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

<title>You Still Here? Tuesday, January 30, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

This may be the best commercial of all time...

You Still Here? Tuesday, January 30, 2024

 This may be the best commercial of all time....

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

Renée Jean

Business & Tourism

Business

CHEYENNE — America is in a digital arms race right now with other countries, Gov. Mark Gordon told construction workers during a tour of the 

data center site this past week, and Wyoming can be part of winning that race.

“We need to have AI, we need to own that property,” he said. “We need to make sure that our data is better, stronger, and more efficient than anywhere else. You all are the vanguard of that, and I say, God bless you.”

Wind gusts punctuated the governor’s hard-hat tour of Related Digital’s facility on Thursday, kicking up little dust devils as Gordon and Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins walked to and from the rapidly rising concrete walls for the data center. 

Work is nearing completion on the first 184,000-square-foot phase of the campus, which is expected to be finished in late 2026. 

The tour was an opportunity for an inside look at how this $1.2 billion data center will operate, as far as fire suppression, energy use, and water cooling. 

It was also a chance for Gordon and Collins to talk about things like affordable housing, worker training, and opportunities that can keep Wyoming youths at home.

Related’s Cheyenne campus will ultimately deliver up to 420 megawatts of computational capacity for its client, CoreWeave, and they claim will generate more than $250 million in tax revenue for Cheyenne over its first 15 years of operation. 

Gordon said Related Digital is offering a model for how data centers can and should be built in Wyoming. 

“What Related has done here is absolutely astounding,” Gordon said. “I used to work for an oil and gas company, and I have a ranch, and I’ve tried to bring that same philosophy to it, too.

“But you have demonstrated it here, and that’s do the right thing, do it the right way, and do it right away.”

One challenge Wyoming faces will be affordable housing.

“One of the things that’s really important is that if you’re going to get educated, and if you’re going to have a job, we want to make sure you have a place to live that you can afford,” Gordon said. “And that’s something I know that (Cheyenne) Mayor (Patrick Collins) has put a tremendous amount of effort into.”

For Gordon and Collins, the real test of projects like Related’s won’t be just the servers humming on the prairie, but whether the jobs and housing they help create give more Wyoming families a reason — and a way— to stay in Wyoming.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How The Power Flows"}]

A member of the Related Digital team explained how power leaves the Black Hills substation, disappearing underground in buried lines that have been tucked safely away from the wind, before rising again into two massive switchboards that feed the front and back halves of the data halls. 

Traditionally, the electrical “guts” of a data center have been assembled on site, the employee added. 

But to speed the process along, Related’s gear was built off-site and shipped in fully formed blocks. That’s allowing contractors to set and wire everything more quickly.

Such speed-to-market tactics are what the market demands right now in the race to build out a massive surge in artificial intelligence and data centers.

Row upon row of batteries stand quiet but ready outside the building. They can provide about seven minutes of battery time.

If the power dips or there’s an outage, those batteries take the load instantly while it’s passed along to backup generators. 

This approach ensures a constant flow of power to Related’s servers, which are running 24-7. 

Black Hills Energy will deliver power to Related under Wyoming’s large-load tariff, which has been designed to ensure data center companies are paying 100% of their costs, including the infrastructure required to serve them.

From there the tour filed into the Related Digital Facility itself. 

A huge concrete wall swallowed tiny humans whole and the sound of blustery wind was replaced with the light and easy hum of machinery. 

Inside the facility, the tour stopped near a wall of fans and coils which are an integral part of keeping the facility at an even 73 degrees. 

“The racks are laid out kind of perpendicular to where we are,” a Related Digital employee explained. “Each of those racks has a chimney system taking the hot air out.”

The air chillers work in combination with a closed-loop, direct-to-chip, liquid cooling system, which soaks up heat directly at the source and moves it to a heat exchanger. 

“We use the environment of Cheyenne, which has some colder temperature throughout the year,” an employee explained. “The evolution of these (systems) has gotten significantly more energy-efficient. 

"That overall kind of allows us to build a closed system and run a highly efficient animal.”

