One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"It was on this day that Frank vowed to never mow his lawn again..."}]

One more for 10 10 23

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

<title>One More For The Road: Tuesday, October 10, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

It was on this day that Frank vowed never to mow his lawn again...

One More For The Road: Tuesday, October 10, 2023

 It was on this day that Frank vowed to never mow his lawn again...

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Wildlife

A Yellowstone bull bison with a gigantic abscess on its right rear quarter probably isn’t suffering much pain and will likely survive, one of the county’s top bison ranchers says.

But the recovery process is going to be good, said Ken Klemm, past president and a lifelong member of the National Bison Association.

After seeing a photo of the bison, taken early Wednesday in Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Valley, Klemm said a gushing rupture of the abscess is imminent.

“It looks like a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff will come out of that one,” Klemm, who has managed some of the world’s largest bison ranches, told Cowboy State Daily.

The abscess probably formed around a wound, he said.

The bison rut, or mating season, is on in Yellowstone. The bull might have suffered a puncture during a fight with another bull, Klemm said.

Lauri Foster lives just outside of New York City and loves coming to Wyoming to visit Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Early Wednesday, she was on a wildlife-viewing drive through the Lamar Valley when she spotted the bull sporting a huge, bulbous mass near its backside.

Foster works with horses and is familiar with injuries to large animals, so she knew what she saw on the bison must be something serious.

“I thought it had to be a hematoma or an abscess,” she told Cowboy State Daily.

Foster couldn’t see any visible cuts or sores that might indicate exactly where it was wounded, she said.

To keep safe, Foster stayed in her vehicle to photograph that bull and other bison.

The bulls were raising a ruckus as they competed for mating rights.

“They were headbutting each other and chasing each other down,” Foster said.

The bull with the abscess was taking a break, though she surmised he had probably been recently wounded in a fight.

She added that despite how hideous that abscess looked, the bull didn’t seem sick or weak.

“He was walking along normally,” she said.

The rut has made bull bison extra agitated lately. In the most dramatic incident, a bison flipped and seriously injured Washington state resident Carl Isom-McDaniel, 65, in July.

Foster said at one point the bull walked up the middle of the road and stopped directly in front of her vehicle, giving her the stink-eye.

“I was thinking, ‘this is a little intimidating,’” she said.

Bull elk are known for getting into epic battles once their rut starts, usually in September.

Bison take it to another level, Klemm said.

“They’re worse than elk. If the loser doesn’t get away, the other bull will kill him,” he said.

The National Park Service has a general policy of letting nature take its course with animals’ injuries.

Klemm said the bull with the super-sized abscess has a good chance of making it.

“The infection is just raging in there,” he said. "The immune system is keeping that bison from dying, just from walking around with that much infectious material in its body.

“I suspect it will burst fairly soon and he’ll get over it. Bison have unbelievably good immune systems for things like this.” 

Bison abcess 8 6 26

<title>Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A massive abscess on a Yellowstone bull bison’s right rear quarter likely is the result of an infected wound from a rut battle. When it ruptures, “a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff” will gush out, a top bison rancher says, adding the bison should be fine.

Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Around Wyoming

Legislature

Students in Lincoln County School District No. 1 will have to leave their smartphones, smartwatches and other internet-connected devices behind during the school day starting this fall — and those who repeatedly violate the rule could end up paying for it.

The district's board of trustees has adopted a Smart Device Policy for the 2026-27 school year that prohibits students from possessing smart devices on campus during school hours. 

Students caught violating the policy three times will face a $25 fine, a provision district leaders say is intended to change behavior rather than generate revenue.

School districts across the state are enacting smart-device policies after the Wyoming Legislature passed a bill earlier this year requiring the adoption of formal policies to address the possession and use of smart devices by students while on school grounds. 

However, district board chair Kristi Dearden said she is not aware of any other school districts whose policies include a fee for repeat offenders.

