requirements of proposed nuclear developments. - Cowboy State Daily Makes False Claims About Iverson
Miller knew before his appearance on the CSD show that the claims he was going to make weren’t, at the very least, substantiated. He said so himself. - Manufactured Panic and Regulatory Capture? Inside the Push to License and Control AI
Industry watchdogs argue that establishing a federal regulatory body, essentially an FDA for artificial intelligence, serves the commercial interests of dominant technology firms at the expense of independent innovation. - School District Silences Critics By Silencing Everyone
“I will be asking the board to take into consideration suspending the public comment period at board meetings while the policy committee completes its review of our public participation policy.” - Western Declares the War on Coal Over. Wyoming Still Has the Law He Voted For.
There is an inconvenient piece of Wyoming history missing from Western's victory lap. While Cyrus Western triumphantly declared that the war on coal is over, he neglected to mention that the EPA’s rollback will not remove Wyoming’s own carbon-capture requireme... - Inside Connection: Reaching Women, Supporting Families, and Building Hope in Sweetwater County
The organization does not perform or refer for abortions. Its website says staff will discuss parenting, adoption, and abortion with clients while providing pregnancy confirmation, ultrasounds, and information about their options. - Letter: Who Are We?
Vetter writes: In the end, the August primary is not all that surprising. Many government-dependent interests rallied resources to elect politicians who represent Big Government across Wyoming to keep the contracts, influence and monies flowing. - Wyoming's "Business Development" Loop
In a free market, businesses compete with their own money under rules that apply equally. In Wyoming’s state-directed system, public officials use taxpayer money and government programs to lower costs, open doors and share risk for selected projects. - Wyoming Officials Push Data Center Development Amid National Investment Pullback
Wall Street pullbacks, scrapped projects, and a trillion-dollar debt bubble in the AI data center market raise serious questions about Wyoming's aggressive push to attract hyperscale computing facilities. - Letter: We Need a Brake on This Crazy Train
Sorry, there's not ten Rush Limbaugh type conservative ballots cast for every democrat ballot. Everybody's a republican of any and all stripes. It's fashionable and where the power is. Thus, Wyoming's term 'republican' is swiftly becoming meaningless. - Who Was the Alpine Education Foundation Trying to Elect?
The Aug. 18 message did not simply remind recipients to vote. It named three candidates and highlighted their support for the charter school and a "family-friendly Alpine." Whether the message was legally attributable to the foundation, and whether it violated... - The Muni: Top 5 Municipal Courses to Play This Fall
A municipal course isn’t Augusta National with lower green fees. It isn’t supposed to be. When the irrigation system needs work at a wealthy private club, a member can write a check. When a municipal course needs the same repair, it has to be in the budget. - Wyoming Conservatives Coalescing Around New Governor Candidate To Defeat Left-Leaning GOP Nominee
Bextel supports tax reform to protect property owners and “hold government accountable for how taxpayer dollars are spent” according to her website. She would withdraw Wyoming from the federal refugee resettlement program and end policies allowing illegal immi... - Letter: Iverson Got it Wrong, "Wyoming Conservatism" is Conservatism
Those realities do not make every government program conservative. They do mean that Wyoming policymakers cannot simply ignore economic realities in order to satisfy an abstract definition of limited government. Sometimes governing requires government to do so... - Anatomy of Beef: Inside the Cartel and the Push for Local Processing
A deep look into the structural consolidation of the Big Four meat packers, the federal push to bypass industrial monopolies through direct-to-consumer sales, and the policy friction over rising foreign beef imports. - Lange: I'm Not Buying the Hype About DOJ Observers
I think that the citizens of Wyoming are tired of being used as extras in B-movie agitprops. We’ve seen this flick playing in Colorado since globalist millionaires flipped it from a reliably red state to a Rocky Mountain bastion of blue. - "Wyoming Conservatism" Is a Knock-Off Stetson That'll Never Be the Real Thing
Wyoming may have its own landscape, its own industries, and its own political temperament. It does not have its own laws of logic, dictionary, or brand of conservatism. - Lange: God Still Knows How to Perform Miracles
God used the very forces of nature to assist Washington in a feat that has been dubbed the “Miracle of Brooklyn Heights.” Even when the dawn threatened to expose the operation to the watchful British, that soupy fog persisted until the last boat was underway.... - Bextel Launches General Election Bid, Offering Wyoming Conservatives Another Choice
For Bextel, the central issue is larger than any one vote. She argues that Barlow’s overall record is more closely aligned with establishment and Democratic priorities than with the limited-government principles regularly promoted by the Republican Party. - Barlow’s Spokeswoman Leads Group Backed by Obama Campaign Veterans
Fitzgerald is the direct link between Barlow’s campaign and a network of former Barack Obama campaign and administration officials. For a candidate claiming to be a Wyoming Republican, that connection deserves far more attention than it has received. - Sheridan County Officials Deny Press Access
In what was supposed to be a meeting about transparency of government, Sheridan County’s audit was done without the video or photographic scrutiny of the press. - Barlow Can't Deny His Own Record on Medicaid Expansion
Barlow voted repeatedly to advance Medicaid expansion numerous times, sponsored his own expansion bill, and authored an expansion amendment. These are simply Barlow's votes. - Lange: Honoring the Founding Means Accountability to God
No system, no process, no protocol can ever replace the individual who stands before the God of Creation and who asks the whole world to judge his or her actions in the light of commonly accessible truth. - Cole: Perhaps It’s Time to Think WAY Outside the Box
