One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"Is the pool available for parking??"}]

One more for 7 1 23

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

<title>One More For The Road: Saturday, July 1, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Is the pool available for parking??

One More For The Road: Saturday, July 1, 2023

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Outdoors

Wildlife

The bull bison that attacked and killed a 70-year-old woman in Custer State Park last month will not be euthanized.

Instead, he will live out the rest of his life in the care of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish and Parks. The relocation will allow the bison to continue in his natural life in a secure environment away from the public.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe agency announced the decision Wednesday, which effectively lifts a death sentence for the bison. 

The announcement followed fierce public debate over whether the bull should be put to death after it 

attacked and killed a 70-year-old Canadian tourist

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Weighs In"}]

Dave Scragg, a photographer who lives in Custer and frequently is in the area getting images of local wildlife, told Cowboy State Daily he’s heard rumors the bison was targeted to be put down.

[{"type":"text","text":"He’s glad that won’t happen. "}]

The South Dakota Governor’s Office did not confirm whether a kill order had been placed on the bison, nor did the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department.

When asked if he could confirm whether a kill order had been put in place, Nick Harrington, communications manager for the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department, said in a one-sentence email that “all options were being considered and evaluated.”

Scragg, believing along with many others that the bison was facing death, encouraged his followers on social media to plead with the South Dakota Governor’s Office, the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks and Custer State Park to not euthanize the bison.

“Our main goal was to save the animal,” he said, adding that people responded by calling officials with the state of South Dakota, Custer State Park and the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks.

Scragg said he doesn’t know how many people made calls, but he believes the public input made the difference and saved the bison’s life.

“When this all started, the word from the top was that putting this animal down was the plan,” he said in a statement. "We didn’t accept that, and we made sure our voices were loud enough to reach the people who could actually make a change.” 

Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, And Parks Takes Over

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, and Parks department extended its condolences to the family of the deceased woman. 

It also acknowledged that bison are wild animals, and that the one who attacked her was “acting in accordance with its wild nature."

“We will honor both our cultural obligation to protect our relative and the need of keeping the public safe,” the tribe's statement reads.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, and Parks for comment but had not heard back by publication.

Chad Kremer, the bison herd manager for Custer State Park, thanked the tribe for providing a safe home for the bison, sharing on social media that he has been the “steward and caretaker for this bull’s journey of life thus far.”

“As a prey animal, unfortunately, pressure was placed on him that caused him to REACT, not attack, but he didn’t deserve to be destroyed,” he said.

Kremer declined to comment further to Cowboy State Daily pending approval of Custer State Park officials for him to speak to the press. Phone calls to Custer State Park were not returned prior to publication.

Scragg called the decision not to euthanize the animal a “total win for the community and a win for our wildlife.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"South Dakota Game, Fish, And Parks Respond"}]

“Herd management decisions are made with public safety at the forefront, and we will continue to take necessary action to protect human life,” Harrington said in his statement.

The best management decision was to remove the bison from the park to ensure public safety, he said.

“We are grateful for Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s willingness to work with us to relocate the buffalo to a location that is suitable for the animal and away from interaction with the general public,” Harrington added.

Custer State Park Phil Gould via Alamy 6 1 26

<title>Bison Escapes Death Sentence After Killing Woman In Custer State Park | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Public backlash against a reported kill order saved a bison that killed a woman in Custer State Park last month. Advocates for the bison say he was acting within his wild nature on his home turf when he killed the 70-year-old Canadian tourist.

Bison Escapes Death Sentence After Killing Woman In Custer State Park

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Lands

A 41-year-old Denver man was found dead near a capsized kayak on Yellowstone Lake, a body of water that veteran guides say can turn from picture-perfect to perilous in a matter of minutes, Yellowstone National Park officials reported Thursday.

Occupants of another vessel on the lake discovered the body of Brandon Rhea on Monday floating near Rock Point on the lake's northwest shore near Bridge Bay, according to Yellowstone National Park officials.

National Park Service rangers recovered Rhea's body along with a capsized kayak and personal belongings. The incident remains under investigation, and park officials have released few additional details.

