You Still Here

[{"type":"text","text":"Every job has its own set of perils...."}]

You still here 6 19 24

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

<title>You Still Here? Wednesday, June 19, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Every job has its own set of perils....

You Still Here? Wednesday, June 19, 2024

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

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

[{"type":"text","text":"The attack ads against governor candidate Sen. Eric Barlow continue."}]

A federal PAC earlier this summer dispatched a TV commercial saying Barlow had voted to allow sex change procedures “to be done on kids” in 2023. The record, conversely, shows that Barlow voted in favor of a child sex-change ban that year.

The new attack ads say Barlow voted to send money to illegal immigrants. He denies making such a gesture, saying his nay votes on two immigration bills were due to the short, rushed nature of the budget-planning sessions that fall on even-numbered years.

“This is getting super wonky,” said Barlow in a Monday phone interview. “It truly is.”

He said the bills he's now being criticized for opposing were either poorly written or rushed - sometimes both. 

"So look, good bills make strong laws that work for the state of Wyoming," said Barlow. "Hastily done things that are less than complete in both their policy approach and their consideration just need more time." 

[{"type":"text","text":"First, The Race"}]

The race for the GOP nomination for governor pits Barlow against Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, retired Marine Corps Col. Brent Bien, and Curt Blake.

[{"type":"text","text":"Barlow, Bien and Degenfelder each gained bragging points last month."}]

Bien won the Wyoming Republican Party’s endorsement, as about 50 members of the party’s state central committee broke tradition to endorse him and other statewide candidates.

For Degenfelder, President Donald Trump reiterated the endorsement he gave her in January.

And Barlow touted the results of a poll, which Cowboy State Daily has reviewed, showing him with a 42% support rating and well above the other candidates.

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

[{"type":"text","text":"Second, The Ads"}]

A federally registered 501(c)4 issue group called Women For Responsible Government Action produced attack ads earlier this summer casting Barlow as liberal on social issues involving kids.

The group claimed Barlow voted to allow sexual orientation and gender identity to be taught to kindergarteners and to allow sex change procedures “to be done on kids.”

[{"type":"text","text":"The record tells a different story."}]

Barlow voted against the 2023 Senate File 111, which would have applied a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison to anyone involved in medically transitioning a child from one gender to another, with exceptions for intersex and other unique situations.

Barlow criticized the bill’s definitions, calling it imprecise. But that same year he voted in favor of “Chloe’s Law” – which sought to strip medical professionals of their licenses for medically transitioning kids.

Barlow had, as the ad notes in a subtext, voted against the 2023 Senate File 117. The bill sought to ban teaching of gender ideology to public-school kids in grades kindergarten through third grade.

But Barlow voted in favor of that bill’s 2024 successor, Senate File 9, which became law.

The sequel legislation bans schools from teaching sexual orientation or gender identity without permission, and compels schools to notify parents if their children experience psychological changes, which may include a newly-voiced transgender identity.

[{"type":"text","text":"He told Cowboy State Daily that the 2024 bill was simply written better."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The PAC Talking About Immigration"}]

Barlow supporters voiced consternation on social media last week and over the weekend, in response to fliers and commercials characterizing him as liberal on immigration.

“Liberal Eric Barlow can’t be trusted with your money,” begins the TV commercial. “Barlow voted to spend Wyoming tax dollars on illegal immigrants.”

The ad cites two bills: the 2016 House Bill 135 and the 2018 House Bill 105.

“Eric Barlow keeps sending your money to illegals,” says the ad, after saying Barlow voted to fund sanctuary communities.

[{"type":"text","text":"Barlow countered in a Monday interview."}]

“None of these votes were about sending money to anybody. They were about restricting how money could be spent,” he said. “I’ve never voted to send money to illegal immigrants. Period. I’ve never had that bill.”

[{"type":"text","text":"The ad touts Degenfelder as fighting for Wyoming families and businesses."}]

Those ads are from a Wyoming-based group, Wyoming’s Turn PAC, which Cheyenne resident Joe Milczewski incorporated on Jan. 14.

Milczewski serves on the board of directors for the Petroleum Association of Wyoming.

The association has endorsed Degenfelder but has nothing to do with this PAC, its spokesman Ryan McConnaughey told Cowboy State Daily in a Monday phone interview.

