Daily Darwin

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

<title>Daily Darwin: Thursday, December 29, 2022 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Not likely a positive outcome here...

Daily Darwin: Thursday, December 29, 2022

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, June 4th.  I’m Mac Watson

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More than 32 years after her body was found along I-80, the woman known as “Shafter Jane Doe” has been identified, officials announced Thursday. Cowboy State Daily’s Jen Kocher reports Mary Alexander’s nude body was posed on the ground, arms extended to either side in the shape of a cross.

“Nobody reported her missing, because her family, she was a free spirit, so she was, they thought, laid on the side of the road for about seven days until she was found. So that was in 1993 And today the Elko County Sheriff's Office announced that they have identified her after 32 years. Her name is Mary Alexander, and she was a German immigrant, she moved to California in about 72 and she left home about 18 or 19. There was a lot of emotion in the room when the investigators announced her identity. These guys have been working on it for decades, and this is a huge story. In that, she's thought to be one of the nine victims in what's called the Great Basin murders, which took place between 1983 and 1997.”

Elko authorities announced Alexander’s killer as Roger Durkee of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Investigators were getting ready to fly out to Wisconsin with an arrest warrant to take him into custody, when they discovered he had already passed away in November of 2025.

The transgender Laramie resident who protested Wyoming’s cross-sex access ban for public bathrooms at the Capitol last summer is now waging a self-defense argument in a felony assault case. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Rihanna Kelver says he didn’t go looking for a confrontation. 

“Kelver was charged in September with aggravated assault, possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intents, and interference with a peace officer, so that's two felonies and one misdemeanor. That case got knocked down to two misdemeanors at some point, like November, and there were negotiations underway where the prosecutor and the defense were trying to figure out what sentencing was appropriate, and the court file indicates that fell apart, and the prosecutor ratcheted back up to the two felonies and the one misdemeanor, and it's now on the level of the felony court.”

 for using the women’s bathroom in the Wyoming Capitol when a new state law activated banning the practice. 

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A Torrington family says the Goshen County Sheriff’s Office told them a suspect turned himself in for shooting their Rottweilers, whose mutilated bodies were found in the North Platte River. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that the sheriff’s office confirms there is a suspect in the case who has not been identified.

“On Wednesday morning, Angelica Garcia learned from police that a suspect had come forward and turned himself in. However, the Goshen County Sheriff, Corey Fleener, said that they are keeping his identity private for now because it's a public safety concern. The suspect is not currently in custody, and they have not formally been charged as of Wednesday afternoon. An organization out of Washington, DC, is offering a $2,500 reward for anyone who has information that will help convict the person responsible for what they see as an unlawful killing of these dogs.”

The president of the Animal Wellness Action, Wayne Pacelli, tells Cowboy State Daily that  the reason the group became interested in this case is because of the well-studied link between animal cruelty and broader patterns of domestic violence.

Laramie doesn’t have any plans for data centers, but that didn't stop locals Tuesday calling for a permanent moratorium on them.  Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that because of resident’s concerns, the mayor is taking action.

“One gentleman suggested that the council consider a permanent moratorium on data centers. Mayor Sharon Cumby told me that they are planning to now fast-track a joint session between city council and county commissioners to talk about what you know if data center developers come in asking for proposals the city and county come together to have a very clear set of guidelines or procedure to answer those questions.”

Laramie city staff is compiling information that will explore the scope and ramifications of data centers and Mayor Sharon Cumbie said she wants to make sure that her staff has adequate time to thoroughly gather the latest information, so the joint groups are well informed when they come together.

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I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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An Evansville man accused of not returning to a Casper halfway house after work faces more charges for allegedly breaking into people’s homes. He “grabbed a container of orange juice from the fridge” when confronted by a frightened woman at one house.

“She called 911 and said, ‘I don't know where he went, but there was a guy that came into my house and took orange juice.’ This guy, before he left, said, ‘Yeah, I've been staying at your trailer in the backyard.’ Then, about an hour later, they get another call from a woman who sees a guy who is apparently drunk or something walking down an alley. Police go there and find the man that matches the description from the other residences, they start talking to him and understand that, yeah, he's the guy that took the orange juice.”

Court documents show Maheu’s renewed encounter with the court system began with his failing to return to the halfway house facility by midnight May 25th following a shift at the Outback Steakhouse in Casper.

Despite huge storms in southern Wyoming, May was Jekyll and Hyde, either exceeding or falling short of moisture expectations — with much of the state still in drought. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports meteorologist Don Day says  some towns in Wyoming are dry as a bone.

