Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Mission Impossible: Bird vs Cat edition"}]

Daily smile 5 1 23

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

<title>Daily Smile: Monday, May 1, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Mission Impossible: Bird vs Cat edition...

Daily Smile: Monday, May 1, 2023

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Safety

What first appeared to be an ordinary construction delay on a lonely stretch of highway west of Casper quickly turned into one of the 

 many of those involved had ever witnessed.

By the time emergency crews reached U.S. Highway 20/26 near mile marker 58 Friday afternoon, two people were dead, seven others had been injured, and strangers were comforting survivors, checking on children, searching for fire extinguishers and handing out bottled water.

On Monday, the Natrona County Coroner's Office identified the two people killed as James Faris Cox, 74, and Susan Horn Cox, 69, of Golden, Colorado.

"That was my aunt and uncle killed in the wreck Friday," their nephew Lee Wolfe told Cowboy State Daily. "They were on the way to their house in Ennis, MT. They lived in Golden, CO."

[{"type":"text","text":"He said the couple was traveling alone."}]

"It was just my aunt and uncle in their truck, no survivors," he said. "My two cousins and their families were heading up there at a different time thankfully."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Semi, Multiple Vehicles Involved"}]

The Wyoming Highway Patrol said the crash involved multiple vehicles, including a semi-truck.

"Two confirmed fatalities. Seven injured. Seventeen people involved, two flown by helicopter, the others were taken to Wyoming Medical Center by ambulance," Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesman Aaron Brown said. "This is still an active investigation." 

As of Monday afternoon, investigators had not released a preliminary cause of the crash, and no criminal charges had been filed.

The Natrona County Coroner's Office said it is investigating the fatalities along with the Wyoming Highway Patrol and Natrona County Sheriff's Office.

[{"type":"text","text":"Krista Nethercott of Jackson never saw the crash itself."}]

She had been traveling toward Casper with a neighbor after taking her son to enroll in college when traffic suddenly came to a stop.

[{"type":"text","text":"At first, she assumed the delay was caused by nearby road construction."}]

"There were these pylons on the right-hand side that kind of tell you there's construction," she said. "But there wasn't anything alerting you to slow down. There wasn't a flagger."

After waiting several minutes, she said she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

She stepped out of her vehicle and walked toward the front of the traffic backup.

"That's when I could see there were cars on both sides of the road," she said. "I was like, 'Oh my goodness.'"

Nethercott said she immediately ran toward the wreckage to make sure someone had called 911 and to offer whatever help she could.

She said she told him, "I'm a funeral director. I'll help you. I'm not scared to see death." 

Working with another bystander, she checked on the occupants of one of the most severely damaged vehicles — the Coxes' pickup.

"The gentleman was immediately deceased," she said. "The lady probably lived a couple minutes."

[{"type":"text","text":"She said both appeared to have been wearing seat belts."}]

The truck was crushed so badly, she said, that she believed rescuers ultimately would need the jaws of life to remove the couple.

"If the woman had lived longer, I don't think this gentleman and I could have ever taken her out of the vehicle," she said. "That's how crushed it was."

Despite witnessing the aftermath firsthand, Nethercott said she has no idea what caused the collision.

"I don't know if the semi-trailer didn't slow down and ran into people, or if somebody was trying to pass too many vehicles. I couldn't ascertain that at all. It was just mass metal and cars," she said. 

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

The crash occurred about 45 miles northwest of Casper, and Nethercott estimated it was roughly 30 minutes before ambulances and fire crews reached the scene.

"It seemed like it was a long time to see paramedics," she said. "But considering you're out in the middle of nowhere, I don't think they could have gotten there any quicker."

Long before emergency vehicles arrived, however, strangers had already organized themselves.

Nethercott estimated around 10 people got out of their vehicles and immediately began helping.

One man walked the line of stopped traffic asking whether anyone had a fire extinguisher. Another, who identified himself as working at a pediatric clinic, examined a young child who remained safely strapped into a five-point car seat while the boy's injured father tried to comfort him.

