Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Trying to sleep when you have a restless dog.. "}]

Smile 9 28 23

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

<title>Daily Smile: Thursday, September 28, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Trying to sleep when you have a restless dog..

Daily Smile: Thursday, September 28, 2023

 Trying to sleep when you have a restless dog.. 

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Two Republicans are vying to replace outgoing GOP state Rep. Jacob Wasserburger in a “purple” district of Cheyenne.

They are retired computer support network administrator Paul Wing and Dan McIntosh, an economist and teacher. They face off in the Aug. 18 primary election.

The winner will face Democratic candidate Britney Tennant and Constitution Party nominee Donald van Meter in the Nov. 3 general election.

Wing and McIntosh in Tuesday phone interviews both called data center issues their top priority. 

The Cheyenne area is Wyoming’s most teeming hub of data center development, with at least 10 operational, five under construction and nine more on the horizon, 

Wing, who’s endorsed by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus but not sure if he will join it, said he wants a moratorium on new data centers for at least as long as it takes to build responsible policies around them.

McIntosh said he would like to see the Legislature work together, and quickly, to address some data centers’ massive power demands, water issues and any shortfalls in the state’s siting policies. He said Wyoming has fallen behind in this area. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Wing, 65, and McIntosh, 42, both say they’re pro-life and pro-gun."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Why You Running?"}]

McIntosh said he was born and raised in his district, his family still lives there and those roots have driven his will to run.

“I want to see this area continue to provide opportunities that I got to enjoy when I was a kid,” he said.

McIntosh directs Laramie County Community College’s Center for Business and Economic Analysis, teaches economics law and policy, and helps coach cross country at Cheyenne East High School. He also serves as a space operations officer in the Air Force Reserve.

[{"type":"text","text":"He tried to explain that job with care."}]

“It basically means – I’d never say this among true pilots – but we pilot the satellites that are in orbit,” said McIntosh.

He said he believes his work skills, including having budgeted for a larger-scale department, suit him for the Legislature. But character, decency, and knowing when to build coalitions versus call out wrongs are more important goals and traits for that role, said McIntosh.

“I won’t blow smoke up and qualify myself as, ‘Oh I’m the perfect candidate for all roles,’” he said. “Because no one knows this until they step into the chamber. Ask me a year from now.”

Wing, who was born in Kansas City and “moved all around” until coming to Wyoming from Ohio about 16 years ago, said he’s running to thwart troubling movements he’s seen elsewhere.

“I just want to make sure we can maintain our Wyoming and Cheyenne values – our American values – and not give it over to socialist and un-American forms of government, Sharia law, and socialism.”

Wing said he’s been a conservative for his entire life and can carry rationality, troubleshooting skills, and critical thinking into the Legislature.

He said he’s hosted conservative gatherings at his home, and the outgoing representative, Wasserburger, asked him to run.

After passing a data center moratorium and other policies, Wing said he wants to build policies around license-plate reader cameras. He pointed to instances in which police have abused that technology around the nation.

[{"type":"text","text":"Why Are You A Republican?"}]

McIntosh said he grew up as an automatic Republican in Wyoming, but didn’t think of the state’s political leaders like Republican Sen. Al Simpson or the Democratic Gov. Mike Sullivan in partisan terms.

“People didn’t talk about our politicians that way,” he said. “At least I wasn’t exposed to that.”

But when he got to college he truly realized he’s a Republican, said McIntosh.

“I didn’t share the same beliefs that the Democrats around me did. A lot of this comes down to my economic foundation,” he said. “I believe in smaller government, lower taxes, allowing the free market to do much more than – I think – a lot of Democrats, especially more recently, have (aspired).”

[{"type":"text","text":"He said he aligns with conservative values as well."}]

Wing said he’s a Republican because his beliefs have always generally aligned with the party’s. He believes in a strong national defense and constitutional rights, he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Basically, I align with their platform,” said Wing."}]

The Wyoming Republican Party’s 23-plank platform calls for pro-life, pro-gun tenets and for strong private property rights and local elections free from federal interference, among other ideals.

[{"type":"text","text":"Will You Join The Freedom Caucus?"}]

Wing is endorsed by the Wyoming Freedom Caucus as well as some of its members and followers: Cheyenne-based Republican Reps. Ann Lucas, Steve Johnson, and Gary Brown.

The caucus is a controversial group of House Republicans that advocates for new laws on social issues and proposed budget cuts. Its proponents say it’s the true voice of the Wyoming political right. Its opponents say it over-relies on its national network and pushes sloppy legislation.   

