MONTANA

Trump nominates BLM chief

BILLINGS — President Donald Trump nominated a former lawmaker from New Mexico on Nov. 5 to oversee the management of vast public lands that are playing a central role in Republican attempts to ramp up fossil fuel production.

The nominee for the Bureau of Land Management, former U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico, must be confirmed by the Senate. The agency manages a quarter-billion acres — about 10% of land in the U.S. It’s also responsible for 700 million acres of underground minerals, including major reserves of oil, natural gas and coal.

The agency’s policies have swung sharply as control of the White House has shifted between Republicans and Democrats.

Under Democratic President Joe Biden, former bureau Director Tracy Stone-Manning curbed oil drilling and coal mining on federal lands while expanding renewable power in a bid to curb climate change.

Trump and Republicans in Congress have moved quickly to unravel Biden’s actions. In a matter of months they’ve opened millions of acres of public lands for mining and drilling and canceled land plans and conservation strategies that Biden’s administration took years to formulate.

A previous nominee to lead the agency, longtime oil and gas industry representative Kathleen Sgamma, withdrew in April following revelations that she criticized Trump in 2021 for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Pearce is a former fighter pilot and Vietnam War veteran who led a successful oil-services company in New Mexico. He was first elected to the House in 2003 and served seven terms in a district spanning oil fields and vast tracts of public land under federal oversight.

The land bureau went four years without a confirmed director during Trump’s first term. The Republican president also moved its headquarters to Colorado before it was returned to Washington, D.C., under Biden.

KANSAS

Legislature won’t join redistricting battle

TOPEKA — The Kansas House’s top Republican on Nov. 4 dropped efforts to force a redraw of U.S. House districts that would have thrust the state into a widening national battle for partisan advantage in the 2026 elections.

The announcement by House Speaker Dan Hawkins ended a weekslong push by GOP lawmakers to circumvent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and call themselves into a special session on redistricting, which would have convened Nov. 7.

A session would have targeted four-term U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the only Democrat in the state’s four-person House delegation.

Republicans still could draw a map designed to oust her after the GOP-supermajority legislature convenes its next regular annual session in January. Indeed, state Senate President Ty Masterson promised immediately after Hawkins’ announcement that redistricting would be “a top priority” early next year.

Kansas Republicans were trying to answer President Donald Trump’s call for states to redraw their maps to give the GOP more winnable seats ahead of the 2026 midterms so the party stands a better chance of keeping its slim House majority.

The Kansas constitution allowed Republicans to bypass Kelly’s refusal to call a special session by having two-thirds of the members of both chambers sign a petition. The GOP has the necessary supermajorities in both chambers, and enough GOP senators were on board, but a few House Republicans would not sign.

Some GOP critics opposed a mid-decade redistricting, while others feared that changes could make the three other Republican-held districts more competitive for Democrats.

WYOMING

Lottery could allow debit purchases 

CHEYENNE — Wyoming may become one of the next states to allow the purchase of lottery tickets with debit cards, if proposed legislation advanced Nov. 6 is adopted into law next year.

The Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee voted to advance a bill to change the current rules that limit WyoLotto purchases to cash-only transactions.

The committee’s decision followed testimony from lottery officials, legal counsel and retailer representatives, who argued that the change is necessary for convenience and competitiveness, despite acknowledged concerns about potential negative impacts for people who struggle with gambling addiction.

Wyoming Lottery officials stressed that the proposed change primarily addresses the reality of contemporary consumer habits. 

Currently, Wyoming is one of only two states in the nation with a lottery that does not accept debit card payments, and it is the only state without any cashless option available.

Jon Clontz, CEO of the Wyoming Lottery Corporation, estimated the change could result in an additional $300,000 to $400,000 in annual revenue, though it could have been between $800,000 and $1 million if not offset by the commitment to cover transaction fees and other equipment costs for retailers.

Matt Kaufman, legal counsel for WyoLotto, reassured the committee that the legislation’s use of the term “debit card” is sufficiently narrow, excluding potential risks associated with credit cards or emerging technologies like Bitcoin or Venmo. The lottery is not asking for credit card usage, which is currently allowed in 24 states.

Ultimately, the committee agreed that the practical benefits of modernization and convenience, coupled with WyoLotto’s commitment to absorb fees and maintain the existing $125 transaction limit, outweighed the risks and voted 12-0 to sponsor the bill draft, with two lawmakers excused from the vote.

UTAH

Flavor Flav joins Olympics team

PARK CITY — At 66 years old, Flavor Flav went 67 mph. That was all it took to get him hooked on sliding.

Meet the newest fan of the U.S. bobsled and skeleton program: a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, a founding member of Public Enemy, a reality show star and now, an aspiring slider. USA Bobsled and Skeleton announced Flav as its new official hype man Oct. 27, not long after he spent a couple days around the team at the 2002 Olympic track in Utah.

And he plans to be with the team at the Milan-Cortina Olympics in February.

The 66-year-old — his legal name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr. — went down the Park City track in a bobsled, then also wanted to try out skeleton, the headfirst sliding sport where elite athletes can reach speeds exceeding 80 mph.

Flav hit 67 mph on his second run.

For a regular person just trying the sport, that’s exceptional. No word on whether he used his catch phrase, ‘Yeah, boyeeeee.’

Flav has been a big supporter of Olympians in the past.At the Paris Olympics, Flav was the official hype man for the U.S. women’s water polo team.