Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Now let's all watch a Rottweiler playing with a puppy..."}]

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

<title>Daily Smile: Monday, July 24, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Now let's all watch a Rottweiler playing with a puppy...

Daily Smile: Monday, July 24, 2023

 Now let's all watch a Rottweiler playing with a puppy...

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

Clair McFarland

Law Enforcement

Crime & Courts

Sound surveillance technology has gone largely unnoticed and un-debated in Wyoming while residents clash over video-surveillance license plate reader cameras, like Flock.

ome Wyoming law enforcement agencies use microphone surveillance systems in Cheyenne to detect gunshots, authorities have confirmed.

Gunshot detection sensors are acoustic detection systems built to alert authorities to gunfire and help them locate it. 

ShotSpotter, a prevalent system brand, relies on an artificial intelligence algorithm and network of microphones to identify gunshots.

Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak said his office uses that tech in just one place: the local courthouse.

The Cheyenne Police Department has used shot detection technology and “the microphones can be deployed on our mobile observation platforms at large community events, or in hot spots for crime,” said agency spokeswoman Alexandra Farkas in a Friday text message.

The surveillance video cameras have been far more controversial so far, as Wyoming law enforcement agencies use license plate cameras in at least 

In the audio surveillance world, the prominent brand Flock is now transitioning to train its high-powered microphones to listen for ambiguous sounds like screaming and human distress rather than just gunshots, according to 

[{"type":"text","text":"State of Surveillance calls that expansion “mission creep.”"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Kozak said he hadn’t heard of microphones doing that yet."}]

Kozak in his Friday phone interview said that when he was chief of police for Cheyenne, the agency used the microphones at the huge Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo to locate any gunfire on site quickly.

As for Kozak’s newer role as sheriff, the courthouse is the only place he uses the sound technology, he said.

“(If there are) any shots within the building, it alerts deputies what part of the building,” he said.

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

 a man revving his motorcycle until it pops, prompting a visit from a police officer who said the noise sensors “triangulated” the sound.

Cowboy State Daily has not yet confirmed whether the video depicts a real police encounter.

But for New York City, vehicle exhausts and 

 aren’t false positives: they’re targets. 

 saying the city’s hidden “noise cameras” led to $1.7 million in fines in recent years for things like motorcycle roars, honking horns and blasting music.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Full Scale In Bigger Cities"}]

Gunshot detection sensors are more prevalent in bigger cities, where police not only have a dispatch center but a real crime center for tracking immediate threats and incidents as well, Kozak said.

The sheriff said he recently visited Mesa, Arizona, where he worked prior to 2006, and watched that city’s real crime center track incidents through city cameras.

“If it’s a high-risk call like a shooting or drive-by, something like that, they’ll dispatch drones,” said Kozak.  “They’ll push a button, the drone goes up, responds to the call” and captures images of whoever is leaving or in that area.

“The future is kind of crazy: what’s coming for policing,” said Kozak.

Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny and Fremont County Undersheriff Mike Hutchison both said their agencies don’t use the microphones.

Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr, whose office oversees an area already populated with camera surveillance, did not respond by publication to a Friday voicemail.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Flock Critic"}]

Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne, who has been a vocal critic of the many Flock-brand surveillance cameras in Cheyenne, told Cowboy State Daily that the microphones aren’t as offensive since they’re narrowly focused on picking up the sound of gunfire rather than tracking individuals’ movements. 

But policymakers should still be proactive about putting safeguards around any new surveillance technology people, he said.

Singh co-chairs the Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology. He said the committee is scheduled to consider digital surveillance privacy policies at its next meeting, set tentatively for July.

“The difference with the Flock camera is the information is identifiable, right? So you have your specific license plate or specific vehicle or what-have-you,” said Singh. “But the microphone, it’s de-identified. … You just know something loud is over there.”

On the topic of mission creep and policy, Singh said, “Well unfortunately, usually policy is reactive, but that “we should try to take a proactive approach to figure out where your rights ought to be protected, instead of learning from trial and error.”

Singh noted how pervasive the government’s surveillance efforts have grown already.

