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

<title>Daily Darwin: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Wednesday, February 7, 2024

 When choosing between a driving range and a stone wall to practice with my driver, I'll pick the stone wall every time...

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Wyoming-based U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner says a former sheriff’s deputy threatened him. The former deputy denies it adamantly.

They both provided screenshots potentially supporting their claims. The Torrington Police Department says it's investigating.

Rasner dispatched a statement and later conducted a phone interview Wednesday, alleging that 

former Goshen County sheriff’s deputy Aaron Mose – who parted ways with the department in 2024 – called him at 8:21 a.m. Sunday.

The statement Rasner’s attorney Bill Fix reportedly sent to law enforcement Wednesday morning alleges that Mose said, “Listen, we ran your ass outta Goshen County last week, and if you ever come back through here again, you better watch your back.”

Mose in a Wednesday phone interview adamantly denied making any such statement. He sent Cowboy State Daily what appears to be a screenshot of his phone carrier’s call log, showing no calls made between 10:35 p.m. Saturday and 1:35 p.m. Sunday.

Rasner’s team sent its own screenshot of what appears to be his phone’s call log, with unrelated phone calls blurred, showing an incoming call from Mose’s number at 8:21 a.m. on an unspecified day.

Cowboy State Daily ran both images through a free AI content detector, isgen.ai.

The site registered Mose’s screenshot as 100% human content. It registered the call log shot from Rasner’s team as 89% human and “likely original” – a score that could be less than perfect due to the privacy blurs on the other phone numbers.

[{"type":"text","text":"The stakes might be high."}]

A person who makes a false report to law enforcement can be charged with false reporting, and a person who lies to law enforcement in an investigation can be charged with interference, both misdemeanors punishable by jail time.

But, Torrington Police Chief Matt Johnson emphasized in a Wednesday interview, people shouldn’t be charged with either of those crimes unless they “knowingly” provided a false report or lied about evidence.

“There’s a fair number of boxes that would need to be checked for those things to move forward,” said Johnson. “It’s a mistake to automatically assume that because something turns out to later be inaccurate, a person will be charged. There’s an intent element.”

Another curveball is the rise of phone “spoofing,” in which bad actors hijack others’ numbers to masquerade as them. The scam is so prevalent the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has established a 

[{"type":"text","text":"“From a technology standpoint that is possible,” said Johnson."}]

He declined to give insight into the investigation, which he said is in its early stages.

Rasner told Cowboy State Daily he doesn’t know Mose personally, but the man has commented on his Facebook posts at least 31 times, and tends to be “hostile and aggressive.”

The Rasner team sent screenshots showing the beginnings of Mose's comments.

Rasner attended a Republican Party event in Goshen County in recent days, and the candidate said he thought it went well.

This isn’t the first time Rasner has raised concerns about alleged threats on the campaign trail. His political Facebook page posted an audio clip July 6 of a man saying he’d “be watching out for (Rasner) down in the Snowies,” and “You might wanna check your brakes.”

Rasner said he or his team report all threats to county sheriffs. 

Fix confirmed Wednesday he originally sent the report about Mose to Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor. But it was referred to the police department, Johnson confirmed.

Rasner originally thought Mose was still a deputy and found the alleged threat “disturbing” in that light, he said.

“We’re not going to be deterred though,” said Rasner. “We’re going to keep fighting.”

Rasner said he keeps a security team. To the question of whether he’s packing a firearm, Rasner said, “Always.”

Mose said he serves the campaign of one of Rasner’s eight GOP opponents, Secretary of State Chuck Gray, as a volunteer, as well as the campaign of gubernatorial candidate Brent Bien.

He voiced surprise at hearing Rasner’s claims Wednesday via his Cowboy State Daily interview.

Mose said he went to the police station to address the situation. He also sent the outlet what appears to be his phone carrier’s call log.

He said he doesn’t have Rasner’s phone number, but he did make a recent social media comment to the effect of “I’m glad Goshen County chased you out.”

He also said he saw Rasner at the Republican event, and Rasner tried getting his attention.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I just politely walked off,” said Mose."}]

Mose referenced the numerous negative comments Rasner has made about Gray this campaign, as well as an inflammatory claim Rasner made about Gray’s campaign manager.

Rasner has attacked Gray with nicknames such as “China Chuck Gray” and lobbed negative ads and social media posts at him for months.

“I’ve been defending (team Gray) saying, ‘This is crap. This is not true,’” said Mose. “Making these comments is absurd.”