“In some places, like Buffalo, they got less than 30% of their historical average for precipitation in the month of May, that's the seventh consecutive month of below average, below average monthly precipitation in Wyoming. There is a chance that June and July could be more wet as we get into an El Nino, and the North American monsoon begins to form, but unfortunately it's very rare for June or July to turn around a drought situation.”

After the warmest, driest winter on record for areas across Wyoming, experts 

going into May ranging anywhere from “just OK” to “basically horrible."

The Wyoming Department of Education warned lawmakers this week that artificial intelligence is coming, so students should receive training outside of Facebook and Instagram. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that “The job of a school is to create real intelligence,” said Rep. Ocean Andrew.

“The person who works in this area for Sheridan County School District number 1 said, ‘Yeah, we just, we just work on guidance because it's more flexible, more malleable, urge against plagiarism, urge against surveillance, urge against bad topics like that, talk about AIs have biases and can hallucinate, and we just try to teach our people how to warn and safeguard against these things.’”

The committee ultimately didn’t draft legislation during its Tuesday meeting, but questioned the department on next steps.

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As Yellowstone buzzed with tourists and other bears were caught up in courtship, a black bear apparently decided he’d had enough and zonked out by the roadside near Tower Junction. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that the bear was out so hard, some people worried that it was dead.

“This black bear that's just, just off the road, flopped over on his back, just absolutely passed out. Snooze and tongue hanging out. Other bears are running around, and you know, because it's courtship mating season, so other black bears are really up and active and chasing each other, and all that, but this one was just not. It's 80 degrees, I'm flopping on my back and taking a nap. The bear was passed out so hard, some folks were worried that it was dead, and he said a lot of other people never even saw it, they had their eyes up looking at the other bears that are running around. They didn't notice this one right in front of them, that was just, just zonk.”

Wildlife photographer Corey Pettis tells Cowboy State Daily 

 has been getting plenty of attention in Yellowstone National Park this spring, but around Tower Junction, it’s all about black bears.

And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 6 4 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Thursday, June 4, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Thursday's headlines include:
* Nude ‘Jane Doe’ Finally Identified
* Rottweiler Killer Suspect Turns Self In
* Trans Bathroom Protestor Faces Felony

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Thursday, June 4, 2026

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Mostly sunny to sunny in Wyoming on Thursday. Chance of afternoon rain. Partly cloudy to clear overnight with a chance of rain in a few locations. Highs mainly in the 70s and 80s. Lows from the mid 30s to mid 50s.

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Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 85 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 52 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

Sunny and breezy today with a high near 87 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 49 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

 Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 47 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

 Sunny today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 41.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 80 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph. Clear and breezy overnight with a low near 47 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.

Sunny and breezy today with a high near 74 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Clear and breezy overnight with a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

Sunny and breezy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Clear and breezy overnight with a low near 37 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

 Sunny today with a high near 74 and clear overnight with a low near 38.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 74 and wind gusts as high as 29 mph. Clear and breezy overnight with a low near 35 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph.

 Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Clear and breezy overnight with a low near 38 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Sunny today with a high near 74 and clear overnight with a low near 37.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 65 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 34.

Mostly sunny today with a high near 87 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 52 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph.

:  Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 77 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a slight chance of rain before 7 p.m., a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

  Mostly sunny today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 52 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

  Chance of rain, otherwise partly sunny and breezy today with a high near 77 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of rain mainly before 10 p.m., a low near 52 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph.

  Chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 78 and partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before 11 p.m. and a low near 46.

:  Chance of rain mainly after 2 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 75 and wind from 11-16 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain before 11 p.m., a low near 48 and wind from 12-17 mph.

Chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 47 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

  Chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 53 and wind gusts as high as 16 mph.

:  Chance of rain after noon, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph. Increasing clouds overnight with a chance of rain, a low near 47 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and hot today with a high near 91 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 57.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 89 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 54 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 85 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a slight chance of rain before midnight, a low near 50 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

  Chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 84 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 50.

  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

  Chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 87 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 53.

  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph.

  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 83 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 85 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

Daycap no play 6 4 26

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Thursday, June 4, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Thursday, June 4, 2026

Lubnau head 2

Tom Lubnau

Opinion

CSD Columnists

Election season is here, and the Freedom Caucus is touting its legislative achievements. 

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They won a lawsuit affirming that printing fabrications on campaign flyers was permissible political speech, passed a series of constitutionally suspect abortion bills, advanced redundant election-fraud measures addressing a problem that has never affected a Wyoming election outcome, and claimed credit for energy production levels driven by market forces, not legislation.