“In education, you have to be able to gain and keep students’ attention for them to learn,” said Shawn Rogers, principal of Kemmerer Junior-Senior High School. “When you’re competing with a cellphone, you’re going to lose every time.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Legislature Puts Districts in Charge"}]

The move comes as schools across the state consider how to monitor smart-device usage.

Campbell County School District in June approved a ban for K–8 students between opening and end-of-day bells, with high school students allowed to use their cellphones between class periods and during lunch.

Cody High School in Park County School District 6 also implemented a total ban.

Last year, Cowboy State Daily reported on 

a total ban implemented at Evanston High School

EHS English teacher Laura Clarito said the ban changed the attitudes of students.

“Since cellphones were disallowed, I have seen more engagement in coursework and more conversation during downtime,” Clarito said. “Kids aren't phone zombies now, they are humans.”

Both Rogers and Dearden said Lincoln County School District No. 1’s new policy is a direct result of the recent legislation.

“There was a need for it,” Rogers said. “We were really happy that our Legislature finally gave us something to go on. We feel like we battle with those phones so much it’s definitely a distraction.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The $25 Fee"}]

Rogers said school administrators and board members researched what other states were doing to implement smart-device policies. In Texas, they learned, some districts are imposing fines for policy violations.

As the Lincoln County district considered how to change behavior, leaders thought a fee on a third offense made sense.  

“On the third offense, the behavior’s not changing,” Rogers said. “We would hope that it doesn’t get to that point.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Student Council To Receive Money"}]

Dearden said any fines collected will be deposited into the district’s student council fund.

[{"type":"text","text":"Rogers said he hopes the council won’t see much money from this source."}]

“I’m hoping it’s not going to be that big of a deal,” Rogers said. “Even if the fund collects $300, that means 12 students pushed it to three offenses.”

[{"type":"text","text":"That, he said, would signal a larger problem."}]

“I would hope that parents would make kids pay their own fine if it gets to that level,” he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Community Feedback"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The policy has generated spirited debate within the community."}]

Discussions on social media revealed sharply divided opinions, though no one spoke directly to Cowboy State Daily when asked to share their thoughts.

Some argued a ban on smart devices violated personal property rights. Others questioned how students would contact their parents in an emergency such as a shooting.

Others said the school office should be in charge of communicating with parents as necessary. Many supported the policy, saying students have the right to an education, not a right to a cellphone.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to is in support of it,” Rogers said, “though I’m not naïve enough to believe there aren’t naysayers.”

Dearden said no community members have spoken publicly at board meetings about the policy. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Win Back Education’"}]

The Lincoln County district’s policy points to research showing the mere presence of a cellphone reduces cognitive capacity.

 suggesting that banning smartphones in schools has a positive impact. She also shared a 

study from the National Library of Medicine

 that explored the impact of smartphone use on a student’s understanding of course material and psychological well-being in the classroom.

The policy declares Kemmerer Junior-Senior High School a “smart device free zone” from the first bell to the final bell.

It defines a smart device as “any portable electronic tool capable of connecting to external networks (including but not limited to Wi-Fi, cellular data or Bluetooth) or possessing independent processing power to store, record, or transmit data. This includes, but is not limited to, cellular phones, smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, e-readers, handheld gaming consoles, and wearable technology.”

Students can leave their devices in a locked vehicle or place them in a secure lockbox at the front office before school begins.

A first violation results in confiscation of a device until the end of the school day. A second offense requires a parent or guardian to retrieve it from the school.

[{"type":"text","text":"A third violation carries the $25 fine."}]

The policy also includes what administrators call a "burner device" provision. Students who place a dummy or decoy phone in a lockbox while secretly keeping their primary device will automatically receive a third offense.

With the new school year looming, administrators are optimistic that the policy will produce positive results.

