One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"I will not accept the claim that heroes no longer walk among us..."}]

One more for 1 18 24

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

<title>One More For The Road: Thursday, January 18, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

I will not accept the claim that heroes no longer walk among us...

One More For The Road: Thursday, January 18, 2024

 I will not accept the claim that heroes no longer walk among us...

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

Clair McFarland

Crime & Courts

Law Enforcement

Wyoming is seeing a turnover of at least eight sheriffs since last year, which is more than a third among the state’s 23 counties.

Some of those retiring or leaving have about four decades of law enforcement experience each, like Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn and Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny.

Johnson County Sheriff Rod Odenbach and Sweetwater County Sheriff John Grossnickle were each at about 30 years’ law enforcement service when Odenbach decided not to run for reelection and Grossnickle switched jobs.

Departing Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor is leaving after 26 years with his office; so too is Fremont County Sheriff Ryan Lee.

Sublette County Sheriff KC Lehr is retiring after what his office’s Lt. Travis Bingham estimated at about two decades of total law enforcement service; and Platte County Sheriff David Russell left the office last August after 13-and-a-half years in law enforcement.

The sheriffs who spoke to Cowboy State Daily on Friday about their decisions to leave the job cited a readiness, a weariness, immense gratitude, and a longing to spend time with family.

“I think it’s just time,” said Blackburn. “I’ve seen a lot, been through a lot. It’s taken its toll … and it was time to heal myself and take care of my family.”

He voiced gratitude for the people and experiences of the job, saying, “It’s a wonderful profession. It’s been wonderful for me.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Used To Be The Good Guys'"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"But it hasn’t lacked trauma."}]

Blackburn responded in February 2025 to a scene in which a Byron mother had shot herself and her four young daughters in their home. The mother and daughters all died within a week.  

That incident wasn’t the final straw, Blackburn said. A growing anti-law enforcement cynicism had accumulated much longer.

“It was the divisiveness of people and the degradation of civilized conversations,” he said. “There’s always been negativity toward law enforcement. But we did used to be the good guys.”

Blackburn said that frustration and the other downsides to the job still don’t outweigh his love for the people he served and worked with.

“And I walked out holding my head high,” he said. “I gave 110% to the state of Wyoming and the people of Big Horn County — and I’m so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve my fellow man.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘We’re Trying To Do The Right Thing'"}]

Odenbach said he’s retiring so he and his wife can visit family members in their native South Dakota and spend time with their grandson.

It’s tough lobbying against “anti-law enforcement bills” too, Odenbach added.

“You know, just the constant we’re trying to do the right thing for public safety and our communities, and we have these out-of-state lobbyists that are trying to tell the people what’s best for Wyoming,” said Odenbach.

 Second Amendment Preservation Act of this year’s legislative session.

The bill sought to impose $50,000 civil penalties on Wyoming police agencies that help with federal gun-crime enforcement operations against "law-abiding" citizens, or hire former federal agents who’ve conducted those operations.

, saying it broad-brushed active and nuanced situations and would chill their ability to intervene in crises.

Odenbach said he’s proud of his department and believes its in a good place, including in its current relationship with the Johnson County Attorney’s Office. He described the coming year as a good time to leave it to someone else.

Adrian Keeler is running unopposed for that seat in the Republican primary election.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘It’s Time'"}]

Matheny said he’s retiring because, “It’s time to let somebody else be sheriff.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Daniel Maul is running unopposed in the primary election."}]

Matheny said he loves his job and has made lots of friends. He spoke highly of his office, dispatch and county personnel.

“When I first pinned on the badge as a young man, I learned a deep respect for this office,” he said. “I didn’t know then just how much this role would shape my life.”

Matheny added: “God puts people in places that only he knows and I’ve learned to trust him and lean on him to guide me.”

Matheny said he doesn’t count sparring with the Legislature as a factor in his retirement. But he does consider it noteworthy.