As long as the closed-loop system is kept tight and filled, there’s essentially no ongoing makeup water required, he added. 

“It’s basically set as soon as this is put in place,” he said. “It’s like your car radiator. If it’s leaking, you have a problem. Otherwise, you’re set.”

Magnetic-bearing compressors help the chillers remain efficient even when temperatures outside climb above the optimal 70 degrees. 

Those compressors will work harder, but remain highly efficient, thanks to advanced technology.

Related’s approach is about four times more efficient than past approaches, which allows the company to run its server racks more densely, creating more computing power per square foot.

Fire Protection For Billion-Dollar Building

Fire safety is not an afterthought at a facility like a data center. The strategy there focuses heavily on mitigating risk, while avoiding water damage. 

“All of our systems are pre-action systems,” a fire protection expert explained, which will remain dry under normal conditions.

A box on the wall constantly sniffs at the air to detect smoke. Only when both air sampling detection and other triggers align will water finally surge into the pipes through sprinkler heads.

That helps prevent accidental deluges on millions of dollars of sensitive equipment. 

Separate pods throughout the facility, meanwhile, each have their own shutoff valves, so that an incident in one area doesn’t necessarily have to knock the entire building offline. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Not Just Jobs, Careers"}]

It wasn’t all about the building during the tour. Gordon and Collins also had panel discussions with employees of various contractors to talk about how they came to be part of the project, as well as what kind of training was required.

One worker talked about bringing his son into the trade, and having him help with side projects and shop work, to help him learn a skill that could keep him in Wyoming.

That was a point that particularly interested both Gordon and Collins. 

Wyoming, Gordon said, has invested heavily in career and technical education (CTE), in an effort to give high school students and community college enrollees a head start on apprenticeships and technical credentials.

Staffing the projects has been a challenge, a different employee noted but, those who do come to Cheyenne are often finding there’s plenty of work to keep them in Cheyenne long-term.

Brad Harless, for example, originally came to Cheyenne to work on Microsoft data centers.

“They kept sending me to Cheyenne for work,” he said.

So he just decided to move to the area and stay.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Miles Of Pipe"}]

Related Digital broke ground in October and has since installed about 80,000 feet of chiller pipes, 40,000 feet of medium-voltage conduits to feed the data center power, which is 111 football fields long, according to Related Companies CEO Jeff Blau. 

There’s another 21,000 linear feet of underground utility pipe going in, which is 90% complete.

All of that work has been done by Wyoming businesses and Wyoming workers. 

“That’s exactly why I feel good standing here with the governor and saying that I believe this project lives up to the principles you outlined in your executive order,” Blau said. 

“The governor laid out a vision for attracting investment and creating jobs, while protecting Wyoming’s water and natural resources, respecting local communities and ensuring growth creates lasting benefits to the state,” he added.

The closed-loop system and high-efficiency air chillers mean water use will be on the order of a standard office building, said Blau.

“We’re very proud of that responsible approach,” he said. “The executive order also talks about protecting ratepayers. This project pays the full cost of the energy infrastructure it requires and then some. 

"We’re investing more than $20 million to purchase a new transformer and expand the existing substation to service this data center.”

That investment bolsters the overall energy grid in the region, and will help protect ratepayers from future cost increases.

“Gov. Gordon’s order also talks about workforce growth and opportunity,” Blau said. “Just look around this tent. We have over 400 construction workers today, and we’ll have more than 700 at peak. 

"We’re going to need another tent. Continuing to invest in infrastructure and development enables workers to have careers, not just temporary jobs.”

Related is also going the extra mile, Blau added, by contributing to organizations like Wyoming food banks and supporting regional and cultural events like Cheyenne Frontier Days. 

They’ve also made a $3.5 million commitment for affordable housing in Cheyenne, something Blau said he’s particularly proud of doing. 

“Related is building and preserving a part of Cheyenne where there’s a true need for affordable housing,” he said. “Since the very beginning, Mayor Collins and the governor provided the leadership and partnership to make this project possible. 

"That’s not to say every step has been easy. They’ve held us accountable to make sure we live up to each of these promises.”

