Cowboy State Daily's The Roundup

Cowboy State Daily
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The Roundup is a gathering of voices, opinions and perspectives from interesting people in the Cowboy State of Wyoming.

  1. 21h ago

    Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, August 12th.  I'm Mac Watson.   This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas! Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism. – U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner on Tuesday called for the defeat of "Freedom Caucus losers." Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Rep. John Bear, a prominent member of the group, had a harsh rebuke, saying Rasner is a "failed career candidate who has brought division, dysfunction and political games to our state." "Reid Rasner came out strong on Tuesday, basically calling for Wyomingites to defeat the Freedom Caucus at the upcoming August 18th election, and in response, Representative John Bear had strong words back for him, and when I was doing research on this, and I wondered how the other House candidates, U.S. House candidates, feel about the state-level Freedom Caucus, and I found pretty much widespread disapproval. Secretary Gray, who is endorsed by the caucus, did not comment by publication. The other candidates I interviewed all voiced disapproval." The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a controversial group of Republicans in the state House of Representatives. Proponents praise the caucus for proposing bold reductions to the state budget and efforts to pass socially conservative policies into law. Opponents accuse it of over-relying on its national network and advancing sloppy or generic legislation. Read the full story HERE. –  The Weiser Knoll fire near Lander has exploded to be Wyoming's largest wildfire with 0% containment on Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that the fire started by an overheated wheel bearing on Highway 28 on Sunday. "It's up to over 16,500 acres. Still 0% contained, about 200 personnel involved, and I talked to some townspeople in Lander, then a couple of ranchers told me they've seen slurry bombers and helicopters out there and the BLM confirms that they have been dropping water and fire retardant on it as well as having crews fight it on the ground, so it's kind of all hands on deck response at this point." According to state and federal fire agency reports, the fire was sparked at about 2:15 p.m. Sunday on Highway 28 about 13 miles southeast of Lander. The overheated bearing caused three initial fires to spring up alongside the road at a spot known as Johnnie Lee's Corner, according to reports.  Read the full story HERE. – The Big Horn County Coroner's Office is reopening the cold case of a man found floating in the Greybull River near Basin in 1973. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that investigators still don't know the man's name or how he died, but have released photos of what are thought to be his belongings. "The coroner's office did not reveal why they are choosing to reopen this case now, but they are saying the circumstances of John Doe's death are suspicious and could have been a homicide. Authorities are saying that the man had brown hair, brown eyes, and a reddish mustache. He was around five feet six inches tall, and an estimated 150 to 160 pounds. The coroner's office said they are considering DNA testing as a last option, but the items that were found have been handled so much in the past 50 years that the DNA is likely eroded. The coroner's office said that they are also considering exhuming the body, which is buried at the Basin Cemetery." Anyone with information is asked to contact the Big Horn County Coroner's Office. Read the full story HERE. – At the school board meeting in Rock Springs on Monday night, a parent presented the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees with a petition calling for Cole Wright's removal as board chair. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports the petition was signed by 105 people. "Cherell O'Driscoll says that school board chair Cole Wright has violated the district's ethics policies, committed open meeting violations, and behaved unprofessionally. At Monday's board meeting, Odrisco presented to the board a petition with over 100 signatures asking for the school board chair's dismissal of his position as chair, she made it clear that she doesn't necessarily she's not pushing for him to be off the board entirely, just that she doesn't believe he's doing his job as the chair. The Goldwater Institute, a think tank that represents individuals' First Amendment rights, got involved when O'Driscoll reached out asking for legal advice. They have said that the Sweetwater County School District is misusing its recently revised public comment policy to quote unconstitutionally silence critics." According to Parker Jackson, an attorney at the Goldwater Institute, the district faces possible litigation if it does not fix the alleged violations. That could mean lawsuits in state or federal court – or both – based on violations of the First Amendment and state law. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – A crowd gathered in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley on Monday as three rangers used kitchen knives to dismember a bison carcass. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that a tour guide said, "They opened up her belly and backside to expose more flesh and blood for the predators to smell." "There wasn't an easy way to haul it out of that spot, so three people with the bear management team went out there with seven-inch kitchen knives, and they dismembered it. They cut off all the legs and dragged them away, and then they opened up the back, the belly, and the backside so that it would attract more predators. People who enjoy watching what happens at carcasses get the experience of seeing the grizzlies and the wolves and other animals show up to enjoy the free meal." Within 30 minutes, the bison had been butchered, and the three bear management men were back at their vehicles. Read the full story HERE. – A woman was hospitalized Monday after a presumed black bear attacked her while hiking with her dogs near Teton Pass. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that Game and Fish officials, who closed the trail, described the incident as a "defensive encounter." "Apparently, it was a classic surprise at close range sort of thing. There's been bears and it's cropping up all over. We just had that incident, or I guess a couple of incidents in the Bighorn Mountains with a black bear. The game and fish ended up killing that black bear because it had already torn up one camp, and then it just kept coming into another camp." In a statement, Game and Fish says the unidentified woman was well-prepared and successfully deployed bear spray during the incident. Following the encounter, she was able to walk back to the trailhead and was subsequently treated at a local hospital for her injuries. Read the full story HERE. – A Colorado man accused of leading a Wyoming state trooper on a 100-mph chase that ended with one of his passengers dead has been bound over to district court on aggravated homicide by vehicle. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that investigators found fake urine and a sex toy in the wreckage. "The case of a Colorado man who is being accused of a 100 mile per hour car chase that ended in a crash, and the death of one of his passengers on july 23 is now advancing. James Moore's case is being bound over to district court, but one of the charges is not. a second degree murder charge is not going to be bound over. For now Moore is being held at the Laramie County Detention Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond. His next court appearance will be for an arraignment." James K. Moore, born in 1999, now faces aggravated homicide by vehicle involving DUI, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, along with property destruction, two aggravated fleeing charges, reckless driving and a taillight violation in connection with the July 23rd crash south of Cheyenne. Read the full story HERE. – Long before he built his cabin in Savery, Jim Baker led two dozen men in an 1841 fight that gave Battle Mountain its name. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that now his far-flung descendants and a tiny museum are fighting time, money, and rotten logs to save the frontier scout's last home. "This guy was every bit the equal of Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, people whose names we know. You say Jim Baker outside of Wyoming, and people are like Jim Baker who? They don't know him, and it's not because he didn't do legendary things. Jim Baker survived not just a grizzly bear attack, but an attack by two grizzly bears at once. And you know, the Battle Mountain is named Battle Mountain and Savory is named that because of a fight Jim Baker led him and 24 scouts based on hundreds of Indians." Little Snake River Museum Director Lela Emmons tells Cowboy State Daily that members of HistoriCorps and other volunteers in the Savery area spent last summer hand-hewing cottonwood logs to replace water-damaged logs at the cabin. But, the work is not finished. 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.

