Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","text":"We're guessing 500....."}]

Smile 4 26 24

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

<title>Daily Smile: Friday, April 26, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

We're guessing 500.....

Daily Smile: Friday, April 26, 2024

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Wildlife

Less than a month after a man was apparently killed by a grizzly in Glacier National Park in Montana, there were reports of another possible bear attack on a hiker on Thursday.

A “surprise encounter involving a hiker and a bear occurred on the Grinnell Glacier Trail in Glacier National Park,” park spokeswoman Autumn Sifuentes stated in an email to Cowboy State Daily on Friday.

“National Park Service personnel and emergency services responded to the incident. The Grinnell Glacier Trail is temporarily closed and will reopen when deemed appropriate by park staff,” she added.

There was no further information available about the species or size of the bear, or whether the hiker suffered any injuries.

Hiker Devin Dufrene described encountering a distraught man who was screaming about a “bear attack” 

Although he and his sister attempted to get the man to calm down, “he continued running and screaming,” according to SFGate. “Knowing there was an attack up-trail and now a bear approaching from the opposite direction, we decided to ascend up the cliffside and wait for the bear to pass.”

A little later, Dufrene told SFGate that they saw park rangers going in the direction of the reported attack.

In early May, Glacier Park reported its first fatal bear attack since 1998.

Florida resident Anthony Pollio, 33 was reported missing May 4. On May 6, his body was found in a densely wooded area roughly 50 feet from the trail he’d apparently been hiking on.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Busy Year Already"}]

May is usually the first month of widespread grizzly and black bear activity. This year, it’s been a busy month for bear attacks.

On May 4, two brothers were severely injured when they were attacked by a female grizzly with cubs near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.

Also this month, a black bear hunter in Idaho shot and killed a grizzly when it charged him and his son. Wildlife agents deemed the shooting a legitimate case of self-defense.

And on Monday near Squamish, British Columbia, Canada, a man running on a forested trail was attacked and injured by a female black bear with two cubs, 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘The Men Mocked Me’"}]

Outdoor adventurer Michael Hodges was photographing grizzlies in the Glacier Park backcountry on the day that Pollio’s body was discovered about 15 miles away.

Later, he was on the same trail where Thursday’s alleged bear attack was reported.

“I was up on the trail the week of May 6 and saw many grizzlies,” he stated in a text message to Cowboy State Daily.

“I warned hikers from California and Texas at the trailhead that there was an unusual number of griz, and to be extra alert,” stated Hodges, a novelist and internet personality.

“The men mocked me, the women in the group listened,” he added.

Contrary to popular perceptions, grizzlies in Glacier Park aren’t meaner than those elsewhere, bear experts told Cowboy State Daily.

Rather, the area’s thick vegetation and rugged landscape increase the chances of hikers and bears surprising each other at close range.

“For the most part, if bears hear you, see you or smell you, they don’t want to have anything to do with you,” Canadian human-bear conflict prevention expert Kim Titchener said.

She’s hiked in Glacier Park and said she can attest to how conditions there can make it more difficult for bears to sense people approaching.

She added that the landscape around Squamish, where the runner was attacked by a black bear is similar.

“It’s got lots of thick vegetation,” said Titchener, the founder of the Bear Safety and More organization.

And people shouldn’t take for granted that black bears can also be dangerous if they’re surprised at close range, she added.

Retired ecologist Chuck Neal of Cody, who frequently hikes solo in grizzly country, agreed that hiking in Glacier Park demands extra alertness.

“Encounters can happen at just a few yards away” if hikers aren’t paying keen attention, Neal said.

“It’s a high-quality habitat for bears. It’s better habitat for bears than Yellowstone is” and tends to attract a younger crowd, he said.

“Those younger hikers go barreling up those trails without paying that much attention,” Neal said.

Big bear 5 29 26

<title>Glacier Park Reports Second Bear Attack Less Than A Month After Man Killed | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Less than a month after a man was apparently killed by a grizzly in Glacier National Park, there were reports of another possible bear attack on a hiker on Thursday. It was a “surprise encounter involving a hiker and a bear,” said a park official.

Glacier Park Reports Second Bear Attack Less Than A Month After Man Killed

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Reid Rasner’s campaign for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House of Representatives seat is not a satire or a parody, state politicos say.

