Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"Now let's all watch a dog walk on ice...."}]

Smile 12 21 23

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

<title>Daily Smile: Thursday, December 21, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Now let's all watch a dog walk on ice....

Daily Smile: Thursday, December 21, 2023

 Now let's all watch a dog walk on ice....

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

Clair McFarland

Politics

CHEYENNE — Seven of the 10 Republican candidates running to become Wyoming’s next U.S. House candidate courted a largely Christian audience Tuesday in Cheyenne, with statements on their faith, and their different approaches to education, family rights, and abortion policy. 

The Wyoming Family Alliance is an advocacy group that strives to advance biblical, generally faith-based policy objectives. The group’s president posed a series of questions at a packed event Tuesday evening in The Metropolitan Downtown, to these seven GOP candidates:

State Senate President Bo Biteman, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, philanthropist and conservative thought leader Steve Friess, Casper-based combat veteran Kevin Christensen, Army Ranger David Giralt, Secretary of State Chuck Gray, and Moran rancher Frank Chapman. 

Casper businessman Reid Rasner, former Democratic lawmaker Keith Goodenough, and Richard Dodson – a second former Democrat in the GOP race – did not attend the event. 

In a field that big and a race that red, it’s difficult to stand out. But the seven candidates displayed some variations of approach.

Biteman, who emphasized that he’s a family man, a “self-made man” and a hard worker, surfaced as a stickler for small government.

“The role of government is… to protect your rights. Period,” he said. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Christensen leaned on his combat experience and his Wyoming roots."}]

Friess pointed to his work helping to prepare executive order proposals ahead of the first Trump administration. He acknowledged that he wasn’t born in Wyoming, but spoke of his move to the state 26 years ago as a conversion of sorts, that also coincided with his baptism into the Christian faith. 

Gray cast himself as a fighter and pointed to his decade in state government and pro-life maneuvers he undertook in 2017 and 2019. 

Balow leaned on her trial-by-fire, of keeping Wyoming schools open for nearly all of the COVID-19 pandemic and fighting for parental autonomy during the massive social shifts that followed. 

Chapman took a warm philosophical approach to some of the cultural issues while castigating bureaucratic bloat. 

And Giralt articulated concrete plans on multiple issue points. He also pointed to his parents’ legal migration from Communist regimes, as well as his experience in both the military and as an advisor to federal policymakers. 

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Media’ And ‘Insiders’"}]

In response to a question about the role of faith in governing, Gray aired his long-wrought grievances about the media, Gov. Mark Gordon, an undefined group of “insiders,” and the role of the Wyoming Attorney General.

He quoted a fictional character in an adaptation of the Count of Monte Cristo, saying, “God sees everything.” 

“That’s the way I live my life,” said Gray. “No matter whether it’s difficult, no matter the attacks from the media, and no matter the attacks from the insiders, the governor – the highest official in the state of Wyoming who the Attorney General serves at the pleasure of – I’ve been guided by truth and I’ve gotten policy done.”  

[{"type":"text","text":"Tanks Are Gonna Roll"}]

In response to that same question, Christensen spoke of leading 234 cavalry squadron soldiers into combat as they invaded Iraq.

That was just one time he shared his faith openly, said Christensen, who described leading all the soldiers in prayer, moments before “tanks are gonna roll.” 

[{"type":"text","text":"Friess turned to Christensen and said, “that was fantastic.” "}]

For his own answer to the faith question, Friess said, “our moral convictions are the center of who we are” and office-holders are accountable for their own actions.

Balow said God is her “everything,” but emphasized cordiality toward people across different faiths, especially while working collaboratively with them. 

Giralt said he and his wife are practicing Catholics, and God is the foundation that will see this nation through the next 250 years. 

Chapman said lawmakers should not only act with faith, but defend the faith exercise rights of others. 

Biteman, a history buff throughout the evening, harkened to how America’s Founding Fathers actually felt about faith in government, saying the Constitution was made for a moral and religious people.

[{"type":"text","text":"On Parental Rights"}]

All seven candidates said they’d work to defend the family as an institution, and parental rights. 

Giralt kicked off the answers by saying America should keep males out of girls sports, and that the federal government should not let its agencies “be an environment for social experiments or social change.” 

The nation should block taxpayer funds for transgender surgeries and treatments, and he’d oppose federal funding for those efforts, said Giralt. 