  2. 1d ago

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, August 11, 2026

    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, August 11th.  I'm Mac Watson.   This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas! Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism. – Climbing into a three-wheeler called "The Pantydropper" with a 50-year Sturgis veteran who boasted "it goes zero to 100 in a second," ended up with our reporter at the wheel and the flashing lights of a South Dakota patrol car behind them. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore wasn't arrested, but her first experience at Sturgis was unforgettable, to say the least. "Against my better judgment, I got into Manny Myer's tricked-out trike that he calls 'The Pantydropper.' It got its name because he says that's the toll to ride. But luckily, I got a ride for free. We got past the Boar's Nest when he pulled over and asked me to drive, so I took over and something happened. A cable snapped and I lost the throttle, so Manny figured out that he could kind of hang off the side and operate the throttle from under the hood while still kind of hanging on to this three wheeler, and that was going fine and well until we saw the flashing lights of a South Dakota highway trooper. The trooper said he pulled us over for driving recklessly. Luckily, Myers was able to talk him out of a ticket, and we figured out a way to jimmy-rig a set of jumper cables onto that lever so that we could fire up the horses and run it by the reins. We made it to the Buffalo Chip just as the sun was setting, and Sturgis was really waking up. It was loud, chaotic, and just a lot of fun for motorcycle enthusiasts. And I'm glad that I went." For one week, motorcycles pour in the town of Sturgis from every direction, transforming the place into a temporary city of chrome, leather and humanity, with Main Street as its pulsing center. The South Dakota town swells from just over 7,000 people to half a million each year. Read the full story HERE. – Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak says the lawsuit two Cheyenne politicos are waging against him is at least partly political in nature, and tied to his investigation of the 'CheckGate' controversy. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the sheriff says recent search warrants have "stirred the hornets' nest." "Governor's candidate Rebecca Bextel, and he, also then in late June, was sued for alleged public records violations, where the plaintiffs Lichter Immigration and Kevin Lewis, represented by Attorney Drake Hill, are saying you did not hand over the proper documents so that we can get on with this immigration case. More recently, Thursday, the plaintiffs asked the court to consider holding the sheriff in contempt for allegedly not handing over the documents he was ordered to hand over in time by an August 5th deadline. So you have these moving pieces with people who do have deep political ties, but are on the one hand saying no, the sheriff broke the law, and the sheriff saying the people who are accusing me of breaking the law have political ties to the people I'm investigating." Colorado-based firm Lichter Immigration and its investigator Kevin Lewis filed a civil complaint against Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak and his office June 30. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming sportsmen are saying the sudden resignation of Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce came as a surprise despite some misgivings about the department's direction. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that Bruce, the department's first female director, now has a job in the governor's office.  "There has been some consternation with the department, but it wasn't necessarily personally against Angie Bruce. It was more just the direction they sense the department's been going now for a while, and also what they've noted. There's been a lot of notable high profile retirements lately that might have come a little early of the old guard, and maybe people aren't quite as happy with, you know, the shifting of the new people that are coming in, particularly people from other parts of the country. Game and Fish is going through a period of shakeups right now, but should I mean everybody's hoping it'll stabilize soon when a new governor comes in and and you know appoints a new director." There is no clear explanation as to why Bruce suddenly left the helm at Game and Fish for an appointment as director of special policy initiatives for Gov. Mark Gordon's office, a job she started Monday. Prominent Wyoming outdoorsman Guy Eastman of Cody tells Cowboy State Daily, "I think that was a surprise to everybody. I didn't see that one coming." Read the full story HERE. –  A new attack ad surfaced against gubernatorial candidate Megan Degenfelder this weekend, after independent groups attacked her opponent Eric Barlow for weeks. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Rep. Harriet Hageman condemns the ad and says Barlow created it, which he denies. "We found a PAC buying attack ads on Megan Degenfelder, and so it's just becoming kind of a mudslinging, dark-money race. A PAC called 'Keep Wyoming Working' is saying that she helped a coal company get loopholes to avoid paying taxes, and then the company went bankrupt. She received a salary from the coal company. The ad does not point to any loopholes in particular." Barlow and Degenfelder, now both the targets of political action groups' high-profile TV attack ads, both deny coordinating those ads. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – As of Monday, Jackson's Lindsay Woods is poised to win the Mongol Derby 2026, the longest and most arduous multi-horse race in the world. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports if she wins the 620-mile marathon, she'll become the second woman from Wyoming to do so. "As of Monday, Lindsay Woods was one of the top three riders. She had six stations between her and the finish line. A lot of people who have spoken to a lot of people who know Lindsay and are eagerly following her progress say she is in it to win it, she's been training for months. She's a very skilled equestrian. She has got the mental and physical fortitude to see this through, and it's possible we could have another Wyoming winner of the Mongol Derby before the end of the week." Deidre Griffith was the first Wyoming woman to win the Mongol Derby. She split the victory with fellow rider and now lifelong friend Willemien Jooste of South Africa in July 2022. Read the full story HERE. – A 34-acre parcel of land donated to Sublette County more than a decade ago to benefit 4-H, FFA, and youth agricultural education has become the center of a bitter dispute between two organizations that both work with local children. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that both organizations say they are committed to helping local youth, but they have been unable to agree on how — or whether — they can share the same ground. "MESA is a local equine therapy organization that has asked to lease a portion of it that they believed were not being used by Sublet County 4-H. Sublette County 4H essentially said no. We need all 34 acres for what we're doing now and for future projects, and that's leaving Mesa kind of up in the air with how do we grow our program and where can we find a place to be permanently. MESA Director Carla Seely said that they are looking at alternative options right now and looking for 20 acre, 10-to 20-acre parcels of land that they could use on a permanent basis. This would be a place where they could not only carry out their programs but also house their horses permanently." According to Director Carla Seely, MESA is seeking a permanent facility to keep and increase its number of horses before it can serve more children. The county-owned parcel was a fitting place to look, she says, because MESA supports youth and agriculture through equine therapy. She also contended that 4-H uses only a portion of the 34 acres, while a portion of the donated land remains vacant. Read the full story HERE. – Grizzlies are stuffing themselves with moths at higher elevations, but once the moths are gone food supplies could get scarce as bears move to lower elevations seeking protein for hibernation, one ecologist says. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that a poor chokecherry crop is one concern. "I checked in with a couple people here in Wyoming, and one of them, you know, Chuck Neal. He's an old-school ecologist and knows bears pretty well. He says at least at the higher altitudes, they're doing okay. And he said, at least in his area, north north west Wyoming, he's noticed that the choke cherry crop is really hurting this year, and and the bears are highly dependent on that. And then when it comes to black bears, Dan Thompson with Game and Fish said, "Yeah, people are probably probably noticed a lot more black bear activity because they are out looking, you know, maybe looking in some unusual places to try to find food." While it's been exceptionally dry at lower elevations, things have looked better for grizzlies farther upslope, says Neal, who frequently hikes in grizzly country in northwest Wyoming.  Read the full story HERE. – The Farmer's Almanac has released its winter forecast, and Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day calls it "voodoo magic." However, Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that Day does believe a very strong El Niño is on the way but he's "not going to follow the herd into slaughter this time." "He's going to release his winter forecast later on in the year when we have a better idea of how the Super El Nino is interacting with everything else because that'll have br

