One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"Having now wrecked all of his vehicles, Bill Sniffin takes to cycling..."}]

One more 12 4 23

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

<title>One More For The Road: Monday, December 4, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Having now wrecked all of his vehicles, Bill Sniffin takes to cycling...

One More For The Road: Monday, December 4, 2023

 Having now wrecked all of his vehicles, Bill Sniffin takes to cycling...

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Courts

A Carbon County Sheriff’s Office deputy remains in critical condition in a Colorado hospital days after taking bullets to the neck, arm and hip from an armed man in Baggs, Wyoming, who would later die in a shootout with law enforcement.

That Sgt. Zach Burns is alive at all is a miracle, said Baggs Mayor Matthew Howell, who lives next door to the apartment building Burns was responding to when he was shot Monday.

A deputy being shot, coupled with a high-speed chase and shootout with the suspect, is enough to make Monday one of the darkest days in the 116-year history of the tiny town of 411 people.

The way local residents rushed to save Burns’ life and maintain their composure during a daylong manhunt on lockdown also was one of the town’s best days, Howell said.

“It wasn’t a good thing that happened, but it was a great thing” in how people reacted, the mayor said.

Tragedy and conflict “really can bring out the best in people, and it really puts people here in a rural community like ours in a position to act like heroes,” he told Cowboy State Daily, adding that on Monday, that’s how they acted.

“Heroes are here,” Howell said. “I think the officer had a way better chance of making it through that (attack) because of the two people who rendered aid and slowed the bleeding down until the ambulance got there.

[{"type":"text","text":"“If nobody had come to his aid, he probably wouldn’t be here now.”"}]

That’s a sentiment shared by Wyoming state Rep. Bob Davis, R-Baggs, who said the suspect didn’t just shoot a deputy, he shot a member of the community and a friend.

“This particular officer, Zach Burns, he’s down there during the school hours patrolling the school zones,” Davis said on Thursday’s “Cowboy State Daily Show” with Jake Nichols. “For him to actually respond and basically … for somebody to shoot him was just unbelievable.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Expected To Pull Through’"}]

Burns was shot when he rolled up in response to a call of an active shooting at an apartment building near Wyoming Highway 789 near the south edge of the town, the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office has reported.

“Sergeant Burns located the suspect vehicle and initiated a traffic stop in front of a small apartment complex in Baggs,” Sheriff Alex Bakken said in the report. “Upon coming to a stop, the suspect immediately exited his vehicle and opened fire on Sergeant Burns with a semiautomatic rifle.”

Burns was struck in the neck, arm and hip, the sheriff says in the report.

The suspect — who so far has not been named by law enforcement but 

Carbon County Coroner Brittany Nyman told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday email that “all public information shall be released as part of the public docket at the conclusion of the investigation.”

“The suspect proceeded to set fire to the apartment building before getting back in his vehicle and fleeing northbound on Highway 789,” Bakken wrote.

[{"type":"text","text":"He also called out the quick actions of locals who helped Burns."}]

“Residents of Baggs immediately rushed to provide aid to Sergeant Burns until EMS crews could arrive, providing cover and emergency wound treatment,” Bakken says in the report.

Burns was taken by helicopter ambulance “to a trauma center in Colorado, where he is expected to pull through,” the report says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘The Best In People’"}]

In the rural Snake River Valley near Wyoming’s southern border with Colorado, most everyone knows each other, Davis said.

It also means life has its own pace and it’s hard for a significant event to happen without everyone knowing about it, he added.

“You wake up in the morning, and you never think of an active shooter situation occurring in your backyard, you know,” Davis said. “And basically, what it was … the person from what we understand just lived (in Baggs) and worked in the state to the south there.

“For whatever reason, (he) just got off his rocker, I guess.”

By Tuesday morning, the town looked like it always had, with the dozens of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies gone and people heading to work.

But the coffee talk has taken a break from politics, Davis said.

“They’re at the Cowboy Inn and the Stage Stop General Store, where you’ve got your little stools up there and the coffee pot’s always on,” he said. “What happened, I mean, it’s being discussed. The pipeline (is going) and brother-in-law called you and said this is going on, and your daughter’s working at the store and said this is going on.

“I’m sure you can check the rumor mill and find out 100 different scenarios going on.”

For his part, Howell said he’s impressed — but not surprised — with how Baggs responded during a dangerous, emergency situation.

“There wasn’t a single moment that the response wasn’t fluid,” he said, adding that if he had left for work 10 minutes earlier, he would’ve been right next to the scene of the shooting.

