One More For The Road

[{"type":"text","text":"Oh good, the garbageman is finally here...."}]

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

<title>One More For The Road: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Oh good, the garbageman is finally here....

One More For The Road: Wednesday, March 6, 2024

 Oh good, the garbageman is finally here....

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

Andrew Rossi

Around Wyoming

Despite an influx of moisture-laden weather in June, data from the National Weather Service (NWS) show that the last three months have remained historically dry.

For many communities, the period between March 21 and June 20 was one of the driest in recorded history.

Riverton got 1.01 inches of total precipitation between March 21 and June 20, only 28% of its historical average. That’s officially Riverton’s driest spring since 1996.

Buffalo didn’t fare much better, with 1.91 of the 6.18 inches of precipitation it usually gets. It was Buffalo’s driest spring since 1998.

With the wettest months of Wyoming’s year in the past, meteorologists are anticipating an exceptionally dry summer.

“I'm not surprised,” Cowboy State Daily meteorologist Don Day said. “March was so bad, April was not great, May was really bad in places, and June has been a bust. Those months are so critical, and they didn’t come through for us.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Confirmation Bias"}]

None of Wyoming’s meteorologists were surprised the 2026 spring season was so dry. It’s comparable to confirming how a murder has been committed when the murderer has already been tried and convicted after a thorough confession.

“Weather systems have been going around the fringes of Wyoming all season,” meteorologist Joshua Rowe with the NWS office in Riverton said. “It affected every region differently, but it was dry across the board.”

The reason for the dry season was the same phenomenon that made the 2025-2026 winter season historically dry. A series of stubborn high-pressure ridges set up in the Arctic Circle, funneling cold, wet weather away from the western U.S.

“The same story is pretty much true everywhere you look,” Day said. “There’s no getting around that this has been a severe drought across Wyoming.”

However, even this bleak outlook has a brighter perspective. Both Day and Rowe noted that spring precipitation wasn’t that bad when looking at communities with older records.

For instance, Lander got 3.25 of the 6.21 inches it typically receives between March 21 and June 20. That’s only 52% of their seasonal average, but it's only the 19th driest spring since 1891.

Casper had its 17th-driest spring since 1939, receiving 2.99 of its average 4.93 inches.

“This is ranking high on the list of driest winters for many places, but we’ve been down this road before,” Day said. “We’ve had some very dry years in the past, and people don't necessarily realize how prone we are to drought.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Prognosis Not Positive"}]

If the wettest months of Wyoming’s year were a bust, that doesn’t bode well for the hotter, drier summer ahead. Drought begets drought, as Day described it.

“It's really, really hard to erase or take big chunks out of drought as you get into early summer,” he said. “It’s already a dry climate, and the drier the ground gets, the harder it is to get rain. It takes a while for anything to bust that cycle.”

, most of Wyoming is experiencing Severe or Extreme drought. That’s actually an improvement from a few months ago, but isn’t saying much.

Rowe sees the possibility of drought relief on the horizon, but not for a few more months.

“There is the potential for the upcoming monsoonal season to be active, but it's not a certainty and won’t happen until late summer and early fall,” he said. “We would need a prolonged period of that moisture, with thunderstorms and rain showers developing every day for several weeks, for most of Wyoming to see any real improvements.”

 can change the game in a big way, in either direction. Unfortunately, that won’t have any impact in the short term.

“The Climate Prediction Center is calling for slightly above-average moisture for the next three months,” Rowe said. “That could give us more monsoonal moisture as we get into late July, August, and September, but it would take quite a lot to make a significant change.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Day was aware of that outlook, but “wouldn’t put any money on it.\""}]

“I’ve seen years where active tropical storms in the eastern Pacific Ocean during an El Niño summer drift into the Rockies and create some really wet weather in July, August and September,” he said. “I don't want to give any impression that it's coming or that this would end the drought conditions, but there’s a historical precedent for it.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"It’s On Josh Allen"}]

Astronomical summer started with the summer solstice at 4:24 a.m. Sunday. Meteorological summer, however, started June 1.

Either way you look at it, it’s summer in Wyoming. That’s when people must be careful about what they wish for regarding moisture.

Even if there isn’t much precipitation over Wyoming, even a small amount can be enough to generate thunderstorms in the atmosphere. And with the thunder comes the lightning.

“If we're going to get rain, it's going to be likely coming from a thunderstorm,” Day said. “But thunderstorms could also cause lightning-induced fires. If you have wind coming in behind those storms, it’s a real concern.”