[{"type":"text","text":"On whether to join it, said Wing, “I have no idea.”"}]

“I have been supported by them. However I have not made any determination whether I’m going to join the Freedom Caucus or not,” he said. “I’m sure we share a lot of values, but … the big issue is to get elected and do what’s best for the citizens of Wyoming.”

[{"type":"text","text":"McIntosh’s answer was no."}]

“It’s difficult, because I don’t have strong objections to their platform and some of the more conservative ideas that they work on,” he said.

But he doesn’t always agree with their methods, and what he sees as a surge of an “all-or-nothing approach to governance,” he added.  

McIntosh said being able to work with others is especially important in House District 11, which he called “purple.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Just How Purple?"}]

HD 11’s current delegate, Wasserburger, defeated former legislator Sara Burlingame, a Democrat, in his 2024 freshman run by fewer than 300 votes in a 3,260-vote general election.

Now-Sen. Jared Olsen also squeaked out a Republican win in House District 11, when he beat Democratic challenger Marguerite Herman by 132 votes in 2022.

Those are much tighter splits than Cheyenne’s House District 7, for example, where longtime Republican Rep. Bob Nicholas roughly doubled his Democratic opponent’s vote count in 2024.

Mix Collage 11 Aug 2026 01 17 PM 688

<title>The Two Republicans Vying For Cheyenne's 'Purple' House Seat | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Two Republicans, Dan McIntosh and Freedom Caucus-backed Paul Wing, face off next Tuesday for Cheyenne's House District 11. The winner will be one of a few Wyoming Republicans that could have a tough general election battle against a Democrat.

The Two Republicans Vying For Cheyenne's 'Purple' House Seat

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A Colorado man accused of leading a Wyoming state trooper on a 

 that ended with one of his passengers dead has been bound over to district court on aggravated homicide by vehicle and several other charges.

But a second-degree murder allegation — which carries a potential sentence of 20 years to life in prison — did not move forward with the case Monday.

James K. Moore, born in 1999, now faces aggravated homicide by vehicle involving DUI, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, along with property destruction, two aggravated fleeing charges, reckless driving and a taillight violation in connection with the July 23 crash south of Cheyenne.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"It Started With The Taillights"}]

Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Brandon Todd spotted a white Hyundai traveling south on Interstate 25 in Laramie County at about 11:12 p.m. the night of the crash.

It had “no active taillights,” Todd wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.

The trooper caught up with the Hyundai and activated his emergency lights near Exit 7. At first, the car appeared as though it was going to pull over.

Instead, it went up the off-ramp, turned onto Clear Creek Parkway and accelerated.

Todd activated his siren and reported the Hyundai reaching speeds of more than 100 mph in a 45-mph zone.

About a minute into the pursuit, Todd saw what he described as a “small explosion” as the Hyundai crashed. He continued south but lost sight of the car.

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

Three minutes later, Todd found the mangled Hyundai in the parking lot of Simon at 6215 Clear Creek Parkway.

Moore was unconscious and unresponsive behind the wheel, still belted into the driver's seat, the affidavit says.

A second man was semi-conscious in the passenger seat with severe bruising on the right side of his face.

As Todd tried to speak with the men, Moore began itching his nose but would not respond to verbal commands. Todd also reported smelling a strong odor of a flavored alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle.

Then the trooper began walking back through the debris field toward his patrol car.

At about 11:24 p.m., he found a third passenger, later identified as Christian Dawsey.

Dawsey was lying face down and had suffered injuries “not compatible with life,” Todd wrote.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Beer Cans, ‘Shooters’ And A Sex Toy"}]

The wreckage scattered across the parking lot offered investigators another look at what may have been happening inside the Hyundai before it crashed.

Todd reported finding empty beer cans and liquor “shooters” throughout the vehicle and debris field. A small red-and-clear alcoholic beverage was also found in the driver's side cup holder.

As investigators went through backpacks scattered in the wreckage, Todd reported finding fake urine and a sex toy.

Four days later, Todd learned Moore was on probation and said he believed the fake urine was intended to defeat urine tests required as part of that probation.

The next day, Todd contacted the Larimer County Probation Office in Colorado and was told Moore was on probation for felony menacing involving a real or simulated weapon. Moore's probation officer also told Todd that Moore was not permitted to be in Wyoming.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Blood Draw"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Emergency crews extricated Moore and the surviving passenger."}]

Because the crash involved a death and serious bodily injury, a blood sample was taken from Moore at about 11:43 p.m., the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","text":"The court documents do not state the results of that blood test."}]

Moore was later flown by LifeFlight to Colorado for further medical care. The other man, from South Carolina, was taken by ground ambulance to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

Investigators estimated the 2025 Hyundai sustained between $13,180 and $18,180 in damage.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Charges Narrowed"}]

When Moore appeared in circuit court Aug. 3, Judge Nathaniel S. Hibbens set his bond at $100,000 cash only and appointed public defender Michael R. Vang to represent him.

