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[{"type":"text","text":"Timing is everything..."}]

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

<title>You Still Here? Thursday, February 22, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Timing is everything...

You Still Here? Thursday, February 22, 2024

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

Renée Jean

Energy

Just last month, Microsoft announced it would triple its data center footprint in Cheyenne by adding 3,200 acres of land for new projects. 

That expansion is already growing, with an additional 420 acres, or an increase of about 13%, just announced.

According to an email from Microsoft and information filed with the city of Cheyenne, the company is adding two areas on top of its previously announced 3,200-acre plan. 

The two areas are on opposite sides of Cheyenne, but one of them, a 385-acre parcel, is near the 3,200-acre site, which is not far from Laramie County Community College.

Microsoft in an email to Cowboy State Daily described the parcel as east of College Drive near Cheyenne Business Parkway. 

On a map shared with Cowboy State Daily by Cheyenne LEADS Executive Director Betsey Hale, the parcel appears along the eastern edge of Laramie Community College. 

The other parcel, roughly 35 acres, is located near the North Range Business Park, where Hale said Microsoft already operates data centers and where utility infrastructure, including a major substation, is already in place. 

New Parcels Tucked Into Existing Industrial Corridors

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins refused to comment on Microsoft’s expansion. Hale, however, told Cowboy State Daily that the 385-acre parcel sits in an area already surrounded by industrial-scale uses, including the Bison Business Park, large solar and oil-and-gas projects, and gravel pits.

“The property is surrounded by a business park and undevelopable ground bluffs which are going into a conservation easement,” she said. “And then the solar field — a huge, huge solar field — and then 5,000 acres of oil and gas.”

The proximity to existing industrial uses on the ground means a data center is one of the best use cases for the property, Hale said. 

“There isn’t any residential use close to the project, other than the small county subdivision,” she said.

That particular neighborhood was notified about the project, and a meeting was held Wednesday night with landowners to discuss it, Hale added. 

The meeting was not required by city regulations, but was held voluntarily by Microsoft under its community-first guidelines.

The new industrial piece at North Range Business Park, meanwhile, folds additional land into the existing data center cluster west of town, near the Walmart Distribution center and Microsoft’s original Cheyenne data center campus. 

That means most of the power and infrastructure needed is already in place there.

Expansion Comes Amid Rising Data Center Debates

The two additions are on top of the 3,200-acre proposal on ranch land east and southeast of Cheyenne, much of which is associated with U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis’ family holdings. 

That 3,200-acre tract has become caught up in a broader community debate about water, industrialization, and how much data center growth Cheyenne should host.

Councilman Larry Wolfe said it’s really no surprise that reaction to data centers in Cheyenne has sharpened. 

“I mean, you can see them from your front porch,” he said. “That’s why I keep telling people, and I said it at the meeting the other night, it’s the difference between having them out in these, where they have been, in the North Range Business Park.”

There, he said, they haven’t felt as big and imposing. 

“Now you don’t have to look very far to go around and see these just enormous construction sites,” Wolfe said. “In fact, you can buy homes where you can sit and watch the Tonka trucks moving the land and keep your kids entertained for the rest of his life, or at least, a couple of years.”

Microsoft Pushing 'Community-First Infrastructure' Message

Microsoft is trying to frame its expansion under a new “Community First Infrastructure” banner, emphasizing responsible growth and partnership with local communities, including a focus on job creation and contributions to the local tax base, according to an email message they sent to Cowboy State Daily.

The company confirmed that the 385-acre parcel is near its proposed 3,200-acre expansion, but declined to answer further questions about the additions. 

It did offer the Cheyenne community an open-house forum with a variety of stations to discuss water use, energy, jobs and community investments.

On its Cheyenne data center expansion update page, Microsoft says data centers are the physical infrastructure for all the technology modern society depends upon for everyday life.

“Whenever you open an app on your phone, join a virtual classroom or meeting, snap and save photos, or play a game online, you are using a data center,” the website continued. “Local businesses, government, hospitals, and schools rely on data centers everyday to deliver goods and services to you. 

"Investing in cloud infrastructure in Wyoming supports long-term digital growth and helps ensure that essential online services remain reliable and accessible.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Portal"}]

Hale said Cheyenne is continuing to evolve its public process tools and told Cowboy State Daily she has only recently learned of the city’s “Connect Cheyenne” website portal, which includes a tab that lists all of the city’s incoming development projects.