Others brought camping chairs for survivors to sit in while Nethercott handed out bottled water from her vehicle.

"There were people left and right getting out of their vehicles and trying to find anything that could be used," she said. "Whether it's water, an emergency medical kit or a fire extinguisher."

[{"type":"text","text":"The scene itself was almost impossible to comprehend."}]

"There was debris all over the place," she said. "Food, toilet paper, paper towels ... it looked like somebody had been camping. There was glass everywhere, bumpers everywhere."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'The Wyoming Way'"}]

The Natrona County Fire District described responders arriving to "a very chaotic scene" involving multiple damaged vehicles, a large debris field, numerous victims and a large bystander presence.

The response included firefighters from the Natrona County Fire District, ambulances from Mills Fire Department, Banner Wyoming Medical Center and Evansville Fire/EMS, Wyoming LifeFlight, Guardian Flight, the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, Wyoming Highway Patrol, WYDOT crews, dispatchers and road construction personnel.

[{"type":"text","text":"Fire officials said 17 people were directly involved in the crash."}]

In a statement, the department singled out the motorists who stopped to help before first responders arrived.

"Crews would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all the bystanders who assisted victims immediately after the crash, while waiting for help to arrive, as well as while responders were on-scene, offering shelter during the passing of a thunder cell, emotional support and minor patient care," they wrote. 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"The true spirit of the 'Wyoming Way' was in full force this day.\""}]

Nethercott said, "There were people left and right getting out of their vehicles and trying to find anything that could be used. They didn't sit around and wait for somebody else to do it."

[{"type":"text","text":"The moment she has replayed most, however, involved Susan Cox."}]

Although there was little anyone could do medically, Nethercott said she wanted to make sure the woman did not spend her final moments alone.

"We told her help was coming,” she said. "We don't know what happens when people are unconscious, but we wanted her to know somebody was there."

Only after that did she turn her attention to survivors who still could be saved.

Among those survivors is Kensi Van Patten. A 

 campaign organized on her behalf says she suffered serious injuries in the crash and faces a lengthy recovery while her family copes with mounting medical expenses. 

The fundraiser asks for donations to help with medical costs and lost income during her recovery.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol, Natrona County Sheriff's Office and Natrona County Coroner's Office continue to investigate the crash. 

Double Fatal Crash Go Fund Me 6 29 26

<title>Witnesses Describe Chaos, Compassion After Wyoming Crash That Killed Colo. Couple | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An older Colorado couple have been identified as the two people killed in a Friday multi-vehicle crash west of Casper. "We made sure she wasn't alone,” said a Jackson woman who was among those who stopped to help the couple and others hurt in the crash.

Witnesses Describe Chaos, Compassion After Wyoming Crash That Killed Colo. Couple

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

Clair McFarland

Politics

In the arena of political criticism, a new political action group has declared war on the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

Casper-based attorneys Emily Madden and Scott Ortiz co-founded the Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming political action committee (PAC) in March. The PAC has raised six billboards across larger Wyoming towns urging people to “STOP The Freedom Caucus Agenda” and vote in the Aug. 18 primary election.

 against popular conservative ideals like lower taxes, voter ID, protections for female athletes and school choice.

“They never define the ‘agenda’ they oppose because it’s popular,” says a June 4 post by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

Former Caucus chair and current member Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, posted 

 Friday saying "(I'm) out here in front of this billboard because the people who put it up seem to

. We love it. It's got our name all over it, and we like talking about our agenda." Bear also listed popular conservative ideals and claimed, "I guess these folks are against all that." 

But the Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming PAC countered, saying the billboards actually criticize more local, more harmful policies - not the national hot-button topics the Freedom Caucus has emphasized for years. 