At Monday's preliminary hearing, the court found probable cause to send six counts to district court: aggravated homicide by vehicle involving DUI; property destruction of $1,000 or more; two counts of aggravated fleeing or attempting to elude police, one involving bodily injury and another involving more than $10,000 in property damage; reckless driving; and a taillight violation.

If Moore is released, his bond conditions require mandatory drug testing and prohibit him from having contact with Dawsey's family.

Monday's bind-over is not a finding of guilt. It means the court found enough evidence to establish probable cause and send the case to Laramie County District Court, where Moore will be arraigned on those six counts. 

High Speed crash WHP 7 30 26

<title>Colorado Man Faces Aggravated Homicide Charge In Fatal 100-MPH Chase Near Cheyenne | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Colorado man accused of leading a Wyoming state trooper on a 100-mph chase that ended with one of his passengers dead has been bound over to district court on aggravated homicide by vehicle. Investigators found fake urine and a sex toy in the wreckage.

Colorado Man Faces Aggravated Homicide Charge In Fatal 100-MPH Chase Near Cheyenne

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

A 38-year-old New York woman admitted in Natrona County District Court on Tuesday to traveling to Wyoming and attempting to steal money from banks to pay off her drug debt.

Christine Fitzpatrick made her confession as part of a plea agreement with the Natrona County District Attorney’s Office before Judge Kerri Johnson. Fitzpatrick appeared beside her attorney Dylan Rosalez.

Rosalez told the court that under terms of the plea deal with Assistant District Attorney Amanda Kirby, Fitzpatrick would plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to commit theft.

A third charge of possession of forged writings would be dismissed.

The deal caps any prison sentence at five years, Rosalez said. His client would also have to provide restitution for stolen funds.

Johnson read the charges against Fitzpatrick and asked if she understood the potential penalties as well as the plea agreement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“Yes, ma’am,” she said."}]

The judge said she would “defer acceptance of the agreement” until after a pre-sentence investigation.

Fitzpatrick then pleaded guilty to the two charges and Johnson asked her for details about what she had done.

Fitzpatrick said she owed her drug dealer money in New York City.

“He sent me with a driver from New York to take (money by) withdrawal from banks,” she said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Stolen IDs"}]

Fitzpatrick agreed with the judge that she used stolen identification documents that were altered with her own photo to do the withdrawals.

The judge asked if she obtained funds from a bank in Casper.

“For the one here in Natrona County, I don’t believe so,” Fitzpatrick said.

Rosalez asked the judge to continue his client’s $100,000 cash or surety bond. The judge agreed and ordered the pre-sentence investigation.

A Casper police affidavit states that Fitzpatrick and her two partners were successful in obtaining $12,500 from a Buffalo ANB branch before arriving in Natrona County in the late afternoon of April 3 to try the same scheme.

A Casper ANB Bank branch contacted the Casper Police Department at 4:30 p.m. about a woman trying to obtain an $8,400 line of credit using a military ID of a woman they did not believe was the person standing in front of them.

Police found Fitzpatrick in an alley near the bank and approaching a black Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback that immediately left the scene when the officer initiated her lights, a police affidavit states.

The vehicle was later located by Laramie County Sheriff’s deputies and two suspects were arrested and sent to Natrona County to face charges.

Court cases involving conspiracy to commit forgery and conspiracy to commit theft charges continue in Natrona County District Court against Fitzpatrick’s co-defendants Anthony Reynolds, 21, and John Stallworth, 45.

Casper police reported that Fitzpatrick possessed a fraudulent U.S. Army ID and a fraudulent U.S. passport. Both had the same name on the IDs and displayed Fitzpatrick’s photo.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Line Of Credit Withdrawals"}]

“(Fitzpatrick) stated that during her three days in Wyoming she committed several line-of-credit withdrawals from numerous banks in the state,” the affidavit states. “Two days prior to this incident, she made three successful withdrawals in the amount of $8,400 at unknown banks.”

Fitzpatrick told police she had two unsuccessful attempts at other banks on April 2 but had been able to successfully withdraw $12,500 from the ANB Bank in Buffalo.

The woman also told police she did not know what city she was in but knew she was in Wyoming and that she knew the IDs she possessed were fraudulent.

