One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"If there's one thing I know how to do, it's pull out tree stumps..."}]

One more for 4 11 23

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

<title>One More For The Road: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

If there's one thing I know how to do, it's pull out a tree stump...

One More For The Road: Tuesday, April 11, 2023

 If there's one thing I know how to do, it's pull out tree stumps...

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Wednesday, June 17th.  I’m Mac Watson

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A federal judge in Montana has thrown out more than 1.5 million acres of Wyoming oil and gas leases sold under the Trump administration. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that’s forced the state to return $50 million in payments. 

“Why is this case involving one and a half million acres of Wyoming oil and gas leases being heard in Montana and the and the answer, according to the oil and gas industry here in Wyoming, that I talked to, is these environmentalists have discovered a friendly judge in Montana who has ruled against oil and gas now three times on this issue, and so they're venue shopping. So, this group waited like years before bringing this suit, and finally they bring this suit. Well, some of these oil and gas leases have already been developed and are producing oil. They waited that long that some of these are already producing oil. It's enormously destructive to the industry.” 

The decision, issued by Chief Judge Brian Morris out of the U.S. District Court of Montana on June 12th, is sparking outrage in the oil and gas community. It’s the third time the Obama appointee has ruled against the U.S. Department of the Interior over the protection of sage-grouse habitat.

Gov. Mark Gordon on Tuesday sued his tax board for refusing to recognize a 4% limit on property tax increases. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the governor says the board exceeded its law-given authority, and the executive branch's job is just to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”

“The Wyoming Board of Equalization last week told they issued a public report that was also kind of notice to assessors, like, hey, this 4% cap on property tax increases from year to year looks unconstitutional. It's got these crazy results, and we're not going to certify your tax values if that's in the calculation. and so assessors were scrambling last week, like, how do we deal with this? Whom do we obey, state law or the board that has the duty to certify the taxes? And so Governor Gordon on Tuesday was like, let's just ask a court to settle this, so he filed a motion in court for the court to block the board's non-certification, and for the court to settle the issue. The constitutional dispute.”

Gov. Gordon also asked the court to block the actions of the State Board of Equalization.

With its stark white feathers and red eyes, what Audubon Rockies says looks like a rare 1-in-30,000 albino robin has been hanging out in the yard of a Cheyenne-area couple. Cowboy State Daily’s Kolby Fedore reports that the homeowner says “It's following its mother around and begging for food.”

“Heather Wiseman lives outside of Cheyenne. She says by day she's an X-ray technician, and at night she's become something of an amateur bird watcher, so she was really excited when she came home and she found a white robin, which has since been confirmed to be an albino bird. According to Zach Hutchinson, the community science director with Audubon of the Rockies, when albinism shows up in birds like robins, they will be all white or partially white, but the key is that you'll notice they have pink eyes, and in this Robins case, it does have those signs.”

Heather and Eric Wiseman tell Cowboy State Daily that they’ve been keeping tabs on a snow-white fledgling robin with pink-red eyes since it first appeared in their yard June 6th.

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Wyoming's attorney general on Tuesday said he appointed two prosecutors to investigate whether Secretary of State Chuck Gray violated any laws by releasing sensitive voter data to the federal government. But Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that neither decided to charge Gray with a crime.

“George Powers filed a writ of mandamus, telling the court, hey, I don't think the AG is doing what he's supposed to be doing here. Can you make him, can you get a special prosecutor, High Court, and get this investigation going? Well, the AG fired back Tuesday, saying we already got two special prosecutors, and neither of them wants to charge Chuck Gray. So the high court now can decide whether George Power's writ of mandamus petition is moot, meaning irrelevant, and I suppose George Powers can look at his options.”

In April, George Powers, a semi-retired attorney based in Cheyenne, filed an official complaint with the AG’s office accusing Gray of violating a state election law that makes data like the kind Gray reportedly released – voters’ partial Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers – confidential.

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

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

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Rail Tie, one of Wyoming’s most controversial wind projects, got a new five-year extension from Albany County on Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that the lone commissioner who voted against the extension says the company is “fishing to keep the project alive.” 

“The Albany County commissioners voted two to one today to extend a permit for work on the Rail Tie wind project south of Laramie. The project has been controversial, it's on 26,000 acres and would generate 504 megawatts of wind energy. However, it's another big wind project. There are opponents arguing that it would play into this wind wall that we've been hearing about, the Wyoming wind wall, where all these big wind projects are connecting to each other in southeastern Wyoming, and kind of creating this massive wind farm.”

The vote allows developers to continue work on the 504-megawatt facility proposed on roughly 26,000 acres about 15 miles south of Laramie. 

