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Daily smile 10 7 22 no play scaled

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

<title>Daily Smile: Friday, October 7, 2022 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Good morning...

Daily Smile: Friday, October 7, 2022

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Chance of rain in much of Wyoming on Wednesday, otherwise mostly sunny. Flood watch in western and central Wyoming, patchy smoke in some areas. Chance of rain overnight. Highs from the upper 70s to low 90s. Lows in the 50s and low 60s.

Flood watch until Thursday morning. Patchy smoke, slight chance of rain after 1 p.m., breezy, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 91 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Breezy overnight with rain near certain, patchy smoke before 8 p.m., a low near 61 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

Flood watch until Thursday morning. Patchy smoke before 2 p.m., chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., mostly sunny today with a high near 91 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with rain likely, a low near 60 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. 

 Flood watch until Thursday morning. Patchy smoke, chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 86 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Rain likely overnight with a low near 55.

 Rain near certain today with a high near 81 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 52.

  Flood watch until Thursday morning. Chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 89 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 57 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

Flood watch until Thursday morning. Chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 52 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

 Flood watch until Thursday morning. Chance of rain mainly after 1 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 52. 

 Flood watch until Thursday morning. Chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 87 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 53.

  Flood watch until Thursday morning. Chance of rain mainly after 4 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 49 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

 Flood watch until Thursday morning. Rain likely today with a high near 78 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Cloudy overnight with rain likely and a low near 52.

  Flood watch until Thursday morning. Chance of rain mainly after 5 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 85 and rain likely overnight with a low near 52. 

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Flood watch until Thursday morning. Rain likely mainly after 3 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 80 and rain likely overnight with a low near 46.

Flood watch until Thursday morning. Patchy smoke, chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 92 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before 11 p.m., a low near 63 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

:  Flood watch until Thursday morning. Patchy smoke, chance of rain, increasing clouds today with a high near 86 and cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 63.

  Flood watch until Thursday morning. Patchy smoke, chance of rain, becoming mostly cloudy today with a high near 93 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke before 9 p.m. and a low near 63. 

   Flood watch until Thursday morning. Patchy smoke, rain likely after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 85 and cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, patchy smoke after 1 a.m., a low near 64 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. 

  Flood watch from 1 p.m. today until 2 a.m. overnight. Chance of rain mainly after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and hot today with a high near 90 and cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 61.

:  Flood watch from 1 p.m. today until 2 a.m. overnight. Chance of rain mainly after 1 p.m., otherwise partly sunny today with a high near 85 and cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 62.

Mostly sunny today with a high near 89 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph. Rain likely overnight with a low near 62 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. 

   Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 85 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with rain likely, a low near 63 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 91 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph. Cloudy overnight with rain likely, a low near 62 and wind gusts as high as 18 mph.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 89 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 62.

  Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 88 and cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 63.

  Flood watch until Thursday morning. Patchy smoke, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 90 and cloudy overnight with rain likely, patchy smoke before 10 p.m., a low near 61 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

   Chance of rain after 3 p.m., becoming cloudy today with a high near 84 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before midnight and a low near 60.

  Chance of rain after noon, increasing clouds today with a high near 78 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 56.

   Chance of rain after 3 p.m., mostly sunny and hot today with a high near 90 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 59.

  Slight chance of rain, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 83 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 59.

  Slight chance of rain, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 84 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 57. 

   Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 89 and mostly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain and a low near 53.

Daycap 7 22 26

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, July 22, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Montana grizzly advocates say it should be mandatory for hunters and trappers to carry bear spray in grizzly country — a move they say will make people safer and save bears from being shot.

A coalition of 19 Montana organizations and 46 individuals Tuesday submitted a petition to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission to require carrying bear spray, much like hunters are required to wear fluorescent orange.

Similar petitions were filed in Wyoming and Idaho in 2019, but those efforts failed.

The push for mandatory bear spray touches on the debate over whether a firearm or bear spray is better for stopping a grizzly attack.