[{"type":"text","text":"We call it “win back education,” Rogers said."}]

Kemmerer high and cellphone 8 6 26

<title>Lincoln County Students Face $25 Fines If They Keep Bringing Phones To School | Cowboy State Daily</title>

If stern warnings and rules won’t keep kids from bringing their cellphones and devices to school, maybe cash fines will get their attention. That’s the idea behind a new Lincoln County rule that will fine students $25 if they keep bringing them to school.

Lincoln County Students Face $25 Fines If They Keep Bringing Phones To School

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

After a contentious State Board of Land Commissioners meeting Thursday, Secretary of State Chuck Gray indicated it's Gov. Mark Gordon's fault he voted yes on an easement for a data center generation facility in June. 

Gordon called that "clearly an excuse concocted by Mr. Gray to cover up the fact that he is not doing his homework and is taking votes he does not understand." 

The governor also said that Gray sounds "like a jackass in a tin barn." 

In his campaign against eight other Republicans for the GOP nomination to U.S. House, Gray is the only candidate voicing outright opposition to data centers. Many of his opponents have said it’s the state and local governments’ role, not the role of Congress, to dictate policies on data centers.  

Gray was the lone no-vote of the State Board of Land Commissioners in February, on approving a 35-year easement for Cheyenne Power Hub, a generation facility 

 being the lone nay on the data center project easement at Tuesday night’s House debate.

 to that same data center generator facility.  

Gray told Cowboy State Daily he voted in favor of that data center-feeding facility because the vote’s true nature wasn’t clearly noticed, and “it looked like an easement for an oil and gas producer.”

Members of the State Board of Land Commissioners receive application documents a week before each meeting, and Office of State Lands (OSLI) and Investments personnel offer them a chance to ask questions and gain clarity before the meetings, OSLI communications and policy analyst Melissa Defratis said in a brief Thursday interview. 

[{"type":"text","text":"'An Ongoing Problem'"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Gray also blamed Gordon for what he calls inadequate notice of the votes."}]

“Unfortunately, at certain times, the Governor has found ways to hide what these leases are actually doing,” said Gray in a Thursday email. “For example, 

, it wasn’t even mentioned that any of the easement applications had anything to do with the data center.”

The June application was from the same facility that drew Gray’s no-vote in February.

“There was no way for the Board members to know, which has been an ongoing problem," Gray said.

All projects, easements, and Temporary Use Permits having anything to do with wind, solar, or data centers should be clearly noticed to the State Board of Land Commissioners," said Gray. "The fact that they haven’t been, including in the June meeting, is deeply disturbing to me.  

"It shows Gordon’s continued attempts to force outrageously wrong wind, solar, and data center projects without clear notice and knowledge of the public, including the State Board of Land Commissioners.

Gray accused Cowboy State Daily of being “the ultimately ally of Mark Gordon” and an unspecified group of “insiders.”

Gordon responded in a strongly-worded statement, noting that the members of the State Board of Land Commissioners are "fully briefed with every opportunity to ask the staff for more information. Nothing is being hidden from Mr. Gray."

Gordon said Gray has not been doing his homework and has been voting on things he doesn't understand. 

The governor said that in Thursday's meeting, "Mr. Gray appeared to be unprepared or unfamiliar with the material in front of him and was distracted by his cellphone during the meeting as he has been before." 

The governor said Wyoming's elected officials are expected to come prepared to meetings. 

"Mr. Gray continues to show his inability to understand the issues before him and to work well with his colleagues," said Gordon, adding, "The Secretary is sounding like a jackass in a tin barn." 

 has, for clarity, been published as a standalone story. 

Chuck Gray and Mark Gordon 8 6 26

<title>Gordon: Gray Sounds Like 'Jackass In A Tin Barn' For Blaming Data Center Vote On Gov | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Chuck Gray, who campaigns against data centers, indicated Thursday that his aye-vote on an easement for a data center generator was Gov. Mark Gordon's fault. "The Secretary is sounding like a jackass in a tin barn," Gordon responded.

Gordon: Gray Sounds Like 'Jackass In A Tin Barn' For Blaming Data Center Vote On Gov

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Wyoming is among 27 states reporting illnesses from a recent salmonella outbreak linked to imported jalapeño peppers.