Those pages reveal upcoming dates for hearings on all of Microsoft’s planned additions, though each application associated with the projects are listed with coded numbers, rather than recognizable project names.

Hale recommended using city council agendas to find the numbers to projects of interest and then using those numbers to find the information pages available for each project. 

Each of the pages includes an email address to whichever planner is handling that particular application.

It’s “the clunkiest,” she acknowledged, and said she only learned of it herself last week.

“Please help people understand,” she said. “And if you want to, put my name in (the article) and say, ‘Please call Betsey, she’ll walk you through this information.’”

Hale said Microsoft also announced new transparency measures in January, something she said was spurred by the Trump administration.

“The president of the United States brought them in and said, ‘You know, we want a new corporate policy (like) community transparency,'” Hale said. “So they will now go into communities incredibly early and begin working with the communities very early and having conversations with them.”

The announcement included a pledge to end all non-disclosure agreements with local governments. 

Between Microsoft’s efforts to engage with the community sooner and the city’s efforts to evolve its transparency, Hale said she hopes the public will begin to feel more in the loop.

“It’s not necessarily that the city council or city staff were trying to hide anything from the public,” Hale said. “But the city has not done a very good job of explaining how long the process takes, how many times the public can comment.”

LEADS, meanwhile, will also be making an effort to help educate people on where to find information about proposed data centers, Hale said.

“I thought both sides of the (moratorium) issue did a fabulous job,” she added. “And I want to thank everyone who participated in it and did so well. They were professional, they were respectful, they stuck to their three minutes. 

"And the City Council was respectful, the mayor ran the meeting well.”

Good information from both sides was also presented, Hale said, and Cheyenne LEADS is already following up on many of the ideas and questions that surfaced.

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<title>Weeks After Unveiling 3,200-Acre Data Center Expansion, Microsoft Adds Another 420 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Just weeks after unveiling a 3,200-acre data center expansion around Cheyenne, Microsoft is adding two more parcels totaling 420 acres. The move comes amid a deepening debate over data centers, growth, and water.

Weeks After Unveiling 3,200-Acre Data Center Expansion, Microsoft Adds Another 420

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Law Enforcement

Body camera and dash camera video released Thursday shows the chaotic end of a high-speed Interstate 80 pursuit that topped 120 mph that authorities say ended with a wanted Wyoming woman getting struck by her own moving vehicle as she bailed out of it.

The Albany County Sheriff's Office reports chase began around 6:25 p.m. Saturday after a sheriff’s sergeant spotted a stolen vehicle traveling eastbound near mile marker 323 on Interstate 80 in Albany County.

Authorities identified the driver as Sarah Grazin, 45, who deputies said was tied to multiple felony warrants out of Sublette County. Law enforcement alerts also reportedly warned officers she had a history of fleeing police, violent behavior and narcotics use.

Investigators said Grazin was also considered a suspect in a recent vehicle burglary and larceny case in Laramie.

In a Facebook post featuring dashcam video of the end of the pursuit, the Albany County Sheriff’s Office plays the 1997 pop hit “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba at its famous refrain, “I get knocked down, but I get up again” as the woman hits the pavement, then gets up to run from officers.

At first, deputies simply followed the vehicle while waiting for more units to help with a stop, but once officers tried to pull the vehicle over, authorities say Grazin punched it and took off down I-80, at times topping 120 mph.

An Albany County deputy and a Laramie Police Department officer eventually deployed stop sticks, flattening two tires on the fleeing vehicle.

Even then, the chase kept going, hitting speeds over 100 mph with two flat tires.

Albany County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jeff Beeston said pursuits like Saturday’s are uncommon, but not rare. 

The pursuit finally came apart near mile post 348 just off I-80 in Laramie County when the vehicle crashed.

Then the video shows Grazin trying to get out of the still-moving vehicle moments after the crash. 

Authorities say she ended up getting clipped by her own vehicle while trying to make a run for it. Officers quickly caught her, and reported that she sustained only minor injuries. 

“Don’t flee from the police,” said Beeston when asked what message he hopes people will take away from the video. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Grinding Metal, Flying Sparks"}]

Retired Wyoming law enforcement officer Frank Groth said what happened during the chase — even the vehicle continuing at extreme speeds on ruined tires — is something officers around the country have seen before.