But if it were, his campaign commercial performances would land an A-grade, a retired drama coach told Cowboy State Daily.

Rasner was among the earliest to declare for what’s now a 10-person GOP primary contest for the House seat, which incumbent Rep. Harriet Hageman is vacating to run for U.S. Senate.

That follows an unsuccessful 2024 bid to unseat longtime U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, and a 2025 publicity splash in which he voiced an effort to buy the social media app TikTok.

Rasner’s campaign videos range from policy discussions, to outright comedic and dramatic acting. His social media presence and output quantity are unrivaled in this race.

 with “No more fat kids!” then urged the nation to revive the presidential fitness test.

 him shouting, “I just watched a man walk into the women’s restroom, come on let’s get him out of here!” before kicking open stall doors in the bathroom, and pulling open the final door to reveal a male holding a sign deriding Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who is one of Rasner’s nine opponents.

[{"type":"text","text":"The male screams, and Rasner barks, “Get the hell outta here!”"}]

 the same vocal inflections as President Donald Trump while voicing outrage at a porta-potty with both male and female restroom insignia on it.

“I can’t believe it, why can’t we just have normal potties?” he asks. “Why do we need a tranny-pottie?

[{"type":"text","text":"Parody, Satire Or Serious?"}]

An ever-growing mountain of commenters asks whether Rasner’s campaign is a parody, or if his videos are satire.

They are not, multiple Wyoming politicos told Cowboy State Daily this week.

“Why would somebody spend this much money on a joke?” said Wyoming state House Appropriations Chair John Bear, R-Gillette. “It’s a real campaign. I don’t believe in his mind it’s a parody.”

Rasner as of April 1 had lent himself about $1.2 million for his federal campaign, and had received another $54,865 in other contributions, Federal Election Commission 

Bear is also the former chair of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which is a group of conservative and controversial state House Republicans.

He said he believes Rasner’s outlandish approach impacts the candidate negatively.

“It’s kind of silly, so I get why people would think it’s a parody,” Bear added.

[{"type":"text","text":"Rasner’s campaign also insists that his campaign is legitimate."}]

Rodger McDaniel, a former legislator who ran a 1982 Senate campaign against Republican incumbent Sen. Malcolm Wallop and participated in multiple other statewide campaigns, said he was tempted to think of the campaign as a parody while watching some of Rasner’s videos.

But Rasner is suing five people for defamation, in four separate, ongoing civil cases.

“Does he really exist?” asked McDaniel. “I guess he must, he sues people that say bad things about him. He must be able to get into a courthouse.”

The campaign is also real, said McDaniel, adding that it’s probably outlandish because of how crowded the GOP field is in this race.

Rasner’s videos show him in a MAGA hat. He speaks and gestures like Trump. His commentary veers hard right on social issues.

“The problem for a Republican in that race is separating yourself from that crowd, and I think that’s how he’s chosen to do it: just to be as outrageous as possible,” McDaniel said. “It’s not enough to say, you know, ‘I’ll support President Trump.’”

Nearly all of Wyoming’s Republican U.S. House candidates who have campaigned publicly have voiced alignment with Trump. One strong outlier is Kevin Christensen, who outright opposed the president’s

McDaniel doesn’t have a background as a theater critic, but Rasner’s performances are “funny,” he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"“It’s Saturday Night Live quality.”  "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"State Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, cast doubt on the parody idea."}]

Like Bear, Yin was reflecting on how much money Rasner has poured into his campaign.

“I think it’s really hard to take him seriously,” said Yin. “But I think the only one that can tell you whether it’s parody or not is him.”

[{"type":"text","text":"So We Asked Him"}]

Rasner’s campaign spokesman Michael Blevins emphasized that Rasner has given concrete policy positions.

, urged a national ban on abortion, a mass deportation policy, a ban on Sharia law, and opposition to wind farms, to name a few.

“The stuff he talks about on social media are things occurring all over the United States (and are) real issues,” said Blevins.

The issues could expand into Wyoming, and “it’s important that we address them before they do, and prevent them,” he said, adding that some of the issues are already here, “and we’ve seen what they’ve done.”

Cowboy State Daily asked why Rasner posted a video of himself kicking in bathroom doors while hunting a man in the women’s bathroom.

“I think everybody will derive their own intent,” said Blevins, reiterating that Rasner is serious in purpose about the issues in his videos.