While federal health officials say there is no ongoing risk to customers who eat at Chipotle or QDOBA chain Mexican restaurants, a Wyoming health official says the outbreaks are a reminder of the tradeoffs that come with the modern food system.

"I think it is part of the cost of doing business for our industrialized society," Park County Health Officer Aaron Billin told Cowboy State Daily. "We get our foods in bulk. 

"One hundred years ago, people had small farms, grew a little bit of everything, but now people specialize just in jalapeños and sell on a massive scale. And if that food supply gets contaminated, that's a problem."

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that 345 people have been sickened by the outbreak strain of 

. Thirty-six have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.

The FDA's public case map places Wyoming in a category with five or six reported illnesses.

Chipotle and QDOBA have removed their affected products.

Although the last known illnesses began in July, the outbreak is only now drawing widespread attention after federal investigators completed weeks of patient interviews and supply-chain tracing that identified a common grower in Sinaloa, Mexico, as the likely source.

The salmonella outbreak comes as Wyoming continues to monitor another foodborne illness investigation.

 of Cyclospora, a microscopic parasite that causes prolonged watery diarrhea, stomach cramps and fatigue.

State health officials said five of those cases were associated with international travel while one remained under investigation.

Billin said foodborne outbreaks are an unfortunate reality of an interconnected food system.

"We trust that our food, either bought at the supermarket or bought at a restaurant, is safe," he said. "But we have these outbreaks every once in a while."

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

According to the FDA, 177 of 191 people interviewed — about 93% — reported eating at a Mexican-style restaurant before becoming sick. Those restaurants included Chipotle Mexican Grill and QDOBA.

[{"type":"text","text":"Billin said outbreaks like this happen."}]

"Across the United States, we have probably half a dozen salmonella outbreaks every year," he said, noting previous outbreaks have been linked to eggs, backyard poultry, produce, pet reptiles and commercial food supplements.

While Wyoming has reported about six illnesses in the current outbreak, he said none are believed to have resulted in hospitalization.

Billin said contaminated produce can originate from several sources, including infected workers handling food after using the restroom, contaminated irrigation water or contaminated wash water used during processing.

"The more they wash it, the more contaminated it becomes," he said of the latter scenario. 

Because produce today is grown and distributed on such a large scale, a single contamination event can quickly spread across the country, he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Restaurants Responded"}]

After learning of the outbreak, Chipotle and QDOBA removed the affected jalapeño peppers from their restaurants.

Chipotle said its ingredient traceability system allowed it to quickly identify peppers from the affected grower and replace them with jalapeños from different suppliers.

"The health and safety of our guests and employees is our highest priority," the company said in a statement. "The recalled jalapeño peppers are no longer in Chipotle restaurants. Given these actions, the CDC and FDA have said they do not consider there to be a current ongoing risk from Chipotle restaurants in this outbreak."

The FDA said QDOBA also stopped serving the affected jalapeños July 28, and Coast Citrus Distributors has agreed to recall the remaining peppers linked to the outbreak.

Wyoming has two Chipotle restaurants — in Casper and Cheyenne — and seven QDOBA locations.

Multiple attempts to reach a manager at a Wyoming Chipotle on Thursday were unsuccessful. Calls were answered by an automated AI phone assistant that directed Cowboy State Daily to the company's website.

[{"type":"text","text":"A Casper QDOBA employee also declined to comment."}]

"Unfortunately, I am not allowed to comment," the employee said. "I was told to tell anyone asking about that to go to our website."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"One Diner's Experience"}]

Although federal officials say the affected product has been removed from restaurants, one Montana woman said she became violently ill after eating at a Chipotle location this week.

Nicole Lubick of Butte, Montana, told Cowboy State Daily she ordered vegetable fajitas with fresh tomato salsa on Aug. 4.

