It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, July 2nd. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Presented by Cheyenne Frontier Days - starting July 19th, from sun-up to sun-down - there’s something for everyone! Check it out at C-F-D RODEO DOT COM!
Dyno Nobel in Cheyenne made headlines last year when it lost 30 tons of explosive ammonium nitrate. While no official explanation has been offered, it's been posited that the compound somehow leaked out of the rail cars between Cheyenne and Saltdale, California.
Cowboy State Daily’s Pat Maio and two industry experts Monday observed railcars of the chemical the company is holding in the abandoned town of Saltdale - and Pat says the geologists he was with had concerns with the official story.
“The words I heard were, something's wrong with the accounting system. Or secondly, there's no security. I mean, we're talking about tons and tons and tons of ammonium nitrate that's kept behind a barbed wire fence that I drove right into right after the padlock was opened up… the company - Dyno Nobel - the railroad that transported the ammonium nitrate, they're all being quiet about what happened.”
The loss of the fertilizer is concerning to federal law enforcement authorities. Ammonium nitrate was a key chemical used in the bomb that terrorist Timothy McVeigh built to blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995.
Read the full story HERE.
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A retired biologist took the only known video of a rare white bison calf born in Yellowstone on June 4 and he shared it with Cowboy State Daily on Sunday. But nobody has seen the white bison since, according to outdoors reporter Mark Heinz.
“Some Native Americans, some elders from the Sioux Nation did hold a ceremony on - I think it was last week - to commemorate this because it's as you know, Native American Christian tradition. That's a big deal. When a White Bison calf is born, they see it as both a blessing and a warning.”
The odds of a white bison calf are about 1 in a million, according to the Park Service. The agency also stated that there hadn’t been any confirmed sightings of the calf since that first day.
Read the full story HERE.
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Wyoming residents can expect Mother Nature to rain on their parades - along with their barbecues and campouts - for this week’s Fourth of July celebrations.
The Independence Day forecast is cool and damp across Wyoming, and it might last long enough to delay the evening fireworks in some parts on the Fourth, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi.
“Overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning, it's going to be rainy and cold - up to 15 degrees lower than average in northern Wyoming. And then that's going to shift towards southern Wyoming as we go through the day. So it should be gone in time for fireworks that evening, but there's no guarantees.”
There might even be some snow flurries at the highest points of the Beartooth Highway and Bighorn Mountains on Thursday morning. Happy 4th of July, indeed.
Read the full story HERE.
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Former President Donald Trump is largely immune from being prosecuted criminally for official acts he took during his tenure.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the former president is “absolutely immune” from being prosecuted for things he did to fulfill the U.S. Constitution’s presidential duties. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland spoke to Wyoming experts who have opinions on both sides of the issue.
“I spoke to State Representative Ken Chestek, who's a longtime attorney, and has been very invested in this whole process, and he says it could lead to some dystopias… On the other hand, former Wyoming Supreme Court Justice Bill Hill said this is actually correcting the kind of skimpy, not much homework job that the District Court did when this was first brought to it.”
Proponents of Monday’s ruling say it’s vital to prevent political witch hunts and preserve the nation’s separation of governmental powers. Detractors say it places Trump and future presidents above the law, and above the people they’re elected to serve.
Read the full story HERE.
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Gov. Mark Gordon announced Monday that Wyoming will join 25 other states in a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s administration. This time it’s over new EV standards that require auto manufacturers to produce electric vehicles.
Politics reporter Leo Wolfson spoke to local car dealers who say they support the lawsuit.
“I spoke to Dallas Terrell, who owns a major car dealership in Cheyenne, to get his reaction to the lawsuit. And he said he supports it, even though his dealership sells electric vehicles. He believes the federal government should not be putting down mandates that are trying to encourage people to buy electric vehicles and the companies that make them, to make them.”
Under the new rules announced June 7, fuel economy for gas-powered vehicles must increase 2% per year for passenger cars and trucks. Some believe these standards could gradually phase out the production of gas powered vehicles.
Read the full story HERE.
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And a dog found injured and starving in a holding tank in Worland is finding her footing again.
Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi says Libby, as the Wyoming Pit Bull Post Rescue named her, is between 3 and 4 years old, and is still recovering from her ordeal.
“They don't know how Libby - short for Liberty - the dog got into this pit, but it was a concrete lined pit that was several feet deep. They thought it was about over 12 feet down there, they had to get a ladder to go get her… And she's not going to have an issue finding a home because I've gotten a ton of emails of people interested in adopting her and I just wrote the story. So hopefully she's going to find a good home with good people who love her. And from what we hear she's very sweet and just wants to be petted and loved.”
Read the full story HERE.
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Cody police say they busted a local meth lab after a woman reported her boyfriend for cooking the drug in their home.
The woman, 37-year-old Destiny Abate, reportedly said her boyfriend William Hutchins had been acting irrationally and making meth in her home on Bleistein Avenue. However, Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that Abate was also charged with allegedly purchasing some of the materials herself.
“What makes this kind of unusual is we don't see a lot of meth labs in Wyoming. In the Wyoming crime world lately, you know, I see a lot of fentanyl showing up. I see a lot of legitimate use. But the meth lab thing seems a little bit retro and a little unique.”
Hutchins could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
Read the full story HERE.
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Jeff Thomas’ capacities as a volunteer bodyguard for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Reid Rasner - and fire chief of Guernsey - are to serve and protect.
He doesn’t believe incumbent Freedom Caucus Republican Rep. Jeremy Haroldson of Wheatland is doing either of those things consistently enough for Platte County as a whole. So, he’s running for Haroldson’s House District 4 seat, according to politics reporter Leo Wolfson.
“Thomas, who is the Guernsey fire chief, also was friends with Reid Rasner before his campaign started. And he offered Rasner his services as a free volunteer bodyguard, just as a being a good friend type of deal. He said it was just one friend to another, and he decided he would help him out. But it was Rasner who convinced Thomas to enter his name in the run for the state legislature.”
The winner of this year’s Republican primary in HD 4 will take on Democrat Charles Randolph in the general election.
Read the full story HERE.
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There has been a growing push against including fireworks in Independence Day celebrations. Detractors say the noise from fireworks frightens pets, disturbs wildlife and comes with a risk of starting wildfires.
While some cities and towns have replaced Fourth of July fireworks with lighted drone displays, it seems Wyomingites still want to watch things explode in spectacular fashion, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz.
“A lot of our fireworks here are done by small independent contractors, they don't have the money to invest in a drone display… And of course, the other thing that seems to factor into virtually everything in Wyoming is the wind. You know, how well is the drone display going to do in some of the high winds we have here in Wyoming?”
While drone shows have their place, most Wyoming organizers of fireworks displays say they won’t be replacing the traditional pyrotechnics anytime soon.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel.
I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
