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

<title>You Still Here? Thursday, November 24, 2022 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

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You Still Here? Thursday, November 24, 2022

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

In a Thursday meeting of the State Board of Land Commissioners, Secretary of State Chuck Gray nearly voted against giving Tri-State Generation and Transmission permission to use a 298-foot access road in rural central Wyoming after voicing concerns about whether the company would use the road to advance any wind, solar or data center projects. 

Tri-State is a wholesale power supplier serving eight electric cooperatives in Wyoming including High Plains Power, Carbon Power and Light and Big Horn Rural Electric Company.

Tri-State applied for a five-year, temporary-use permit for a 288-foot access road in remote Natrona County for $250 a year.

The elected officials on the State Board of Land Commissioners and the public have access to these applications at least a week before each meeting.

Gray announced at the Thursday meeting in Cheyenne that he would vote no on the permit because he didn’t know if the access road involved any data centers, wind or solar projects.

After a lively debate about supplying irrigation power to farmers, Gray reversed course and voted yes to approve the permit.

Tri-State told Cowboy State Daily after the meeting that its application isn't tied to any potential projects. 

It was for access renewal into an existing Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) substation, where Tri-State keeps equipment for operational and grid reliability purposes, "that from time to time requires routine maintenance," the company said.

That substation also abuts one of Tri-State's own substations, serving High Plains Power, the company said. 

[{"type":"text","text":"'Futile Call To Essentially Stifle Capitalism'"}]

Conversation at the Thursday meeting turned to Tri-State’s request for access via a 288-foot route.

Gray had asked administrative staff if applicants were associated with data centers, wind energy or solar projects. He told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that that “blanket” inquiry was due to his concerns that board members don’t have enough information.

Office of State Lands and Investments Director Stacia Berry said she’d reviewed the list for temporary-use permits. None appeared to be associated in any way with those projects, except for one unknown, she said.

“The only one I’d note is (the Tri-State application),” said Berry. “This is an access road. I can’t guarantee what all is associated with that access road.”

Berry said the office tried to contact Tri-State, but the company had no notice its access road application would come up as a standalone topic at the meeting.

[{"type":"text","text":"Gray asked to remove that application from the list."}]

State Auditor Krisi Racines granted his wish by moving the whole list without it.

“I’m going to vote no on this,” said Gray. “It might be fine. They (the office) reached out. They (Tri-State) didn’t respond. We don’t know.”

Gray said the board should “tighten things up here. I think it’s gotten too loose, and I’m going to be a no here.”

Gov. Mark Gordon noted that Tri-State is a significant power generator for multiple cooperatives that distribute power to Wyomingites.

Gray again said the board’s administrative office hadn’t heard back from Tri-State.

“I would just supplement that with, they’ve had about 35 minutes,” said Berry. “They didn’t anticipate needing to be present today.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Treasurer Curt Meier issued a warning."}]

“Impeding, you know, generation and power to me seems like a futile call to essentially stifle capitalism,” said Meier. “We need power in this state for economic development. Tri-State supplies power to practically every irrigator and farmer in the state.”

Meier warned of denying Tri-State access to power facilities “in this extreme drought area.”

[{"type":"text","text":"He shook his head. "}]

“I’m really grasping the utility of continuing this dialogue,” he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Gray changed course, saying he would probably vote for the access route."}]

“But I just asked a simple question: is this tied to wind or solar. And we can’t get an answer,” he said. “I just think it’s really disturbing, to me.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Meier countered."}]

“At no time I think in the last decade or even in the last 10 minutes have I heard that wind and solar is illegal,” said Meier. “And I think trying to manage our economy on political ideology instead of law is troubling to me.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Gordon said he wanted to get back on track."}]

Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder called for the vote. When the other board members voted aye, Gordon turned to Gray and asked if he was choosing to abstain from the vote.

Gray gestured and said something the livestream audio didn’t capture clearly.  

