Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Monday, June 15, 2026

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Monday, June 15th. I'm Mac Watson – Wyoming lawmakers Friday vowed to rework the Food Freedom Act after months of controversy at small-time food producers and family-owned shops. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that business owner Mark Nelson who owns the Hippy Cow Creamery says he was ordered to stop selling raw milk lattes. "He was describing these Catch-22's, where he could get a commercial food license, but then he'd still have to pasteurize milk, and he can create raw milk lattes in his home kitchen, which is a few feet away from what they consider his commercial kitchen, because it's a professional grade latte machine, and so he was talking about all these just weird little catches in the law were with some inconvenience and some trouble, you could sell these lattes under very similar circumstances. Several lawmakers talked about wanting to perfect and discuss and develop bills that Representative Steve Johnson brought to expand the Food Freedom Act." Nelson tells Cowboy State Daily that to survive the huge setback in business from losing the latte sales include installing a $20,000 ADA-compliant bathroom at the shop even though there's another ADA-complaint bathroom "literally 65 feet away." Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/14/legislators-take-aim-at-closing-wyoming-food-freedom-loopholes-to-help-sellers/] – Wyoming business owners say they are leaving a lot of money on the table because they can't fill open jobs, forcing them to turn away customers and reduce hours. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that one owner says he keeps banging his head against the wall, trying to come up with a solution. "The labor crunch is so tight in Wyoming, people are doing things that are unheard of, you know. This guy with Ranch Eats, he's not only got health insurance for his employees, that's 100% employer paid, but he's also offering a 401 k plan with a 4% match on top of that, and then you know he has an employee of the quarter program, you get a $250 bonus, plus a limousine trip. Wyoming loses 70% of its of the people who are in their 30s. They've lost 70% of those by then. By the time people reach 30, 70% will leave the state and go somewhere else. That's the highest, pretty much in the country." With too few workers to go around, businesses have been quietly curtailing their hours on what seem like odd days — Tuesday and Wednesday — and billing that as "new summer hours." Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/13/from-cafes-to-clinics-wyomings-labor-crunch-is-holding-the-economy-back/] – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is investigating a graphic video where an alleged Wyoming man tortures a seemingly wounded coyote. Outdoors Reporter Mark Heinz reports that the video was sent to Cowboy State Daily by a private investigator who says he also sent it to Game and Fish. "There's allegations that a person who is reportedly from Wyoming was videoed grabbing what appears to be a wounded coyote by a tail, pulling it out from underneath a bush, throwing it, the thing tries to run, but can't really run, because apparently it's been wounded. Guy runs up to it, kicks it in the head, pulls out a knife, stabs it. A private investigator sent this information out to Cowboy State Daily, to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, to agencies and animal rights groups. Game and Fish did confirm that they are investigating something in connection to that incident, because it's an active investigation, they can't offer any information." Game and Fish Spokeswoman Amanda Fry confirms that the department is investigating the alleged incident. Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/12/investigation-launched-in-graphic-coyote-torture-video-allegedly-shot-in-wyoming/]. – A detective was about to fly to Wisconsin to arrest the lead suspect in the 32-year cold case of a woman whose nude body was dumped along I-80 when he got the news the suspect was dead. Cowboy State Daily's Jen Kocher reports that authorities zeroed in on Roger L. Dirkey as the alleged killer, but they were too late. "Investigators believe that Roger L Durkee is responsible for murdering the former Jane Doe Shafter Jane Doe, who has since been ID as Marion Alexander. so the investigators from the Elko County, Nevada Sheriff's Office were a week or so away from flying out to Milwaukee to actually arrest Dirkey. While they're making their travel plans to go out there, they learned that he had died. For all practical purposes, they thought he was alive because he wasn't showing up dead in the databases, so there was some glitch between when he died and his getting entered in the Wisconsin Vital Services, so as they're making these plans, they learned that he actually had died, and they got it confirmed. His DNA was the likely match of DNA found on her body. And then they had other evidence too." Authorities say during the investigation, they found that he had searched nearly 90 Google searches for Shafter Jane Doe, that was one strong piece of evidence in the investigators' minds. Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/14/after-32-years-suspected-shafter-jane-doe-killer-avoided-justice-by-dying/]. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily News continues now…. – Steer wrestlers raised money last week for the Montana woman who lost her hand in a rodeo accident. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that the woman's husband, who is the Montana State rodeo coach, says, "It's pretty neat that a college kid could organize something like that." "Jaden Whitman and his older brother were driving home from a rodeo in Washington state when they started talking about what they could possibly do to help the Whitaker family. So he texted his coach to see if that would be okay, and Coach Kyle Whitaker responded and said yes. He told Cowboy State Daily that he was just almost choked up that he couldn't believe that a college student would come up with an idea like that." The Presley Whitaker Benefit Steer Wrestling Jackpot happened last weekend in Whitehall, Montana, raising nearly $40,000, mostly to help cover Presley's mounting medical bills. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/14/steer-wrestlers-rally-to-raise-40-000-for-woman-who-lost-hand-in-rodeo-accident/] – Sgt. Zach Burns remains in critical condition after being shot multiple times by a gunman in Baggs on Monday. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that the mayor says people reacted immediately and like heroes. "This deputy was already around town, so as soon as the call came in. He was there and got shot several times, and it seems that he probably owes his life to a couple of local business owners who have businesses right close. They rushed over, and from what the mayor was telling me, there was a lot of blood, and that they acted quickly to try to stop that, to slow that down until EMS got there, and EMS also got there very, very quickly." A deputy being shot, coupled with a high-speed chase and shootout with the suspect, is enough to make Monday one of the darkest days in the 116-year history of the tiny town of 411 people. Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/12/deputy-shot-in-baggs-saved-by-quick-acting-residents/]. – Divers who plunge the depths of the Colorado River and Flaming Gorge Reservoir find all kinds of treasure, from antique six-shooters to cellphones. Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck reports that one woman burst into tears when given her phone back that had her grandchild's birth video on it. "He found this part of a two-mile stretch on the Colorado River below the Hoover Dam. He said that he just happened to dive one time, and he started finding wallets and different things, and so he said, 'Hey, this is great, you know? It makes diving exciting.' So he started talking it up with others, and now every Saturday, pretty much they go and dive that stretch of the river. And like three years ago, he found a six shooter that was in its holster, rusted, and he believes it was down there for at least 10 years." Tony "Gunner" Pierce of Provo, Utah and his diving partner, Ken Wige, who is from Las Vegas, are advocates for diving in the West and enjoy rallying people to different spots from Wyoming to Utah and Idaho year-round to explore what is going on underneath the surface of reservoirs, rivers, and lakes. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/13/six-shooters-and-cellphones-divers-find-all-kids-of-treasure-in-colorado-river/] – Longtime Yellowstone RV travelers David and Jennifer Sinclair were leaving a gas station in Canada when the front bumper of their truck tore off while being towed. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that a video of them dragging the bumper down the road has been viewed millions of times. "They were driving the RV when the incident happened. No one was in the pickup truck, but someone else spotted them going down the highway, and it went viral based on that, because they were dragging a bumper down the highway and nothing else. But they said that they were aware of what happened. Within a minute, someone flagged them. I think the same person who took the video flagged them, they pulled off, they recognized what happened, they recovered their pickup truck, and nobody was harmed, and thankfully they were at a stoplight when the whole thing happened." Fortunately for the couple, the motorhome was stopped at an intersection when the tow base broke off. Sinclair said it "could have been much worse if it failed in motion." Unfortunately, they didn't notice and kept driving, leaving their front bumper-less truck sitting in the middle of the road. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/13/oh-no-full-time-rv-couple-lose-truck-when-front-bumper-tears-off-while-towed/] — 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 [https://cowboystatedaily.com/] - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMZ6-7-Nv-0ycvqgTIttIFQ] channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Friday, June 12, 2026

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Friday, June 12th. I'm Mac Watson – A Denver man was found dead near a capsized kayak on Yellowstone Lake, park officials announced Thursday. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that a former park ranger, who patrolled the lake, says certain factors make the lake dangerous year round. "Former Yellowstone park ranger Tara Ross said that what makes this lake extremely dangerous is very cold temperatures and wild winds. Ross said the water hovers between 40 and 50 degrees, even in the summertime, so if someone does go in the water, and they're unable to self-rescue, as in get back into the kayak and out of the water. They may only have 10 minutes, generously up to 20 minutes, before rescuers will be recovering a body. Park officials say that the man recovered was from Denver, and he was 41 years old." According to Yellowstone National Park officials, occupants of another vessel on the lake discovered the body of Brandon Rhea on Monday floating near Rock Point on the lake's northwest shore near Bridge Bay. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/11/body-of-denver-man-recovered-from-yellowstone-lake-near-capsized-kayak/] – Wyoming's state-level property tax board told counties on Thursday that a 4% cap on yearly increases in residential property taxes is unconstitutional. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports it will also refuse to certify this year's property tax assessment figures if the cap remains. "So, they're saying, 'Whoa, we've got homes in sluggish market areas that are being taxed way less of a rate than homes that look exactly the same that are in faster growing areas.' And so, according to the board, this violates the women constitutions call for equal and uniform taxation, and so they're saying, 'Hey, if you county assessors keep allowing this 4% cap, we're gonna not certify the tax values this year,' which would mean you couldn't collect on property taxes. Dixie Huxtable, who's the Converse County Assessor, and speaks out for the Assessors Association often said, 'I don't think anyone's getting a tax holiday. We're gonna figure out what our legal options here are and decide what to do.'" The board's two-person majority — Chair Jayne Mockler and Vice-Chair Marty Hardscog — wrote in the Thursday report that the 4% increase cap for residential property taxes has arbitrary impacts across the state. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/11/wyoming-tax-board-says-it-wont-accept-4-limit-on-property-tax-increases/] – The Clinton-era Roadless Rule on U.S. Forest Service lands will be erased if Wyoming Republicans U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and Rep. Harriet Hageman get their way. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports Rep. Harriet Hageman says, "I have been fighting the Roadless Rule since the day it was handed down." "The Trump administration has already been pushing for this. Now Congress has stepped in. Senator Mike Lee of Utah added an amendment to a wildfire prevention bill that Senator Barrasso was already sponsoring, and that that amendment would just nullify the roadless rule, like Trump is trying to rescind it now. Congress is essentially trying to nullify it, and Congresswoman Hagman has a mirror bill to nullify it coming out of the House, so, so basically the roadless rule is facing a double threat from both the the the administration and the legislative branch, which, if you're if you're against it and you want to see it gone, that's good news. If you want to see it preserved, that's bad news." The Roadless Rule has forbidden new road construction on national forests across Wyoming's high country. It also similarly prevented new road construction on 45 million acres of national forest lands across the West, and up to 60 million acres nationwide. Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/11/amended-barrasso-bill-would-erase-clinton-era-roadless-rule/]. – A letter to Republican candidates for Park County partisan offices, has a warning for candidates. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that the letter states that if a potential candidate won't commit to back at least 80% of the state GOP platform, they won't receive an endorsement or support from the party. "People have been saying that the party is developing a purity test. The proponents of this questionnaire, which basically asks if you agree with each party platform playing, the proponents are saying this is not a purity test, you know, organizations have standards, and the opponents are saying it absolutely is a purity test, and it's just the organization trying to perpetuate its ideals onto the next leaders of it. But, like, Sandy Newsom said, they can't take me off the ballot, she's running for precinct committee woman there in the Park County Republican Party, just like they can't take us off the ballot, so the people in my precinct are going to be the judge of how Republican I am." The state GOP passed a set of new bylaws in April which requires county and state committee iterations of the party to vet candidates for office on their commitment to the platform and "demonstrated loyalty to the Party's principles." Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/11/park-county-republican-party-sends-platform-loyalty-tests-to-gop-candidates/]. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily News continues now…. – The first job for Union Pacific's new Trump-themed locomotive No. 4547 took it through Wyoming carrying the Artemis III rocket. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that nobody except railroad watchers noticed. "Stan Blake, who is a retired railroad guy, tells me what they're doing there is they're buffering the rail, the rocket pieces by separating them with a car that will have been loaded with inert material. So, those weren't empty, they were loaded with something, and then they are there to kind of buffer in between each of those rocket cars, and the rings around the first car, those are the size of the rocket cars, the tanks, you know, the pieces of the rocket, so that you know it's clear that I guess to make sure that the clearances are all in order. Wyoming is a particularly good state for crossing because there's plenty of Wyoming with the wide open spaces." In late 2027, four members of the crew for Artemis III will launch aboard an Orion spacecraft. It's a demonstration flight in a low Earth orbit that will test rendezvous and docking operations between Orion and test versions of the Human Landing System being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/11/new-trump-locomotive-no-4547-rolls-through-wyoming-carrying-artemis-iii-rocket/] – Public backlash against a reported kill order may have saved a bison that killed a woman in Custer State Park last month. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that advocates for the Bison say he was acting within his wild nature on his home turf when he killed the 70-year-old Canadian tourist. "The Bison who killed a 70 year old woman last month got a stay of execution this week after public backlash. People were acting on rumors that the state had planned to put this bison down or euthanize it because of the of the bison's actions with this woman and a lot of people were saying, you know, this this animal, he's it's wild and it acted, you know, appropriately given that it was really roaming on its own turf. But the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game Fish and Parks confirmed that they are taking custody of this bison and that the bison will live out the rest of his days on the Rosebud Reservation, which is outside of Custer State Park." The South Dakota Governor's Office did not confirm whether a kill order had been placed on the bison, nor did the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department. Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/11/bison-escapes-possible-death-sentence-after-killing-woman-in-custer-state-park/]. – Crusoe, a founding partner in the huge 2.7-gigawatt Project Jade data center near Cheyenne, quietly pulled out months ago. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that hasn't slowed the project, which is going "full steam ahead," according to remaining partner Tallgrass Energy. "Project Jade never missed a beat, they didn't pause for a minute, they just kept right on going. They're now working directly with the data center client, which it hasn't been officially announced yet, and so there's been no pause, there's no lost time, they're still on track for what they're planning to do there, and you know it's a massive, massive project. 2.7 gigawatts, that's almost three times the energy that Wyoming, as a state, uses." Crusoe, the company that was constructing the buildings for the massive data center, packed up its stuff and left. The exit happened quickly and quietly, without the fanfare of press releases and company statements that had preceded the project. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/11/partner-pulling-out-doesnt-slow-huge-2-7gw-cheyenne-project-jade-data-center/] – Canada's favorite grizzly, called The Boss, has lived a storied life, brawling with other males and surviving getting hit by a train. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that his latest stunt was removing an electronic tracking collar that wildlife agents had just put on him. "We've reported previously on that huge grizzly bear, 700 pound grizzly bear that lives up in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. They call him 'The Boss.' His latest antic is they collared him on May 13th, and he ditched that collar within a week, and I talked to a photographer that follows the boss very closely, and said, 'Yeah, he did that in true boss fashion. That sounds like that bear.'" The Boss is formally known to researchers as Grizzly 122. His chief rival in Banff is Grizzly 136, called Split Lip. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/11/police-say-sheridan-couple-accused-of-stealing-fundraiser-donations-from-church/] — 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 [https://cowboystatedaily.com/] - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMZ6-7-Nv-0ycvqgTIttIFQ] channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

Cowboy State Daily Video News: Friday, June 11, 2026

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Thursday, June 11th. I'm Mac Watson – Sgt. Zach Burns has been identified as the Carbon County deputy who took multiple bullets in a shootout with a suspect in Baggs on Monday. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that the sheriff says Burns is in critical condition but improving. "We still don't know who the suspect is. He died in a shootout with officers. We still don't know how many officers were involved in that, and we don't know, obviously, his identity, whether he was a local guy or whether you know he worked somewhere else and lived in Baggs. When I was in Baggs on Monday and Tuesday, everybody I talked to, nobody seemed to know who he was, so a lot of them were speculating it's probably not someone who grew up here. Otherwise, we would know." According to the sheriff's report, Burns was shot in the neck, arm, and hip. The report also says the suspect died later after another car chas [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/active-shooting-in-baggs-wyoming-scanner-traffic-says-law-enforcement-officer-injured/]e. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/10/deputy-who-took-multiple-bullets-in-baggs-shootout-is-critical-improving/] – Seven of the 10 Republican candidates running to become Wyoming's next U.S. House candidates courted a largely Christian audience with statements on their faith, and their different approaches to education, family rights, and abortion policy. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports the debate was vigorous, but polite. "It's tough to stand out in a crowd that big. So you have Kevin Christensen talking about saying a prayer with his soldiers moments before invading Iraq. You have Jillian Balow talking about the sacrifices that she's so grateful for that women made so she could be an adoptive mom. You have Bo Biteman harkening to the founding fathers, reiterating the the role of the Congress from the Constitution, you have Chuck Gray talking about the media and insiders, and so there were some bolder overtures that the candidates undertook, possibly in their effort to distinguish themselves from this crowded field." The Wyoming Family Alliance is an advocacy group that strives to advance biblical, generally faith-based policy objectives. The group's president posed a series of questions at a packed event Tuesday evening in The Metropolitan in downtown Cheyenne, to these seven GOP candidates. Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/10/wyoming-u-s-house-candidates-face-christian-lobby-swap-war-stories/]. – A Pinedale rancher told U.S. Senators on Wednesday that he and other Upper Basin farmers are tired of Wyoming giving up Colorado River water. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that rancher Mike Vickrey told the Senate committee that as he sees it, he and other Upper Basin farmers and ranchers have gone above and beyond to conserve water. "That rancher said basically, in a nutshell, we're doing all we can to conserve water up here on the upper basin. There's only so much to go around. Maybe we need to rethink the allocations, because this all flows back - no pun intended - this all this all flows back to the Colorado River Compact, which was drawn up in 1922 and a lot of people have said there were a lot, there was a lot more water in the river, and a lot fewer people demanding it back in 1922 Maybe we need to change the way we do things." Gov. Gordon, along with Senators Barrasso and Lummis met Tuesday with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, as well as Utah Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/10/pinedale-rancher-tells-senators-hes-tired-of-wyoming-giving-up-colorado-river-water/] – A 57-year-old woman who was arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of a newborn boy in early 1988 repeatedly claimed the baby wasn't hers. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that investigators say DNA testing shows it's 1.97 million times more likely Eva Martinez is the baby's mother than anyone else. "The sheriff's office sent the case and sent DNA samples. and what that lab was able to do was narrow this baby's DNA down to two potential relatives, not direct relatives, but one who could be a grandfather-type. They tracked back to finding the actual biological father of this baby. Apparently he was living with this woman at that time, back in Cheyenne, almost 40 years ago, telling them, okay, this is who I was with, and they were able to get a DNA sample from her tested, and it came up that it's the probability that she's the mother is extremely high." Cheyenne resident Eva Martinez was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of who has become known over the past 38 years as "Baby John Doe," whose body was gruesomely discovered on Feb. 28, 1988, near a culvert off a county road, according to court documents. She faces a first degree murder charge. Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/10/cheyenne-woman-says-she-didnt-abandon-newborn-boy-to-die-38-years-ago/]. – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily News continues now…. – A rural neighborhood north of Cheyenne told Black Hills Energy it doesn't want a planned natural gas power plant during "a very contentious" local-only meeting this week. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that one resident says "The only reason you'd do that is to put a data center there." "It's a 935 acre parcel, and so you're going to put power generation on that. What kind of noise is that going to make? How is that going to look? You know, it's a pretty scenic area. It's a historic ranching community, pretty residential. It's like I'm told that the roads out there, like a two-lane dirt road, and so you know people are worried about traffic, they're worried about noise, they're worried about quality of life, how that's going to affect their property values, and kind of all the things you would expect." The project will trigger a multi-year Wyoming Industrial Siting Division review process, even as Black Hills Energy pursues a multibillion-dollar merger with Northwestern Energy. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/10/not-in-our-backyard-rural-cheyenne-residents-dont-want-black-hills-gas-plant/] – U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis says she still backs renaming U.S. Highway 287 as I-47 — aka "The Trump Interstate." Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that's despite the fact that the main sponsor said it may not be a priority after he lost a primary race. "The four lane interstate that John Cornyn, a Republican of Texas, proposed to zip through the state of Wyoming, is now in limbo after Cornyn lost his primary election to Attorney General Ken Paxton. Senator Cynthia Lummis is a co-sponsor of the bill. On Wednesday afternoon, she told reporters that she still supports the bill. Right now, it is in limbo. She declined to comment further on what will happen." The I-47 Future Interstate Act proposed designating the roughly 1,800-mile U.S. 287 corridor from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Montana as a future interstate route. The route runs through Wyoming communities including Laramie, Rawlins, Jeffrey City, Lander, Dubois and Moran before continuing north into Montana. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/10/lummis-still-backs-trump-interstate-despite-new-doubts-from-texas-sponsor/] – The state found widespread failures with Sweetwater County School District 1's special ed program, giving the district a year to correct them. Cowboy State Daily's Kate Meadows reports that one former school board member says, "This wasn't a failure by just one person. This is a systemic failure." "The report came out this week, and it shows the school district to be in violation of providing special education services through properly credentialed professionals. It also shows that the school district failed to deliver services in accordance with students' IEPs, or individualized education programs, and it also shows that parents were not given meaningful opportunities to participate in their students' individual education processes. Former board member Cole Ceppi said that they had seen some of these same problems with their own child in the district when he was a member and their child was in the special department, so he said to realize this is a more systemic problem makes me incredibly disappointed." The WDE conducted a five-day special monitoring review in February after receiving complaints and reports of possible noncompliance from parents, current and former staff members, and media accounts. Read the full story HERE [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/10/state-finds-major-special-ed-failures-in-sweetwater-county-school-district-1/]. – More than 69 miles of the Beartooth Highway are still closed because of a late spring snowstorm in southern Montana. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that officials are warning motorists not to use "map apps" as people have become stranded like a German couple who got lost in Wyoming. "The Bear Tooth Highway closed at 7:45am Wednesday morning, and it was closed all day due to snow. There is more snow incoming. There's a winter weather advisory for southern Montana, including the Montana portion of the Beartooth Highway until Thursday morning, and Cowboy and Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said it's entirely possible that the Beartooth Highway and several roads in Yellowstone could close again this weekend, because we've got another cold weather system moving in that'll bring more rain and snow that could easily freeze in the ice on the roads overnight." The Beartooth Highway sits at the northern edge of the Yellowstone Plateau, a massive landform that covers northwest Wyoming and southern Montana. A rugged area that is its own environment. Drivers ascend from 5,200 feet to 10,947 feet in just 12 miles. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/10/beartooth-highway-still-closed-because-of-snow-do-not-use-map-apps/] — 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 [https://cowboystatedaily.com/] - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMZ6-7-Nv-0ycvqgTIttIFQ] channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