“You see people who are running from the police, and they'll get a tire or two, or sometimes even all four taken out by stop sticks, and they will keep going,” Groth told Cowboy State Daily.

Groth said he has seen pursuit video where tires completely disintegrated and fleeing drivers kept barreling down the road anyway.

“All that's left is the brake on the end of the axle and it's just grinding into the pavement and they're still doing 80, 90, 100 mph,” he said.

Groth said pursuits like this carry major risks for officers and the public, especially the deputies deploying stop sticks on the interstate.

“There have been a number of officers who have been seriously injured and killed deploying stop sticks,” Groth said. “Just getting them out there sometimes puts the officer in a very bad place.”

He added that suspects jumping from moving vehicles is unusual, but far from unheard of.

“It’s not an all-the-time thing, but it certainly has happened that drivers or passengers trying to foot bail get hit by their car, which they leave in gear and it’s still moving,” Groth said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Long List Of Charges"}]

A passenger in the vehicle, identified as Justin Coulston, remained inside the vehicle and complied with commands from law enforcement, according to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

Grazin was arrested on numerous alleged offenses, including felony warrants from Sublette County, possession of stolen property, eluding law enforcement, aggravated assault, reckless driving, speeding, controlled substance violations, larceny, vehicle burglary and multiple additional traffic and criminal charges.

[{"type":"text","text":"Coulston was arrested on allegations of meth and marijuana possession."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Authorities said the stolen vehicle was recovered."}]

Grazin had her first appearance in Albany County Circuit Court on Tuesday and is being held on a $12,000 bond, the court confirmed Thursday. A preliminary hearing on her charges has been set for June 2.

Contact Kolby Fedore at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com

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<title>Wyoming Woman Flees Police At 120 MPH, Gets Hit By Her Own Car | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Dashcam video released Thursday shows the wild end to a 120 mph Wyoming I-80 chase where a woman was struck by her own moving car as she bailed out and ran on foot. Even with two flat tires, she was still driving more than 100 mph, officials report.

Wyoming Woman Flees Police At 120 MPH, Gets Hit By Her Own Car

Courts

Nearly two years after the decomposing body of a Cody man was found in a house after a weekend drug bender with a female friend, the woman has turned herself in to authorities.

Brooke Messick said she wanted to “take accountability for my actions” and admitted she had not “felt like a good person” since the man’s death, according to an affidavit of probable cause made available Wednesday in Park County Circuit Court.

The last thing Messick says she remembers hearing before leaving a house after a prolonged drug binge was a guy "snoring loudly," something law enforcement says is a telltale sign of an opiate overdose. 

Now the Cody woman is sitting in the Park County Detention Center charged with involuntary manslaughter and delivery of a controlled substance after investigators say she admitted giving methadone to a man who was later found dead and decomposing in his bed.

Messick, who was charged Wednesday, is being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond. Conditions of her release prohibit her from leaving Park County or using illegal substances.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'The Deceased Had Begun To Decompose' "}]

By the time investigators were called to the home on 20

 Street in Cody after a resident reported finding a dead man, his corpse had already begun to decompose, says the affidavit, written by Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent J.W. Mcloud.

They believe the man may have been dead for about three days before his body was discovered on Aug. 17, 2024, according to the affidavit.

Detectives found meth and drug paraphernalia scattered through the residence and a small amount of meth in the bed next to the body.

Toxicology later delivered the hard answer: The man died from what the death certificate called “mixed illicit drug toxicity” involving methadone and meth.

Investigators say multiple confidential sources identified Messick as one of the last people to see the man alive.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'lmaaoooo'"}]

One source told investigators Messick had talked about the man “snoring” and worrying he may have overdosed before his body was discovered, the affidavit says.

Another source claimed Messick admitted she had provided methadone around the time of his death and “snuck out” of the residence afterward.

During an October 2024 interview with investigators, Messick allegedly denied giving the man methadone, though she acknowledged spending most of the weekend with him while they used fentanyl and meth together, according to court documents.

Investigators later searched Messick’s phone and reported finding messages they believed showed attempts to sell or distribute controlled substances in Park County, including methadone. 

The affidavit also says investigators found internet searches related to injecting methadone and methadone tablets.

A Snapchat message recovered during the investigation showed a message allegedly sent by Messick to the man at 12:19 p.m. Aug. 14, 2024, after she had left the residence.

