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Michael P. Ramirez

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

<title>Daily Cartoon: Friday, August 25, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Cartoon: Friday, August 25, 2023

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Legislature

one of the most prominent members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, has a primary election opponent.

Doug Moore told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday that he decided to challenge the Republican House District 31 

in this year’s Aug. 18 primary election after numerous 

Moore, 55, is a business owner and a transportation manager for two coal mining companies.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bear, 60, also owns local businesses and is a Navy veteran."}]

Both men are Republicans who live in Gillette

both tout strong favor toward the coal industry and conservative ideals. Each man is married and has grown children.

“I’m not looking to make a big name for myself,” he said. "I don’t see myself being a career politician that’s going to climb the ladder and end up in D.C. someday. 

"I’m a local kid that grew up here, and I want to make sure my community is taken care of — and Wyoming in general. That’s what’s important to me.”

Bear in his own Thursday interview countered that the rebuttal to those statements is, “the proof is in the pudding.”

“I’ve had opportunities to go for higher office and I’ve declined,” Bear added. "I’m already fighting for Wyoming, and have the most conservative record possible."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Freedom Caucus"}]

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus is a populist-leaning group of Republicans in the state House that has backed property tax cuts, pro-life legislation, a reworking of the funding model for K-12 public schools and other measures.

The pro-life legislation is a mixed bag: those bills are generally popular among Freedom Caucus and non-Freedom Caucus Republicans. 

 the Legislature’s pro-life laws, while Gov. Mark Gordon has urged lawmakers to

 on the matter to voters instead of passing more bills.

Moore told Cowboy State Daily that he’s very conservative, but he will not join the Freedom Caucus because he believes the group’s members get directions from its national umbrella group, the State Freedom Caucus network.

Wyoming Freedom Caucus members discuss and coordinate their floor maneuvers via a group text with their Wyoming-based network director, 

Bear had inadvertently countered Moore’s point in a Thursday email about his bid for reelection, writing, “My family and friends are the primary reason I wish to serve the people of Campbell County.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"About Moore"}]

Moore is a licensed aviation mechanic, has an 

 degree in mining technology and has worked in the coal sector for 30 years. He was born in Michigan and moved to Wyoming with his family as a child in 1978.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I’ve got more Wyoming blood in me than anywhere else,” said Moore."}]

He said he’s a Republican because he’s conservative and doesn’t believe in high taxes or big government.

“I believe in keeping control at the lowest level of government,” said Moore.

 coal that could reinvigorate the waning industry, and said he wants to help the state guide new developments “responsibly.”

“I want to look at who wants to come (build a business in the community) and why, and make sure they’re not just looking for a lot of handouts,” said Moore.

Tech giants have been building multiple data centers in Wyoming in recent years.

With business booms come housing affordability issues, which is another concern Moore said he’d like to address, primarily by streamlining regulatory processes and “red tape.”

He said Wyoming should diversify its economy while also consider keeping more minerals for in-state use and the state’s own economy.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"About Bear"}]

a former Freedom Caucus chair and remains 

one of its most prominent voices — and one of its most powerful members.

He co-chairs the Joint Appropriations Committee, which writes the second draft of the state’s two-year budget. The governor writes the first draft, and the full Legislature writes the third and subsequent drafts until the budget becomes law in about March of every even-numbered year.

“I have been representing the hard working people of Gillette for three terms. I’m a Christian and veteran naval officer,” said Bear in a Thursday email. “I married my college sweetheart Sage. We raised two children in Gillette, and our daughter lives here with her family.”

Bear said families within his House district face inflation that cuts into their budgets every day.

“I am a proven conservative who has championed real solutions for working families,” wrote Bear, adding that, “I am the only conservative in this race.”

[{"type":"text","text":"He pointed to his work in helping to pass property tax relief bills."}]

“I firmly believe that those families know better how to spend their hard-earned money that the government does,” said Bear. “I will continue to work to limit the government's burden on families in Campbell County.”

During Bear’s chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee ahead of this past session, he was a 

During the session, Bear broke ranks to vote against several of his Freedom Caucus colleagues in opposing what he has called “corporate welfare” tax breaks or grants for large businesses.