"I went home and ate, and honestly it didn't taste right," Lubick said. "It seemed like there was a lot of fat or something on the meat. It just didn't seem that great or fresh. But stupid me, I kept eating it."

[{"type":"text","text":"She said she woke around 2 a.m. sweating before becoming violently ill."}]

"I went to the bathroom, and sure enough, I started projectile vomiting," she said. "I probably vomited for two hours."

"I have never been so sick in my life," she added. "My gut says food poisoning."

Lubick said she had long considered Chipotle one of the healthier fast-food options and frequently ate there.

"I'm definitely going to rethink my eating habits and try to eat at home and eat locally grown food," she said.

Lubick said she reported her illness to her local health department and submitted a report through Chipotle's website.

There is no indication her illness has been linked to the salmonella outbreak, but Billin said her experience reflects why even isolated reports of foodborne illness can shake public confidence in a food system that depends on products being grown, shipped and served on a massive scale.

Chipotle jalapenos 8 6 26

<title>More Explosive Diarrhea: Wyoming Hit By Salmonella From Mexican Jalapeños | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming is among 27 states that were hit by a recent salmonella outbreak traced to jalapeños served at chain Mexican restaurants. It’s just “the cost of doing business” anymore in today’s modern food system, said a Park County health officer.

More Explosive Diarrhea: Wyoming Hit By Salmonella From Mexican Jalapeños

A federal campaign to kill nearly a half-million barred owls in the Pacific Northwest to save threatened spotted owls continues, even though the recent lifting of protections for spotted owl habitat defeats the entire purpose, an animal welfare advocate says. 

It’s costing the government roughly $3,000 per bird to have barred owls shot, Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Centre for a Humane Economy, told Cowboy State Daily. 

And with a recent move to weaken the habitat protection element of the Endangered Species Act, it could be all for nothing if spotted owls’ old-growth forest habitat gets logged, he added. 

Meanwhile, Wyoming’s barred owl population appears to be growing and might include four pairs in the Grand Teton area, Bryan Bedrosian, conservation director at the Teton Raptor Centre, told Cowboy State Daily. 

There’s virtually no chance spotted owls will ever come to Wyoming, he added. 

That means that Wyoming’s barred owls are safe from getting shotgunned to protect spotted owls.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What’s the Point Now?"}]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) sparked controversy in early 2025 by rolling out a plan for permitted shooters into Pacific Northwest coastal forests to 

. They’re larger than spotted owls and reportedly have been hogging their food.   

A new wrinkle was added in July, when FWS finalized a scaling back of habitat protections under the ESA. 

Effective Sept. 14, the change rescinds the regulatory definition of "harm", eliminating blanket protections for threatened species, and streamlines critical habitat exclusions.

Pacelle said rescinding “harm” from the ESA could throw spotted owl habitat open for logging.

In essence, barred owls are being “framed” for damage spotted owls are suffering from habitat loss, he said. 

What’s more, he argues that the killing program is expensive. 

The Hoppa Valley Tribe received a $4.5 million grant to kill 1,500 barred owls, Pacelle said. 

That’s about $3,000 for each owl shot, he said.

A request for comment from FWS wasn’t answered by publication time. 

Barred owls are originally from the eastern United States, but they’ve been moving west, claiming new territory. 

In the Pacific Northwest, they’ve been dubbed an “invasive species", which has been used to justify killing them, Pacelle said.

However, he says it’s more a case of the species naturally expanding its territory. 

Bedrosian said little is known about the history of barred owls in Wyoming. Another species, the great grey owl, is native to the state. 

Great grey owls, barred owls and spotted owls all belong to the same family, he said.

Barred owls are smaller than great grey owls but they’re also more aggressive, he said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hearty Eaters"}]

A federal campaign to kill nearly a half-million barred owls in the Pacific Northwest to save threatened spotted owls continues, even though recent lifting of protections for spotted owl habitat defeats the entire purpose, an animal welfare advocate says.

One More For The Road: Tuesday, October 10, 2023

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