Chapman echoed the sentiment and said it’s time to cut administrative bloat in education and eliminate the federal Department of Education. 

The other six candidates, answering a later question, all said they wanted to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education as well. Biteman said the federal government could transfer that agency’s money toward paying down the federal debt instead. 

Biteman reiterated a staunch small-government, constitutional rights stance across multiple questions. 

Government’s role is “not to be involved in the family, good or bad, especially at the federal level.” 

He referenced Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which confers specific powers onto 

Those are, to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, pay debts - uniformly across states - and to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States. 

“Everything after that is clearly reserved to states and the people,” said Biteman. “Especially the families. Government should not be involved period.” 

Gray countered, saying “there’s a role for the federal government to support (school choice) education savings account programs.” 

[{"type":"text","text":"Gray echoed Giralt’s call to protect women’s and girls’ sports."}]

He took Giralt’s call to block federal funding of transgender surgeries a step further. 

“We have to ban the transgender surgeries,” said Gray. “Not just… the funding of the transgender surgeries.” 

Christensen mirrored Biteman’s small-government approach to the issue, and urged families to be accountable and strive for high values within themselves. 

Friess lent credence to Christensen and Biteman’s small-government approach, but said, “we’ve gotten to the point where it’s so intrusive, you’ve got to start passing law to nip and tuck around the edges and get (the overreach) under control.” 

Balow pointed to her defense of parental “empowerment” during her tenure as Wyoming’s superintendent, and said her work there prompted Gov. Glen Youngkin, of Virginia, to tap her as his top educator. 

“Do what you did in Wyoming, in Virginia,” said Balow, adding that she and Youngkin fought to scale back educational intrusion into parents’ roles. 

[{"type":"text","text":"On What The House Can Do About Abortion"}]

The seven candidates all cast themselves as ardently 

Friess said he became pro-life in seventh grade when Joe Biden came to speak to his assembled school. Biden attested to being a devout Catholic and said life begins at conception, but indicated he wouldn’t impose his religious beliefs on others, Friess recalled. 

“I think that was the moment I became pro-life,” said Friess. “I saw the utter inconsistency in saying one thing and enacting policies going the other way.” 

Friess said that he worked with a group of capable Washington D.C. attorneys ahead of the first Trump administration to prepare executive orders for the incoming president. 

, was an expansion of the “Mexico City policy” — a  global ban on federal global aid going to fund abortions, he said. 

[{"type":"text","text":"“That was my contribution to the battle there,” said Friess. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The Mama, The Planner"}]

Balow said she’s an adoptive mother, and expressed gratitude for the women who “chose life” for her children. She noted that she volunteers on the board of directors for the Wyoming Children’s Society, and said she also supports the group financially. 

“This is what the pro-life movement looks like in action, and this is what I’ll take to Congress,” said Balow. 

“How did we reach a place where our culture can celebrate choice— the choice to end a life --yet think it’s unbearable to place a child for adoption to be loved by a family?” she asked, adding that her pro-life convictions would hold in congress, and that tax dollars and policies should not back abortions. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Giralt discussed a concrete plan for pro-life moves in the House. "}]

Firstly, he said, he wants to back a bill outlawing the mailing of abortion drugs. Secondly, Giralt he wants to solidify into standing law a recurring budget amendment barring federal funding for abortions.

“It’s used as a negotiating bargaining chip,” said  Giralt. “That should no longer happen.”

[{"type":"text","text":"The Attorney, The Minimalist"}]

Chapman said that as an attorney, representing a person who had caused an accident in which a 3-week-old child was killed was “absolutely the worst experience of my life.”  

[{"type":"text","text":"He became tearful as he spoke of the case. "}]

He said that when kids are born, “we need adoption,” and “we need to support them.” 

[{"type":"text","text":"He agreed aloud with Giralt’s two policy plans. "}]

Biteman also said he’d vote for those two policy plans if elected to the House. 

Beyond that he said, the U.S. Supreme Court made abortion a state’s-rights issue with the 2022 overturn of Roe vs. Wade. 

It’s up to the Legislature, where his time is waning, to grapple the issue, and probably change the Wyoming 

The Wyoming Supreme Court on Jan. 6 ruled that a health care autonomy clause in the state Constitution confers a fundamental right to abortion access. 

Biteman pointed to his staunch pro-life record in the Legislature, where he championed numerous pro-life bills.  