“They have great national talking points, which is why they were so popular in the first place, but you can't make American First if you leave Wyoming behind,” said Madden in a Monday email. “Gutting funding for schools, police, fire, EMS, hospitals, UW, and the Business Council, that's just saying you don't believe Wyoming's best days are ahead.”

The Wyoming Business Council is a state agency that gives grants and loans to businesses and communities. Its supporters call its work important economic development, and its detractors call it an overgrowth of government. 

“We welcome people to take a look at the website and the videos. We are pro-Wyoming; we believe our best days are still to come,” said Madden.  

[{"type":"text","text":"The Battle Raging On Facebook"}]

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a controversial and populist-leaning group of state House Republicans. It contains 

, but its position often prevails in the 62-member House of Representatives.

Common Sense Republicans’ billboards highlight the divide between the WFC’s more populist faction and other Republicans. That divide has wracked multiple primary election cycles now, as the GOP primary election in August is generally more decisive in deep-red Wyoming, than the general election held in November.

The caucus’ member Rep. Paul Hoeft, R-Powell 

 June 23 to counter the PAC and tout caucus’ members’ support of residential property tax cuts, election security measures, “immigration accountability,” protection of women and girls’ public spaces, and what Hoeft called legislation in defense of the family and the Second Amendment.

“Don’t let the folks that are working in the shadows, chippin’ away at the things that matters to you most,” said Hoeft in his video. 

The PAC fired back in its own series of Facebook videos 

Madden rebutted the suggestion that she and Ortiz are in the “shadows,” and pointed to 

, which identifies Ortiz and Madden, shows a photo of them and shares a mission statement.  

Hoeft had called Freedom Caucus members the elected “grass roots” helping their constituents.

Madden countered, noting that the Wyoming Freedom Caucus receives staffing and help from its national umbrella network, the State Freedom Caucus Network.

[{"type":"text","text":"But First, Who Are These People?"}]

Madden told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday phone interview that she was born and raised in Torrington, Wyoming; graduated from the University of Wyoming law school and cherishes the state deeply.

Both Madden and Ortiz have been registered Republicans since at least 2012 when the Natrona County Clerk’s Office adopted its newest registration system, Clerk Tracy Good confirmed Friday.

“Scott and I got involved because during the 2026 budget session we saw a lot of policies, of the Freedom Caucus, that were detrimental to the Wyoming that we know and love,” said Madden. “For Scott it really hit home with him, with the local services impacted by the property tax cuts.”

The Freedom Caucus, and other Republicans, backed multiple residential property tax cuts and relief laws passed over the past three years. Property taxes fund local communities and public schools.

The cuts have impacted different communities differently. The Carbon County Library System said it took a 53% 

Meanwhile, the state’s wealthiest county, Teton, still funds its services without levying maximum property taxes, and a recent report from the State Board of Equalization concluded that some properties in Teton County benefit disproportionately from a property tax increase cap that the Legislature passed in 2024.

“For me,” Madden continued, “it was the University of Wyoming and the judiciary.”

Freedom Caucus members on the House Appropriations Committee in January advanced a proposed $40 million cut to UW’s state block grant. The full Legislature rejected that proposal.

The committee also held an executive discussion to consider winnowing the Wyoming Supreme Court from five justices to three, 

. Lawmakers did not run legislation about that, however.

“For him and I both, we’re Wyomingites,” said Madden of Ortiz. “And those policies are not supporting or allowing the Wyoming that we grew up in – or that we want to live in – to thrive.”

Ortiz told Cowboy State Daily that he’s been a “Reagan Republican since the ‘80s,” was raised in Wyoming and is a product of the UW law school. 

The Freedom Caucus has called both Ortiz’s and Madden’s GOP credentials into question, calling Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming a “Leftist trial attorney PAC” and pointing to past social media posts by Madden in which Madden indicated support for Democratic candidates.