Barlow said he has had business dealings with Milczewski and thought those went well.

Milczewski did not respond by publication to phone messages placed with the number he listed as an incorporator, or another one listed to him online.

[{"type":"text","text":"Degenfelder is not listed as an incorporator or director of the PAC."}]

Her campaign said prior that she is not affiliated with the federal issues group that had spoken to gender issues. Regarding the state-level PAC with the immigration ads, Degenfelder’s campaign manager Charlotte Jones said, “The campaign has not and is not permitted to communicate or coordinate with outside groups."

“Megan Degenfelder is the only candidate for governor with a proven record of delivering wins for conservatives,” added Jones.

[{"type":"text","text":"Break Down The Bills"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Both immigration votes the ad highlights happened on even-numbered years."}]

That means the legislative session was about 20 days long rather than 40. The Legislature’s top priority in even-numbered years is passing a two-year budget for the state.

Barlow said the rush of a budget session drove both his nay votes, which he cast on the introductory votes before either bill had entered the chamber for full debate.

The Legislature numbered 275 proposed bills in 2016, and 118 of those became law.

Then-Rep. Mark Jennings, R-Sheridan, brought the 2016 bill seeking to ban public benefits for illegal immigrants.

[{"type":"text","text":"Barack Obama was president."}]

Jennings told the House of Representatives on Feb. 12, 2016, that the bill was a response to other states acting to condition eligibility for public benefits on lawful presence in the U.S. The bill had carveouts for emergency medical conditions, disaster relief, public health, soup kitchens, crisis counseling, and short-term shelters.

Rep. Ken Esquibel, D-Cheyenne, asked why the bill didn’t exempt prenatal care as well, since women afraid of seeking prenatal care might end up in emergency birth situations that also cost the public more via Medicaid bills.

[{"type":"text","text":"Jennings said he wanted to add that exemption."}]

The bill died on a 26-33 vote. It needed two-thirds approval to enter the chamber during the budget session. Only Republicans backed it. A mix of Democrats and Republicans opposed it.

That bill was numbered two days before its introduction vote, Barlow noted in his Monday interview.

“This is a significant issue that had implications for local governments,” said Barlow. “We got that bill literally two days before that vote was taken.”

Had it passed, the bill would have added to the duties of local governments by requiring them to verify the lawful presence of each person age 14 or older applying for state, local, or federal public benefits.

Barlow voted in favor this year of a bill, by Senate President Bo Biteman, restricting public welfare benefits across health and family services programs like food stamps, Medicaid and the Power program. He said Biteman worked this bill more carefully during the non-session months.

[{"type":"text","text":"Biteman did not immediately return a voicemail request for comment."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Then Came 2018"}]

In 2018, then-Rep. Chuck Gray, who is now secretary of state, brought a House Bill 105 seeking to ban sanctuary communities by withholding state money from local governments with any sanctuary-style policies.

“We’ve seen a disturbing trend where … cities and counties and states are refusing to follow immigration law and trying to use that as leverage to gain concessions,” said Gray on Feb. 14, 2018.

Two Democratic legislators pressed Gray on whether that was an issue in Wyoming.

[{"type":"text","text":"Gray said he had seen it."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The bill fell short of the two-thirds threshold, 33-26."}]

“There were just big implications in both of these bills,” said Barlow, referencing again the short budget session and, for HB105, the eight-day window from its numbering to its introductory vote.

When Gray resurrected the bill in another budget session in 2020, Barlow voted nay again.

Barlow in the longer 2025 general session voted in favor of a bill to ban sanctuary cities. That bill became law.

[{"type":"text","text":"The Bill The Sheriffs Hated"}]

A Wyoming’s Turn PAC mail flier Cowboy State Daily received Monday also criticizes Barlow for his nay vote on the 2025 bill Senate File 124.

That was a huge immigration bill that would have required all Wyoming sheriffs to work with federal immigration authorities. Even sheriffs who work well with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 

Sheriffs said by requiring them to contract with ICE, the bill put them at a negotiating disadvantage. They also feared small-town sheriffs couldn’t afford ICE’s contracting requirements, which could involve mandatory jail housing.

The bill proved unpopular in the Senate: 10 Republican senators voted in its favor while 20 senators – 18 Republicans, including Barlow – voted to kill it.