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Hundreds of swallows are swarming and nesting in Angie Pitts' lean-to in Mountain View. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that she didn't mind until she saw the bird droppings covering her vehicles, which she describes as “gross.”

“In two weeks, it looks like all of her vehicles have been painted with white polka dots, and she's not particularly happy about it. Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do. One thing she has been told to do, but has refused to – which is wise – because it's illegal, is to pull out the .22 and deal with the swallows that way. And while that's a very Wyoming solution to the problem, it is illegal to shoot swallows or do anything to disturb them while they're nesting, both by state and federal law.”

When Pitts pulled out her GMC pickup, she was “disgusted” by the number of bird droppings. Her red truck was so thoroughly covered, from hood to tailgate, that it looked as if she had painted it with white polka dots, but was quickly cleaned up with soap, water, and a pressure washer.

After years of watching lawn chairs and coolers appear earlier and earlier along the WYO Rodeo parade route, the Sheridan City Council on Monday banned people claiming spots too early. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports the police chief says this has been a problem for years.

“Police Chief Travis Kultiska has been asking residents for years to please set up just one day before the parade, rather than, you know, three or four days before, and he said rather than people complying, the problem seemed to get worse, where people were showing up earlier to claim their spots, and more people were showing up, so he felt like he had no choice but to approach the city council and ask for a resolution.”

The new rule prohibits anyone from placing personal property on public sidewalks, streets or alleyways along the parade route before 5 p.m. the day before the parade unless they receive authorization from the city.

A nonprofit in Mills, Wyoming, is training dogs to interrupt military veterans’ PTSD attacks. Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports that veteran Carol Salveson says after she lost her Green Beret son to suicide, she poured herself into a new mission. 

“She's a former Air Force, a veteran Air Force weather person, but when her son, a Green Beret, committed suicide, she decided she was going to train dogs. She just felt like I'm going to do this, and she started doing it on her own to help veterans. And then she found this organization, Project Kenny, which was started on the West Coast, and now it's centered in Casper, and she is their dog trainer, certified dog trainer.”

Salveson, who has always been a dog person, said her son also loved dogs and even when deployed to Afghanistan would find a feral dog to adopt. 

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

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

News image 6 17 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, June 17, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wednesday's headlines include:
* Judge Tosses Wyoming Oil Leases
* Prosecutors Won’t Charge Chuck Gray
* Oh The Humanity! Bird Poop Everywhere!

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Coy Knobel

Don Day Weather

Sunny in most of Wyoming on Wednesday, windy, fire danger in some areas. Mix of cloudy and clear overnight and breezy. Highs mainly in the 70s to the low 80s. Lows mainly in the 40s.

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Sunny and breezy today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph.

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 47 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.

 Red flag fire warning until 10 p.m. tonight. Sunny and breezy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

 Sunny and breezy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 36 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 44 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 37 mph.

Sunny and windy today with a high near 77 and wind gusts as high as 44 mph. Mostly clear and windy overnight with a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 41 mph.

Sunny and breezy today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 38 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph.

 Sunny and breezy today with a high near 77 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 41 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 78 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

 Sunny and windy today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 38 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 37 mph.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 40 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park

:  Sunny today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 34 and wind gusts as high as 25 mph.

Sunny and breezy today with a high near 80 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Increasing clouds and breezy overnight with a low near 49 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

:  Increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 34 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 47 and wind gusts as high as 37 mph.

  Increasing clouds and breezy today with a high near 78 and wind gusts as high as 36 mph. Mostly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 48 and wind gusts as high as 34 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Partly cloudy and windy overnight with a slight chance of rain before 7 p.m., a low near 49 and wind gusts as high as 39 mph.

  Sunny today with a high near 72 and wind gusts as high as 41 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 44 and wind from 11-16 mph.

:  Sunny today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph. Mostly cloudy overnight with a low near 44.

Sunny and windy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 41 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 41 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 49 and wind gusts as high as 37 mph.

:  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 65 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph.

  Red flag fire warning until 10 p.m. tonight. Sunny and breezy today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 51 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph.

  Red flag fire warning until 10 p.m. tonight. Sunny and breezy today with a high near 78 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 44 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph.

  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 38 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 46 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph.

  Red flag fire warning until 10 p.m. tonight. Sunny and breezy today with a high near 84 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 79 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

  Red flag fire warning until 10 p.m. tonight. Sunny and windy today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 50 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 47 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 80 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Mostly clear and windy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 81 and wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 44 and wind gusts as high as 40 mph.

