It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Tuesday, July 30. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - Brought to you by Wyoming Senior Olympics! Don't miss the action at this year's summer games from July 31st through August 4th in Cheyenne, Wyoming. For more info and a schedule of events, visit Wyoming Senior Olympics dot org.
—
Gov. Mark Gordon is trying to take a stand against out-of-state influences in Wyoming politics.
His Prosperity and Commerce political action committee, or PAC, has come online with a new website called Trust But Verify Wyoming, harkening on former President Ronald Reagan’s famous slogan. Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson reports that the PAC has drawn criticism for its endorsement - or lack of - for a certain sector of the legislature.
“Gordon endorsed 49 people on his website.... Not one of them is a member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, the farther right group of Republican legislators to the Wyoming house. I talked to Chairman of the Freedom Caucus, John Bear, he said that was significant and he believes it kind of shows the governor's political leanings. He also found it hypocritical that the website really criticizes out of state influencers of Wyoming elections. Gordon's PAC has received money from pharmaceutical giant Merck and Pfizer in the past.”
The out-of-state influences have been particularly busy during the 2024 primary election cycle in Wyoming, sending out a flood of campaign mailers and text messages targeting candidates for state Legislature races.
Read the full story HERE.
—
People in the military won’t have to eat lab-grown meat any time soon after all.
The U.S. Department of Defense had put out a public call in May requesting proposals for “sustainable food and materials” to reduce emissions related to military operations.
But after intense pressure from groups like the National Cattlemen’s Beef and Wyoming Stock Growers associations - as well as logistical issues - the agency backed off, according to business reporter Renee Jean.
“This product is extremely expensive. According to one of the articles I read, one chicken nugget costs like $50 each… right now it takes 20 to 20 top five times more energy to produce this kind of meat. So I think it's really hard to make the case that this is a thing that we should do right now. Especially for our military troops.”
A Purdue University survey in April found that most consumers who buy chicken and beef products view conventionally produced meat as tastier and healthier than lab-grown meat.
Read the full story HERE.
—
A man who stopped an attacking grizzly in British Columbia, Canada, by punching the bear in the face was just as good as he was lucky.
That’s what some experienced Wyoming outdoorsmen told outdoors reporter Mark Heinz. They said while it’s possible to fight off a grizzly with a stout punch to the snout, it should only be an absolute last-ditch tactic.
“In this case, it was a defensive attack on the Bear’s part, the bear was just trying to protect her cubs. So one good smack to the nose was enough to, you know, they're just like us, they've got a lot of nerves there, it hurts really bad. It was enough to start to scare it off. If the bear had been really determined, like … a predatory attack, it probably wouldn't work.”
Rather than throwing punches, experts recommend playing dead, using bear spray, or shooting the attacking animal.
Read the full story HERE.
—
It’s one thing to come face-to-face with an angry grizzly bear in the wild. Facing one again after already having been mauled before is the ultimate test of facing one’s fears.
That was the experience Northwest College wrestlers Kendell Cummings, Brady Lowry, August Harrison and Orrin Jackson got earlier this summer when they sought out grizzlies in the Alaska wilderness for a documentary about their famous 2022 encounter. Cowboy State Daily’s Leo Wolfson spoke to Cummings about the experience.
“Kendell Cummings… said this really helped him truly overcome any fears he had remaining about going out in the backcountry. He was bluff-charged twice by some of these brown bears up in Alaska. But yet he held his ground and he is actually even planning on doing some guided hunting trips this fall. So it shows he's really kind of overcome what fear he had left.”
A trailer for the movie will be released this fall, which will be followed by the film company shopping the movie to streaming companies. They hope it could start airing by 2025.
Read the full story HERE.
—
A gas station company whose Rock Springs outlet had a mix-up earlier this month of diesel and gasoline in its fuel tanks has apologized and is encouraging anyone with issues to call its customer service team.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland says the Kum-And-Go corporation is offering to pay for any repairs necessary for vehicles who may have been affected.
“They dispatched a very apologetic statement on their customer service line saying that anyone who has issues can give them a call, get that verified, and then get reimbursed for repairs… They said that when they found out they shut the pumps down immediately. And they also said that … customers that they knew who had bought from them, that they started trying to contact them and give them the heads up.”
The mix-up persisted from about 1:45 the afternoon of July 16 through 11 a.m. July 17 at the Kum & Go store on Foothills Boulevard in Rock Springs.
Read the full story HERE.
—
The Lander-based Wyoming chapter of the satirical organization, the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus will do something entirely serious Saturday when it dedicates the cemetery at the historic ghost town of Gebo.
According to Cowboy State Daily’s Jackie Dorothy, many of those graves hold children who died in the coal mining town, many of them from epidemics.