Lawmakers in 2025 considered another bill that sheriffs universally opposed: it would have required all agencies to strike contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Even sheriffs already working with ICE disliked the bill, saying it put them at a negotiation disadvantage by mandating them into contracts.

Others worried the ICE contracts would be too costly for small-town sheriffs.

“I don’t think (clashing with lawmakers) will ever change,” said Matheny. “You get new legislators … that want to come up with a new law, without thinking about the ramifications — especially on law enforcement.”

He added, “It seems like every year we’re down there telling them why this is not a good idea; or why this would be a good idea.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"He’s Dropped 12 Pounds"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"But Grossnickle liked that part, he said Friday."}]

“It wasn’t any more stressful than anything else,” said Grossnickle. “I actually enjoyed working with the Legislature. I enjoyed being able to have those conversations, and standing up for the right thing.”

Grossnickle said he left the job because “it was time,” and the stress was affecting his health.

His blood pressure has dropped from 138 over 90 to 118 over 72 since he left the department May 31 to take a job as executive director for Southwest Counseling Service. 

[{"type":"text","text":"He’s sleeping at night and he’s dropped 12 pounds, Grossnickle added."}]

Still, being in law enforcement was an “honorable career and I’m thankful for it,” he said.

 about his reasons for leaving the post, but wrote in a September statement to the Platte County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page that the decision was “in the best interests of my mental health and family.”

He described an unhealthy and compulsive relationship with his work that took from his family.

Sheriff Tony Krotz, who was appointed to replace Russell, is running unopposed in the primary election.

[{"type":"text","text":"Russell and Lee declined Friday to comment to Cowboy State Daily."}]

Lehr could not be reached for comment, but Bingham confirmed his decision to retire.

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

Sweetwater, Fremont, Goshen, Big Horn and Sublette counties are seeing contested sheriff’s races after their incumbents’ departures or decisions not to run.

[{"type":"text","text":"Six Republicans vie for the GOP nomination in Sweetwater County."}]

Those are: Grossnickle’s appointed replacement Rich Fischer, Ozzie Knezovich, Randall Tryzbiak, Matthew Wharton, Richard Kaumo and Amanda Buller.

Four Republicans seek the GOP nomination in Fremont County: Undersheriff Mike Hutchison, former Riverton police chief Erick Murphy, Ross Giles, and Deputy John Zerga.

In Sublette County, Bingham faces Thomas James Hatch, Klief Guenther, and Michael James Crosson in the primary election.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bingham said Friday that Lehr has endorsed him."}]

George Mills and Herb Irons are vying for the GOP nomination in Goshen County primary election.

Jeff Angell, Travis Davis, Jason Beal and Craig Shidler seek the GOP nomination in Big Horn County. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sure, But"}]

Allen Thompson, a former sheriff himself and now director of the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, said the turnover “feels different” this time, but the number is not extraordinary.

[{"type":"text","text":"Wyoming got seven new sheriffs in the last election cycle, said Thompson."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“I think it’s just the cycle,” he said. “Turnover is normal.”"}]

Thompson said that despite the rise of anti-law enforcement sentiment on social media, Wyoming is still a great place to work.

“I feel like Wyoming is still a great place to serve in law enforcement, because you still have that relationship on the local level,” said Thompson.

Matheny said the sheriff is unlike any other law enforcer in the American legal system.

“We’re the only law enforcement officials that answer directly to the people,” he said. “We have direct accountability, through the election process. That’s who we answer to.”

Matheny said that tends to yield a bond and a trust, and a pride in protecting the peace “and the constitutional rights of every citizen in our jurisdiction.”

And in Wyoming in particular, said Matheny, every sheriff’s office is a trove of “amazing” history, similar to “if you were to walk through the hallways of a museum.”