[{"type":"text","text":"“He’s voting aye,” said Gordon."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"'It Became Clearer'"}]

Gray told Cowboy State Daily in his Thursday email that he changed course because Berry indicated the project was probably not linked to wind, solar or data center projects. He also said Gordon has a tendency to hide the nature of board matters, and that's an ongoing problem. 

he lack of information provided to Board members about these proposed projects has been deeply disturbing to me," said Gray. "That is why today I just asked in a blanket fashion whether any of the dozens of proposed Temporary Use permits for road access had any nexus to a wind, solar, or data center project.

"It was very concerning to me when the Director and the Governor appeared to not even know if any of the Temporary Use permits had anything to do with wind, solar, or data centers."

He said he ultimately voted for the access permit because Berry indicated it probably wasn't connected to wind, solar, or data center projects. 

"Because it became clearer the easement had nothing to do with wind, solar, or data center with the Director’s modified comments, I decided to support it," he said. 

The board's administrative arm, the Office of State Lands and Investments, noted Thursday that board members have a week to review materials before the meetings, and are given opportunities to ask questions of OSLI personnel. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Gordon emphasized that also. "}]

, the governor added that Gray appeared unprepared and distracted by his phone in Thursday's meeting, falling short of what's expected of Wyoming elected officials. 

"Mr. Gray continues to show his inability to understand the issues before him and to work well with his colleagues," said Gordon. "The Secretary is sounding like a jackass in a tin barn."

Earlier in that meeting, the discussion turned to a 2.46-acre, 39-year easement request for which Enbridge Solar offered to pay a $56,235 one-time fee.

Gray asked the board to remove Enbridge’s application from a bigger list of easement applications by various companies.

Gordon asked the board three times if anyone would support Gray’s amendment. Silence followed.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Mr. Secretary, I’m sorry, that motion fails,” said Gordon."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Degenfelder urged thoughtfulness."}]

“I know discussion is on this Enbridge Solar, but I think we should be cognizant we’re talking about access only,” said Degenfelder. “So when we start prohibiting access, we get ourselves into trouble.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Gray said he’d be voting no on the easements consent list."}]

“It’s just really unfortunate we weren’t able to have a discussion on the Enbridge Solar piece separately,” said Gray. “It’s linked to the data center south of town.”

Chuck Gray Curt Meier and substation 8 6 26

<title>Gray Changes Mind On Power Station Access After Spat With Curt Meier | Cowboy State Daily</title>

After Curt Meier said of State Chuck Gray's announced vote to block Tri-State Generation's access to a power substation would “essentially stifle capitalism,” Gray changed his mind. They supply "power to practically every irrigator and farmer in the state," Meier said.

Gray Changes Mind On Power Station Access After Spat With Curt Meier

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Wildlife

A Yellowstone bull bison with a gigantic abscess on its right rear quarter probably isn’t suffering much pain and will likely survive, one of the county’s top bison ranchers says.

But the recovery process is going to be good, said Ken Klemm, past president and a lifelong member of the National Bison Association.

After seeing a photo of the bison, taken early Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley, Klemm said a gushing rupture of the abscess is imminent.

“It looks like a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff will come out of that one,” Klemm, who has managed some of the world’s largest bison ranches, told Cowboy State Daily.

The abscess probably formed around a wound, he said.

The bison rut, or mating season, is on in Yellowstone. The bull might have suffered a puncture during a fight with another bull, Klemm said.

Lauri Foster lives just outside of New York City and loves coming to Wyoming to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Early Wednesday, she was on a wildlife-viewing drive through the Lamar Valley when she spotted the bull sporting a huge, bulbous mass near its backside.

Foster works with horses and is familiar with injuries to large animals, so she knew what she saw on the bison must be something serious.

“I thought it had to be a hematoma or an abscess,” she told Cowboy State Daily.

Foster couldn’t see any visible cuts or sores that might indicate exactly where it was wounded, she said.

To keep safe, Foster stayed in her vehicle to photograph that bull and other bison.

The bulls were raising a ruckus as they competed for mating rights.

“They were headbutting each other and chasing each other down,” Foster said.

The bull with the abscess was taking a break, though she surmised he had probably been recently wounded in a fight.

She added that despite how hideous that abscess looked, the bull didn’t seem sick or weak.