“I just don’t know how you get that lucky to get that many people to work together that quickly,” Howell said. “The first two people who rendered aid to the sheriff’s officer own two businesses here close to my house and were there very quick.”

Without them trying to stop Burns’ bleeding before EMS arrived — which also was within minutes — Howell said he thinks the sergeant would’ve bled out.

“It really does bring out the best in people, and it really puts people here in a rural community like ours — it makes it so special,” he said. “Whether they were the first person caring for the injured sheriff or just people trying to help with whatever they need to do, that’s just our community. That’s how it works.”

Davis said Baggs also was lucky to have so many emergency responders show up in a short time.

“Our hats have to be off to the first responders. I mean our local EMS, fire department,” he said. “When the gentleman torched the building again and went in before the high-speed chase happened — these are the heroes.”

 has been set up for Burns and his family, which has raised nearly $42,000 by Friday afternoon.

Zach Burns and Baggs 6 12 26

<title>Deputy Shot In Baggs Saved By Quick-Acting Residents | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sgt. Zach Burns remains in critical condition after being shot multiple times by a gunman in Baggs on Monday. “It wasn’t a good thing that happened, but it was a great thing” in how people reacted, the mayor said, which was “like heroes.”

Deputy Shot In Baggs Saved By Quick-Acting Residents

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Wildlife

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that it's investigating a graphic video of a man, allegedly a Wyoming resident, grabbing a seemingly wounded coyote by its tail, tossing the animal, then chasing it down to kick, stab and taunt it.

The video also was sent to Cowboy State Daily by a private investigator, Reece Soukoroff, who said he was the person who also sent it to Game and Fish.

Game and Fish Spokeswoman Amanda Fry said Friday that the department had received Soukoroff’s correspondence and is investigating the matter.

Because the video and what it shows is under investigation, Game and Fish could not offer any further information or comment, she said.

Soukoroff’s correspondence names the man allegedly in the video and identifies him as a Wyoming resident. Because no citations or charges have yet been filed in the matter, Cowboy State Daily will not identify him. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What The Video Depicts"}]

The video takes place in what appears to be a winter landscape and begins with the man reaching under some sagebrush and grabbing the coyote by its tail while someone else takes video.

There’s blood on the ground near the sagebrush, indicating it had possibly already been injured. He pulls the coyote out from under the bush by the tail and flings it several yards.

The coyote, which appears to have blood on it, tries to run but its mobility appears to be compromised.

The man pursues the coyote, catches up to it and kicks it in the head. The coyote then apparently barks and falls over on its side.

The man produces a knife, circles the prone animal, and stabs the coyote once in the front shoulder area.

Then he kicks the animal again and taps it on the head with the knife’s blade while the coyote raises its head with its mouth open looking at the man.

Sourkoroff said he was hired by a client, who will remain anonymous, to look into the incident.

He sent correspondence to Cowboy State Daily as well as wildlife agencies, animal welfare groups and other organizations in several states and in British Columbia, Canada.

In a text message exchange with Cowboy State Daily early Friday, he said his client hasn’t yet been able to identify exactly when and where the video was taken.

Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, told Cowboy State Daily that his organization had received Sourkoroff’s correspondence.

After viewing the video, he called it “revolting and sickening.”

"In a certain way, it’s worse than Cody Roberts,” he said, referencing the Daniel, Wyoming, resident who attracted global attention after capturing, tormenting and killing a wolf in 2024.

Animal Wellness Action was among groups that raised money for a reward that helped bring a 

There was never video released of Roberts allegedly running the wolf down with a snowmobile, he said.

“Here (in the coyote video) you see the sadistic behavior of this man. This is the very essence of cruelty to animals,” Pacelle said.

Regarding whether Animal Wellness Action will take similar steps in the coyote case, and put up reward money, Pacelle said he “wants to know more before making an assessment.”

That could include determining whether the alleged offense too place on federal land, in which case federal animal cruelty charges might apply, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘This Is Not Us’"}]

Paul Ulrich, president of the Wyoming Sportsmanship group, told Cowboy State Daily that he was “thoroughly and utterly disgusted” by the video.

“Nothing in this video shows sportsmanship or any degree of predator control” Ulrich said, adding that it instead is rank animal cruelty.

Wyoming Sportsmanship was founded in response the Roberts incident.

The group was pivotal in getting the so-called “clean kill bill” passed by the Wyoming Legislature. That bill made it a crime to deliberately prolong the suffering of a predatory animal, rather than kill it as quickly as possible.