Day called summer thunderstorms “Catch 22s.” They’re the best chance for moisture but come with a higher risk of turning a drought-stricken landscape into an inferno.

“Do you want it to stay dry with no lightning, or do you want to take the chance to get wet and have lightning? I don’t have an answer for that, because thunderstorms are a blessing and a curse at the same time,” he said.

Now that summer’s here, the best course of action is to assume, and behave as if, the ongoing situation isn’t going to improve.

“Drought conditions are probably not going to improve much through the rest of June and into July,” Rowe said. “It'll really all depends on the monsoon as it develops later this summer. If it really sets up favorably for us, that would be very beneficial. We’ll have to see how that plays out.”

That said, there’s been a lot of active weather in Wyoming in the latter half of June. While the odds are low, Day said it's possible for June to make a noticeable dent in Wyoming’s drought.

“Getting that tropical storm activity in the Pacific and above-average precipitation in late July would be like 4th and 25 in a football game,” he said. “If you know we're going to go for it on fourth down, you have to hope Josh Allen’s our quarterback.”

Wamsutter Highway sign6 7 25

<title>Wyoming Records Driest Spring In Decades, Forecasters Expect Exceptionally Dry Summer | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Data from the National Weather Service reveals the last three months have been the driest spring on record for most of Wyoming. That's following one of the driest winters on record. And now meteorologists say they are expecting an exceptionally dry summer.

Wyoming Records Driest Spring In Decades, Forecasters Expect Exceptionally Dry Summer

Outdoors

Public Lands

Almost a week after a semitruck carrying 

 flipped over in Yellowstone National Park and destroyed hundreds of hives, bees are still swarming around the area.

Thousands of bees are still homeless and visibly trying to survive in large groups on “bee trees” along U.S. Highway 191. 

Jim Holstein with Yellowstone Tour Guides has been passing through the area where the accident occurred. He took a photograph of one of the bee trees, where thousands of bees had completely covered a small lodgepole in a vast, buzzing swarm.

“They were still there on Monday,” Holstein told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s in the park between Big Sky and West Yellowstone. All the hives have been cleaned up, but there are quite a few bees left.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Bee Trees"}]

Cheyenne beekeeper Michael Jordan is familiar with bee trees. They’re an indication that a colony of bees is actively house-hunting.

“It’s what's called a swarming mechanism,” he said. “The queen leaves and takes about half or more of the colony and moves to a new safe location.”

Jordan said this is common behavior for honeybees when a hive gets overpopulated. The existing queen will take nurse bees and guard bees to sustain herself in a temporary location while scouts search for a permanent 

“The scouts will search until they find a permanent location,” he said. “In the meantime, you'll have groups and colonies hanging in the trees as they regroup.”

A new permanent home could be a hole in a tree, a cave, or “anywhere that’s out of the water and elements,” said Jordan. 

Bee trees are meant to be staging locations so the scouts can lead the hive to their new home.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Sugar High"}]

When the scout bees find a suitable location for a permanent hive, their next priority is

“Right now, they’re looking for a sugar source,” Jordan said. “Bees need sugar to produce wax from their glands. Once they produce the wax and form it, they'll actively engineer foam in what we call a pendulum manner to make honeycombs.”

Bees instinctively know how to build hives, and their goal is to start propagating as soon as possible after a hive-destroying incident.

Once they find a suitable spot with plenty of sugar in the vicinity, maybe a rock formation or building near a flower-filled meadow, the queen will follow the scouts to the new hive. Instinctively, all the bees on the bee tree will follow her.

Jordan didn't think there would be any bee trees for tourists to see by Wednesday.

“Those clusters will be gone within 24 to 48 hours if they find a good location,” he said. “After that, there’s nothing you can do to recover them, because tracking them is very hard.

The fact that bee trees can still be seen along U.S. Highway 191 six days after the June 16 crash might indicate the bees are having trouble finding an ideal place for a new home. But it definitely means the colonies can be safely recovered.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Get Those Bees, Please"}]

Within 24 hours of the semitruck incident, people were at the scene removing the damaged honey boxes and trying to recover whatever remained of the bee colonies that had been residing in them.

Jordan said the first 48 hours are crucial in a bee recovery situation like that.

“If you can’t get new hives set up in 48 hours, the queens will migrate and leave a pheromone trail that the bees accommodating her in that hive will follow,” he said. “That’s what the bee trees are: thousands of bees accumulating around the queen.”