Fitzpatrick also told police she had been instructed to leave all her identifying information in New York.

A phone seized from Fitzpatrick contained information on the name of the person on the passport and U.S. Army ID. 

The Washakie County Sheriff’s Office contacted Casper Police about an identity theft case involving the name of the woman on the IDs carried by Fitzpatrick, the affidavit states.

The Buffalo Police Department confirmed to a Casper investigator the theft of $12,500 from the Buffalo ANB Bank branch.

Christine fitzpatrick 8 11 26

<title>New York Woman Pleads Guilty To Trying To Defraud Wyoming Banks Over Drug Debt | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 38-year-old New York woman pleaded guilty Tuesday in Natrona County District Court to traveling to Wyoming and trying to defraud a Casper bank of funds using stolen and altered IDs. She arrived in Casper after defrauding a bank in Buffalo.

New York Woman Pleads Guilty To Trying To Defraud Wyoming Banks Over Drug Debt

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

Renée Jean

Around Wyoming

Growing up, Texan James Neely had never heard of mountain man Jim Baker, who was a frontier scout, trapper and early non-Native settler with ties to both Colorado and Wyoming when the West was young.

A sister’s genealogy search changed all that a couple decades ago. On Saturday, he was among a handful of Baker descendants who gathered for a photo commemorating the Little Snake River Museum’s work to preserve the 

 cabin Baker built when he settled in present-day Savery in 1873.

Members of HistoriCorps and other volunteers in the Savery area spent last summer hand-hewing cottonwood logs to replace water-damaged logs at the cabin. The work is not finished, Little Snake River Museum Director Lela Emmons told Cowboy State Daily. 

Efforts are already underway to raise additional funds to keep the restoration going, and to source more of the huge cottonwood logs 

“There’s still another 10 or 12 logs we need to replace,” she said. “Getting those logs is the hardest part of the whole thing.”

Large cottonwood logs aren’t simply available at Home Depot or some other lumberyard.

“We have to find the right cottonwoods, get them milled,” she said. “And they’re so heavy, you can’t just lift them up. You have to hire a guy with a big backhoe or something who can lift them.”

It’s a fuel-intensive process, Emmons added, which means the logs must be sourced as near to the museum as possible.

Once they have the right logs, they’ll also need to bring HistoriCorps back to do the work, which will cost around $40,000 for another two-week stint.

Emmons said she hopes to identify grant funding to help with that.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Best Shot In The West"}]

Neely drove from Texas with his wife, Sandra, just to learn more about his ancestor and see the cabin where Baker once lived.

“I would be a first cousin, three times removed,” Neely told Cowboy State Daily. “So, there’s a lot of people here who know more about him than I do.”

The work done on the cabin, which is now a rare surviving structure from the mountain man era, is “wonderful,” he said. 

“It’s an important part of history and, of course, if it deteriorates, nobody can enjoy it,” Neely said. “So it’s really nice that they have done this. A lot of people, at least in our part of the world, are not familiar with Jim Baker. They’ve heard of Jim Bridger, people like that … but (Baker) was an important character, too.”

Kit Carson, in fact, has been quoted in newspaper articles of the time saying Baker was the “best shot in the West,” next to himself, of course. When Carson sent 

 invitations to 18 mountain men for what would be their last trapping event together in 1851, Baker was on that list. 

Jim Bridger, when he was looking for an elite scout to help him at Fort Phil Kearney, hired Baker. Baker was also one of the scouts for Gen. John Charles Fremont’s third expedition to explore and map the American West alongside Carson, and he was part of the 1841 Bartleson-Bidwell Party, among the earliest wagon parties bound for California.

Baker’s contemporaries certainly thought he was important. But unlike them, Baker was not interested in publicity, biographer Leighton Baker wrote in his book, “The Red-Headed Shoshoni.” 

Baker loved the mountains and hated the spotlight. So, when Ned Buntline suggested writing a biography about him, Baker flat out refused. 

He did not care if the world forgot who he was.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Too Many People"}]

In fact, when Denver became too populous for his tastes, he packed up and in 1873 moved to Savery, where he built a two-story cabin with a third-story tower as his home. The tower, dismantled in 1881, was so he could climb high and see far — just in case any of the American Indian tribes who disliked him decided to come to call. 

Baker is thought to be one of the first non-Native settlers in Denver. He was later honored with a stained-glass likeness at the state Capitol, and he became one of the first settlers of the Little Snake River Valley. 

The cabin itself has lived several lives. 

Baker first built it from massive cottonwood logs felled by himself and some of his children along the Little Snake River. They squared the timbers by hand with broad axes and not much else.