Mose said Rasner’s campaign attacks indicate he’s “down in the polls.”

“It seems kind of odd, how he’s first been attacking (Gray’s campaign manager) and now he’s coming after me,” said Mose.

Rasner and Gray face seven more opponents in the race to the GOP nomination for U.S. House. 

Those are philanthropist Steve Friess, state Senate President Bo Biteman, former superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, former legislator Keith Goodenough, singer/actor Richard Dodson, military veterans Kevin Christensen and David Giralt.

[{"type":"text","text":"The primary election is set for Aug. 18. "}]

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<title>Rasner Files Police Report Accusing Chuck Gray Supporter Of Threatening Him | Cowboy State Daily</title>

U.S. House candidate Reid Rasner's attorney filed a police report Wednesday on a Chuck Gray supporter and former sheriff's deputy for allegedly threatening Rasner. The former deputy denies making a threat. Torrington police are investigating.

Rasner Files Police Report Accusing Chuck Gray Supporter Of Threatening Him

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Wildlife

Wolf advocates are offering a $10,000 reward for the the identity of any hunter shooting a member of a famed Yellowstone National Park wolf pack that recently denned outside of the park in Wyoming. 

Social-media influencer Jonas Black of Austin, Texas, told Cowboy State Daily during a telephone interview Wednesday that posting the reward is necessary to protect the Mollie’s Pack, particularly 12-year-old Wolf 1090 F. 

Those wolves have spent most of their lives in Yellowstone and aren’t afraid of people, so there’s no way it could be a “fair-chase” hunt, Black said. 

Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Angi Bruce denounced the move in a text message Wednesday to Cowboy State Daily. 

Wyoming, Montana and Idaho have laws keeping wolf hunters’ identities confidential to shield them from doxing, harassment and stalking.

“Putting an animal before the welfare of a person is outrageous,” Bruce said. “This is the exact reason our legislators put this statute in place – to prevent harassment of our hunters.”

 that he and others are offering the reward if any of the Mollie’s wolves are shot during the season, set to begin Sept. 15. 

“Anybody harvests one of these wolves during Wyoming’s wolf season and somebody snitches? That snitch gets ten grand cash,” Black wrote.

During the interview, Black said the intent is specifically to protect the Mollie’s, not to undermine the states’ statutes protecting wolf hunters’ identities. 

The Mollie’s this summer denned and are raising pups on the Shoshone National Forest. 

During its 30-plus year history, the pack has spent nearly all of its time inside Yellowstone, where hunting is forbidden. 

So, the wolves are essentially like “zoo-type animals” insofar as having little fear of humans, Black said. 

Black said he isn’t anti-hunting and supports fair-chase hunting, when animals are actively trying to evade humans.

“I’m not going to interfere or try to interfere with state laws. But with this pack, it’s like shooting a dog. Man, it’s unreal,” Black said. 

‘I’m Going To Burn Your House Down’

Wyoming Statute § 23-1-304(d)(vi) protects the anonymity of wolf hunters. Under the statute, Game and Fish may not release any private or confidential information regarding legal wolf harvests, and that information is not a matter of public record. 

Montana and Idaho also have statutes that keep wolf hunters’ identities confidential. 

That wouldn’t stop private individuals from revealing that information to other private parties, though. 

Those statutes are there for good reason, said Randy Newberg, a prominent outdoorsman and hunting content creator from Bozeman, Montana.

Newberg featured a successful wolf hunt in an episode on his 

He told Cowboy State Daily the blowback was vicious. 

“People from all over the world were emailing me with crazy stuff. ‘I’m going to burn your house down. I’m going to kill your dogs.’ Wow,” he said. 

Newberg noted that as a prominent figure in the hunting world, “I live in a fishbowl,” and so he expected the pushback. 

But rank-and-file hunters should be spared that sort of harassment if they shoot any of the Mollie’s, Newberg said. 

“If their information got out there, I can assure you, that person is going to undergo a level of threat and intimidation that’s completely out of line,” he said. 

Black said the possibility of facing worldwide condemnation should deter anyone from even trying to hunt the Mollie’s. 

It could be similar to the global shame heaped upon the American hunter who went to Africa and killed the beloved “Cecil the Lion,” he said.  

And that’s the point of offering the reward he said. 

Black is a dog trainer who became an outspoken wolf advocate in the wake of the capture, torture and killing of a wolf by Daniel resident Cody Roberts in February 2024. 

Black has stated that his efforts, along with Wolf and Wildlife Advocates president Kim Bean and others, were instrumental in a felony animal cruelty charge being brought against Roberts, to which he pleaded guilty.  