[{"type":"text","text":"University Of Wyoming"}]

Gray also pointed to his time in the Legislature, and his 2017 sponsorship of House Bill 182. That bill, which became law, directed medical staffers performing abortions to inform patients “of the opportunity” to view an ultrasound of the child and hear his heartbeat. 

Biteman, who was in the House then, had voted in favor of that bill as well. 

Gray said in 2019 he heard a “rumor” that the University of Wyoming “was funding abortion in their student plans” and he asked the Legislative Service Office to ask UW if that was happening. UW “admitted to it,” and “we put a nice little rider” on UW’s budget threatening to claw back money if it continued that practice, said Gray. 

The student health care plans were then funded through premiums students paid, not public money from the Legislature. Buying insurance through the university was voluntary for all students, except some international students. 

As for Congress, Gray said, “we need to have a national pro-life policy.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Sure, But Science Is your Friend Too "}]

Christensen said he believes life begins at conception, and it is a matter of faith.

But science also backs that assertion, he said, and state leaders should be prepared to carry pro-life policies on a scientific as well as a faith basis to defend the cause from claims that it’s based on dogma alone. 

[{"type":"text","text":"And he urged societal revival. "}]

“As pro-life as I am, let’s be as pro-mom and baby as well,” he said. “We have to break the cycle of what’s causing us to be in the situation where abortion is being used as a form of birth control,” Christensen said, adding that families should strive for accountability, faith and values. 

US House forum IMG 6452 6 10 26

<title>Wyoming U.S. House Candidates Face Christian Lobby, Swap War Stories | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Seven of the 10 Republican candidates running to become Wyoming’s next U.S. House candidate courted a largely Christian audience Tuesday with statements on their faith, and their different approaches to education, family rights, and abortion policy. 

Wyoming U.S. House Candidates Face Christian Lobby, Swap War Stories

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Government & Politics

Executive

In a move indicating that concerns over the dwindling Colorado River have reached a new level, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis joined other Western elected officials met for discussion and negotiations in Washington, D.C.

Gordon, Barrasso and Lummis met Tuesday with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Mike Lee, R-Utah, Sen. John Curtis R-Utah.

On Wednesday, Barrasso invited Pinedale rancher Mike Vickrey to testify about the Colorado River negotiations before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

 said that in Wyoming and other Upper Colorado River Basin states, “our expectations of how much water we will have to irrigate with are based on Mother Nature,” according to a statement from Barrasso’s office.

Vickrey told the Senate committee that as he sees it, he and other Upper Basin farmers and ranchers have gone above and beyond to conserve water.

Meanwhile, downstream states benefit from greater “security” offered by large reservoirs at Lake Powell and Lake Mead, 

Parts of two of Wyoming’s reservoirs along the Green River, a major tributary of the Colorado River, are in Sweetwater County. Those include Fontenelle Reservoir and Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

That means the area has a huge stake in what happens along the Colorado River, Sweetwater County Commissioner Taylor Jones told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.

“I think our concerns are the water levels, and our lack of say,” in Colorado River policy, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Barrasso Takes Lead"}]

Officials offered few details of what the D.C. meetings might mean going forward for Wyoming and the other Upper Basin states of Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.

Barrasso is “taking the lead” in the matter, according to a text message from Gordon’s office to Cowboy State Daily.

“Any management plan must address shortages from emergency withdrawals and drought, especially from Wyoming’s Flaming Gorge Reservoir,” Barrasso said in a statement following Tuesday’s meeting. "Wyoming and Utah will continue to fight for a seven-basin-state solution that treats our Upper Basin fairly,” 

More details should be forthcoming, Barrasso’s Communications Director Laura Mengelkamp told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.

“This week’s meeting was a great first step in developing an agreement that will treat the upper basin states fairly. The governors and senators did discuss several possible solutions and we will have more to say on that in the future,” she stated.

Wyoming State Engineer Brandon Gebhart represents Wyoming on the Upper Colorado River Commission. 

In an email response to questions from Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday, he said that he had no comments beyond what Gordon had already stated.

In a Tuesday statement, Gordon said the discussion between the Upper Basin elected officials had been “productive.”

“Wyoming is committed to bringing forward ideas, and leading the search for practical solutions that recognize both the realities of drought and the needs of the West,” Gordon stated.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Stark Outlook"}]

Tension has been brewing between the Upper Basin states and those in the Lower Basin, namely Nevada, California and Arizona.

