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Michael P. Ramirez

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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Cartoon: Friday, March 11, 2022 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon: Friday, March 11, 2022

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Wyoming Life

Sports

Somewhere around mile 80, strange things start happening in the mountains. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Trees become people."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Shadows turn into horses."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Voices seem to drift through the darkness."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"One runner spent miles convinced mice were scurrying across her feet."}]

Another knows that if he's awake long enough, he'll start hearing conversations that aren't really there.

That's before the stomach problems, swollen feet and the little voice that starts begging runners to quit.

This weekend, hundreds of runners descended on Sheridan for the annual Bighorn Trail Run, one of the West's most respected ultramarathons. 

Some tackle 18 miles. Others run 32 or 52. A smaller group attempts the full 100-mile course — a physical and mental journey that keeps many of them moving through Wyoming's backcountry for more than 24 hours.

For people who have never run farther than a half or even full marathon — or perhaps never wanted to — the obvious question for these ultrarunners remains: 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Drive"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Ask 40-year-old Daniel Orr and he'll tell you every runner has one."}]

The Wyoming native grew up in Cody and Powell before eventually settling in Maine, where he now works as a freelance photojournalist for The Wall Street Journal.

This year, he returned to the West to take on the Bighorn 100, an ultrarunning event that starts near Dayton in northern Wyoming and travels over the Bighorn mountains. It’s considered one of the most challenging ultramarathons in the United States.

Orr's answer to why anyone would want to run extreme distances in extreme conditions isn't about competition.

[{"type":"text","text":"It's about grief."}]

"A lot of it is dealing with childhood stuff," Orr said. "I lost my mom in 2023, and that was a huge jump start to me seeking out endurance sports."

The races, he said, provided something unexpected for such an individual sport: community. Spending a day and a night suffering alongside strangers has a way of creating connections.

"This isn't my story, but there's a lot of people who come from addiction recovery and stuff," Orr said. "The community aspect is a really unexpected but very tangible thing you find in these races."

[{"type":"text","text":"For Anne Hinman, the answer is different."}]

A former University of Wyoming soccer player who now works as a marketing director and recently moved from Wyoming to Montana, Hinman ran her first ultramarathon at Bighorn in 2021. She's now completed the race five times.

[{"type":"text","text":"Her motivation is overcoming fear."}]

Hinman describes herself as naturally cautious and anxious. Moving to Wyoming forced her outside her comfort zone.

"There are moose and bear in Wyoming," she said with a laugh. "I was so afraid. So, the only reason I'm able to do what I do is because I push past my fear."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Digestive Mutiny"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Running 100 miles requires a shocking amount of fuel."}]

Forget energy bars. Ultrarunners often survive on all the things that would raise a mother's eyebrows.

Hinman's race menu includes Nerds Gummy Clusters, Rice Krispies Treats, potato chips and liquid sugar.

"Pretty much any junk food that you can think of is something that someone would eat during ultramarathons," she said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Orr has his own nutritional strategy."}]

The goal is consuming at least 80 grams of carbohydrates every hour while taking in fluids consistently throughout the race.

[{"type":"text","text":"At aid stations, however, dignity often disappears."}]

"You'll mix quesadilla with some Sour Patch Kids or something," Orr said. "Just kind of muscle through it."

The digestive system doesn't always cooperate. Both runners described stomach issues as one of the most common challenges in ultrarunning.

Another offered perhaps the most concise summary of the sport ever recorded: "Never trust a fart."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hallucinations"}]

The strangest part of ultrarunning often arrives after dark. By then, runners have been awake for nearly a full day.

They're exhausted, alone and deep in the mountains. Sleep deprivation begins to distort reality.

[{"type":"text","text":"For Orr, the hallucinations are subtle."}]

"You'll think you're seeing a human figure, or hearing voices," he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"For Hinman, they're harder to ignore."}]

During one nighttime section of a race, she became convinced mice were running across the trail and over her feet for nearly two miles.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"All of the trees became people,\" she said. \"Or horses.\""}]

Orr says the experience of how your mind deals with those ultimate challenges can be unsettling at first.

When he completed an overnight crossing of California's Joshua Tree National Park, he said the isolation became overwhelming.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It's truly terrifying when you realize how alone you are,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Eventually, however, something changes."}]

"The mind just kind of accepts it after a while," Orr said. "And it's really quite peaceful after that acceptance."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Voice"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"At some point, every ultrarunner hears a voice that says “stop.\""}]

It’s the voice that says you've gone far enough and starts pointing out the absurdity of voluntarily running 100 miles through the mountains.