  Sunny and windy today with a high near 82 and wind gusts as high as 34 mph. Mostly clear and windy overnight with a low near 42 and wind gusts as high as 32 mph.

Daycap 6 17 26

<title>Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, June 17, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Don Day's Wyoming Weather Forecast: Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Energy

A federal judge in Montana has thrown out more than 1.5 million acres of Wyoming oil and gas leases sold under the Trump administration, a sweeping ruling that Wyoming attorneys said will force the state to return $50 million in payments and imperil $180 million in future revenue for schools and other public services. 

The ruling also affects an additional 185,000 acres of oil and gas leases in Montana and the Dakotas.

The decision, issued by Chief Judge Brian Morris out of the U.S. District Court of Montana on June 12, is sparking outrage in the oil and gas community. It’s the third time Morris, an Obama appointee, has ruled against the U.S. Department of the Interior over the protection of sage-grouse habitat.

“The environmental group found a sympathetic venue in Montana to file their case and ultimately hurt Wyoming,” oil and gas landman Steve Degenfelder told Cowboy State Daily. “I am hopeful the State of Wyoming will appeal this decision with everything they have. Other than a successful appeal, it’s my understanding we would need an act of Congress to overturn this injustice. I wonder how Montana would feel if a Wyoming judge hurt their state to this magnitude?”

Ryan McConnaughey, with the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, said it’s just the latest example of how activists are misusing the judicial system to attack industries they dislike.

“Anti-oil and natural gas activists have a sympathetic ear in Montana, which is why they continuously file cases there,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “The hard truth is that until Congress steps in to restore the original intent of laws like NEPA and the Endangered Species Act, every land management decision will be decided out of public view by the courts. It’s further proof that permitting reform is absolutely necessary if the United States wants to be a country that harvests energy and builds things again.”

Wyoming’s Bureau of Land Management office referred Cowboy State Daily for comment about the case to Montana’s office, which did not respond. 

It was not known Tuesday afternoon whether BLM will appeal the case, or what its next step will be for the leases.

The Wyoming Attorney General’s Office was also consulted, but had not responded at the time this story was posted.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Sage-Grouse Protection At Issue"}]

At the heart of the case brought by the Montana Wildlife Federation, The Wilderness Society, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation and Montana Audubon is how the BLM applied its 2015 sage-grouse conservation plans in Wyoming. 

The groups argued that leasing should have been steered first to areas outside of key habitat so the bird would stay off the federal endangered species list. 

The 2015 sage-grouse plan required the agency to “prioritize” oil and gas leasing and development outside of sensitive habitat, particularly in designated priority areas.

But, in 2018, the BLM issued a new instruction memorandum that effectively told staff to disregard those prioritization requirements when offering new “fluid mineral” leases in sage-grouse country.

Wyoming has a voluntary sage-grouse protection plan, one that guides development away from those areas without any prioritization on BLM’s part, Wyoming attorneys argued.

However, the judge ruled that the prioritization error “infected everything” that followed, making it infeasible for BLM to keep the current leases in place.

BLM offered about 1.25 million acres of oil and gas leases in Wyoming in 2019 alone, roughly 785,000 acres in its February 2019 sale and more than 493,000 acres combined in the September and December 2019 sales. 

Altogether the June 12 order affects about 1.5 million acres of Wyoming leases sold between December 2017 and December 2019. December 2020 sales were excluded because the judge found that no final agency action yet exists to vacate or remand those sales. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Wyoming Warns Of Deep Revenue Losses"}]

In court filings, Wyoming attorneys laid out what the revenue losses will mean to local and state governments providing public services. 

Federal defendants estimated that vacating Phase Three leases will require the return of more than $50 million in revenue that has already been allocated and spent. The state would also lose future severance, ad valorem, and conservation taxes on the leases, totaling at least $180 million over the life of the wells. 

Funding cuts due to losing these revenues will affect a range of public services in Wyoming, from employment, roads, IT, fire personnel, hospitals and other daily operations, Wyoming’s lawyers argued, and should prompt the court to remand without vacating the leases. 

In Campbell County, for example, oil and gas revenues help fund the senior center, homeless shelter and soup kitchen, domestic violence shelter, youth crisis and treatment home, and the Boys and Girls Club.

In Converse County, half the annual budget relies on oil and gas revenue, which helps fund senior services, the Humane Society, a youth crisis center, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Douglas and Glenrock, a domestic violence and sexual assault survivors crisis center and shelter, a mental health crisis and intervention center, and more.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"State Already Protects Sage-Grouse"}]

Wyoming attorneys also argued that the state is already protecting sage-grouse habitat — so well that it was praised by the Obama administration at the time.

