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[{"type":"text","text":"Dog jumps in water so so he can shake it off on his caretaker..."}]

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

<title>Daily Smile: Monday, January 1, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Dog jumps in water so so he can shake it off on his caretaker...

Daily Smile: Monday, January 1, 2024

 Dog jumps in water so so he can shake it off on his caretaker...

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

Clair McFarland

Crime & Courts

The family of Buck Laramore is collecting $400,000 after Laramore’s 2023 death in a shootout with Thermopolis Police sergeant Mike Mascorro, according to a settlement agreement Cowboy State Daily obtained Friday.

 without a warrant April 28, 2023, to arrest him on suspicion of misdemeanor police interference.

Laramore, 33, had given Mascorro inaccurate information during a drug investigation at the local McDonald’s restaurant earlier that day.

Laramore shot Mascorro through the lung. The sergeant returned fire, killing Laramore.

Months later, special prosecutor Dan Erramouspe determined that Mascorro was 

 for homicide because of a provision of state law protecting police officers on the job, even when they act outside the law.

Debra Laramore, Buck’s mother, and Brandi Laramore, his wife, 

in April 2025 against the Thermopolis Police Department and Mascorro in his individual capacity.

The settlement says the family will receive $400,000. It also says Mascorro acknowledges he will not 

 at any law-enforcement agency, or seek to regain his 

[{"type":"text","text":"The sued parties do not concede legal liability, the settlement says."}]

Debra Laramore delivered a tearful statement in a Friday phone interview on behalf of herself and the family.

 and the community members who stood up and spoke out on the case,” she said. “From the petition, protest, to speaking at the council meetings when we simply could not.”

Debra added, “We’re so grateful to our amazing team of lawyers who believed in our case and our fight for justice.”

Etna-based attorney Jack Edwards led this suit along with Branden Vilos and Kaden Canfield.

The Wyoming Local Government Liability Pool’s share of that on behalf of the town of Thermopolis is $133,333, LGLP director Tory Racines said Friday.

The town itself bears its $1,000 deductible as its only direct cost, Mayor Adam Estenson said in a social media statement, which he also sent Friday to Cowboy State Daily.

Cowboy State Daily reached out to the Wyoming Self-Insurance Pool and to Mascorro’s attorney Kay Lynn Bestol on Friday to learn what the insurance pool or Mascorro’s share of the remainder is and to invite Bestol to comment on Mascorro’s behalf.

Neither responded by publication time. Bestol’s receptionist conveyed she was in depositions all day.

Edwards said the Wyoming Self-Insurance Pool paid the other two-thirds on Mascorro’s behalf.

“It was an honor to represent these folks and to stand up on behalf of the Constitution,” said Edwards.

Speaking on his own behalf, Estenson said “the loss of any life is a tragedy.”

“My hope and prayer is simply that healing can continue for everyone affected,” he said.

As part of the settlement agreement, the town conceded in a Tuesday Facebook post that Mascorro had probable cause to arrest Laramore for interference with a peace officer, but did not have probable cause to arrest him for possession of methamphetamine.

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation report from the shooting compiles witness interviews, bodycam footage and physical evidence.

It concludes that Mascorro broke into Buck Laramore’s home to arrest the man for the misdemeanor of interfering with a police officer because Laramore had lied about his surname spelling and age earlier on the date of the fatality, April 28, 2023.

Mascorro was investigating the presence of meth at the McDonald’s where Laramore worked.

Laramore was the last person to exit the McDonald’s men’s bathroom right before Mascorro and a sheriff’s deputy found meth in it.

[{"type":"text","text":"One witness described Laramore’s behavior as “shifty.”"}]

Mascorro patted down Laramore, questioned him, tried to get him to give a urine sample and disclose his address, the report says. Health authorities shut down the restaurant and personnel started cleaning it.

[{"type":"text","text":"Laramore left the McDonald’s before his shift was officially over."}]

“Don’t five (sic) them my address without a warrant this is ridiculous,” Laramore texted a co-worker soon after leaving the restaurant, according to the DCI report.

He sent another text one minute later: “And I left without clocking out and the m aching (sic) needs aired out I was tired of getting harassed over something that had nothing to do with me.”

