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Michael P. Ramirez

Daily Cartoon

[{"type":"text","text":"By Michael P. Ramirez"}]

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

<title>Daily Cartoon: Wednesday, May 10, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

By Michael P. Ramirez

Daily Cartoon: Wednesday, May 10, 2023

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Wyoming’s Republican race for U.S. House is now up to at least $8.1 million in loans and donations, counting just candidate committees and victory funds.

Millions more sit in independent political action committees (PACs) helping certain candidates.

U.S. Federal Election Commission filings as of July 29 show philanthropist Steve Friess has loaned himself another $1 million since Cowboy State Daily’s last 

Casper businessman Reid Rasner has loaned his campaign account $1.87 million. Secretary of State Chuck Gray has loaned his candidate account $1.377 million.

This leaves Friess with the biggest war chest: about $3.56 million, counting his campaign fund and victory fund.

Rasner has the second largest receipts line: nearly $2.33 for his candidate committee. That puts Gray’s candidate committee in third, at $1.62 million.

The Protecting Wyoming Values PAC, which distributes numerous ads for Gray, has raised nearly $1 million as of July 29, exclusively from Gray’s father.

The fourth most affluent campaign account belonged to a candidate who has since dropped out of the race: Moran-based attorney Frank Chapman.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Top Spenders"}]

Friess has now eclipsed Rasner as the top spender in the race: His campaign account has spent nearly $2.49 million as of July 29. His victory fund has sent another $62,170 to two other PACs: the Outriders PAC, which is partially funded by Friess’s mother, and the Freedom, Responsibility, Integrity, Economic Strength & Security PAC.

Rasner has spent $2.26 million from his candidate account as of July 29, followed by Gray at $1.38 million.

[{"type":"text","text":"The same Friess-Rasner-Gray pattern continues in other metrics."}]

Friess has more than double Gray’s cash on hand and more than 10 times Rasner’s, at $797,126.

Gray’s candidate committee sits at $240,146.39 cash on hand; Rasner’s at $79,152.

Friess has garnered the highest figure in contributions, at $468,841. Rasner is second: $452,581 and Gray third: $243,291.

Friess’s campaign spokesman Tim Edson said Friess “is investing heavily in his own campaign because he wants to serve and give back to community and country like he and his family have always done.”

“He isn’t seeking office to enrich himself or climb the political ladder,” said Edson. “He’s running to solve problems where career politicians have failed and bring a fresh perspective to Washington.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Next Up"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"After Friess, Rasner and Gray, the war chests descend in this order:"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Christensen claims to have inordinate momentum for his buck."}]

“I made a decision up front, I wasn’t going to take money from PACs and outside money,” he said. “I would finance my campaign from people in Wyoming, and that’s exactly what I’ve done.”

Christensen said 2026 isn’t all about big ads packages. It’s about the word-of-mouth network on social media.

“The most authentic thing you can get in a campaign is for people to believe in you and advocate for you – and that genuine advocacy doesn’t cost a lot of money,” said Christensen.

He said he’s loosely monitored an exponential effect on social media: when one person takes his messaging to heart, that person may expose his or her vote of confidence to hundreds, even thousands of other people, who then may replicate it.

“If I win, there’s a national news story here,” said Christensen in a nod to his lower budget.

[{"type":"text","text":"He also said he hasn’t done any fundraisers."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Proportions"}]

Biteman has by far the largest proportion of contributions from individuals, at 99.53%.

“I think it speaks to the kind of campaign we’re running,” he said. “Our support comes from individual Wyoming citizens who are investing in the campaign because they believe in me.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Biteman said that’s an important measure of support."}]

“And I’m proud that we’re being funded by people, not special interests, and you know — then we’re not just trying to buy it,” he said.

The second highest proportion of individual contributions belongs to Goodenough (63.1%), then Christensen and Giralt (both nearly 50%).

The two lowest proportions of individual contributions ascribe to Friess (13%) and Gray (14.85%) – figures diminished in proportion to their substantial self-loans.

[{"type":"text","text":"Rasner’s proportion of individual contributions is 19%."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Money From Jackson"}]

Gray and Rasner have both pointed to Friess’s Jackson-area residency in a negative light.