Sheriffs leaving 7 31 26

<title>Eight Wyoming Sheriffs Quit, Retire Or Choose Not To Run For Reelection | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Wyoming is seeing a turnover of at least eight sheriffs since last year, which is more than a third among the state’s 23 counties. The sheriffs who spoke to Cowboy State Daily cited readiness, weariness, gratitude and a longing to spend time with family.

Eight Wyoming Sheriffs Quit, Retire Or Choose Not To Run For Reelection

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

Renée Jean

Business & Tourism

Business

Much of the nation’s housing market is cooling. Northeastern Wyoming isn’t.

From Gillette to tiny Aladdin, home prices are rising, inventory is scarce, and properties are moving fast. Real estate agents say a growing number of retirees are helping fuel demand in Wyoming’s slice of the Black Hills.

On roads winding past Devils Tower and into pine-covered hills, the region still feels remote. But the housing market is telling a different story.

“I think in general you’ve seen a lot of national headlines say that real estate has slowed and there’s a lot more listings on the market,” said Jessica LaCour of Gillette-based 411 Properties. “That’s not the case here at all. 

"We have record low inventory, and whatever does come on the market is very quickly absorbed by buyers.”

Prices in the area are up 20% year over year, while inventory has dropped 35%, LaCour said. Average time on market is roughly one week for well-priced homes.

LaCour’s figures are based on Multiple Listing Service data, which is harder to fully track in Wyoming because it is a non-disclosure state. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"That can also skew national estimates.  "}]

“You might be seeing Zillow showing Gillette values down around 5% or 6% year over year,” LaCour said. “Zillow’s algorithm lags, and Wyoming is a non-disclosure state, which means public records don’t capture everything.”

Mariah Jeffery, who sells real estate along the eastern border of Wyoming as well as in northern Colorado, is seeing the same trend.

“While home values across parts of northern Colorado — and much of the nation — have dipped and cooled as the market normalizes, land in the Wyoming Black Hills is actually appreciating,” she said. “Buyers are realizing the massive advantages the Wyoming side holds over South Dakota, including lower property taxes, fewer regulations and much more acreage for your money.”

Zooming out, Wyoming’s overall housing market looks more stable.

Wyoming’s median home price sits at $285,000, with roughly four months of inventory and annual price growth of around 4%, LaCour said. 

Cheyenne is one notable exception, Jeffery added. 

“Home values in Cheyenne are averaging about $392,000, which is up roughly 3.5% year over year,” she said. “(That’s) heavily driven by military, government jobs, and remote workers from places like Colorado.”

Steady employment in energy, agriculture and defense sectors also continue to support demand in southeastern Wyoming, along with the state’s tax structure and its lifestyle appeal.

Jeffery said some of her clients are motivated by politics. 

“They’re leaving heavily regulated, high-tax coastal and western states,” she said. “And looking for more personal freedom and space.”

LaCour, however, said her northeastern Wyoming clients are focused less on politics and more on lifestyle. 

“They’re coming for the outdoors and the affordability,” she said.

Demand in the Black Hills started climbing just after the COVID-19 pandemic. Buyers wanted more space and access to outdoor recreation at better price points than places like Jackson Hole, LaCour said. 

Communities such as Sundance and Hulett offer relative affordability with proximity to highly desirable outdoor destinations, ranging from Devils Tower to Deadwood. 

More recently retirees have added new momentum. 

“We’re seeing tons of people who are retiring,” she said. “They’re really attracted to the lifestyle and the beauty of the area.”

They also love the affordability, and are arriving with significant equity.

“They could sell their home … for a couple million,” LaCour said. “And then they come out here and are able to pay cash.”

Unlike traditional vacation markets, however, most of LaCour’s clients are not buying second homes. 

“They are selling everything and moving here permanently,” LaCour said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hulett, Sundance Hot Spots"}]

The busiest areas so far seem to be Sundance, Hulett and Devils Tower. 

But even smaller communities are seeing spillover.

In Aladdin, population 15, store owners Jordan Yates and Trent Tope told Cowboy State Daily they are seeing more residents in the area. 