In April, a judge sentenced Roberts to a possible 18- to 24-month prison term if he fails probation.

Black said that with the Mollie’s his beef isn’t with Game and Fish.

“This has nothing to do with Game and Fish,” he said. "I think Game and Fish is doing a great job with the Mollie’s.”  

Wolf & Wildlife Advocates’ Bean said Game and Fish, along with a rancher in the pack’s denning area, have been trying to coax the pack back into the park.

Game and Fish has kept the Mollie’s location confidential. 

However, some people have discovered the pack’s location and posted it on social media, “putting a bull's-eye on the pack,” Bean said. 

Black said some of those who have revealed the pack’s alleged location are supposedly wolf advocates. 

Publicizing the pack’s location is f***ing stupid,” he said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Fair Game’"}]

Montana outdoorsman and retired game warden Jeff Darrah told Cowboy State Daily he supports the statutes shielding wolf hunters’ identities. 

“There is a concerted effort by some of these eco-terrorists to find those hunters,” said Darrah, executive director of Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife.

He acknowledged that emotions can run high when it comes to famous Yellowstone wolves such as the Mollie’s Pack. 

But when they pass outside the park’s boundaries “they become not a park wolf anymore but a Wyoming wolf. And they’re fair game,” he said. 

To mitigate the loss of Yellowstone wolves, Montana reduced the hunting quota to three wolves in each of the two hunt districts immediately north of the park, Darrah said.

“At one time, the quota there was up around 20 wolves,” he said. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Asshats’"}]

Newberg said it’s “very disturbing to me” that advocates are trying to work their way around state laws meant to protect the anonymity of people engaged in a legal activity. 

“How do we pick and choose?” he said of which legal activities should be protected. 

Newberg added that trying to expose hunters who might happen to shoot Mollie’s wolves could undermine the advocates’ cause. 

Bean said she, Black and others have hardened their stance only because of the hardened anti-wolf stance against the Mollie’s. 

There have been “hundreds” of people bragging about deliberately trying to find and kill the pack, she said. 

“They’re threatening to kill the pack, and we’re threatening to expose them,”  Bean said. “This isn’t about anonymity, this is about a bunch of asshats out there” threatening the Mollie’s Pack. 

Geriatric old wolf 1090 3 1 10 26

<title>Advocates Offer $10,000 Bounty To Name Hunters Who Kill Famed Yellowstone Wolves | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A social media influencer and others are offering a $10,000 bounty for the identities of hunters who shoot members of Yellowstone National Park's famed Mollie’s wolf pack this fall. Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce calls the bounty “outrageous.”

Advocates Offer $10,000 Bounty To Name Hunters Who Kill Famed Yellowstone Wolves

RIVERTON — Steve Friess said he wants to turn the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) into an advisory board that gives advice to state environmental quality agencies.

He’s one of nine candidates running for the Republican nomination for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat.

 known as “The Gentry” on Riverton’s airport hill Wednesday, Friess said, “I think the EPA should be a panel of experts that make recommendations to state DEQs (departments of environmental quality).”

“I don’t think we need redundant enforcement,” he added. “I think our state knows how to do things in a clean, reasonable, cost-effective fashion, and I think the EPA is a nightmare.”

Friess said hadn’t intended the EPA comment as an announcement. He said big “green” groups would be after him if it aired.

Cowboy State Daily pressed Friess to put the comment on the record and, with a hand gesture of surrender he said, “Take it.” 

The Sierra Club of Wyoming is not impressed with the plan.

In a Wednesday email, the environmental group’s climate and energy organizer Emma Jones called the proposal “ridiculous and harmful to hardworking Wyoming communities.”  

“Given the recent explosion in data center development that threatens our communities with air and water pollution, we need more oversight and transparency from our state decisionmakers, not less,” wrote Jones.

She emphasized that states already have the power to make their own rules and regulations.

“The EPA simply exists to ensure the states are meeting standards that will enable communities to have access to clean air and drinking water for generations to come,” said Jones. “If Steve Friess doesn’t understand the value of having strong protections for our local environment, why would we trust him to represent us?" 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"‘We Can Take Care Of Ourselves'"}]

Friess countered in a later phone interview.

He said he agrees “entirely” with the Sierra Club’s point that Wyoming is in charge and should exercise leadership regarding data centers. He said state leaders “should negotiate fiercely to ensure that electricity rates should not go up.”