  3. 2d ago

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Monday, August 10, 2026

    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, August 10th.  I'm Mac Watson.   This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas! Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism. – Highly targeted gubernatorial candidate Eric Barlow joked Saturday about all the negative campaign ads by donning a vet glove and pulling yak dung from his own mailbox. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Barlow posted a video on social media saying, "That's not how we treat people in Wyoming."  "So yeah, I've seen some people misunderstand this video as if somebody pranked him by putting yak dung in the mailbox. But my understanding is he put them in. My understanding is he put it there himself as a gag for this video. So he gloves up. He puts on a vet glove up to his shoulder, and he reaches in the mailbox and pulls out the dung, and yep, there it is. So the video is making fun of how many political flyers, many of them negative, we are getting this campaign season. He told me in a later interview that he disagrees with negative campaigning in any of the races."  The Republican gubernatorial candidate is one of the state's most targeted political candidates, as multiple groups have launched negative mailers and TV commercials against him this summer.  Read the full story HERE. –  With the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally kicking off this weekend, many bikers offered tips on how to avoid getting your ass kicked at the celebration. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore spoke to Sturgis regular Bob Pruitt, who says "understand the unwritten rules before you accidentally break one." "The top three things not to do are one: don't sit on someone's bike. It's not a park bench. You can admire it and then keep walking. Number two: make sure that you're not being disrespectful to the old ladies. And an old lady in biker culture is the utmost term of respect. If you say that someone is your wife, maybe you love them, but if you call them your old lady, you'll kill for them. And number three, and this is the most important one: know when to shut your mouth. When the drinks start flowing, it's easy to start talking trash or say something you didn't mean, and if someone doesn't like what you say, or if someone doesn't appreciate what you've said, that's when you're going to get your ass kicked." Every August, the highways to South Dakota begin to thunder as hordes of bikers pour into the Black Hills. What began in 1938 with the Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club has grown into one of the most famous motorcycle gatherings in the world.  Read the full story HERE. – Waking up in a hospital after an overdose finally scared "Lisa" sober, and she's now warning people about the growing access to fentanyl in Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that Lisa says, "It's a terrible way to live, worse than anything else." "It absolutely sidetracked her life and took it over completely for a couple years. And luckily, she was able to get away from it. But she said that the withdrawals were so painful and so terrible it would propel her to keep taking fentanyl, despite the fact that she could easily die from it. Her bottom moment was she took it before a court hearing. She smoked fentanyl and took a couple pills. Went into her court hearing. That's the last thing she remembers. She barely survived." Between 2020 and 2024, according to the latest statistics provided by the Wyoming Department of Health, around 350 Wyoming residents died of an opioid-related overdose. Of these, more than 90% were unintentional. Read the full story HERE. – After being hit again by thieves who dined and dashed, the owner of Sweet Zoey restaurant in Casper posted photos of the offenders instead of calling the police. Cowboy State Daily's Zak Sonntag reports the owner took the matter into her own hands. "Owner Zoey Aldahash went straight to social media and she posted an image of the family to her Facebook account. And a couple things stood out about this reaction. Number one, what you saw was an outpouring of support and tons of reaction from the community, So it shows the way that even a small restaurant can feel like a part of a community in a meaningful way, and yet not everybody agreed with the way that the owner approached the situation because she posted a photo of people with some circumstances that may not be known, and particularly, they were concerned about whether or not there were minors in the photo." Casper PD's Public information officer, Rebekah Ladd, tells Cowboy State Daily social media will often bring useful information to investigators, but it can also result in undue accusations, misidentification or harassment, which raises additional concerns if juveniles are involved. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – One Wyoming man who knows the corrections system says finding a job after prison is hard, and keeping it is harder. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that Clifford Fewel says after a felon is released, the new freedom has a lot of tripwires and his goal is to help these people "stay free forever." "Clifford Fewel started doing this kind of work after working in the Department of Corrections for a long time, and then as a parole officer. He said that he connected to inmates and he learned not to judge them. When Fewel worked in corrections as prisoners were getting ready to leave, instead of saying don't come back, he would say stay free forever. That has since become the name of his initiative.  Former inmate Terry Smith, who was once a tribal judge, was convicted of selling drugs and sentenced to six months in federal prison. When she got out, she was required to take some of Fewel's courses together. Today she says that she and Fewel remained friends, and now she has found meaningful employment working to help inmates like herself stay free forever." After losing a newspaper advertising job and moving to Arizona, Fewel tells Cowboy State Daily that he needed work with benefits and reluctantly applied to the state prison system. He worked as a corrections officer, became a programs officer, and eventually moved into parole. One of his strengths, he says, is being able to relate to inmates without feeling superior to them.  Read the full story HERE. – Milanii Sojos dropped out of high school, became a mother at 17, and spent years caught in a cycle of abuse, fighting, and drinking. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that today, Sojos sees her future in a combination of two fields — caring for people and understanding the justice system. "While attending Fort Washakie High School, she started into a pattern of fighting and drinking and partying, and that was a grip that really took stronghold of her. She did find another way to basically use her hands rather than fighting people. She is using them to help people, and that really came about after she took an EMT course in Jackson, became certified as a first responder, and realized that she did have a purpose and there was so much more to life than physically fighting people to solve problems." Sojos, who is a tribal member of the Eastern Shoshone, recently was the first in her class to earn her certified nursing assistant (CNA) certification and continues to work toward a nursing degree. She is preparing to study criminal justice at Gillette College this fall. Read the full story HERE. – For nearly 40 years, generations of wild moose have returned to Fish Creek Ranch near Big Piney, Wyoming, where they trust Pamela Chrisman so much she can walk up and pet them. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that she says, "this is kind of a safe haven for all those guys." "According to Pam Chrisman, it started in the 1980 s with a moose that she came to start calling Grandma Moose. The moose was really thin and gray, and she noticed that it was wanting to eat hay with the horses, so Chrisman decided to let the moose eat in peace. The next year, Grandma Moose brought a calf, and from there it grew into a herd of moose that she was eventually able to feed out of the palm of her hand." Wyoming Game and Fish biologist John Lund tells Cowboy State Daily how remarkable this relationship truly is. Moose are known to be territorial and aggressive, especially when they have, especially with their young. So the fact that Chrisman was able to develop that kind of a bond really shows a mutual respect. Read the full story HERE. – Two years ago, a GMC Yukon flew off a highway in Park County and bounced off giant boulders in Wyoming's Oregon Basin. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that the wreckage is still there and likely there to stay because recovering it would be a fruitless effort, said the owner of a local tow company. "They got charged with probation violation because they were intoxicated at the time, but in 2026, that vehicle is still there and it's likely to stay there. Lots of vehicles end up in places where they probably shouldn't have been and will never get out of. And for towing and recovery companies, can they get those vehicles out? Yes. Is it worth the time and expense? Probably not. Even if they scrap the vehicle that they recover, that's not going to recoup their costs. And agencies like the BLM typically don't invest that much money to recover vehicles." On June 8, 2024, Suzanne Marie Cole drove the 7,000-pound SUV off the highway in what she claimed was a carjacking. She was arrested on two misdemeanor charges of probation violation, as it was determined she was intoxicated at the time of the accident. Read the full story HE