“He was walking along normally,” she said.

The rut has made bull bison extra agitated lately. In the most dramatic incident, a bison flipped and seriously injured Washington state resident Carl Isom-McDaniel, 65, in July.

Foster said at one point the bull walked up the middle of the road and stopped directly in front of her vehicle, giving her the stink-eye.

“I was thinking, ‘this is a little intimidating,’” she said.

Bull elk are known for getting into epic battles once their rut starts, usually in September.

Bison take it to another level, Klemm said.

“They’re worse than elk. If the loser doesn’t get away, the other bull will kill him,” he said.

The National Park Service has a general policy of letting nature take its course with animals’ injuries.

Klemm said the bull with the super-sized abscess has a good chance of making it.

“The infection is just raging in there,” he said. "The immune system is keeping that bison from dying, just from walking around with that much infectious material in its body.

“I suspect it will burst fairly soon and he’ll get over it. Bison have unbelievably good immune systems for things like this.” 

Bison abcess 8 6 26

<title>Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A massive abscess on a Yellowstone bull bison’s right rear quarter likely is the result of an infected wound from a rut battle. When it ruptures, “a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff” will gush out, a top bison rancher says, adding the bison should be fine.

Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Around Wyoming

Legislature

Students in Lincoln County School District No. 1 will have to leave their smartphones, smartwatches and other internet-connected devices behind during the school day starting this fall — and those who repeatedly violate the rule could end up paying for it.

The district's board of trustees has adopted a Smart Device Policy for the 2026-27 school year that prohibits students from possessing smart devices on campus during school hours. 

Students caught violating the policy three times will face a $25 fine, a provision district leaders say is intended to change behavior rather than generate revenue.

School districts across the state are enacting smart-device policies after the Wyoming Legislature passed a bill earlier this year requiring the adoption of formal policies to address the possession and use of smart devices by students while on school grounds. 

However, district board chair Kristi Dearden said she is not aware of any other school districts whose policies include a fee for repeat offenders.

“In education, you have to be able to gain and keep students’ attention for them to learn,” said Shawn Rogers, principal of Kemmerer Junior-Senior High School. “When you’re competing with a cellphone, you’re going to lose every time.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Legislature Puts Districts in Charge"}]

The move comes as schools across the state consider how to monitor smart-device usage.

Campbell County School District in June approved a ban for K–8 students between opening and end-of-day bells, with high school students allowed to use their cellphones between class periods and during lunch.

Cody High School in Park County School District 6 also implemented a total ban.

Last year, Cowboy State Daily reported on 

a total ban implemented at Evanston High School

EHS English teacher Laura Clarito said the ban changed the attitudes of students.

“Since cellphones were disallowed, I have seen more engagement in coursework and more conversation during downtime,” Clarito said. “Kids aren't phone zombies now, they are humans.”

Both Rogers and Dearden said Lincoln County School District No. 1’s new policy is a direct result of the recent legislation.

“There was a need for it,” Rogers said. “We were really happy that our Legislature finally gave us something to go on. We feel like we battle with those phones so much it’s definitely a distraction.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The $25 Fee"}]

Rogers said school administrators and board members researched what other states were doing to implement smart-device policies. In Texas, they learned, some districts are imposing fines for policy violations.

As the Lincoln County district considered how to change behavior, leaders thought a fee on a third offense made sense.  

“On the third offense, the behavior’s not changing,” Rogers said. “We would hope that it doesn’t get to that point.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Student Council To Receive Money"}]

Dearden said any fines collected will be deposited into the district’s student council fund.

[{"type":"text","text":"Rogers said he hopes the council won’t see much money from this source."}]

“I’m hoping it’s not going to be that big of a deal,” Rogers said. “Even if the fund collects $300, that means 12 students pushed it to three offenses.”

[{"type":"text","text":"That, he said, would signal a larger problem."}]

“I would hope that parents would make kids pay their own fine if it gets to that level,” he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Community Feedback"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The policy has generated spirited debate within the community."}]

Discussions on social media revealed sharply divided opinions, though no one spoke directly to Cowboy State Daily when asked to share their thoughts.