For those who spend their summers on Yellowstone Lake, the discovery is a reminder that one of Wyoming's most iconic destinations can also be one of its most unforgiving.

Park officials have released few details about the incident and did not respond to additional questions before publication.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Little Margin For Error"}]

For retired Yellowstone ranger Tara Ross, the reputation of Yellowstone Lake being potentially dangerous is justified.

"What makes it so dangerous is the extreme cold and wild winds," Ross said.

Ross spent several years assigned to Yellowstone Lake boat patrol while stationed in the Grant Village area. She said the lake conditions can overwhelm paddlers long before rescuers have an opportunity to reach them.

"The water is extremely cold," Ross said. “You may only have 10 minutes to survive it."

That reality creates one of the greatest challenges for emergency responders.

"By the time somebody from offshore notices — if the person can't self-rescue … that person is probably not going to make it," she added.

The lake often remains ice-covered well into spring, a reminder that Yellowstone's waters stay cold long after visitors begin arriving for the summer season, said Ross. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Lake Changes Fast"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Dylan Schneider has spent the past 15 summers on Yellowstone Lake."}]

He began working aboard boats on the lake and has spent the last six summers guiding kayakers through its bays and shorelines for Prismatic Tours. 

The biggest lesson he tries to teach visitors is not to trust what they see.

"It looks calm, but in 10 minutes it could be totally different," Schneider told Cowboy State Daily about Yellowstone Lake.

Surface water temperatures typically range between 40 and 50 degrees, even during the summer, he said.

"They say you have about 20 minutes before hypothermia sets in if you find yourself in the water," Schneider said, adding that the danger isn't limited to cold water.

Schneider said some of the most challenging conditions develop on warm, sunny days when visitors least expect trouble.

"Especially on those deceivingly nice days, the wind can pick up with very little warning," he said.

Large bays can become hazardous when winds build, and natural features around the lake can create wind tunnels that funnel gusts toward paddlers who may suddenly find themselves much farther from shore than they intended.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Respect The Lake"}]

Yellowstone Lake spans more than 130 square miles and sits at nearly 8,000 feet above sea level.

Ross said that prevailing southwest winds routinely sweep across the lake, while shifting weather patterns can create unexpected waves and rough conditions.

[{"type":"text","text":"Those conditions are familiar to people who work on the water."}]

Schneider said visitors often arrive expecting a leisurely paddle across one of the nation's most scenic lakes. Most leave with a newfound respect for how quickly the environment can change.

For those who know Yellowstone Lake best, its beauty and its danger are inseparable.

The circumstances surrounding Rhea's death remain under investigation, but Schneider's warning is one he gives paddlers every season.

"It looks calm," he said. "But in 10 minutes it could be totally different."

Yellowstone lake 6 12 26

<title>Floating Body Of Denver Man Recovered From Yellowstone Lake Near Capsized Kayak | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Denver man was found dead near a capsized kayak on Yellowstone Lake, park officials announced Thursday. Former ranger Tara Ross, who patrolled the lake said extreme cold and "wild winds" make it dangerous. "You may have 10 minutes to survive," she said.

Floating Body Of Denver Man Recovered From Yellowstone Lake Near Capsized Kayak

Daily Darwin

[{"type":"text","text":"Clearly the dog needs to go on a diet….."}]

Darwin no play 6 11 26

<title>Daily Darwin: Thursday, June 11, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Clearly the dog needs to go on a diet…..

Daily Darwin: Thursday, June 11, 2026

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

Renée Jean

Energy

Robert Kissel moved from Denver to get away from noise, settling on a ranchette along Horse Creek Road northwest of Cheyenne. 

Until now, the historically rural, agricultural neighborhood has delivered on the promise of peace and quiet. It’s a place where nobody has to talk to anybody for days, if they don’t want to, Kissel likes to joke.

It seems that his reprieve from Colorado noise may be much more short-lived than hoped. 

Kissel has learned recently that Black Hills Energy has bought a 935-acre piece of land for what he described as a “huge” natural gas power plant with onsite battery storage, according to notices sent to adjacent landowners. 

