Wednesday, January 28, 2026 |
Photo – CCSO patrol vehicle – Bigfoot99 file photo
The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office will receive $600,000 in federal funding to purchase new vehicles.
On January 23rd, President Donald Trump signed H.R. 6938, the Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act, into law. The bill was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month.
Wyoming Congresswoman Harriet Hageman announced her support for H.R. 6938, saying that the bill funds crucial agencies that serve Wyoming, such as the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Environmental Protection Agency. During an online public address, Congresswoman Hageman said the measure protects funding for law enforcement, prevents federal overreach involving the Second Amendment, and removes federal abortion funding.
H.R. 6938 also includes $20.8 million in Community Project Funding for Wyoming, including $14.6 million for the Fort Laramie Canal Tunnel Restoration Project, $1.75 million for the City of Casper’s North Platte Sanitary Sewer Project, and $600,000 to purchase and update eight Carbon County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicles.
Once the bill was signed into law, Sheriff Alex Bakken wrote on social media that securing the funding took two years of effort, one rejected application, and countless hours of revising, editing, and resubmitting proposals. Following all that work, the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office has officially been awarded $600,000 to purchase new patrol vehicles.
In the same social media post, Sheriff Bakken wrote that the funding allows his department to update its fleet of pickup trucks, adding that deputies will continue to have access to safe, modern, pursuit‑rated vehicles. Additionally, the Sheriff stated that patrol units rack up high mileage covering Carbon County and that regular replacements will help keep deputies safe and ensure spare vehicles are available when needed.
Sheriff Bakken thanked Congresswoman Hageman, Board of Carbon County Commissioners Vice Chairwoman Gwynn Bartlett, and Merchant McIntyre and Associates, the county’s funding lobbying firm, for their support of H.R. 6938.
Now that President Trump has enacted the measure, federal agencies can begin allocating and spending the funds authorized in the act. Local governments, including here in Wyoming, can access the appropriated money through grants, formula funding, or congressionally directed spending, such as Community Project Funding.