[{"type":"text","text":"For Ortiz, the “leftist” attorney charge is laughable."}]

“It’s hilarious they call me a leftist attorney,” he said, adding that he’s been representing Wyoming trucking companies, energy companies, and other red-blooded entities around the state. “It ruins their credibility because anybody that knows me would laugh out loud.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Ortiz said his daughter has, in fact, laughed at the charge. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“She doesn’t even think I’m a moderate,” he said."}]

“I love that once we point out you can be a conservative Republican and totally disagree with everything the Freedom Caucus is doing, they just resort to name-calling,” Ortiz added.

[{"type":"text","text":"In The Past…"}]

Regarding Madden, WFC Chair Rachel Williams, also known as Rep. Rachel Rodriguez Williams, sent Cowboy State Daily a statement calling Madden a supporter of Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

The State Freedom Caucus’ Network’s Wyoming director Jessie Rubino, who has also coordinated floor maneuvers with Freedom Caucus members, sent the statement on Williams’ behalf.

“She’s free to support these people of course, but proves that she’s out of step with the majority of Wyomingites and should raise questions about her self-proclaimed label as a ‘common sense republican,’” says the statement.

In response, Madden said in a Friday email: “This election is about what is happening to Wyoming today. Wyoming’s biggest threat is not a democratic candidate who lost. It’s the Freedom Caucus.”

The PAC does not focus on federal or presidential races; only state races.  

Madden said she’s excited to engage with anyone about her opposition to the caucus, and to discuss policies and issues directly impacting Wyoming.

“And that includes the Freedom Caucus policies that threaten the future of our state,” she added.

“I hope that someday the Freedom Caucus will stop with the ideological purity tests and talk about real laws and the real consequences of their policies,” Madden added.

Rubino sent Cowboy State Daily screenshots showing what appear to be posts by or involving Madden, in support of national Democratic candidates. 

“Throwback to inauguration 2016 when I got a bunch of tickets because we thought Hillary would win,” says the caption under a photograph of Madden and another woman, reposted under Madden’s Instagram handle.

Another photograph depicted under Madden’s Instagram handle shows a KTLA5 News shot of former President Joe Biden clasping Vice President Kamala Harris’ fist overhead, as if in victory.

Another post shows a meme which casts arguing with Trump supporters as irrational.

As of Monday, Cowboy State Daily has not gained viewing access to Madden’s Instagram account.

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus touted the tenets of its agenda again in Rubino’s Friday text-message copy of Williams’ statement.

“Representative Hoeft’s response speaks for itself. The Wyoming Freedom Caucus believes in robust public debate in furtherance of the truth, especially during election season,” says Williams’ statement. “In fact, the caucus welcomes more billboards like these – we see them as invitations to showcase our ‘agenda,’ one that is popular with 80% of Wyoming Republicans, and includes tax relief, election integrity, and keeping illegal aliens off our highways.”

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus has backed these measures. But it hasn’t spearheaded all of them nor carried them all alone.

[{"type":"text","text":"Property tax relief became a hot-button issue starting in about 2021."}]

Sen. Dan Dockstader, R-Afton (not a Freedom Caucus member) sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment in 2023 that, after the voters passed it in 2024, separated residential property tax into its own category so it may be assessed differently. This greenlights more expansive property tax reform or relief.

Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper (not a Freedom Caucus member) sponsored a controversial, widely-publicized piece of legislation in 2024 that, had it passed, would have eliminated property taxes on most single-family homes and backfilled the local coffers’ shortfall with a 2% sales tax hike.

Two known WFC members, Reps. Allen Slagle and Bill Allemand, backed Harshman’s bill as cosponsors. The other co-sponsors were non-Freedom Caucus Republicans and one Democrat, Rep. Mike Yin.

[{"type":"text","text":"The bill died on its third reading in the House.  "}]

That same year Rep. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo (not Freedom Caucus), successfully championed a bill that now caps property tax assessment growth to 4% of the prior year’s assessment.

[{"type":"text","text":"No known Freedom Caucus members co-sponsored that bill."}]

But Rep. Tony Locke, R-Casper (Freedom Caucus), successfully advanced an amendment putting associated land under the tax cap.