“It’s critical to be able to get the message across,” said Blevins. “And I think Reid is the only candidate we’ve seen in this case who’s been forward-thinking about policy.”

[{"type":"text","text":"But He Would Have Gotten An ‘A’"}]

Michael Stedillie, a Natrona County resident and now-retired drama teacher of 45 years, graded Rasner’s performance on Thursday.

Rasner gets an A for acting and production, but only if these videos are satire, said Stedillie.

Stedillie laughed out loud while reviewing a slate of six Rasner videos, which included the three mentioned prior in this story, plus:

 zooms gradually on Rasner while he criticizes Gray in a Trump-like vocal cadence and tone;

 there are a “lot of fat comments out there” but that Trump’s doctors told him he’s in “tip-top shape” and he’ll run up a set of stairs to prove it. An obvious body double scales the stairs while Rocky theme music plays. The double high-fives Rasner at the top of the stairs;

, using his signature Trump vocal growl, leans over a garbage can just outside Gray’s office window, and accuses Gray of giving Wyoming land use to “Communist China.”

 to lease state lands for wind farms, but the companies requesting those leases are headquartered in America.

Rasner’s visual shot alignment of the garbage can with Gray’s window is clever; his Trump growl could be subconsciously impactful, and his whole Trump impression is almost always spot-on, Stedillie told Cowboy State Daily.

“If his purpose is to make people think that Donald Trump doesn’t like Chuck Gray, he’s playing the part well,” the drama coach said.

[{"type":"text","text":"But it’s a tightrope, he added."}]

“If a Trump supporter thinks that Reid is trying to lampoon the president’s physical presentation, then they might get upset about it,” Stedillie said. “The other possibility is, (they’ll say) ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool, I like the way he does that.’”

[{"type":"text","text":"Rasner’s energy level is “top notch,” Stedillie added."}]

But, he said the video in which Rasner kicks open bathroom doors is jarring.

Stedillie said performers should coalesce empathy for the hero before depicting him in an act of violence, and that’s not doable in a 15-second video.

“The transgender porta potty was just downright entertaining. It’s going to make people laugh,” said Stedillie. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Ever The Target"}]

Gray is the most frequent target of Rasner’s recent videos. Rasner has repeatedly referenced Gray’s aye-votes for wind leases on state lands, as well as the Wyoming-registered companies that bear names that appear Chinese.  

Gray took Cowboy State Daily’s Friday interview request as a chance to call Rasner a “liberal.”

Rasner had voiced approval toward grants for and fewer restrictions on rooftop solar panel installations when he ran for Las Vegas City Council a decade ago. He’s also voiced 

 centers – a fraught topic in some conservative circles.

Rasner’s performative campaign approach is a distraction “from the truth,” Gray asserted.

“I think he’s just trying to bluff his way into running for the at-large (seat),” Gray began in a phone interview. “The truth is that he’s a very liberal individual. He’s a complete liberal.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Gray claimed Rasner has called for defunding police in the past."}]

Blevins said Gray is "lying" and pointed to a Ballotpedia account of Rasner's Las Vegas City Council run showing Rasner as a staunch supporter of police. 

, Rasner said, rather, he wanted to form alliances with police and the community, and clean up the streets, go after drug dealers rather than users, and curb sex trafficking.

He said at that time that he wanted to ensure the police force has enough staff and equipment to keep the community safe.

[{"type":"text","text":"A Whole Field Out There"}]

Rasner and Gray rise to public attention frequently for their fiery clashes.

[{"type":"text","text":"But they’re not the only candidates in this race."}]

The other eight registered Republican candidates are Teton County philanthropist Steve Friess, Wyoming Senate President Bo Biteman, military veterans David Giralt and Kevin Christensen, Teton County Rancher Frank Chapman, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, former state legislator Keith Goodenough, and Sundance man Richard Dodson.

[{"type":"text","text":"One Democrat, Lisa Kinney, is running for her party’s nomination."}]

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

Libertarian candidate Shawn Johnson, who’s the former vice-mayor of Casper, is vying for his party’s nomination as well. The minor party’s convention is set for Sunday.

Rasner bathroom 5 29 26

<title>Despite His Videos, Wyoming Politicos Say Reid Rasner Campaign Is Not A Parody | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Despite a series of bizarre, controversial and sometimes outrageous campaign videos, Wyoming politicos say Reid Rasner’s campaign for U.S. House is not a parody. “Why would somebody spend this much money on a joke?” said state Rep. John Bear.