Police were investigating the restaurant already because about a week earlier they had arrested McDonald’s employee Derrick Collins on a local warrant and allegedly found him in possession of a meth pipe, the report says. Collins claimed the pipe belonged to a co-worker.

Laramore went home to his double-wide mobile home on Canyon Hills Drive and laid down in bed with Brandi for a nap, the wife later told a DCI agent.

[{"type":"text","text":"She woke to the sound of someone “pounding on the door.”"}]

She went to the door and found Mascorro there, saying he had come to arrest Laramore for impeding his investigation, the report relates.

[{"type":"text","text":"Buck Laramore came to the door after his wife answered it."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Mascorro told him to come outside and talk."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“No sir,” answered Laramore."}]

Either Laramore would come out willingly or Mascorro would break the door down, the sergeant said after a back-and-forth, reportedly.

Laramore then told Mascorro his true surname spelling and date of birth, then shut his front door and deadbolted it.

[{"type":"text","text":"Dead Bolt Shot Into Home"}]

Mascorro pulled the storm door open and rammed the locked wooden door with his left shoulder. He then switched to his right shoulder and rammed the front door twice.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Stop!” yelled Brandi Laramore."}]

Mascorro rammed with his right shoulder again, damaging the door, breaking the doorjamb and sending the deadbolt flying toward the kitchen threshold inside the home, the report indicates.

[{"type":"text","text":"Mascorro pulled the front door shut behind him."}]

Just then, Buck Laramore gripped a .45 pistol in both hands, aimed it directly at Mascorro and fired one time, dropping Mascorro to the ground.

The bullet entered through Mascorro’s right bicep, passed into his chest near his armpit, glanced off a rib to dodge his heart, wounded his lung and exited through his back just to the left of his spine. The bullet came to rest lodged between his flesh and his clothing, the report indicates.

[{"type":"text","text":"It felt like a sledgehammer blow, Mascorro later told a DCI agent."}]

Laramore advanced on Mascorro as Mascorro pleaded “stop, stop,” the report continues.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bullets flew past the bodycam viewer."}]

Those bullets were from Mascorro’s gun, which he drew and fired about seven times after getting shot, the investigation would later reveal.

Mascorro’s wounds squirted blood into view and dribbled it down his right arm.

Reflecting on that moment in his interview 12 days later, Mascorro told a DCI agent he didn’t know why Laramore didn’t shoot him in the head just then.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Show Your Hands"}]

Mascorro started walking backward into the kitchen, telling dispatch shots had been fired. He gripped his own pistol in his left hand, maintaining cover on the doorway to the room from which Buck Laramore had emerged.

[{"type":"text","text":"Brandi Laramore screamed frantically."}]

Around this time, she later told an investigator, she rushed her dog and herself to safety in the bathroom.

Laramore then eased around the bedroom’s doorjamb, exposing a sliver of his upper body.

[{"type":"text","text":"Mascorro fired one round."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Laramore’s body had “an obvious reaction,” indicating a hit."}]

One second later, Mascorro fired again, dropping Laramore to the floor just inside the bedroom.

[{"type":"text","text":"Two more seconds passed. Mascorro fired a third round."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“Stop, stop,” pleaded Buck Laramore."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Mascorro commanded the man to show his hands."}]

Still in the kitchen, Mascorro fell to his hands and knees. His right hand slipped in his own blood, dropping him onto his stomach. His pistol slipped from his left hand, slid toward the kitchen cabinets and came to a rest.

Mascorro stood again and again he fell, catching himself on the kitchen counter and leaving bloody handprint smears along it.

“Move,” he said when he tried to get past Brandi Laramore, who was standing in the hallway, the report says.

[{"type":"text","text":"“What are you doing?” she asked him."}]

Mascorro fumbled for the back door. He couldn’t get the back storm door open and he fell down backward onto the floor while trying.

[{"type":"text","text":"Brandi Laramore stood over him and screamed."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Mascorro fought for breath."}]

Brandi Laramore withdrew from Mascorro, still screaming, the report indicates.

“Shots fired, shots fired, shots fired, I need help, I’m down, I’ve been shot, help,” Mascorro said into his radio.