Another point of debate is how many grizzlies can be killed without imperiling bear recovery in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

While grizzlies are not hunted in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, it is legal to kill one in defense of human life.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Alternative to ‘Going for the Gun’"}]

One of the petitioners, Mike Bader of Missoula, said the intent is not to forbid hunters or trappers from also carrying handguns for bear defense if they choose.

But making bear spray mandatory would be no different than wildlife agencies requiring fluorescent orange or requiring that boaters wear life jackets, he told Cowboy State Daily.

“We’re looking at the facts of the matter. And the fact is, hunting and trapping significantly increase your chances of having an encounter with a bear,” said Bader, a grizzly ecologist and former Yellowstone National Park ranger.

Trappers might use meat or other bait that can attract bears, he said. And hunters move stealthily, often through thick cover and at dawn and dusk.

Mandatory bear spray would give them “another alternative rather than going for the gun first” in case of a bear encounter gone bad, Bader said.

There has been a steady increase in the number of bears shot and killed by hunters claiming self-defense, he said.

That adds to the grizzly death toll, which could threaten bears’ full recovery in the Rocky Mountain West, he added.

An important element of full grizzly recovery is robust genetic exchange between subpopulations, such as the Greater Yellowstone population and Montana’s Northern Continental Divide grizzly population, Bader said.

Requiring bear spray would help protect grizzlies, but human safety should remain a priority, Bader said.

“Of course we want to stop bears from getting killed. But the primary thing, just like with hunter orange or life vests, is that it’s a public safety thing,” Bader said.

“All of the wildlife agencies encourage bear spray,” he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Game and Fish Stresses Education"}]

Petitions were filed in 2019 to mandate bear spray for hunters in Wyoming and Idaho, Kristin Combs, executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, told Cowboy State Daily.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The petitions were rejected, she said."}]

Then-Game and Fish Commission member Peter Dube said bear spray should be encouraged for anyone venturing into Wyoming’s backcountry.

However, “I don’t think it needs to be a requirement,” he said, according to notes from the commission’s July 19, 2019, meeting in Rock Springs.

Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that the department emphasizes education regarding safety in grizzly country and how to properly use bear spray.

“We have discussed this option (mandating bear spray) with our commission in the past and decided, rather than making it mandatory, that we would prioritize providing education and outreach, as well as providing free bear spray and training,” she said in a text message.

Mandating bear spray also isn’t something the Game and Fish Commission could have decided on its own. 

It would have required action by the Wyoming Legislature, Bruce added.

Game and Fish hosts bear safety seminars around Wyoming. Participants are invited to test their bear-spraying skills by going up against Robobear.

Robobear is a wheeled contraption with a facsimile of a bear mounted atop it that can reach speeds of 20 mph or more as it charges.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Won’t Fly With Hunters"}]

Guy Eastman of Cody has hunted numerous times in grizzly country and told Cowboy State Daily that he acknowledges the value of bear spray.

Even so, he doesn’t favor making it mandatory, and the idea “isn’t going to fly with the hunters,” said Eastman, who represents the third generation of the outdoor multimedia family.

“It’s one of those things that sounds good on paper. But the actual logistics of implementing that, monitoring it and babysitting people to carry it — that’s a whole other issue,” he said.

Also, even when hunters are carrying bear spray, they might see the rifle in their hands as the best first option if a grizzly charges them, Eastman said.

“You think you’re going to set your rifle down and reach for the bear spray? No. There’s going to be a ‘boom,’” he said.

Eastman added that he thinks the number of grizzlies killed defensively by hunters will never come close to the number killed by wildlife agencies for such things as attacking cattle.

Some argue that opening a hunting season for grizzlies in Wyoming wouldn’t affect human-bear conflicts. Others claim that it would make a difference by making grizzlies more fearful of humans.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Eastman takes the latter view."}]

"We’re not arguing over whether bears are going to die. Bears are going to get killed. We’re arguing over who is going to do it (hunters or wildlife agents),” he said.