[{"type":"text","text":"Hinman hears it every race."}]

"Please stop," she remembers the voice telling her. "This is dumb. You shouldn't be out here."

Her solution is simple — make it to the next aid station, then reassess.

[{"type":"text","text":"Nine times out of 10, she keeps going."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The physical pain, though, is impossible to avoid."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Every step hurts,\" she said."}]

Orr broke a toe during a 47-mile Grand Canyon effort and severely damaged a hamstring tendon during his first 100-mile race. He finished anyway.

[{"type":"text","text":"That's part of the bargain, he said."}]

"It's not a matter of if," Orr said of injuries. "It's a matter of when."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Finish Line"}]

Despite the image of solitary runners disappearing into the wilderness, ultrarunning is rarely a solo effort.

Orr's girlfriend flew from Maine to crew for him while studying for her nurse practitioner certification exam. His brother drove from Powell to help at later aid stations. A pacer he'd never met before joined him for the final 32 miles.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It's a good way to get to know somebody,\" Orr joked."}]

For many runners, the support crew becomes just as important as the training. They hand over fresh shoes, refill water bottles, offer encouragement and, when things get dark, help convince exhausted runners to keep moving.

[{"type":"text","text":"Eventually, a 100-mile race stops being about running."}]

It becomes a test of what a person can endure through a sleepless night in remote terrain — through aching muscles, stomach troubles, phantom voices and trees that suddenly look like people.

[{"type":"text","text":"For reasons even many runners struggle to explain, they keep coming back."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"One painful step at a time."}]

Bighorn 100 rsw 2560 9 6 21 26

<title>When Trees Become People: The Strange Reality Of Running 100 Miles In Wyoming | Cowboy State Daily</title>

This weekend, runners descended on Sheridan for one of the West's most respected ultramarathons. They'll tell you the 100-mile race is a test of what a person can endure: aching muscles, phantom voices and trees that suddenly look like people.

When Trees Become People: The Strange Reality Of Running 100 Miles In Wyoming

Crime & Courts

Public Safety

The Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) has been chronically understaffed for years, and despite multiple recruiting efforts still has 109 vacant positions across the state, including 66 uniformed corrections officers.

That's only three fewer vacancies than the agency had a year ago, yet prison officials say they're making progress.

Employee retention has climbed from 79% in fiscal year 2022 to 88% in fiscal year 2025. The number of Wyoming inmates housed in a private Mississippi prison has been cut in half. 

And now the department is trying something new: recruiting military service veterans before they even leave the armed forces to take advantage of training that meshes well with transitioning to being corrections officers.

Through a new partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense's SkillBridge program, transitioning service members can train with the Wyoming Department of Corrections before separating from active duty, creating what officials hope will become a new pipeline into correctional careers.

Whether that pipeline can help solve one of Wyoming government's most stubborn workforce challenges remains to be seen.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Problem Years In The Making"}]

The staffing shortage facing Wyoming's prison system didn't appear overnight.

Current WDOC officials and former leaders have spent years warning lawmakers about recruitment and retention struggles inside Wyoming prisons.

Among them was former WDOC Director Bob Lampert, who led Wyoming's prison system for nearly 17 years before retiring in 2023. At the time, he was the longest-serving state corrections director in the nation.

Looking at the current vacancy numbers, Lampert sees a familiar challenge.

"The total number of vacancies I don't think has changed a whole lot," he told Cowboy State Daily. "Corrections has been working hard on recruitment and retention, but at the same time there's either not been any ground gained, or there's been some loss."

Current WDOC Director Dan Shannon was unavailable for an interview for this story because of travel commitments. Questions were answered through department spokeswoman Stephanie Dack.

"Staff retention has always been, and remains, a top priority for the Wyoming Department of Corrections," Dack said.

The department reports overall employee retention reached 88% during fiscal year 2025, up from 79% in fiscal year 2022. Despite that, it’s gained almost no ground in making up the vacancy gap.

Dack said retention efforts have focused on leadership development, workplace culture, employee wellness programs, and compensation improvements.

The work appears to be helping, but filling prison jobs remains difficult.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Why Nobody Has Solved It"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Correctional staffing shortages aren't unique to Wyoming."}]

Eric Wodahl, associate dean and professor of criminal justice at the University of Wyoming, said corrections agencies across the country have struggled to recruit workers for years.

[{"type":"text","text":"Part of the challenge is simple economics."}]

Historically, correctional jobs have often paid less than other criminal justice professions, particularly law enforcement.

[{"type":"text","text":"Money isn't the only issue, however."}]

The work frequently involves nights, weekends, and holidays. Employees face stress, potential danger and the challenges of working with incarcerated populations that often include people with significant mental health, behavioral and substance abuse issues.