That means there’s a small window to safely save these bees before they become permanent Yellowstone residents.

Jordan’s strategy would be to place a mobile swarm trap. It’s basically a column of PVC pipes with buckets attached to either end. The height can be adjusted to get as close as possible to the colony clusters.

“If the bees accumulate in the buckets as a temporary hive, you can relocate them to an apiary and manage them there,” he said. “You can even hold a bucket up to the colony and shake them inside. That’s how you can naturally collect and remove a colony.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"No Bears — Yet"}]

Commercial vehicles like semitrucks are banned in Yellowstone, but U.S. Highway 191 is an exception. It hugs the western boundary of the park and is an important 55-mile thoroughfare between West Yellowstone and Big Sky, 

"They've enacted a temporary 35 mph speed limit on the section where the bees are," Holstein said. "People have to keep their windows up, and there's no stopping until crews can get the remaining bees rounded up."

When the bee trees disappear, it means the bees have found a suitable spot to rebuild their hive. Finding and removing the colony would be difficult, if not impossible, especially in the dangerous wilderness of Yellowstone.

[{"type":"text","text":"After all, who loves honey more than bears?"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"“I haven’t seen any bears,” Holstein said. “Yet.”"}]

Jordan was more concerned about the people who lost their honey boxes and bee colonies. He knew how much money they had lost and must have spent trying to salvage whatever they could from the accident.

“From the way it looks. I’d think about 40-50% of what’s there is salvageable, maybe,” he said. “Each honey box can cost around $500 and generate around $2,000 in honey. 

"There could be two or three owners who lost their livelihood in that accident. That’s at least one whole company that has to rebuild.”

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<title>Millions Of Bees Swarm On Trees In Yellowstone After Hives Smashed In Semi Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Almost a week after a semitruck carrying millions of bees flipped over in Yellowstone National Park and destroyed hundreds of hives, bees are still swarming on trees in the area. “It’s what's called a swarming mechanism,” said a Wyoming beekeeper.

Millions Of Bees Swarm On Trees In Yellowstone After Hives Smashed In Semi Crash

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

Clair McFarland

Law Enforcement

Crime & Courts

Sound surveillance technology has gone largely unnoticed and un-debated in Wyoming while residents clash over video-surveillance license plate reader cameras, like Flock.

ome Wyoming law enforcement agencies use microphone surveillance systems in Cheyenne to detect gunshots, authorities have confirmed.

Gunshot detection sensors are acoustic detection systems built to alert authorities to gunfire and help them locate it. 

ShotSpotter, a prevalent system brand, relies on an artificial intelligence algorithm and network of microphones to identify gunshots.

Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak said his office uses that tech in just one place: the local courthouse.

The Cheyenne Police Department has used shot detection technology and “the microphones can be deployed on our mobile observation platforms at large community events, or in hot spots for crime,” said agency spokeswoman Alexandra Farkas in a Friday text message.

The surveillance video cameras have been far more controversial so far, as Wyoming law enforcement agencies use license plate cameras in at least 

In the audio surveillance world, the prominent brand Flock is now transitioning to train its high-powered microphones to listen for ambiguous sounds like screaming and human distress rather than just gunshots, according to 

[{"type":"text","text":"State of Surveillance calls that expansion “mission creep.”"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Kozak said he hadn’t heard of microphones doing that yet."}]

Kozak in his Friday phone interview said that when he was chief of police for Cheyenne, the agency used the microphones at the huge Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo to locate any gunfire on site quickly.

As for Kozak’s newer role as sheriff, the courthouse is the only place he uses the sound technology, he said.

“(If there are) any shots within the building, it alerts deputies what part of the building,” he said.

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

 a man revving his motorcycle until it pops, prompting a visit from a police officer who said the noise sensors “triangulated” the sound.

Cowboy State Daily has not yet confirmed whether the video depicts a real police encounter.

But for New York City, vehicle exhausts and 

 aren’t false positives: they’re targets. 

 saying the city’s hidden “noise cameras” led to $1.7 million in fines in recent years for things like motorcycle roars, honking horns and blasting music.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Full Scale In Bigger Cities"}]

Gunshot detection sensors are more prevalent in bigger cities, where police not only have a dispatch center but a real crime center for tracking immediate threats and incidents as well, Kozak said.

The sheriff said he recently visited Mesa, Arizona, where he worked prior to 2006, and watched that city’s real crime center track incidents through city cameras.