“Should the government be able to hear you in your own home?” asked Singh. “The government has already allowed itself to listen in on this conversation between you and me, if they decide I’m a threat to national security. But in the privacy of your own home, is that the direction you want to let it slide? I don’t think so.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ensure They Don’t Make Us Less Free"}]

Robert Frommer, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice and one of the attorneys urging stronger Fourth Amendment protections with respect to surveillance video cameras, told Cowboy State Daily that his organization hasn’t been as concerned with the microphones because their role is more limited — so far.

But they’re not without issues, he added, noting that he’s heard of false positives and 

. Mission creep is another concern, he said

The city of Chicago announced in 2024 it was ending its contract with SoundThinking, which is 

’s parent company. That was after the systems were criticized for 

“Technologies like Shot Spotter are sold as keeping us safe,” said Frommer. “But it’s the job of courts and legislatures to ensure that they don’t make us less free.”

Loud pipes Mix Collage 19 Jun 2026 10 35 AM 204 6 19 26

<title>We Know Surveillance Cameras Are Being Used, But So Are Surveillance Microphones | Cowboy State Daily</title>

While Wyoming debates surveillance cameras, what's gone largely unsung and un-debated is sound sensor technology. Law enforcement authorities in Cheyenne say they are using noise sensors to detect gunshot sounds. Some worry it could lead to "mission creep.”

We Know Surveillance Cameras Are Being Used, But So Are Surveillance Microphones

Courts

RIVERTON — A 33-year-old Lander man faces up to 42 years in prison and fines in connection with the Wednesday evening Riverton crash in which two people died.

Micheal Odom was already on probation for DUI, police interference, and reckless driving convictions out of Campbell County when the truck he was driving sped through Riverton’s busiest 30 mph thoroughfare at more than 75 mph, Fremont County deputy attorney James Weck told the Lander Circuit Court on Friday.

Odom, who is in custody, appeared in court for his initial hearing that afternoon.

Weck noted that besides the Campbell County convictions, Odom is also on parole for 

heft, burglary, and property destruction felonies out of Natrona County.

Friday’s filing marks his third DUI charge in five years, and Odom tried to flee the scene of the crash, Weck added. 

The prosecutor asked Lander Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Coombs to set Odom’s bond at $5 million cash-only.

Coombs warned Odom that he doesn’t have to incriminate himself, but asked if he wanted to speak about his life in response to Weck’s bond argument.

[{"type":"text","text":"Odom took that opening to apologize instead."}]

“I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life. I do not really know what happened or remember anything. I just apologize to the victims’ family and everything.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Coombs set Odom’s bond at $1 million, cash-only."}]

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

Cowboy State Daily arrived on scene Wednesday to find a white Dodge pickup with front-end damage on its side in the middle of Riverton’s busiest thoroughfare, Federal 

About a half-block away sat the mangled remains of what eyewitnesses said had been a Jeep.

An evidentiary affidavit by Riverton Police Department Officer Jesse Francher, filed by the Fremont County Attorney’s Office, says a 23- or 24-year-old woman lay on the ground at least 20 feet away from the Jeep. 

A man that same age, the Jeep’s passenger, remained inside the vehicle, the document says.

Officers arrived on scene and pulled Odom, who was bleeding, from the pickup.

“While waiting with Odom he was worried that he was going to jail,” wrote Francher. "Odom was very agitated as if he did something wrong.

"I suspected Odom was intoxicated but was unsure if it was caused by the accident or him being under the influence.”

The affidavit says that after a short time on scene, Odom fled and ran to a nearby parking lot “where he ran into a truck.”

It’s unclear if this means Odom ducked into the cab of the truck or collided with the truck.

Officers apprehended and handcuffed him and put him in Francher’s patrol vehicle, the affidavit says.

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

Francher took Odom to SageWest Health Care, where a nurse drew Odom’s blood at 9:13 p.m. — about one hour after the crash.