Jackson’s Teton County votes most reliably for Democratic candidates and is, with the purple Albany County in consideration for second, easily Wyoming’s bluest county. It's also Wyoming's richest county and routinely ranks among the nation's richest. 

Friess has countered his opponents’ implications by saying he’s “behind enemy lines” as a rare conservative activist in Teton County. 

He’s referenced his past fight with the Teton County government, in which he went to the Republican state Legislature to secure what he calls fairer zoning rules for private schools.

Friess has invited Gray to give back what Jackson residents have donated to Gray's campaign.

Gray’s contributions show the highest proportion from Jackson residents: 21%, at $52,000, his FEC reports as of July 29 show. Some of those are from Daniel and Carleen Brophy, consistent donors to Republican causes and candidates. 

Gray responded to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment on his Jackson funding by accusing the outlet of “lying” and propping up Friess. 

He alleged the outlet has a “conflict” because Friess’s late father gave seed money to Cowboy State Daily in 2019.

“Maybe one day Cowboy State Daily and Claire (sic) McFarland will report the news instead of propping up Steve Friess,” said Gray. “When your questions read like Steve Friess campaign talking points, Wyoming voters have every right to wonder whether you are a journalist or a Friess Campaign hack.”

The inquiry Cowboy State Daily’s request sent Gray on Friday, to which his comment refers, had said: 

“I note that of contributions, you have the highest percentage (21%) from Jackson. Since this has become a campaign issue for you, would you like to comment?”

[{"type":"text","text":"More About Jackson "}]

Friess shows the next highest proportion of Jackson donors, at 17.7%, or $83,052.

Christensen and Goodenough have received no donations from Jackson residents as of July 29, the reports say.

Rasner received $185.95 from a Jackson woman whose 

[{"type":"text","text":"Biteman received $307 from a Jackson man."}]

Giralt received $1,000 from Kasey Mateosky, a Jackson resident who ran as a Republican for the Teton County Commission and campaigned on simplifying the region’s tightly regulated housing market.

Balow received $23,082 from Jackson residents, including a portion from former Republican legislator Ruth Petroff, who’s another proponent of giving more leeway to the free market in Teton County’s housing regulations.

Friess Rasner vote here 8 7 26

<title>Steve Friess Passes Reid Rasner As Top Spender At $2.5M In Wyoming U.S. House Race | Cowboy State Daily</title>

In Wyoming’s expensive race for U.S. House, Steve Friess has passed Reid Rasner as the biggest spender so far at nearly $2.5 million, while candidates have raised at least $8 million. Rasner has spent $2.26 million, and Chuck Gray $1.38 million.

Steve Friess Passes Reid Rasner As Top Spender At $2.5M In Wyoming U.S. House Race

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Safety

 for traffic waiting at a construction zone in remote Natrona County, triggering an eight-vehicle crash that killed two people and hurt eight others, no arrest has been made or criminal charges announced.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol says the June 26 crash remains under investigation but isn't saying what work remains or when that may be concluded.

Cowboy State Daily asked the Highway Patrol on Friday whether the investigation remains active, if the case has been referred to the Natrona County District Attorney's Office for a charging decision, whther the tanker driver has been cited or charged, and when the investigation is expected to conclude.

Highway Patrol spokesman Arron Healy did not address those questions specifically, but said that "the crash remains under investigation and we have no update at this time."

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

The crash happened at 1:50 p.m. June 26 on U.S. Highway 20/26 near mile marker 58.3 in western Natrona County.

A westbound Western Star tanker commercial combination failed to stop for a line of vehicles waiting to enter a one-lane construction zone, wrote the Wyoming Highway Patrol in a crash summary.

The tanker struck seven vehicles: a Chevrolet Silverado, Toyota Highlander, Toyota 4Runner, Subaru Outback, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Impala.

Seventeen people were involved in the crash. Two were killed and eight injured.

The two killed were James Faris Cox, 74, and Susan Horn Cox, 69, of Golden, Colorado. Both were wearing seat belts, according to the Highway Patrol.

