One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"Just go ahead and park anywhere..."}]

One more for 10 27 23

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

<title>One More For The Road: Friday, October 27, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Go ahead and park anywhere...

One More For The Road: Friday, October 27, 2023

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

Renée Jean

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

Cheyenne railfan and sculptor Carey Moose Hosterman wasn’t planning to see a rocket train. 

He was just driving home from Home Depot with a bag of sculpting tools last week when a strange-looking locomotive rolled out of Cheyenne’s historic depot onto the main line.

He wasn’t sure at the time exactly what he was seeing, but he didn’t hesitate to hit his blinker and pull over to watch it go by.

“I was like, ‘Wow, that is a really cool-looking car or engine on that train there,’” he told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s got an American flag on it and it looks really different.”

Only later would he learn that No. 4547 was passing through Wyoming on June 2 on its first mission hauling the final solid rocket booster segments for NASA’s Artemis III rocket to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

In late 2027, four members of the crew for Artemis III will launch aboard an Orion spacecraft. 

It's a demonstration flight in a low Earth orbit that will test rendezvous and docking operations between Orion and test versions of the Human Landing System being developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

The Artemis IV will be the first crewed lunar landing mission of the Artemis program, scheduled for 2028.

Hosterman has spent years watching all kinds of trains roll through Cheyenne. 

He’s seen trains with tanks and armor, and wind turbine blades so long they need two flat cars just to make the curves. 

A rocket train, though, was a first, and it was rolling through Cheyenne without fanfare or warning.

The lead engine, he would later learn, was Union Pacific No. 4547, a commemorative locomotive that celebrates President Donald Trump, painted with a fluttering American flag all along its length. 

Behind it was the equally colorful No. 1616, a red locomotive that honors Abraham Lincoln for signing the Pacific Railway Act in 1862.

Then came the cars that really puzzled Hosterman — a square, yellow car surrounded by rings of white pipes, followed by a chain of white round cars alternating with square yellow ones.

“They were just these weird-looking, covered capsule-looking things,” Hosterman said. “And my wife and I have been so excited with the Big Boy train, we really pay attention to what’s going around on the tracks. 

"So we got to talking about that train, too, and wondering what was in it.”

They wouldn’t solve the mystery until the next day, when they saw a news story about segments of Artemis III being delivered to Florida. 

That’s when the strange white capsules and square yellow cars suddenly made sense.

“I wish now I would have taken a picture,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “From now on, when the senses are going off, ‘Hey, you know, this is kind of cool. We should snap a picture.’”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"First Steps To The Moon"}]

The rocket train carried the final eight of Northrop Grumman’s twin solid rocket-booster motor segments, manufactured in Utah. The parts will be joined to previously delivered segments shipped in April. 

The solid rocket boosters will generate 7.2 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, according to Northrop, and will be among the first pieces of hardware assembled on the mobile launch platform.

Artemis III is the third in a series of missions aiming to return humans to the surface of the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. 

It’s one of several steps along the way to eventually establishing a permanent base on the moon and then sending astronauts to Mars. 

Artemis III builds on the success of the prior Artemis II mission in April, which sent four astronauts on a 10-day flyby of the moon. 

The overall mission involved testing NASA’s Orion spacecraft for maneuverability, including docking with a lunar lander. 

Wyoming manufacturer L&H Industrial in Gillette had a hand in 

helping build mission-critical hardware for Artemis II

That included upgrades to the huge crawler transporter that takes rockets to the launching pad, traveling at 1 mph. 

It also included flame detector plates, which help to deflect the searing heat caused by 9 million pounds of thrust that comes out of a rocket all at once during launch.

For those who missed Artemis III’s passage through Wyoming, retired railroad man Stan Blake said rocket parts have passed through Wyoming before, and will likely do so again for future Artemis missions.

Wyoming has some advantages when it comes to hauling such things, thanks to its many wide open spaces. 

Many times for extra-wide loads, trains will stop at a certain point on the rail line where things are wider, allowing that extra wide load to pass by without delay.

“I’m sure they are very heavy,” Blake said. “Instead of the normal two axles under each end of the railroad car, they might have three, maybe four axles, kind of like when you see a semi hauling something heavy. They have extra sets of axles and tires.”

Military tanks, meanwhile, typically travel in a special car built for heavier loads.

“There are probably also armed guards in a caboose or in the locomotive,” Blake added. “They do that when they haul nuclear waste. Usually, they’ll have a caboose with armed guards.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Front-Row Seat To History"}]

Cheyenne is an essential hub for the United States, Hosterman said. That has him constantly looking anytime he passes by the depot, to see if something cool is headed through Wyoming.