Since 2008, federal oil and gas leases in core sage-grouse habitat have declined 63%, Wyoming’s attorneys wrote, and reduced production in those areas by 48%. 

The state’s plan has also reshaped development, Wyoming contended. 

“From 2006 to 2012, vertically drilled well permits declined 65%, while directionally and horizontally drilled wells from outside core areas increased by 66% and 1,337%,” the attorneys wrote. “The trend continues with 95% of wells drilled in Wyoming from 2020 to 2024 being directional or horizontal, reducing sage-grouse disturbance.”

Horizontal wells disturb up to 3.5 acres, compared with 19 acres for vertical wells. 

“Thus, deferrals are not needed to guide development away from sage-grouse habitat,” the attorneys wrote. “In sum, the state’s strategy — adopted by BLM — has shifted development away from sage-grouse habitat and changed development patterns to meaningfully reduce impacts.”

Drilling in lower conflict areas is already preferred through the state’s sage-grouse mitigation plan, which protects habitat while allowing economic opportunities, they said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Economic Harm Vs. Legal Violations"}]

The judge in the case acknowledged disruptive economic impacts caused by vacating the lease sales, but concluded that BLM’s legal violations outweighed those considerations except in cases where a lease was already producing oil and gas.

Wyoming, Jonah Energy, and Continental Resources, which intervened in the case, argued that the judge should carve out an exception for leases for wells that have already been drilled and completed.

Jonah Energy told the court it had already spent $68 million developing its leases. Continental said it had spent more than $97.6 million for nine producing wells. 

“The considerations of equity require that the court not vacate the nine already producing leases stemming from the challenged Phase Three lease sales,” Morris agreed, likening the situation to a scrambled egg that can’t be put back into its shell. “Vacatur as to the producing leases could not restore the leases to the pre-leasing condition without further disruption.”

Wyoming oil and gas drilling 2 1 24

<title>Montana Judge Tosses 1.5M Acres Of Wyoming Oil And Gas Leases, Costs State $50M | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A federal judge in Montana has thrown out more than 1.5 million acres of Wyoming oil and gas leases sold under the Trump administration, forcing the state to return $50 million in payments. “The environmental group found a sympathetic venue in Montana,” said a Wyoming landman.

Montana Judge Tosses 1.5M Acres Of Wyoming Oil And Gas Leases, Costs State $50M

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Outdoors

American robins are such a common sight in Wyoming that most people barely notice them.

They bounce across lawns, tug worms from flower beds and chatter from fence posts all summer long. They're so familiar that they practically become part of the landscape.

But when a rare 1-in-30,000 albino robin showed up in the yard of a Cheyenne-area couple, they noticed this bird was something special.

Heather and Eric Wiseman said that they’ve been keeping tabs on a snow-white fledgling robin with pink-red eyes since it first appeared in their yard June 6.

"Look what I found," Eric Wiseman told his wife, showing her a cellphone photo of the unusual visitor.

That also was the day of a memorial service for one of their friends, Gail.

"If I was to call the bird anything, I'd call it Gail,” Heather Wiseman said.

Coincidence or not, the robin quickly became something the couple looked forward to seeing each day.

"It got me a little down when I didn't see him for a day,” she said. "Then last night, he came back.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Backyard Haven"}]

By day, Heather Wiseman works as an X-ray technician. By evening, she's become something of an amateur birdwatcher.

"I just have a pair of mini binoculars," she said. "I'm not a real birder, but I might join the Audubon Society after this experience."

The couple's property has become something of a sanctuary for small wildlife. They keep fresh water available, maintain two bird baths, and have a bird feeder that attracts a steady stream of visitors.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Nothing special, but they love it,\" Wiseman said."}]

The albino robin seems particularly fond of several towering blue spruce trees she planted about 30 years ago.

The trees provide shade and shelter, and the young bird often disappears among the branches before reappearing on the lawn.

The unusual robin isn't the only surprise visitor the couple has hosted recently. A few weeks ago they spotted a Western tanager. Then came a red-headed woodpecker.

"Three birds in less than three months that we haven't seen before," Wiseman said. "We live in the county, and it's a haven for birds."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Following Mom"}]

The white robin's appearance caught the attention of Zach Hutchinson, community science coordinator for Audubon Rockies.

After reviewing photographs of the Wiseman’s bird, Hutchinson confirmed the bird is a fledgling American robin and that it appears to be a rare albino.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It's following its mother around and begging for food,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Several of Wiseman's photographs capture exactly that."}]

In one image, the young bird stands with its mouth open while an adult robin delivers food. In another, the pair forage together in the grass.