Freedom Caucus members picked up momentum on the issue in 2025, however, by voting overwhelmingly in favor of a 

[{"type":"text","text":"Illegal Aliens On Our Roads"}]

The prevalence of non-English proficient truckers exploded into the media in 2025 and powered both state and federal legislation in 2026.

In 2025, Freedom Caucus member Rep. Pepper Ottman, R-Riverton, sponsored a bill specifying that other states’ issued driver’s licenses for “unauthorized aliens” aren’t valid in Wyoming. Her co-sponsors were all Freedom Caucus members and WFC-aligned counterparts in the Senate.

[{"type":"text","text":"That bill became law."}]

This year, the Legislature passed a law authorizing Wyoming police officers to cite non-English-proficient commercial truckers.

The bill was resoundingly popular, garnering aye votes from all 31 members of the Senate, and all but one Democrat and one Republican in the House.

That bill was a product of the Joint Transportation, Highways 

, which non-Freedom Caucus members and Cheyenne-based Reps. Landon Brown and Sen. Stephan Pappas chair. 

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Election Integrity’"}]

The WFC led multiple successful election reform efforts starting in about 2023.

Caucus member Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, successfully 

 that remains controversial: barring party affiliation changes after the candidate registration period opens for the primary election.

That means a person wanting to vote in the major parties’ primary election must claim his or her party registration before the candidate filing window opens.

The bill followed years of sometimes-confirmed concerns by Republicans, that Democratic-minded people register as Republicans to sway the GOP primary.

 requiring people to provide proof of both U.S. citizenship and 30 days’ Wyoming residency to register to vote.

[{"type":"text","text":"All but two non-WFC House Republicans voted in favor of the bill as well."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Border Security"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Ortiz said WFC’s walk doesn’t always match its talk."}]

The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) has been 

 for years, including under this term’s WFC leadership of the House.

And WYDOT oversees the Wyoming Highway Patrol, which enforces federal commercial trucking rules and patrols the state’s highways. The patrol leads enforcement of non-English proficiency among commercial truckers and its troopers often respond to incidents that turn into bigger, federal immigration cases.

“They talk about border security,” said Ortiz of the Freedom Caucus. “OK, well Trump spent a lot of money on law enforcement to secure the border. Wyoming Highway Patrol helps secure the border in Wyoming.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Ortiz said WFC has cut funding for WYDOT."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The truth is more complex."}]

WYDOT last fall asked the Legislature to grant the agency $27 million from the state’s checking account for the next two-year budget cycle within $282.75 million total. 

Gov. Mark Gordon recommended some alternate sourcing but supported the agency's bottom-line request. 

The full Legislature ended with nearly $1 million less in appropriations, at $281.9 million. 

Gordon had also urged across-the-board raises for executive branch employees.

The Freedom-Caucus-controlled House Appropriations 

. But multiple Joint Appropriations Committee members – including Freedom Caucus members – called for targeted raises for multiple categories of WHP troopers.

In the end, the full Legislature passed across-the-board raises for executive-branch employees anyway.

Meanwhile, Harshman tried to transfer $100 million of Wyoming’s mineral severance taxes to loan DOT money for various construction projects, but the Caucus-led House rejected that effort.

Bear, on the other hand, successfully ran an amendment to limit WYDOT’s funding to one of the state’s two jets for executive officials.  

John bear billobard 6 26 26

<title>'Common Sense Republicans' Declare War On Wyoming Freedom Caucus  | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A new political group called the 'Common Sense Republicans' have erected six billboards urging voters to “STOP The Freedom Caucus Agenda." Rep. John Bear, a well-known member of the Freedom Caucus, says he "loves" the billboards.

