Manufacturer Magpul being wooed to Cody?

When a Colorado manufacturer of firearm accessories threatened to leave the state if legislators there pass a proposed 15-round cap on magazines, Wyoming lawmakers jumped at the chance to invite the company to move north.

Earlier this month, members of the Legislature signed an informal resolution encouraging Magpul Industries to relocate to Wyoming.

“We just wanted to draft a resolution to tell them we think they’re a great company and Wyoming is a great place to do business, and we would love to have them do business in Wyoming,” Rep. Kendell Kroeker, R-Evansville, told the Casper Star Tribune.

Lawmakers in Cheyenne apparently weren't the only ones who thought bringing a manufacturer into the state would be a good idea.

In Forward Cody's February newsletter, the head of the economic development group, James Klessens, said folks began encouraging him to recruit Magpul to Cody immediately after Colorado legislators passed the bill limiting magazines out of committee.

“Within minutes of that initial action, my phone started ringing and emails came in from Cody residents, some who I knew, others I didn't, alerting me to this opportunity. Over the last two weeks, I have received dozens of messages on this topic and on similar actions proposed in New York compelling Forward Cody to 'go get them!'” wrote Klessens. “Believe me, we are on the hunt.”

He went on to make the broader point that he's thankful for the way the Cody community is engaged in trying to make the city a great place to live and work.

Whether Cody, or any place in Wyoming, can land the roughly 200-employee manufacturer remains to be seen.

Rep. Bunky Loucks, R-Casper, told the Casper Star Tribune yesterday that he's had five or six conversations with a Magpul executive and “they seem to be interested in Wyoming because of the proximity.”

However, Loucks also acknowledged numerous states have reached out to the company.