The investigation into what the video depicts could result in that law being applied, Ulrich said.

"Our expectation is that a county attorney will take a close look at this, take a close look at the hard work we put into the Clean Kill Bill and press charges,” he said. "Throw the book at this individual."

Wyoming Sportsmanship also lobbied for prosecution in the case of the alleged 

Like the cases involving the moose and the wolf in Daniel, what’s seen in the coyote video doesn’t reflect Wyoming hunters’ and conservationists’ values, and should be broadly condemned, Ulrich said.

“I’m grateful for every Wyoming resident that sees this as abhorrent and disgusting behavior. And makes it clear that Wyoming isn’t going to tolerate that,” Ulrich said.

Coyote incident Mix Collage 12 Jun 2026 11 56 AM 3030 6 12 26

<title>Investigation Launched In Graphic Coyote Torture Video Allegedly Shot In Wyoming | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is investigating a graphic video where an alleged Wyoming man tortures a seemingly wounded coyote. The video shows a man grabbing the coyote by its tail and then tossing, kicking, stabbing, and taunting the animal.

Investigation Launched In Graphic Coyote Torture Video Allegedly Shot In Wyoming

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

Renée Jean

Business & Tourism

Business

CHEYENNE — The developer behind a massive 5,600-worker man camp that was going to locate just south of Cheyenne in the High Plains Business Park has pulled back on the project, at least for now.

The company had been under contract to buy land near Orchard Valley for the Iron Guard Workforce Housing campus but has withdrawn its application and is no longer under contract for that site. 

“Due to several variables outside of our control, we are unable to finalize the conditional use permit at this time in this location,” said an emailed statement from project representative Casey Palma to Cowboy State Daily. 

Palma said the application, which had been on the Laramie County Commission’s June 16 agenda, has been removed. Residents will be notified if that changes. 

“Our hope is that putting the application on hold will save everyone time and effort, versus multiple consecutive postponements,” Palma said. “(That) will allow Iron Guard to provide a housing campus that best meets the needs of the community.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The project isn’t dead, Palma added."}]

Several other potential sites have also been under consideration, Palma indicated, “with regard to access, serviceability, and appropriate interface to surrounding neighborhoods.”

A campus to house data center workers is “desperately needed in Laramie County,” Palma added. “We look forward to bringing this campus to support Cheyenne’s economic development.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Neighborhood Outcry"}]

The postponement comes amid weeks of heated debate over the proposed man camp which, by size alone, data from the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division indicates would be 

 of the state's incorporated cities or towns.

The man camp’s future neighbors have questioned the location, fearing it would lead to increased crime and lower property values. 

“Man camps in similar locations have led to an increase in property crime, DUI’s, drug crimes and violent crimes,” Harmony Meadows resident Heather Madrid wrote in a letter to Laramie County planners. “There are many schools in this area.”

She also questioned having such a large surge in population in an area that she characterized as already “underserved and under-resourced.”

Madrid told Cowboy State Daily the project’s postponement is “great news for the surrounding communities.”

“It will probably be built somewhere else,” she said. “Hopefully, it’s not near neighborhoods that have already born the brunt of all this and are historically underserved, under-resourced, and under-represented. It shouldn’t be near any neighborhoods.”

Madrid added she understands not building a man camp would have further impact to the housing markets, but added the need for one is “reflective of rapid, unsustainable growth.”

“To be clear, I am not against the workers,” she said. “They are not to blame, whether they’re local or not. The blame lies with the public officials who have failed to plan properly and refuse to adjust unless it’s an adjustment that benefits developers and operators. They apparently can’t read the room, or don’t care to.”

Others fear such a large man camp in that location would overwhelm services in the area. South-side resident Elizabeth Marvin told Laramie County planners there’s just one grocery store on that side of town. 

“We don’t have the infrastructure to support that many more people,” she said. “We don’t have the resources.”

Maureen Clifton, meanwhile, told Laramie County planners that utilities in that area are already overwhelmed. 

Her basement has flooded with sewage twice since she moved in a few months ago, a problem she doesn’t see getting better if a 5,600-worker man camp gets built in the area.

“An 800-unit man camp is not good for any part of town,” Clifton wrote in a letter to Laramie County planners. “It’s not a coincidence that this is not proposed on the north side of town, where numerous more services exist.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Housing Crisis Ahead"}]

The Iron Guard Workforce Housing Campus has been pitched as necessary to help Laramie County and Cheyenne capture the economic benefits of major data center investments, while shielding local neighborhoods and housing markets from negative side effects.