Some argued a ban on smart devices violated personal property rights. Others questioned how students would contact their parents in an emergency such as a shooting.

Others said the school office should be in charge of communicating with parents as necessary. Many supported the policy, saying students have the right to an education, not a right to a cellphone.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to is in support of it,” Rogers said, “though I’m not naïve enough to believe there aren’t naysayers.”

Dearden said no community members have spoken publicly at board meetings about the policy. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Win Back Education’"}]

The Lincoln County district’s policy points to research showing the mere presence of a cellphone reduces cognitive capacity.

 suggesting that banning smartphones in schools has a positive impact. She also shared a 

study from the National Library of Medicine

 that explored the impact of smartphone use on a student’s understanding of course material and psychological well-being in the classroom.

The policy declares Kemmerer Junior-Senior High School a “smart device free zone” from the first bell to the final bell.

It defines a smart device as “any portable electronic tool capable of connecting to external networks (including but not limited to Wi-Fi, cellular data or Bluetooth) or possessing independent processing power to store, record, or transmit data. This includes, but is not limited to, cellular phones, smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, e-readers, handheld gaming consoles, and wearable technology.”

Students can leave their devices in a locked vehicle or place them in a secure lockbox at the front office before school begins.

A first violation results in confiscation of a device until the end of the school day. A second offense requires a parent or guardian to retrieve it from the school.

[{"type":"text","text":"A third violation carries the $25 fine."}]

The policy also includes what administrators call a "burner device" provision. Students who place a dummy or decoy phone in a lockbox while secretly keeping their primary device will automatically receive a third offense.

With the new school year looming, administrators are optimistic that the policy will produce positive results.

[{"type":"text","text":"We call it “win back education,” Rogers said."}]

Kemmerer high and cellphone 8 6 26

<title>Lincoln County Students Face $25 Fines If They Keep Bringing Phones To School | Cowboy State Daily</title>

If stern warnings and rules won’t keep kids from bringing their cellphones and devices to school, maybe cash fines will get their attention. That’s the idea behind a new Lincoln County rule that will fine students $25 if they keep bringing them to school.

Lincoln County Students Face $25 Fines If They Keep Bringing Phones To School

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

Andrew Rossi

Wyoming Life

Wyomingites and Montanans might want to check their milk cartons. There might be black mold inside.

The state of Montana is grappling with a recent surge of reports of black mold on cartons and prematurely spoiled milk from a dairy that also stocks shelves in northwest Wyoming.

It’s reached a point that the Montana Department of Livestock issued a notice of proposed license suspension to the Meadow Gold Dairy Products factory in Billings on Friday, citing “repeated failures to meet Pasteurized Milk Ordinance standards.” 

Meadow Gold received the notice on Tuesday and had 48 hours to respond, according to reports. 

What is this mysterious black mold, and will it impact Wyoming, if it hasn’t already?

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Smelled Spoiled"}]

Billings resident Saire Mackay bought a 64-ounce jug of Meadow Gold 2% milk from an Albertsons on July 12. The Montana "Sell By" date was July 18 and the Wyoming date was July 25, but things got funky inside the carton before then.

“We noticed it was getting kind of weird looking,” Mackay told Cowboy State Daily. “We were actually going to have some until my husband smelled it, and we saw the black ring on the outside, just like the ones on TV.”

Mackay’s husband, Doug, said the milk “didn’t smell real bad, but I wasn’t going to drink it by the way it smelled.”

By then, Montana news outlets were reporting several similar incidents of black mold in milk cartons in the Billings area.

“Channel 2 News interviewed a mom with grade-school age kids,” Mackay said. “She was showing her carton on TV, and said her kids spat out the milk as soon as they tasted it.”

Meadow Gold Dairy Products released a statement, saying the company “implemented corrective actions to address the complaints and observations made by the Montana Department of Livestock.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Livestock has issued a Notice of Proposed License Suspension and Opportunity for Hearing to DFA Dairy Brands Fluid, LLC, which does business as Meadow Gold.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What Is It?"}]

While there have been multiple reports about black mold, no explanation has been given. 

 published in The Journal of Dairy Science might have the answer.

