You Still Here

[{"type":"text","text":"We should all resolve to do this at least once in 2024"}]

Bonus 12 29 23

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

<title>You Still Here? Bonus: New Year's Resolution Edition | Cowboy State Daily</title>

We should all resolve to do this at least once in 2024

You Still Here? Bonus: New Year's Resolution Edition

 We should all resolve to do this at least once in 2024

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Wildlife

A rancher near Choteau, Montana, caught video of six grizzlies strolling across his calving lot behind his barn late Monday, and said there were as many as seven bears on his property that night.

The next morning, rancher Neal Collins said agents from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hazed as many as 10 grizzlies out of patches of brush across the road from his place.

Collins said no people or livestock were attacked by the bears on his place, and FWP used non-lethal “cracker” shotgun shells to scare off the bears.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A ‘Herd’ Of Grizzlies"}]

Sparky Wallace, a friend of Collins who also lives near Choteau, somewhat humorously described the group of grizzlies as a “herd.”

He told Cowboy State Daily he and some of his neighbors have had encounters with multiple bears, as the number of grizzlies out on the prairie has steadily increased.  

Chad White, a bear management specialist with Montana FWP, said the bears on Collins’ property were probably a “couple of family groups that have been hanging out in the area.”

Meaning, they were likely two related adult females such as “a mother and daughter” and their cubs, White said.

The Choteau area has been busy with bear activity this spring and summer. The bears wander from the Rocky Mountain Front onto the prairie along the Teton River, which flows past Choteau. 

The bears might be feeding on green vegetation and other natural food sources, then taking shelter in brush patches.

“It may be that he (Collins) has the natural shelter for day bedding and they were traveling around the area,” White said. 

White said the FWP bear manager responding to Collins’ call told him as many as 10 grizzlies fled once the hazing stared.

FWP personnel fired cracker shells into the brush where the bears were holed up. Cracker shells fire a small explosive charge with a delayed fuse, designed to explode in the air and ward off predators such as bears and wolves.

“The six or seven bears in the family groups ran off in one direction, and two or three more ran off in another direction,” he said.

It’s not known where the other two or three bears might have come from, White added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Alarm Barks"}]

Collins said he was first alerted to the bears’ presence Monday when one of his dogs started frantically barking at about 9:30 p.m.

“We’ve got this one dog that’s supposed to be a cow dog, but she’s really not,” he said. “She was just barking, barking, barking. She barks on occasion, but not like that.” 

He said he stepped outside to investigate and saw a “flash of a bear.”

So, he immediately went back into his house, shooing the dog inside with him.

A camera he has mounted on the backside of his barn caught video and photos of the bears.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘You Get Immune To It’"}]

Collins’ ranch is about 35 miles out on the prairie from the Rocky Mountain front.

Grizzlies are usually associated with mountain habitat. However, they were originally a Great Plains species, and were driven into the mountains as the West was settled.

Grizzlies have been growing in number and expanding their range in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho in recent decades. In Montana, they’ve been pushing ever-farther onto the prairies.

Collins said his father was in his 70s before he ever saw a grizzly anywhere near Choteau. But the bears have become a common sight of late.

When asked if having the bears around worried him, Collins said, “I suppose, but you get immune to it.”

Even so, he’s not happy about the growing number of prairie grizzlies.

“There here, even though I don’t want them here,” he said.

In Wyoming, grizzlies attacking cattle is frequently listed as the leading cause of human-bear conflict.

Collins said he hasn’t lost any livestock to bears yet.

"Even so, they sure don’t help them (the cattle) even if they don’t kill them,” he said. "They move through the cattle herd and stir them up.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Bird Hunting Gets Wild"}]

North-central Montana is a bird hunter’s paradise. And in decades past, grizzlies would have been the furthest things from bird hunters’ minds.

That’s not the case any longer. In 2023, 

 between bird and whitetail deer hunters in separate incidents.

Those occurred in the vicinity of the Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area. It’s between Choteau and Fairfield, Montana, about 40 miles west of Great Falls.

Collins said that several years ago, a bird hunter had to shoot and kill a charging grizzly across the road from his place.

“He ended up with a scratch on his arm, because the last shot was right at the end of the gun barrel,” he said.

Wallace, a horse trainer and saddle maker, said he’s run into multiple grizzlies while bird hunting.