“Geis Road, which is about 10 miles from the store, just got split up into a subdivision,” Yates told Cowboy State Daily. “And a lot of people are moving into the area.”

Buyers are coming from across the country, LaCour said, and, for now, they’re still finding a range of price points from $250,000 into the millions. 

Even higher-end homes are drawing quick interest. She’s just listed a new home on the river at the lower end of pricing that has had dozens of showings within days. But she’s had similar traffic for a multi-million-dollar home with a view of Devils Tower. 

“It’s exciting to see people move here and fall in love with Wyoming,” LaCour said. “Sometimes people come here in the spring and it romanticizes them and then winter hits.

"It’s been really cool to see people come here and enjoy all the seasons and embrace Wyoming for what it is.”

Northeast housing 20260321184046142777000000 o 7 31 26

<title>Home Prices In Northeast Wyoming Jump 20% While Much Of U.S. Market Cools | Cowboy State Daily</title>

From Gillette to Aladdin, home prices are up 20% and inventory is scarce as retirees have discovered northeast Wyoming. That has the region bucking a national trend of a cooling housing market. “We have record low inventory,” one real estate agent said.

Home Prices In Northeast Wyoming Jump 20% While Much Of U.S. Market Cools

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Agriculture

an eastern Wyoming irrigation district warned

 that irrigation water for its ranchers and farmers could disappear by early August, that prediction is becoming reality.

The Pathfinder Irrigation District announced Thursday that its main Interstate Canal will shut down Aug. 7 because of historically low water supplies, ending an already abbreviated irrigation season for farmers and ranchers across eastern Wyoming and the Nebraska Panhandle.

The district operates an extensive canal system that diverts water from the North Platte River at Whalen Dam, delivering irrigation to more than 100,000 acres of farmland. That water originates in Pathfinder Reservoir southwest of Casper.

For district supervisor Rick Miller, the early shutdown came sooner than even he expected.

"I tend to be conservative when I give estimates," Miller told Cowboy State Daily. "Even being conservative, I didn't think we'd be shutting it off by Aug. 7.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Our loss has just been tremendous this year,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Season Unlike Any Other"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The district has been hit by a one-two punch this year."}]

An exceptionally dry winter produced the worst recorded peak snowpack in the upper North Platte Basin — the source of roughly 75% of the North Platte River's water — according to George Finnegan, North Platte water scheduler and civil engineer with the Bureau of Reclamation.

Then, on June 8, a severe storm damaged multiple sections of one of Pathfinder's canals, delaying water deliveries while repairs were completed.

Instead of beginning irrigation in April as it typically does, the district didn't start delivering water until June.

[{"type":"text","text":"Since then, every drop has counted."}]

"The evaporation and the seepage means we just couldn't gain anything," Miller said.

Seepage occurs when parched ground swallows the water before the water reaches intended farm or ranch land.

Compounding the problem, drought conditions have fueled vegetation growth inside canals, making it even harder to move limited water efficiently through the system.

The drought has brought weeds, Miller said, which further interferes with getting the water where it needs to go.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Drought Felt Differently Across Wyoming"}]

Water shortages vary widely across Wyoming depending on geography, said Gail Whitman, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Irrigation Districts.

Districts west of the Continental Divide operate under different hydrologic conditions than those drawing from the North Platte system in eastern Wyoming.

The North Platte feeds Pathfinder, Alcova and Seminoe reservoirs before supplying irrigation districts from Natrona County east to Goshen County. Each district receives a predetermined allocation from those storage reservoirs.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Water conservation is a huge concern,\" Whitman said."}]

The Wyoming Association of Irrigation Districts, formed in 2023, now represents districts in nine counties encompassing more than 482,000 irrigated acres and over 10,000 water users.

The Wheatland Irrigation District typically enjoys a 90- to 100-day water delivery season.

[{"type":"text","text":"This year, the season lasted two weeks, from mid-May to June 1."}]

“It was terrible,” district director Nathan Graves said.