After Baker’s death in 1898, there was a tussle between Wyoming, Colorado, and Savery over who would keep the cabin. 

Wyoming won the first round of that battle, and Baker’s cabin was displayed in Frontier Park in Cheyenne for 60-some years starting in 1917. Then, one year, the cabin was disassembled and stored, never to return as a display at Frontier Park. 

Savery still wanted Baker’s cabin though, and was eventually successful in convincing the state to send it back home to the Little Snake River Valley in 1976.

When it arrived, it was like a giant pile of scattered Lincoln logs, with few numbers explaining how the cabin had been put together. 

Original photos of the cabin and miniature models of the logs were used to figure out just how to reassemble the cabin in its present location, a mile from where Baker had originally built it.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Fight Is On"}]

Three decades before Baker built his fortified cottonwood cabin near Savery, he’d already helped make the surrounding landscape part of Wyoming history.

In 1841, near the Little Snake River Valley, Baker was among trappers who survived the fight that gave Battle Mountain its name. 

The conflict also became associated with Battle Creek, Battle Pass, and Battle Highway — place names that still mark the country where Baker later chose to make his home.

The battle is one of the most stunning tales of the mountain man era.

That summer, Baker had been trapping in the Green River country. Jim Bridger decided to send the young scout to warn French-Canadian trader Henry Fraeb, who was building a trading post somewhere near the confluence of Battle Creek and the Little Snake River, that large war parties of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho were gathering in the region.

Bridger wanted Fraeb to abandon his exposed trading post and come back to Bridger’s camp along Henry’s Fork of the Green River, where he and his men would be much safer.

But Fraeb wasn’t keen to abandon his post. 

One day, while Baker and a few companions were hunting bison and cleaning their kills in the vicinity of Fraeb’s outpost, they saw huge puffs of dust suddenly appear over the southwest flank of the peak now known as Battle Mountain, which was then called Bastion Mountain. A large allied war party of Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Sioux — what Baker relative Chilly Rollingson calls the “Platte River Indians” —  then came riding down the southwest side of Battle Mountain. 

They were making a beeline for Fraeb’s trading post — exactly the scenario Bridger had feared.

Baker and his companions raced back to the outpost to help defend it and their lives. In the ensuing battle, Fraeb was among the first killed.

Baker, just 21 or so at the time, stepped up to take command, and his fellow scouts would later credit him with saving their lives. 

Baker, in an account decades later in a Denver newspaper, said the Indians numbered 700 or more. Other accounts have put the numbers anywhere from 200 to thousands. 

Baker told the newspaper he and the men hid behind stumps and positioned dead horses as breastworks to withstand what was about to happen.

With their manpower limited to about 24 scouts, and scarce quantities of ammunition, Baker told the men they had to make every shot count. That meant waiting until their attackers were close enough to ensure each bullet was going to hit someone or a horse. 

Baker and the men with him believed they were going to die. All they could do was make their own lives as costly as possible.

Baker’s strategy worked better than they could have imagined. Each time one of their fellow warriors fell, the Indians would stop their charge and draw back. Eventually, with only five horses left to fight over, the Indians decided to take their dead and wounded away and leave the trappers alone.

It was a stunning reversal of fate for the surviving trappers.

Carson, who told a Denver reporter he heard the story later from Indian points of view, said the warriors believed a supernatural force had turned the fight against them. They could not otherwise see how a battle where they held such overwhelming odds went so poorly.

Bastion Mountain was renamed Battle Mountain after the fight, and a different mountain was renamed Baker’s Peak.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Keeping History Alive"}]

In later times, some of Baker’s favorite trails, drawn out on his trapper maps, have become paved highways today. 

Many people travel these routes who do not realize how these roads came to be. 

The preservation of Baker’s cabin, as the mountain man who helped settle this area of the West, is a “big responsibility,” Cynthia Collyard told Cowboy State Daily. 

She now lives in Colorado and is a direct descendant of Baker. Her great-grandmother was Baker’s daughter, Jenny, making him her great-great grandfather.

“This is rightly where it belonged, because this is where it was originally built,” she said. “But it’s a big thing for a little museum to take on the care of something like this, outside in the elements.”

She hopes to see the restoration work continue, knowing some logs on the cabin have rotted and need to be replaced. 

Long before he built his cabin in Savery, Jim Baker led two dozen men in an 1841 fight that gave Battle Mountain its name. Now his far-flung descendants and a tiny museum are fighting time, money and rotten logs to save the frontier scout’s last home.

Daily Smile: Thursday, September 28, 2023

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