The Highway Patrol listed driver inattention as the possible contributing factor in the crash. The weather was clear and the highway was dry.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Chaotic Scene'"}]

The Natrona County Fire District previously described what emergency crews encountered as a "very chaotic scene" of badly damaged vehicles, a large debris field, multiple victims and bystanders already trying to help.

Six patients were transported by ground ambulance to Banner Wyoming Medical Center. Two others were flown to the hospital by helicopter.

Krista Nethercott, a funeral director and mortician, was about five vehicles behind the crash and initially thought traffic had stopped because of the construction zone.

[{"type":"text","text":"When she realized something was wrong, she ran toward the wreckage."}]

"The gentleman was immediately deceased," Nethercott previously told Cowboy State Daily. "The lady probably lived a couple minutes."

Other bystanders searched for fire extinguishers and medical supplies, handed out water and brought camping chairs for survivors.

The fire district later thanked them for providing everything from minor patient care to emotional support before and after emergency crews arrived.

"The true spirit of the 'Wyoming Way' was in full force this day," the district said.

Another motorist, Erin Mills, had also assumed she was simply waiting for construction traffic.

Mills did not witness the impact, but saw the wreckage and debris when traffic ahead of her began turning around. The destruction was so extensive 

, "I honestly was shocked when they said only two people died." 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'It's The Scale'"}]

Highway Patrol has previously offered some explanation for why the investigation has taken weeks.

In mid-July, Spokesman Aaron Brown told Cowboy State Daily investigators were dealing with an unusually complicated crash involving numerous vehicles and a large amount of evidence.

"It's the scale," Brown said. "We have a ton of data to sift through to try and get this thing done."

While the criminal investigation continues, one family injured in the crash has already gone to civil court.

Makensi and Chantry Van Patten, individually and on behalf of their two minor children, 

 in Natrona County District Court against Ryan Brothers Trucking Inc. and a John Doe defendant identified as the tanker driver.

The family, which was in the Toyota Highlander, is seeking damages for medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress, permanent injuries, loss of enjoyment of life, lost earning capacity and other losses.

The Van Patten family declined an interview with Cowboy State Daily and referred questions to their Casper attorney, Dallas Laird.

"The lawsuit was filed to get this case going and to preserve my client's rights," Laird previously said. 

Asked what his clients hoped to accomplish, Laird said, "A settlement of the case." 

[{"type":"text","text":"As of Friday, no additional filings had been made in the lawsuit."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Fifth Amendment"}]

The civil complaint also alleges the tanker driver invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer investigators' questions.

[{"type":"text","text":"Laird said that information came from Highway Patrol."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Ryan Brothers Trucking also has declined to discuss the pending case."}]

For now, the civil case is moving forward while the question of criminal charges remains unanswered.

Double fatal highway sign 7 1 26

<title>No Arrest Or Charges Yet Six Weeks After Natrona County Double-Fatal Tanker Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Six weeks after a tanker slammed into seven vehicles stopped at a construction zone in remote Natrona County, killing two people and injuring eight, there has been no arrest or charges. "The crash remains under investigation," the Highway Patrol says.

No Arrest Or Charges Yet Six Weeks After Natrona County Double-Fatal Tanker Crash

Courts

A 37-year-old Powell man faces up to 10 years in prison after allegedly attacking a woman he lived with, punching her in the head multiple times and leaving her bruised and with a chipped front tooth because he didn't believe how many steps she walked during the day.

Catlin Stephen Wolfard is charged with the felony aggravated assault and battery along with domestic battery, a misdemeanor. 

Wolfard had his first court appearance Friday morning in Park County Circuit Court, where his bond was set at $10,000. 

It started when the woman returned to the home she shared with Wolfard on Monday evening, cleaned the house and started making dinner, 

per an affidavit written by Powell Police Lt. Dustin DelBiaggio.

[{"type":"text","text":"Around 8:30 p.m., the two sat down at the kitchen table."}]

During dinner, she began talking about the number of steps her phone had recorded while she was at work. Wolfard didn't believe the number was accurate, she told investigators, and what began as a mundane disagreement turned into a heated argument.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Whiskey got involved,\" she later told police."}]

Wolfard began drinking Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey, while she had about two shots. She described herself as about a three on a 10-point scale to drunk, but described Wolfard as "extremely angry."