All seven Colorado pact states, as well as numerous Native American tribes and Mexico, were allocated water rights from the Colorado River and its major tributaries under the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which remains binding.

Many experts say there’s far less water in the river now than there was in 1922, but demand has grown with the population.

The Upper Basin states say that most of the population growth has been in the Lower Basin, which continues to demand more water.

Water from the Upper Basin, including the Green River in Wyoming, feeds the Lower Basin’s two primary reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

It was announced this spring that roughly 1 million acre feet of water would be drawn from Flaming Gorge Reservoir to make up for a shortfall in Lake Powell.

Tony Valdez, owner of the Buckboard Marina on the Wyoming side of Flaming Gorge, previously told Cowboy State Daily that the drawdown could be 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Upper Basin Doing Its Part"}]

Jones said the reservoirs and marinas are vitally important for Sweetwater County.

“When they’re going draw the water down, it’s going to affect fishing, it’s going to affect tourism,” he said. "It’s going to affect the marinas, on both the Wyoming and Utah sides of Flaming Gorge.”

“The marinas, they’re even talking about going out of business,” he added.

The county commission hopes to meet soon with Gordon and other state officials. So far, there have been few details coming from state offices, Jones said.

“It’s been pretty quiet, which is a little frustrating,” he said.

 also said policy should be based upon how much water is actually available.

“The only way going forward is a shared pain as hydrology worsens,” Vickrey said. "From my Upper Basin perspective, a supply-driven model of the river is imperative. 

"As conditions continue to change, we must adapt to the actual amount of available water and continue to search for new sources of usable water."

The future hinges on continued negotiations, Jen Lamb, Wyoming representative for the Nature Conservancy, told Cowboy State Daily.

“I think Wyoming remains focused on trying to stay solution oriented, and the fact that the states are still at the table is really critical,” she said.

Mike vickrey testify 6 10 26

<title>Pinedale Rancher Tells Senators He’s Tired Of Wyoming Giving Up Colorado River Water | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Pinedale rancher told U.S. Senators on Wednesday that he and other Upper Basin farmers are tired of Wyoming giving up Colorado River water. Negotiations moved up a notch this week with Wyoming leaders meeting in Washington, D.C., with other states.

Pinedale Rancher Tells Senators He’s Tired Of Wyoming Giving Up Colorado River Water

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

Andrew Rossi

Outdoors

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.

The Montana Department of Transportation (MDOT) posted pictures of deep snowdrifts covering the two-lane mountain pass and several inches of fresh snow across the landscape. The agency told tourists traveling between Wyoming and Montana to take the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway to reach Red Lodge, Montana, and beyond.

[{"type":"text","text":"And, above all else, MDOT posted, “Please do not use map apps.”"}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not That Late"}]

Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day hadn’t seen any snow totals reported from the Beartooth Highway. Based on pictures and reports out of Yellowstone National Park, he had a reasonable guess of how much snow had fallen at nearly 11,000 feet.

“It's probably in the neighborhood of 3 to 5 inches of snow, with a lot of wind and cold slicking things up,” he said. “There should be a fair amount of wind up there, and it’s chilly enough to make things icy.”

Meanwhile, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for southern Montana, including the Beartooth Highway, until 9 a.m. Thursday. Additional snowfall of up to 2 inches was anticipated, along with wind gusts as high as 55 mph.

Tourists might be baffled to hit a snow-caused road closure in mid-June, but that’s the reality on the Beartooth Highway. It doesn’t happen frequently, but it does often enough, and sometimes even later in the summer.

“It snows every month of the year up there,” Day said. “I can remember some Fourth of July where they've had snow-related issues on the Beartooth Highway.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Its Own Climate"}]

Day believes people underestimate the elevation changes they experience when exploring northwest Wyoming. Drivers ascend from 5,200 feet to 10,947 feet in just 12 miles.

The Beartooth Highway sits at the northern edge of the Yellowstone Plateau, a massive landform that covers northwest Wyoming and southern Montana. An area that vast, high, and rugged is its own environment

“If you’re entering from the east, you go from the steppe desert of the Bighorn Basin to the cool, lush forests of Yellowstone, to a high-elevation mountain terrain very quickly,” Day said. “That terrain lifts the atmosphere and makes its own weather.”