  4. 5d ago

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Friday, August 7, 2026

    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, August 7th.  I'm Mac Watson.   This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas! Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism. – Though campaigning against data centers, Chuck Gray voted yes on a data center generation facility easement in June. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Gray indicated Thursday that his aye-vote was Gov. Mark Gordon's fault. "What the governor actually said is he's sounding like a jackass in a tin barn, a rather visceral quote referring to Gray, indicating that Gray's aye-vote on granting an access easement to a data center feeding facility was essentially the governor's fault. He's saying that Gordon has a way of hiding the nature of these votes, and board members aren't properly apprised. And you know, there wasn't a clear understanding of this data center vote in June. The governor responded, noting that the state board of land commissioners has access to the documents at least a week before the meeting, and they also get the chance to confer with their administrative office before the meeting. He said that Gray appeared distracted by his phone in Thursday's meeting, falls short of the expectation of Wyoming elected officials." In his campaign against eight other Republicans for the GOP nomination to U.S. House, Gray is the only candidate voicing outright opposition to data centers. Many of his opponents have said it's the state and local governments' role, not the role of Congress, to dictate policies on data centers.   Read the full story HERE. –  During a vote at the State Board of Land Commissioners to allow Tri-State Generation access to a power substitution, Secretary of State Chuck Gray announced he would block it. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports Gray changed his mind after Curt Meier brought up that Tri-State supplies "power to practically every irrigator and farmer in the state." "During the meeting, people indicated they didn't know at that point it was an existing substation. Secretary Chuck Gray worried aloud. You know he asked for information like, does this access road have anything to do with data centers, wind projects, solar projects? And during this discussion, Treasurer Curt Meier said, you know, something to the effect of, 'We're going to block access roads for a power generator now that serves Wyoming irrigators, are we just doing a futile attempt to stop capitalism?' And Secretary Gray came back and voted for the access road. He said that's because of the assurances he received that it wasn't for centers or wind or solar projects." Tri-State is a wholesale power supplier serving eight electric cooperatives in Wyoming including High Plains Power, Carbon Power and Light and Big Horn Rural Electric Company. Tri-State applied for a five-year, temporary-use permit for a 288-foot access road in remote Natrona County for $250 a year. Read the full story HERE. – The Wallop family's legacy Quarter Circle Lazy B Ranch in Sheridan County is for sale for the first time in 135 years, listing for $24.5 million. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that the ranch hosted Queen Elizabeth II, supplied cavalry horses to Britain, and helped build Wyoming's polo scene. "This is kind of a continued trend of, you know, we've seen this wave of legacy ranches that have been in families for multiple generations-three, four, sometimes five generations-coming to market. This is just a continued progression of that trend where people are retiring out of agriculture, and the next generation coming up doesn't want to give that a whirl. It's not a very easy business to get started in. It's pretty expensive, and families are saying, 'Hey, you know, we can cash this out.' These guys have been the stewards of this ranch for four generations. It is a ranch with a lot of history. The original guy who came over from England and homesteaded this in like 1889." The historic ranch is tucked just under the Bighorn Mountains at the mouth of Little Goose Canyon. Its sale will mark the end of an era for one of Wyoming's best-known legacy ranches. Read the full story HERE. – The Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart told state legislators Thursday that if the seven Colorado River Basin states can't come to terms over a dwindling water supply, lawsuits or federal intervention could result. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that Gebhart is hoping the states can solve the issues, not Congress. "He appeared before the legislature's Select Water Committee to kind of give him an update on what's going on, and the big question one of the members of the committee posed to him was, you know, he said I keep hearing about there's going to be one of the members of the committee posed to him was, 'I keep hearing about there's going to be lawsuits over this.' There's going to be lawsuits, and Gebhart's answer was, 'if we could just keep talking, keep negotiations going between all seven states,' he's really hopeful that we can still avoid that. Gephardt is worried that it's either going to end in lawsuits between the states or Congress is going to step in, and he doesn't want either one of those things to happen. " The U.S. Department of the Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, recently released its final Environmental Impact Statement for Colorado River operations, including plans for operations from 2027 to 2036. That proposal doesn't include any immediate cuts for the Upper Basin states: Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – President Donald Trump endorsed governor candidate Megan Degenfelder for the fourth time Thursday in a rally held by phone. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Trump touted Degenfelder as a staunch conservative and said voters would look back and say, "President Trump gave me a good idea." "This is the fourth, at least the fourth time the president has endorsed Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder in her run for governor. She's had the original Trump endorsement since January, but on Thursday, Trump also held a tele rally where he really touted her as a staunch conservative and said that she was going to cut property taxes and that she was going to protect children and foster a love for America in schools, among other goals." The rally kicked off with the Lee Greenwood song "Proud to Be An American" and ended with the moderator asking attendees to push one to signify if they're voting for Degenfelder, who is the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, or push two if they're not voting for her.   Read the full story HERE. – If stern warnings and rules won't keep kids from bringing their cellphones and devices to school, maybe cash fines will get their attention. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that's the idea behind a new Lincoln County rule that will fine students $25 if they keep bringing them to school. "Kemmerer Junior-Senior High School Principal Shawn Roberts said that he hopes that you know they won't get to that point, that students will not commit the offense three times. Reaction on social media was mixed. Some parents are saying they're in full support of this policy because students really need to be learning and focused at school, and cell phones are a distraction. Other parents said it's a matter of personal property, and their phones belong to them, and they want to be able to reach their kids anytime during the school day, and what happens if there's some emergency like a school shooting or something? How do they get a hold of their kids?" School districts across the state are enacting smart-device policies after the Wyoming Legislature passed a bill earlier this year requiring the adoption of formal policies to address the possession and use of smart devices by students while on school grounds. However, district board chair Kristi Dearden said she is not aware of any other school districts whose policies include a fee for repeat offenders. Read the full story HERE. – Wyoming is among 27 states that was hit by a recent salmonella outbreak traced to jalapeños served at chain Mexican restaurants. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports one Park County health officer says, "it's just the cost of doing business" in today's modern food system. "This outbreak is different from the cyclospora outbreak that Cowboy State Daily reported on over three weeks ago in the cyclospora outbreak that was linked to contaminated lettuce that was distributed to several fast food chains. Park County Health official Dr. Aaron Billen says that this is the cost of doing business in today's modern world. Because of large-scale food systems, one contamination can now spread so quickly to different parts of the country." The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that 345 people have been sickened by the outbreak strain of Salmonella Javiana. Thirty-six have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported. Read the full story HERE. – The Montana Department of Livestock said it could take action against Meadow Gold Dairy Products of Billings after "black mold" in cartons and prematurely spoiled milk were reported. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that Meadow Gold also stocks shelves in northwest Wyoming. "The Montana Department of Livestock is pretty rigorously investigating this. They've actually pursued a suspension of metal gold's license in Billings, and we're not sure how the company is going to respond to that. None o