Despite His Videos, Wyoming Politicos Say Reid Rasner Campaign Is Not A Parody

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A 24-year-old semitrailer driver accused of slamming into the bed of a pickup and triggering the deadly 2025 Valentine’s Day pileup that closed the Green River Tunnel for months has been criminally charged more 15 months after the explosive crash that killed 

According to court records made available Tuesday, Riaz Ahmad Noori is wanted on two counts of aggravated homicide and one of aggravated assault and battery — all Wyoming felonies each punishable by up to 20 years in prison each if convicted.

The Feb. 14, 2025, crash eventually ballooned into a 26-vehicle catastrophe that filled the westbound Interstate 80 tunnel near Green River with fire, explosions and thick, black smoke.

According to an affidavit written by Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Tyler Chapman, the pileup began when a Toyota Tundra lost traction near the tunnel exit, struck a guardrail and spun back into traffic, blocking most of the right lane and part of the left lane.

Snow had fallen earlier that day, and slush and ice had formed near the tunnel exit where the variable speed limit had already been reduced from 65 mph to 55 mph because of weather conditions, according to 

by the National Transportation Safety Board.

A Pepsi semitrailer then braked and veered left to avoid the disabled pickup, striking the tunnel wall before narrowly missing the Tundra.

Another semi entered the tunnel afterward and jackknifed while attempting to stop, leaving its trailer blocking the right lane and the tractor sideways across the left lane, the affidavit says.

The crash killed Christopher Johnson, 20, and Quentin Romero, 22, both of Rawlins. Another truck driver, 30-year-old Harmanjeet Singh of Nova Scotia, Canada, died after becoming trapped in the post-crash fire.

, reports the affidavit, including a major liver laceration, lacerated spleen, traumatic subdural hemorrhage with loss of consciousness, fractured vertebrae, multiple broken ribs, fractures in her foot and a fractured thumb.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Semi Slammed Into Truck "}]

Investigators say 21-year-old Bradley Coleman was driving a Dodge Ram westbound through the tunnel with passengers Daryn Macy, Christopher Johnson and Quentin Romero.

At roughly the same time, Noori was driving an IGM Logistics Inc. semi westbound approaching the tunnel. According to the affidavit, the Dodge Ram passed the IGM semi on the left before entering the tunnel.

The affidavit states the Ram’s brake lights became visible as it approached the jackknifed semitrailer blocking the roadway ahead.

“Right at the camera timestamp of 11:34:53,” the affidavit states, the Ram “begins to slide, rotating toward the south wall.”

Chapman wrote that the truck’s brake lights were visible, as was the semitrailer blocking the lane ahead.

Investigators say Noori then moved into the left lane, struck the tunnel wall and “overrode the bed” of the Dodge Ram before continuing forward into the disabled tractor-trailer blocking the tunnel.

The affidavit states the “IGM/Ram combination” then struck the disabled Toyota Tundra before crashing into the rear of the Pepsi trailer outside the tunnel.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Tunnel Filled With Fire, Smoke"}]

Federal investigators said several more vehicles crashed after the initial collisions, and a massive fire erupted inside the tunnel.

 who goes by the online handle tophauler0 and narrowly escaped the 

 described the horror inside the tunnel and posted graphic and intense video of the immediate aftermath on social media. 

In one of the videos, screams can be heard from drivers who say they are burning up.

“Oh, this truck is on fire,” tophauler0 said in one of the videos, referring to a truck that crashed in front of him. “I gotta get out of here.”

He then can be seen kicking out the windshield of his semitrailer to escape, while other vehicles in the crash and a fire can be seen burning in the background. 

The trucker’s second video picks up after he’s escaped from the tunnel and clearly shows him just outside the entrance, a huge plume of black smoke billowing out with various law enforcement officers on the scene. 

He goes on to tell the officer that his truck was involved, but was one of the last ones, and it did not get too far into the tunnel.

“I was one of the very last ones, man,” he says. “The truck in front of me was on fire, with that guy dying in there. He’s dead."

Initially, emergency crews could not reach portions of the tunnel because of intense heat, explosions, heavy smoke and falling concrete.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Human Error Was The Primary Factor’"}]

Investigators say road conditions inside the tunnel were dangerously slick because of snow, slush and ice buildup.