The two separated for a while, and things appeared to settle down, but she said it didn't last. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"White Claw Cans Fly"}]

Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, the two were back in the kitchen when another argument erupted.

The woman said Wolfard began pulling full cans of White Claw from the refrigerator and throwing them at her, though none connected. 

She told investigators she became worried the argument was about to turn physical after Wolfard walked over and closed the kitchen window, commenting that the neighbors might hear them. 

She bent forward at the waist and put her hands over her head to protect herself as Wolfard approached, she told investigators. He then allegedly punched her two or three times with a closed fist in the back of her head.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Don't beat me,\" she said."}]

"Stop saying I beat you, now you're going to see how it feels to be beat," Wolfard allegedly responded.

[{"type":"text","text":"The woman retreated into the master bedroom, but Wolfard followed."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Pushed Into Furniture"}]

When she tried to leave, she said Wolfard repeatedly pushed her backward into the room, using his open hands against her upper chest.

[{"type":"text","text":"She eventually got around him and made it into the living room."}]

There, she alleged, Wolfard began pushing her around for several minutes, causing her to strike furniture.

The living room contained wood-framed chairs, a couch with little padding and an air mattress on the floor, the affidavit says.

She told investigators she managed to get back to the bedroom and lie down, separating herself from Wolfard.

But at about 3 a.m., Wolfard came into the bedroom and told her he was going to sleep there, and she could sleep in the living room.

She claims she left her cellphone in the bed, and when she asked Wolfard to give it back, he refused. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Chipped Tooth"}]

Wolfard then allegedly punched the woman twice in the face with a closed fist.

She described one as a glancing blow as she turned away. The other, she said, landed directly on her mouth and chipped the bottom of her left front tooth.

She went into the living room and fell asleep while Wolfard remained in the bedroom.

When she woke later that morning, she grabbed her phone while Wolfard was still sleeping and called the police. 

She said abuse was "normal," but Wolfard had never punched her before that night. 

Police later noticed bruises on the woman's body that appeared to be in various stages of healing.

Some bruising on her chest, she said, came from a separate domestic incident with Wolfard about a week earlier.

Investigators also wrote that the woman discovered a hard mass developing inside her right breast that she attributed to the recent altercation.

Powell Hospital EMS was called, and she agreed to go to the Powell Valley Healthcare emergency room for her injuries and a forensic examination.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What Wolfard Said"}]

Wolfard left the residence after waking up around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and was arrested a short time later, according to the affidavit.

He told officers she bruised easily and fell frequently. He also said bruising on her left arm came from the two playing "tug of war" on paddleboards at Deaver Reservoir the previous weekend.

[{"type":"text","text":"The woman disputed both explanations."}]

 wrote that investigators believed Wolfard had attempted to cause the woman serious bodily injury by pushing her into furniture, punching her and breaking her tooth, and repeatedly striking the back of her head.

[{"type":"text","text":"According to the Park County Sheriffs Office, Wolfard remains in custody."}]

Catlin Stephen Wolfard new 8 7 26

<title>Powell Man Accused Of Beating Woman When He Didn’t Believe How Many Steps She Walked | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 37-year-old Powell man could get 10 years in prison for allegedly attacking a woman when he got angry over not believing how many steps she walked that day. "Now you're going to see how it feels to be beat," the woman told police he said to her.

Powell Man Accused Of Beating Woman When He Didn’t Believe How Many Steps She Walked

Crime & Courts

Wyoming, 14 other states, a handful of gun advocacy groups, and individuals beat the Trump administration in court this week when a Texas-based federal judge called significant portions of the 1934 National Firearms Act unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge James Wesley Hendrix ruled Wednesday that major portions of the act are unconstitutional and can’t be enforced on Wyoming’s government and a number of other plaintiffs. 

Those provisions restrict suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and firearms classified as “any other weapons.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Gov. Mark Gordon called the ruling a win."}]

“This is a great win for gun owners across the country, including here in Wyoming where our gun rights are an important part of our heritage,” said Gordon in a Friday email statement. “It is absolutely essential that the 2nd Amendment be respected and protected. I am delighted to see a judge recognize overreach when it is this clear.”