[{"type":"text","text":"The district allotted a scant .15 feet of water per acre."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“We get more from the sky than we can give, almost,” Graves said."}]

The delivery season was by far the worst since 2002, he said. That year, the district had just 18 days of water delivery.

Graves said producers knew months ago this would be an extraordinarily difficult year.

Some still planted corn, knowing they likely wouldn't harvest a full grain crop.

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, many will chop the drought-stressed corn for cattle feed."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Yields will be way down,\" Graves said."}]

With the irrigation water soon to dry up, many farmers and ranchers will lease water from other users who aren’t planting this year, Miller said. Most who have planted also rely on supplemental wells.

Graves added that ranchers will move their stock to where the water is. Herd numbers are way down, however, 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Relief Came, But Not Enough"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"On July 11, an annual silt run provided relief."}]

During the silt run, water is released through reservoirs at higher flows to stir up and carry sediment downstream. As the silt settles into canal bottoms and banks, it reduces seepage losses.

This year, the silt run increased the canal’s water supply from 14 feet to 240 feet, Miller said.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It helped tremendously this year,” he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Even so, the improvement wasn't enough to lengthen the irrigation season."}]

The Pathfinder district considered leasing additional water but decided against it.

"The amount we'd have had to lease wouldn't have been enough to finish growing a crop in Wyoming," Miller said, noting leased water also comes with a hefty price tag.

With irrigation water about to disappear, many producers are scrambling to finish the season.

Some farmers will lease water from neighbors who chose not to plant crops this year, Miller said. Others will rely on supplemental irrigation wells where available.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Reservoir Continues To Fall"}]

The Pathfinder Reservoir, just under 24% full three weeks ago, now sits at 18.8%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Despite the grim conditions, Miller praised the district's irrigators for stretching every available gallon.

"This is their livelihood," he said. "They've been so workable. They've got to be frustrated. They've done their very best."

[{"type":"text","text":"The district echoed that sentiment in Thursday's announcement."}]

"Our water users have demonstrated exceptional cooperation, patience and responsible water management," the statement said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Hoping This Year Is An Exception"}]

Nearly all of Wyoming remains in drought after the state's fifth-driest winter since records began in 1895. About 46% of the state is currently classified in extreme drought.

“I don’t know that people could sustain another year like this,” Graves said.

The Pathfinder Irrigation District called the 2026 irrigation season one of the most difficult in its history because of the exceptionally limited water supply.

Still, district leaders are hoping the historic conditions prove temporary.

"We remain hopeful that this is a one-year event and look forward to more favorable water conditions in the future," the district said.

Sugar Beet harvest 7 31 26

<title>Historic Drought Ends Irrigation Season Early For Eastern Wyoming Farmers | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Pathfinder Irrigation District will shut off its main canal next week after record-low snowpack and historic drought have left too little water to finish the growing season in eastern Wyoming. Around Wheatland, users had just 14 days of water.

Historic Drought Ends Irrigation Season Early For Eastern Wyoming Farmers

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

A Colorado man wanted on 78 felony child exploitation charges was arrested Tuesday while working at a Saratoga sawmill, where authorities say he had been living and working for about five weeks before investigators tracked him to Carbon County.

Joshua Frasier, born in 1982, was taken into custody without incident after Saratoga Police Chief John Moore received a call from a Montrose County, Colorado, investigator around 12:30 p.m.

The investigator told Moore authorities received information that Frasier was working at Saratoga Forest Management, a sawmill on the south side of town.

Moore confirmed the felony warrant, obtained Frasier's driver's license photograph and asked a Carbon County Sheriff's Office deputy to assist with the arrest.

About 50 minutes later, the officers arrived at the mill and arrested Frasier while he was on the job.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"He was cooperative through the arrest,\" Moore told Cowboy State Daily."}]

One More For The Road: Thursday, January 18, 2024

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