They also passed a significant property tax cut without backfilling the lost revenue — a decision that has squeezed local schools, hospitals, fire departments, and emergency services.

The school recalibration bill deserves special mention. It fundamentally restructured Wyoming's school finance formula — the framework that has governed education funding for two decades. School finances are impacted and student activities are going to have to be curtailed.

Backlash has been fierce enough that the Freedom Caucus has taken to the airwaves to defend it.

But the real story of this legislative session is not what passed. It is what failed — and what would have happened had the Freedom Caucus controlled the House, the Senate, and the Governor's office simultaneously.

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The Freedom Caucus pushed a bill cutting roughly $40 million — about 11 percent — from UW's block grant, while exempting the Colleges of Education and Agriculture from the cuts. That would have fallen disproportionately on the science, business, and law schools. The University would have been gutted.

A separate bill would have stripped $6 million from UW athletics, setting the program back a generation. The instability caused by this cut would have impacted Wyoming athletics for a generation.

Then there was the misnamed "Second Amendment Protection Act." 

The bill imposed a $50,000 civil penalty on any Wyoming law enforcement agency that cooperated with federal authorities on firearms-related enforcement. 

The practical consequence: an officer assisting a federal agent who asks a suspect to put down a weapon could trigger the penalty if the suspect turned out not to be the intended target.

Every sheriff in the state opposed the bill. It passed both chambers anyway — and was vetoed by the Governor. Officers and departments who put their lives on the line daily were spared financial ruin for split-second judgment calls.

Three energy bills died in the Senate after passing the House: a moratorium on new solar and wind projects, repeal of the three-year tax exemption for wind energy production, and elimination of condemnation rights for electric generation collector systems.

Whether one supports or opposes renewable energy, legislation that arbitrarily picks winners and losers increases political risk and discourages investment in Wyoming across the board.

The gloriously named, "Fifth Amendment Protection Act" — the Checkgate bill — failed in the Senate after a supporter distributed checks on the House floor to legislators who subsequently voted for the measure. 

The House found no impropriety. The Senate disagreed, and the bill died there. Institutional integrity, at least in one chamber, held.

A bill restricting state investment in companies with DEI programs died after analysis showed it would cost Wyoming's portfolio hundreds of millions of dollars in foregone returns. Writing ideological checks with the state's investment account turned out to be a bad idea even by purely financial standards.

A charge to purge libraries of so-called pedophiles collapsed for the simple reason that no evidence existed of any pedophile employed in a Wyoming library. Expect the issue to reappear in campaign mailers regardless.

State employee cost of living increases would have never happened.  In the debate about the increases, Rep. Trey Sherwood, D-Laramie commented “I know this is a huge dollar amount, “But our greatest asset is our people — the people who come to work every single day so passionate about what they do.”

Freedom Caucus stalwart, Rep. Ken Pendergraft, R-Sheridan, countered, “I would say our greatest asset is the taxpayer.”

I guess we’ll see how that comment shakes out with the voters.

Finally, the budget. The Freedom Caucus could not pass a budget in its first session controlling the House. In its second, it spent forty hours debating amendments only to have its conference committee surrender the entire House position to the Senate in fifteen minutes.

The Senate's version prevailed. Had the Freedom Caucus controlled both chambers, Wyoming would currently be operating under a disastrous budget.

When you vote this fall, remember the full record. Some of the most consequential work done in Cheyenne this session was the legislation that never became law.

If the Freedom Caucus takes control of the House, Senate and Governor’s office this session, which is their stated goal, Wyoming will be a vastly different place that it is now.

Be cautious that your vote is not a vote to burn down the state.

Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2004 to 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House. He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com

<title>Tom Lubnau: Freedom Caucus, What Did Not Happen Matters, Too | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Columnist Tom Lubnau writes, "If the Freedom Caucus takes control of the House, Senate and governor’s office this session, which is their goal, Wyoming will be a vastly different place. Be cautious that your vote is not a vote to burn down the state."

Tom Lubnau: Freedom Caucus, What Did Not Happen Matters, Too

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Darwin 6 4 26

<title>Daily Darwin: Thursday, June 4, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Never bring a guitar to a sheep fight…

Daily Darwin: Thursday, June 4, 2026

You Still Here

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Bonus vid 2 6 4 26

<title>Bonus Video 2: Thursday, June 4, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Can a tree stop a .50-caliber sniper rifle?

Bonus Video 2: Thursday, June 4, 2026

"You're about to be taken away from your safe space to get an ass-whoopin' from hell," as narrated by MMA announcer, Steve Inman.....

Daily Darwin: Thursday, December 29, 2022

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