“I did not apply for a blood warrant first due to the exigent circumstances of a fatal accident and the suspect being injured,” wrote Francher in the affidavit. “I did not read Odom implied consent before the blood draw due to forgetting because of the circumstances at hand.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Francher later applied for a blood search warrant, the document says."}]

“While waiting with Odom, he stated that he was drunk,” wrote Francher.

[{"type":"text","text":"At that point Odom was given his Miranda rights. "}]

The document does not distinguish who interviewed Odom, but says he was asked if he’d been drinking and when.

 two 4-Loco drinks at 7 p.m., the affidavit says. He “was read” implied consent at 10:55 p.m. and did not consent, says the affidavit.

Medical personnel found he had a fractured wrist and fractured orbital floor. 

He was cleared and taken to the police department, where he submitted to a breath test and logged a 0.134% breath-alcohol concentration, the document says.

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

[{"type":"text","text":"Meanwhile, another officer interviewed bystanders on scene."}]

The witnesses reportedly said the Jeep was on Webbwood Road, which intersects North Federal 

 and runs along Walmart’s southern lot — and that the Jeep entered the intersection heading west when Odom sped through the red light and struck the Jeep.

The woman, Taylee Dresser, was declared deceased on scene. The man, Gregory Trosper, was taken to the hospital after 

 perceived a “flicker” of his eyes. 

He was declared deceased at SageWest Health Care that night at 1

due to internal bleeding, says the affidavit.

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

[{"type":"text","text":"Coombs read Odom's charges Friday in court. "}]

Those include two alternative counts pertaining to Trosper's death: one accusing Odom of aggravated homicide by vehicle due to being drunk, and the other accusing him of the same but due to driving recklessly. 

Each is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and since they're in the alternative, a jury in this case would have to choose one or the other if it chose to convict Odom. 

The state alleges the same set of alternate charges pertaining to Dresser's death, which makes for another potential 20 years in prison. 

And the state also charged an enhanced DUI misdemeanor that ranges from 30 days to six months in jail and $3,000 in fines; one count of interfering with police ( up to one year and $1,000 in fines); and one count of reckless driving (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines).

Odom's preliminary hearing, where he'd have a chance to argue whether the state has probable cause to keep prosecuting him, is set for June 29 in Lander Circuit Court. 

Michael odom crash 6 19 26

<title>Lander Man Faces Homicide Charges, 42 Years In Double Fatal Riverton Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Lander man faces homicide charges and up to 42 years in prison in connection with a Wednesday Riverton crash that killed two people. “I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said in court on Friday. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life.”

Lander Man Faces Homicide Charges, 42 Years In Double Fatal Riverton Crash

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Energy

Coal

Solar-generated electricity surpassed coal power in the United States for the first time in May, marking a symbolic milestone in the nation's changing energy landscape.

But Wyoming energy experts say the crossover suggests more about shifting demand, aging coal plants and seasonal trends than it does about coal disappearing anytime soon.

According to a report released this week by Ember, an independent energy think tank, solar supplied 12.8% of U.S. electricity generation in May, while coal fell to a record low of 12.2%.

Natural gas remains the nation’s leading source of electricity, accounting for about 37% of generation in May, the U.S. Energy Information Association reports. Combined with coal, fossil fuels were behind nearly 50% of U.S. power generated last month.

"You take those snapshots with a grain of salt," said Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, in response to solar passing coal.

Dr. Rob Godby, an economist at the University of Wyoming who studies energy and environmental economics, said May is exactly when such a crossover would be expected.

Coal plants often reduce output or temporarily shut down for maintenance during what the industry calls "shoulder season" — the period between winter heating demand and summer air-conditioning demand. 

[{"type":"text","text":"At the same time, longer days and sunnier weather boost solar production."}]

"May would make perfect sense as the month to see it," Godby told Cowboy State Daily. "I've never seen coal as low as 12%, but if there was going to be a month where it happened, this would be the time."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Growing Demand, Different Sources"}]

The milestone also reflects a larger shift happening with the nation's electric grid, Godby said.

Electricity demand, which remained relatively flat for years, has begun climbing sharply as data centers, advanced manufacturing facilities and other energy-intensive industries expand across the country.