Bear voted nay, for example, on the Energy Dominance Fund — a bill funneling severance taxes for one year into a grant and loan program to boost 

[{"type":"text","text":"Bear has lived in Wyoming for 20 years, he said. "}]

In his email he pointed to his work in passing a bill ensuring only 

citizens can vote in Wyoming, a 25% property tax cut, the elimination of most gun-free zones and a prohibition on red flag gun seizures, and pro-life bills.

“I’ve spoken to voters in House District 31 and will continue to answer questions and present my work for the people on social media, visiting at their doorsteps, as well as town halls throughout my time in office,” Bear said.

Bear and Doug Moore capitol 6 18 26

<title>John Bear, One Of The Freedom Caucus’ Most Powerful Members, Has A Challenger | Cowboy State Daily</title>

John Bear, one of the most powerful members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, has a GOP challenger for his Gillette House district. "I don’t see myself being a career politician,” said Doug Moore. “I am the only conservative in this race,” countered Bear.

John Bear, One Of The Freedom Caucus’ Most Powerful Members, Has A Challenger

Politics

A federal agency has an agreement with Wyoming's two tribes to run license plate reader cameras on the reservation, authorities confirmed Thursday. 

Cowboy State Daily has observed license plate reader cameras already installed on roadside posts at the north entrance to the reservation abutting Riverton, and the south entrance from the Lander side.

The license plate readers are put up by DEA (the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) through an agreement with the tribe, said U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman Joshua Barnett in a Thursday email. Barnett added that the BIA is "not part of that agreement." 

Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) Lt. Col. Karl Germain told lawmakers during a Tuesday committee meeting that the WHP was working with the BIA to put up the cameras. 

But Germain clarified in a Thursday phone call, saying he misspoke and was trying to highlight the cameras can be a good tool in crisis situations. 

"Highway Patrol doesn’t have any LPRs," said Germain. "We have no mechanism to purchase those or put them up." But the patrol's umbrella agency, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, manages the highway right-of-way and is responsible for authorizing camera installations, he said. 

The Select Committee on Tribal Relations, which is a state legislative panel,

discuss how state law interacts with the two tribal governments of Wyoming: the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone

There, Germain said, “Those (cameras) are obviously helpful for a number of reasons, and you know I fully recognize some of the privacy concerns of with that."  For missing person cases or Amber alerts, those cameras “can be invaluable to help recover that person in a timely manner,” said German. “There aren’t a lot of cameras in Wyoming right now. If the reservation is able to put those up, it’s just another tool at the disposal of law enforcement.”

Committee Co-Chair Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, voiced concern, calling the cameras a facet of “big surveillance.”

“It’s a big step in our surveillance society,” said Case. “Not quite as far as England where they have facial recognition all the way through London but … it feels that way a little bit.”

 the controversy surrounding the cameras. 

License plate readers are cameras, generally facing roadways, that capture images of vehicles and license 

 and log dates and times for those images. The devices can also capture images of drivers and occupants of vehicles and passersby.

Case amplified his comments in a Thursday interview, saying the license plate readers, government-accessible DNA databases, facial recognition technology and other government surveillance measures now in play would have been "appalling" to the Founding Fathers. 

"All this stuff is somewhat '1984'-ish," said Case, referring to George Orwell's dystopian novel about an authoritarian surveillance state. 

[{"type":"text","text":"This Drug Trafficking"}]

The cameras have been posted for "months" Wyoming Department of Transportation public relations specialist Cody Beers told Cowboy State Daily. 

An advocate of the license plate readers, Nicole Wagon touted them as useful and important during a Jan. 27 meeting of the Tribal Relations Committee. 

Wagon, who lost one daughter to murder and another to hypothermia amid suspicious circumstances, is an advocate for better safety measures for indigenous people.

“It’s a component to stop the violence. It’s a component to make it safe for all the community members,” said Wagon of the cameras, 

She said the Wind River Intertribal Council, which comprises executive-branch governments of both tribes, signed a resolution in 2024 to work with license plate reader efforts on the reservation.

