It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming! I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom, for Friday, May 10th.
Social media giant Meta Platforms Inc. — billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s conglomerate that owns social networking sites Facebook, Instagram, What’sApp and other platforms — is building what could become the largest high-tech project in Wyoming in south Cheyenne.
Cowboy State Daily’s Pat Maio reports that the company chose Wyoming to house its sprawling enterprise data center for a number of reasons.
“There's a major internet trunk line that runs across the state, east to west. And it'll help them get fractionally faster speeds on the internet. So that's good. Secondly, I would argue also that they like the business climate, it's friendly here in Wyoming. And as a data center, there's legislation out there that gives them tax benefits. So there's an incentive there for them to locate here. Thirdly, it's the weather, it's cooler, with the wind blowing all the time. As you know, it's what, May 9 today, and it's raining, I saw snow earlier. That's good for a data center because it keeps it cooler, don't have to use as much water in the cooling system to keep it cool.”
When construction is completed in three years, it could become the largest multibillion-dollar investment ever in a single high-tech project in the Cowboy State.
College students around the United States and other nations have been protesting on university campuses — sometimes violently — as the spring semester draws to a close in support of the Palestinian cause in the Gaza-Israeli war.
But that’s about it for campus activity reacting to the Middle East war. In at least three trade schools in Wyoming, the idea of their students tenting out and protesting for hours or days is not only unheard of, it’s a little bizarre, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland.
“For one thing, even though there's college aged kids working at these trade schools, the structure is different, where there's a lot more field time and a lot less classroom time. For another thing, they're really focused on getting these vocational certifications. And so there's not as much philosophical, political kind of stewing. And then the person who actually was the director of the trucking school said, no, these people aren’t really going to get involved with things that don't directly impact them.”
The University of Wyoming saw a peaceful Gaza-related protest involving about 40 people last week, the university’s spokesman confirmed to Cowboy State Daily.
Jonas Black, a dog trainer with millions of followers on social media, is organizing a 1,300-mile motorcycle rally from Texas to Wyoming in honor of a wolf that was tortured and killed in Daniel.
Outdoors reporter Mark Heinz spoke to Black, who told him that when he heard about the wolf incident in February, he felt he needed to do something.
“He's a very active, very avid biker. And he's named the wolf involved, ‘Hope,’ therefore the title Hogs for Hope. So he and his best friend, what he calls his motorcycle riding Brother, they are going to leave Austin on May 23 with their final destination being the Green River bar in Daniel on May 26. And he said, anyone is welcome to join in anywhere along the journey.”
Black has launched a Gofundme campaign in conjunction with the motorcycle trip. As of press time, it had raised over $24,000 in less than two days. Black said he’s planning to donate all funds from the rally to wildlife groups.
An era is coming to a close. The capital city’s iconic Hitching Post Inn sign, a last remnant of the place-to-be hotel that for decades was known as the “Second Capitol of Wyoming,” began to be dismantled Thursday.
And it appears that it is probably gone for good, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean.
“It's kind of sad, I think, you know, I was driving over to the Hitching Post sign, the skies were just gray, the clouds were hanging really low in the sky. And I thought it just seemed appropriate for the moment, which is so sad to so many people, seeing that sign come down, probably for good. A worker on the site told me that they're probably going to try to take it down easy, but that he didn't expect it to survive. It's made out of tin. So it crumbles easily.”
If successful in saving enough of the sign, the worker said it will probably go to a museum for restoration.
The 2024 crime comedy film “LaRoy, Texas” has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes from more than 40 critics. One small part of that success is a classic heartbreak country song written by a Wyoming musician.
Shawn Hess’s song “World Away” was featured in one of the scenes in what Rotten Tomatoes calls a “satisfying neo-noir treat,” according to Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi.
“The director of the movie approached Hess himself saying that he was a fan of the music and he really wanted the song to be in the movie, which is pretty cool, because there's usually, at least in Hess’s experience, several people who handle the soundtrack. But also, the song is diegetically used in the film, which means that it's not something that's overlaid a scene for the benefit of the audience. The song actually exists in the universe of the movie. It's playing in a jukebox in the corner of a bar in Texas where the main characters are talking.”
Hess said that not only was he flattered to have his song in the movie, but he actually really liked the movie, which isn’t always guaranteed.
And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming’s only statewide newspaper by hitting the subscribe button on cowboystatedaily.com. And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel! I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