“I personally got interested in the Gebo cemetery from a story that I heard. This gentleman was coming every single Memorial Day to Thermopolis to put flowers on the graves of a little girl and a little boy… there was a diptheria epidemic that went through Gebo, and there was a limited supply of vaccines. And by the time they got to his house, they only had a vaccine for one child. And his parents had to make that heartbreaking decision… And they chose him and he was five years old.. And ultimately, his baby sister and brother both passed away from the epidemic.”
The public presentation of the Gebo coal camp dedication begins at 11a.m. Saturday at the Gebo Cemetery.
Read the full story HERE.
—
Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, told a national publication that she will not seek to ban fracking if she’s elected as the top executive in government.
Harris’s position is a reversal from her previous stance against producing energy from fossil fuels, according to energy reporter Pat Maio.
“She's now okay with fracking, according to a report out of DC, a publication called The Hill, which is very reputable… which is kind of a 180 degree change from where she had been last year. And so that's significant, because, you know, there's a lot of fracking that goes on in Pennsylvania. That's a swing state for her.”
A potential Harris presidency is viewed as being more aggressive than Biden in confronting oil companies on pollution and addressing environmental justice.
Read the full story HERE.
—
A Grand County, Colorado, ranch family is on high alert after they discovered a wolf had been hiding just yards away from their two children and their sheep.
Outdoors reporter Mark Heinz spoke to Jani Phillips Wood, who said there would have been no good options if the wolf had gone for the sheep.
“Their kids will take their lambs out on walks with the dog and tether their lambs to an ATV. And then you know, just slowly drive the ATV around the property to get the lamb some exercise. And the mom said, right after the kids had come back early Thursday, she looked, she saw some movement, looked up and saw a wolf right where the kids had been.”
Knowing that a wolf was so close and potentially stalking her children has ratcheted up the stakes for Wood. She said although shooting wolves is illegal in Colorado, the laws aren’t protecting them in this situation.
Read the full story HERE.
—
Wyoming’s budget has challenges ahead, which is government-speak for saying the state could be facing financial trouble with its legacy coal industry down 25% for the first six months of the year.
Revenue collection for the state of Wyoming is pacing slightly ahead of earlier forecasts , according to Wyoming’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Group, or CREG. However, a challenged energy sector could quickly change that, reports Cowboy State Daily’s Pat Maio.
“They're saying that they should have enough money, it'll be close, it'll be up about 3%, I guess, over what they were saying in January… but there's an expectation that might come in relatively flat, no surpluses around it.”
The final tally on fiscal 2024 revenues will be released with the October 2024 CREG report.
Read the full story HERE.
—
A man found passed out, naked and surrounded by wreckage in a stranger’s home in Alpine now faces felony burglary and theft charges in Lincoln County District Court.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that the homeowner came home at about 8 p.m. June 23rd to find 25-year-old Trenton Dobry-Coons, a complete stranger, passed out in the homeowner’s recliner.
“Dobry-Coons was partying with friends down the hill, and either got upset or walked off for some other reason. Found this nice house, it was left unlocked. (The homeowner told me he's locking his doors now.) And brought some things back to the party. One of the guys said, put that stuff back. And so there was reportedly a fight. And that was when Dobry-Coons is said to have returned to the house and just tore it up.”
In addition to the felony burglary and theft charges, Dobry-Coons is also charged with property destruction and a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession.
Read the full story HERE.
—
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.
Radio Stations
The following radio stations are airing Cowboy State Daily Radio on weekday mornings, afternoons and evenings.
KYDT 103.1 FM – Sundance
KBFS 1450 AM — Sundance
KYCN 1340 AM / 92.7 FM — Wheatland
KZEW 101.7 FM — Wheatland
KANT 104.1 FM — Guernsey
KZQL 105.5 FM — Casper
KMXW 92.5 FM — Casper
KJAX 93.5 FM — Jackson
KROE 930 AM / 103.9 FM — Sheridan
KWYO 1410 AM / 106.9 FM — Sheridan
KYOY 92.3 FM Hillsdale-Cheyenne / 106.9 FM Cheyenne
KRAE 1480 AM — Cheyenne
KDLY 97.5 FM — Lander
KOVE 1330 AM — Lander
KZMQ 100.3/102.3 FM — Cody, Powell, Medicine Wheel, Greybull, Basin, Meeteetse
KKLX 96.1 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep, Greybull
KCGL 104.1 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin, Lovell, Clark, Red Lodge, MT
KTAG 97.9 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin
KCWB 92.1 FM — Cody, Powell, Basin
KVGL 105.7 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Basin, Ten Sleep
KODI 1400 AM / 96.7 FM — Cody, Powell, Lovell, Basin, Clark, Red Lodge
KWOR 1340 AM / 104.7 FM — Worland, Thermopolis, Ten Sleep
KREO 93.5 FM — Sweetwater and Sublette Counties
KERM 98.3 FM — Goshen County
Check with individual radio stations for airtime of the newscasts.