So, what can be done? Here comes a completely outside the box idea. Hold onto your hats! What if a statewide effort were to convince conservative Republicans to vote for the Democrat candidate for governor, Mr. Casner? Before you stop reading, just take a mome... - Sheridan County’s 5% Hand-Count Audit Set for Saturday
Saturday’s hand count will provide the first test in Sheridan County of the Legislature’s new 5% audit mandate. With Arzy calling for a random selection, attention will now fall not only on whether the hand count matches the electronic results, but also on how... - Letter: Even 7th Graders Know Socialism is a Bad Idea
Students argued in favor of capitalism. They worked hard for their grades--they proved to themselves that they would benefit from their efforts. Even if they liked their classmates and wanted what was best for them, they were unwilling to work for the good of... - Letter: Senate File 82 WIll Raise Costs and Not Verify LLCs
SF-82 would do little to verify the legitimacy of LLCs, would raise the cost and complexity of forming and maintaining them relative to other states, and would heighten legitimate privacy concerns, all while Wyoming’s economy is already struggling. The practic... - Wyoming Education Association Bankrolls Movement to Reject Property Tax Relief
We have permanent funds, mineral wealth, investment income, and a constitutional mandate that the Legislature must meet. Growth in those other sources, combined with prudent budgeting, is how a low-tax state has long delivered essential services. - Sheridan Commishes Vote Not to Endorse Renaming of Peak after SGT Krinkee
There is no question that Krinkee deserves to be remembered. The debate was over whether Sheridan County’s highest point should carry only his name when the county has produced other men and women who also left their families, answered the call of duty and nev... - Wall: When Your Candidate Loses: The Mathematics of a Divided Vote
Primary elections encourage factions. General elections test whether those factions can become coalitions. Wyoming has just finished an intensely divided primary, and there has undoubtedly been a lot of frustration, celebration and anger in many different corn... - Reid's Endorsement That Never Was
The Election Day text was not an isolated misunderstanding. Whether the message originated directly with Rasner’s campaign or someone else, it relied on the same cultivated association Rasner had repeatedly used: place his name beside a prominent conservative,... - The Cowboy State Contradiction
Wyoming may still call itself the Cowboy State, but if its elected officials continue choosing dependency over independence, subsidies over free enterprise, and government management over personal responsibility, the title will become little more than the Repu... - The Results: Conservatives Get Shellacked in Primary
No single explanation accounts for every defeat. But the statewide pattern is unmistakable: conservative candidates were targeted, and many were successfully removed. - Marquardt: Does "Grassroots" Actually Mean Grassroots?
Campaigns can buy television commercials, mailers, consultants, and digital advertising. What they cannot simply purchase is someone who believes enough to cook the food, set up the chairs, open a building, drive across the state, knock on a door, put up a sig... - Bien: Western Governors' Neglect Imperils the Nation
The crisis the WGA governors created is REAL. The Wyoming Legislature and our Governor share equal responsibility for not preparing. We are next. Protecting people, water security, food security and national resilience above corporate welfare is the first prio... - Pulling Back the Curtain: Who's Really Behind the Wyoming Attack Ads
The same national financial network that has supported progressive Democrats, climate activists, labor organizations, and left-wing advocacy campaigns has now intervened in Wyoming’s Republican gubernatorial primary. - Butcher Contradiction: Pro-Abortion But Claims to be Conservative
Butcher begins with language that sounds cautiously pro-life. She writes that “human life is precious” and says that principle should be reflected in Wyoming law. But she then adopts the central argument of the abortion-rights movement: “Women should be able t... - Letter: Is this Republican Reality?
We have a problem in Wyoming of Democrats who pretend to be Republicans. They run as Republicans, get elected, and then vote predominately as Democrats. I’ve even heard them claim to be conservative at debates or forums, but conservatives don’t violate the Rep... - Wyoming Doesn’t Need More Mud Slinging
Let’s elect people for who they are and what they will do, not for what some mysterious, never-heard-of-them-before organization ginned up to make voters mad. Let’s elect people to represent our interests, not puppets who parrot consultants’ talking points. - 2003 Barlow: We Must Move Beyond Fossil Fuels
He ended his testimony to Congress by declaring that America must “move beyond” nonrenewable energy and treat fossil fuels as a bridge to something else—not as resources upon which the nation should continue to rely. What cannot reasonably be argued is that th... - Marquardt: Three Voter Pools — And Megan Degenfelder Has a Foot in Two
Megan Degenfelder appears to be trying to build her winning pool one scoop from the right and one scoop from the left. And that leaves the questions: Are there enough voters in the middle, and enough she can peel from both sides to win? Or are there enough vot... - Sweetwater Sheriff Candidates Answer Questions
Rather than focusing on campaign slogans, the questions were intended to give candidates an opportunity to explain how they understand the oath they are seeking to take and how that oath would guide them when difficult questions involving government authority,... - The Myth of "Christian Nationalism"
The idea that Christian political involvement is a recent or foreign intrusion into American life is historically absurd. Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Anglicans, and ministers from other traditions played an integral role in preparing Americans... - Connolly Conservatism: $1.241 Billion in New Spending
Connolly voted for approximately $1.241 billion in additional spending during the House’s consideration of HB 1. When House members were presented with opportunities to add, restore or expand spending, she repeatedly voted for amendments the combined fiscal im...