Related Digital 20260611 105807 6 12 26

<title>Inside The $1.2 Billion Data Center Campus Being Built In Cheyenne | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Work is nearing completion on the first 184,000-square-foot phase of the Related Digital data center campus in Cheyenne, which is expected to be finished in late 2026. The company says because of its closed-loop system, there’s no ongoing water required.

Inside The $1.2 Billion Data Center Campus Being Built In Cheyenne

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Hunting

Forget about e-bikes, ATVs and other wheeled vehicles. 

The latest powered outdoor trend is people strapping on devices called powered exoskeletons and becoming faster, stronger cyborg versions of themselves.

Battery-powered knee and hip-assistance devices have been around for a while. 

But some reviewers say products like one called the Vastnaut One 4x4 have taken things to a new level by supplying additional support and power to the hips and knees simultaneously.

The company claims that its contraption can boost the wearer’s climbing power by 30%.

Its rechargeable batteries last 4.5 hours, enough to cover about 12.5 miles, according to Vastnaut.

Prices for the devices run from about $1,000 to $2,000.

Seasoned hiker John Housel told Cowboy State Daily that at age 73, he’s had to slow down somewhat, but he’s not sure he’s ready to strap on a set of robot leg boosters.

“I’m a great believer in self-locomotion,” he said. "I would be hesitant about exploring that (using an exoskeleton) much further.

“I can see if I got to the point where I was wearing out before I got to the top of one of my favorite local mountains, I might look into that,” he added.

Even so, he can see drawbacks, such as the batteries wearing out or the contraption getting damaged.

“What if I fell on my descent? The falling might bend a joint on that apparatus, and I’d have to get back down on my own,” he said.

Housel added that it could be better to accept the natural limitations that come with age.

“If I get to the point where I just can’t go somewhere, maybe I’ll just not go to that place anymore,” he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Shrinking The Land"}]

Housel said that exoskeletons could add to a trend that outdoor enthusiasts call “shrinking the land.”

In other words, the more means there are available to traverse territory more quickly, the “smaller” the land gets and the fewer places there will be where one can go to find utter solitude.

Housel said that over the years, he’s seen some of that happen as technology has improved ATVs and e-bikes.

 over whether they blur the lines between human-powered and motorized backcountry transportation.  

However, he’s skeptical that exoskeletons will have that much of an impact, at least not anytime soon.

The prices could be a barrier for many people, Housel said.

“I don’t think they’re going to be that popular. I think the pricing will be a factor,” he said.

He added that people might be hesitant to spend $1,000 to $2,000 on products that might be found primarily online, and not yet in retail stores.

“I think anybody who would be interested in that would want a demonstration” before spending the money, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Mr. Gadget’"}]

The makers of Vastnaut and similar devices claim that they can increase users’ weight-carrying capacity.

That could be a selling point for people like northeast Wyoming resident Owen Miller. 

He frequently hunts deep in the backcountry, in places where killing an elk means facing a long trek out with heavy packs full of meat.

“This looks like a product for ‘Mr. Gadget,’” he told Cowboy State Daily.

“I can definitely see that there’s people that would use this, and it could be compared to the e-bike where you’re biking, but you’re not really biking,” he said. "(This is) like assisted biking, but this is assisted hiking/walking."

Miller said he favors simplicity in the backcountry. So, he’s skeptical about the possible complications of exoskeletons, such as limitations on battery life.

He noted that it might be good for “somebody with a leg injury, or even a back injury.”

Miller said he doesn’t think he’ll buy an exoskeleton anytime soon.

“In my opinion, everything can have its place and be useful for the right person. But as long as I’m healthy, I personally wouldn’t use it just to use it,” he said.

 Avid backcountry elk hunter Bruce Cooper of Bondurant also said he can see the usefulness of exoskeletons for those with injuries or mobility challenges.

He noted that his wife has had two knee surgeries.

“This would help her maybe keep pace with me and have less fatigue,” Cooper said.

“I personally would not have a use for it when hunting. I tend to go distances that would burn the battery, and through heavy timber. I would then have to carry it back when the battery is dead,” he said 

Where exoskeletons might shine in Wyoming is among people hiking for fun in the front country, Cooper said.