“I hunt ducks a lot. And even on the little prairie potholes out here, you’ve got to walk in there loaded and ready for bears,” he said.

Herd of grizzlies 2 6 30 26

<title>Holy Cow! Montana Rancher Spots 'Herd' Of 7 Grizzlies On Property | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Montana rancher Neal Collins said a camera on his barn captured a "herd" of seven grizzlies on his property Monday night. The next morning, agents from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks hazed 10 grizzlies out of brush across the road from his place.

Holy Cow! Montana Rancher Spots 'Herd' Of 7 Grizzlies On Property

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

Clair McFarland

Crime & Courts

Courts

The Wyoming Republican Party is appealing a judge’s ruling that state laws governing major party leadership elections apply to it. 

Uinta County District Court Judge James Kaste 

 that the Hot Springs County Republican Party’s 2025 leadership election in which non-precinct committee people were allowed to vote was not legal. 

The Wyoming Republican Party’s Dispute Resolution Committee had insisted that the election was legal and upheld it. While the election didn’t square with state law, it squared with the party’s bylaws. 

[{"type":"text","text":"The judge ordered the state party to follow state law over its bylaws. "}]

The Wyoming Republican Party informed Kaste’s court Friday that it’s asking a higher tribunal, the Wyoming Supreme Court, to review his order. 

“Through undersigned counsel, notice is hereby given that Defendants Wyoming Republican Party, Wyoming Republican Party State Central Committee, and Wyoming Republican Party Dispute Resolution Committee appeal the Court’s 

” says the Friday motion by the party’s attorney, Thomas Szott of The Bernhoft Law Firm. 

Now the party is waging multiple legal challenges in which it argues that it may follow its bylaws over Wyoming law. 

Earlier this month, the Wyoming GOP challenged the Secretary of State’s Office in federal court in an 

 a law barring major parties from financially backing one of their affiliated candidates over another in the primary election cycle. 

Each party can bankroll the nominees its registrants choose at the primary election in the three months between the primary and general election — but not before. 

That law has been interpreted over the years to equate to a ban on the party endorsing specific candidates in the primary cycle, GOP Chair Bryan Miller told convention attendees in April. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Well That Depends"}]

Whether political parties’ associational and free-speech rights rise above the state laws that govern them is a recurring judicial topic nationwide. 

[{"type":"text","text":"The answer is sometimes, according to Kaste’s May 29 order. "}]

Kaste noted that Wyoming election law doesn’t dictate the state party’s membership directly. 

Freedom of association is a right, and it gives political parties some protection from state infringement, noted Kaste from a 1986 case called Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut. 

But courts also use a balancing test called the Anderson-Burdick test when parties assert this right, and they consider how burdensome the state’s laws are on that right. 

If the burden is severe, the court judges the state’s infringement under a rigorous constitutional standard that most laws do not survive, called strict scrutiny.

But if the state is only imposing a “lesser burden” on the party, then the state’s important regulatory interests are usually enough to justify “reasonable, nondiscriminatory restrictions,” Kaste noted from an earlier case. 

State party leaders who were sued in this case claimed Wyoming violated the party’s rights. 

“Defendants are incorrect,” wrote Kaste.

The state laws impose minimal burdens on the party’s associational rights, and the state’s important regulatory interests justify them “amply,” said the judge. 

He added that the party relied on oblique cases while ignoring cases “that are more squarely on point.”

Wyoming law lays some tasks and formational requirements on the party, but the party’s role in filling vacancies is a privilege in which the state has an important interest, he added. 

The Wyoming laws challenged in this case impose only a minimal burden on the party, says Kaste’s order. 

The state has a legitimate interest in how office vacancies are filled, he wrote. 

“It would be a real problem if a vacancy occurred in a public office and the State had no one to call,” Kaste said, adding that the biennial election also ensures orderly election tasks, like nominating presidential electors before general elections

But Kaste’s order doesn’t address the endorsement and financial backing issue the party has raised in federal, not state court. That case is ongoing. 

Wyoming GOP Headquarters 5 6 30 26

<title>Wyoming Republican Party Appeals Judge's Order Telling It To Follow State Law | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Wyoming Republican Party is appealing a judge’s ruling that its rules don’t trump state law in electing its leaders. Now the party is waging multiple legal challenges in which it argues that it may follow its bylaws over Wyoming law. 

