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It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, October 2nd.  I'm Mac Watson.   This newscast is brought to you by Casper Medical Imaging & Outpatient Radiology – Working to improve breast cancer screening rates across Natrona County and the state. If you're due for your mammogram, don't put it off any longer. Self-schedule your screening mammogram at casper medical imaging dot net. – Major League Baseball's commissioner sent a letter to officials in Jackson on Thursday saying they have dropped the idea of staging a game in Grand Teton National Park. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports the letter from Robert Manfred Jr, the Commissioner of Baseball, addressed to Teton County Commission Chair Mark Newcomb, Jackson Mayor Arne Jorgensen, and Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce president Rick Howe, saying "It's become clear the community does not want us to continue." "The community was emphatic with lawmakers, county commissioners, other local officials. 'Railing' is not too strong a word, and so yeah, the commissioner of baseball on Thursday wrote an open letter to the heads of the chamber of commerce, or the head of the chamber of commerce, the Jackson mayor, the chair of the county commission, saying, "We can tell you don't want this, so we're not doing it. He said though he emphasized this was in the very very baby stages. 'Naturally, we were going to get community input.' I guess news coverage just gave them that community input a lot earlier than they planned." Manfred emphasized that the scouting operation was in the vein not only of the Field of Dreams games in Iowa, but other off-site venues, including the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania, Fort Bragg military base game in North Carolina, and Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee, among others.  Read the full story HERE. – California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Wednesday that adds environmental reviews that will slow progress on a planned coal terminal at the Port of Oakland. Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson reports Gov. Mark Gordon says Wyoming's considering "all options" in response, including a legal fight. "The bill was sponsored by an environmental group called Earth Justice, and they're citing a study that found that air pollution was worse along the route of an existing coal port in California, and they don't want to bring that kind of pollution to Oakland. Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, told Cowboy State Daily, "It's disappointing, but I don't think it's unexpected.'" Newsom says the reviews are necessary to protect the environment and California residents, while Wyoming industry insiders say it's a stall tactic to slow — or stymie altogether — any chances of coal ever moving through the port. Read the full story HERE. – When a thief stole packages from her mother's porch in Cheyenne on Wednesday, Lindsey Carter posted a video of the crime. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that within hours, a suspect was arrested.  "Lindsey Carter learned on Wednesday afternoon that someone had stolen her mom's package off their doorstep. They reviewed the ring camera and quickly she. Posted it online, asking Cheyenne residents to help her figure out who the woman taking the packages was. Collectively, residents studied the woman's walk, her hair, her tattoos, and even an SUV parked in the background. Carter was then able to gather that information and give that to police officers, who then were able to identify and arrest Erica White hours later.  The 37-year-old Cheyenne resident was booked into the Laramie County Detention center early Thursday morning. She is now facing three counts of misdemeanor theft." For Carter, it was the end of a whirlwind amateur investigation that began with stolen packages worth about $40, then she quickly recruited a sizable chunk of Cheyenne's online community as her detective squad. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming ranchers say they aren't surprised that a month after President Trump increased beef imports to bring down high U.S. prices, that hasn't happened. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that one Crook County rancher says, "It does no good to say, 'I told you so.'" "The beef that is coming into our country is actually lean beef trim, which is not the type of beef that you just go and buy at your grocery store. It's used to fatten up burgers or fast food chains. So this is meat that is going to be sold directly to the big meat packers, and so it's really the meat packers who are going to win out. That's why we haven't seen a drop in price at the grocery store when we go to buy ground beef. Karen Clark with the Wyoming Farm Bureau said they're not surprised. She referenced a study that the National Farm Bureau did that tracked beef prices across the country for the past two months, and they have seen no change, no change in price from before the imports went into effect, to after, and they actually asked for Trump's order to be repealed." Trump announced in August that the United States would allow up to 300,000 metric tons — about 661 million pounds — of lean beef trimmings to enter the country over a 90-day period without the usual out-of-quota tariffs beginning Sept. 1. Read the Full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – Colorado's wolf population has leveled off at 45, half of them pups. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that with no new wolves coming because states won't send them and Canada is no longer an option, the state says it will be more selective about killing wolves that attack cattle. "I talked to one person from an environmental group, and of course, they are happy about that. They're saying, you know, with the wolves facing the challenges, they are taking that additional pressure of some of their members being shot for attacking cattle. Taking that pressure off will help. But I also talked to a rancher who said we feel betrayed because CBW from the get go has basically had an agreement with us that they would not let wolves get away with attacking our cattle. So now we feel like they're changing their policy because it's inconvenient for them, and we don't like that." The yearly survival rate for adult wolves dropped from the typical level of 75% to 61%, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The decline might be due to a combination of disease and wolves being killed, mostly for attacking cattle. Read the full story HERE. – Federal agents say that a Casper man suspected of trafficking drugs took exit after exit on I-25, trying to evade being arrested. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that at one point, he started eating the drugs as agents closed in on him.. "DCI agents had been watching Robert Lawrence Johnson since April when he made what they believed was a drug run in June from Colorado to Wyoming. He zig-zagged his way along I-25, making several U-turns and loops in what investigators are calling a 'burn run'. A confidential source told DCI that the network was bringing in up to 174 pounds of methamphetamine and 1000s of fentanyl pills at a time. Johnson is in custody. He has formally been charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He now faces up to 40 years in prison and up to a $5 million fine." Johnson is the first defendant publicly tied to the investigation in a newly filed federal case, but Ryan Cox, Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Central Enforcement Team commander, tells Cowboy State Daily they have identified other suspects and seized additional drugs during the ongoing operation. Read the full story HERE. – Legislators are hoping for success this time as they advance a bill to bring foreign-licensed doctors to Wyoming, to ease a severe shortage. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the bill has died in two different legislative sessions, both times in the Majority Floor Leader Scott Heiner's drawer. "It cleared the Senate one year and a House committee another year, and then both times stalled out in Representative Heiner's drawer. Sometimes there's a variety of reasons for that. It doesn't always signal animosity for the bill, but representatives in the Labor Health Committee on Thursday were like, "We got to get our arms around this doctor shortage. They were talking other things too, like bolstering the residency program, giving incentives for new doctors to stay here, but they pretty much just did a slight cleanup of the bill and then chose to adopt it as a committee, which gives it an edge going into the lawmaking session." The doctor shortage is projected to reach 124,000 nationally by 2034, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Read the full story HERE. – Registered EVs and hybrids have grown tenfold in Wyoming since 2024 in a state that once turned down federal charger money. Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson reports that one Cheyenne mom says she bought her daughter a Tesla because it "drives itself." "The Wyoming Department of Transportation told us that there are almost 2,500 all-electric vehicles registered in Wyoming, and more than 5,800 hybrids. Eric Secrist of Laramie bought his first Tesla in 2024, and he ended up turning it into a career, finding that he could drive Uber in his Tesla, and without the cost of gas or other maintenance, he was able to make as much as he was at his full-time job. Ron Downey, who just retired from the Ken Garff dealership in Cheyenne, said that he actually liked driving EVs around for test drives. They were a really nice ride, but he's not sure they're going to be taking over the roads in Wyoming. He said they're great for just going around town on a nice day, but when it's cold, you're going a long distance. You're running the heat and the defroster. It can really drain the ba

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, October 1st.  I'm Mac Watson. – A Cody photographer heading to Yellowstone found three dead grizzly cubs on the North Fork Highway on Tuesday morning. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that Timothy O'Leary says the bears were struck along a curve and the driver probably didn't see the bears until it was too late. "I talked to a local photographer who found one of the carcasses, and then called in Game and Fish, and with the assistance of a Game and Fish person and some dogs. They found two other carcasses. Apparently, we can surmise it's probably triplets. They are probably a set of triplets that got hit and killed. No, no sign of the mother bear in both the photographer who was on the scene and Game and Fish confirmed that they didn't. They didn't find any sign of the mother or any indication that she had been hit, so I guess it's just a sad situation where a mama bear lost three of her cubs in one vehicle strike." The cubs were hit just past the Shoshone National Forest boundary on US Highway 14/16/20, the North Fork Highway. Read the full story HERE. – A proposed partial ban of license plate readers is a first step at regulating the devices, but may already fall short, a researcher told Wyoming lawmakers Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the expert said devices also can now track faces, cellphones and radio frequencies. "Matthew Cavadon, a researcher at the Cato Institute, was saying, "Hey, great first effort at a partial ban on license plate readers here in Wyoming, but this definition is a little lacking because, hey, guess what? They're lifting radio frequency data, and there's tech that is capable of facial recognition now. And and you know, lawmakers didn't really run with that one on Tuesday, but they do have another meeting where they're supposed to vet this bill in November." Cato criminal justice project director Matthew Cavedon's remarks unfolded during a meeting of the  Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology held Tuesday in Laramie. The Cato Institute is a nonprofit group focused on advancing liberty-oriented causes, its website says.  Read the full story HERE. – A 6-year-old horse named Evie has taken up with a herd of bison in Yellowstone since July. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports the Park Service wants her out before winter, but the horse has resisted all attempts to wrangle her.  "The owner wants the horse back, and the National Park Service wants the horse out. So they're trying to figure out how to do that. But a domesticated horse might come up to its owner or for some feed. A wild horse isn't going to, so they're going to have to get creative to figure out the most successful way to get this horse out of the park before it starts snowing. Because wild horses can survive in the snow, but this horse came from the southwest U.S. so there's now no way there's no way of knowing if this horse has what it takes to survive a Yellowstone winter." Yellowstone National Park tells Cowboy State Daily that park officials are aware of the loose horse and are working with the owner to recover it." For now, Evie is just fine with hanging out with her new bison friends.  Read the Full story HERE. – Power demands by data centers, energy and manufacturers have spawned multiple proposed Wyoming law changes, spread to three legislative committees and filled hours of testimony. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that some lawmakers vow to make power utilities compete with independent suppliers by 2027. "The Corporations Committee is dealing with this idea that we need to strap more energy providers either onto the grid or alongside it. And now the blockchain committee spent like four hours on that also Tuesday. So it's one of these things where this need to strap big energy suppliers either onto the grid or alongside it is just dominating at least three legislative committees and hours and hours of testimony and probably lots of work behind the scenes." The Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee narrowly killed a bill in August that would have let independent power suppliers sell electricity to any one customer using no less than 25 megawatts. That would introduce competition into the power-supply world, which now comprises tightly regulated monopolies.  Read the full story HERE.  – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – Wildlife officials this week killed 14 black bears that were reportedly being fed on a property near Bozeman, Montana. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that one local resident says bear activity in and near Bozeman is off the charts this year. "Apparently on a property near Bozeman, there somebody was allegedly deliberately feeding bears, and it got so bad that the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks had to step in, and they euthanized 14 black bears across all from cubs all the way up to adults. They were able to trap and save one cub that they're trying to get placed with the zoo, and that was the 15th bear on that property." Because the case is still under investigation and charges could be pending, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks declined to reveal the exact location of the property or names of the owners. Feeding wildlife is generally forbidden under Montana statutes. Penalties can include fines up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail and a loss of hunting and fishing privileges.  Read the full story HERE. – Branden Burbank still doesn't know why the driver of the blue GMC pickup tried to run him down while tearing up the Cheyenne Country Club golf course Monday. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports the assistant golf pro told Cowboy State Daily he has no idea what set the guy off. "He said the guy wasn't playing on the course, so we all know how frustrating golf can be. But apparently that wasn't what set him off. He'd never seen him before. But apparently that wasn't what set him off. But one thing that the golf course said was that it was pretty apparent to him that this guy wanted to cause some damage. He, for some reason, wanted to cause some damage to the course. He was doing that, and then when he saw someone was seeing him do it and had his phone, decided, okay, I better get out of here, and then took off." Burbank tells Cowboy State Daily that he noticed 49-year-old Denver resident Gust Martinez Jr. hopped the curb and made a hard right onto the golf course, then put his car in his path, because people were on the course at that time. Burbank added "Then when he saw me, he revved up at me and made a run for me." That's when Burbank said he called 911. Read the full story HERE. – Powell's annual city auction includes a hodgepodge of old firearms and suppressors accumulated over the years. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that one national expert on police evidence said in California he'd advise against selling the weapons, but in Wyoming, "it's what they do." "Powell City Administrator Zach Thorington says that the proceeds of this sale will go to the general fund. They've put 11 guns, one dart gun, and several silencers up for auction on Wednesday. Police Chief Jim Rhea stressed that these guns were not seized or forfeited. They've come across them over the years for safekeeping, and eventually they get so many that the department has to figure out what to do with them. So the question has always been: Do they sell them or do they destroy them?" Among the more memorable firearms was a .32-caliber tranquilizer gun. Read the full story HERE. – As Chinese EVs head to Canada and President Trump signals openness to domestic production, Wyoming EV owners and industry insiders are mixed on whether they could get traction in the Cowboy State. Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson spoke with one Tesla owner who said flatly, "It'd have to be a better ride." "For TJ Doan, a self-proclaimed Tesla fanboy in Cheyenne, it would not only have to be a better ride, but a cheaper price and with better self-driving. But for most Americans, it's just a matter of different laws. Right now, under Biden era regulation, Chinese automakers aren't allowed to manufacture or sell passenger cars in the U.S. Mike Yin, a state rep from Jackson, said that these cars are able to be produced faster. The technology develops quicker, and they're cheaper to buy. It's something he said he's brought up to American manufacturers because he's worried that America is not going to be competitive as the Chinese EV industry continues to grow." Chinese electric vehicles aren't available in the United States yet but they are headed to Canada, and President Donald Trump has said he'd be fine with Chinese automakers building them in the U.S.  Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, September 30th.  I'm Mac Watson. – Billionaire Joe Ricketts has filed a permit application for a 94,141-square-foot resort called The Confluence at his ranch near Bondurant, reviving an idea he abandoned in 2024. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that the new resort would be 59% smaller than his previous Homestead Resort. "I did get an email from Ricketts and his team, and what he said is that the project is really meant to showcase Sublette County and its recreational opportunities and its natural resources. It'll also bring some jobs to the community – about 50 long-term jobs and then hundreds of construction jobs to build it. He did mention that the project, which is called 'The Confluence,' will be developed in accordance with the Sublette County's regulations." According to the application's project description, the resort would have a 325-foot by 215-foot footprint, with three levels of heated space totaling 47,302 square feet. It includes guest accommodations, dining, spa/wellness and support areas, and an additional 46,839-square-foot underground parking garage. Read the full story HERE.  – A Colorado man is accused of driving across a Cheyenne golf course, through a fence and then leading police on a slow-speed chase through town. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that one witness said, "He was just chilling back, sitting back in his truck in his seat," as the chase never got over 20MPH. "The driver identified as 48-year-old Gust Martinez was reportedly driving at a slow rate of speed, beginning on the Cheyenne Country Club golf course. It ended in downtown Cheyenne, and when police arrested him, he was a felon in possession of a firearm. Police report that Martinez did not go peacefully. Trying to get him out of the vehicle was a bit of a fight. He resisted and fought with officers until they were able to bring him into custody. He was booked into the Laramie County Detention Center on Monday. He is now facing 10 charges, including some serious felonies. One of which is felony property destruction, eluding being a felon in possession of a firearm and reckless endangering." Police said Martinez drove south on Randall Avenue during the pursuit and was reckless despite the low speeds, at times driving on the wrong side of the road and running red lights. Read the full story HERE.  – Alpine Mayor Eric Green says he knew he would get pushback over the temporary roundabout demonstration in the community but didn't anticipate the intense wave of vitriol. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the mayor says, "I never thought people would show so much negativity towards roundabouts." "A lot of the feedback to the roundabout has been very negative. A lot of people don't like the idea, but the town, but city officials are moving forward because they see this as a net positive. They want the speed limit lowered on Highway 89 going through Alpine, and to do that, they need something like a roundabout to increase traffic friction. And so far, what they're seeing is vehicles are slowing down; that the roundabout works. So that'll help their case in the future if they seek the millions of dollars necessary to build a permanent roundabout at that spot. So it's a little bit of pain for a lot of gain potentially down the line." A temporary roundabout at the intersection of Greys River Road and U.S. Highway 89 will remain open until Oct. 14, when crews remove the plastic bollards and pavement markings, and traffic returns to normal. By the end of the demonstration, city officials will have plenty of information on the effectiveness of a roundabout for the growing community. Read the full story HERE. – Grizzly recovery advocates are hoping that a bear spotted near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, means its territory is expanding. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports this is the third time this year one has been spotted in the area.  "I talked to one grizzly bear advocate that said, yeah, you know, it does give I think in her words a glimmer of hope that that the bears could be moving back into that area from the really the really tiny isolated subpopulations like in the in the the cabinet yak wilderness might be pushing out a little bit and finding some new territory. But the other thing you have to consider is like everywhere else in the West right now, the bears are showing up in weird places because of the huckleberry crop. The huckleberry crop is really bad because it's been so dry and we had such a dry summer." Grizzly advocates have long argued the sheer number of bears doesn't matter nearly as much as vast, interconnected habitat when it comes to full recovery of grizzlies in the Lower 48 states. But the re-establishment of a significant population of grizzlies in Idaho, particularly remote central Idaho, is key to their recovery, so say advocates. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – A legislative committee didn't advance a bill by Laramie Sen. Chris Rothfuss on Tuesday that would bar Wyoming governmental agencies from using AI to make decisions without humans. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Rothfuss says people are "expecting the robot overlords to come and get us." "He was being a little hyperbolic, but his point was when he goes out and talks to the public about what matters to them from a policy standpoint, they're concerned about an AI takeover. National headlines have AI hacking into government systems in Australia, the United States, other systems going rogue, escaping their sandboxes, and so he's he had proposed this bill so that any Wyoming government agency, all the way from the governor to special districts, could not make consequential decisions without some kind of human involvement. And Senator Tara Nethercott was asking, 'okay, but when is an AI completely rogue? I mean, wouldn't we, in any agency, have a human to point to at some point?'" If the bill became law, it would require Wyoming governmental agencies at every level, from state to special district, to incorporate meaningful human oversight when using AI for key decisions on people's lawful rights, benefits or obligations. Read the full story HERE. – Vocal critics of data centers in Cheyenne told the City Council on Monday that many "have totally, completely given up on you." Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson reports then council members argued among themselves before approving another 1,260-acre annexation for a data center. "A lot of the other residents who don't live near this site also spoke up to tell council they feel like they're moving way too fast with the number of data centers that are coming to Cheyenne, and one of the councilmen, Lawrence Wolfe, actually agreed with them, and he told his colleagues that he feels like they're moving ahead way too fast and with not enough of a plan. Tom's another councilman, Tom Seagrave, fired back saying that Wolf has only been there for 10 months and he hasn't tried to fix any of the problems that he was calling out. Ultimately, the council approved the Cox Ranch annexation with an eight to two vote." This was the third and final reading for this annexation. There's no word yet on which company is going to be building this data center, but another data center development is already in the near future, as the council is going to take a final vote on that project on October 12th. Read the full story HERE. – An Evanston man says he's tired of people trashing the rock memorial he made for his late dad and stealing the cross and flag he puts there. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that last week, Liam Foy discovered someone took the rocks and made a fire pit with them. "Liam visits the site a handful of times a year, and on his last visit last week, he said that a flag that he had placed in some stones was gone. He says this is the third time that this has happened this year. Once before, he already had to remove a couch that someone had dumped by the memorial site. Unfortunately, BLM says this is a recurring problem. There have been reports of dumping for a while now, and volunteers usually go out and pick the areas up. But catching people doing it has been difficult. Foy's message is simple. He just wants people to leave other people's things alone." Several times a year Liam drives out to the memorial to remember his dad: Father's Day, his father's birthday, the anniversary of his death, and sometimes just because he wants to be there. Read the full story HERE. – A Utah man's side-by-side — and prosthetic leg — were rescued from thick mud in Palisades Reservoir on Monday by Alpine firefighters. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the Alpine Fire Chief Mike Vogt says the stranded man sent his coordinates to him and his team, but getting him and his leg out wasn't easy. "A guy is visiting from Utah. He drives out the Palisades Reservoir. His side by side gets stuck in the mud. Now vehicles getting stuck in the mud at Palisades Reservoir, that happens all the time. What made this call unique is that when he stepped out to try to get the side-by-side, or at least examine the situation, his prosthetic leg got stuck in the mud, like two feet of mud. So he was stranded on top of his side with one leg, which is why the Alpine Fire District responded and got him out." Vogt tells Cowboy State Daily that he's glad he'd taken the call. A good towing company could recover the vehicle, but this was a rescue. Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, September 29th.  I'm Mac Watson. – Teton County officials asked developers of a non-luxury neighborhood to pay $3.5 million to help with nearby road construction. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that after some objections about paying the unprecedented "tax" on a largely philanthropic project, the developers now say they'll compromise.  "There was a lot of chatter in September about paying it all up front, and they were like, 'Whoa, you know, why are we going to do this union of government and private sector, and we still kind of have our project in approval mode, in consideration mode,' and so they they really bristled and said that having to pay that amount up front would make the project unviable, but then on Monday the developers came around and proposed a compromise where they would end up paying the full 3.5 million to help the community build other roads outside the neighborhood that the county says are linked to its impacts, its impacts on traffic, and in exchange, those payouts would be connected to phases of approval." The commissioners are slated to consider the project approval on October 6. Read the full story HERE. – Dramatic dashcam video has emerged which shows a semi crashing into a Rawlins bridge on I-80 in July. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that a safety engineer said had the truck not hit the median cable barrier, the result would have been disastrous.  "Nearly three months after a semi-truck demolished one of the beams in a Rawlins bridge, the Wyoming Highway Patrol has yet to release what caused the accident and who was driving the truck. The city of Rawlins closed the Higley Bridge immediately after the wreck, and now three months later, it remains closed. WYDOT's going to have to address the Spruce Street Bridge in Rawlins as well as Exit 214 in Cheyenne before they can start accepting bids for the newest bridge breakdown." The crash happened the morning of July 20 near Exit 214. The Wyoming Highway Patrol reported the semi was westbound when it drifted off the pavement and entered the median.The truck struck the median cable barrier and eastbound guardrail before crashing into the concrete bridge supports, destroying it.  Read the full story HERE. – In the middle of a nearly six-hour standoff with Gillette police last week, a pair of alleged drunk brothers got a little hungry and ordered food from DoorDash. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that one retired cop says, "What drunks will do has never ceased to impress me." "Two guys reportedly really intoxicated, been firing a weapon. out of the back door of the house, which caused six neighbors to call 911 within a five minute period. What wasn't in the affidavit was what was ordered in DoorDash. We don't know. We can only guess what a drunk person at two a.m. in Gillette would order from DoorDash. The standoff lasted almost six hours, and most of it appears in the affidavit that most of it was just just kind of waiting. They were waiting for a search warrant for a judge, because that's what they need. They were able to apprehend these guys without too much trouble." Frank Groth, a Gillette resident and retired career law enforcement officer tells Cowboy State Daily that to have a DoorDasher show up in the middle of police waiting out potentially armed suspects "is a new one on me." He added that he's seen times when someone in a standoff will demand food be sent in, but not someone ordering it themselves. Read the full story HERE. – After a brutal summer where three people were killed on Teton Pass, RV and truck drivers are now required to take a course before driving the road. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that the Wyoming Trucking Association says it's not just a truck problem, and everyone should take it. "So the word 'test' is really a misnomer because for this certificate, all you need to do is watch two videos. They're about two minutes each, and then you need to go through a checklist, just checking off that you have performed all of these things on your vehicle, including checking your brakes ahead of descending the pass. Brandon Guymon is now the safety manager for a landscaping trucking business in Idaho, and he's saying that he thinks it's a step in the right direction, but he has serious doubts about whether this five-minute certificate process is going to make a difference or not. He said, unfortunately, people can cruise through it without even really watching the video, and that there's no way to enforce people to actually absorb what is in said video." The Wyoming Department of Transportation's new WY22 Safe Pass program requires drivers of RVs, vehicles towing any trailer and vehicles weighing or rated for 10,000 pounds or more to complete an online safety course and self-certification before traveling Wyoming Highway 22 over Teton Pass. The certification is free, good for one year, and takes about five minutes to complete.  Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – While some might regard road hunters as the lazy bums of the outdoors world, seeking wildlife from a climate-controlled cab has its place, advocates said. But, Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that one avid hunter, Buzz Hettick of Laramie tells Cowboy State Daily,  "We all get old." "I talked to a few outdoorsmen, and it kind of has a bad reputation for a lot of people. It's kind of the lazy, sloppy way to get out of hunting, but also a couple things is a lot of time for elderly hunters or for you know disabled veterans those types of people it's a great option to just hunt from your truck along the road. You can't unless you have a specific disability permit. You cannot shoot from your truck. You have to make it clear in order to be legal. You have to step out of the vehicle and off the road to take your shot." There's also "hybrid hunting," in which hunters cruise roads trying to spot animals at great distances and then get out and hunt on foot. Read the full story HERE. – A 63-year-old Nevada man was tracked down with Flock cameras after allegedly blasting a Jackson tour bus driver in the face with bear spray. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports the suspect says he was acting in self-defense, while the victim says he was road raging. "Once the tour bus did park, all the passengers got off. They went into Dairy Queen. The bus driver also gets out and walks to the restaurant, but he stays outside. He's opening up the compartment underneath the bus, you know, the storage compartment, said he's getting some water. While he's there getting it out, he reports he heard this vehicle coming towards him. He looks up, and this guy is driving the truck right next to him. Says that the window's open. The guy's kind of hanging out and points something out the window at him, and he gets hit full in the face with bear spray. The evidence seems to corroborate the bus driver's version of events. Police report in their affidavit, they say that they found a lot of bear spray residue on and around the storage compartment on the bus where he said he was." John Frances Harrington was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and battery, which is a felony. He had his initial appearance in Teton County Circuit Court on Friday, and is free on a $2,500 bond ahead of an Oct. 9 preliminary hearing. Read the full story HERE.  – Shoshoni Mayor Joel Highsmith is blaming AI for Google and Apple Maps telling travelers on Monday that the entire town is closed down. Cowboy State Daily's Jackie Dorothy reports that the messaging caused drivers to end up on isolated dirt roads which can be impassable for large trailers and campers. "The police chief of Shoshone actually found out that Google and Apple were misdirecting these people down the remote back roads because they called him and they were complaining. They wanted him to fix it so they wouldn't be going to Monita or to Castle Garden, and that they knew that Shoshone was definitely still open for business. That's the funny part about it is that when you look on Google Maps and you try to route yourself through Shoshone, Google, Apple, all of those navigational tools. They'll redirect you around the town, and you do not want to be redirected around Shoshone. There is really no alternative because you can't get a hold of Google or Apple." WYDOT said the detour on U.S. Highway 20/26 traffic on Shoshoni's east end was so a contractor can replace the Bighorn Divide and Wyoming Railroad crossing. The work is expected to be finished later this week. But in the meantime, traffic is being diverted, not stopped, when they come to Shoshoni.  Read the full story HERE.  – Since 1938, Snow King has been one of Jackson Hole's most recognizable ski destinations. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that now after nearly 90 years, the Snow King Resort Hotel has changed it's name to hotel has changed it's name to "Trailborn Jackson Hole." "They've added a cafe where you can get kind of grab-and-go types of things, coffee, cocktails, depending on the time of day. And it's open now directly to the swimming pool, so you don't even have to leave the pool area. That's a nice perk if you've got kids with you. That pool is still open to the public. You can buy a day pass, go in and use the pool. They've also added something they call the alley oop. I think it's kind of like a little family club room." The landmark hotel at the base of Jackson's "Town Hill" was once a scrapbook of community life. It was where local high school sports banquets took place, where state association conferences parked their trucks, and where generations of skiers clomped through the lobby in wet boots.  Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your f

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, September 28th.  I'm Mac Watson. – Major League Baseball's idea of building a baseball park in Grand Teton National Park will backfire, local residents said Sunday. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that MLB has approached the Trump administration about hosting a game in the national park but locals say the idea is "abhorrent." "Senator Mike Gierau was the person that called the Major League Baseball idea abhorrence, saying baseball and national parks should not mix. The Washington Post had reported that it was MLB's idea, but administration officials were scouting Grand Teton National Park, and that one of the sites that they were looking at was less than pristine. Already, it was already a disturbed area. Rob Wallace, former Assistant Secretary of the Interior, said that they're probably not going to get through all the legal hurdles that are in place to protect national parks." State Sen. Mike Gierau, of Jackson, tells Cowboy State Daily that he confirmed the administration's visit with a park official. Gierau said he is an ardent fan of both national parks and baseball, but added, "When it comes to epically bad marketing ideas in the American experience, I put it next to New Coke." Read the full story HERE. – When a mountain lion attacked his dog, Adam Borkhus of Cody kicked it in the face and the lion turned on him. Outdoors Reporter Mark Hein reports that Borkhus says he didn't feel safe using a firearm or bear spray. So he did the next best thing which resulted in a 20-second ground battle — and excruciating rabies shots later. "He's not a small guy. He described himself as six three and somewhere around 320 pounds. him and Diesel were headed up to South Fork, so he stopped and and let Diesel out of the jeep, you know, so Diesel could you know do his thing, and he said he he heard his dog starting to yelp, and then so so we went around the front of his jeep and and found a mountain lion on top of it. He didn't feel safe using either the gun or the bear spray, so he just walked over and kicked the mountain line in the face, and it came at him. And he said it hit him in the chest and knocked me on my ass." Wyoming Game and Fish investigated the encounter and in a release said, "Based on the investigation, this is most likely a case of a surprise encounter with a mountain lion that led to aggressive-defensive behavior by the mountain lion." Read the full story HERE. – Pardoned mechanic Matt Geouge has built a device that blocks vehicles from spying on their drivers, because in 2018 his fiancée realized investigators were following her. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that now he is bracing for steep opposition from manufacturers as he unveils his new product. "Now that he's kind of leaving the diesel delete world behind, which burned him so hard, his new venture is to invent a device that stops your car from tracking you, spying on you. He said that the distinctive feature of this device is that it has an on-off switch. Let's say you're having a private business conversation, or you just don't feel like being tracked and your data shared that day. You can flip it off." Geouge had started a small-time diesel operation in his mother's garage in Hendersonville, North Carolina, his senior year of high school. As emissions systems on diesel trucks grew more constraining throughout the early 2000s, Geouge started writing "delete" software tunes that let trucks disobey the systems and regain their horsepower. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming Highway Patrol's new chief Col. KC Ramsey will inherit 47 trooper vacancies, dispatch openings, and an overtime crunch. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that the new chief says his main priority is the number 208 – referring to the agency's authorized trooper force.  "Ramsey took over as the active colonel and administrator last week, but he is officially beginning as the new chief October 1st. He is inheriting a huge budget shortfall and staffing problem, but it coincides with a biennial budget reset. Ramsey knows that he needs to fill these vacancies quickly. right now they have 40% of their dispatch missing and 43 trooper vacancies. So a big part of recruitment is going to be increased pay, as well as a $2,000 starting bonus." Ramsey tells Cowboy State Daily the biggest trooper shortages are in Casper and Gillette in District 2, and Rock Springs and Evanston in District 3. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – A 1,551-pound pumpkin led the way in getting dropped from a 200-foot crane in Worland on Saturday afternoon to the delight of a cheering crowd. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that more than five tons of pumpkins exploded at the annual Wyoming Pumpkin Drop. "You have to admire the mindset of people who bring their pumpkins to the Wyoming state way off and pumpkins drop because in the morning they're bringing their best pumpkins up the scale. They might reach personal best – four, five-hundred pounds. The largest one this year was 1,551 pounds. So these great achievements, you spend months cultivating these seeds and these plants to get the best possible pumpkin you can, and then an hour later they're watching it go 200 feet in the air and drop onto dryers and swimming pools or a giant University of Hawaii logo, and they they're gleeful about it. They pull the cord to drop their pumpkins, and that's just the atmosphere that's cultivated at the weigh off. You show your best work, and then you watch your best work plummet and then blow up in the smithereens." Hundreds of people were at the Washakie County Fairgrounds on Saturday, enjoying food trucks and inflatable bounce houses when the weigh-off got underway. Read the full story HERE. – The wildlife world is grieving the loss of Yellowstone photographer Sylvia Borgonovo who captured some of the most famous images of Yellowstone's oldest known living wolf. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that she was a stalwart advocate for wolves, grizzlies, and other wildlife. "She was completely self-taught as a photographer. She just started doing it and then reading whatever she could find, and just got really good at it over the years, so of course that's a sad loss for everybody. She'll be known for those images of 1090F. She was definitely one of one of the photographers of Grizzly 399, and then also she'll be known for her wildlife advocacy. " Sylvia died Sept. 15 after a brief battle with small-cell lung cancer in a non-smoker that had metastasized into her spine. She was 65 and would have turned 66 on Oct. 7. Read the full story HERE.  – After 14 months without a buyer, a Bondurant ranch played a high-stakes game of real estate poker by putting the property up for a no-reserve auction. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports the resulting panic prompted a buyer to make a preemptive $15 million offer the ranch couldn't refuse. "It's not too common to auction properties in Jackson Hole, you just have so many wealthy property owners there who you know they don't have to be in a hurry to have a fire sale, right? This property's been listed for 14 months. The buyer wants to move on. So he got an auction, and in 36 days, he has an offer that he finds acceptable. It's a lot of money that they're trading around there, and so they kind of take their time." Mario Vargas, CEO of DeCaro Auctions International, says it's unusual to auction luxury property in Jackson Hole, but it's even rarer to sell such properties before the bidding has even begun. Buyers don't want to pay too much for a property. Sellers want to avoid low-ball offers.  Read the full story HERE.  – Crazy Horse Memorial, about 40 miles from the Wyoming border, is larger than Mount Rushmore and after nearly 80 years of blasting, drilling, carving and hauling untold tons of granite off a Black Hills mountainside, still isn't finished. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports it's definitely worth a visit. "Polish carver Korchak Zilkowski was the original carver of the monument. He and his wife Ruth had 10 children, and one their grandchild, their grandson Caleb Zilkowski, is the head carver today. Now the methods that he uses are quite a bit different than the methods that his grandfather used back in the 1940s, 1950s. Whitney Rencountre is the executive director of the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, and he told me you can think of the monument in thirds, and so if you divide it into thirds. You know, we finish this 1/3, the kind of where the horse's head is, and that part of the horse's body. That could take another 10 to 15 years." The Crazy Horse Monument is larger than most people expect. The carving itself is larger than nearby Mount Rushmore, with the American Indian's head outsizing the 60-foot-tall heads of its presidential neighbors. Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, September 25th.  I'm Mac Watson. – Cheyenne police said Thursday that they're recommending criminal charges for a dozen teens ages 13-17 involved in a brawl at a Cheyenne Central High School football game earlier this month. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that one witness described the scene as "total chaos." "They described girls, one girl being restrained by a police officer, while the other girl kept charging that situation repeatedly, a parent got involved. Other bystander spectators formed like a human wall to prevent other teens from rushing into the fray. Meanwhile, two boys are up on a hill in a fight. One had the other in a chokehold, reportedly, and a football player's dad went up there to handle that situation because they were near a precipice at the bottom of which is a concrete pad for a fireplace." Police announced Thursday that they're recommending charges against 12 teenagers aged 13 through 17, on allegations including battery, assault of a police officer, trespassing, breach of peace, and interference. Read the full story HERE. – On Day 3 of a Cheyenne man's trial for allegedly starving his son almost to death last year, Darrick Mittlestadt testified Thursday that the 13-year-old's severe condition was his wife's fault. Cowboy State Daily's Kerry Drake was in the courtroom and witnessed Middlestadt admit that he was deceived by his wife, Angela. "At one point in the trial, Derek Middlestad said that if he had known about the condition of his child and that he had been near death and starving, that he would have immediately taken him to the get medical help and mental health care help too, but he claimed that he did not know what the condition of his child was because he had been misled and deceived and lied to by his his wife Angela, who has already pleaded guilty to this crime." Both the prosecution and defense rested their cases Thursday morning, with Laramie County District Judge Peter Froelicher expected to give the jury his instructions, then the 10-man, four-woman panel will hear closing arguments.  Read the full story HERE. – A city worker caught doing an epically bad curb-painting job in Laramie's downtown district has locals saying they're "embarrassed," and the city apologizing for botching the job. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that one local resident says, "The employee obviously doesn't give a (crap)." "This is in downtown Laramie, a very historic downtown. The people I talked to pointed out that hate. While it's it's fun to kind of make fun of just how bad it is, we're not happy with the fact that not only was it done wrong in the first place, when they tried to fix it, they tried to fix it by painting over the overspray with gray paint, figuring it would match the cement, and it didn't, and it looked even worse. And the city admitted, 'Hey, that that was terrible too.' And so they went back and they pressure washed the areas where the overspray was to finally get it right. So basically, they had to do it three times. So the taxpayers were paying three times to do that single job, and some of the people in Laramie aren't very happy about it." The city issued a public acknowledgement of the bad work and an apology Thursday morning. Read the full story HERE. – Visitors in Yellowstone are worried about what's wrong with "the spinning bison" which is circling endlessly in a pond. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi spoke to a  wildlife photographer who said the bull has "either injuries from a fight, near total blindness, neurological damage, or all the above." "The most likely explanation, just based on probability of occurrence, is that this bison got injured while running with another male. As everything that all the signs that it's showing suggests that it might be some kind of physical, if not a neurological, injury that's altering its behavior. It's not in a good way, and unfortunately, people are going to see this bison struggle because the whole idea is to let Yellowstone be Yellowstone. The whole premise behind the National Park Service is let these sites exist as they exist. So it's a hands-off approach. It's a sad thing to watch, but it's a natural phenomenon playing out, and that's in the best interest of Yellowstone as a whole. Which is why the rangers probably aren't going to do anything. They might not even humanely euthanize it because once you intercede, in one instance, you set a precedent, and then people start expecting that sort of thing." For most visitors, the hard part will be watching this slow decline. The bison continues to struggle with a serious impairment, but one that isn't necessarily killing it quickly. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – A Sheridan man says his elk hunt was ruined when a helicopter appeared above him in the Bighorn Mountains and dumped huge plumes of water on top of him. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that the Forest Service said it was a training flight and the crew probably didn't know he was there. "He kept hearing a helicopter. And then eventually, he said about 5: 30 in the evening, here comes a helicopter, one of the big ones, one of the big water carrying airships, came over, came fairly close to him, and just dumped a bunch of water out of its belly. I mean, close enough to where he could feel the mist coming off of it, and of course, there's no fire anywhere, anywhere near there. And he said the thing circled away and then came back and got even closer to him and dumped a bunch of water. Though he didn't get hit by the mainstream of water, but he got misted. He said he could feel the rush of air from it. And he said during that time he was waving and trying, 'Hey, I'm down here!' and apparently the chopper pilot didn't see him." Russel Rogers tells Cowboy State Daily even though the helicopter almost soaked him with water and the hunting wasn't all that great, it was a nice quiet day in the mountains. Read the full story HERE. – New uniforms make it clear that many National Park Service rangers are real cops — with "police federal officer" printed on their ballistic vests. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that reaction to the new uniforms is mixed. "Not every park ranger is a cop, but a lot of park rangers are law enforcement officers. Regardless of whether you're there to give instructions or arrest people, you wear the green and gray uniform and the flat rimmed hat, right? And so they're saying you know maybe it's time to distinguish which ones are law enforcers so that there's no question about that. So I talked to two longtime, former rangers, who one of them, Greg Jackson of NPS Ranger News, he was saying, 'yeah, this is great. Now you can tell which ones are law enforcers.' Another one, Tara Ross. She agreed with that premise. Like yes, it is good to have that distinction, but she was philosophically concerned with another part of the uniform change, and that is that officers can forsake the flat room cap and choose a ball cap." The National Park Service was created in 1916. Until about 1950 the service treated all park rangers like law enforcement officers. Read the full story HERE.  – Casper residents are angry with obnoxious and unauthorized door-to-door magazine sellers who won't take "no" for an answer. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports the city says there are no authorized active permits for solicitors. "One man named Matthew Lamott describes an incident where two men came up to his door selling magazines, and they were explaining this was for points. And the more magazines they sold, the more likely that they would become a winner. Lamotte said, 'No, thank you.' And one of the young men seen on a ring camera continues to try to sell him other products. Eventually, Lamotte has to shut the door in his face. Homeowner Karen Jones said her concern is more for the elderly population. She said her parents have these kinds of encounters, and they're often manipulated into giving money under the guise that they're going to charities or they'll be getting some subscriptions, and then those are never fulfilled." Casper Police Department spokesperson Rebecka Ladd says the department is gathering information on reported activity of door-to-door salespeople making the rounds around the city. She advises people to be cautious of high-pressure pitches and demands for immediate payment. Read the full story HERE.  – A daredevil oil field worker who died at Saratoga's Hobo Hot Springs while on a back-to-nature road trip is being remembered by family and friends as a legend. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that Cary Garmann was known for practicing naked yoga and standing on his motorcycle seat at 80 mph. "Garmann decided to stop at the Hobo Hot Springs on his way back home. He had called a friend who was going to meet him there. Unfortunately, that was his last contact with his wife before authorities called to tell her that he had passed away. A witness who was there that day says that when she got to the hot springs, she found him in the water, unresponsive, and she was the one who was performing mouth-to-mouth before the sheriffs arrived. When they got there, they pronounced him dead at the scene. His wife, Darlene Garmann, of 32 years has a great sense of humor. She laughed through the tears, and when asked if her husband died doing something that he loved, she said, 'Yes. He loved hot water.'" Darlene tells Cowboy State Daily she wasn't with her husband on the trip. He left wanting time to himself, drawn to nature and adventure. Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy S

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, September 24th.  I'm Mac Watson. – Accused of starving his adopted teenage son almost to death last year, Darrick Mittlestadt of Cheyenne testified Wednesday that he didn't see or talk to the boy for "three or four months" despite living in the same house. Cowboy State Daily's Kerry Drake was in the courtroom and reports that at one point, Mittlestadt admitted, "I'm not a good dad." "Darrick Mittlestadt testified in his own defense on Wednesday and said basically that he trusted his wife to take care of their child and that he had no idea that he was in a life-threatening condition. Now yesterday, a doctor from Colorado Children's Hospital testified that when he examined the boy when he was brought there from Wyoming, that he looked like a concentration camp survivor." Whenever he was asked by either his own attorney or the prosecutor how he could be unaware of the child's life-threatening medical condition — he weighed 50 pounds at age 13 — the former fire chief of Laramie County Fire District No. 1 repeated the same answer. His wife Angela told him that she had their son's behavioral problems under control and he trusted that the boy was being fed. Read the full story HERE. – A Casper man had given up hope of ever seeing his beloved falcon, named Kevin, after the raptor went missing for a week. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports Jim Osborne was "practically in tears" reuniting with the bird when Kevin turned up at a local hospital. "Someone at the hospital reported a hungry falcon that was going after pigeons nearby the building, and so they called Osborne. When Osborne arrived, there were about 10 people who had gathered outside the hospital. When he stuck his arm out, a hospital staff member named Veronica Bates said the bird immediately flew to him, and Jim had tears in his eyes." Osborne tells Cowboy State Daily that right now his priority is going to be nursing Kevin the bird back to health, and they will begin training in about a month.  Read the full story HERE.  – Hot Springs County Commission Chair Bob Aguiar has switched from Republican to Constitution Party, as did his wife, a top staffer for unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Brent Bien. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports the move comes as the Constitution Party fields Rebecca Bextel for governor. "What's interesting is because they both held, the Aguiars both held leadership positions in the local Republican Party, right? As precinct and state committee people, and they were upon you know those vacancies happening by them leaving the party. They were replaced by another married couple that is pretty much always at odds with them within the Republican Party, the Scheels, and so that was an interesting change. And then Phil Scheel called it disappointing and theorized that AGR could not have won the commission seat two years ago had he run as a third party candidate." Cheryl Aguiar was the state committeewoman for the party, meaning she represented it at State Central Committee meetings. And Bob Aguiar held a precinct committeeman position, which is a local voting role. Read the full story HERE.  – Wyoming industry leaders and U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis oppose a 90-day ban on diesel exports reportedly proposed by Trump's White House. Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson reports that critics fear cutting off the supply could backfire and drive fuel prices even higher. "Wyoming leaders are pushing back with Trump-endorsed Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming senator, telling Cowboy State Daily that she opposes a ban, and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming signing on to a joint letter urging the White House not to do it and warning that it could have global ramifications. The proposed ban is an effort to bring down these sky high diesel prices, which have hit the whole nation hard, including Wyoming. I talked to Tom Haygood, a service writer at a semi-auto repair shop in Rock Springs, and he said that not only is it hitting trucking companies hard, it's also kind of rippling down to the shops because as the companies are spending more money on fuel, they're putting less money into vehicle maintenance, and the shops are getting less business." Chris Wright, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, has since denied the report, saying that the administration is pursuing a voluntary approach instead. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – A Mills, Wyoming, couple were in court this week facing felony child endangerment charges after a cracked meth pipe was found in a baby's crib and two guns under a bed. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports the mom told police all the drug stuff was "at least 2 feet away." "Megan Pfrimmer and Aaron Young, both ages 22, are now being charged with two counts of child endangerment, as well as five counts of possession of a controlled substance for having meth, fentanyl, and marijuana in their house. What began as reports of a threat and a bicycle theft led officers to seek a warrant for the residence. And when they went inside, they found drug paraphernalia as well as fentanyl tablets throughout the house, including in the baby's crib and near the baby's food." If convicted, each defendant faces up to 15 years in prison. Pfrimer had a preliminary hearing this week and was bound over to district court. Young has a preliminary hearing later in the week. Read the full story HERE. – An Oregon man who fished without a license in Yellowstone National Park lost an argument that the superintendent wields crime enforcement power unconstitutionally. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Tate Pulliam then pleaded guilty and was fined $500 last week. "Tate Pulliam of Oregon, who was charged with some fishing, some travel violations in Yellowstone, said no, he wasn't confirmed by the Senate. We have this clause in the Constitution. This is quite a bit of power. This case is unlawful under his unconstitutional authority. Well, the judge didn't go for it, saying, 'Hey, the Constitution and courts over time have made provisions for federal employees, lesser officers, people who don't wield as much power as, say, the Department of the Interior, to be chosen by other means.'" Court documents say Pulliam pleaded guilty to the fishing-without-a-license charge and the government dismissed the other two charges. Read the full story HERE. – A former Gillette baseball coach is charged with lying about his residency to get hunting tags in Montana and killing a black bear, mountain lion, and white-tailed deer buck. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that if convicted, Connor Anthony Brown could lose hunting privileges in all 50 states for life. "Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks alleges that he basically fudged his Montana residency to get Montana resident hunting tags. did talk to a retired game and fish game warden who says yes, this is a common thing that people do with common wildlife crime. The potential maximum penalty includes a lifetime loss of hunting and fishing privileges in Montana. And the kicker there is all 50 states now, every state of the United States is part of what they call the Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact, and so a loss of privileges in one state can potentially translate into a loss of privileges in all 50 states. So if this goes as badly as it could, he could lose hunting privileges for life in every state in the United States." Retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department game warden Duane Kerr of Green River tells Cowboy State Daily that falsely claiming residency in a state to buy resident hunting tags is a common offense.  Read the full story HERE. – The Teton County Republican Party corrected itself this week after telling people how to donate above the legal limit for candidates. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that local elections attorney said he finds it "refreshing" that the party chair took accountability. "Teton County GOP this week dispatched a fundraising email saying, 'Hey, you can write a candidate's name in the subject line of a check, the memo line of a check, and exceed the campaign donation limit of $1,500 for non-statewide candidates by donating to the party.' So it was basically a call to, 'Hey, you can donate more than the legal limit to a party and just tag the candidate that you want to donate to in the memo line.' Well, Wyoming law actually bars that workaround as well, so you can only donate 1500 to a non-statewide candidate, and also the law says you can't earmark donations to the party with a candidate's name." Teton County GOP Chair Kat Rueckert told Cowboy State Daily in a phone interview that a local Democrat who follows the party's email blasts alerted her to the problem. Rueckert said she was "very appreciative" for the heads-up, and promised to make a correction. Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, September 23rd.  I'm Mac Watson. – A Colorado man whose phone contained searches for "cliffs near me" before his pickup plunged off a Wyoming mountain road with his wife inside is now wanted in Wyoming for first-degree murder. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that investigators say their truck went over the cliff at 57 mph. "Investigators say his truck reached speeds of nearly 57 miles-per-hour before plunging off a cliff outside of Saratoga, and investigators say there were no signs of braking or trying to stop before the pickup went over the edge. His wife, 44-year-old Virginia Wood, initially survived the crash, but a coroner decided that she ultimately died of homicide based on her injuries. Investigators found the couple two days later. Virginia Wood was deceased at that point, and Jay Wood was still alive. They noticed that he was wearing different clothes from the clothes that he was seen wearing the day of the crash, per surveillance per surveillance video from a nearby gas station." Fort Collins police arrested 46-year-old Forrest J. Wood on Tuesday morning on a Carbon County warrant. He is now expected to be extradited to Wyoming, where he is facing first-degree murder charges, along with failure to render aid.  Read the full story HERE. – The remains of a 43-year-old Gillette man named Derek Schaff, who has been missing more than three months, were found Saturday by a K-9 named Taz during an extensive search of the Weston Hills Recreation Area. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that the K-9's handler says, "I wouldn't have seen the guy without" his dog. "Remains were found by K-9 Taz and John Lebrec of Jackson Hole. His remains were found kind of wedged between rocks in a deep ravine about 14 feet deep. He was very difficult to see from above. Taz got alerted on the smell was an upwind, so Taz was able to detect the odor of human remains and just beelined down into the ravine. John followed, and when John went down, he saw, of course, that it was in fact human remains. Currently the cause and manner of death are unknown. No obvious foul play was detected, but of course, the coroner will have to determine cause and manner of death following the autopsy that happened on Monday." This was the biggest search for Schaff, including more than 20 volunteers, some from out of state, and nine dog teams. Read the full story HERE. – A Cody bowhunter said he did nothing wrong by leaving an elk that was partly devoured by a grizzly. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that although Ron Niziolek was charged by Game and Fish, he said skinning and quartering an elk with likely-tainted meat wasn't worth the risk of a grizzly confrontation. "He said, 'you know what? I'm going to fight these charges.' Took it to trial, and in August prevailed. He was found not guilty, but he said kind of his experience of going through all this. He really hopes that there's some more clarity because you know Game and Fish is at least informally telling people don't try to fight a grizzly if a grizzly does claim an elk car because even if they're not there right there at the moment, if you see evidence of a bear round, just get out of there. Don't risk a confrontation, and that's what he did. The game warden did talk in court, and so you know, records or his quotes from court said that his argument was that hey, even if the meat had been possibly tainted, they were still under the obligation to get it out of there, and then they could have looked at it, or inspected it, or had it inspected later and decided it's okay, or no, it's tainted. We need to just toss it. But they were still under the obligation to get that meat out of there." Wyoming statute states that big-game hunters are legally obligated to take all edible portions of the animals they kill. But in the end, the jury ultimately rejected the prosecution's arguments. Read the full story HERE.  – Nearly two months after he fled to California while skipping his arraignment on dozens of child sex abuse and exploitation charges, John C. Smallbone was finally in a Converse County courtroom Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson was in the courtroom as Smallbone pleaded not guilty to 80 child sex abuse charges. "I'm here in front of the Converse County Justice Center where John Smallbone finally had his arraignment hearing on 80 charges, 79 of them relating to child sex abuse charges and accusations of child pornography possession and voyeurism. He looked pretty matter of fact. Didn't show much emotion during the hearing. He's wearing the the standard issue orange scrubs. he was shackled at the ankles and at the wrists, his wrists were shackled in front of him, and it took it took 20 full minutes for the judge to read out all of the charges against him, and that's even when he lumped some of them together." The Colorado woman who put up the money for Smallbone's $250,000 bond was also in court Tuesday, testifying that she was a longtime friend of his wife and that she and her husband dipped into their retirement to help the Smallbones out. In the end, the judge noted the merit behind the state's argument to forfeit the whole amount, but ultimately ordered $20,000 of the bond forfeit while $230,000 will be returned to the Colorado couple. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – A truck driver killed when his car plunged 50 feet into Wyoming's Snake River Canyon on Friday leaves a wife and two small daughters. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that Robert Saad's wife, Neshako, describes the 6' 6", 400-pound truck driver as a "big teddy bear." "The 39-year-old Idaho Falls truck driver left Friday morning for a job in Jackson when his SUV struck a guardrail, sending him off a cliff 50 feet into the Snake River Canyon, killing him. Saad's vehicle went unnoticed for hours before first responders were able to get to him, and noticed his vehicle submerged in about 18 inches of water. His wife said that after he passed, his employer retired the big dump truck with purple lights, known affectionately as the 'Smoke Show.'" The 39-year-old Idaho Falls truck driver was on his way to a dump-truck job in Jackson, Wyoming, when his Hyundai Santa Fe went off U.S. Highway 89 and plunged about 50 feet into the Snake River Canyon. Read the full story HERE.  – Wyoming's Office of Consumer Advocate on Tuesday said it will fight Rocky Mountain Power's proposed 8.8% rate hike — its third in three years. Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson reports they say they will recommend a significant reduction or an elimination of the proposed increase altogether. "The Wyoming Office of Consumer Advocate has said that it's going to challenge Rocky Mountain Power's latest rate hike of 8.8% that it's proposing to kick in in 2027. Some customers across the state are less than thrilled about the proposed rate hike. Jesse Caines of Riverton said that he used to pay about $100, and it's just been steadily rising to now $300 in the winter, and he's had to pick up a second job just to make up for the rising cost of electricity." Rocky Mountain Power, the regulated monopoly utility serving roughly 150,000 customers across Wyoming, announced in May it is seeking a rate increase beginning in 2027. Read the full story HERE. – Large-animal veterinarians pleaded for their livelihoods Tuesday when discussing a bill that would have let non-vets pregnancy-check livestock. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that one rancher cried during the hours-long debate.  "It is important to note that ranchers can already preg check their own cattle. This bill would have opened it up so that non-veterinarians could basically sell that service, and the veterinarians were saying, "Whoa, the preg checks are our bread and butter, and they're the reason that we can live in these tiny little towns and do midnight cesareans and other vital services that you actually need a vet for. On the other hand, some of the ranchers were saying, 'Yeah, but we can't book a vet.' There was one rancher who testified in favor of the veterinarian's position, so against the bill, and she broke into tears saying that veterinarians are underappreciated." In the end, the bill died by an 8 to 5 vote. Read the full story HERE. – Pinedale's Tip Top Search and Rescue rescued an injured horseback rider out of a tight crevice recently using sophisticated short-haul helicopter rescue training. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the man became wedged after his horse bucked him near Mount Darby in Sublette County. "The individual fell into a crevice that was eight feet deep, and there were logs on either side. It was a difficult spot. So, what was determined by Tip Top Search and Rescue was they staged in a field. They tethered one of their own onto the bot of a helicopter. The helicopter flew him in while he was hanging off the line, lowered him to the individual so he could get him into a screamer bag, and then they hitched themselves back onto the line. The helicopter flew them back to the staging area where a medevac was waiting." Tip Top Search and Rescue got a call the morning of Sept. 15 that a man had been bucked off a horse while riding near Mount Darby in Sublette County. The unidentified victim ended up at the bottom of an 8-foot-deep crevice. He reportedly hit his head, had difficulty breathing, and couldn't move his lower legs. Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thank

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, September 22nd.  I'm Mac Watson. – A Wyoming federal lands group is bashing a bill U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman has unveiled that would cap government conservation easements at 30 years. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Hageman says it will balance landowners' rights, while opponents claim it will harm conservation efforts. "She actually unveiled this bill back in April that would cap new conservation easements by the Department of Interior at 30 years, and older ones that are past the 30 year mark would come up for review or renegotiation if the landowner wanted. So old bill, but the Wyoming Sportsmen for Federal Lands Group kind of raised the alarm here Sunday and in an interview today saying this is not acceptable, you know. There's wetlands that depend on these for conservation, and I ask the you know I ask the spokesman Earl DeGroot. I said, "Why are you raising the alarm now? He said, "Well, the time is now. She's running for Senate." In response, Hageman called the current system lopsided, pointing to the Wyoming Constitution, and called for a balancing of interests. Read the full story HERE. – A Casper family is mourning a 24-year-old killed in a shooting Saturday involving his brother, who has since been released from custody. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that their great aunt says, "Those brothers loved each other." "24-year-old Quincy Brow was fatally shot in the street by his brother on North McKinley Street over the weekend in Casper. Rose Wallace identifies herself as the great aunt to the two boys who are her nephews. She says that she believes this was an accident as she spoke with the defendant who is now no longer in police custody, and no charges have been filed. And her nephew told her that this was just the result of an argument, and that he never intended to kill his brother." Casper PD spokesperson Rebecka Ladd confirmed Brow's identity Monday, citing an announcement from the Natrona County Coroner's Office, adding the investigation is ongoing. Read the full story HERE. – The One Shot Antelope Hunt, a central Wyoming staple since 1940, is the ultimate challenge for hunters — drop a buck pronghorn with a single shot. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz got to tag along this year and reports hunters discovered near Jeffrey City on Saturday, it's not easy. "This thing has, over the years, it's like Chuck Yeager has participated. Roy Rogers, some really high-profile people have participated, and so they had the 82nd one just this past weekend. The rule is that you have two vehicles. Each vehicle has a hunter and a guide in it, and it's a little bit confusing. But the two hunters have to be from different teams. Yet you have three hunter teams, but they don't go out together. They go out separately, and so the hunting party is two hunters from different teams and their respective guides. So I jumped in a truck with one of those folks and went out on the hunt with them, and it was a lot of fun." The One-Shot Antelope Hunt has been based out of Lander since 1940 and conducted every year since except during World War II (1942-45) and COVID-19 (2020). Read the full story HERE. – The 17th and final illegal driver arrested during the latest Laramie County traffic safety enforcement operation was going the wrong way on a one-way street in front of the sheriff's office. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that Yatsen Perez-Ramos, originally from Cuba, almost hit a deputy and was on the ICE watch list. "The Laramie County Sheriff's Office spent the last year doing periodic 'Truck Around and Find Out' campaigns. They're pretty much finished with it at the end of the week, and as the deputy was leaving, having finished his shift, and almost got hit by a car that was going the wrong way on a one-way street. He noticed the driver was on his cell phone, and on further investigation, when they stopped and were talking to the guy, number one, he didn't speak in English. He had an expired Wyoming driver's license. And when they called it in to ICE, apparently ICE this guy was on their radar. Moral of the story is if you don't want to catch the attention of law enforcement, don't drive the wrong way right past the sheriff's office and almost hit a deputy." This latest Truck Around and Find Out operation rounds out a year of the targeted highway safety efforts for the Laramie County Sheriff's Office. Like a number of the other illegal drivers turned over to ICE this past week, the wrong-way driver "didn't speak any English," and had both an expired visa to be in the country and an expired Wyoming driver's license. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – The 45th Annual Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale in Cody saw big sales for big paintings. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi was there and reports that by the time the Quick Draw ended on Saturday morning, the two live auctions and their accompanying silent auctions had raised at least $1.034 million. "So the top selling piece was "Last Stand at the OK Corral" by Dustin Payne. It's a bronze depicting the moments during the shootouts at the OK Corral with the Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday. The best selling artist of the entire show this year was Thomas Kegler. Kegler's painting Valley of the Giants Romans 1513 won the 2026 Spirit of Buffalo Bill Award and the People's Choice Award. It sold for $22,500, and the next day during the quick draw, a piece that he put together that morning sold for another $17,000 for a grand total of $39,500 between the two days, which is more than any other artist made during that time frame." Kegler is a self-taught realist painter, educational film producer, and art educator based in New York. His painting won the 2026 People's Choice and Spirit of Buffalo Bill Awards. Read the full story HERE. – A Colorado fugitive was arrested after a 100-mph chase on U.S. 287 into Laramie that continued on a bare rim until the driver crashed through a cattle gate. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that a roadside witness who took video as the chase raced past cheered, "Go get 'em boys! Go get 'em." "Deputies say Jonis Mencia-Cruz continued the chase even after his tire popped, he was driving on a bare rim. Police eventually were able to get him stopped, and when they did, they realized he had a warrant out for his arrest from Colorado. Authorities say that the pickup crashed through a cattle guard and eventually, the pickup crashed at Roger Canyon Road, where the suspect got out and started to run away from police officers. They were able to quickly apprehend him and take him into custody." Jonis Mencia-Cruz is now facing property destruction, eluding, reckless driving and interference charges after a Thursday pursuit that topped 100 mph, tore through Laramie and continued at more than 90 mph with a front tire gone. If convicted on all charges, he could spend 12 years behind bars. Read the full story HERE. – Some Wyoming legislators are pushing a bill that would let independent power suppliers compete with utilities by selling to companies like trona mines and data centers. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that four House members killed the effort, but it's coming back next week and state Senator Chris Rothfuss is optimistic. "Faced with just enormous power demands and struggles by at least one power company to meet those, lawmakers are saying, "Why don't we just authorize independent power suppliers who want to sell to large loads to do that. Why do we just let them do that? That bill died. Rothfuss has encouraged one lawmaker who already voted yes on it is on that committee, and none of the lawmakers who voted no on it are on that committee. So it certainly has a chance of being adopted by that committee, and then as an adopted bill, an edge going into the winter lawmaking session." Companies can generate power for themselves right now. But they can't buy it from third-party, non-utility parties, Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, tells Cowboy State Daily. This bill would have defined those independent suppliers as utilities, grafting them into Wyoming's power supply laws. Read the full story HERE.  – Guernsey Town Councilman Jeremiah Fields told candidate Sue Fronapfel "the gloves are off" in the town hall parking lot after they clashed during a council meeting earlier this month. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that Fields reportedly told Fronapfel, "It's not a threat, but a promise,"  "Sue Fronapfel accused two council members of not doing their jobs and specifically continually attacking town clerk Hillary Dawson. It's a claim that Jeremiah Fields, Town Council Member Jeremiah Fields, took personally and denies. He felt sure that Fronapfel was talking to him directly and to get outside later and said the gloves are off. Whether or not Fields made a threat is up for debate. Fields said he did not. He simply said the gloves are off, made a statement, and walked away. According to a written police statement, Fronapfel said it was a threat that she did feel threatened, and she went back into the town council chambers and asked what to do, and then ended up calling the police." No wrongdoing was found by Platte County attorney Marel Bunker Roth, according to an email from the attorney to the police chief viewed by Cowboy State Daily. Read the full story HERE.  — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, September 21st.  I'm Mac Watson. – Gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Bextel has been accused of trespassing, barred from building on her land, and locked in a legal war with Wyoming Game And Fish. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Bextel says she's a political target, while her neighbors say she violated a hunting easement. "The trespassing was called in before her run for office, and it was charged before her run for office. But how it looks from her end, she wasn't summoned to court on the trespassing allegation until the CheckGate controversy had reached a fever pitch, so it was charged before CheckGate. But on her end, what she's seeing is she's summoned to court right after CheckGates, and then in the civil case, the state started filing some pretty strongly worded arguments. Quote, Since Eric Barlow won the primary, I am now no longer allowed to build on my own property. End quote." Bextel told Cowboy State Daily in a text-message interview that she bought the land to build a fish camp for her family, including a "little Florida room" to keep mosquitos away from her daughter, who has a genetic disorder. Read the full story HERE. – The crowd at the Boulder Bar on a Sunday in September offers an eclectic sample of rural Sublette County: rancher, fishing guide, washed-up rodeo rider and retired rig mechanic. Cowboy State Daily's Zak Sonntag reports that Donna Steele doesn't like people who show up late. "When I first get greeted. She says to me, 'You're the son of a bitch from the newspaper, aren't you?' I said, 'Yeah, that's me.' And she told me, 'Well, you're the son of a bitch we've been waiting for for four days,' and it felt like such a perfectly Wyoming greeting. But coming from Donna Steele, it felt more like a warm welcome than a reprimand, and that gives you a sense of just what this community is like because that's really kind of how it feels. They're blunt, they're terse. They'll tell you how they feel."  For more than half a century, the Steeles had been taking the measure of men passing through the Boulder Bar and serving drinks since they took over this family business in 1972. Donna tells Cowboy State Daily that this is the kind of place where you might see a deer nose through the bar and come up to the pool table, but it's also one of those places that was a second home for many of the hard drinking rig hands that would come in there, and start notorious bar brawls. Read the full story HERE.  – Jackson Hole has never lacked for luxury, but its newest $400 million private enclave takes stealth wealth to a whole new level at Teton Village. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean scored a rare tour inside the Hoback Club's 25 newly opened private club condos. "Memberships there start at 150,000 a year. So they are definitely catering to the upscale luxury crowd there in Jackson Hole. It's marketed as a money-making opportunity for these billionaires, because the way they've designed these residences, you can walk off a two- or three-bedroom suite and rent that out at the you know nine to $20,000 a night for month night minimum stay. So you know every time you do that, that's 36,000 bucks." The Hoback Club is described in the Wyoming Engineering & Surveying Society's annual Project of the Year awards as a 250,000-square-foot private, ski-in/ski-out residence club that cost more than $400 million to build. That makes it "one of the largest and most expensive places ever constructed in Wyoming," the project overview submitted to the Surveying Society states.  Read the full story HERE.  – Tourists experienced a rare sight this past weekend when up to 19 grizzlies had a feeding frenzy on a carcass north of Yellowstone National Park. Outdoors Reporter  Mark Heinz reports that while usually solitary, bears can be semi-social when the right feeding opportunities arise. "A biologist was able to put that in context. Basically said that yes, especially this time of year, a nice big fat juicy carcass, probably an elk or a bison, something big, will draw in numerous grizzly bears, you know, for feeding. And the reason that they're being polite is for a couple reasons. Even though bears don't really live together per se, they live in proximity to each other. So there's already kind of an established hierarchy. Usually, the biggest, most dominant males are the ones that will go in and feed first, and then after that, the smaller bears will come in and get their share." The spectacle unfolded late Sunday north of Yellowstone National Park, Florida resident Janet Zaloga said.  Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – After years in decline and die-off, the once-stunning Aspen Alley corridor in southern Wyoming's Sierra Madre Mountains is making a comeback. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that one area rancher says within five years, "We'll have aspen so thick it'll be hard to walk through there." "This year, there are one and a half to two foot saplings growing up. They seem to be doing extremely well. Within five years, they should be up, up or over 10 feet tall. And Aspen Alley will get back to its glory days. There's that saying that you know there's the people who plant trees knowing they'll never sit in their shade. That's what's happening at Aspen Alley. It's long-term planning." Dennis Faerber, owner of the Aspen Alley Ranch, is eagerly watching dozens of two-foot-high saplings growing in the once-dense aspen grove, adding that when he bought the 520-acre ranch, the famous Aspen Grove was on its last legs. Read the full story HERE. – After hauling another 500-plus pounds of garbage out of a public campsite, Bridger-Teton National Forest officials are fed up with whomever keeps trashing the spot. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports it's happened at least five times and is now the focus of a federal investigation. "Bridger Teton National Forest spokesperson C J Adams says that this is a federal crime because it happened on federal land. This investigation right now is being done by park officials. The punishment is only a misdemeanor with a hefty fine. Adams says this is a recurring problem. He mentioned that people are going out drinking; they're picking up beer cans. He warned about illegal activity when people go out and enjoy the you know nature and paradise that is Wyoming. Oftentimes, they forget that just because you're out in a remote rural rural area doesn't mean it's lawless country." The 500 pounds of garbage has included alcohol cans and bottles, food waste and fireworks. There also have been burned tires, and even pieces of a red car left behind. Read the full story HERE. – Nonresidents wanting to fulfill their dreams of a Wyoming elk hunt should be willing to shell out a median of $8,000 for a guided hunt, while high-end adventures can hit $30,000. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that outdoorsman Guy Eastman says Wyoming is the sweet-spot for big-game hunters. "I reached out to Guy Eastman, who of course you know the Eastman's Hunting Journal and TV show. So what Guy told me is Wyoming kind of hits it kind of hits a trifecta of sweet spots. We've got good, solid trophy potential.  We've got some of the best, most remote wilderness in other rugged country in the lower 48. So all those things come together to kind of make Wyoming a really desirable spot for folks to you know to come out here and sink 8000 or more into an elk hunt." The median price for a guided elk hunt in Wyoming is $8,000, Tennessee outdoorsman and number cruncher Micheal Gifford tells Cowboy State Daily. That's compared to roughly $6,700 for a Montana elk hunt, $6,000 in Colorado, and $5,400 in Idaho. Read the full story HERE. – A city-wide power outage didn't stop bidders in this weekend's Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale from ponying up more than $1 million during one of the nation's premier Western art events. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the biggest spender was a bidder who bought nine pieces for more than $135,000. "Literally after they sold the first piece of the 107 pieces that were on the runway that night, the power went out. There was a citywide power outage throughout Cody. The tent was in complete darkness, so everyone was scrambling trying to figure out how to get the auction back on track. They got some industrial-sized generators to get the lights back on, but it took an hour before the sound system was fully back on. So auctioneer Troy Black was using a portable speaker that someone had in their car that happened to be charged, and people on the runway, myself included, were escorting the paintings with flashlights so people could see what they were bidding on. So it was an interesting night." Between Friday night's live auction and Saturday morning's Quick Draw auction, one of the nation's premier Western art events brought in just over a million dollars.  Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, September 18th.  I'm Mac Watson. – A Rawlins couple racing to the hospital to have their baby made it only to a parking lot in a Wamsutter truck stop. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that dad said seven minutes after calling 911, the baby was delivered. "Catherine and Kyle Blake were rushing to get to the Rock Springs Hospital when her water broke outside of Wamsutter. Catherine at one point looked at Kyle and said, "We're not going to make it. You need to pull over right here. So he got into a Loves parking lot. The baby was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck, but Kyle was able to talk with dispatch and quickly address the situation and get the the umbilical cord off and rub the baby until it started breathing. As soon as their son started crying, the couple felt relieved." Max Hemi Blake came into the world in a Ram 2500 with a Hemi engine, so really, what else were his parents supposed to name him? The 6-pound, 11-ounce Wyoming boy was born Aug. 8th in the parking lot of the Love's Travel Stop in Wamsutter after his parents realized they weren't going to make it to the hospital in Rock Springs. Read the full story HERE. – Torrington residents are getting sticker shock from their electricity bills, which have jumped nearly 190% seemingly overnight after a change in the town's power provider. Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson reports that after the region's provider switched from the Western Area Power Administration to the Southwest Power Pool, one woman saw her bill shoot up more than $100 dollars in one month. "I talked to one, a mother of five, who said that she almost cried when she opened up her electricity bill and saw that it was $100 more than usual. The city said that because they switched providers, it resulted in a 189% increase, or $800,000 overall, and they're trying to get to the bottom of why this happened. We reached out to both providers, and they did not respond to a request for comment." The City of Torrington released a statement saying, "Torrington and its wholesale power provider Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska are working diligently together to discern the cause of the sharp increase." Read the full story HERE.  – A bull elk in Estes Park, Colorado, has been strutting around town with an antler stuck in its neck after a fight during rutting season. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that elk sometimes get their antler racks entangled in a fight, but one ecologist said he's "never seen anything like that." "Two bulls got into a mating season fight there. And one of them, then right about here in the neck of the elk, an antler tine, jabbed in and snapped off, and so now there's this bull elk running around Estes Park Park with this gory antler point dangling from its neck. Well, not really gory because there's no blood spurting out of it. I talked to a photographer that kind of knows that elk and took some video of him and said he appears to be doing fine. And one of the biologists I talked to said 'yeah, because they've got a lot of you know hide and fur and muscle in there he said as long as that antler point went into just muscle tissue and didn't cause any nerve damage." Elk have entered the rut, or mating season, during which bulls can get into vicious fights as they try to lay claim to harems of cows. Read the full story HERE.  – After nearly three weeks of intensive searching in a flood-ravaged part of the Grand Canyon, Wyoming hiker Timothy Smith's body has been recovered and identified.  Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports his wife says, "We no longer have to wait." "Carrie Smith confirmed that her husband had been found on Thursday morning, although it wasn't the news she was hoping for, it does bring closure to their family, knowing that he has been recovered. Cowboy State Daily spoke to a retired park ranger who used to work in that area, and she said that it can take so long because of all the debris that gets washed downstream, and there were parts of bridges, trees, plants, rocks, boulders, and then search and rescue teams go through, and they have to sift through that, which is also very dangerous for them as well." Smith, who was 53, was a pilot who had recently moved to Star Valley. His remains were recovered Monday near Crystal Rapid on the Colorado River, roughly 10 miles downstream from Phantom Ranch. Read the full story HERE.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, September 17th.  I'm Mac Watson. – The Sheridan County Republican Party posted, then apparently took down, a statement last week touting Wyoming Constitution Party nominee Rebecca Bextel for governor over Republican Eric Barlow. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the party's chair says she doesn't know who made the post. "You have all of these 'cry foul' from people who have, like Joanne True, was censured by the state Republican Party six years ago for backing a PAC, a nonpartisan PAC, which in turn gave some money to Democrats, and she called it staggering hypocrisy, saying, 'Oh, okay. Now we have Republicans in leadership that are backing non-Republicans; the very thing I was censured for.' The chair Sharon McCright told me that she wasn't sure why the post was taken down or why it was up. She's not sure who made it. She said she and two other people have access to the page, and those two people prefer not to be named." Gail Symons, an incoming Sheridan County GOP precinct committeewoman and Cowboy State Daily columnist, called the party's fleeting gesture of support ironic. Read the full story HERE. – Peabody Energy, Union Pacific, and Mexican rail partner Ferromex have shipped coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin to the Port of Guaymas, (Why-mas)  opening a Pacific export route for America's largest coal mine. Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson reports that one mining official calls it "a huge step." "Travis Deti, the executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, said this is a huge step in the right direction. After years of struggling to get coal out of the country with lack of access to ports on the West Coast. He said that he's hoping this new route offers a way for Wyoming coal to reach a larger customer base around the world. But House Majority Leader Scott Heiner, who also chairs the Wyoming House Minerals Business and Economic Development Committee, said that he would prefer to see Wyoming coal burned here at home and powering our own state's electrical grid." The shipments, part of a joint pilot project to test whether the cross-border supply chain could work, have already moved multiple trains from Wyoming to Mexico, with the first cargo vessel now heading across the Pacific to Vietnam. Read the full story HERE. – Melissa Harris can't believe she's about to go to trial for standing on her own property and stating what's basically the unofficial Wyoming state motto: "Get the f*** off my lawn." Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that the Wright-area woman has been charged with breach of peace. "Just telling someone, 'hey, get the f off my lawn,' whether it rises to the level of breach of peace, that's that's the real issue. In this case, because other people heard the vulgarity and apparently were offended, but this has been tried before the Wyoming Supreme Court, who has weighed in on it before too, saying that not just saying a vulgarity means that you're breaking the law. There has to be some kind of push behind it that incites some kind of violence or incites something in some way. While people will joke, hey, you know, you get people say that all the time, but you know, to actually lose your liberty for any length of time is a pretty serious matter." Harris is set for an Oct. 27 jury trial on a single misdemeanor breach of peace charge. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming-based author and longtime angler C.J. Box on Wednesday lampooned CNN's video of California Gov. Gavin Newsom fly fishing with news anchor Jake Tapper. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the author evaluated their casting techniques and says, "Everything about it is performative and wrong."  "Look, when we see this, sometimes Trump's interior leader Ryan Zinke had his reel on backwards. Chuck Schumer tried to grill a hamburger raw with the cheese already on it before it reaches that almost done stage. And of course there was John Kerry's staged hunting trip. So we see from time to time politicians really try to put on the outdoorsman guys, and it flops. This, according to C.J. Box, best-selling author and Wyomingites, this was one of those times. He said, "What are they doing? You don't break your wrist with every cast. You know you try to lead with the fly, not the line. So he had a lot of critiques over this video that CNN set to suspenseful music that was supposed to be a focus on Gavin Newsom saying that he is not going to run for president if Kamala Harris decides to." If anyone knows anything about fly fishing it's the 67-year-old author who says he's been casting for about 30 years. Read the full story HERE.  – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – Sweetwater County School Board members said Wednesday that due to personnel rules they can't discuss Superintendent Joseph Libby's suspension. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that a recent investigation by the Wyoming Department of Education describes a culture of mistrust in the district. "Mayor Max Mickelson served on the school board for two terms and a little bit before he left to become mayor. He also told me he has two kids in the school district. Mickelson said periods of leadership change naturally, create uncertainty, and parents are entitled to ask questions. He said, 'But I hope we do not allow that uncertainty to obscure the 1000s of ordinary acts of competence and care happening in our schools every day.' Interestingly, that really echoed a statement that School Board Chair Cole Wright made in his statement that he made on Wednesday, and he said, 'the board recognizes that periods of leadership change create uncertainty and speculation. However, the board respectfully asks that we don't allow this period of time to take away from the tremendous amount of ordinary acts of care and proficiency displayed in our schools every day.'" The Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday to place Libby on leave after a lengthy executive session that took up most of the scheduled board meeting. The board also voted unanimously to eliminate the assistant superintendent position held by Nicole Bolton. Read the full story HERE. – An Idaho family is suing a trucker and a trucking company after a bullet struck their pickup with their 2-year-old inside in November. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports the suit says J&A Logistics was negligent in retaining the driver, who faces attempted second-degree murder charges. "According to the suit, J&A Trucking had 150 driving violations in the 24 months before the November incident, as well as an at-fault driver incident that killed two people in Texas less than a week before the road rage incident that happened in Rawlins. The family is now seeking damages for emotional distress, trauma, and medical expenses." The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Wyoming, also lists 53 false-log violations and dozens of equipment problems, including 50 tire-pressure violations, 38 brake-adjustment violations, 22 automatic brake-adjustment failures and 17 brake out-of-service violations. Read the full story HERE. – Twenty-five years ago yesterday, a drunk driver killed eight members of the University of Wyoming cross-country team on U.S. Highway 287, rocking the state five days after 9/11. Cowboy State Daily's Kerry Drake reports that families, friends and the university are making sure the eight are always remembered, including an event that took place in Gillette. "There was an event Wednesday in Gillette, called in memory of the eight. It's an eight-mile run, and it's in the hometown of Morgan McLaren, who was one of the stars of the track team. He had been an all-state all-state cross country champion, and went on to the university. And I talked to his brother yesterday, and he was filled with memories of, you know, how competitive they were, and it was it was nice to see that he had so many fond memories of his of his brother, who he said he was well his brother was much younger, he was much better than any of them." After the crash, UW sophomore Anne Hedderman summed up for The Associated Press how the community was coping with the horrific national and local news: "It was blackness upon blackness." Read the full story HERE. – The three-way race for Wyoming's House District 11 pits Libertarian Ryan Shollenberger against Republican Dan McIntosh and Democrat Britney Tennant. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that's one of Wyoming's rare "purple" districts, where the libertarian's run for office is a wildcard. "We got a Libertarian in the house running for House District 11 against Britney Tennant. That's a well-known Democrat animal rescue person in Cheyenne, and Dan McIntosh, who was born and raised in that area, and has a resounding victory coming out of his Republican primary. And so it's really interesting to watch this seat that has gone in the not so distant past to Democrats, in the more recent past in tight races to Republicans. Now we're going to go ahead and inject a Libertarian in there and see what happens." For around 93% of Wyoming legislative seats in recent history, being a Republican equals a general election win. But House District 11 is a rare "purple" seat with a tight margin between the two major parties.  Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, September 16th.  I'm Mac Watson. – A truck driver allegedly stabbed a man 17 times inside an I-80 rest-area bathroom near Rock Springs on Sunday before fleeing in his semi. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that less than 90 minutes after the first 911 call, Wyoming Highway Patrol had 45-year-old Andrew Kris Bzdak in custody.  "Witnesses say Bzdak then fled the area. He got into his truck and he started to head towards Rollins. Then the man who had entered the bathroom first stumbled out. He was screaming in pain and bleeding. He left a trail of blood as he walked about 30 feet to the side of his semi, and he collapsed. The victim in this case was taken to the hospital. His medical status at this point is unknown."  Charging documents obtained by Cowboy State Daily reveal that a family at the rest area heard the attack, saw a man run from the building, and then followed his semi-truck east toward Rawlins long enough to photograph identifying information from the truck and trailer. Bzdak has been charged with attempted first-degree murder.  Read the full story HERE. – Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Superintendent Joseph Libby was placed on administrative leave Monday night after a tense school board meeting that included police presence. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that the board also eliminated the assistant superintendent position. "School board chair Cole Wright announced the decision after the board came back from executive session, and then they took action, agreeing unanimously to put Superintendent Dr. Joseph Luby on paid administrative leave and eliminate that assistant superintendent position. There was a police officer called. No one knows who made that call, but a police officer was there to effectively keep the peace, make sure that you know there was no bad behavior. Kari Cochran, a parent who has been outspoken against the district ever since she's been trying to get school records from her son, who committed suicide back in 2023. She talked to Cowboy State Daily from the parking lot late Monday after the announcements. She told me we are all shaking and we're coming to grips that action has been taken." The Wyoming Department of Education has not yet responded to Cowboy State Daily's request for comment. Read the full story HERE. – The famous Mollie's wolf pack is safe, for now, after returning to Yellowstone National Park just before the start of Wyoming's hunting season Tuesday. But Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that hunters are hopeful they will stray back out of the park before hunting season closes in December. "There's been this long-standing worry on the part of wolf advocates that if they were caught outside the park in the wolf hunt area when the season opens. Some of them, including maybe Wolf 1090F, which is that really famous 12 year old wolf, might get shot by hunters. So for now, at least that doesn't seem as if it's going to happen. I talked to a couple biologists, once they get to be about six months old, they can go fully mobile. What happened is they just picked up and moved, and they happen to move into the part of their territory that is still in Yellowstone National Park." Wolf advocate Samantha Miller tells Cowboy State Daily that the wolf pack should get special protection from hunters because of the pack's scientific value and its value to the wolf tourism industry.  Read the full story HERE. – A Buffalo man is accused of randomly attacking two women with a rock on a popular trail on Sunday.  Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that Sheriff Rod Odenbach says prosecutors are preparing "serious charges." "30-year-old Mitchell Wilcox was taken into custody Sunday morning after sheriffs and police responded to an assault that happened at Clear Creek Trail in Buffalo. The sheriff is saying that this attack appears to be totally random, although Wilcox is a local resident. The two female victims were taken to the hospital. They are stable as of Tuesday afternoon. Wilcox is now facing two counts of attempted second-degree murder, along with two counts of aggravated assault and battery, and two counts of kidnapping. So, if convicted on the most serious of these charges, he is facing life in prison." Wilcox is in jail on a $2 million bond. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – Wyoming spent two years and $1.8 million in public money to buy the historic Star Plunge water park in Hot Springs State Park. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that now severe electrical problems and gas leaks mean it might have to spend another $1 million just to tear down the property. "The state has a little pool of money it puts that into, and then it so that's what it's using to fund this. If they do tear it down, it'll be rebuilt. I'm told that'll cost three to 5 million. That would be on the new operator that the state has selected. Wyoming Hot Springs LLC would do that. Wyoming Hot Springs LLC is owned by Mark Begich, and he is a former senator from Alaska. But you know he owns a lot of other hot springs in other places, so he's got some street cred." The operator has already taken possession of the former Hellie's TePee Pools and is set to take possession of Hot Springs Hotel on Oct. 31. Read the full story HERE. – Officials at Central Wyoming College in Riverton say they are opposed to Laramie County Community College's plan to rename itself "Wyoming State College." But Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that community college chairs in Casper and Torrington say they're just focused on their own work. "Central Wyoming College, at least one other community college board chair, voiced opposition to the move. CWC saying it could cause confusion in the higher education realm, and Sheridan College told me, "Yeah, maybe it would be more appropriate to go with a regional name rather than one that claims the whole state. So, LCCC countered, saying 'we understand CWC's concerns, but it may be time for bold action in this new educational environment.'" LCCC President Joe Schaffer said last month that the rebrand is about survival in the face of declining enrollment, Southwest Wyoming's naming system is confusing: the City of Laramie sits in Albany, not Laramie, County. Laramie County's seat is Cheyenne. Read the full story HERE.  – A Cheyenne man said a white pickup swerved head-on toward his vehicle with his wife and two sleeping children inside and hit their camper before fleeing in the dark. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that now Rivers Tabb says he's searching for the driver.  "Tabb said, as the pickup got closer, it almost seemed like he was playing chicken with them. At the last second, Tabb leaned over his fiance behind the wheel, and he swerved the pickup to the right. He thought that he had missed the pickup when the camper began to fishtail, so he came to a complete stop. Meanwhile, the pickup continued driving, and when he got out of the camper, he saw that the truck had actually swiped the entire left side of the camper, and it actually tore off a lot of the paneling and left a gaping hole in in in the camper where they actually live." The driver might have left behind one potentially important clue. Tabb tells Cowboy State Daily that while cleaning up after the crash, he found pieces of the other vehicle inside his younger son's sleeping area. A part number on one of those pieces appears to correspond with a component used on certain 2017-2019 Ford F-250 or F-350 pickups, he added. Read the full story HERE. – Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day says El Niño will dominate the next nine months, likely bringing a lot of moisture and less wind to southern Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that northern Wyoming might have to endure "two bad years" of snowpack in a row.  "Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said that during the first three months of the season-that's September, October, November-there's a chance of above-average precipitation, or at least more of it, across Wyoming, particularly in southern Wyoming, as that Super El Nino settles into the southern U.S. the same thing is going to happen at the end of the season. That'll be March, April, May, when there could be a chance of above-average precipitation. The middle period, December through February, is going to be a lot less active, which means less snow." Day has arduously used the tools at his disposal to project what's most likely to happen in Wyoming this winter, but does caution "What will happen in Sheridan this winter is likely going to be different than what happens in Laramie and Cheyenne." Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, September 15th.  I'm Mac Watson. – The women suing Kappa Kappa Gamma for inducting a transgender member went back to court Monday, arguing the sorority betrayed them. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the sorority says its council can interpret the bylaws, regardless of what 'woman' meant historically. "At one point, one of the judges got into a back and forth with the sorority's attorney, and he was saying, 'Okay, so the sorority's council members can interpret terms that are in the bylaws.' They have that authority. And this was a point that the attorney for the sorority really hammered, like, 'Yes, they're just interpreting the word 'woman.' It wasn't defined in the bylaws, and the judge comes back and says, 'But you're arguing for an interpretation that could include biological males.' The attorney countered, saying, 'We're arguing for an interpretation that includes people born male that identify as female, and so they came to kind of an impasse that really circled around the definition of the word woman.'" Kappa Kappa Gamma's attorney Natalie McLaughlin maintained that the case revolves around a private organization's ability to govern itself, and she pointed to Ohio laws' deference toward governors of private groups. Kappa is incorporated in Ohio. Read the full story HERE. – Pavillion 17-year-old Elizabeth "Lizzy" Barrett has been missing for a week since climbing out her bedroom window the night of Sept. 8th. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports she took some clothes and a backpack, but left her active cellphone. "Although under sheriff Mike Hutchinson said it's always dangerous when a juvenile is somewhere that they don't know. At this point, it's been a week since she's been gone. Barrett is five foot four inches tall. She's about 135 pounds. She was last seen wearing jeans and a hoodie. She has brown hair and brown eyes. If anyone knows about her whereabouts, please contact the Fremont County Sheriff's Office or the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations." Lizzie's father, Charles "CJ" Barrett, tells Cowboy State Daily she has never done anything like this before. Read the full story HERE.  – Yellowstone National Park's staff recovered more than 20,000 pieces of trash from thermal basins this summer. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that among the items were AirPods, Polaroid pictures, a single snowshoe, and over 280 hats that will be donated to local organizations.  "Obviously nobody wants to see a bunch of trash on Yellowstone's thermal basins, but you can't go out and retrieve your items yourself because you could cause irreparable damage. So the geology folks out there, while they're monitoring the thermal basins, they go out and collect the hair scrunchies and the Invisalign retainers and the hats and the Lego stormtroopers and the Uno cards and the Pokemon cards and all the other myriad of things that end up on the thermal basins. And just while people are listening, if you do drop something out there, don't go out to get it. Report it to a ranger, and they'll handle it. If it's something that's valuable, that's your loss, unfortunately." And the strangest items? According to Yellowstone staff, their picks were Polaroid pictures of people posing next to Yellowstone's thermal features and a two-inch copy of The Vampire Diaries. Read the full story HERE. – Monday's blockbuster EPA move to repeal most of the Biden-era limits on power plant emissions removes a federal mandate that impacted coal production in Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Emma Jane Jackson reports that EPA regional administrator Cyrus Western says, "The war on coal is over."  "What this does is it repeals the bulk of the Biden administration's 2024 carbon pollution standards, including requirements that coal plants install carbon capture technology and that gas and oil plants meet new emission limits. The executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association called this a return to sanity and says it's a really positive step for coal production in the state, which he said is going to be an essential part of meeting rising electricity demands as technology like data centers and artificial intelligence continues to develop." The agency estimates the repeal will save the power sector billions of dollars in compliance costs through 2047. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – Former Game and Fish commissioner Mike Schmid said the organization's looming financial crisis could be because of unnecessary spending and he's skeptical of a trust fund. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports Schmid says he doesn't understand why they are spending so much on buildings. "From his perspective, Game and Fish kind of dug their own hole by doing things like building really big new expensive office complexes in places like Laramie. As far as the trust fund? He said it might work, but he's also highly skeptical because depending on who puts money into that trust fund, is some gonna somebody gonna have some kind of hold over Game and Fish? But Mike, kind of being who Mike is, said it out loud today. That hey, if an NGO, throws money in this account, how do you prevent that from saying, 'well, we gave you money.'" Schmid said when he served on the commission he was baffled by the amount of money spent on office buildings, employee housing, and other such projects. Read the full story HERE. – A Campbell County woman accused of attaching signs to a utility pole on her property — including one stating "Campbell County Sheriff's Office is Lazy" — faces a rarely-prosecuted charge. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports "I haven't seen that one ever," said a retired law officer. "Both the Campbell County Sheriff's Office and a retired career police officer told me that hey, that's not the case. In this case, they didn't go looking for it. There was a reporting party. Somebody reported and said, 'Hey, I saw them putting it on hold.' So they had to respond to somebody reporting something, and that they didn't, at least according to that, they would make a lot of attempts to reach the person to talk to her. Never got a call back or anything. Went over to the house, wasn't able to get to the house to try to talk to her." Bethany Hodges faces a single misdemeanor charge of affixing posters to telephone/utility poles for allegedly illegally putting up a number of signs critical of the local sheriff's office. Read the full story HERE. – A former Department of Defense insider who wrote a book calling for government transparency about UFOs is suing his Buffalo, Wyoming, business partner. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Luis "Lue" Elizondo accuses his partner of cheating and trying to threaten him out of their vintage military-themed bar. "Things unraveled pretty quickly. Elizondo is, you know, he's alleging that Alder was trying to transfer money out and kind of keeping Elizondo in the dark and maybe threatening him to oust him out of the business. UFO whistleblowers don't always have gravitas, but this one does. As a former Department of Defense staffer, a testifier before Congress and a best-selling author urging transparency in this space." Elizondo's book, "Imminent: Inside The Pentagon's Hunt For UFOs," hit the New York Times bestseller list. He's become a frequent public speaker and a witness before Congress. Read the full story HERE. – Fans of the famous Yellowstone grizzly Snow gave her a motorcade escort Sunday to save her from being hit on a highway on the park's east side. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that Snow ambled behind and in front of flashing hazard lights for roughly a mile before heading into the woods. "She's kind of the bear in Yellowstone, and she on Sunday night, last night after dark, she started walking down the highway, and some people took it upon themselves to kind of form an escort for one. One photographer put her car in front of snow with the hazard lights on. Another guy put his truck behind snow with the hazard lights on, and so snow kind of got this motorcade escort up this really windy section of highway, in the dark on a moonless night, kind of for her safety, and that's no small thing because you know we've seen a lot of wildlife get struck and hit and killed by vehicles." Snow eventually peeled off nonchalantly and safely headed into the trees. Read the full story HERE. — And that's today's news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, September 14th.  I'm Mac Watson. – Javier De Luna Chavez survived kidney failure, years of dialysis, and a transplant but didn't survive a crash on the 10% grade of Teton Pass. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that his widow says he fought too hard for life to become another name on the list of people killed on Teton Pass. "He passed away in a fatal accident on September 2nd, when he was riding in an F250 coming down the pass, it began to pick up speed before launching into the air and then rolling, killing De Luna and injuring the driver. His widow, Aveline De Luna, says she is now pushing for changes to be made to the past. She would like more signage and brake checks. She is going to talk to WYDOT as they make changes in the fall that they had already planned to make this pass safer." Avilene De Luna, watched her husband, Javier, fight for his life over the course of a decade. Then he became the third fatality on the steep 10% grade of Wyoming Highway 22 in less than two months. Read the full story HERE. – A 74-year-old Worland man attacked a 22-year-old FedEx driver out delivering packages last week because the truck was kicking up too much dust. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports the older man jumped onto the moving truck and reached through the open window to get at the driver. "It's the very definition of that escalated quickly. Apparently, there was too much dust kicked up by the FedEx truck, and this individual decided that he had had enough of that. And within a couple of seconds, it went from him just swearing about the dust on the road to launching himself onto the vehicle, thrusting his arms through the open window, and just trying to pummel the guy. And the whole tussle landed around a minute. The driver was injured by the other individual, and that guy, he fell off the truck, and he got multiple injuries, which he needed stitches for. But when the when authorities came to interview him, he tried to say it was the driver's fault for the whole thing. And even when he appeared in front of the judge to plead guilty to it, he still tried to say it was the driver's fault, and this all stemmed from dust." Maurice Behrnes pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor battery Thursday after attacking Juan Esquivel while he was delivering packages in the Worland area.  Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming Border Patrol is a hit on social media thanks to viral videos with millions of views lampooning Colorado. Cowboy State Daily's Zak Sonntag reports the internet sensation has turned the Laramie apparel company into a media brand.  "You have a company that's started by three guys, and they sell mostly T-shirts with really simple slogans, and it's a basic idea. But what makes it so interesting is that they said, "Let's make some funny videos to help us sell these T-shirts. Well, the videos are so funny, and they've done so well that they are now on the verge of making more profit from their content than from their apparel. It's built around these two Wyoming border patrol agents. You've got Agent Buford, who is the portly lawman with outsized confidence in an entirely arbitrary application of the law, and then you've got Rip, the stoic enforcer who will pull over moving vans with California license plates by throwing a rattlesnake at their windshield. You know, so just really ridiculous parodies, and these characters are so lovable." The company now says content revenue for the Wyoming Border Patrol's AI adoption force videos is on pace to surpass apparel sales. Read the full story HERE. – A tour inside Hell's Half Acre reveals an otherworldly labyrinth of stone, an alien landscape shaped by millions of years of wind and water. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that it's a rare perspective of the sharp canyons because the public generally isn't allowed on the valley floor. "It's hard to put into words what Hell's Half Acre is like. It's just this labyrinth of rock formations, layers of rock, spires of rock. It's easy to lose track of each other down there. The tour guides went ahead of us, some of us, and we lost sight of them, and we couldn't find them anywhere. Turns out they had somehow circled back around us, went back up to the top, and weren't even down there anymore. And we're still looking for them, and they couldn't find us either. That's why they went up to the top. Just everywhere you turn, there's a different rock formation that is inviting like imagination, storytelling. They look like weird human figures or weird alien children, or you know, just old fossilized-like prehistoric skulls and teeth and toes and just all kinds of different shapes and figures down there. It was really amazing." From the highway, Hell's Half Acre doesn't look like much. But looks are deceiving as the badlands area is much larger than it feels. It's 320 acres, part of a 960-acre federal land grant given to Natrona County in 1924. Read the full story HERE.  – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – This 36th season for Natrona County's football coach Steve Harshman could be his last if voters elect him as the next education chief. Cowboy State Daily's Jeff Welsch reports that Harshman ranks second in Wyoming history for football victories. No. 1 and No. 3 on the list have stadiums named after them. "If you look at any Mount Rushmore of Wyoming high school football coaches, you know, without a doubt, Steve Harshman is on it. You know, right there behind Todd Dayton of Cokeville, who has an incredible record over 42 years, and Steve Harshman won his 257th game in 36 seasons Friday night, and so he's definitely a legend. For a guy who would sort of have that three cloud, three yards in a cloud of dust, sort of persona about him. He has been extremely adaptive over the years when he's needed to, and every time he's done some kind of dramatic shift, whether it's changing the offense, not practicing as hard as they used to, it's always paid off, and that's actually what appears to be happening this year." Last month, Harshman won the Republican nomination for state superintendent of public instruction. Given that "Wyoming" and "Republican" are all but synonymous, and that Harshman has a distinguished legislative record of public-schools advocacy, it's a virtual lock that he'll win the general election in November and accept a full-time job in Cheyenne come January. Read the full story HERE. – Cam Sholly is stepping down as Yellowstone National Park superintendent after eight years that included dealing with COVID-19, massive flooding and record crowds. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that Sholly says his departure has nothing to do with a rumored conflict with the Trump administration. "He actually likes the direction that Trump and Bergham have taken the Park Service. He says basically what it boils down to is he's already had an eight-year, he's had a 30-year run with the Park Service, eight-year run as a superintendent of Yellowstone. He said, you know that that's about that's long enough. There was a lot of stuff that happened during his tenure. COVID hit during his tenure, which was subsequently followed a year later by the most visitors Yellowstone has ever had in a year, and then a couple years after that, they had those gigantic floods, and then then they had the you know the the you know almost mass shooting in 2024, and then they had that guy go missing, and then you know they've had they've had the Grizzly attack and and the the bison tossing the guy in the air." Sholly tells Cowboy State Daily that his next chapter won't be working for the government. The 56-year old will take over as chief operations officer for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation which is based in Washington, DC. Read the full story HERE. – The U.S. Postal Service confirmed to Cowboy State Daily it's closing the mail pickup site in Jelm, Wyoming, on Sept. 30th. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that without a quick alternative, locals will have to make a 60-mile round trip to Laramie for mail. "I talked to the owners and they said, "Whoa, this blindsided us too. We thought that they were working to get cluster boxes in before that date, and they basically are pushing more toward that than keeping the mail in a little hub. I talked to Representative Harriet Hageman's office. She didn't go into the drama or potential bureaucracy much, but she did say that she's disappointed in the timeline USPS gave, and she's working really hard to keep rural delivery services for Wyomingites." The contracted delivery point at Woods Landing Resort has served as a centralized mailbox site for about 120 customers, as Jelm hasn't had a postmaster since 1965. Read the full story HERE. – Although the Guinness-verified world's largest Bigfoot won't likely replace Mount Rushmore as South Dakota's top tourist spot, a gigantic Sasquatch is drawing plenty of visitors and it's only 60 miles from Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that two chain saw artists carved the 23-foot tall mythical monster. "It is a 23-foot statue made out of three types of wood, and part of it is carved. The other part is like these logs, these little logs that are supposed to look like his shaggy coat, and he is sitting down, so I walked up, and his foot, the bottom of Bigfoot's foot, is taller than I am. I'm five five, so that gives you a bit of a scale as to how enormous this thing is. And I talked to people who were there. Jen Brotman was one of five women from the New York, New Jersey area, who were in town for the weekend for a half marathon, and she told me this was a delight on our way to coffee. They were on their way into Keystone for morning coffee when they saw Bigfoot, and like most people, stopped, turne