"You're kind of incarcerated yourself," Wodahl said, describing the reality of spending long shifts inside secure facilities.

[{"type":"text","text":"Location can make things harder."}]

Many prisons are located in rural communities where labor pools are smaller and where spouses or partners may struggle to find employment.

[{"type":"text","text":"Lampert said Wyoming has long faced that challenge."}]

Rawlins, for example, has historically been both a prison town and a railroad town. Not everyone who grows up there wants to work in corrections, and prisons must compete for workers against energy companies, transportation jobs, retailers and other employers.

"History has shown that pay alone isn't necessarily going to fill the gaps," Lampert said.

Retaining staff also requires quality training, strong supervision, opportunities for advancement and support for employees dealing with the stresses of the job, he said.

Allison Escobedo, a criminal justice professor joining the University of Wyoming this fall, said corrections work can also be uniquely isolating.

Not only are many facilities geographically remote, she said, the profession itself can be difficult for outsiders to understand.

"It's such a unique job," Escobedo said. "Others in what would be considered criminal justice positions — social workers, police officers, etc. — still can't even really relate to corrections work because it's so different."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"More Than Just Guards"}]

One of the biggest misconceptions about corrections is that the public often sees correctional officers as little more than guards, Lampert said.

[{"type":"text","text":"The reality is much more complicated."}]

"There's not too many people in prison that are there for singing too loud in church," Lampert said.

The work involves managing difficult populations, maintaining safety, and responding to crises.

Beyond security duties, corrections officers help reinforce positive behaviors, model productive habits and encourage inmates to address the problems that landed them in prison.

"It's a lot more than guarding," he said. "It's basically helping individuals in a way that's not visible to the public."

That mission, academics say, may be part of what attracts certain people to the profession despite its challenges.

Wodahl said correctional work offers an opportunity to contribute to public safety while also helping people improve their lives before returning to their communities.

"There is a strong community that develops among people who work in the profession together," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Mississippi And Back Again"}]

The staffing crisis became impossible to ignore when Wyoming began sending inmates out of state.

At one point, the department housed 240 Wyoming inmates in a private Mississippi prison because staffing shortages limited its ability to safely operate facilities at home.

[{"type":"text","text":"That number has been reduced to 120."}]

Dack said staffing improvements at the Wyoming State Penitentiary have allowed the department to bring back 125 male inmates while also returning female inmates to the Wyoming Women's Center after temporary operational adjustments.

The remaining inmates, however, cannot return until staffing improves further.

[{"type":"text","text":"Lampert is familiar with that situation."}]

When he first arrived in Wyoming, inmates were also housed out of state. During his tenure, the department expanded facilities and eventually brought them all back.

While private prisons can sometimes provide short-term relief, Lampert said Wyoming's own facilities generally offer stronger training, continuity and services.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I was always very proud of the staff that we did have,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Looking To Veterans"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Now the WDOC is turning to military veterans."}]

Through SkillBridge, service members in the final months of military service can work with civilian employers while still receiving military pay and benefits.

Participants approved by their commanders can train with the WDOC, gaining experience in facility operations, security procedures, de-escalation techniques and correctional law before potentially moving into full-time employment.

[{"type":"text","text":"The appeal is obvious."}]

"Military service and correctional work align in several important ways, including discipline, physical readiness, mental resilience, adaptability and teamwork," Dack said.

Lampert agrees. During his years leading Wyoming corrections, veterans consistently performed well.

"All of the veterans that we recruited, without exception, in my opinion, were excellent correctional officers," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Familiar Mission"}]

Sgt. 1st Class Clive Rieke, the Wyoming Army National Guard's AGR branch NCOIC, helps service members navigate the transition from military life to civilian careers.

[{"type":"text","text":"One of the biggest challenges is culture shock, he said."}]

Military members spend years immersed in a world with its own language, structure and expectations.

"In the military, your unit is kind of like your family and you have a clear-cut mission," Rieke said.

[{"type":"text","text":"That sense of purpose doesn't always exist in civilian workplaces."}]

Many veterans also struggle to translate military experience into terms civilian employers understand. Programs like SkillBridge are designed to close that gap by allowing service members to explore careers before fully leaving the military.

Research suggests veterans may bring skills that naturally fit correctional work.

Escobedo said a recent study found veterans entering corrections careers reported greater confidence in their leadership abilities, teamwork skills and interpersonal effectiveness than their non-veteran counterparts.

[{"type":"text","text":"Those are exactly the qualities corrections agencies are seeking."}]

Although no Wyoming service member has yet entered WDOC through SkillBridge, Rieke said the department is a relatively new participant in the program.

