Nicky Ouellet
Managing EditorLeave a tip: nouelle1@uwyo.edu
Nicky has reported and edited for public radio stations in Montana and produced episodes for NPR's The Indicator podcast and Apple News In Conversation. Her award-winning series, SubSurface, dug into the economic, environmental and social impacts of a potential invasion of freshwater mussels in Montana's waterbodies. She traded New Hampshire's relatively short but rugged White Mountains for the Rockies over a decade ago. The skiing here is much better.
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Open Spaces show rundown for March 13, 2026 -
The Legislature adjourned with a budget and over 90 new laws on the books. On this season’s last episode, WyoFile's Maggie Mullen and Wyoming Public Radio's Jordan Uplinger recap what passed, back-and-forth between the governor and lawmakers, and what happens next. -
“It doesn’t mean we don’t report on arrests,” criminal justice reporter Ivy Secrest told WPR. “But it does mean that we have to be really cognizant about what crimes we cover in depth and what crimes do a lot more harm reporting on than good.” -
It’s a drop from 2023, but still on the higher end for the past decade. Transportation incidents remain the most lethal, accounting for about half. -
The vetoes had to do with voluntary paycheck deduction of union dues, limits on law enforcements’ gun-related actions and a repeal of a state account. The Legislature adjourned sine die after these actions. -
On the last day of the budget session, the caucus said the two-thirds requirement hindered their ability to fully achieve all their goals. But they said they governed well and pointed to other wins. -
Gordon also vetoed a bill that would’ve allowed civil suits against law enforcement agencies for enforcing orders solely regarding firearms or ammunition. Sheriffs worried it’d hamstring their cooperation with the feds. He also vetoed a union related bill. -
Gov. Mark Gordon signed over 30 bills into law on Friday and vetoed one that would have killed an investment account, citing constitutional concerns. -
Wyoming has a budget for the next two years! After weeks of divisive lead up, how did we get here? Plus, the House issues its report on an activist handing out campaign checks on the House floor. WyoFile's Maggie Mullen and Wyoming Public Radio's Chris Clements break down the penultimate week of the budget session.
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One bill signed moves the Office of Homeland Security from under the executive’s purview into its own department. -
One is a resolution calling on the federal government to increase the share of royalties Wyoming earns off of mining and drilling on federal lands. The other modernizes laws about subleasing state grazing land. -
Wyoming, like the majority of states, is required to pass a balanced budget. Volatile revenues, the lack of an income tax and working on a two-year cycle all present challenges, according to a researcher with the Urban Institute.