Despite its unusual appearance, the fledgling appears to be behaving like any other young robin.

[{"type":"text","text":"To its mother, there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about it at all."}]

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[{"type":"text","text":"What makes the bird remarkable is its coloration."}]

The robin's white feathers and pink-red eyes are consistent with albinism, a genetic condition that prevents the body from producing melanin, the pigment responsible for color in feathers, skin and eyes.

The red eye visible in Wiseman's close-up photographs is one of the strongest indicators of true albinism, said Hutchinson.

While the condition creates a striking appearance, it can also create challenges.

"These animals are easily found by predators, and the albinism can have other effects on their physical health," Hutchinson added. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Birds rely on melanin for more than color."}]

"For instance, in birds, the lack of pigmentation of feathers leads to extreme feather wear and weakened feathers," he said.

That means albino birds often stand out in ways that can make survival more difficult.

Against the dark green branches of a blue spruce tree, the Wisemans' robin seems to glow. Perched on a fence post against a Wyoming-blue sky, it's almost impossible to miss.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Rooting For Gail"}]

Researchers have long noted that albino robins seem to appear disproportionately often among reports of albino birds, likely because robins live so closely alongside people.

Most unusual birds can disappear unnoticed into forests or grasslands. Robins, meanwhile, spend much of their lives in backyards, parks and neighborhoods where people are more likely to spot them.

For now, the Wisemans aren’t focused on scientific theories. Heather said she's​ simply enjoying the chance to watch an extraordinary bird grow up.

[{"type":"text","text":"The robin has become something of a celebrity among family and friends."}]

"I had some family over last night and I got to show them the bird," she said. "It was nice to share."

The photographs that sparked interest online weren't taken with expensive camera equipment or professional lenses.

"I just have a cellphone," Wiseman said. "I don't have a Canon or anything."

Yet those snapshots captured something many birdwatchers never see — a one in 30,000 albino robin. 

Albine Robin 1000011575 6 16 26

<title>Rare 1-In-30,000 Albino Robin Hangs Out In Yard Of Cheyenne-Area Couple | Cowboy State Daily</title>

With its stark white feathers and red eyes, what Audubon Rockies says looks like a rare 1-in-30,000 albino robin has been hanging out in the yard of a Cheyenne-area couple. "It's following its mother around and begging for food,” said the homeowner.

Rare 1-In-30,000 Albino Robin Hangs Out In Yard Of Cheyenne-Area Couple

Kerry Drake

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

Cheyenne’s new vehicle noise ordinance was unanimously passed by the City Council to stop obnoxious motorists who drive their loud cars, trucks and motorcycles late at night, disrupting people’s sleep.

 soon after it went on the books in late September was auto mechanic Geno Stecks, who was driving a fairly unassuming 2006 Subaru with a modified muffler. 

It also wasn’t in the middle of the night or in a residential section of the capital city. Stecks said it was on a main thoroughfare at the intersection of East Lincolnway and Hugur Avenue at 2:45 in the afternoon.

“Communists. Control freaks!” is how Stecks responded when asked what he thought about the City Council members who approved the ordinance after many people opposed it during public testimony at three council meetings.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"He Wasn’t Speeding"}]

Stecks was on the job when he got busted, transporting auto parts for FM Automotive when he heard the police siren.

He told the officer that he didn’t think he’d been speeding, but was informed the stop was made because of excessive noise.

This how the encounter went, according to Stecks:

“I couldn’t hear my radio for your exhaust,” the officer told him.

“I said, ‘Turn your volume knob up,’” Stecks said he replied. "I couldn’t hear my exhaust because of my radio, because I’ve got a kick-ass stereo in it.”

In hindsight, Stecks said he’s since thought of some other creative responses.

“I wish I had told him, ‘What are you going to tell the Hells Angels if they come roaring through town? Are you going to pull them over and cite them for having too loud exhaust? You probably wouldn’t live through it,’” said the bearded Stecks, wearing a T-shirt that depicted a full mug with the word “Beer – It’s What’s for Dinner.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Too Few Tickets"}]

A spokesperson for the Cheyenne Police Department said that after Stecks broke the ice as the first to be ticketed for driving too loudly, 43 other motorists were given noise violation citations in 2025, and 33 more so far this year.

Mechanic Geno Stecks got the first ticket under Cheyenne’s new noise ordinance while delivering a car part in the middle of the day. When the officer told him he couldn't hear his radio because of the exhaust, Stecks said, "Turn your volume knob up."

One More For The Road: Tuesday, April 11, 2023

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