It’s not uncommon for people to be driving through triple-digit temperatures in Cody, Greybull, and Lovell only to find snow flurries at the highest point of the Beartooth Highway later that day.

[{"type":"text","text":"The Beartooth Highway wasn’t the only road closed by snow."}]

Yellowstone’s Dunraven Pass and Craig Pass, a section of the Grand Loop Road between the West Thumb Geyser Basin and Old Faithful, were closed to all travel on Tuesday night due to winter weather. Both corridors were reopened by 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Then, Craig Pass was closed again at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday due to “adverse road and weather conditions.”  The entire park was covered with snow by Wednesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service (NWS) was anticipating snow showers all day Wednesday on the Beartooth Pass, with wind gusts as high as 28 mph. Daytime highs were in the 30s.

While astonishing to many, especially tourists, Day wasn’t surprised to see snow closing the Beartooth Highway. He was reminded how inhospitable the mountains can be, regardless of the season.

“I got a note from a guy who remembers treating people for frostbite in Rocky Mountain National Park in June 1976,” he said. “We tend to get these June patterns, and there’s another one coming.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Anticipated Closure?"}]

Plowing the Beartooth Highway is handled jointly by MDOT and the National Park Service. Both agencies had plows ready to clear the highway, but it’s still a day-long effort to get the road safe for vehicles, including massive RVs and tour buses.

The road-closing snow on Wednesday was caused by 

 that moved into Wyoming earlier this week. If that was enough to close the high-elevation highway, Day suspects we aren’t out of the woods yet.

“There’s another one of these coming in over the weekend,” he said. “As we reach Sunday night and go into Monday, they very well might get snowed on again. “

The NWS anticipates a mix of rain and snow showers on the Beartooth Highway starting Saturday and continuing through Sunday. Overnight temperatures could get as low as 28 degrees above 9,000 feet, which is enough to turn rain into snow and ice.

Day isn’t making any promises or predications, but he shared a word of caution. Anyone planning a trek over the Beartooths this weekend might want to reconsider or be prepared to stop, slide, and possibly get stuck.

“That part of Wyoming and Montana is going to be susceptible to cold fronts for another week or so,” he said. “It's going to be really chilly and wet in Yellowstone this weekend, and there’s going to be more weather next week.”

That’s the nature of the beast on the Beartooth Highway, Yellowstone, and northwest Wyoming. When it comes to snow, you’re never really out of the woods, even in summer.

[{"type":"text","text":"Tourists and residents need to dress and drive accordingly. "}]

Beartooth snow 6 10 26

<title>Beartooth Highway Still Closed Because Of Snow: 'Do Not Use Map Apps' | Cowboy State Daily</title>

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. 

Beartooth Highway Still Closed Because Of Snow: 'Do Not Use Map Apps'

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Education

A state investigation into Sweetwater County School District No. 1's special education program found it out of compliance in four of five major areas reviewed.

The probe uncovered problems that ranged from staffing shortages and unlicensed personnel to failures in implementing student education plans and involving parents in key decisions.

"This wasn't a failure by just one person. This is a systemic failure," said former Sweetwater County School District No. 1 board member Cole Seppie.

A 29-page report released this week by the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) found the district violated requirements to:

• Provide special education and related services through properly credentialed professionals.

• Deliver services in accordance with students' Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

• Educate students in the least restrictive environment possible alongside their nondisabled peers.

• Give parents meaningful opportunities to participate in the IEP process.

The district was found compliant only in the area of student confidentiality.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to district Superintendent Dr. Joseph Libby and school board Chairman Cole Wright for comment. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Wright said in a text message that Libby is on vacation."}]

"Consequently, I can tell you that we have received the WDE report," Wright said. 

He added that the district is reviewing the findings and recommendations and will consider options upon Libby's return.

[{"type":"text","text":"What Was Found"}]

The WDE conducted a five-day special monitoring review in February after receiving complaints and reports of possible noncompliance from parents, current and former staff members, and media accounts. 

Investigators examined records, visited schools, interviewed staff and met with community members.

[{"type":"text","text":"Investigation Revealed Deep Concerns"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The review focused on five areas:"}]

A state investigation found widespread failures with Sweetwater County School District 1’s special ed program and gave it a year to correct them. "This wasn't a failure by just one person. This is a systemic failure," said a former school board member.

Daily Smile: Thursday, December 21, 2023

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