The project will trigger a multi-year Wyoming Industrial Siting Division review process, even as Black Hills Energy pursues a multibillion-dollar merger with Northwestern Energy. 

Kissel learned of the project from a neighbor who received a notice from the company. The notices went out only to adjacent landowners, inviting them to an information forum.

Kissel himself didn’t receive one of the invitations, though he lives nearby. But he decided to go to the meeting anyway to learn what he could, as did several other landowners in the area who did not receive notices.

“It was a very contentious meeting,” Kissel said. “Not one of the 40 or so who came were in support.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Historic Ranch Community"}]

For decades, Horse Creek has been known as a historic agricultural community. Big land deals usually meant one rancher quietly buying another rancher’s pasture to grow more livestock.

Lately, however, Horse Creek has been attracting deals of a very different nature. 

Real estate agent Wendy Volk, who is a member of the historic Dereemer Ranch family, said even she has been shocked by the “magnitude of what’s coming to southeast Wyoming.” 

In 31 years of selling property, Volk said she’s never seen anything like it.

“Times are changing in a lot of places,” she said. “But boy, for being the least populated place, it feels like we have a target on our — I mean it feels like we’re just inviting people to come in and exploit our resources.”

Because large tracts of land are available, Horse Creek has become a nexus for some of these larger deals, Volk said.

Just recently, for example, the Laramie County Planning Commission and the Laramie County Board of County Commissioners approved a rock quarry expansion.

Then there was the Laramie Range Wind Project, which proposed building 170 wind turbines adjacent to Volk’s property. 

Volk has spoken publicly against the project, which she said has become part of a swath of wind turbines cutting across a 200-mile swath of Wyoming. 

Laramie County commissioners have so far denied the company’s application — though the company is appealing that decision. 

Before that, there was also a proposed bitcoin mining operation that tried to locate in the area, Kissel said. The community banded together and hired an attorney to fight that, too.

Volk worries that such large-scale industrial projects will permanently change the historic character of the Horse Creek neighborhood and price traditional ranchers and local builders out of the market for workable land.

“I’m not against economic development,” she said. “But I want to make sure we’re doing it wisely, that we’ve got a plan, and that this is part of a big-picture plan, because you know that somebody at these multinational companies has a plan.

"They’re looking at this at the 30,000-foot level.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Closed-Door Meeting"}]

Black Hills Energy did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s requests for more information about the project, but said it’s committed to following all applicable regulatory requirements. 

"We are in the early stages of planning for a potential generation project and beginning to meet with landowners directly adjacent to the property,” an emailed statement said. "As a regulated public utility, we will follow all local and state requirements should the project advance. 

"We are committed to stewardship, transparency and public engagement and will provide more information as plans develop."

In the letter sent to Kissel’s neighbor, Black Hills said it “periodically” makes land purchases within its service territory so it can be “ready to serve the growing energy needs of our customers.”

The sale of this tract at 1720 Horse Creek Road was completed earlier in the year for a future power generation project.

“We are committed to being a good neighbor and wanted to take this opportunity to share our preliminary plans with you, so we can address any questions you may have” at an informational meeting Monday night. 

“This meeting is for neighboring landowners only, and will not be open to the public,” the letter added. “We will have members of our Black Hills Energy team on hand to discuss different aspects of our project, including the proposed natural gas generation and battery storage technologies under consideration for the site.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Lengthy Permitting Process"}]

Cowboy State Daily asked to attend the meeting but was denied. 

In a recording of a portion of the meeting obtained by Cowboy State Daily, a Black Hills Energy official says the company plans future open houses in October, at which time it will disclose additional work that will be happening at the site, as well as the different requirements of its permits. 

“That starts the clock ticking,” the representative is heard saying on the recording. “We have at least 60 days to collect comments, respond to comments, and then, eventually, after 60 days we have the option for sending in a permit application to the state.”

The state’s review process typically takes 20 days, after which the company will respond to comments as they arrive to the Department of Environmental Quality. 