"Very often developers prefer having a renewable source of energy, both for climate and cost reasons," Godby said.

Solar has become the least expensive source of new electricity generation, he said, often competing directly with wind power on price.

“Solar energy is neck-and-neck, and often lower than wind,” Godby said. “Renewable energy is just cheaper, and that’s why so much has been produced.”

At the same time, little new coal generation has been built in the United States in more than a decade.

"The (energy) market is growing," Godby said. "Coal has stayed constant. As we add new generation to the fleet, it has primarily been wind, solar or gas."

[{"type":"text","text":"The dynamics are easy to visualize in a fraction, Godby said."}]

If the top number of the fraction is coal-generated power and the bottom number is total energy demand, the top number is not growing while the bottom number is. 

As the bottom number grows, coal takes on a smaller and smaller share of the market.

[{"type":"text","text":"Solar demand is growing, while coal is not, Godby said."}]

“The market is growing. We haven’t built any new coal (plants). Therefore, coal share goes down,” he said.

Deti agrees electricity demand is surging, but argues that growing demand ultimately benefits coal producers.

He said data centers are the next wave of modern technology that will require all types of power, from coal to renewables, to function.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Coal Plants Getting A Second Life"}]

The picture becomes more complicated because many coal-fired power plants once slated for retirement are now being granted additional years of operation under coal-friendly Trump administration policies.

Utilities and grid operators increasingly worry that electricity demand is rising faster than replacement generation and transmission infrastructure can be built.

"We have to maintain coal-fired power plants to keep the grid stable," Godby said.

Still, he cautions that extending the lives of aging coal plants is not a permanent solution.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It's like an old car,\" he said. “Eventually, they'll wear out.\""}]

Many coal plants scheduled for retirement received minimal investment in recent years because operators expected them to shut down. 

As a result, some older facilities cannot consistently run at maximum capacity, Godby said.

The Trump administration has pushed aggressively to preserve coal generation, issuing orders intended to delay retirements and rolling back renewable energy incentives.

[{"type":"text","text":"Wyoming has seen some of those changes firsthand."}]

The Dave Johnston Power Plant near Glenrock will not retire in coming years as anticipated, while Rocky Mountain Power has extended retirement dates for several coal-fired generating units serving Wyoming customers.

Deti believes those decisions reflect a growing recognition that coal remains essential.

"Because of that power demand, we're going to be seeing a renewed interest in coal," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Wyoming Coal Still Looking Overseas"}]

Coal production in Wyoming has fallen roughly 50% from its historic peak, Godby said, but demand has stabilized in recent years as electricity consumption rises.

Wyoming's coal industry also remains heavily dependent on markets outside the state, with about 90% of Wyoming coal being exported.

Deti said interest in Wyoming coal remains strong internationally, particularly among countries along the Pacific Rim seeking reliable fuel supplies amid geopolitical uncertainty.

A recent trade delegation that included representatives from Malaysia's largest electric utility explored opportunities involving Wyoming coal, he said.

"We're definitely seeing a renewed interest in coal," Deti said. "Coal's not going away anytime soon."

Godby agrees coal is unlikely to disappear quickly, but said that Wyoming still faces long-term challenges because the state's fortunes depend largely on energy decisions made elsewhere.

"Long term, the reality is you won't be able to keep these coal plants running forever," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Wyoming Still Lags In Solar"}]

Even as solar gains market share nationally, Wyoming remains one of the least-developed solar states in the country.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, Wyoming ranks last in the nation for installed solar capacity and has no utility-scale battery storage projects operating within the state.

Godby said expanding transmission lines and battery storage will be critical if Wyoming hopes to participate more fully in the nation's growing renewable energy market.

For now, however, he sees the latest numbers less as a death sentence for coal and more as evidence that the country will likely need every available source of electricity to satisfy rapidly growing demand.

Solar and coal inset 6 19 26

<title>U.S. Solar Power Generation Passes Coal For First Time | Cowboy State Daily</title>

For the first time ever, more U.S. electricity was generated from solar power than coal in May. Wyoming energy experts say that’s a reflection of greater demand for power than a decline in coal, and that “coal's not going away anytime soon."