“That makes Cheyenne unique, because a whole lot of new things are coming through the tracks that you just don’t know what they are,” he said. “Sometimes you get to see some neat rail cars with military stuff on it.”

As a sculptor, Hosterman appreciates the odd forms that sometimes pass by. He also likes some of the artwork painted on the train cars.

“I’m an artist, so I do kind of admire some of the artwork that goes by,” he said. “Some of it is pretty good, actually.”

After seeing a rocket train roll through Cheyenne, it’s one more reason to keep looking at what’s passing through the depot. 

You just never know when the next quiet train rolling through town will be another piece of history.

Artemis III locomotive Artemis II Is final rocket booster segments traveled through Wyoming recently on their way to Kennedy Space Center 6 11 26

<title>New Trump Locomotive No. 4547 Rolls Through Wyoming Carrying Artemis III Rocket | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The first job for Union Pacific’s new Trump-themed locomotive No. 4547 took it through Wyoming carrying the Artemis III rocket. Nobody except railroad watchers noticed. “They were just these weird-looking, covered capsule-looking things,” one said.

New Trump Locomotive No. 4547 Rolls Through Wyoming Carrying Artemis III Rocket

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Outdoors

Wildlife

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

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

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

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

attacked and killed a 70-year-old Canadian tourist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rosebud Sioux Tribe Game, Fish, And Parks Takes Over

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Custer State Park Phil Gould via Alamy 6 1 26

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

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

Bison Escapes Death Sentence After Killing Woman In Custer State Park

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Crime & Courts

Courts

CASPER — A 19-year-old Casper man faces felonycharges for allegedly firing into a car that was trying to take his girlfriend out of what she characterized as a “bad situation.”

Camden Martinez faces a preliminary hearing on three counts of aggravated assault and battery and one count of theft. He appeared in Casper Circuit Court for his initial appearance on Tuesday.

Court records show that Casper police officers were called to an area in the Paradise Valley subdivision just after midnight on Monday for a report of shots fired. 

At the scene they found two women and a man with a Volkswagen Jetta. 

One of the women was identified as Martinez’s girlfriend, the other was her friend who drove to the location with the male.

A police affidavit states that Martinez’s girlfriend declined to speak with officers but her friend identified as “KS” said that she had been contacted by Martinez’s girlfriend on social media with a message that she “was in a bad situation” and wanted to be picked up.

At Martinez’s home, the girlfriend came out of the door, got into the back seat behind her, and she started to pull away, KS told police. As she began driving she told officers that she heard shots fired.

“KS quickly drove away and pulled over a short time later and observed her vehicle had been shot in the rear bumper and rear window area,” the affidavit states. 

She told officers she did not have any weapons in her car, and Officers searched the vehicle and found no weapons.

The male in the car with KS told police he was in the front passenger seat and saw Martinez stand shirtless in the doorway of his home as his girlfriend approached the Jetta. 

Martinez yelled something at her, and the girlfriend told them to take off without shutting the car door, he said.

The male told police he heard three shots and the rear window of the car was shot.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Bullet Marks"}]

Police found two “bullet defects” in the back of the Jetta, one to the rear window and one to the bumper. A bullet fragment was also recovered from the car, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states that officers contacted Martinez and he had a “moderate odor” of alcohol and when asked where the firearm was, he replied that “it wasn’t my gun.”

Officers recovered three 10 mm shell casings: one outside the front door of his residence, one in the grass, and one in the street in front of the residence. 

Martinez also said that he was shot at by someone in the vehicle, the affidavit states.

A search warrant obtained for Martinez’s home resulted in officers recovering a black Glock 20 10mm in the propane tank area of a grill in the back yard of the residence. 

It had two rounds in the magazine, the affidavit states. They also recovered a Glock 19 from a gun safe in Martinez’s bedroom. The gun was determined to be stolen from South Dakota.

Martinez’s mother told police that he and his girlfriend had an argument in his bedroom and that when his girlfriend left his room with her backpack, Martinez followed with his hand in his pocket, “giving her the feeling that something was wrong,” the affidavit states.

“(The mother) reported then seeing Martinez standing in the middle of the street, draw a handgun, then fire three rounds in the same direction of travel for the vehicle that (his girlfriend) had left in,” the affidavit states.

The mother told police she did not know that Martinez had the Glock 20 and that he had placed the gun on the grill to “hide it because he had shot it.”