He sat up, scooted out the back storm door and slid off the side of the unrailed back metal stairs onto his feet. He walked away from the home toward his patrol vehicle.

[{"type":"text","text":"Sirens sounded outside."}]

Meanwhile in the home, Brandi Laramore checked on her husband and believed he was dying, a summary of her later interview relates.

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Right There,’ Said The Neighbor Kid"}]

Mascorro collapsed to the ground between a pickup with a bed camper and a Saturn car.

[{"type":"text","text":"Deputy Shayna Cox arrived on scene and got out of her vehicle."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A kid stood near the trailer."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“Where is he?” Cox asked the kid."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The kid pointed to where Mascorro lay. “Right there,” he answered."}]

Mascorro’s face was pale and his body gushed blood. Cox went to him, pulled him to a position of “better cover,” and put a tourniquet on his right arm. Taking off his vest and shirt, she found his chest wound and applied pressure to it.

When an ambulance arrived, Cox grabbed her rifle and joined Hot Springs County Sheriff Jerimie Kraushaar in the trailer house.

There she saw Brandi Laramore, face-down and handcuffed. Kraushaar told Cox to radio dispatch to announce that Buck Laramore was dead in the home.

“He’s dying in here,” said Brandi Laramore. “I don’t know what happened.”

Mascorro was rushed to care and returned to Thermopolis amid a hero's welcome days later.

Law enforcement reportedly recovered meth from the home, ranging from a finding of a trace amount — 0.1 gram on a piece of foil — to 7.2 grams in plastic baggies, the report says.

The report says agents also found 1 gram of suspected marijuana in plant form and four cellphones, one of which was Brandi Laramore’s.

The other three phones were Buck Laramore’s, Brandi Laramore later told DCI.

DCI Special Agent Kiel Holder asked Mascorro during their later interview why he’d used deadly force.

Mascorro said he was certain at the time that Laramore was about to kill him and felt there was no other choice.

Holder asked if there were other officers working in the area at that time who could have gone to the home with Mascorro and helped him.

Mascorro said he was the only patrol officer on shift for his department during the incident. He knew Deputy Shaina Cox was working for the sheriff’s department that day, but he’d already asked for her help and had taken up a lot of her time, he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It’s the nature of this job,” he added."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"About Breaking In"}]

Thermopolis police protest mom and mascorro 2 7 15 25

<title>Family Of Thermopolis Man Shot By Cop Gets $400K In Settlement | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The family of a man shot to death in a shootout with a former Thermopolis police sergeant will receive $400,000 in a settlement agreement. A special prosecutor determined the sergeant entered the man's home illegally.

Family Of Thermopolis Man Shot By Cop Gets $400K In Settlement

Guest Column

Guest Columnists

I've spent a lifetime in public service in Wyoming, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you can tell a lot about a leader by how they treat the people they serve. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Do they talk at folks, or do they listen? "}]

Do they arrive with all the answers, or do they take the time to understand each person and their questions? 

That's why I'm confident to support Eric Barlow — because Eric is the rare candidate who leads by listening first.

In my conversations with Eric Barlow, I can say without hesitation that he is a conservative in the fundamental sense of the word. 

I'm not talking about the kind of conservatism that gets performed on a debate stage or packaged into a thirty-second ad. 

I'm talking about the bedrock principles that built Wyoming and built this country — limited government, personal responsibility, fiscal discipline, and an unwavering respect for the rights and freedoms of every citizen. 

Eric doesn't wear conservatism like a campaign hat that he can put on and take off. It's who he is and how he reflects Wyoming values. It's how he thinks, how he makes decisions, and how he'll lead as Governor.

Top two principles of a conservative Republican are integrity and respect for others.

Look to former Wyoming Governors Stan Hathaway and Cliff Hansen. That’s Eric Barlow.

But what has impressed me most about Eric — and what I believe sets him apart in this race — is his genuine commitment to hearing from the people of Wyoming. 

I've watched him at community events, at kitchen tables, and on front porches across this state. 

He doesn't show up with a stump speech and a stopwatch. He shows up with questions. He wants to know what's working, what's broken, and what people need to succeed.