Within days of his nay vote on SF 124, Barlow voted in favor of House Bill 133, banning sanctuary cities. He called the latter bill better-written.

Barlow during session 8 3 26

<title>Barlow Says Attack Ads On Sex Changes And Illegal Immigrants Aren't True | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sen. Eric Barlow on Monday said attack ads accusing him of voting to allow sex changes and voting to send money to illegal immigrants are not true. He said the bills he voted against were poorly written or rushed and are being twisted against him.

Barlow Says Attack Ads On Sex Changes And Illegal Immigrants Aren't True

Employee kate meadows cropped

Kate Meadows

Outdoors

Big Horn County Search & Rescue has become one of Wyoming's busiest volunteer emergency organizations at the same time its funding has been cut nearly in half.

Last year, the team responded to 55 rescue calls – almost four times its historical average of about 15 – making it second only to Teton County in call volume. This year, volunteers have already answered 40 calls and are on pace to surpass last year's record.

Yet the organization's county funding dropped from about $106,000 to $50,000 after property-tax reductions squeezed county budgets.

"We lost a lot of money," Big Horn County Search & Rescue Coordinator Jeff Schmidt told Cowboy State Daily from Colorado, where he was helping fight a wildfire.

Additional property-tax reductions being debated by Wyoming lawmakers could tighten those finances even further, he said.

"As call volume goes up, we just have to have more people doing these things," Schmidt said.

Big Horn County Sheriff Jason Beal said county leaders are doing what they can despite increasingly difficult financial realities.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We're navigating a very tight, very critical budget,\" Beal said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Small County With Big Demands"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The challenge facing Big Horn County is unique."}]

Although only about 12,000 people live in the county – which ranks among Wyoming's lowest for median family income – nearly 1 million visitors travel to or through it each year.

Search and rescue volunteers cover more than 3,100 square miles that range from desert badlands to towering alpine peaks, caves and swift mountain rivers.

Three major highways – U.S. Highways 14, 14A and 16 – cross the Big Horn Mountains, carrying thousands of tourists to and from Yellowstone National Park each summer, Beal said.

That variety means volunteers never know what type of rescue they'll face.

One call might involve recovering an injured horseback rider deep in the wilderness. Another could require rescuing stranded climbers from vertical cliffs, navigating caves or performing swift-water rescues during spring runoff.

"We run high-risk missions all the time," Schmidt said. "We have to have tons of training."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Training Comes At A Price"}]

Big Horn County certifies volunteers in high-angle rope rescue, swift-water rescue, cave rescue and other specialized disciplines.

The foundational wilderness rescue course alone requires about 80 hours of training on volunteers' own time and costs roughly $2,000 per person.

Ideally, Schmidt said, the organization would spend $30,000 to $40,000 annually on training alone.

Instead, it has to fund its training from the $50,000 yearly operating budget.

The county also contains more than 200 known caves, adding another layer of technical expertise many search-and-rescue teams elsewhere never need.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Tourism Changes The Mountains"}]

Schmidt said he has watched the backcountry transform over the past several years.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, he said it was unusual to encounter more than a couple dozen people above 11,000 feet in the Big Horn Mountains.

[{"type":"text","text":"Now, he routinely sees hundreds."}]

He attributes much of that increase to outdoor recreation becoming more popular during the pandemic, combined with social media showcasing spectacular mountain scenery.

"People post all these beautiful pictures on social media," he said. "But they don't say, 'Be careful. The mountain really doesn't care what happens to you.'"

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Search Unlike Any Other"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The team's growing workload reached its peak almost exactly one year ago."}]

In August 2025, Big Horn County Search & Rescue launched what Schmidt believes might have been the largest operation in the organization's history after 

38-year-old Minnesota hiker Grant Gardner disappeared

The call came in Aug. 1 — already the team's 31st rescue of the year — but Gardner likely had disappeared several days earlier.

[{"type":"text","text":"At first, rescuers knew only that he had climbed Cloud Peak."}]

Finding him meant searching miles of rugged alpine terrain, including enormous boulder fields riddled with countless crevices where a person could disappear.

"There are literally hundreds of thousands of holes you could drop into," Schmidt said.

[{"type":"text","text":"The mountain's steep terrain complicated every aspect of the operation."}]

Much of Cloud Peak is bordered by sheer cliffs, making it impossible for search teams to simply hike the 11 to 15 miles in and out.

