© 2024 Wyoming Public Media
800-729-5897 | 307-766-4240
Wyoming Public Media is a service of the University of Wyoming
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Transmission & Streaming Disruptions

March 9th, 2018

Listen to the full show here.

2018 Legislative Session Update: Chaos, Critical Infrastructure, And Education Funding

The Wyoming Legislative session is coming to an end and Wyoming Public Radio's Bob Beck joined Morning Edition host Caroline Ballard to discuss the lawmakers' progress.

Bills Would Ease Protections For Some Public Lands In Montana

Dotted across the Mountain West are huge swaths of federal land called Wilderness Study Areas. They aren’t protected Wilderness -- but they’re under review to see if they can be upgraded to that. But many of those reviews happened decades ago… and for the most part... Congress never took action. That means many of these lands are managed like Wilderness. No mining, logging, and in some cases… no motorized vehicles. They’re protected. Now a U.S. Senator from the Mountain West is taking action. Some folks are happy with his idea… others not so much. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Nate Hegyi reports.

This Week In Energy: Coal Ash Disposal, Severance Tax Exemption, And Self-Bonding Rules

Legislative controversy… how coal companies are paying for reclamation… and regulations around disposing coal ash. These are a few of the issues those in energy were talking about this past week. Wyoming Public Radio’s Cooper McKim helps break down what all of it means in a back and forth with Connie Wilbert, the head of the Sierra Club’s Wyoming Chapter.

Survivors Want UW To Tighten Cracks In Sexual Assault Response

Last fall, students walked out of class and gathered in protest of the University of Wyoming’s handling of sexual assault. The 45 or so students delivered a letter to President Laurie Nichols explaining how the current practices made them feel frustrated, and unsafe. One of those students recently filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, asking the federal government to investigate UW and its Army ROTC program. Wyoming Public Radio’s education reporter Tennessee Watson has more.

Legislature Passes Key Economic Enhancement Bills

While budget cutting and education may have been in the headlines, the Wyoming legislature did pass a number of economic development measures this legislative session. Wyoming Public Radio's Bob Beck speaks with Jerimiah Rieman who is the Governor's Director of Economic Diversification Strategy and Initiatives.  

Fight The Blight Campaign Reveals Affordable Housing Problem In Cheyenne

Cheyenne’s local government has been putting a lot of work behind its Fight the Blight campaign to address a number of abandoned houses and run-down buildings. But efforts to clean those places up have indicated another problem—a lack of affordable housing. 

State Senators Recap Education Battles

Education was a main topic of discussion during most of the legislative session. As the legislature comes to a close, K-12 education took a $30 million cut and a couple of constitutional amendments that could have done further damage failed. Senate Education Chairman Hank Coe and Senate Minority Leader Chris Rothfuss join Wyoming Public Radio's Bob Beck to size up what happened.

Bob Beck retired from Wyoming Public Media after serving as News Director of Wyoming Public Radio for 34 years. During his time as News Director WPR has won over 100 national, regional and state news awards.
Before Wyoming, Cooper McKim has reported for NPR stations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. He's reported breaking news segments and features for several national NPR news programs. Cooper is the host of the limited podcast series Carbon Valley. Cooper studied Environmental Policy and Music. He's an avid jazz piano player, backpacker, and podcast listener.
Maggie Mullen is Wyoming Public Radio's regional reporter with the Mountain West News Bureau. Her work has aired on NPR, Marketplace, Science Friday, and Here and Now. She was awarded a 2019 regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her story on the Black 14.
Nate is UM School of Journalism reporter. He reads the news on Montana Public Radio three nights a week.
Tennessee -- despite what the name might make you think -- was born and raised in the Northeast. She most recently called Vermont home. For the last 15 years she's been making radio -- as a youth radio educator, documentary producer, and now reporter. Her work has aired on Reveal, The Heart, LatinoUSA, Across Women's Lives from PRI, and American RadioWorks. One of her ongoing creative projects is co-producing Wage/Working (a jukebox-based oral history project about workers and income inequality). When she's not reporting, Tennessee likes to go on exploratory running adventures with her mutt Murray.
Annie is an MFA candidate in fiction at the University of Wyoming. She is originally from Michigan, but comes to Laramie by way of California, Virginia, Montana and Alaska. She earned degrees in Political Science and Law from Stanford University, but has now worked as a wilderness guide for longer than she practiced law. Her writing interests center on the influence of wilderness and isolation on individuals. Her non-writing interests include baking, rock and ice climbing, and playing music with friends and strangers.