Wyoming Republican Party Appeals Judge's Order Telling It To Follow State Law

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

Andrew Rossi

Public Safety

When does a reckless act in Yellowstone National Park qualify as child endangerment? It’s a question many people are asking after recent events in the park.

A photo circulating on social media shows a man carrying a child off the boardwalk in one of Yellowstone’s thermal basins. The photographer, Babi Lama, said he witnessed the incident near Grand Prismatic Spring.

"Dude is HOLDING HIS CHILD while walking around the thermal pools at Grand Prismatic Spring," he wrote. "What the hell is wrong with people?"

Yellowstone visitors of all stripes are routinely cited for 

 If any of these incidents involve a child, can the perpetrator be charged with child endangerment?

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"All The Signs"}]

Greg Jackson is a former deputy chief for the U.S. Park Service’s Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services in Washington, D.C. During his career, he was presented with several situations where a child endangerment charge was merited.

“I’ve done it before,” he said. “There are a lot of things that parents do that are placing children in danger but aren't necessarily obvious to them at the moment.”

After viewing the photo of the child-carrying man in Yellowstone, Jackson had several questions that would have factored into any citation.

“Generally, (Yellowstone) tries to prevent people from walking into hazardous areas,” he said. “I’m guessing there’s some system of warning people of the risk of that area that I can’t see in the photo.”

 posted throughout Yellowstone’s thermal areas. Boardwalks are the designated pathways to keep people safe.

Jackson also added that those same warnings are handed to every visitor, attached to the map they receive when entering the park.

“In a case like this, you’d attempt to document all the warnings that person had regarding the hazards, not just what may be apparent in the photo,” he said. “I’d want to know what signs were there. Is the area labeled as a geyser field or a thermal feature?”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Child Endangerment?"}]

Wyoming Statutes Title 6. Crimes and Offenses 6-4-403 lays out the legal parameters and ramifications regarding the abandonment or endangerment of children. It specifies that no parent, guardian or custodian of a child shall “knowingly or with criminal negligence cause, permit or contribute to the endangering of the child's life or health by violating a duty of care, protection or support.”

That’s where citing a Yellowstone visitor for child endangerment can become tricky. In Jackson’s view, those charges usually come when there’s more overt malice rather than simple ignorance.

“It depends on how obvious the danger is,” he said. “If you're obviously exposing your kid to what most reasonable people would see as a reasonable danger, (child endangerment) would be on my list of reasonable actions.”

Jackson said the difficulty with child endangerment charges, in this context, would be “articulating the circumstances” to justify the citation. That case could be easier to do in Yellowstone, given the uniqueness of the environment, he said.

“Most people don’t walk around on boardwalks,” he said. “The fact that there are boardwalks and sulfur-smelling steam coming out of the ground indicates something unusual is going on in Yellowstone. That, to me, indicates there’s something worthy of caution.”

However, Yellowstone’s unique environment might make it more difficult to charge someone with child endangerment.

“If it's a person who has absolutely no clue that the ground around them is hazardous, then I don't think that charge would be reasonable,” he said. “I think most reasonable people would say there’s a reasonable danger, but someone could genuinely not perceive that danger.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Oh, The Humanity"}]

Jackson recalled issuing charges for child endangerment and disorderly conduct during his time at Lake Mead in the southwest U.S. There, issuing those citations and charges was more clean-cut.

“There were a lot of boating regulations that had to do with safety,” he said. “It's fun to ride on the bow of a boat, but when you fall off the bow, go under the boat and into the propeller, that stops being fun.”

Jackson regularly cited parents for letting underage children pilot or ride on certain spots of watercraft that were prohibited. However, the decision to cite someone for child endangerment was “a bit of a judgment” that erred toward humanity over legality.

“You tend to give parents the benefit of the doubt, somewhat,” he said. “From a human standpoint, you want to believe that nobody in their right mind would intentionally endanger their own child.”

Jackson couldn’t say whether the Yellowstone visitor in the photograph was intentionally endangering his child, but he doubted it.

“Sometimes, people will throw caution to the wind and cross a line for a once-in-a-lifetime experience or photo-op,” he said. “They become so enthusiastic with their exuberance of getting their children an up-close experience of a geyser that they don’t appreciate the danger. This incident looks fairly benign.”