Friess said state leaders should negotiate, rather, to drive power bills down, “because data centers should provide their own power sources and sell excess into the local market.”

At the coffee gathering, Friess had said those power sources should use Wyoming gas, and data centers should at a minimum use coolants other than water or “closed loop” water cooling.

He noted in his phone interview that the “Republican Party” created the EPA and called clean air and clean water longstanding priorities of Republicans.

“However, at this stage, the state departments of environmental quality are ably equipped to manage these issues,” he said, adding that the EPA’s regulations are “duplicative and redundant,” as well as unhelpful to Wyoming.

“We can take care of ourselves,” said Friess.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Origin Story And Arc"}]

President Richard Nixon proposed the EPA’s creation to Congress in early 1970 due to the public’s concerns about poor city air quality, debris and contaminated urban water.

His plan created the EPA. Congress ratified that plan as law in 1984, when Democrats controlled the House of Representatives and Republicans controlled the Senate.

Congress also established much of the Clean Air Act’s structure in 1970, and revised it in 1977 and 1990. 

EPA investigators and federal prosecutors in about 2020-2021 started interpreting a provision of the Clean Air Act as authorization to charge diesel delete mechanics with felonies. That led to the 

 of Wyoming delete mechanic Troy Lake, whom Trump 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Not The First Rodeo"}]

U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Louisiana, proposed a bill in 2024 to abolish the EPA and send roughly half of its $8.8 billion budget to the environmental quality agencies of states and U.S. territories for no more than four years.

Higgins asserted in a statement at the time that the EPA has "unjustly penalized our farmers, petrochemical industry, energy producers, and American families."

He said his bill would restore environmental protection authority to the sovereign states “and (save) tens of billions in taxpayer dollars.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The bill stalled after introduction."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Meanwhile, In Riverton"}]

"The Gentry" Wednesday coffee group consisted mostly of post-retirement age men who generally describe themselves as energy sector professionals, retirees, and semi-retired farmers.

Former mayor Ron Warpness hosted the gathering.

Riverton-based Republican legislators Rep. Pepper Ottman and Sen. Tim Salazar attended, as did former lawmakers Eli Bebout and David Miller — also Riverton Republicans.

The Gentry's gatherings are a stopping point for many serious statewide candidates. Friess’s opponents David Giralt, Jillian Balow and Bo Biteman paid 

Bebout asked Friess how he’d help hardworking Wyomingites, particularly in the energy business.

“Because they’re working hard. But we’ve been through the busts, see, and they’re not good,” said Bebout. “We’ve all suffered in this room, whether it’s uranium, oil, gas, whatever.”

Friess’s message was pro-oil, coal, gas, uranium and rare earths.

He said temporary uranium storage worries could be addressed through innovation. 

He emphasized that Congress doesn’t run data center policy for states but urged Wyoming state and county leaders to craft policies that are Wyoming-people-first, but acknowledge data centers’ place in the tech race against foreign adversaries.

Friess theorized that by “unlocking” energy production through deregulation and innovation, the nation could also address people’s other worries, like the high cost of living.

“The jobs that will provide, the salaries that will provide — that will support the whole ecosystem all the way down,” said Friess.

Besides Friess, Biteman, Balow and Giralt, five more candidates are running for the Republican nomination to U.S. House. Those are Secretary of State Chuck Gray, former legislator Keith Goodenough, combat veteran Kevin Christensen, Casper businessman Reid Rasner, and actor/singer Richard Dodson.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The primary election is Aug. 18."}]

Friess riverton 7 30 26

<title>Steve Friess Wants To Turn EPA Into Advisory Board For States | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Republican U.S. House candidate Steve Friess told Riverton's political old guard Wednesday he wants to turn the EPA into an advisory board for state environmental agencies. The Sierra Club of Wyoming called that idea "ridiculous and harmful."

Steve Friess Wants To Turn EPA Into Advisory Board For States

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

A felony case against a Gillette man accused of confronting police officers with an AR-style rifle and threatening "I'm gonna be a martyr" is headed to district court.

A Campbell County judge on Tuesday found probable cause to bind over the felony case against Chauncey Patrick Miller, born in 1980, sending it to district court on charges of aggravated assault and battery, possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

[{"type":"text","text":"Miller is in jail on a $250,000 cash-only bond."}]

An affidavit shows Gillette police officers were at an apartment complex June 20 responding to an unrelated emergency medical call when they heard a man screaming profanities at a woman inside a neighboring apartment.

When officers went to investigate, they say a female opened the door. Miller yelled at officers to "get the f*ck out" before he armed himself with what they describe as an assault rifle. 