Neither the Eastern Shoshone Business Council nor the Northern Arapaho Business Council responded to Cowboy State Daily’s 

requests for comment, however the ESBC’s spokeswoman requested more information on the topic, which 

Cowboy State Daily inquired of the BIA at that time, and the agency said on Feb. 3 that it “does not have license plate readers on the Wind River Indian Reservation” and to check with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). 

The agency’s spokesman Joshua Barnett said Thursday in a follow-up exchange that the DEA puts up the license plate readers “through an agreement with the tribe,” of which BIA is not a part.

While he did not confirm the cameras’ presence or use, DEA Public Affairs Officer Stephan Tubbs wrote in a Jan. 28 email that, “The key trafficking routes for the Mexican Cartels across our Rocky Mountain Field Division are the I-25, I-70, and I-80 corridors in Colorado and Wyoming.”

“These highways are arteries for the cartels to bring their poison — namely fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine — into and across our nation,” Tubbs said, adding that targeting cartel routes is “vital.”

“Any and all tools available need to be utilized to save American lives from the continuing deadly impact the cartels and their dangerous drugs inflict on our communities,” said Tubbs. He referred back to that statement when Cowboy State Daily sent a follow-up inquiry in May. 

The FBI, which also performs law enforcement functions and investigations on the reservation, declined in a Feb. 2 email from FBI public affairs officer Vikki Migoya to comment “about investigative techniques or law enforcement tools we might or might not use.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Criminals Or 'Complete Morons'"}]

Erick Blackburn, former chief of the Wind River’s BIA outpost, discussed the cameras on a public Facebook exchange last month.

 map showing two of the cameras stationed at the reservation’s Riverton entrance.

, they’re license plate readers,” wrote Blackburn in a comment, 

referring to AI-powered license plate technology used by several Wyoming municipalities. 

“Law enforcement can search specific license plates for ATL — attempt to locate — for Amber alerts and vehicles reported to be trafficking narcotics,” Blackburn continued. "Everyone against them is criminal themselves or complete morons!!”

Blackburn said in another comment that was the BIA chief who “oversaw the project in an attempt to apprehend the narcotics coming into Fremont County and the reservation.”

He said both tribes are “heavy in favor” of the technology and “we had to have their full approval.”

“They were sick and tired of their people senselessly dying,” Blackburn added.

Blackburn, who later confirmed he’s now retired, said the cameras are working and fentanyl overdoses have declined.

 drug dealing POS, or snatching children and trying to drive away with them, you have nothing to worry about,” Blackburn wrote.

Blackburn did not immediately respond to a message request for further comment.

Barnett said Thursday that he was told a former BIA chief may have helped the tribe with the project, on the tribal side, but the project is still a DEA and tribal venture. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Obey The Constitution"}]

Robert Frommer, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice and one of the attorneys urging stronger Fourth Amendment protections in this area, told Cowboy State Daily he’s not in favor of eradicating the cameras.

But they should be subject to the same Fourth Amendment restraints as other law enforcement tools, he said in a Thursday phone interview.

The Fourth Amendment generally bars entry into a person’s home without a warrant, for example, but has exceptions for “exigent circumstances” 

 indications that someone is being harmed inside the home.

On hearing about the cameras stationed at the reservation’s entrances, Frommer said that’s a common method across the nation so that law enforcement can track who enters and leaves a given region. 

When he reviewed Cowboy State Daily’s photographs, he said they’re not Flock brand cameras, but some other brand.

“It’s hard to feel secure and to go about your daily life when you’re always knowing that the government is looking over your shoulder,” he said. “And that’s what these ALPRs (automatic license plate readers) allow. This, kind of, pervasive monitoring of individuals.”

 on this issue would require officers to get a warrant before accessing a person’s historical location information, unless an emergency makes getting a warrant impractical. 

It would restrict the data gatherers’ conveyance of people’s historical location information to third parties.

It would require that a record is created every time someone’s historical location information is accessed, and it would require training for officers accessing that historical information.

The proposed legislation would specify that authorities can’t use unlawfully obtained camera data to prosecute someone, but they also can face civil consequences for violating someone’s rights.