'Common Sense Republicans' Declare War On Wyoming Freedom Caucus 

Julie Mankin

Around Wyoming

Eighth-grader Chaney Akin of Cody didn’t just dominate the National Junior High Finals Rodeo last week on her diminutive – but nationally famous – horse in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Akin won the pole bending aggregate by almost a full second and capped the week by taking home All Around Cowgirl honors to rake in nearly $6,000.

Akin’s time of 19.60 seconds in the first round Tuesday morning – thought to be a Lazy E Arena record – came aboard her 19-year-old former trail-riding mare officially named Chick's Keen O Pocopoo but known affectionately by the family as “the little Paint donkey.”

“That was my fastest run ever in the poles,” said Akin, who had been awake all through the previous night thanks to tornado-related evacuations. “When I first looked at the scoreboard, I thought it said 19.9. But then I heard everyone screaming.”

The NJHFR drew more than 1,200 contestants from 40 states and six countries. Akin also finished 16th in barrel racing, on a gelding she trained, to secure the coveted All-Around Cowgirl award and lead the Wyoming girls to fourth in the team standings.

Two of the only other four sub-20.00 runs were posted by Casper’s Lanai Garnhart and Gillette’s Bella Moore. Garnhart finished second and 11-year-old Tinlee Thompson of Yoder third in the All Around Rookie Cowgirl standings behind a girl from Mexico.

[{"type":"text","text":"The Famous Horse"}]

It was Akin’s first NJHFR qualification, but her horse was already famous.

“Paint” became a rodeo Cinderella story in 2020 when Akin's mother, Brittney Sporer, took her all the way to the National Finals Rodeo in barrel racing despite the mare’s diminutive size and cowhorse breeding.

Many of the sport’s top fans didn’t realize at first that Akin was riding the same Paint. But the mare is distinctive.

She stands barely 14 hands tall and has such a narrow rear end that saddles must be custom-made. She got her wild red-and-white color from her sire, Mr. Dominator, and she’s out of a granddaughter of cowhorse legend Smart Chic Olena.

[{"type":"text","text":"She also has had cancer in one eye."}]

“She doesn't know she's 19,” Sporer wrote of Paint on Facebook after her daughter’s world titles. “She doesn't know how many miles she's traveled or how many memories she's made. She just knows she gets to load in the trailer and go somewhere with us to do the jobs she loves.”

Sporer grew up in Bakersfield, California, where she was sent Paint in 2016 for barrel-racing training when the mare was already 9. The duo made the California Circuit Finals Rodeo twice, and Sporer bought her along when she moved to Stephenville, Texas.

Since marrying Cody native Sid Sporer in 2022, she’s also made the Montana Circuit Finals twice on Paint. She said Paint has earned more than $300,000 running barrels.

“I did not like her at first,” Akin said of her mother’s rough-riding mare. “I hit a lot of barrels on her and don’t have much confidence on her in that event.”

But once the duo began winning at the poles, she’s decided she loves competing on Paint. Bending through all six poles six times at the NJHFR without a penalty for knocking one over is quite a feat.

“You just have to use your feet and not pull on her reins,” Akin said. “In the second round, I was a little handsy and had a 20.1. She lined out, after that.”

The NJHFR venue is smack in Tornado Alley. Last week, hundreds of families spent half of two nights evacuating horses from stalls and sheltering in the arena.

“The group of people who rodeo in Wyoming are amazing,” Sporer said. “One of the dads ran around to all of the trailers knocking to wake us up, and said, ‘We’ve got to go; there’s a tornado; we’ve got to get to the barn’. We hadn’t even gotten warnings on our phones. We loped our horses bareback up to the arena and sheltered for almost two hours.”

As of Monday, mother and daughter were eager to get home by July 2, when Sid Sporer is scheduled to compete in team roping at his big hometown rodeo in Cody.

Chaney Akin of Cody didn’t just dominate the National Junior High Finals Rodeo last week on her diminutive – but nationally famous – horse in Oklahoma, she took home two world rodeo titles. Her famous horse has earned more than $300,000 running barrels.

Daily Smile: Monday, May 1, 2023

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