Cowboy State Daily Video News: Wednesday, June 10, 2026

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, June 10th. I'm Mac Watson – The day after a gunfight that left a deputy shot and the suspect dead in Baggs, many questions still remain, especially the status of the officer. Cowboy State Daily's Greg Johnson reports that the former mayor says Baggs is still a good town where residents know and help each other. "They're pretty shocked, but they're also pretty grounded. Yeah, but we still got to go to work. and as the former mayor told me so, she grew up in bags, was a career teacher, was a former mayor back in the 80s, and she said when she was mayor in the 80's, she said there was a lot of drugs around, and there's a lot of crime that revolved around it. However, she said nothing ever rose to the level of the deputy being shot." Inquiries to the Carbon County Sheriff's and coroner's offices for more information about Monday's shooting were not returned by the time this story was published; that includes the condition of the deputy and the identification and cause of death of the suspected shooter. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/09/its-what-we-do-baggs-neighbors-helped-deputy-after-shot-by-suspect/] – A Russian-speaking truck driver faces criminal charges after allegedly hitting a disabled car on I-80 and then leaving the scene. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that court documents say he failed an English proficiency test and simply nodded when shown the damaged vehicle. "Anvarjon Ganiyevich Muminov was initially charged on Monday in Sweetwater County Circuit Court for a hit and run, as well as failing an English proficiency test, which is required by the federal government for all commercial truck drivers. The Russian-speaking man was arrested after witnesses said they saw him swerve and hit a vehicle that was parked on the side of the road, this was just outside of Rock Springs on I-80. When investigators picked up Muminov, they tried to ask him questions about what happened. They showed him a picture of the accident, and he simply nodded. That's when they administered the English proficiency test, which he failed. He is currently out on a $1,000 personal recognizance bond." What might have been an obscure traffic citation a year ago has become part of a national debate. Wyoming lawmakers, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, have all spent the past year [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/08/19/wyoming-highway-patrol-backs-state-bill-to-ban-non-english-speaking-truckers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com] pushing for stricter enforcement of English-language requirements for commercial truck drivers operating on Wyoming highways. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/09/russian-speaking-trucker-charged-with-i-80-hit-and-run-failing-english-proficiency-test/] – After a string of 90+ degree days, snow is heading for Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that Meteorologist Don Day says all of Wyoming should expect cooler-than-usual weather in the next two weeks. "The National Weather Service is calling for up to two inches of snow at the highest points of Yellowstone on Wednesday, and there's going to be a cold surge, or cold trough, as meteorologists call it. It's going to be moving across the state this week, so temperatures are going to drop to below average for the month of June.Everyone expects expects it to warm up by the end of the month, but this is kind of unusual, but adds on to the string of unusual months we've had going back to November." Over the next two weeks, temperatures could drop between 15 and 20 degrees below average, or even lower. Day called it "an interesting pattern" that'll put a dent in the sunny start of summer. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/09/merry-christmas-yellowstone-to-get-june-snowstorm-as-cold-front-dips-into-wyoming/] – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily News continues now…. – A 21-year-old Casper man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to grabbing and repeatedly pulling on a police officer's testicles, biting his groin, and biting another officer. Cowboy State Daily's Dale Killingbeck reports that the three felony charges each carry a potential of 10 years in prison. "The 21-year old from Casper that is charged with grabbing the testicles of a police officer and biting his groin, as well as biting the shin of a second police officer, was in district court on charges related to police interference. Three of those are felonies, one's a misdemeanor, and he told the judge that he was going to plead not guilty." Sylvester Jakeson Seaton appeared before Judge Kerri Johnson for his arraignment with defense attorney Marty Scott. He told the judge that he had dyslexia but had read the affidavit containing the charges against him "only about 20 times." Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/09/casper-man-pleads-not-guilty-to-yanking-police-officers-testicles-biting-groin/] – It was yet another data-center dominated night for the Cheyenne City Council on Monday, with intense, sometimes emotional public testimony on what would be the largest annexation in Cheyenne history. Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that the annexation will support expansion of data centers. "Councilman Larry Wolf asked that a proposed annexation of 3500 acres come out of the consent agenda, so that they could talk about it. His feeling is it shouldn't be treated as just any other old annexation. It's a very large annexation. Those who were kind of criticizing are their feeling is, it shouldn't be done without a plan already in place. Microsoft has said in public meetings that won't develop that property anytime soon. Councilman Wolf has publicly said, 'why would we lock out that land for 10 years with no plan attached to it?'" City staff and Microsoft representatives who were present confirmed the annexation is being advanced to support future expansion of data centers. No annexation vote was taken. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/09/in-emotional-city-council-meeting-cheyenne-weighs-record-microsoft-annexation/] – Police say a drunken, shirtless, barefoot Michigan man threatened two women, smashed storefront windows and led authorities on a foot chase in downtown Jackson last week before getting tased. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that court documents say he threatened to shoot people and himself. "24-year-old Kadin Decker was drinking at the million dollar cowboy bar with two women. When they left the bar, eyewitnesses say that he was visibly upset. He was shouting at the women as they walked to their car, yelling profanities. At one point, he said he was going to kill them and then kill himself. One of the women says that she knew there was a gun in the vehicle, so she positioned herself between the car and Decker. When police arrived, Decker took off on foot. He then smashed a glass door at the old-time photo booth. Eventually, police had to tase Decker. They said he continued to put up a fight until he was arrested." Kadin James Decker made his initial appearance in Teton County Circuit Court on Monday afternoon after being charged with two counts of property destruction and one count of interference with a peace officer. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/09/michigan-tourist-accused-of-wild-window-smashing-rampage-in-downtown-jackson/] — 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 [https://cowboystatedaily.com/] - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMZ6-7-Nv-0ycvqgTIttIFQ] channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

Cowboy State Daily Radio News: Tuesday, June 9, 2026

It's time to take a look at what's happening around Wyoming for Tuesday, June 9th. I'm Mac Watson – Before the Carbon County emergency services scanner went dark on Monday afternoon, law enforcement personnel described an active shooter incident and manhunt in Baggs. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports at least one law enforcement officer was injured and a trooper's car was "shot up." "The man had emerged from a home in Baggs had fired a shot, and was trying to get into another apartment room in an apartment complex, and then he left that scene in a black truck. A trooper, a deputy, other law enforcement potentially started to converge. One officer reported that he was doing a traffic stop on the truck, and then we hear 'Shots fired, shots fired!' One deputy was taken to care after residents performed first aid, and then Trooper 132 as he was called on scanner traffic, said that his truck had been shot up." The public learned of the incident when Carbon County emergency services called for a shelter in place due to an active shooter situation. As of Monday night, the status of the shooter was unconfirmed. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/baggs-area-on-lockdown-as-manhunt-underway-for-active-shooter-its-not-good/] – A downed power line is believed responsible for the Raven Creek Fire which has burned 3,900 acres of land in northeast Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily's Kolby Fedore reports that Weston County Fire Warden Daniel Tysdal said they're experiencing "late-summer fire weather conditions and fire behavior." "Fire Warden Tisdale said that the fire itself is not a major concern, it's just a warning for what's to come. They're dealing with severe drought conditions, and they're seeing late summer fire patterns, and it's just the beginning of June. As of Monday afternoon, the fire is 100% contained. It burned about 3800 acres. I did talk to a local rancher family, and I could just say that their ranch family was hit by it. No livestock were injured, just a lot of fence was burned, and they are praying for rain." The blaze was started just days after the nearby Shipwheel Fire was started by lightning and burned 456 acres in the same corner of the county. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/pray-for-rain-wildfire-burns-3-900-acres-has-northeast-wyoming-ranchers-worried/] – At a panel discussion on Saturday, Cheyenne leaders and industry officials said data centers are already helping stabilize electric rates and are opening new land for housing. But Cowboy State Daily's Renee Jean reports that skeptics still aren't buying it. "This has actually happened here in Cheyenne. Meta paid like a million bucks to run three miles of water and sewer lines to its center, so that they can, you know, provide the domestic water. They're on a closed loop system, but they still have restrooms for the employees and water for the break rooms and that kind of thing, and so they spent a million bucks to bring that three miles to their data center. Well, where housing developments in that area were economically unfeasible. So, you've kind of opened up this whole new place where development can come in, like housing or shopping, whatever, retail businesses, and that kind of thing." Cheyenne LEADS Executive Director Betsey Hale tells Cowboy State Daily that Cheyenne has 10 data centers already operating, five under construction, and nine more announced or in planning stages. Another 36 data center companies or site selectors have expressed some level of interest in Cheyenne or Laramie County, Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/cheyenne-leaders-industry-officials-data-centers-could-lower-electricity-costs/] – Big Horn County Search and Rescue had to rescue two German tourists after Google Maps got their rented Jeep stuck on a backcountry road. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that a Wyoming tow truck driver put it bluntly, "If you're going to be in the Bighorns, don't trust Google." "In Wyoming, a Google Maps directive can lead you down a dirt track road or to a road that's closed or that's only seasonally, seasonably open or seasonally open, and that's what these German tourists found out. The tourists were visiting Medicine Wheel, and Google Maps gave them a shortcut to get the shell, and as they're going down that shortcut, they realized that their vehicle was not the kind that they would want for that particular road. They turned around, they tried to get back to where they started, and then they lost two of the tires because of a sharp rock. They didn't go there by accident. Google Maps told them that that was a viable route, and they trusted Google Maps to get them from point A to point B." The pair was evacuated by BCSAR volunteers on ATVs that evening, but their Jeep Compass was stuck in the mountains until the tires could be replaced. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/german-tourists-get-stuck-in-bighorns-after-following-google-maps/] – I'll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this. Cowboy State Daily News continues now…. – A Cody river guide said his raft was nearly sunk by an electric fence wire strung too low across a river in Park County, while he was out on a float with his girlfriend and her young son on Sunday. Cowboy State Daily's Mark Heinz reports that Ryan Anue says the situation could have "gone bad fast." "They came across an electric wire that had been serving across the river, electric fencing wire, no big deal, they, you know, so they ducked into that, but then as soon as they popped up from under that one, they saw a second one was there, and the guy said that this one was kind of bowed down into the river a little bit, so they had to kind of go to one side, and when they did that, it caught on what they call a thigh brace, which is kind of like a metal brace that sticks up out of this inflatable raft. The guy said it was starting to drag the boat underwater, it was just total chaos." Everyone made it to safety, but as Ryan sees it, the manner in which the wire was strung over the river was hazardous and possibly illegal. He said that he reported it to the Park County Sheriff's Office. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/cody-river-guide-says-electric-wire-across-river-nearly-sunk-raft-with-child-in-it/] – The State Land Board voted 3-2 Monday to pause its work to halt two controversial wind leases — until a court decides a major legal question on them. Cowboy State Daily's Clair McFarland reports that Secretary of State Chuck Gray called it "irregular," but Auditor Kristi Racines cast it as common sense. "While the Wyoming Supreme Court decides a major legal question about one of the two similar leases, um, Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Superintendent Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder voted against it. Gray called the process irregular, but State Auditor Kristi Racines, who was among the three aye votes, along with the governor and the treasurer, said she basically cast it as a common sense move, like this isn't about being pro or anti win project, this is about giving the court some space rather than digging potentially a deeper hole, legal hole for ourselves." The board comprises Wyoming's top five elected officials: Racines, Gray, Gov. Mark Gordon, Treasurer Curt Meier, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/wyoming-land-board-decides-to-wait-for-court-to-rule-whether-wind-farm-is-legal/] – Oklahoma resident Les Vandever says he is still stunned after seeing a man charging into a herd of bison in Yellowstone. Cowboy State Daily's Andrew Rossi reports that Vandever says "It was a moment of unbelievable stupidity." "This couple was driving in their vehicle, they pulled over, look at some bears, and they saw someone hop out of another vehicle and charge at a herd of bison, because they were crossing the road, and this person decided that was a good way to get them moving the way that he wanted them to go, or it was just something stupid he did impulsively in the moment. But the photos and their license plate were given to a Yellowstone Ranger. Maybe this guy was trying to be a wide receiver for the Ohio State Buckeyes because he was wearing an Ohio State shirt at the time, so who knows what the thought process is that goes behind that." Vandever tells Cowboy State Daily that he got clear photographs of the individual's face and the vehicle's license plate, which he's since shared with a Yellowstone ranger. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/unbelievably-stupid-tourist-charges-yellowstone-bison-herd/] — Wyoming's own Brandon Nimmo was honored by the Texas Rangers on Sunday with his own bobblehead night. Cowboy State Daily Columnist Bill Sniffin was in Texas for the game and came away with a rare item. "They had these bobble heads, and they made such a deal, I don't know whether Brandon Nimmo really did want to be a bull rider or not, but they, according to the Texas Rangers, he did, and so they put him on a bucking horse, and then they had rodeo clowns all over the stadium, and promoting it, and it was really special, and of course, he had a good night at the plate. He had a double, scored a run, and he also had some great catches out in right field, and it was very.. I felt really darn proud to be there, and I was wearing my Wyoming gold Wyoming cowboy hat. it isn't very often that Wyoming is the center of the universe in baseball." Bill also reports that Brandon's 90-year-old grandpa threw out the first pitch. Read the full story HERE. [https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/06/08/texas-rangers-salute-wyomings-brandon-nimmo-with-his-own-bobblehead-night/] — 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 [https://cowboystatedaily.com/] - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMZ6-7-Nv-0ycvqgTIttIFQ] channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I'm Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.