[{"type":"text","text":"The technology can be easy to abuse, said Frommer."}]

“Without any kind of warrant requirement or even internal procedures, it often means that the person deciding whether to search or not is just the bored officer in the patrol car,” said Frommer. “We’ve seen abuses where police have been stalking former romantic partners, wives, ex-boyfriends; other situations where it’s been used to keep tabs on people who are engaged in political activity.”

[{"type":"text","text":"This spreads to the immigration debate, he said."}]

Frommer and his co-counsel in an April 15 lawsuit complaint against the city of San Jose, California, wrote that that city’s massive AI-enhanced surveillance camera system has cameras near immigration lawyers’ offices and health care facilities.

As for the Wind River, Frommer said that, “I understand there might be drug problems in Wyoming and the reservation. There are drug problems all over the country.

“But you can’t let the worries of the day blind you to the long-term constitutional problems of what you’re doing.”

He added, “We want people to obey the law. And if we want people to obey the law then we have to, with just as much vigor, want our officers and government officials to obey the Constitution.”

License plate camera inset 6 18 26

<title>License Plate Cameras At Entrances To Wind River Reservation Spark Controversy | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Drug Enforcement Administration has installed license plate cameras on or around the Wind River Reservation, authorities confirmed Thursday. "All this stuff is somewhat '1984'-ish," Sen. Cale Case said. "It’s a big step in our surveillance society.”

License Plate Cameras At Entrances To Wind River Reservation Spark Controversy

Crime & Courts

Two people died Wednesday after a two-vehicle crash unfolded in front of Riverton’s Walmart, drawing passersby from both sides of the city’s busiest road, North Federal Boulevard.

[{"type":"text","text":"The crash was reported around 8:15 p.m."}]

A white Dodge pickup with a crunched hood sat on its side in the middle of the road, while the mangled remains of what witnesses said had been a black Jeep sat upright nearly a half-block south of the pickup, on the northbound lane of the road.

Police, emergency medical personnel and the Riverton Volunteer Fire Department converged. People on the scene pulled one man out of the pickup. The man was bleeding.

“I asked him what the year was,” said Trent Hallada, who was walking in the area and felt debris, “possibly” hit his eye when the crash happened. “He couldn’t even say the date and year.”

Two more eyewitnesses, who both declined to be identified by name, said the driver of the pickup sat on the ground while personnel responded, but when the response calmed slightly, he tried to run.

Law enforcement officers tackled him and took him into custody, the two witnesses said.

The Fremont County Coroner’s office also responded with a transport truck. One person, who lay in the middle of the road under a tarp and closer to the black vehicle, was placed into the transport truck. Firefighters held red tarps around the person to shield public view.

The Riverton Police Department announced in a Thursday statement that “both occupants of one of the vehicles had serious injuries;” one was pronounced dead one the scene, and the second was taken to SageWest Health Care, “where they succumbed to their injuries.”

The RPD statement doesn’t describe the two different vehicles, calling them “one of the vehicles” and “the other vehicle.” But the statement, coupled with witness interviews, indicates that two people were in the black vehicle, and have both now died.

And the driver of the pickup was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular homicide, plus other related offenses, the statement indicates when coupled with witness interviews.

RPD concluded its statement with a request for anyone with information on the wreck to call 307-856-4891.

Riverton crash 6 18 26

<title>Two Dead, One Tackled And Arrested in Riverton Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Two people died Wednesday evening after a two-vehicle crash unfolded in front of Riverton’s Walmart. Law enforcement officers tackled a suspect who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular homicide.

Two Dead, One Tackled And Arrested in Riverton Crash

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Courts

A 12-person Laramie County jury found former South Cheyenne Water and Sewer District General Manager Dena Hansen guilty Wednesday of stealing about $350,000 from the district over nearly a decade.

A Laramie County District Court clerk confirmed Hansen's conviction on a single felony theft count. The verdict form was not publicly available Wednesday afternoon.

The case centered on allegations that about $350,000 was diverted from the South Cheyenne Water and Sewer District between 2014 and 2024 while Hansen oversaw its finances.

For years, the amounts were small enough to disappear into a stack of utility bills.

