Kinney proposes exploring federal partnerships to make Wyoming a center for American drone research, testing and manufacturing
WYOMING — Lisa Kinney today called for exploring a Wyoming economic-development and national-security initiative aimed at making the state a center for American unmanned-aircraft research, testing and manufacturing.
“Instead of asking only what industries want to come to Wyoming, we should ask what industries Wyoming can build,” Kinney said.
Modern conflicts have demonstrated the growing importance of relatively inexpensive unmanned aircraft systems and the challenges created when costly defense systems must be used to counter them.
Kinney said the United States should apply those lessons by strengthening domestic research, manufacturing and supply chains for unmanned aircraft technologies.
Wyoming should compete to be part of it.
Kinney proposes examining federal partnerships that could bring together Wyoming businesses, entrepreneurs, researchers, the University of Wyoming and Wyoming community colleges to develop a domestic drone-manufacturing ecosystem.
Wyoming’s wide-open spaces could offer opportunities for appropriate research and testing, while a growing unmanned-aircraft industry could support jobs in engineering, electronics, software, advanced manufacturing, fabrication, maintenance and supply-chain operations.
“I want Wyoming students to be able to graduate, find a good-paying technology or manufacturing job here and raise their families here,” Kinney said.
Kinney said Wyoming should pursue industries that complement the state’s existing strengths while creating opportunities beyond its traditional economic sectors.
That means connecting education, research, entrepreneurship and manufacturing.
“We have talented young people. We have wide-open spaces. We have a strong tradition of building, fixing and solving problems,” Kinney said. “Those are Wyoming advantages.”
A QUESTION OF NATIONAL PRIORITIES
Kinney said the proposal is also part of a broader conversation Congress should have about federal spending and national priorities.
The federal government faces major decisions about how taxpayer dollars should be invested. Traditional defense systems can cost billions of dollars, while rapidly evolving technologies are changing the economics of national defense.
“This isn’t a choice between national defense and Wyoming,” Kinney said. “The question is how America gets the greatest long-term return from the dollars taxpayers entrust to us.”
Kinney said federal investment in domestic unmanned-aircraft research and manufacturing could advance several national objectives at the same time: strengthening national security, rebuilding American manufacturing capacity, expanding domestic supply chains and creating skilled jobs.
“America should build more of the technology America needs,” Kinney said. “There is no reason Wyoming cannot help build it.”
“Wyoming can help feed America. Wyoming can help defend America. And Wyoming can build things America needs.”
Wyoming innovation. Wyoming manufacturing. Wyoming jobs.
Category: Media Releases
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Why Can’t Drones be Built in Wyo?
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Election Interference?
Lisa Kinney is Concerned About Recent Election Interference by DOJ
Lisa Kinney is angry that that the DOJ sent a team of “observers” to Wyoming’s primary elections to analyze our voting procedures by monitoring poll workers in Cheyenne. Wyoming can handle its affairs better than the Feds at every turn. We have faith in the integrity of our hard-working County Clerks, and the excellent work they do. How much of our tax dollars did they waste on this trip? Because Lisa Kinney’s opponent turned over Wyoming’s detailed voter data immediately when asked by the Federal Government, Chuck Gray boasts that Wyoming was the first state to provide this information. Since that time more than 30 other states have sued the government to prevent handing over their own state’s voter information, saying they should not have to relinquish this, and they have prevailed. Even so, the Feds showed up in Cheyenne to question Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee and watch the voting. Governor Gordon called the monitors’ behavior “a bit aggressive” and “irregular.” Chuck Gray insisted to the Governor that the clerk had been notified, but she said that she only received notice on Election day, which is not sufficient time. This type of behavior indicates it is time to elect someone to the U.S. House of Representatives who is not subservient to federal indiscretion. We need a representative who is serious about doing the job rather than grandstanding for out-of-state, out-of-touch national groups. Lisa Kinney has represented the needs of Wyoming through the Wyoming State Senate, and she will continue to serve Wyoming with integrity and honesty when elected.
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Importing Foreign Beef is Not the Answer
Trump is planning to increase the amount of tariff-free beef from Argentina to lower hamburger prices by 25%. Ranchers oppose this action because of their high operating costs and low herd numbers. The number of cattle is low because of drought, wildfires, and livestock disease and the cost of diesel is outrageous with one rancher telling me it costs him $125 to fill up his truck. Fertilizer is expensive due to Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz. Lowering beef prices shouldn’t mean hurting Wyoming ranchers. Washington could help Wyoming ranchers solve the problem by rebuilding cattle herds, expanding local processing, and bringing back the Country of Origin legislation so consumers can identify American beef. “We can bring grocery prices down by increasing American production and competition – not by asking Wyoming ranchers to take the hit,” responded President Justin Tupper of the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA). He continued, “You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last.”
I will work to help American ranchers and residents by removing tariffs on everyday products as well as introducing legislation to bring back Country of Origin labeling. My goal is to help all consumers as soon as possible.
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Washington Needs Reexamined
I am joining a group of US Candidates in this election who are dedicated to stopping the corruption in Congress and increasing our accountability to you. With my participation, Wyoming will be the 41st state to take part in this bipartisan project after the election. The goals are to bring back the balance of powers to reestablish the three separate branches of government set forth by the Constitution – Executive, Judiciary, and Congressional. And then, increase accountability to the People. This group supports five issues I agree with, believing we must renew a government “by and for the people.” These issues are:
1) Congressional Term Limits of six terms in Congress (12 years), and two terms in the Senate (12 years).