“We need housing yesterday,” Laramie County Planning and Development Director Justin Arnold said. “I’m worried about the cashier at Safeway on South Greeley Highway when his lease comes up for rent — and then he gets priced out by someone making $100,000.”

Consolidating the thousands of out-of-town electricians, pipe fitters, equipment operators and other skilled trades that will be needed for data center projects, along with F.E. Warren Air Force Base's nuclear missile upgrade, is one way to help alleviate the pressure on existing housing stock and keep costs of living more stable for long-time residents, Iron Guard and Cheyenne officials have said.

Local real estate market data show there are fewer than 300 homes listed for sale in all of Laramie County in early June — 289 homes for a population of about 100,000. That’s well below the more usual 450 to 550 listings Cheyenne has when it’s a more balanced market. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Taking A Breath"}]

The campus would have been just outside Cheyenne city limits on the south side in an area already surrounded by industrial and data-center development. 

The area is identified in long-range transportation plans for future collector and arterial roads.

Withdrawal from the Orchard Valley site prompted a mixed reaction in social media groups like Cheyenne Community Connections on Facebook.

Some were pleased the man camp had been stopped in the proposed location, expressing hope it won't get built at all, while others pointed out that no man camp means hotels and short-term rentals will fill up just as tourism season arrives. 

Wyoming Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dale Steenbergen told Cowboy State Daily he thinks it’s good that the developer and officials are “taking a breath” to consider “how we can do this better and people feel comfortable with it,” including how workforce housing interacts with local lodging markets and neighborhoods. 

“We’ve got a lot of these projects going,” he said. “They’re all going to require workers. So I think everybody’s just trying to figure out how to get them to fit in our communities the best.”

Man camp and Cheyenne sign 6 12 26

<title>Developer Puts Massive 5,600-Worker Cheyenne Man Camp On Hold, Looks For New Site | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A proposed 5,600-worker man camp south of Cheyenne that would have been larger than 84 Wyoming cities and towns has been put on hold after weeks of community backlash. The developer says it's still “desperately needed” and is looking for a new site.

Developer Puts Massive 5,600-Worker Cheyenne Man Camp On Hold, Looks For New Site

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

counties on Thursday that a 4% cap on yearly increases in residential property taxes is unconstitutional, and the counties shouldn’t let taxpayers have that exemption.

The State Equalization Board will refuse to certify this year’s property tax assessment figures if counties keep that cap on them, the report says.

The board’s two-person majority — Chair Jayne Mockler and Vice-Chair Marty Hardscog — wrote in the Thursday report that the 4% increase cap for residential property taxes has arbitrary impacts across the state. 

It also disproportionately insulates high-end homes, and disfavors homeowners in more sluggish market areas, the report asserts.

But the report’s main point, and conclusion from the past two years’ tax data, is that the 4% cap violates the Wyoming Constitution’s call for equal and uniform property taxes within each class of property.

The board hasn’t yet issued an order requiring Wyoming’s county assessors to rework their pending tax bills without the cap.

But it expects to do so in the coming weeks after working with counties, Mockler told Cowboy State Daily in a Thursday phone interview.

“We issued this report today that says if that cap doesn’t come off, Marty and I can’t vote to certify residential property taxes. Because they’re not uniform,” said Mockler. “It’ll be followed with an order ... (and) our goal is ultimately to remove the cap.”  

Mockler noted that the board isn’t targeting the other, narrower exemptions with this report — like the 25% property tax cut passed in 2025 or the long-term homeowner exemption.

More than half of the state’s residential property tax values fall under the 4% increase cap, the report says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"But We Don’t Get A Tax Free Year"}]

This kind of push from the state board is unprecedented, Converse County Assessor Dixie Huxtable told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.

But Wyomingites shouldn’t expect a tax-free year over the maneuver, she said.

“Everyone’s in agreement there will be residential property taxes for 2026,” she said. “This … is just a step in the process of getting different values the board feels is appropriate.”

The pending mandate leaves Wyoming counties somewhere between following the 4% cap requirement in state law and following another state law that tells assessors to obey the state board, she said.  

“You’re asking us to go against the law? Under the law we have to apply the 4% cap and you’re saying we can’t,” she reflected from the report.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It’s so bizarre it’s funny,” Huxtable added. "}]

She said she was digesting the report Thursday afternoon, and had just been to a phone meeting with the board officials, assessors, and county attorneys.