“I tried to wake you up and let you know that I had to head out but you wouldn’t wake up lmaaoooo but don’t worry you were snoring and breathing so I didn’t narcan you :)” the message stated, as recorded in the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Alarm Bells Went Off"}]

Investigators also reviewed activity from the dead man's cellphone, including alarm logs that showed an 8 a.m. alarm sounding for roughly 15 minutes the morning of Aug. 14  without being shut off. 

Investigators believed he was already incapacitated or dead by that point, wrote Mcloud.

The case took another turn Monday, nearly two years after the man's death, when investigators say Messick voluntarily appeared at the Cody Law Enforcement Center wanting to “turn herself in” regarding the DCI investigation.

She reportedly told investigators she and the man had spent the weekend “off and on getting high together” and that she gave him what she described as a “small dose” of methadone sometime around 10 or 11 p.m. the night before she left.

Messick reportedly said she woke up the next morning around 11 a.m. and found him still snoring heavily.

She told police that before she left the property, she went back in the house in a final attempt to wake the man, but he didn't wake up. 

“I was distraught. I did not know what to do," she told police, according to the affidavit. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'I Did Not Do What Was Right' "}]

Investigators say Messick also admitted cleaning up drug paraphernalia linked to fentanyl and other opiates before leaving the house.

At various points during the interview, Messick said she believed she had “neglected someone” and that "I did not do what was right.”

[{"type":"text","text":"The interview ended after Messick requested an attorney."}]

If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Messick could face up to 20 years in prison under Wyoming law. She also faces a felony delivery of a controlled substance charge connected to methadone distribution allegations.

[{"type":"text","text":"Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 4 at 10 a.m."}]

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<title>Cody Woman Turns Self In Nearly 2 Years After Decomposing Man Found In Bed | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Nearly two years after the decomposing body of a Cody man was found in a house after a weekend drug bender with a female friend, the woman turned herself in to authorities this week. She said she wants to “take accountability for my actions."

Cody Woman Turns Self In Nearly 2 Years After Decomposing Man Found In Bed

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

Andrew Rossi

Outdoors

Wildlife

Idaho Falls resident Don Johnson captured a serious violation of Yellowstone National Park rules when he unintentionally got video of 

, and her two cubs around 6:34 p.m. on May 14. The trio was wandering around Grizzly Lake in the northwest corner of Yellowstone between Mammoth Hot Springs and Roaring Mountain.

As he filmed their interactions with his iPhone, he captured something else: a white quadcopter drone 

, flying so close to the grizzlies that they could have reared up and swatted it out of the air.

“I didn’t even notice the drone at the time,” Johnson told Cowboy State Daily. “I didn't pay any attention to it until I heard a ranger yell out something about a drone, and by then I was done filming."

By the time Johnson was aware of the drone, dozens of people who had also stopped to watch the grizzlies had noticed it. 

[{"type":"text","text":"And they weren’t happy."}]

“Everybody was madder than hell,” Johnson said. “If anybody caught them, they'd probably have strung them up.”

Johnson posted the video of the incident on Facebook, where it’s been viewed 

“It should be illegal, and there should be a huge fine for doing it,” he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"No Fly Zone"}]

Flying drones in Yellowstone National Park, or any national park, is illegal. 

The National Park Service (NPS) categorizes drones as “uncrewed aircraft,” and they are completely prohibited within the boundaries of every NPS site.

Piloting a private drone without authorization is a misdemeanor offense, carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.

As soon as drones became commercially available, they became an immediate liability in Yellowstone.

On Aug. 2, 2014, Theodorus Van Vliet from the Netherlands was piloting a drone over Grand Prismatic Spring when it unexpectedly crashed into the pool itself. Rangers attempted to locate and remove the drone but were never able to find it.

[{"type":"text","text":"Van Vilet was cited and paid $1,000 in fines and $2,200 in restitution."}]

That incident happened two months after the NPS banned private drones in all national parks.

Twelve years later, one would think that drones being banned in Yellowstone was common knowledge. This incident proves otherwise.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Harassment"}]

On June 5, 2025, a tourist was cited for flying a drone 

 told Cowboy State Daily it was “the most flagrant violation I have ever seen.”

“They were tidying up their nest,” he said 

. “The next thing you know, you see both of the osprey look up and then take off in a panic.”