2) Overturn “Citizens United” which would get unlimited corporate money out of politics including dark money. Montana is working on this and so should Wyoming;
3) A 5-year moratorium on lobbying for retired congressional reps. Although this only covers political lobbyists, other methods need to be examined for career lobbyists;
4) Prohibition of stock trading for members of Congress in office; and
5) A code of judicial ethics for the US Supreme Court to hold them accountable so the millions in gifts they might receive will be scrutinized or eliminated.
I am assured that this will be a bipartisan group from both parties, which is the only way that we can resolve issues for everyone and not just finger point and blame to freeze the strengths that make the US so strong.
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Our National Parks Are Not For Sale!
The proposed selling of a strip of Yosemite is “…so ridiculous, it makes you sick,” said Don Neubacher, a former Yosemite supervisor. “We must protect and preserve our public lands,” said Lisa Kinney, candidate for Wyoming’s US House seat speaking against the proposal which hasn’t yet occurred. “The federal government is slowly stripping and ruining our public lands through sales like this and other proposed bills.” According to the National Parks Conservation Association, the federal government would exchange Yosemite land for other property owned by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a real estate investor. Neubacher indicated that a similar idea was proposed in the early 2000’s. It was rejected by the Park Service and also the court. Kingsbarn bought two parcels that directly border the park in early 2024 for $4 million through a Limited Liability Company and wants to connect this land with the purchase, according to the TV station KQED. Yosemite National Park was created in 1864 by President Theodore Roosevelt and is the fifth most visited National Park. It is considered a “shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life…” [National Park Service]. “We must stop the sale of our public lands to wealthy individuals,” Kinney continued, “it is not what the citizens of Wyoming want.” She concluded that her opponent Chuck Gray embraces Trump and supports public lands, both of which cannot occur simultaneously.
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Newcastle Newsletter Journal Press Release
https://newslj.com/kinney-blasts-removal-native-american-history-signage
CHEYENNE (WNE) — A candidate for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat is criticizing the removal of signage at Grand Teton National Park that described 19th-century explorer Gustavus Doane’s role in a massacre of Native Americans, calling the move an attempt to rewrite state history.
The signs were taken down under a federal executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The administration has described the removed material as “improper partisan ideology.”
Lisa Kinney, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House, said the order does neither.
“This is neither ‘truth’ nor ‘sanity.’ It is outrageous,” Kinney said in a news release. “Why should we allow Washington to determine and rewrite Wyoming history?”
Kinney said the federal government should not have the final say over how the state’s history is told.
“Wyoming is independent, and we do not just roll over when told to do so by the federal government,” she said. She added that the removal amounts to “a disparaging and significant insult to the Native Americans in our state.”
The same order also stripped information from the Fort Laramie National Historic Site that addressed the persecution, forced relocation and displacement of Native Americans, according to the release. In Yellowstone National Park, several signs were flagged for removal, but conflicting guidance has so far kept them in place.
The order’s legality is being contested in federal court. A federal judge had ordered the signs restored by July 4, but a U.S. Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked that ruling, leaving the case unresolved.
Wyoming is not alone: signage and interpretive exhibits have been ordered removed at national parks in other states as well. Roughly 400 National Park Service employees nationwide say they are now barred from discussing the removed historical material with visitors.
“National parks teach our tourists about the history of Wyoming, and the signs should be immediately restored and the teachings resumed,” Kinney said. “We need to stop this Washington attack on our tribes and on Wyoming.”
— The above item was written by Claude.ai off a news release from the Kinney campaign.
This story was published on July 10, 2026.
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Forest Service Rule Changes
On July 1, the U.S. Forest Service proposed a rule in the Federal Register eliminating public input regarding how “national forests get run, who gets a grazing permit, how a timber sale gets reviewed for damage to water and wildlife, what deadline you have to object before a decision goes final, etc.” All of us can find and comment on the proposed rule here. These decisions are made by the Forest Service in handbooks, not Congress.
Will Pattiz just wrote in “More Than Just Parks” an article entitled “Forest Service to Remove Your Voice from Public Lands Decisions” that describes the situation. The public can read the entire Substack article here.
Lisa Kinney, former Wyoming State Senator and current candidate for US House of Representatives, is passionate about keeping public lands in public hands. “If the public is no longer able to comment on public lands decisions, are the lands really in our hands?” she asked.
Kinney sees no benefit in eliminating public comment. “Our recommendations have been important to the Forest Service for decades, but suddenly they propose to eliminate our input. Why?” Her questions continued: “Where is this coming from? If they decide to sell public lands, what is the objective?”
Lisa simply doesn’t trust what is happening here and she and her campaign believe that the people of Wyoming need to be aware before it is too late.
“We need to make our voices heard,” Lisa said. “Wouldn’t it be great if the Forest Service received thousands of comments from all of us who are public lands supporters?” Please submit your comments directly to the US Forest Service here.
Thank you for your support!
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Healthcare In Wyoming
I recently attended the Wyoming Healthcare Policy Summit with Faith Jones, who is currently Vice-President of the Wyoming Nurses Association. The summit was a comprehensive, intense analysis of rural healthcare hosted by the Wyoming Medical Society. Ten percent of Wyoming is without healthcare and six rural hospitals are at risk of closing altogether. When rural hospitals close, the three hardest hit groups are the ranchers, the small business owners and nonprofits. We must invest money in Wyoming people and healthcare and bring back the ACA subsidies.
The U.S. Department of Education has also recently excluded nursing from its internal list of “professional degree” programs which drops the annual federal graduate student loan limit for advanced nursing degrees from $50,000 to $20,500. This hurts both students and healthcare facilities even more.
In Wyoming, 81% of our voters believe the cost of health care is too high. I will work with other legislators in a bipartisan manner to find a solution to this problem.