  5. 6d ago

    Cowboy State Daily Video News: Thursday, August 6, 2026

    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, August 6th.  I'm Mac Watson.   This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas! Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism. – The Wyoming Freedom Caucus claims national group Americans for Prosperity is attacking "true conservatives" running for the state Legislature. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Wyoming's AFP director says, "We don't look at caucus alignment." "It looks, on the surface, it looks like a dichotomy where Americans for Prosperity, which is a national group that has a Wyoming a director with deep Wyoming roots and residency, is backing pretty much non-Freedom Caucus candidates to the legislature. Now, Representative Bill Allemand, a caucus member, says that 'yeah, they're targeting true conservatives.' He casted as kind of a coordinated agenda to take out the Freedom Caucus, whereas Americans for Prosperity's Wyoming director Tyler Lindholm said, 'We're not looking at caucus membership. We're looking at specific votes.'" Headquartered in Virginia, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a major player in Wyoming's primary election cycle, influencing voters' choices between different Republicans. Read the full story HERE. – A new 30-year analysis shows longtime Jackson Hole luxury property values matched — and in some cases beat — stock market gains. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that one 5.43-acre property increased in value from $275,000 in 1995 to $5.45 million in 2025, an almost 2,000% gain. "Demand is huge. Supply is tiny. That's how you get these high prices in Jackson, and of course, every zoning ordinance, every restriction that they've put on Development ultimately ratchets supply down. Right, you know, at one time you could have a three-acre parcel in Teton County, but they changed that. I think in the '90s and made it a minimum of 35 acres. So you immediately turn supply down as soon as you do that, prices go up." Though not many properties in Jackson Hole have outpaced the stock market, their appreciation is still eye-catching, ranging from 6.6 times higher on average for luxury single-family homes to 14 times higher for luxury residential vacant land.  Read the full story HERE. – Secretary of State Chuck Gray brought up data centers repeatedly and clashed with the moderator during a U.S. House forum Tuesday night in Sheridan. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland was in Sheridan and reports that Reid Rasner criticized Gray, while multiple candidates claimed to be leading the race. "With a field this full, what's getting interesting is to watch everyone argue about who's in second place, because for the anti-gray crowd, the anti-gray crowd might want to galvanize under the name of whoever is in second place. Steve Friess has said that he is in second or first; that it's a two-man race with him and Gray. So conservatives should coalesce under Friess. Whereas last night Gray announced that it's actually Kevin Christensen, and Christensen agreed with that. And you know, at some point during all of these claims, Jillian Balow shook her head, and so you have these not only positioning where people are trying to cast themselves as front runners, but they're also getting into the fray about who's in second." On Wednesday, Gray and Rasner both asserted via Facebook post that they'd won the debate. Giralt thanked PBS for hosting. Biteman posted a link to the full debate Tuesday. Christensen authored a post expounding one of his short, lightning-round answers. The primary election is Aug. 18. Read the full story HERE. – A wildfire burning in timber west of Pinedale in the Wyoming Range has grown, doubling its size in a day and is expected to bring forest closures. Cowboy State Daily Kolby Fedore reports that fire officials say as of Wednesday night, there was zero containment. "The Bear Fire burning in the Bridger-Teton National Forest doubled in size on Wednesday. It went from 400 acres to 800 acres by Wednesday night. Fire officials say they are attacking the blaze with helicopters, ground crews, and an Incident Three management team. With 0% containment, officials say that the Bridger-Teton National Forest is expected to close. No word so far on how long." The U.S. Forest Service added that the wildfire also spread from national forest land onto adjacent Bureau of Land Management property before moderating during the early evening. The cause remains under investigation. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – A bill to delist wolves across the Lower 48 co-sponsored by Wyoming U.S. Sens. Barrasso and Lummis was blocked by a New Jersey Democrat. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that Rep. Hageman on Wednesday blasted "elitist East Coast politicians' continued objections to common-sense proposals." "I talked to Jim McGagna from the Wyoming Cattleman's Association, and as you can imagine, he thinks it's a good idea to delist wolves across the Lower 48. Even if this nationwide delisting goes through, that doesn't mean grab your guns and head for Colorado to shoot wolves. It's not going to be a free for all, but it could maybe loosen the parameters of allowing wolves to be killed. That it could damage their reintroduction program." Wolves have been delisted for several years in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho and can be hunted in all three states. Colorado launched a reintroduction program in late 2023, and wolves remain protected there. Even if a nationwide federal delisting passes, state protections for wolves would still apply. Read the full story HERE. – Lower humidity and relatively cool nights helped Wyoming cattle endure a record heat wave, ranchers say. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that South Dakota wasn't so fortunate, losing as many as 2,000 head to heat and humidity at a time when America's herd is at a 75-year low. "It's been hot in Wyoming, but the dry lack of humidity and cooler temperatures at night have really cut Wyoming some slack, whereas its neighbor South Dakota hasn't been so lucky. South Dakota ranchers may be eligible for a federal livestock indemnity program that could compensate owners for deaths caused by eligible adverse events. That could be an act of Mother Nature. Warren Rushe with the South Dakota State University Extension Office said that he believes ranchers have done everything that they could to save their cattle, and that was something that he really wanted to stress. So it was nothing that they could help that this happened." A combination of scorching temperatures and high humidity proved deadly, depleting herd numbers and highlighting just how vulnerable livestock can be during extreme weather. Read the full story HERE. –  A special prosecutor has cleared a Sweetwater County deputy in the April fatal shooting of an 18-year-old in Rock Springs. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that the conclusion of using deadly force was legally justified after the man pointed an AR-style rifle and other firearms at officers. "An independent investigation by the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigations says that Sweetwater County Deputy Nathaniel Hull acted lawfully when he shot an 18-year-old. Rock Springs police were sent to the area for a hit and run when dispatch called in that there was a suicidal subject who had already shot himself and was making comments that he might shoot law enforcement.When Deputy Hole arrived, Zander Bolan was pointing a rifle at him, as well as people who were being evacuated from the area. Deputy Hull fired three rounds from his. So sorry, Deputy Hull fired three rounds from his duty pistol, and the suspect was taken to the hospital. He later died from his injuries." Carbon County Attorney Sarah Chavez Harkins served as a special prosecutor to determine whether Deputy Nathaniel Hull's actions violated Wyoming or federal law. In a written determination dated July 31, Harkins concluded Hull's use of deadly force was justified, bringing the criminal review to a close. Read the full story HERE. – Bungee jumpers keep leaping off the 112-foot Fremont Canyon Bridge despite a tragic history that goes back more than 50 years. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi spoke with one woman who says anyone "who wants to jump off of it with that type of rigging is insane." "What you need is the proper equipment and a good anchor. And the Fremont Canyon Bridge serves as an excellent anchor. And the thing about it is that it's a narrow canyon with steep walls, and the water's not that far. It's 112 feet in the air, and that's part of the allure for bungee jumpers. It adds to the experience. The free fall is incredible because of what you're seeing in your peripheral vision. The water comes right up at you.  It's an incredible experience, and anybody can do it, provided they have the equipment and they know what they're doing." Like many outdoor recreation activities, bungee jumping is becoming increasingly popular in Wyoming. 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.

