CHEYENNE—Ranching metaphors abound in the Wyoming Legislature thanks to its many agriculturally inclined members.

But the discussion took a turn for the literal Monday when Sen. Eric Barlow (R-Gillette) brought a yak skull onto the floor of the Senate.

The upper chamber was set to begin the laborious process of working through 59 budget bill amendments by the end of the day. Barlow, a veterinarian and yak rancher, had an idea.

Back when Barlow served in the House, members had a skunk-pelt tradition during budget week — when your amendment failed, you’d stack it in a pile underneath the pelt on your desk.

Now in the Senate, it was time for something new.

“This year, I think my tradition is — when my amendments die, I’m going to put it on the end of this yak horn,” Barlow said. “That’ll keep me humble about where I’ve been.”

By the end of the day, the left horn had hooked Barlow’s one dead amendment.

Sen. Eric Barlow (R-Gillette) holds up a yak skull in the Senate on Feb. 19, 2024. (Maggie Mullen/WyoFile)

Maggie Mullen reports on state government and politics. Before joining WyoFile in 2022, she spent five years at Wyoming Public Radio.

Join the Conversation

3 Comments

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. A lawmaker whose day jobs are Yak ranching and a veterinarian is the very definition of ‘citizen legislature’ here in the semi-nomadic horse culture of Wyomingstan . I have no idea how they do parliamentary procedure in the People’s Republic of Mongolia , but it probably uses live yaks and gets more bills passed.

    Reply

  2. How’bout enough of the cutesy stuff, the legislator inside jokes, etc and do just ONE thing: FIX THE PROPERTY TAX SITUATION. We didn’t send you people to Cheyenne to have an all expenses paid for circus. What is wrong with you people?

    Reply

    1. You got it Marilyn, for many of our “representatives” it’s a party, and since there’s only one (party) in charge, anything goes. But heck, the “legislature” in Washington DC is far worse. I doubt any yak heads have been displayed in those august chambers, but the level of yak, yak, yak, is much higher, and seldom results in much of anything resembling representation of the voters who sent them there.

      Reply