Bruce recently told the Legislature’s Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee that Game and Fish agents are likely killing more grizzlies than hunters would during grizzly hunting seasons.

Griz bear spray 7 21 26

<title>Montana Grizzly Advocates Want Bear Spray Mandatory for Hunters, Trappers | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Grizzly advocates in Montana submitted a petition Tuesday to make bear spray mandatory for hunters like wearing fluorescent orange is now. Guy Eastman of Cody has hunted numerous times in grizzly country and said the idea “isn’t going to fly with hunters.”

Montana Grizzly Advocates Want Bear Spray Mandatory for Hunters, Trappers

Wildlife

While grizzlies might evoke the most fear among tourists visiting national parks in the Rocky Mountain West, it's actually elk they should be watching out for, according to an extensive study of wildlife attacks.

Researchers from the University of York in the UK studied records from 2010 to 2023 in Canada parks involving "aggressive encounters" between humans and elk, grizzlies, black bears, coyotes and mule deer.

The study, published in Frontiers in Conservation Science, found that elk were involved in 62% of the aggressive encounters, establishing a huge lead over all the other species.

Parks Canada wildlife management specialist David Gummer said that while tourists might regard elk as docile herbivores, they sometimes learn the hard way that isn't the case.

"Elk are massive, and they've got those hard hooves,

 he told Cowboy State Daily. "They can inflict serious damage with those stomps and kicks."

Common elk attack injuries include broken bones, lacerations and concussions, said Gummer, who helped collect data for the study.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Stay Back"}]

The study didn't delve into what factors might have contributed to the aggressive encounters, Gummer noted.

But going by what he's seen during his career, human-wildlife conflicts in Canada's national parks mirror those in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in Wyoming.

In most cases, trouble started when people get too close to wildlife, he said.

The safe-distance rules in Canada's parks are the same as those in Yellowstone and Grand Teton. Tourists are admonished to stay 30 meters — or about three bus lengths — away from elk, deer and moose, and 100 meters (roughly 100 yards) away from wolves and bears, Gummer said.

He also said that what counted as an aggressive encounter for the study didn't always entail a physical attack on a human.

"It might be evidence of the animal expressing its frustration (with people). The elk might be stomping its feet or racking its antlers on stuff nearby," Gummer said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Crowds, Plus Elk, Equal Trouble"}]

The prevalence of elk attacks doesn't necessarily mean that elk are any meaner than other wildlife, Gummer said. There might be more elk in crowded places, increasing the odds of things going badly with people.

Elk are drawn to greenery in developed parts of national parks, as well as golf courses and townsites, he said.

"They like open habitat where they can watch for threats,

 Gummer said. "Often, those are places with lots of green grass. Plus, the crowds might deter natural predators from coming in."

That's similar to situations in the United States, such as in Estes Park, Colorado, where herds of elk essentially take over the town during migrations to and from Rocky Mountain National Park.

Most of the aggressive encounters with elk happen during the fall or spring, he said.

During spring calving season, "cow elk are protective of their young," he added.

In the spring of 2024 in Estes Park, two children were hurt in separate incidents after cow elk perceived threats to their calves.

During the fall rut, or mating season, bull elk might not like people "getting too close to them, or getting between them and their potential mates," Gummer said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Keep 'Em Separated"}]

As park officials do in Wyoming, Parks Canada focuses mostly on the human side of the equation and tries to keep people and wildlife separated, Gummer said.

Usually, that entails constantly reminding tourists about the safe distances, he said.

In some places, fences are installed to keep elk and admiring crowds from making direct contact, Gummer said. Sometimes, wildlife officials haze elk away from crowded areas.

That might entail "rolling up on them in trucks," or wildlife agents getting out on foot and "making themselves look bigger" to spook elk away, he said.

In some cases, personnel will use paintball guns loaded with balls of chalk to drive elk away, he said.