  6. Aug 5

    Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, August 5, 2026

    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, August 5th.  I'm Mac Watson.   This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas! Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism. – A Laramie man who pleaded guilty Tuesday for saying he might assassinate Gov. Mark Gordon says his Facebook rant has cost him his apartment, job, and college future. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that Dawson Cooley says he regrets his actions. "Back in April, Dawson Cooley was accused of making death threats online to Governor Mark Gordon. Cooley wrote on Facebook, 'Gov.Gordy. If I have to talk to you with a gun in your office, so be it.' He added, 'and I might assassinate you.' Cowboy State Daily spoke to Cooley after his sentencing, and he expressed deep remorse for his actions. He says he knows what he did was wrong, and if he could take it all back, he would." Dawson Cooley was sentenced Tuesday in Albany County Circuit Court after pleading guilty last week to a reduced misdemeanor charge of sending a death threat electronically.  Read the full story HERE. –  Numerous Wyoming Republicans are claiming some degree of credit for a trans sports ban championed by Sen. Wendy Schuler. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Schuler says she's happy if they think they helped but it was the Legislature that got the bill "across the finish line." "It became a debate when Senator Tara Nethercott did a post saying, 'Hey, let's give credit where it's due,' because she was recognizing that a lot of people and their caucuses were campaigning on the issue. She did not directly name the Freedom Caucus, but the Freedom Caucus is one that is taking some credit for the trans sports bans. When I asked Senator Wendy Schuler, she didn't really want to speculate on whether it would or would not have happened without the Freedom Caucus, but she did say 'it takes a village.'" Schuler's first blanket trans sports ban failed the state House of Representatives in 2022. Her second ban, for grades 7-12, passed the Legislature with 79 Republican lawmakers in favor.  So did her third girls' sports bill extending the ban to college.  Read the full story HERE. – Seven months after allegedly kidnapping her 11-month-old son, fleeing the state, then killing the infant during a standoff with law enforcement, a trial has been set for Madeline Daly. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that the baby's father says  "There's a special kind of evil at work here." "The father is being pretty guarded. He doesn't want to say too much before the trial because you know he wants to let that process come through. and he says quite frankly he would prefer that she's being tried in a federal court because in New Mexico there is no death penalty and in the federal court there is." Since there is no death penalty in New Mexico, life in prison also can mean a convicted felon could be up for parole after 30 years. Read the full story HERE. – Nearly 200 people showed up Monday to discuss the safety of Teton Pass following a dump truck crash last month that killed two people and an out-of-control RV that barreled down the pass a week later. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that crashes have increased by 20% on the roadway in five years. "That meeting happened on Monday and drew about 200 people to talk about possible solutions to make Teton Pass safer, because people have said enough's enough. Gary Kofinas, who I talked to, one of the organizers said this was not a government meeting. This was a community meeting, kind of formed on an ad hoc basis. So there's no specific solution, no specific step moving forward. It's a matter of just proactively thinking and trying to come up with ideas. There, there is a group that will continue to brainstorm and keep the public informed." Teton Pass, which carries traffic between Jackson and eastern Idaho, is one of the steepest highway grades in the continental United States, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Traffic reaches roughly 10,000 vehicles per day in winter and about 15,000 daily during the summer tourism season. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – In the span of a week, Teton County will host a 500-person, invite-only, digital-asset "Davos." That will be followed by the Federal Reserve's elite annual retreat. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that each event is another round in a high-stakes wrestling match over the future of money. "The guys behind this conference have had conferences in Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, London, Singapore. You know all the big major metropolitan places in the world, and Jackson is on that short list here in Wyoming, so that was kind of point one, and then you know seven days after they clear out, here comes Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, with 120 of the traditional gatekeepers of legacy finance. The theme for this year's Federal Reserve is financial innovation implications for payments and policy. So both of these are clearly about the future of money. It's all happening in Jackson Hole." The fact that a digital asset conference with so much global heft is happening in Jackson Hole is not an accident, even if its timing with the Federal Reserve's annual symposium might be coincidental. Wyoming has spent the better part of a decade quietly rewriting its laws to court this kind of moment. Read the full story HERE. – Sublette County residents came out mostly against proposed mountain biking trails near Pinedale on Tuesday, telling commissioners they worry about harming a vital migration corridor for some 20,000 mule deer. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that opponents say the trails won't overlap. "What is a big deal for some people, is that they say that it would imperil the migration route for mule deer through their for the sublet sublet mule deer herd about a herd of about 20,000 mule deer that that use that that path to migrate back and forth between summer and winter range, and so opponents of this proposed bicycle trail system say it would you know it put a bunch of people right in the deer's territory a bunch of people in human activity and so could disrupt the migration patterns." Supporters told the commission the project is planned in a way that it wouldn't disturb the deer and could provide much-needed recreational access for locals and visitors. The final decision rests with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees the roughly 600 acres involved.  Read the full story HERE. – A Utah auto dealer accused of using forged Wyoming titles to turn hail-battered cars into clean-title bargains is now facing 15 felony counts and up to 30 years in prison. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that prosecutors say the scheme involved nearly $2 million worth of damaged vehicles. "Pryor allegedly obtained these vehicles through an online salvage auction from vehicles that were totaled in an August 2025 historic hailstorm in Cheyenne. Not only did Pryor obtain cars in Wyoming, he's being accused of buying these cars that were damaged throughout the nation. The defendant is currently out of jail on a $5,000 signature bond. He's expected to appear before a judge again for an arraignment in the coming weeks." After a preliminary hearing Monday, Scott Keith Pryor, 50, owner of The Good Car Dealer in Salt Lake City, was bound over on 15 felony counts of altering, forging or counterfeiting a certificate of title. Laramie County Circuit Court Judge Antoinette Williams found prosecutors presented enough evidence for the case to proceed. Read the full story HERE. – Scott Artis was just trying to get a video of a thunderstorm for his dad when he captured the lightning strike that started the Kohns Fire in Campbell County on July 27th. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that when the fire started roaring, his wife jumped into action. "Scott saw the lightning strike. A few minutes later, he saw the red glow on the horizon, and his wife called in to 911. And while the Campbell County Fire Department was responding to multiple fires that day, they hadn't heard about that one until they called. So not only did they see the instigating incident, they were responsible for letting the county know that there was a fire that they needed to address. They contained it at 2,700 acres." Artis, along with his wife, moved to Wyoming from California's Bay Area, and is a former molecular biologist. 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.