The “worst thing” Jackson could imagine is a parent or guardian who recognizes and doesn’t care about the dangers to which they’re subjecting their children. While it’s not unheard of, he considered that scenario and mindset exceptional.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Clear And Present Danger"}]

Overall, Jackson could see a case for charging parents with child endangerment or negligence for their actions in Yellowstone, but understands why park rangers might forgo such a charge.

“A child endangerment charge is going to depend on what the law says,” he said. “If they’re placing the child in danger, you're going to have to articulate that there was some danger and the person being cited was responsible for placing the child in that situation.”

In this instance, Jackson didn’t have enough information to say whether a child endangerment charge would have been appropriate.

“Was there danger? Yes. Was it apparent to the adult? I'm not sure. They might have been completely oblivious to the danger in that particular spot,” he said.

Child endangerment might stick more easily when it comes to wildlife offenses. Jackson’s seen plenty of people approach wild animals for photo-ops or try to get them to take food out of their hands.

“I never cited anybody, but I warned people that animals with big pointy things growing out of the top of their heads can really hurt their kid,” he said. “If you’re exposing your kid to an obvious danger, and the threat can be easily perceived, then there’s definitely a case to be made.”

Grand Prismatic guy holding kid 6 30 26

<title>Man Caught Carrying Child On Dangerous Yellowstone Grand Prismatic Thermal Pools | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Yellowstone visitors near the popular Grand Prismatic Spring were outraged Sunday watching a man carry a child on dangerous thermals pools. "What the hell is wrong with people?” said a visitor who got a photo of the incident.

Man Caught Carrying Child On Dangerous Yellowstone Grand Prismatic Thermal Pools

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

What first appeared to be an ordinary construction delay on a lonely stretch of highway west of Casper quickly turned into one of the 

 many of those involved had ever witnessed.

By the time emergency crews reached U.S. Highway 20/26 near mile marker 58 Friday afternoon, two people were dead, seven others had been injured, and strangers were comforting survivors, checking on children, searching for fire extinguishers and handing out bottled water.

On Monday, the Natrona County Coroner's Office identified the two people killed as James Faris Cox, 74, and Susan Horn Cox, 69, of Golden, Colorado.

"That was my aunt and uncle killed in the wreck Friday," their nephew Lee Wolfe told Cowboy State Daily. "They were on the way to their house in Ennis, MT. They lived in Golden, CO."

[{"type":"text","text":"He said the couple was traveling alone."}]

"It was just my aunt and uncle in their truck, no survivors," he said. "My two cousins and their families were heading up there at a different time thankfully."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Semi, Multiple Vehicles Involved"}]

The Wyoming Highway Patrol said the crash involved multiple vehicles, including a semi-truck.

"Two confirmed fatalities. Seven injured. Seventeen people involved, two flown by helicopter, the others were taken to Wyoming Medical Center by ambulance," Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesman Aaron Brown said. "This is still an active investigation." 

As of Monday afternoon, investigators had not released a preliminary cause of the crash, and no criminal charges had been filed.

The Natrona County Coroner's Office said it is investigating the fatalities along with the Wyoming Highway Patrol and Natrona County Sheriff's Office.

[{"type":"text","text":"Krista Nethercott of Jackson never saw the crash itself."}]

She had been traveling toward Casper with a neighbor after taking her son to enroll in college when traffic suddenly came to a stop.

[{"type":"text","text":"At first, she assumed the delay was caused by nearby road construction."}]

"There were these pylons on the right-hand side that kind of tell you there's construction," she said. "But there wasn't anything alerting you to slow down. There wasn't a flagger."

After waiting several minutes, she said she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

She stepped out of her vehicle and walked toward the front of the traffic backup.

"That's when I could see there were cars on both sides of the road," she said. "I was like, 'Oh my goodness.'"

Nethercott said she immediately ran toward the wreckage to make sure someone had called 911 and to offer whatever help she could.

She said she told him, "I'm a funeral director. I'll help you. I'm not scared to see death." 

Working with another bystander, she checked on the occupants of one of the most severely damaged vehicles — the Coxes' pickup.

"The gentleman was immediately deceased," she said. "The lady probably lived a couple minutes."

[{"type":"text","text":"She said both appeared to have been wearing seat belts."}]

The truck was crushed so badly, she said, that she believed rescuers ultimately would need the jaws of life to remove the couple.