They usually try shooting the ground near the elk, hoping the exploding chalk will scare them off, he said. In rare instances, they'll actually shoot the chalk balls directly at the elk.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"'Born And Raised Around People'"}]

Outside Grand Teton and Yellowstone, Wyoming elk are shy of people, said Ron Dean of Etna, who is retired from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, where he ran the elk feeding program for 33 years.

Even on elk feedgrounds, "if you jumped off that sled, they'd start headed to the mountains," Dean told Cowboy State Daily.

"I don't ever recall a situation of elk being aggressive at a feedground," he said.

As Dean sees it, that's probably because Wyoming's elk are hunted across most of their range, so they've developed a wariness toward humans.

He recalled that once during a vacation to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, he noticed that the elk there had a different attitude.

"Especially those bull elk, during the rut, they were mean," he said.

Any animals that "were born and raised around people," such as town deer in some Wyoming communities, can be more aggressive than those that live out in the wild and are hunted, he said.

There was an example of that in Evanston in 2022, when a woman was hospitalized after being gored by a buck mule deer in her driveway.

Aggressive elk near Mammoth Wyoming Keith Crowley via Alamy 7 21 26

<title>Study: In Tourist Areas, Aggressive Elk Attack Far More People Than Grizzly Bears | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Aggressive elk attack far more people than grizzlies, black bears, coyotes and mule deer — especially in tourist areas, according to an extensive study. Elk "can inflict serious damage with those stomps and kicks,” said a wildlife specialist.

Study: In Tourist Areas, Aggressive Elk Attack Far More People Than Grizzly Bears

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Jory Thomas, 14, was absent-mindedly flipping loops with a rope while visiting his grandparents' campground on the Yellowstone River over the Fourth of July weekend when he heard someone start screaming for help.

Within seconds, the Montana ranch kid emptied his pockets, splashed across a side channel and waded chest-deep into the river.

[{"type":"text","text":"Then he did something he'd spent the past year practicing on calves."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"This time, he roped a drowning man."}]

The July 5 rescue unfolded so quickly that by the time the first Sweet Grass County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived three minutes after Jory's father called 911, everyone was already safely on shore.

"My opinion, Jory saved the individual's life, 100%," Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg told Cowboy State Daily. "Had Jory not acted, I believe the chances of this individual not making it to shore were very slim.”'

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Boat Hits A Bridge"}]

The Thomas family lives on a ranch about a dozen miles outside Big Timber, directly across from a campground where Jory's grandparents had been staying for the week.

Jory wandered over to visit with his parents and grandparents that afternoon, a rope already in his hand as he casually practiced throwing loops.

"All of a sudden he heard some yells for help," Jory's father, Jase Thomas, told Cowboy State Daily.

A boat had struck a bridge pillar, throwing its occupants into the Yellowstone River.

Three people fell in, but only two managed to get out, leaving one person alone in the swift current, desperately clinging to a cooler.

[{"type":"text","text":"Jory didn't hesitate."}]

Somehow, said his father, he convinced the drowning man to let go of the cooler. Then he threw the rope, catching the man around the neck and one arm. 

Jory and another bystander then pulled the man safely to shore before emergency responders arrived. 

In the moment, Jory didn’t think about any potential danger to himself, he just acted on instinct, the teen told KTVQ television in Billings, Montana, which first 

"This current was pretty fast then, and he was moving pretty quickly," he told the outlet. "Only thing I could focus on was helping him get out of the water because I didn't want to see anyone go in front of me.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Let Me Have My Son Back'"}]

Jory's father has spent three decades on the Big Timber Volunteer Fire Department and immediately called 911.

Dispatch records show the call came in at 5:39 p.m. A deputy arrived just three minutes later and reported everyone was already out of the water. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Watching the rescue unfold wasn't easy for the elder Thomas. "}]

He knows that stretch of river, and that it becomes more dangerous just downstream, where swift current, deep holes and logjams create deadly hazards.

"My biggest concern was to let me have my son back," he said before taking a long pause, reflecting on the potential for Jory to also get caught up in the current.