“After that’s done, then we can start meeting with the Industrial Siting Committee after that … so it’s a very lengthy process,” the representative said.

Timeline wise, Black Hills Energy officials estimated it would be two years before the company could break ground on the project, assuming its permits are approved.

The battery storage is particularly concerning to Kissel. 

In his mind, he said that, “The only reason you’d do that is to put a data center there, to power it."

Black Hills Energy has not confirmed any data centers for the site. Battery storage is increasingly paired with many kinds of power generation, not just server farms. 

Still, the lack of detail about the project has unnerved Kissel and his neighbors, given the influx of between 43 to 70 potential data centers in Laramie County, depending on which estimates one uses.

Kissel said he and other residents were told the project is in preliminary stages, and thus too new to share any details, including the size and scope of the project.

Any future permit applications would have to outline water use, emissions, and other impacts in more detail.

In any case, Kissel feels that the Horse Creek neighborhood is an odd choice for either power generation or a data center.

“This is a rural residential area with many expensive homes with 5- to 40-acre parcels,” he said. “There are no commercially zoned sites for miles in any direction.”

There are also no natural gas wells anywhere nearby, he said. 

“Water for cooling would have to come from aquifers in such quantities it could affect domestic wells for many miles around,” he said, adding that areas south and east of town are closer to a suitable fiber optic trunk line.

“We’re a long ways from having a connection that powerful up here,” he said. “So it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but they’re looking for big pieces of ground for cheap money.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Utility With Big Ambitions"}]

With Black Hills Energy in the midst of a $15.4 billion merger with Montana’s largest monopoly utility, Northwestern Energy, some Horse Creek residents worry that they’re no longer dealing with just a local utility company that they know well, but a much larger, multi-state corporation that is viewing their community as just another convenient spot on a regional power grid. 

The merger between the two companies has been proceeding on schedule so far, with shareholders approving the all-stock, tax-free merger deal in April. 

The expected closing is sometime in the latter half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

The new combined company is to be named Bright Horizon Energy Corp. and will be headquartered in South Dakota.  Black Hills will own 56% of the new company, while Northwestern will own the remaining 44%. 

According to information on Northwestern Energy’s website about the merger, the combined company expects to serve 2.1 million customers across eight contiguous states. 

The size and scale of the new company is expected to help drive operating and cost optimization across the combined enterprise.

The investment plans for the combined company from 2025 to 2029 exceeds $7 billion, and will focus on growing critical infrastructure to meet rising energy demands, while ensuring competitive rates for customers. The target growth rate is between 5% to 7% — more than either company could do alone.

No single jurisdiction within the company’s combined territory, which includes Wyoming, will represent more than one-third of the company’s business.

Horse Creek Road Exit 6 10 26

<title>Not In Our Backyard: Rural Cheyenne Residents Don’t Want Black Hills Gas Plant | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A rural neighborhood north of Cheyenne told Black Hills Energy it doesn't want a planned natural gas power plant during "a very contentious” local-only meeting this week. “The only reason you’d do that is to put a data center there,” said one resident.

Not In Our Backyard: Rural Cheyenne Residents Don’t Want Black Hills Gas Plant

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Law Enforcement

The Carbon County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was shot multiple times by a suspect in Baggs, Wyoming, on Monday remains in critical condition, but is improving, Sheriff Alex Bakken reports.

Sgt. Zach Burns was in the area Monday when dispatchers relayed information about a suspect in an active shooting incident, Bakken says in a Wednesday morning update on the event.

“Sergeant Burns located the suspect vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in front of a small apartment complex in Baggs,” Bakken says. “Upon coming to a stop, the suspect immediately exited his vehicle and opened fire on Sergeant Burns with a semiautomatic rifle.”

Burns took bullets to the neck, arm and hip, the sheriff says in the report.

The suspect — who so far has not been named by law enforcement but 

“The suspect proceeded to set fire to the apartment building before getting back in his vehicle and fleeing northbound on Highway 789,” Bakken wrote.

The sheriff also confirmed reports from Baggs residents who told Cowboy State Daily that neighbors of the apartment building rushed to help Burns.