Two days earlier on Tuesday, Huxtable had just urged the Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee to approach more changes to the state’s property tax law with caution, because assessors are always trying to keep up with the many changes lawmakers have brought in recent years.

Assessors are at the mercy of state law and are working hard to follow it, she’d said.  

Reflecting on the board’s Thursday report, Huxtable told Cowboy State Daily that assessors are now trying to gain clarification on what to do in the coming weeks.

“We’re on standby,” she said, adding that from her meeting with the board, her impression is, “They’d be tickled pink to go to court” on this issue.

Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz said Thursday that he doesn’t know of any litigation on this currently, “but if there is a challenge, we will support what the Legislature did.”

Rep. Barry Crago, R-Buffalo, who has since become a state senator, was the sponsor on the main bill the board’s Thursday report derides as unconstitutional.

Crago did not return a Thursday afternoon voicemail request for comment by publication.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Different Homes, Different Taxes"}]

The board’s report points to inconsistencies across the Wyoming property tax structure.

People who upgrade their homes by changing the footprint of those homes lose the cap exemption to a reset that year, while people who upgrade only the interior do not, says the report.

It says some homes have had their tax bills so thoroughly capped, they’re paying less than half of the state-mandated property tax rate.

“The caps, by design, generate highly disparate tax consequences for 

It accuses the law of discriminating arbitrarily between different homeowners across Wyoming.

“The demarcation between taxpayers receiving a tax windfall, versus those who do not, serves no rational basis,” the document adds.

Rep. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that she had voted for the 4% tax cap during the tax hikes of 2024. But she views the law as more of a short-term fix. 

"It was a tourniquet; it was a short-term fix," she said. "But if you leave the tourniquet on, you damage the body." 

Storer's home region of Teton County accounts for huge property tax revenues in Wyoming. She has tried over the years to get lawmakers to stop applying property tax breaks to people's secondary homes. 

Of the $860.2 million in exemptions the 4% cap is expected to cause this year, Teton County accounts for $507.9 million, says a Department of Revenue memo Storer sent to Cowboy State Daily. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Lawsuit That Wasn’t"}]

The board warned lawmakers before the 4% cap bill’s passage that board members believed it’s unconstitutional.

 “the die was cast,” says the report.

The board examined the residential assessment values and looked for inverted valuations, that is where higher-valued properties were assessed at lower taxable values than other, similarly situated properties.

The board during the 2025 tax calculation process had just two members, Mockler and Hardscog. They voted that year to certify the tax values, but said that those values were probably invalid. Still, they wanted to gather one more year of data to be sure, the report says.

They also planned to release a Nov. 13, 2025, order requiring assessors to stop giving the exemption.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s office asked the board not to issue that order, the report says.

In November and early December, the governor’s office and Wyoming Attorney General’s Office met with Hardscog and Mockler to talk about filing an action asking a court to judge the issue.

The governor’s office and AG’s office agreed the state board should file that court action, the report says.

The litigation was slated to be filed Jan. 20. Gordon’s office asked for multiple delays, at first to communicate the lawsuit with legislative leaders. 

When Gordon’s office asked for another delay two days later, Hardscog and Mockler said they wouldn’t certify the property tax values after the June tax calculation process, “without a working resolution of their constitutional concerns,” says the report.

Property tax chyenne 1 6 11 26

<title>Wyoming Tax Board Says 4% Cap On Property Tax Is Unconstitutional, Won't Accept It | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming’s state-level property tax board told counties on Thursday that a 4% cap on yearly increases in residential property taxes is unconstitutional and it will refuse to certify this year's property tax assessment figures if the cap remains.

Wyoming Tax Board Says 4% Cap On Property Tax Is Unconstitutional, Won't Accept It

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily political columnist, Rod Miller.

Rod Miller

Opinion

CSD Columnists

I returned to the ID ranch where I grew up. My family (the blood) joined me, as did Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken (the heat). 

Here’s what went down in a country widely considered to be the original site of the Garden of Eden.

First – why the sheriff? Alex Bakken wears the same badge that my great-grandfather, I.C. Miller wore as territorial sheriff in Carbon County. So I’ve kept an eye on Sheriff Bakken, and I’ve been impressed with how he handles himself wearing that badge. 

Columnist Rod Miller writes: "So I took my family (the blood) and Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken (the heat), to the old ranch country where I expect my kids to scatter my ashes. Here’s what went down."

One More For The Road: Monday, December 4, 2023

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