The three aggravated assault charges and the theft charge all are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Bond was set at $75,000 cash. Martinez remains in the Natrona County Jail.

A preliminary examination date has not yet been set.

Camden Martinez 6 11 26

<title>Casper Man Accused of Shooting Into Vehicle As Girlfriend Tried To Leave | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 19-year-old Casper man faces four felony charges and the potential for 40 years in prison after firing three times at a vehicle that was taking his girlfriend away from his home. She was trying to get out of a “bad situation."

Casper Man Accused of Shooting Into Vehicle As Girlfriend Tried To Leave

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

A Sheridan couple is facing felony theft charges after police say they hauled away more than $1,400 worth of donations from outside a church that had been collected for a fundraiser.

The pair later told the Sheridan Police Department that they believed the items had been left outside for anyone to take.

Michael C. Forni, 27, and Amber Mae Walker, 32, were each charged Wednesday during initial appearances in Sheridan County Circuit Court.

According to an affidavit filed by the Sheridan PD, church staff discovered Saturday that more than a dozen items staged outside First United Methodist Church for an upcoming fundraising sale had disappeared overnight.

The haul was an eclectic mix of yard-sale treasures and oddities: a rototiller, propane tank, window air conditioner, camp cots and coolers, alongside retired traffic signals, rifle scopes, a handmade wooden wagon and even a jade plant.

Church staff told investigators they weren't exactly sure how many items in total were stolen. 

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

Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the church and reportedly observed a black Toyota Tundra pull into the parking lot at about 4:01 a.m.

A man and woman got out of the truck and loaded several items before leaving, says the affidavit.

About 17 minutes later, the same truck returned, and the pair loaded more property before driving away a second time.

Church staff later provided police with a detailed list of the missing items that had been gathered for a fundraising sale organized by the church's Methodist Men's Group.

Pastor Jim Barth was unavailable for comment, but the church receptionist immediately recognized the case.

The ministry regularly hosts parking lot sales and Palm Sunday breakfasts to raise money for projects that support both the church and the broader Sheridan community. 

Other items taken included several rifle scopes, a weed eater, Cabela's dry bags, and two retired traffic signals. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Facebook Tip"}]

After obtaining still images from surveillance video, Sheridan police posted photographs on the department's Facebook page seeking help identifying the pair. It appears the photos have since been removed.

According to court records, an anonymous tip identified the suspects as Forni and Walker.

When officers arrived at the couple's home, they reportedly found a black Toyota Tundra matching the truck seen in the surveillance video parked in the driveway, the affidavit says.

Investigators also observed a window air conditioner in the bed of the truck that matched one reported missing from the church.

Police then contacted Forni and Walker, who both acknowledged taking the items, according to the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Wrong Assumption"}]

Court records indicate both told investigators they believed the items had been left outside for people to take for free. The couple told officers they had been driving around and noticed the collection of property outside the church.

Forni reportedly said they assumed the items were being discarded and decided to "dumpster dive" through them.

[{"type":"text","text":"Walker gave a similar account."}]

Police later recovered the property from them. The total value of the recovered items was estimated at about $1,455.

Under Wyoming law, theft of property valued at more than $1,000 is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

Forni and Walker made their initial appearances Wednesday afternoon in Sheridan County Circuit Court.

First United Methodist Church in Sheridan 6 11 26

<title>Police Say Sheridan Couple Accused Of Stealing Fundraiser Donations From Church | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Sheridan couple is facing felony theft charges after police say they hauled away two pickup loads of donations from outside the church that had been collected for a fundraiser. They said they believed the items had been left outside for anyone to take.

Police Say Sheridan Couple Accused Of Stealing Fundraiser Donations From Church

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Government & Politics

Politics

The Clinton-era Roadless Rule on U.S. Forest Service lands, already under threat of being rescinded by the Trump administration, will be erased completely if Wyoming Republicans U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and Rep. Harriet Hageman get their way.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has attached an amendment to Barrasso’s Wildfire Prevention Act of 2026, calling for the Roadless Rule to be nullified.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Wednesday passed Lee's amendment and forwarded the bill.

On the U.S. House side in May, Hageman introduced her Roadless Rule Nullification Bill.

Both Hageman’s bill and Lee’s amendment call for the 2001 U.S. Forest Service Roadless Rule to be nullified, with no possibility of it ever being reintroduced.

The Roadless Rule has forbidden new road construction on national forests across Wyoming’s high country. It’s also similarly prevented new road construction on 45 million acres of national forest lands across the West, and up to 60 million acres nationwide.