“Residents of Baggs immediately rushed to provide aid to Sergeant Burns until EMS crews could arrive, providing cover and emergency wound treatment,” Bakken says in the report.

Burns was taken by helicopter ambulance “to a trauma center in Colorado, where he is expected to pull through,” the report says. “He remains in critical but improving condition.”

As for the suspect, he was “killed in a shootout with Carbon County deputies on Highway 789 after fleeing the scene,” the sheriff continued. “The investigation is ongoing and being conducted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.”

A Tuesday Cowboy State Daily message to the Carbon County Coroner’s Office requesting an identification and official cause of death for the suspect hasn’t been answered.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"WHP Trooper Also Took Fire, Not Hurt"}]

During that shootout that ended in the death of the suspect, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper also took gunfire, but wasn’t injured, the agency reports.

“Our thoughts, prayers and hopes go out to the wounded Carbon County deputy who was struck in the shooting yesterday in Baggs,” says the WHP’s Tuesday report.

“While responding to the incident, one of our troopers was fired upon,” it continues. “The trooper’s patrol vehicle was struck, but the trooper was not injured. He is currently at home with family.”

It’s not clear how many deputies or other law enforcement officers were involved in the shootout with the suspect or how many times the suspect was hit.

Linda Fleming, a lifelong Baggs resident who was the town’s mayor for a time in the 1980s, called Monday’s deadly shootouts “something tragic” that also highlights the hero spirit of first responders.

 Baggs residents rushed in to help Burns, possibly saving his life.

“The most immediate (heroes) were the neighbors who rallied for that deputy,” she told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday morning.

“It’s just what we do,” she continued. “We don’t have any local police, so people help and don’t give it a second thought.”

She also said that while violent episodes like Monday’s have become rare for Baggs, that wasn’t always the case.

“I was mayor in the ’80s when we had a pretty serious drug problem at that time,” Fleming said. “But we didn’t have anything like the shooting of a police officer.”

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is available.

Zach Burns 6 10 26

<title>Deputy Who Took Multiple Bullets In Baggs Shootout Is Critical, Improving | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sgt. Zach Burns has been identified as the Carbon County deputy who took multiple bullets in a shootout with a suspect in Baggs on Monday. He’s in critical condition but improving, the sheriff reported Wednesday.

Deputy Who Took Multiple Bullets In Baggs Shootout Is Critical, Improving

Jen kocher

Jen Kocher

For more than 30 years, the body of an unidentified woman discovered in the remote desert along Interstate 80 in rural Nevada has kept her secrets hidden.

The woman, known colloquially as “Shafter Jane Doe,” had been beaten and shot in the chest and back.

Her nude body was posed on the ground, arms extended to either side in the shape of a cross with legs slightly parted.

Less than a week after her death on Nov. 16, 1993, a geologist who had pulled off at the remote Shafter exit off I-80 to stretch his legs discovered her body, according to news reports from the time.

Later investigation in 2010 revealed that the woman had spent seven months in Afton, Wyoming, which was determined through the isotope testing. 

For years, her donated headstone has read, “Who Am I?”

Now more than 32 years after the gruesome discovery, authorities finally have an answer.  

Her name is Marion Hertha Alexander, who was a German immigrant who moved to California with her family in 1972.

After a decades-long investigation, members of the Elko County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement partners told the Elko County Commissioners on Thursday afternoon that they identified her through the use of advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy.

The decades-long investigation also revealed the woman was in Afton, Wyoming, for about seven months before she was murdered. 

Alexander left home around age 18, and her family told investigators that Alexander was a free spirit who liked to drift around.

Her family questioned where she had gone, but given her lifestyle, they did not report her missing to law enforcement.

Her living family members were notified of the identification in January of this year, Elko County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Douglas Fisher stated, and continue to be in touch with law enforcement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"No Justice"}]

Her suspected murderer, however, will not see justice.

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. Her nude body was posed on the ground, arms extended to either side in the shape of a cross.

One More For The Road: Saturday, July 1, 2023

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