  7. Aug 4

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, August 4, 2026

    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, August 4th.  I'm Mac Watson. This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas! Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism. – Gambling sites PolyMarket And Kalshi both favor Steve Friess to win the Republican nomination for U.S. House and Eric Barlow to win the GOP nomination for governor. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that bettors, so far, have wagered $210,000 on these two Wyoming races. "So these markets, according to pollster Dustin Olson, are not really a crystal ball. They're more a reflection of headlines and chatter, and sometimes publicly released polls, and sometimes internal polls that people know about. So on the one hand, it's kind of a composite of chatter and publicly released polls and headlines. On the other hand, people are at least confident enough that they're willing to put money forward." Dustin Olson, owner of American Pulse Research and Polling, tells Cowboy State Daily that political wagering is, "one of the more fascinating things to happen in politics in the last decade." But it carries risks of fixed races, dishonest polls, and even inside political maneuvering. Read the full story HERE. – Worland athlete Roman Parra died Sunday, eight days after being ejected from his vehicle in Colorado. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that his mother says her son's purpose in life was to spread kindness." "A 20-year-old Worland man died eight days after a crash in Weld County, Colorado, that claimed the lives of three others on impact. Roman Parra was traveling in the car with four others when the vehicle got into a rollover collision. All five occupants were thrown from the vehicle, according to the Colorado State Police. Investigators are examining whether alcohol played a role in the crash, as there were opened and unopened alcoholic beverages inside the vehicle." The Parra family has established a GoFundMe to help cover Roman's medical and funeral expenses. Read the full story HERE. –  For most of Wyoming, July was the hottest month in recorded history. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that Worland's scorching 110 degrees on July 12th was the hottest, while many towns saw as many 100-degree days in one month as they usually see in several years. "The numbers are in – July 2026 was not only the hottest month of the year; it was the hottest month on record for many Wyoming communities, and some of those records go back as far as 1891. In the case of Lander, several communities had many days where there were 100 degree plus temperatures, for example, in Riverton, I think they had at least five, 100 degree plus days. That's as many as they might have in several years." National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Straub in Riverton, tells Cowboy State Daily that seven communities either set records or tied for the hottest July on record. Read the full story HERE. – Sen. Eric Barlow says attack ads accusing him of voting to allow sex changes and voting to send money to illegal immigrants are not true. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Barlow says the bills he voted against were poorly written or rushed and are being twisted against him. "These attack ads in some of them will they'll attack Eric Barlow, Senator Barlow, for these attack ads will go after Senator Barlow for voting against a child sex change ban in 2023 when he actually voted for a different child sex change ban that same year, same thing with immigration – they'll go after him for voting against a sanctuary, an anti-sanctuary cities bill in 2025 when he voted for what he thought was a more careful version of it that same year." The new attack ads say Barlow voted to send money to illegal immigrants. He denies making such a gesture, saying his nay votes on two immigration bills were due to the short, rushed nature of the budget-planning sessions that fall on even-numbered years. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  – A Rawlins churchgoer says her "heart was just so broken" after worshippers stepped outside of Sunday service to find remnants of a bicycle crash that killed an 8-year-old boy. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that worshipper Michelle Greer says, "I work at the school, and I knew it was one of our kids." "An eight-year-old Rawlins boy was struck and killed on Sunday in Rawlins at a busy intersection on East State Street and Jefferson Avenue. The Wyoming Highway Patrol says the boy was heading north and possibly went through a stop sign when he was struck. A witness named Michelle Greer says she was in church when she heard the sirens. Everyone in the church went outside, and there they saw the mangled bicycle. There was a black tarp covering a body, and she believes the man was brought to the hospital for what she is calling a nervous breakdown." Investigators reported the roads were dry, the weather was clear, and the pickup driver was not injured. The crash remains under investigation and authorities have not released additional details. Read the full story HERE. – Big Horn County Search & Rescue is second only to Teton County in calls due to booming tourism and uniquely rugged and remote terrain leading to the high-risk missions. But Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that as demand for rescues have quadrupled, the agency's budget has been cut in half. "Property tax legislation has caused Bighorn County Search and Rescue to see huge cuts in their budget for operating. They went from 106,000 a few years ago down to 50,000 in 2025. Meanwhile, their calls for help have quadrupled as more and more people travel through Bighorn County on their way to Yellowstone or sometimes to The Bighorn Mountains. When the Wyoming legislature voted to cut property taxes, that scrapped a lot of funding for these rural search and rescue operations. Bighorn County receives the second most volume of calls for their search and rescue behind Teton County search and rescue." The challenge facing Big Horn County is unique. Although only about 12,000 people live in the county – which ranks among Wyoming's lowest for median family income – nearly 1 million visitors travel to or through it each year. Read the full story HERE. – A Thermopolis woman accused of neglecting an 87-pound elderly man who's mostly deaf and blind, and wears diapers that allegedly hadn't been changed in 10-14 days has reached a plea agreement. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that the deal calls for no jail time and a year of probation. "Part of the agreement is that she would still be part of the abuse registry. If you're convicted of certain abuse crimes, you have to register and be on some registry. Now this is a plea agreement. It doesn't mean that the judge has to accept it or not. That that we don't know. The court file didn't say whether the judge has actually accepted this plea agreement or not, and then sentencing won't happen for at least 60 days, so we don't know exactly what sentence she'll get." A no-contest plea isn't an admission of guilt, but acknowledges there's enough evidence to secure a conviction. If 67-year-old Colleen Blakesley had been convicted of a felony, she would've faced up to 10 years in prison. Read the full story HERE. – For years, a huge male grizzly called Bruno was one of the brawniest bears in Grand Teton National Park. But Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that Bruno is past his prime and those who routinely watch him are saying he's gotten thinner and "is on the downhill side." "He's somewhere around the age of 22, which, according to what a bear biologist told me, is roughly about 10 years past a bear's you know the peak of their prime, so he is showing his age a little bit. Some people say he maybe looked a little thin right about now, but they haven't really gotten, you know, that they do that pig out right before they go into hibernation. They haven't really had that yet, so he might still put on some weight. But he is getting old. He's past his prime." Bear biologist Cecily Costello tells Cowboy State Daily that dominant, male grizzlies hit their peak sometime in their early to mid-teens. She also added that Grizzlies rarely live past 30 in the wild. 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.