"If the woman had lived longer, I don't think this gentleman and I could have ever taken her out of the vehicle," she said. "That's how crushed it was."

Despite witnessing the aftermath firsthand, Nethercott said she has no idea what caused the collision.

"I don't know if the semi-trailer didn't slow down and ran into people, or if somebody was trying to pass too many vehicles. I couldn't ascertain that at all. It was just mass metal and cars," she said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Before The Sirens"}]

The crash occurred about 45 miles northwest of Casper, and Nethercott estimated it was roughly 30 minutes before ambulances and fire crews reached the scene.

"It seemed like it was a long time to see paramedics," she said. "But considering you're out in the middle of nowhere, I don't think they could have gotten there any quicker."

Long before emergency vehicles arrived, however, strangers had already organized themselves.

Nethercott estimated around 10 people got out of their vehicles and immediately began helping.

One man walked the line of stopped traffic asking whether anyone had a fire extinguisher. Another, who identified himself as working at a pediatric clinic, examined a young child who remained safely strapped into a five-point car seat while the boy's injured father tried to comfort him.

Others brought camping chairs for survivors to sit in while Nethercott handed out bottled water from her vehicle.

"There were people left and right getting out of their vehicles and trying to find anything that could be used," she said. "Whether it's water, an emergency medical kit or a fire extinguisher."

[{"type":"text","text":"The scene itself was almost impossible to comprehend."}]

"There was debris all over the place," she said. "Food, toilet paper, paper towels ... it looked like somebody had been camping. There was glass everywhere, bumpers everywhere."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'The Wyoming Way'"}]

The Natrona County Fire District described responders arriving to "a very chaotic scene" involving multiple damaged vehicles, a large debris field, numerous victims and a large bystander presence.

The response included firefighters from the Natrona County Fire District, ambulances from Mills Fire Department, Banner Wyoming Medical Center and Evansville Fire/EMS, Wyoming LifeFlight, Guardian Flight, the Natrona County Sheriff's Office, Wyoming Highway Patrol, WYDOT crews, dispatchers and road construction personnel.

[{"type":"text","text":"Fire officials said 17 people were directly involved in the crash."}]

In a statement, the department singled out the motorists who stopped to help before first responders arrived.

"Crews would like to send a heartfelt thank you to all the bystanders who assisted victims immediately after the crash, while waiting for help to arrive, as well as while responders were on-scene, offering shelter during the passing of a thunder cell, emotional support and minor patient care," they wrote. 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"The true spirit of the 'Wyoming Way' was in full force this day.\""}]

Nethercott said, "There were people left and right getting out of their vehicles and trying to find anything that could be used. They didn't sit around and wait for somebody else to do it."

[{"type":"text","text":"The moment she has replayed most, however, involved Susan Cox."}]

Although there was little anyone could do medically, Nethercott said she wanted to make sure the woman did not spend her final moments alone.

"We told her help was coming,” she said. "We don't know what happens when people are unconscious, but we wanted her to know somebody was there."

Only after that did she turn her attention to survivors who still could be saved.

Among those survivors is Kensi Van Patten. A 

 campaign organized on her behalf says she suffered serious injuries in the crash and faces a lengthy recovery while her family copes with mounting medical expenses. 

The fundraiser asks for donations to help with medical costs and lost income during her recovery.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol, Natrona County Sheriff's Office and Natrona County Coroner's Office continue to investigate the crash. 

Double Fatal Crash Go Fund Me 6 29 26

<title>Witnesses Describe Chaos, Compassion After Wyoming Crash That Killed Colo. Couple | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An older Colorado couple have been identified as the two people killed in a Friday multi-vehicle crash west of Casper. "We made sure she wasn't alone,” said a Jackson woman who was among those who stopped to help the couple and others hurt in the crash.

Witnesses Describe Chaos, Compassion After Wyoming Crash That Killed Colo. Couple

Politics

In the arena of political criticism, a new political action group has declared war on the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

A new political group called the 'Common Sense Republicans' have erected six billboards urging voters to “STOP The Freedom Caucus Agenda." Rep. John Bear, a well-known member of the Freedom Caucus, says he "loves" the billboards.

You Still Here? Bonus: New Year's Resolution Edition

In case you missed it

More in You Still Here

Bonus Video 2: Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Steve Inman: Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Today In Parallel Parking: Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Today In Marriage: Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Most read