“I think it could be beneficial for those who are walking more on (established) paths and trails, and who may benefit from the knee support and need for assistance in walking or hiking,” he said.

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<title>Powered Exoskeletons Could Turn Wyoming Hikers, Hunters Into Backcountry Cyborgs | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Forget about e-bikes, ATVs and other wheeled vehicles. The latest powered outdoor trend is people strapping on powered exoskeletons and becoming faster, stronger cyborg versions of themselves. One company says it can boost climbing power by 30%.

Powered Exoskeletons Could Turn Wyoming Hikers, Hunters Into Backcountry Cyborgs

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

Andrew Rossi

Wyoming Life

Around Wyoming

Meeteetse resident and paranormal investigator Tami Currie has added another object to her collection of haunted objects: an 1880s Old West grave marker with a criminal history.

“I walked into the Hole in the Wall antique store in Meeteetse and the owner, John Fremlin, said ‘I have an object you might be interested in,’” Currie told Cowboy State Daily. “He showed it to me, and I immediately knew I had to have it. There was no question about it.”

Currie has added the grave marker to the eclectic assemblage of items she’s obtained during her career as a paranormal investigator. She holds onto anything that has “energy attached to it.”

“There’s a story with this piece, and I’m going to make sure it’s preserved and told,” she said. “I don't like it when people are forgotten.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Submitted For Evidence"}]

Currie doesn’t have a certificate of authenticity for her grave marker, per se. What she does have is documentation from the Ogallala Police Department in Nebraska, which once retained the grave marker as evidence of a crime.

“It was taken into the police department in 1965 and documented as evidence,” she said.

Determining whose grave the marker had been marking was easy. It was placed at the grave of Joseph Evans, buried in Nebraska’s Boot Hill Cemetery in 1882.

Figuring out how the grave marker was involved in the crime took some sleuthing. Currie called the Ogallala Historical Society to get the details on what happened.

“I guess you want to call it a reproduction of the original,” she said. “They did a renovation in the cemetery in 1963 and put new markers so they could preserve the originals. That marker was stolen sometime between 1963 and 1965.”

During a routine traffic stop in 1965, an Ogallala police officer found the grave marker in the trunk of a vehicle being driven by John Fincher. 

[{"type":"text","text":"He was charged with theft, and the marker was retained as evidence."}]

Currie isn’t sure when the grave marker got out of the Ogallala Police Department’s evidence room, but she’s confident that she’s legally obtained it. Furthermore, Evans doesn’t need it back.

“They actually gave him a really decent headstone, and he's not buried at that cemetery anymore,” she said. “I had to make sure it was completely legal for me to own it.”

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

For Currie, collecting paranormal artifacts is part of the allure of paranormal investigation. She’s been traveling the country, visiting haunted places and trying to communicate with the dead, for over a decade.

Her collection includes the original glass doors from the old Mount Maurice hospital in Red Lodge, Montana, and a key that locked a jail cell in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“That key locked people into that cell and never let them out,” she said. “They perished in that cell.”

She got one of her most unusual pieces in Meeteetse: an abandoned prosthetic leg.

“I found it in the basement of the Cowboy Bar, and the old owners let me keep it,” she said. “I think it’s from the 1930s.”

Collecting these objects is about more than morbid curiosity. Currie sees them as pieces of people’s stories that “deserve respect.”

Joseph Evans’ stolen grave marker is an excellent example of that. He had barely started to live his life when he died on Dec. 15, 1882, at age 19.

“A gentleman with the Ogallala Historical Society told me that Evans ‘perished by timber.’ I assume he was cutting wood or something when he died.”

Evans’s story is sad and was cut too short. That’s why Currie believes it’s important to preserve his stolen grave marker.

“These things belonged to somebody, and sometimes they are tossed to the side,” she said. “People deserve to be remembered.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Calls And Communications"}]

When you’re an experienced paranormal investigator in Wyoming, people want to talk to you, either over the phone or from beyond the grave.