Botkin found and confronted the drone’s operator, taking several pictures of him and his vehicle to ensure he wouldn’t get away with it. The culprit told Botkin to “go mind my own business.”

“He hovered (the drone) right above my head, like he was trying to intimidate me,” Botkin said. “I launched my hat at the drone but missed.”

NPS spokesperson Linda Veress confirmed that the drone’s operator was found and cited. He was never publicly identified.

As for the osprey, Botkin confirmed that both ospreys had returned to their nest by the next day and didn’t seem majorly miffed by the incident.

Johnson said the grizzlies he was watching two weeks ago didn’t seem to take much notice of the drone hovering extremely close to them. They were preoccupied with another grizzly that was nearby.

“They were a little bit perturbed, but I think they were paying more attention to that other bear that was walking towards them,” he said.

Johnson didn’t see whoever was flying the drone, as they were “around the corner and behind the hill.” 

That, at least, is where he and everyone else saw the drone disappear when it, presumably, returned to whoever was piloting it.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I wish I’d caught them,” he said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Unidentified Foreign Object?"}]

Cowboy State Daily attempted to reach Yellowstone National Park to see if it was aware of the May 14 drone incident. Officials had not responded by the time of publication.

Veress sent an email to SFGate saying the park “does not have a report of this incident.”

Wildlife photographer Karin Occhialini said information on the drone appeared on RedNote, a Chinese social networking and e-commerce app.

“The drone video showed up on RedNote, a massive Chinese media platform,” she said in a comment on Johnson’s video. “There were a number of comments, and the post was removed, but not before being screenshotted. Hopefully, whoever has the screenshot will turn it in.”

Johnson hasn’t shared his video with the NPS, as all it would do is confirm there was an illegal drone harassing Beryl and her cubs. That wouldn’t confirm the operator’s identity.

Johnson said the response to his video has been universally angry. Nobody was happy to see a drone in Yellowstone, let alone one so close to a grizzly.

“You got some people wanting to ban the tourists, but most people didn't say much except that they hope they get caught,” he said.

Others were waiting for the culprits to expose themselves. They felt it was only a matter of time before the video showed up on social media, which could lead to identification and citation.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Good Luck For Bad Luck"}]

As of Thursday, Johnson’s video of the May 14 drone incident has been viewed over 34,000 times.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I don’t even know that many people,” he said."}]

But that’s not his most-viewed video. That was one he filmed later that week, when an NPS ranger hazed a grizzly away from a bear jam by firing a shotgun into the air.

Johnson and his wife, Cindy, try to get into Yellowstone as often as they can, usually on the weekends. He regularly shares everything interesting he sees, and mid-May was a good time and place to see some out-of-the-ordinary moments.

[{"type":"text","text":"“We always seem to get pretty lucky when we get in there,” he said."}]

Beryl and her cubs, meanwhile, have not been affected by their drone fly-by and are still highly visible to the tourists who respect Yellowstone’s rules on safe distancing and no drones.

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<title>Man Shoots Video Of Illegal Drone Harassing Grizzly And Cubs In Yellowstone | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Yellowstone visitors were furious after seeing an illegal drone harassing a grizzly bear and her two cubs. “Everybody was madder than hell,” said the man who got video of the incident. “If anybody caught them, they'd probably have strung them up.”

Man Shoots Video Of Illegal Drone Harassing Grizzly And Cubs In Yellowstone

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Public Safety

 a four-story apartment building under construction and two nearby garages on Tuesday is being investigated by a 25-person fire team from the Denver office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Cheyenne Fire Rescue Chief Andrew Dykshorn told Cowboy State Daily that ATF investigators have been at the scene since Wednesday and “bring the federal assets” to handle a major event like the fire at the Ridge View Apartments and Townhomes at 2025 E. Carlson St. behind Sam’s Club in north Cheyenne.

“This is definitely something that’s normal on larger events,” Dykshorn said of the ATF team. “They have investigators, that’s all they do — investigate big fires. It’s like an incident management team for fire investigation.”

The Ridge View fire qualifies, he said, adding that the ATF also helped local officials after the 

A 25-person team from the ATF is in Cheyenne to investigate the huge fire that burned a four-story apartment building under construction in minutes Tuesday. It was “just a matchbox with open lumber, ready to go up at any time,” said the fire chief.

You Still Here? Thursday, February 22, 2024

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