Nationally, however, interest in law enforcement and corrections careers has increased among transitioning service members.

Because SkillBridge operates through the Department of Defense, Wyoming's potential recruiting pool extends far beyond its borders.

A soldier preparing to leave military service in New York, Texas or North Carolina can see the same Wyoming opportunities as a service member stationed in Cheyenne.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Wyoming sells itself,\" Dack said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Progress, Not A Cure"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"For now, SkillBridge remains one piece of a much larger staffing puzzle."}]

The department's first-year goal is simply to establish the program and begin building a pipeline.

[{"type":"text","text":"Wyoming's numbers suggest the department is making progress."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Retention is up."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The number of inmates being housed in Mississippi is down."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"But more than 100 job vacancies remain."}]

Whether SkillBridge becomes a meaningful solution — or simply another tool in a long-running staffing battle — may ultimately depend on whether Wyoming can convince veterans that correctional work offers something many service members seek after leaving the military: another chance to serve.

Wyoming State Penitentiary prisoner 6 21 26

<title>Facing Huge Staffing Shortfalls, Wyoming Prisons Recruiting Military Veterans | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming’s prisons have 109 vacant positions, despite years of recruiting. Now they're turning to military veterans because of their training. "The veterans we recruited were excellent correctional officers," said former corrections chief Bob Lampert.

Facing Huge Staffing Shortfalls, Wyoming Prisons Recruiting Military Veterans

You Still Here

[{"type":"text","text":"This may be artificial intelligence......"}]

Crime no play 6 21 26

<title>Today In Crime: Sunday, June 21, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

This may be artificial intelligence......

Today In Crime: Sunday, June 21, 2026

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Entertainment

Fifty years ago, the highlight of the Cody Stampede Parade marking America’s bicentennial celebration was a 30-foot-long .30-30 Winchester rifle, dominating a float that also carried legendary Western actor John Wayne.

[{"type":"text","text":"That rifle has been sitting atop a storefront in downtown Cody since. "}]

Everyone loves the giant Winchester, so they might have noticed when it recently suddenly disappeared from the roof where it had been prominently displayed since its trip down Sheridan Avenue decades earlier.

Like John Wayne himself, Cody’s giant Winchester rifle is coming back, better than ever, for another 50 years dominating Cody’s historic downtown.

“We're putting it back to what it was in 1976, as best we can,” said Mike Darby, owner of the Irma Hotel and the giant Winchester. “I can’t confirm or deny what we’re going to do with it, but we’re hoping to have it done by July 3.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Fully Loaded"}]

It’s 1976, and the United States is starting down the barrel of its 200th anniversary. The Buffalo Bill Museum, now the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, decided to add its own ammunition to an already-loaded celebration.

July 4 was selected for the opening of the lavish Cody Firearms Museum. The addition of a massive Winchester collection, on loan from the Olin Corp., made it the world's largest firearms museum at the time.

Adding to the excitement, the museum would be dedicated by the grand marshal of that year’s Cody Stampede Parade: “The Duke” himself, John Wayne.

The Husky Oil Co., founded in Cody in 1938, decided to make its own big contribution to the festivities.

What better to celebrate the bicentennial, Wayne, and the Cody Firearms Museum than with a giant replica of one of the American West’s most iconic firearms?

Denny Shore was the head of Husky Oil’s activities committee at the time. His wife, Sue, remembers it well.

“The theme for the parade that year was ‘Celebrating Winchester: The Gun That Won the West,’” she said. “Denny decided to call the people who make parade floats and asked if they could do a giant Winchester. They said yes, so they did.”

Shore doesn’t remember what company built the humongous rifle, but she remembers when it arrived on a flatbed trailer and was parked in front of her house.

“I loved it,” she said. “I'm a gun nut, and I have a .30-30 Winchester that I always hunted with. I feel like it was my own, and we were sharing it.”

Cody resident and photographer Dewey Vanderhoff was hired by the Olin Corp. to get photos of the parade, Wayne, and the rifle.

“Katy Brown's ‘Buffalo Bill Dollies’ can-can girls danced in front of the big Winchester rifle at its public debut at the airport,” he said. “Everyone was there waiting for John Wayne's ceremonial arrival on a Boeing 727 jet with his entourage and family.”

On July 4, 1976, John Wayne paraded through Cody with a 30-foot-long Winchester rifle. 50 years later, that rifle was still sitting on a rooftop next to the Irma Hotel until it was temporarily taken down but it will make its glorious return by July 4.

Daily Cartoon: Friday, March 11, 2022

Michael P. Ramirez

Cartoonist

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Daily Cartoon: Friday, March 11, 2022

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