Helicopters frequently inserted exhausted crews onto the mountain and later flew them back after long days covering terrain.

[{"type":"text","text":"Grant’s remains were found Aug. 27."}]

The 29-day search involved more than 220 helicopter flights, five aviation companies, specialized dog teams and assistance from Teton County Search & Rescue.

[{"type":"text","text":"Volunteers logged more than 1,300 hours."}]

Even with a volunteer team, the mission cost Big Horn County about $60,000 – more than the organization's entire current annual budget.

Officials estimated replacing the donated volunteer labor and partner agency assistance with paid resources would have cost roughly $1.7 million.

"There was just a huge amount of resources used on that mission," Schmidt said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Searching For Help"}]

Despite the financial strain, Schmidt said volunteer morale remains strong.

"We've been very fortunate to have a group of young, strong people fit for backcountry hiking," he said. "Some run their own businesses and sacrifice the time."

Volunteer Morgan Dufort has increasingly shifted into fundraising as equipment needs continue to grow.

The organization needs additional rescue gear, technical equipment, training money and vehicles, Dufort said.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Our south location has one working truck,\" Dufort said."}]

That truck carries nearly all of the specialized equipment needed for rope, cave and swift-water rescues.

"If four volunteers respond and rescue two people, they can't fit everyone and all the gear in the truck," Schmidt said. "It would be much better if we were able to split that gear to more than one vehicle."

Those needs helped earn Big Horn County Search & Rescue a spot as one of five finalists nationwide in the 

The winning organization will receive a customized Land Rover Defender 130 SUV along with a $30,000 cash award.

The vehicle seats eight people, can tow up to 9,000 pounds and would allow rescuers to carry both additional personnel and specialized equipment deeper into the backcountry.

"It'll just go more places," Schmidt said. "Everywhere we go with our side-by-side, we could just take the Defender."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Competing For New Vehicle"}]

Public voting for the award continues through Aug. 14. Big Horn County Search and Rescue is contending with Custer County Search & Rescue in Custer, South Dakota, along with search-and-rescue organizations in Tampa, Florida, McLouth, Kansas and Rancho Cucamonga, California.

At the Old Shell Store in Shell, Emily Clark taped a flyer announcing the competition on the counter next to the cash register.

“I’m telling everyone they’ll get a free cookie if they vote,” Clark told Dufort.

Dufort said she hopes the competition also brings to light that one of Wyoming's busiest search-and-rescue organizations is operating with fewer resources than ever.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, the people we talk to in our communities don't know that the organization is under-funded," she said. "If they don't know, they can't help us."

[{"type":"text","text":"Still, she said, the volunteers never hesitate when the pager goes off."}]

"The calls don't stop because the budget gets smaller," she said. "We still have a job to do."

Big Horn County SAR training 4 8 3 26

<title>Big Horn County Search & Rescue Calls Nearly Quadruple While Funding Slashed | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Big Horn County Search & Rescue is second only to Teton County in calls due to booming tourism and uniquely rugged and remote terrain leading to the high-risk missions. But as demand for rescues have quadrupled, the agency's budget has been cut in half.

Big Horn County Search & Rescue Calls Nearly Quadruple While Funding Slashed

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

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Courts

 an 87-pound elderly man with cerebral palsy in her care who’s mostly deaf, mostly blind and wears adult diapers that allegedly hadn’t been changed in 10-14 days has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.

The deal would knock down a felony charge of intentional neglect of a vulnerable adult to a misdemeanor neglect charge.

Under the deal, Colleen Blakesley, 67, will plead guilty or no contest to the lesser charge and, if the judge follows the sentencing recommendation outlined in the agreement, avoid jail time and have a year of unsupervised probation.

A no-contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt, but acknowledges there’s enough evidence to secure a conviction.

Had she been convicted of the felony, Blakesley faced up to 10 years in prison.

She had a hearing on the plea Friday, but paperwork on whether the deal was accepted, and if so, if sentencing had been set, hadn’t been filed by Monday, according to the Hot Springs County District Court.

A call to the county attorney to clarify wasn’t immediately returned. This story will be updated when the results of Friday's hearing are available.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Started With A DFS Report"}]

The man’s condition came to the attention of the Thermopolis Police Department on Feb. 24 when a doctor doing a home visit for the man reported his condition to the Department of Family Services, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Sgt. Nicole Andersen filed in the case.