They want clear choices of how to work as partners. 

He listens to ranchers and roughnecks, teachers and small business owners, retirees and young families just getting started. And he doesn't just nod politely — he absorbs what he hears, asks questions to better understand and then puts it to work.

Wyoming businesses tell us that they have trouble attracting a quality workforce, especially younger people.

What do young families most desire to attract them to a location?

They want quality education and health care, not just nearby in neighboring states but right here in Wyoming, especially in rural communities.

Wyoming is a big state with a small population.

Outsiders such as the Freedom Caucus have decided Wyoming voters are naive and gullible.

National endorsements followed by outsider PAC funding are responsible for the disingenuous and dishonest ads that are intended to manipulate voters.

Those PACs are admitting they don’t have confidence in the qualities of their own candidate so they attack the opposition.

These outside interests manipulate their candidates like a puppet on a string.

I've served alongside good leaders and I've seen my share of disappointing ones. 

The difference almost always comes down to character — do they have the principles to stand firm and the humility to listen? 

[{"type":"text","text":"Eric Barlow has both. "}]

He will stand firm for Wyoming's values, and he's the kind of person who will never forget that those values come from you, the people of this state.

I'm asking you to join me and support Eric Barlow to be Wyoming’s next governor. 

[{"type":"text","text":"We want a governor who will listen and then act, be a leader."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"italic"}],"text":"By Former Gov. Jim Geringer"}]

Image 2026 08 14 T140103 926

<title>Guest Column: Why I'm Supporting Eric Barlow To Be Wyoming’s Governor | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Former Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer writes, "Eric Barlow doesn't show up with a stump speech and a stopwatch. He shows up with questions. He wants to know what's working, what's broken, and what people need to succeed."

Guest Column: Why I'm Supporting Eric Barlow To Be Wyoming’s Governor

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

Andrew Rossi

Public Safety

 has been identified as Terry Zaske, 48, of Rapid City, South Dakota.

Zaske was riding his motorcycle on U.S. Highway 14/16/20 on Wednesday when he was struck by a Ford pickup truck that swerved into his lane near Wapiti, the Wyoming Highway Patrol said.

Zaske died at the scene. Zaske's wife, Candis, was LifeFlighted to a hospital in Billings, Montana, where she is recovering from serious injuries.

Kaitlyn Zaske, Terry’s daughter, also from Rapid City, 

 to pay for her father's funeral and cover her stepmother's medical bills. She described her father as a jovial soul and a doting grandfather, taken from her family too soon.

“My dad was so many things to so many people,” she wrote. “He was a son, father, grandpa, brother, uncle, and friend. He was my dad and losing him so unexpectedly has left a hole in our family that words cannot describe.”

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

Zaske and three other motorcycles were traveling west on U.S. 14/16/20 toward Yellowstone National Park when the eastbound pickup truck drifted into the opposite lane. The truck struck two motorcycles directly, including Zaske’s, which caused the motorcycles behind them to crash as well.

A Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) vehicle, traveling behind the motorcycles, attempted to swerve to avoid the oncoming truck. The truck clipped the WYDOT vehicle’s tailgate and continued into a field before coming to a stop.

Ten people and six vehicles were involved in the incident. Five people were seriously injured.

“One person was taken by helicopter to Billings for medical treatment,” said Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesperson Aaron Brown. “Another was taken by ambulance to Cody before being flown to Billings as well. Two others were taken by ambulance to Cody with non-life-threatening injuries, where they were treated and released.”

The Highway Patrol said the driver of the Ford pickup was responsible for the accident. Driver inattention and driver fatigue/asleep were the contributing factors.  

As of Friday, it’s unknown whether any charges have been or will be filed against the pickup driver.

U.S. 14/16/20 was closed for 5 1/2 hours as first responders treated the victims and cleared the highway of debris.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Permanent Pain"}]

Candis Zaske is still receiving medical care in Billings. Kaitlyn said her stepmother has “a long road ahead” that will keep her from working.

Knowing the costs of her father's funeral and stepmother's medical bills will be immense, Kaitlyn is turning to friends, family, and other motorcyclists for support.