“If it’s a high-risk call like a shooting or drive-by, something like that, they’ll dispatch drones,” said Kozak.  “They’ll push a button, the drone goes up, responds to the call” and captures images of whoever is leaving or in that area.

“The future is kind of crazy: what’s coming for policing,” said Kozak.

Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny and Fremont County Undersheriff Mike Hutchison both said their agencies don’t use the microphones.

Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr, whose office oversees an area already populated with camera surveillance, did not respond by publication to a Friday voicemail.

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

Rep. Daniel Singh, R-Cheyenne, who has been a vocal critic of the many Flock-brand surveillance cameras in Cheyenne, told Cowboy State Daily that the microphones aren’t as offensive since they’re narrowly focused on picking up the sound of gunfire rather than tracking individuals’ movements. 

But policymakers should still be proactive about putting safeguards around any new surveillance technology people, he said.

Singh co-chairs the Legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology. He said the committee is scheduled to consider digital surveillance privacy policies at its next meeting, set tentatively for July.

“The difference with the Flock camera is the information is identifiable, right? So you have your specific license plate or specific vehicle or what-have-you,” said Singh. “But the microphone, it’s de-identified. … You just know something loud is over there.”

On the topic of mission creep and policy, Singh said, “Well unfortunately, usually policy is reactive, but that “we should try to take a proactive approach to figure out where your rights ought to be protected, instead of learning from trial and error.”

Singh noted how pervasive the government’s surveillance efforts have grown already.

“Should the government be able to hear you in your own home?” asked Singh. “The government has already allowed itself to listen in on this conversation between you and me, if they decide I’m a threat to national security. But in the privacy of your own home, is that the direction you want to let it slide? I don’t think so.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ensure They Don’t Make Us Less Free"}]

Robert Frommer, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice and one of the attorneys urging stronger Fourth Amendment protections with respect to surveillance video cameras, told Cowboy State Daily that his organization hasn’t been as concerned with the microphones because their role is more limited — so far.

But they’re not without issues, he added, noting that he’s heard of false positives and 

. Mission creep is another concern, he said

The city of Chicago announced in 2024 it was ending its contract with SoundThinking, which is 

’s parent company. That was after the systems were criticized for 

“Technologies like Shot Spotter are sold as keeping us safe,” said Frommer. “But it’s the job of courts and legislatures to ensure that they don’t make us less free.”

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<title>We Know Surveillance Cameras Are Being Used, But So Are Surveillance Microphones | Cowboy State Daily</title>

While Wyoming debates surveillance cameras, what's gone largely unsung and un-debated is sound sensor technology. Law enforcement authorities in Cheyenne say they are using noise sensors to detect gunshot sounds. Some worry it could lead to "mission creep.”

We Know Surveillance Cameras Are Being Used, But So Are Surveillance Microphones

Courts

RIVERTON — A 33-year-old Lander man faces up to 42 years in prison and fines in connection with the Wednesday evening Riverton crash in which two people died.

Micheal Odom was already on probation for DUI, police interference, and reckless driving convictions out of Campbell County when the truck he was driving sped through Riverton’s busiest 30 mph thoroughfare at more than 75 mph, Fremont County deputy attorney James Weck told the Lander Circuit Court on Friday.

Odom, who is in custody, appeared in court for his initial hearing that afternoon.

Weck noted that besides the Campbell County convictions, Odom is also on parole for 

heft, burglary, and property destruction felonies out of Natrona County.

Friday’s filing marks his third DUI charge in five years, and Odom tried to flee the scene of the crash, Weck added. 

The prosecutor asked Lander Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Coombs to set Odom’s bond at $5 million cash-only.

Coombs warned Odom that he doesn’t have to incriminate himself, but asked if he wanted to speak about his life in response to Weck’s bond argument.

[{"type":"text","text":"Odom took that opening to apologize instead."}]

“I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life. I do not really know what happened or remember anything. I just apologize to the victims’ family and everything.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Coombs set Odom’s bond at $1 million, cash-only."}]

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

Cowboy State Daily arrived on scene Wednesday to find a white Dodge pickup with front-end damage on its side in the middle of Riverton’s busiest thoroughfare, Federal 

About a half-block away sat the mangled remains of what eyewitnesses said had been a Jeep.