Andersen and a DFS agent “received a complaint regarding an elderly male being neglected,” the affidavit says. “The complaint included that the male, who wears diapers, had not been changed for 10-14 days. This complaint came from a trained professional.”

They arrived to be hit with “a pungent, strong, foul smell in the home, although the living room area seemed relatively clean,” the affidavit says. “At this time, the victim … was in clean clothes.”

The elderly man isn’t vocal, and a family member told Andersen that he’s deaf, nearly blind and that they communicate with him by tracing letters in his hand, she wrote.

“I observed Robert was very skinny and not mobile,” she added, later documenting that at the hospital, the man “weighed approximately 87 pounds at the time of admission.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Man Was Combative"}]

Blakesley is the legal caregiver for the man, Andersen wrote, adding that Blakesley said he was last changed three days before.

“Upon speaking with Colleen, she advised she had last changed his diaper on Sunday afternoon, but also stated that he had been in the clothing he was observed in by the complainant for approximately two weeks due to him being combative and her not being able to change him,” according to the affidavit.

Blakesley also told police she was aware that the man had multiple sores on his body and had not seen a doctor since August 2024.

While Andersen observed the man in clean clothes, that wasn’t the case when the visiting doctor was at the home earlier that day, the affidavit says. The doctor also provided a photo of the man’s condition.

“In this photo, I observed (the man’s) pants to be extremely soiled and having the appearance of being wet, along with stains on his shirt — to include what appears to be staining near the bottom of the shirt of urine, feces, or both,” the affidavit says.

As the man was transported to a local hospital by ambulance, “I was advised that his condition was highly concerning to both EMS staff and the doctor,” Sergeant Andersen wrote. “I took photos of his wounds while in the hospital, while wearing protective gear as there was a concern of scabies.”

Thermopolis sign and police vehicle 8 3 26

<title>Deal Calls For No Jail For Thermopolis Caregiver Accused Of Neglecting Elderly Man | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Thermopolis woman accused of neglecting an 87-pound elderly man who’s mostly deaf and blind, and wears diapers that allegedly hadn’t been changed in 10-14 days has reached a plea agreement. The deal calls for no jail time and a year of probation.

Deal Calls For No Jail For Thermopolis Caregiver Accused Of Neglecting Elderly Man

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Safety

Inside Rawlins Family Church on Sunday afternoon, worshippers paused when the sound of blaring sirens rushed toward East State Street. 

[{"type":"text","text":"No one inside knew exactly what had happened."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"But Michelle Greer said she knew it was serious."}]

"We started hearing police cars," Greer told Cowboy State Daily. "Then I stepped outside."

Emergency vehicles from surrounded the intersection where a small bicycle lay twisted on the pavement. Nearby, a black tarp answered everyone's immediate question. 

"I was devastated," Greer said. "I work at the school, and I knew it was one of our kids. My heart was just so broken all day yesterday. I just couldn't even really function." 

The Rawlins Police Department confirmed an 8-year-old boy died Sunday after a collision involving a bicycle and a vehicle around 12:21 p.m. near East State Street and Jefferson Avenue. 

Officers from the Rawlins Fire Department, Carbon County Sheriff's Office, Carbon County EMS and the Wyoming Highway Patrol also responded.

A preliminary Wyoming Highway Patrol report says the boy was riding north on Jefferson Street when he possibly failed to stop at a posted stop sign before entering the intersection with East State Street. A Ram 2500 traveling east on State Street struck the child.

Investigators reported the roads were dry, the weather was clear, and the pickup driver was not injured. 

The crash remains under investigation and authorities have not released additional details.

For Greer, the facts mattered less in the immediate aftermath than the overwhelming sense of loss.

A Rawlins churchgoer says her "heart was just so broken" after worshippers stepped outside of Sunday service to find remnants of a bicycle crash that killed an 8-year-old boy. "I work at the school, and I knew it was one of our kids," she said.

You Still Here? Wednesday, June 19, 2024

In case you missed it

More in You Still Here

Steve Inman: Monday, August 3, 2026

Bonus Video 1: Monday, August 3, 2026

Bonus Video 2: Monday, August 3, 2026

Today In Sports: Monday, August 3, 2026

Most read