In August 2025, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz announced the first step toward rescinding the rule, as directed by the Trump administration.

A decision is still pending on Trump’s call to repeal the rule.

Hageman and others who support eliminating the Roadless Rule argue that the rule has hampered sound forest management and wildfire prevention.

Environmentalists and sportsmen’s groups balk at the idea of erasing the Roadless Rule. They claim it protects some of Wyoming’s most pristine areas, with top-notch hunting and angling opportunities.

Congressional moves against the Roadless Rule complement and bolster the Trump administration’s efforts to rescind it, according to Hageman and Barrasso.

“I have been fighting the Roadless Rule since the day it was handed down in the final 10 days of the Clinton administration,” Hageman said in a Thursday statement to Cowboy State Daily.

“The 25 years since have demonstrated how the prohibitions on roads across nearly 60 million acres of federal lands has been an environmental catastrophe as predicted,” she said. "I am glad to see the Senate take positive steps towards this devastating rule’s permanent repeal.”

Barrasso shares Hageman’s concerns about the impact the rule has had over the past 25 years.

“Senator Barrasso has been publicly opposed to the Clinton Roadless Rule for decades. He applauded Secretary Rollins and the Trump administration for rescinding this rule last year,” according to a statement from Barrasso’s office Thursday to Cowboy State Daily.

“This amendment would codify the administration’s efforts to rescind this outdated rule, while also respecting states’ rights to create their own rules,” the statement says.

The Roadless Rule has long been controversial. In June 2025, Hageman blasted it, saying it leaves Wyoming more 

Vast roadless areas prevent the removal of swaths of dead timber and other wildfire fuel, Hageman said. And a lack of roads makes it difficult for firefighting crews to reach remote areas when blazes break out.

However, some sportsmen’s and outdoor groups claim the Roadless Rule protects some of Wyoming’s greatest outdoor treasures.

"Repealing the Roadless Rule would affect 45 million acres of our country’s National Forests,” said the Outdoor Alliance. "These are the places we ride, hike, bike, ski, and climb, and they help protect clean air and water across the country.”

The Outdoor Alliance disagrees with Hageman and Barrasso, saying that “roadless areas also allow for active management of wildfire.”

The Wilderness Society goes further, calling the legislation “bad news” in a Wednesday statement.

“A new bill introduced by Senator John Barrasso (WY) and backed by Senator Mike Lee (UT) would strike down protections for 45 million acres of national forests by nullifying the Roadless Area Conservation Rule,” the group says in a statement. 

The bill “masquerades as a solution to the wildfire crisis, but would make matters worse by overthinning naturally resilient forests and increasing the risk of human ignitions when wildland firefighting forces are already stretched thin by the administration’s reckless cuts,” the Wilderness Society says.

Roadless areas are vital to Western hunting and angling, Devin O’Dea, the Western policy and conservation manager for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, previously told Cowboy State Daily. 

“These are places we know are really valuable from a hunting and fishing perspective,” he said. 

Retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear biologist Chris Servheen is a vocal supporter of the Roadless Rule.

Speaking during a May rally Washington, D.C., Servheen said that rescinding the rule is bound to 

That, in turn could derail efforts to delist grizzlies from federal Endangered Species protection in the Lower 48, he said.

Squaretop 540731013 10163098313419127 8987280995964210861 n 9 5 25

<title>Amended Barrasso Bill Would Erase Clinton-Era Roadless Rule | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Clinton-era Roadless Rule on U.S. Forest Service lands will be erased if Wyoming Republicans U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and Rep. Harriet Hageman get their way. “I have been fighting the Roadless Rule since the day it was handed down,” said Hageman.

Amended Barrasso Bill Would Erase Clinton-Era Roadless Rule

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

The Beartooth Highway was closed at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday because of snow and extreme conditions at the highest points of the 10,947-foot-high All-American Road.

As of Friday afternoon, the entire 68.29-mile expanse still wasn’t fully open with no estimated time of reopening. That’s because it was still snowing across northwest Wyoming and southern Montana, with no signs of stopping.

More than 69 miles of the Beartooth Highway are still closed because of a late spring snowstorm in southern Montana. Road officials warned motorists not to use “map apps” as people have become stranded like a German couple who got lost in Wyoming. 

One More For The Road: Friday, October 27, 2023

In case you missed it

More in One More For The Road

One More For The Road: Thursday, June 11, 2026

One More For The Road: Wednesday, June 10, 2026

One More For The Road: Tuesday, June 9, 2026

One More For The Road: Monday, June 8, 2026

Most read