One officer reported watching Miller pull back the rifle's charging handle. Investigators wrote that body-camera audio also captured the sound of a round being chambered. 

As officers repeatedly ordered him to "put the rifle down" and "step away from the door," Miller responded by telling them, "You either leave me alone, or I guess we're going gang, gang," according to the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Answer To God'"}]

As the confrontation continued, Miller closed the door and officers shifted their efforts to negotiating with him over the phone, court documents state.

Officers also discovered Miller had two confirmed warrants for his arrest, according to the affidavit. One was for failing to appear in court on an original battery charge. The second stemmed from failing to pay fines associated with DUI, driving under suspension and interference charges.

An officer wrote in the affidavit that Miller "was very upset" due to the belief that officers were there because of his warrants, even though they had responded to the residence for "an EMS call unrelated to Chauncey completely."

While on the phone, Miller said, "I won't be seeing you tonight homie unless we are gonna have some fun." The affidavit claims Miller rambled about how law enforcement is "tax collectors for tyrants."

Then, "here's the thing. You wanna f***ing answer to God tonight? I don't, I really don't dude. I don't wanna answer to Him, but that's what's gonna happen unless you leave me the f*ck alone." 

Later in the conversation Miller reportedly said, "ain't gonna be funny, man dies because of $430 he owes to the government." 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Case Moves Forward"}]

Authorities say Miller was prohibited from possessing the firearm because of a previous felony conviction related to a fourth or subsequent DUI charge. 

The case has been assigned to Campbell County District Judge Stuart S. Healy III. Miller has not yet entered a plea.

Campbell County Deputy Attorney Kyle A. Ferris prosecuted the preliminary hearing. Miller is represented by defense attorney Carina Maria Elisabeth Ostberg.

If convicted, Miller faces significant prison time. Aggravated assault and battery carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. 

Possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent is punishable by up to five years in prison and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon carries a penalty of up to

Chauncey Patrick Miller 7 29 26

<title>Gillette Man Accused Of Pointing Rifle At Police, Saying He's 'Gonna Be A Martyr' | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Gillette man accused of confronting police officers with an AR-style rifle had his felony aggravated assault case advanced to district court Tuesday. Prosecutors say he told police that, "I'm gonna be a martyr."

Gillette Man Accused Of Pointing Rifle At Police, Saying He's 'Gonna Be A Martyr'

Public Safety

A Utah man who died after collapsing inside the Lincoln County Detention Center after his arrest at southwest Wyoming's Oyster Ridge Music Festival is being remembered by lifelong friends as someone whose struggles with addiction never eclipsed the generosity that defined him.

Tyson J. Alvares, 38, of Smithfield, Utah, died July 25 after collapsing while being booked into the Lincoln County jail, less than an hour after he was arrested by the Kemmerer Police Department at the festival.

According to a Lincoln County Sheriff's Office press release, Alvares was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, breach of peace and disorderly conduct after officers encountered him at the festival. Authorities said Alvares admitted using a controlled substance and was behaving erratically, prompting officers to have him evaluated by emergency medical technicians before transporting him to jail.

The sheriff's office said EMTs cleared Alvares for booking. He arrived at the detention center at about 9:30 p.m. and collapsed in a holding cell around 10:20 p.m. while being booked. Detention officers began lifesaving efforts after noticing he was no longer breathing, but he could not be revived, the sheriff’s office said.

Lincoln County Sheriff Shane Johnson told Cowboy State Daily there was no use of force involving Alvares at the detention center. He said any additional information would be released as part of DCI's ongoing investigation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'He Was Always There'"}]

Stacie Lynn Izatt said she has known Alvares since childhood. Their families grew up together in Utah, and she said he was the kind of friend people knew they could depend on.

"If you needed something, if you needed help, if your bike broke or anything that way, all the way up to that, he was there," she said. "You could call him at any point."

While Izatt worked nights at a gas station, Alvares would sometimes stop by. If customers made her uncomfortable, he wouldn't leave until he knew she was safe.

"There would be creepy guys that would come in," she recalled. "He would stick around until they left ... or walk me to my car if I needed to."

She summed him up in one sentence: "He would literally give you the shirt off his back."

A Utah man who died after collapsing inside a Lincoln County jail following his arrest at southwest Wyoming's Oyster Ridge Music Festival is being remembered by friends as someone whose struggles with addiction never eclipsed the generosity that defined him.

Daily Darwin: Wednesday, February 7, 2024

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