"He understands water, but I don't think he understands what could happen,” Jase said. "I mean, he does, but he had one thing in mind, which is great, and he got it done." 

Jase believes the man his son rescued likely wouldn't have survived much longer.

[{"type":"text","text":"Sheriff Ronneberg agrees."}]

"I'm not sure how close the individual was to being 'lost,' but in my experience such things happen faster than you might guess they can," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'He Loves Roping' "}]

Although the rescue looked almost unbelievable, it wasn't blind luck. Jory has spent the past year immersing himself in roping.

He practices on roping dummies in his spare time and started roping calves from horseback during local brandings, his father said.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"He's always had a rope,\" Jase said. \"He loves roping.\" "}]

Outside of ranch work, he's an avid hunter and is spending this week showing a steer and a pig at the county fair. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'That's Just Who He Is'"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"To his family, the rescue wasn't entirely surprising."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Jase said his son has always been the first person to help someone else."}]

"We'll be in town at the grocery store, and you'll see an elderly person," he said. "They can't pack the groceries, and he never says a word. He goes over and gets their groceries and packs them out. That's just who he is." 

Ronneberg said the rescue is a reminder that courage often appears in ordinary moments.

"Jory saw another in trouble and acted, not for himself but for another," Ronneberg said. "He didn't pull out a phone, but a lariat. He didn't watch what was happening but intervened."

"Jory is a lesson for all of us in this day and age and showed us what is courageous and right.”

Montana lasso teen 7 21 26

<title>14-Year-Old Ranch Kid Ropes Drowning Man On Yellowstone River, Saves Life | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 14-year-old ranch kid from Big Timber, Montana, had a rope in his hand when cries for help erupted from the Yellowstone River. He sprinted into the water, threw one loop and caught a struggling man around the arm and neck, pulling him safely to shore.

14-Year-Old Ranch Kid Ropes Drowning Man On Yellowstone River, Saves Life

Crime & Courts

Courts

 inside a Rock Springs home as a many allegedly held a woman captive for days and threatened to murder her cat is now headed for trial.

Jake Thomas Canestrini, 24, pleaded not guilty last week in Sweetwater County District Court to a string of felony charges accusing him of holding his girlfriend captive while repeatedly beating, strangling and torturing her with a razor blade, a kitchen fork and a knife.

The not guilty pleas came one week after a judge found there was enough evidence at a preliminary hearing to send the case to district court.

The allegations first surfaced in June after the woman escaped the home and told police she had survived days of escalating violence that left her afraid for her life.  

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How It Started "}]

The woman told investigators the abuse began May 30, shortly after her parents left town.

She and Canestrini had been dating for about three years and were living together at her parents' Rock Springs home.

Not long after they were alone, she said Canestrini threw her to the ground several times and refused to let her leave, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in his case.

"Every time she tried to get up and run, the woman said, Canestrini would yank her by the hair to keep her down," Rock Springs Police Officer Tiffany Harris wrote in her affidavit.

On June 2, Canestrini allegedly called the woman's employer himself and told them she would not be coming to work.

The woman told investigators every attempt to resist or escape only brought more violence.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Razor Blade, Fork And Knife"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The allegations became increasingly disturbing as the days went on."}]

Court records allege Canestrini used a razor blade to cut the woman's thighs, hips, stomach and arm. She also reported being stabbed in the upper back and buttock with a kitchen fork.

She told investigators that during one confrontation, Canestrini allegedly pressed a kitchen knife against her throat.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I will f***ing murder you,\" he allegedly told her."}]

The woman reportedly told police he also said, "I will murder your cat. I will murder your f***ing family if you get the cops involved. I will wait 20 years so I can kill you,” the affidavit says.

The woman says she was strangled multiple times during the ordeal, telling investigators there were moments she couldn't breathe and believed she was going to die.

A Rock Springs man accused of holding his girlfriend captive for days while torturing her has pleaded not guilty. Court records allege he warned her: "I will murder your cat. I will murder your family if you get the cops involved."

Daily Smile: Friday, October 7, 2022

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