Currie has done several paranormal investigations in Wyoming, including the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and Old Trail Town in Cody. 

She’s worked in the historic Irma Hotel, allegedly one of the most haunted places in the state, but hasn’t had much success.

“The Irma Hotel definitely has a lot of energy, but you're not going to find it because it's such an active place,” she said. “It's really hard to say something was paranormal as opposed to it was just somebody in a room.”

For Currie, the most haunted experience she ever had was on the upper floors of Meeteetse’s Masonic Hall.

“That’s one of the scariest places I’ve ever been to,” she said. “It’s primarily upstairs where they would perform their ceremonies. That building holds a lot of energy, and it's a lot of negative energy.”

Currie also travels to other states to meet up with other paranormal investigators. Her next trip will be exploring the old Washoe Club in Virginia City, Nevada, which has been featured on dozens of ghost-hunting television series.

Currie used to conduct and post videos of paranormal investigations with her friend, Kara McCoy, as 

Sadly, McCoy died on Dec. 4, 2025, after a long battle with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and a rare genetic cystic lung disease.

“I might need to change the name, because I’m not a posse anymore,” she said.

Nevertheless, Currie keeps her friend’s spirit alive by continuing to explore and indulge in the paranormal.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It’s something I’m extremely passionate about,” she said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Collection Of Curios"}]

Currie said she never aspired to be a collector of haunted artifacts. The stolen grave marker is another addition to her growing collection.

“I will collect anything that has an odd energy attached to it,” she said. “I started collecting creepy dolls for some reason. I don't like dolls, but I have one that is haunted, and I’d like to accumulate more.”

The Hole in the Wall antiques store has been a great place to acquire these artifacts. Oddly enough, many of the items she’s found there have come from Nebraska.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I don't know why they travel this far, but they do,” she said."}]

Currie would eventually like to open her own antiques store or museum of haunted objects to showcase her collection. Joseph Evans’s grave marker will have a prominent place in that display.

While she fully intends to preserve the grave marker, Currie hasn’t yet noticed any of its paranormal properties. With a history that unusual and intriguing, she’s confident it’s got a unique story to tell.

“I firmly believe people on the other side have stories that they want told, and they're always willing to talk to you,” she said.

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<title>Meeteetse Woman Adds Old West Grave Marker To Haunted Collection | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Meeteetse resident and paranormal investigator Tami Currie legally obtained an 1880s grave marker with a criminal history to her collection of haunted objects. “People on the other side have stories they want told, and they're willing to talk to you,” she said.

Meeteetse Woman Adds Old West Grave Marker To Haunted Collection

Jen kocher

Jen Kocher

Crime & Courts

Law Enforcement

Lt. Doug Fisher had been about a week away from flying to Wisconsin to arrest Roger Durkee when he got the news: Durkee was dead.

The cat-and-mouse game Durkee had been playing with Elko County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) detectives for the past few years was officially over.

[{"type":"text","text":"Fisher called the news bittersweet."}]

He and ECSO Det. Alex Cox had been looking forward to finally putting the cuffs on Durkee, who had spent 32 years eluding authorities after allegedly murdering an unidentified woman and dumping her nude body at a remote desert exit off Interstate 80 in Nevada.

but both officers agree that identifying Durkee’s victim 

For decades, she was known only as “Shafter Jane Doe,” named for the highway exit where she was found in November 1993.

detectives finally identified her as Marion Hertha Alexander

, a 25-year-old German immigrant who had been living in Salt Lake City, Utah, when she crossed paths with Durkee.

The woman also had spent seven months in Afton, Wyoming, shortly before she was killed, which was determined in 2010 via a breakthrough isotope testing procedure. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Family Devastated"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Alexander’s mother was devastated, Fisher said."}]

He and Cox had driven to her California home in January to tell her in person. She had met her husband, a

A detective was about to fly to Wisconsin to arrest the lead suspect in the 32-year cold case of a woman whose nude body was dumped along I-80 when he got the news the suspect was dead. The woman's time in Wyoming led to the breakthrough in the case.

You Still Here? Tuesday, January 30, 2024

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