[{"type":"text","text":"A few hundred dollars one month. A little more the next."}]

Some was cash handed across a counter by customers paying water bills. Checks sometimes sat for days before clearing. Deposit slips appeared to tell different stories, depending on which copy investigators examined.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Familiar Face"}]

According to court records, Hansen worked for the district for more than 30 years.

Employees told investigators she was deeply involved in the district's day-to-day financial operations.

She handled deposits, interacted with customers, and maintained broad control over money moving through the office, says an affidavit of probable cause. 

The district serves customers south of Cheyenne, collecting monthly payments from residents and businesses for water and sewer service.

Those payments arrived in different forms — checks, cash and money orders — and for years appeared to move through the office without raising significant alarms.

After concerns arose about district finances in 2024, the South Cheyenne Water and Sewer District hired forensic accounting firm Jacobson and Associates to review years of records.

That review ultimately identified what investigators alleged were hundreds of thousands of dollars in missing funds.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Two Deposit Slips"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"One of the recurring details in the affidavit involved deposit slips."}]

Investigators alleged Hansen prepared bank deposits using duplicate deposit forms.

The yellow copies retained by the district frequently showed larger amounts than the white copies submitted to the bank -- a discrepancy that became a focus of the investigation.

In one section of the affidavit, investigators wrote that deposit slips appeared to have been altered using correction fluid before being delivered to the bank.

The records described instances where the amount recorded on the district's copy did not match the amount ultimately deposited.

Investigators concluded cash had been removed from deposits before they reached district accounts.

The affidavit further alleged that checks were sometimes substituted for missing cash to make deposit totals appear balanced.

Employees told investigators the district did not begin accepting online payments until October 2021.

According to witness statements summarized in the affidavit, Hansen opposed implementing online payment options.

Several employees reportedly told investigators they never understood why online payments were resisted.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Customers Complaints"}]

The investigation also uncovered complaints from customers who noticed something unusual.

Some customers contacted the district wondering why their checks had not cleared their bank accounts.

Investigators said those reports suggested certain checks were being held before being deposited, notes the affidavit. 

The delays became one of many small pieces investigators later compared against deposit records and customer payments.

Employees interviewed during the investigation described Hansen as the person primarily responsible for deposits.

Several told investigators they did not routinely transport deposits to the bank themselves.

[{"type":"text","text":"Others reported that Hansen sometimes took deposits home overnight."}]

The affidavit notes that employees said deposits occasionally left the office with Hansen.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Cash Trail "}]

The affidavit details a review of personal banking records belonging to Hansen and her husband.

According to investigators, bank records showed approximately $242,573.88 in cash deposits into personal accounts between 2014 and 2024.

Most of those occurred during the same years investigators identified substantial shortages in district deposits.

The accounting review attempted to compare money missing from district accounts with cash appearing elsewhere.

Month after month, investigators charted shortages ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

[{"type":"text","text":"Some months showed no shortages at all."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Others showed significant discrepancies."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Over time, investigators alleged, the missing amounts accumulated."}]

Forensic accountants identified approximately $263,934.73 in missing funds between 2017 and 2024.

A review of earlier records, covering July 2014 through June 2017, identified an additional estimated $96,000 in missing deposits.

Combined, investigators concluded roughly $350,000 had disappeared from district accounts.

The investigation eventually grew into a criminal case supported by years of financial records, employee interviews, and forensic accounting analyses.

When prosecutors filed the felony theft charge, the resulting affidavit stretched across dozens of pages detailing deposit records, customer payments and banking activity dating to 2014.

A 12-person jury heard the case during a trial that began June 8.

A sentencing date had not been announced as of Wednesday afternoon. Under Wyoming law, felony theft is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Dena Hansen and Cheyenne green sign IMG 6015 6 17 26

<title>Jury Finds Former Cheyenne Water Manager Guilty Of Stealing $350K Over A Decade | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Laramie County jury on Wednesday found the former manager of the South Cheyenne Water and Sewer District guilty of stealing about $350,000 from district accounts over a decade. For years, the amounts were small enough to disappear into a stack of utility bills. She faces up to 10 years in prison.

Daily Cartoon: Friday, August 25, 2023

Michael P. Ramirez

Cartoonist

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Daily Cartoon: Friday, August 25, 2023

Authors

Michael P. Ramirez

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