U.S. Solar Power Generation Passes Coal For First Time

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

The headlights from the pickup behind her horse on a dirt road between Lingle and Fort Laramie made the only source of light for Angela Montgomery of Cheyenne just after midnight on Friday.

The moon was absent and the stars brilliant. A gentle breeze kept any bugs at bay.

In her 19th year wearing the red vest and logo of the National Pony Express Association as part of the Goshen and Platte counties chapter, Montgomery said reenacting the history of the storied riders keeps bringing her back. 

Half of those rides covering the 80 miles from the Nebraska border to Glendo have been at night, which in Wyoming can be pretty isolating.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The challenge?"}]

“Seeing, just kind of knowing where you are going,” she said.

Facing the night on the 2026 National Pony Express Association re-ride means fewer mosquitoes and flies but more of a chance a horse can mistake a shadow for a hole.

But just like the riders who carried the mail the nearly 2,000 miles from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860, to Nov. 20, 1861, every challenge and obstacle needs to be overcome to deliver the official bag of letters and postcards — called a mochila — on time in 10 days.

This year the east-to-west schedule calls for the mail to arrive in Sacramento around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. But the mail already was 2 1/2 hours late getting to the border west of Lyman, Nebraska, before Wyoming riders take it 489 miles across the Cowboy State.

Lingle’s Stephanie Goulart, captain for the Platte and Goshen counties chapter, said the Nebraska group had to wait for a long freight train along their route and a rider had a “wreck” that meant a delay to provide assistance and get the mochila on another horse’s back.

Her 11 riders were trying to make up some of the lost time.

“Everybody is riding hard and staging for quick handoffs,” she said.

Goulart and her husband, Tony, rode a 7-mile stretch through an irrigation area that was undergoing reconstruction. 

Tony carried the mochila on his horse, Sarah, and wielded a flashlight to help them find their way to the old Fort Laramie Bridge at 1:35 a.m.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Miles In The Saddle"}]

Before their group’s 80 miles was done on Friday morning, Tony was facing 16 miles in the saddle total and Stephanie, 11. It’s their 16th year on the re-ride. 

“Our oldest daughter originally started doing it and she had such a great time that we kind of decided to join the year after,” Stephanie said. “We’ve been doing it as a family ever since. We really enjoy re-enacting the history of the Pony Express.”

The assignment for the night riders carries a little more risk.

Stephanie said the association typically tries to schedule the ride to coincide with a full moon. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"That didn’t happen this year. "}]

As the horses pass through Wyoming, the moon is waxing toward full on June 29. The moon was gone by the time riders made the old Fort Laramie Bridge early Friday.

When the Pony Express trails coincide with a roadway, vehicles behind the rider typically provide some light. 

But for her group, which mostly follows the original trail, the ride off-road included two 7-mile stretches without vehicle support.

Clouds covering the moon make the ride more challenging.

“We’ve had a few incidents over the years where we had some close calls with horses and riders, but thankfully we’ve never had any major wrecks,” she said. “There’s actually been a couple of times where we’ve ridden through some hail, lightning and heavy rain, and we try to keep going as much as we can.”

Goulart said that for the most part, horses are willing to ride at night.

Wyoming’s National Pony Express Association President Les Bennington of Glenrock said that when vehicles follow horses at night on paved and gravel roads the light typically casts shadows that can confuse a horse.

“The horses see those dark shadow and think they are stepping in a hole, so that bothers them,” he said. “If you are in tall weeds, that definitely makes shadows but just being on concrete or pavement that also is pretty tricky.”

In past years, Bennington has seen riders carry their own headlights when they ride and he has also witnessed lights placed on the chests of horses to help both horse and rider navigate the night.

The annual Pony Express re-ride crossed into Wyoming early Friday morning. By 1:35 a.m., riders made it to the Old Fort Laramie Bridge. “We’re on a time schedule,” 75-year-old rider Jay Jensen said. “We’ve got 59 hours to get through Wyoming.”

Daily Smile: Monday, July 24, 2023

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