In the short communication, "Pseudomonas azotoformans causes gray discoloration in HTST fluid milk,” scientists researched Pseudomonas, a well-known dairy product spoilage organism.

They determined that the gram-negative bacterium, which grows well in refrigeration conditions, can cause color defects in the form of black or grey discoloration, leading to “flavor, odor, and texture defects” in refrigerated milk, pasteurized and unpasteurized, in partially filled containers.

“The defect would likely remain undetected in unopened containers (representing the samples typically used for shelf-life testing by the dairy industry) but may be detected by consumers after partial use of the milk,” the paper reads.

Neither the Montana Department of Livestock nor Meadow Gold Dairy Products have confirmed if the black mold is the result of widespread Pseudomonas contamination.

As of Wednesday, the Department of Livestock has received “no credible reports of illness” associated with the milk or the mold.

“We would like to reiterate there is no indication the issues being reported are attributable to source dairies,” Riley Meredith, Department of Livestock public relations officer, said in a statement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Wyoming-Bound?"}]

So far, the reports of moldy milk have been concentrated in southeast Montana. Meadow Gold also distributes products in northwest Wyoming, raising concerns the impact might be affecting a much larger population.

Ben Schornak, an inspector specialist with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture (WDA), said he wasn’t aware of any reports of moldy milk cartons in the state.

“From the information coming out of Billings, it looks like they’re working on shutting (Meadow Gold) down,” he said. “If a recall is issued, which means that that product made it down into Wyoming, then we have particular inspectors that deal with recall areas.”

In the event of a Meadow Gold milk recall, Schornak said WDA inspectors will go to any place in Wyoming where that milk has been shipped and pull it from the shelves. However, that is contingent on the company or the State of Montana issuing the recall.

“Per Montana’s state regulations, they’re going to have to issue it,” he said. “We won’t enact (our protocols) until we receive the recall from either the state or the business.”

Moldy milk might have already reached Wyoming. Cowboy State Daily confirmed that a carton of moldy milk was purchased from an Albertsons in Cody in mid-July.

The carton had the same Montana and Wyoming Sell By dates as those reported in the Billings area, but it was inside a 64-ounce carton of chocolate milk distributed by Lucerne Milk, not Meadow Gold.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Now What?"}]

When Mackay learned there were multiple reports of moldy milk cartons, she sent photos of her carton to the Montana Department of Livestock and Dairy Farmers of America, the national milk marketing cooperative headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas.

“I didn’t hear back from the livestock board, but I got an email from Dairy Farmers of America asking me to please call them,” she said. “They were very interested. When I told them it had been on the news in Billings, and a lot of people were talking about it, they were very surprised to hear that.”

Mackay hasn’t had any additional contact with Dairy Farmers of America since that call. She wasn’t given any information or instruction about the moldy milk cartons.

“I’ve also heard that (the mold) showed up in milk cartons from other brands,” she said. “I can't speak to that, but I have heard that.”

Schornak reaffirmed he wasn’t aware of any reports of moldy milk cartons in Wyoming but said that would “be a new one” for the Wyoming Department of Agriculture.

“The general complaints we get are for food sickness and sanitary conditions, not this,” he said.

If anyone buys a milk carton that develops the black mold, Schornak encouraged them to contact the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and make a report.

“They can do it via email, on our website, or by calling our main office,” he said. “We will take the report, and either an inspector will be sent out within 48 hours, or we will investigate the complaint, find out the facts, and do an inspection accordingly.”

As of Thursday, Meadow Gold Billings hadn’t stopped operations, and neither the company nor the State of Montana has issued a recall.

If either of these scenarios arises, Schornak assured Wyomingites the Department of Agriculture will respond promptly. 

"If they send out a recall, that will come to us, and we will enact our recall protocols and get it removed from the facilities it was shipped to," he said.

The Montana Department of Livestock said it could take action against Meadow Gold Dairy Products of Billings after "black mold" in cartons and prematurely spoiled milk were reported. Meadow Gold also stocks shelves in northwest Wyoming.

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