  8. Aug 3

    Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Monday, August 3, 2026

    It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, August 3rd.  I'm Mac Watson.   This newscast is brought to you by the Wyoming State Fair. Wrap up your summer at the Wyoming State Fair, August 11th through the 15th in Douglas! Rodeo, Demolition Derby, live music, entertainment and fair food await. Learn more at W-Y State Fair dot com. See you at the fair! This ad was paid for by Converse County Tourism. – Searchers are optimistic that the barrel and a trash can they found two weeks ago at the bottom of Fremont Lake contain the bodies of a young mother and her two sons murdered by notorious killer Gerald Uden. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that their next step is to recover the barrels. "When Bill Doshey and his team were going back through the drone footage a couple days after the search, they saw what appeared to be a trash can at the bottom of the lake. Now this finding is significant because Gerald Uden claims to have placed the bodies of his two stepsons, Richard and Reagan, in that 35-gallon-trash can, so combined to find both the barrel and the trash can in the same vicinity at the bottom of the lake would confirm lends lends great credence to the fact that Udin is in fact telling the truth in his confession when he said he did put their bodies in the lake." Uden has already confessed to the killings. In 2013, he told Wyoming investigators he shot Virginia Uden and the boys — Richard, 11, and Regan, 10 — in September 1980, luring them out under the pretense of a hunting trip. Their bodies have never been found. Read the full story HERE. – Just as firefighters seemed to be getting a handle on a nearly 300-acre fire burning just outside the southwest boundary of a closed Devils Tower, another fire erupted to the southeast Sunday. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that one county official gave a blunt assessment.  "When I was talking to the Crook County Emergency Management Coordinator. I just basically asked 'how's the situation up there?' He was pretty blunt. He said, 'it sucks.' Now, interestingly enough, some of the places and businesses around the park that aren't directly impacted by the fire are still open. Like the KOA campground, which is right next to Devil's Tower, it's still open now." Although the 282-acre Left Creek Fire burning to the west is not as bad as it was, Emergency Management Coordinator Ed Robinson tells Cowboy State Daily that having another wildfire so close to the monument's boundary "certainly doesn't help any."  Read the full story HERE. – Ann Simpson, mother of three and wife of 70 years to prominent Wyoming political figure and late U.S. Sen. Al Simpson, died Friday morning in her daughter's arms. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that her daughter, Sue, remembers her mother as the most beautiful woman, "inside and out, that ever lived." "Sue said that Anne could not get enough of her family, her husband, her family, and that everyone in their everyone should have someone in their life who can't get enough of them, and so the way Pete Simpson described it, she was just encouraging even in the political fray." Son Colin Simpson said his mother was diagnosed with an illness about two months earlier. Ann Simpson was 94-years old. Read the full story HERE. – For nearly 60 years, Vern Palmer has searched Wyoming ranches and forgotten dumps for old Wyoming license plates. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that at 90, the Big Piney mechanic has a Wyoming license plate from every year, except one.  "90-year-old Big Piney man Vern Palmer has spent 60 years collecting license plates. Part of his collection is getting every plate from 1913 until now in the state of Wyoming. In every county available, the state started issuing license plates in 1913, and that remains the only elusive plate for this collector so far. They would go out on ranch land into old dump grounds, and it was always a treasure hunt, just looking for old bottles and things when they started collecting these plates and it kind of became an obsession and the two still to this day love to go out hunting for old treasures and they always are hopeful they'll find the one missing plate they need to complete their collection." Ask Palmer about license plates and you'll quickly discover they're much more than stamped pieces of metal. They're tiny time capsules. Read the full story HERE. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.     Cowboy State Daily News continues now….  –  As a young man, Cheyenne native George Wienbarg figured out how to trademark the famous Hollywood sign in L.A. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that did that because he fell in love with a Korean fashion student and promised to make her line of clothing famous by associating it with that sign.  "He came up, basically ,with a stunt based on the work that he had already been doing with the Hollywood sign to sell pieces of it. He trademarked the Hollywood sign, and you know, I think at the time he couldn't have imagined this would be controversial in any way, but Hollywood's like, 'wait a minute, that's the name of our city! You can't just put that on a line of clothing.' We want a piece of that, right? So they took some steps because he had already trademarked the sign." Wienbarg found a clever New York attorney to help him trademark the sign for his girlfriend's clothing line, and then they were in business. Wienbarg soon had articles appearing in places such as Variety, the Los Angeles Times, and many others, delivering on his promise in a big way.  Read the full story HERE. – President Trump has not endorsed anyone in the nine-candidate Republican race for U.S. House and it's unclear if he will. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports the president has a good batting average in Wyoming, but his endorsement hasn't meant a win every time. "There is absolutely no telling if Trump is going to endorse in the U.S. House race because he endorsed Foster Freese on election day when Foster Freese ran for governor. Now we see Foster Friess's son Steve Friess vying against eight other people for the Republican nomination. The Politico Bill Cuban said 'maybe this isn't the best race to spend an endorsement' because Wyoming is likely going to elect someone who will work with Trump either way." One of the nine GOP candidates, conservative activist Steve Friess told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday interview that he's heard he's under consideration for an endorsement. The White House did not respond to a request for confirmation. The election is Aug. 18. Read the full story HERE. – Summer heat has sent water temperatures soaring above 70 degrees in some of Wyoming's prime trout fishing waters, so Game and Fish is urging anglers to quit before noon. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that when it gets that hot, catch-and-release fishing stresses and can kill trout. "What Game and Fish is asking people to do is to carry a water thermometer with you. Maybe fish only in the mornings, in the early mornings, and once the water starts hitting that 68, 70-degree mark, just put your fishing rod down and go do something else. Unless, like I said, if you're fishing for food that you intend to keep and kill for food anyway, like if you're fishing for bass or if you want to keep the trout to eat, go ahead." Avid angler and fishing guide Bradey Hall of Casper tells Cowboy State Daily that  a water temperature of 70-degrees is widely considered the red line, particularly for trout. Read the full story HERE. – One of the most extraordinary petroglyph sites in North America is hidden away in a secret spot near Newcastle, Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports the petroglyphs of Whoopup Canyon depicted in 150 sandstone panels are between 3,000 and 10,000 years old.  "Whoop-up Canyon is unique because while they're still petroglyphs, they're depicting a lot of what life would have been like, anywhere from 3,000 to up to 10,500 years ago, when there weren't any of the established tribes that we're aware of today, these would have been nomadic peoples that were following game across the landscape. And the image, the panels at Whoop Up Canyon depict the animals, the people, and the technologies that the people were using to hunt those animals." Hundreds of images are carved into the sandstone walls across 150 known panels. They depict people, animals and even the technology used by some of the earliest Indigenous people in North America. 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.

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The Roundup is a gathering of voices, opinions and perspectives from interesting people in the Cowboy State of Wyoming.

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