Water carried into the tunnel by passing vehicles had frozen on the roadway surface, increasing the distance required for vehicles to stop safely, says the affidavit. 

Even with those conditions, and despite an illuminated 55 mph speed limit sign, investigators allege Noori was traveling between 60 and 65 mph approaching the tunnel.

The affidavit states he slowed closer to the speed limit as he entered the tunnel, but not before colliding with the Ram.

“Human error was the primary factor contributing to these crashes” Chapman concludes in the affidavit. "Notably, 13 vehicles were brought to a controlled stop without striking anything, with five ultimately being struck."

The charging documents were filed in Sweetwater County Circuit Court on May 22. As of Friday afternoon, Noori had not been arrested, but the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office has confirmed there is an active warrant for his arrest.

Noori is also facing separate civil litigation tied to the crash from a wrongful death lawsuit filed in September accusing he and his employer, IGM Logistics Inc., for failing to operate safely in dangerous winter conditions.

"As a direct and proximate result of Defendant Noori's negligence and reckless acts and omissions, Quentin Romero was killed, and his family suffered damages and losses," reads the complaint.

Brewer photo Green River Tunnel 2 2 14 25

<title>Trucker Faces Homicide Charges For 2025 Green River Tunnel Inferno That Killed 3 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A trucker accused of triggering a 26-vehicle crash in the Green River Tunnel in 2025 that killed three people now faces homicide charges. “Human error was the primary factor contributing to these crashes,” says an affidavit supporting the charges filed last week.

Trucker Faces Homicide Charges For 2025 Green River Tunnel Inferno That Killed 3

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Energy

Talks about how to accommodate roughly 1,600 temporary and 250 permanent workers at the TerraPower Nuclear power plant that’s on a fast-track for construction in Kemmerer are heating up.

At least three permanent housing developments are kicking off in Lincoln County’s county seat, along with talks about temporary workforce housing.

The city of about 2,400 people is bracing for explosive growth with the first-of-its-kind sodium-cooled nuclear power plant a month into construction.

Multiple companies are eyeing various properties to build a temporary workforce hub that could house workers when the plant comes online sometime around 2030.

“It’s more than just a man camp,” Kemmerer mayor Robert Bowen told Cowboy State Daily about the vision for the development. “This is living quarters. It’s like a little city within a city.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Requests For Proposals"}]

Bechtel, an engineering, construction and project management company partnering with TerraPower, put out a request for proposal to build workforce housing, said Bowen.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bechtel did not respond to Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment."}]

What the man camp looks like, what it will cost to build and where it is will depend on who is awarded the contract, Bowen said. 

He estimated the project is being considered by between five and seven bidders.

“All the companies have identified different properties they would like to use,” he said.

Some of the properties are in Lincoln County, some are on private property, and others are owned by the city, the mayor said.

“There are too many variables and moving parts to say what’s going happen,” Bowen said “Each bidder is going to have their own proposal.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"They’re not all going to look the same.”"}]

One area being considered for the development is undeveloped city-owned property between the local justice center and the Antelope Ridge subdivision. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Bowen said one developer has shown interest in that land."}]

Not all details of the request for proposals were shared with the city. However, the city council has formally heard about possible details being proposed as part of the project.

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

Bowen stressed that none of the items mentioned are guaranteed to be part of the buildout, but developers are considering adding amenities such as a dining facility that would provide three meals a day to workers, a recreational facility and a cantina.

A cantina, or bar, on a temporary workforce housing site drew mixed reactions from both members of the Lincoln County Planning and Zoning and the Kemmerer City Council.

Some people believe an on-site drinking establishment would lower the risk of drinking and driving because workers would remain at the housing site. 

Others see it as a threat to local bars because a cantina would compete with already-established business.  

The man camp would be an “on-demand buildout,” Bowen said, with the developer creating a base number of housing units and scaling from there according to need.

“Some could be modular. Some could be stick-built. It depends on the bidder,” he said.

Developers are making proposals to build a man camp for the up to 1,600 workers who will build the TerraPower nuclear power plant near Kemmerer. “It’s more than just a man camp. It’s like a little city within a city,” said the mayor.

Daily Smile: Friday, April 26, 2024

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