“While no amount of money can ever take away this pain, we are asking for help to ease some of the financial burden that has suddenly fallen on our family,” she wrote. “Nothing is expected, but everything is appreciated.”

As of Friday, the GoFundMe had reached more than $8,000 of its $14,000 goal.

Kaitlyn shared that she and her father were attempting to repair their relationship after years of conflict when he died. She “will forever wish we had more time.”

“We were just starting to find our way back to each other,” she wrote. “Regardless of everything, he was still my dad. He was still a grandpa, and he loved all of his kids and grandkids with everything he had.”

Kaitlyn will remember her father’s humor and how much he enjoyed doting on his grandchildren. The accident “unexpectedly changed (our family) forever.”

“He had a way of cracking a joke and making anyone laugh, but one of the things I will always remember most was how much he loved his grandchildren and how much he loved to spoil them,” she wrote. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out, prayed for us, shared their love, or offered support during this heartbreaking time. It means more to our family than you will ever know.”

[{"type":"text","text":"The Zaske family could not be reached at the time of publication."}]

Mix Collage 14 Aug 2026 05 36 PM 4823

<title>South Dakota Grandfather Identified As Man Killed In Multi-Vehicle Wreck Near Yellowstone | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Terry Zaske, a grandfather from South Dakota, has been identified as the motorcyclist killed in a multi-vehicle wreck near Wapiti on Wednesday. The Wyoming Highway Patrol says the driver of a pickup truck caused the six-vehicle accident. 

South Dakota Grandfather Identified As Man Killed In Multi-Vehicle Wreck Near Yellowstone

Government & Politics

Politics

Political action committees (PACs) attacking Republican candidates in Wyoming’s primary election are twisting some facts and misrepresenting others.

And they’re spending hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars to do it.

The half-million-dollar Wyoming Way Action PAC has been attacking Secretary of State Chuck Gray, a U.S. House candidate, for his record on the State Loan and Investment Board, alleging that fields of wind turbines are “taking over Wyoming because of Chuck Gray" - which is an exaggeration. 

The $1 million Protecting Wyoming Values PAC, funded exclusively Gray’s father, Jan Charles Gray, as of July 29, has been attacking Gray’s opponent Steve Friess by casting him as having a “never Trump” agenda. 

That claim falls out of the bigger context of the Friess family’s long alignment with the president.  

That PAC also asserted Friess was born, married, and raised his family in Connecticut, which Friess says is altogether false.

And the $1.4 million Wyoming’s Turn PAC produced a falsehood against Sen. Eric Barlow this week by asserting he sponsored a gas tax hike in 2020, when in fact he voted against the bill it references.

[{"type":"text","text":"First, Chuck Gray"}]

The claim that Gray is making wind farms take over Wyoming is an exaggeration.

As secretary of state, Gray voted in favor of leasing state lands for at least three wind-farm projects. Those three measure 640, 2,400 and 3,079 acres.

But amid a broader campaign against what Gray called “woke wind,” he later opposed around 37,128 acres of wind farms slated for state lands. Those pertained to two far more controversial wind leases, one of which has landed Wyoming in court.  

Wyoming measures about 62.34 million acres, and about 2.4 million of that is state land.

“Its (sic) just more dishonesty from the Jackson Friess group,” wrote Gray in a Friday text message.

“I was the only member on the State Board of Land Commissioners who voted against and stopped the woke wind leases in Converse and Niobrara Counties,” said Gray. “The first time Governor Gordon threatened to fight me in January was because of my work to stop the woke wind lease.” 

. In the seconds before the confrontation, however, Gray was speaking dourly of Wyoming Attorney General Keith Kautz, who’s also a former Wyoming Supreme Court Justice.

Just before Gordon asked Gray to step outside, the governor  warned him against casting “aspersions” against Kautz.

Gray has weathered attack ads from another opponent, Reid Rasner, who says Gray has registered Chinese-owned companies. The secretary pointed to 

, when he stripped North Korean businesses of their licenses.

Political groups spending millions of dollars on Wyoming's primary election are attacking U.S. House and gubernatorial candidates with fliers and commercials. Some of their claims are exaggerated; some are downright false.

Daily Smile: Monday, January 1, 2024

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