Gordon congratulated Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz and Kautz’s team “for their solid work and wish them the best as this case continues moving forward.”

Hendrix stayed his order until at least Aug. 12, in case the federal government wants to appeal. It hadn’t appealed as of Friday morning.

The judge also did not overturn the NFA’s restrictions on machine guns and destructive devices.

Mark Jones, Wyoming resident and national director of Gun Owners of America, told Cowboy State Daily the ruling represents a big win — but not an invitation to go make short-barreled rifles, at least until the dust settles.

“We’re advising people to be very careful about looking at a headline and running out and engaging in practices related to this until we get more information and there’s some decision on this appeal,” said Jones. 

He also said that though Wyoming is a plaintiff, he doesn’t believe the injunction extends to every Wyoming citizen.

But, added Jones, “I still think it’s the biggest win against the NFA in the NFA’s history, and we'll see what happens.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Trump Stance ‘Frustrating’"}]

Gun Owners of America is one of the plaintiffs.

Hendrix’s order bars the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from enforcing the enjoined parts of the National Firearms Act against plaintiffs and the plaintiffs’ “agencies, political subdivisions, members, and customers — both current and future.”

Jones said that leaves protections for Wyoming residents in doubt because “residents” aren’t listed under the people the order protects. But, he said, a Wyomingite who is a member of the Gun Owners of America will be protected if the order is upheld.

It’s been frustrating that the Trump administration has been defending the National Firearms Act, said Jones.

“Very frustrating,” he said. “Because the president ran, obviously, as a strong 2nd Amendment supporter.”

Jones said GOA has been “openly concerned about that: why his administration is defending the National Firearms Act.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Gun Control Act Remains"}]

David Kopel, a senior fellow at the University of Wyoming College of Law Firearms Research Center, emphasized that though the NFA will be diminished if the injunction is upheld or remains in place, the Gun Control Act of 1968 is still law.

“Even if the National Firearms Act of 1934 had never been passed, if you wanted to go into a store and buy a short-barreled rifle or short-barreled shotgun or even a suppressor, you’d have to go through the same process as to buy any other gun,” said Kopel. 

[{"type":"text","text":"That includes background checks and federal paperwork."}]

But this ruling removes a noteworthy layer of federal paperwork, requirements and delays, added Jones.

Congress passed the NFA in 1934 to tax and regulate Prohibition-era “gangster weapons,” including short-barreled shotguns and rifles, silencers, and “any other weapons” – a term the government has treated flexibly over the years.

[{"type":"text","text":"The law also covers machineguns and destructive devices."}]

It imposes taxes, but also recordkeeping and registration requirements geared toward enforcing the tax.

A person who violates the law by owning or transferring one of the covered firearms without fulfilling the requirements can face up to 10 years in federal prison and $10,000 in fines, plus the loss of gun rights for life.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1937 upheld the act because the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to tax.

The Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 lifted the taxes from the short-barreled rifles and shotguns, silencers and “any other weapons.”

Hendrix ruled Wednesday that removing the taxes also removes constitutional justifications for law’s other paperwork, registration and recordkeeping requirements, which were ostensibly in place to enforce the tax.

He also wrote that in 1934 the commerce clause — the portion of the Constitution giving Congress authority over interstate commerce — would not have been seen as justifying the NFA in 1934.

But the Gun Control Act of 1968, regulating gun commerce, remains in place. It’s based on the commerce clause.

[{"type":"text","text":"Wyoming’s Defiant Little Law"}]

Wyoming law says a personal firearm, accessory or ammunition manufactured in the state, that stays in the borders of the state is not subject to federal law, taxation or regulation, “under the authority of the United States congress to regulate interstate commerce.”

Kopel had opined, however, that a person who makes a short-barreled rifle in Wyoming still cannot sell it to his next-door neighbor, because intrastate commerce affects interstate commerce.

A federal judge overturned parts of the National Firearms Act this week after Wyoming and other plaintiffs sued the Trump administration, which had defended the act. Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday called it a "great win for gun owners across the country."

Daily Cartoon: Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Michael P. Ramirez

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