An evidentiary affidavit by Riverton Police Department Officer Jesse Francher, filed by the Fremont County Attorney’s Office, says a 23- or 24-year-old woman lay on the ground at least 20 feet away from the Jeep. 

A man that same age, the Jeep’s passenger, remained inside the vehicle, the document says.

Officers arrived on scene and pulled Odom, who was bleeding, from the pickup.

“While waiting with Odom he was worried that he was going to jail,” wrote Francher. "Odom was very agitated as if he did something wrong.

"I suspected Odom was intoxicated but was unsure if it was caused by the accident or him being under the influence.”

The affidavit says that after a short time on scene, Odom fled and ran to a nearby parking lot “where he ran into a truck.”

It’s unclear if this means Odom ducked into the cab of the truck or collided with the truck.

Officers apprehended and handcuffed him and put him in Francher’s patrol vehicle, the affidavit says.

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

Francher took Odom to SageWest Health Care, where a nurse drew Odom’s blood at 9:13 p.m. — about one hour after the crash.

“I did not apply for a blood warrant first due to the exigent circumstances of a fatal accident and the suspect being injured,” wrote Francher in the affidavit. “I did not read Odom implied consent before the blood draw due to forgetting because of the circumstances at hand.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Francher later applied for a blood search warrant, the document says."}]

“While waiting with Odom, he stated that he was drunk,” wrote Francher.

[{"type":"text","text":"At that point Odom was given his Miranda rights. "}]

The document does not distinguish who interviewed Odom, but says he was asked if he’d been drinking and when.

 two 4-Loco drinks at 7 p.m., the affidavit says. He “was read” implied consent at 10:55 p.m. and did not consent, says the affidavit.

Medical personnel found he had a fractured wrist and fractured orbital floor. 

He was cleared and taken to the police department, where he submitted to a breath test and logged a 0.134% breath-alcohol concentration, the document says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What Happened?"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Meanwhile, another officer interviewed bystanders on scene."}]

The witnesses reportedly said the Jeep was on Webbwood Road, which intersects North Federal 

 and runs along Walmart’s southern lot — and that the Jeep entered the intersection heading west when Odom sped through the red light and struck the Jeep.

The woman, Taylee Dresser, was declared deceased on scene. The man, Gregory Trosper, was taken to the hospital after 

 perceived a “flicker” of his eyes. 

He was declared deceased at SageWest Health Care that night at 1

due to internal bleeding, says the affidavit.

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

[{"type":"text","text":"Coombs read Odom's charges Friday in court. "}]

Those include two alternative counts pertaining to Trosper's death: one accusing Odom of aggravated homicide by vehicle due to being drunk, and the other accusing him of the same but due to driving recklessly. 

Each is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and since they're in the alternative, a jury in this case would have to choose one or the other if it chose to convict Odom. 

The state alleges the same set of alternate charges pertaining to Dresser's death, which makes for another potential 20 years in prison. 

And the state also charged an enhanced DUI misdemeanor that ranges from 30 days to six months in jail and $3,000 in fines; one count of interfering with police ( up to one year and $1,000 in fines); and one count of reckless driving (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines).

Odom's preliminary hearing, where he'd have a chance to argue whether the state has probable cause to keep prosecuting him, is set for June 29 in Lander Circuit Court. 

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<title>Lander Man Faces Homicide Charges, 42 Years In Double Fatal Riverton Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Lander man faces homicide charges and up to 42 years in prison in connection with a Wednesday Riverton crash that killed two people. “I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said in court on Friday. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life.”

Lander Man Faces Homicide Charges, 42 Years In Double Fatal Riverton Crash

Wildlife

When a massive bull bison died next to a busy road in Yellowstone National Park, the park’s rangers, bear management team, and maintenance crews had to get creative to quickly and safely dispose of it.

April Mead, a wildlife photographer based in Gardiner, Montana, spent three hours watching 

 unfold near Canyon Village on Friday morning. A front-end loader was needed to lift the 2,000-pound bison and drop it into a dump truck.

Meanwhile, the bear management team kept everyone safe from the hungry eyes of a determined grizzly.

“The grizzly came back while they were in the process of moving the carcass,” she said. “She was circling the hillside and the corrals. They had to haze her a couple of times before she left.”

Yellowstone rangers used a front-end loader and creativity to get a 2,000-pound bison carcass away from a busy road near Canyon Village on Friday. A wildlife photographer said a grizzly was circling the area determined to have the roadkill for breakfast.

One More For The Road: Wednesday, March 6, 2024

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