It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming, for Friday, August 16. I’m Wendy Corr, bringing you headlines from the Cowboy State Daily newsroom - brought to you by Outrider PAC. According to a new survey, 79% of Wyoming Voters support Freedom in Education. Learn more about Educational Savings Accounts in Wyoming at OutriderPAC.com
--
Coal continues to see its competitive edge slip in favor of alternative forms of energy, having lost the battle to supply a majority of America’s electricity for the first time during key summer months where the sector has always been a dominant player.
With coal production from Wyoming’s energy-rich Powder River Basin down 25% in the first half of 2024, it should come as no surprise that wind and solar nationwide generated more electricity than coal through the first seven months of the year, according to energy reporter Pat Maio.
“Every year, we're building more and more in turbines and solar farms and as and I quoted some statistics in the article that I wrote on it today, indicating, yeah, there's something like, I don't know, 2100 megawatts of power in the state of Wyoming now that are online for wind, and there's another 3000 plus that's under various stages of getting approved and built in various stages of 100 megawatts plus of solar energy that's going to be coming online in Wyoming.”
The coal industry has stated that it expects some recovery in the second half of the year as utilities work down coal inventories stored next to power plants and contracts to replace supplies trickle in.
Read the full story HERE.
--
Wyoming officials are investigating brake failure as the likely cause of an RV rollover crash on Teton Pass in Wyoming that killed a 72-year-old Nevada woman Wednesday.
The RV did not explode, but the burst of debris from its half roll could have given bystanders the impression that it did, according to Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland.
“The RV was also going down a hill, and it tried to pass several vehicles, and the brakes gave out, and so then the driver pulled off the shoulder, trying to slow down those in the terrain, and the machine the RV jackknifed, and then it rolled onto its roof. And the way it was told to me, those just aren't made to sustain a roll. They're kind of flimsy.”
Of five vehicle occupants, four were injured and one was killed. The deceased has been identified as 72-year-old Kathleen Savko of Nevada. She was sitting on a couch when the crash occurred.
Read the full story HERE.
--
A new wave of luxury homes appears poised to enter the Jackson Hole market. That’s even as the luxury home market in Teton County, the nation’s wealthiest, has shown a significant drop in both inventory and sales.
The two newest luxury homes are offered by The Jackson Home Company, according to business reporter Renee Jean. The company’s latest Jackson Hole listings at $23 million and $24.5 million are the company’s most expensive to date in Wyoming and the West.
“The luxury homes just keep getting bigger and ever more expensive. And these two luxury homes have hit the market at a time when the overall inventory is down by quite a bit. They got all kinds of bells and whistles, outdoor hot tubs, floor to ceiling, fireplaces, five to six bedrooms and square footage, well over 5000 square feet. One of them even has a living roof. Green grass grows on it. But hang on to your wallets if you're interested in this market, because an even bigger luxury home is coming. The same company is working on a home that's going to list in the neighborhood of 65 million.”
Jackson Home Co. has so far built 22 luxury homes in the Jackson Hole Market since 2018, and the company sees it as a time of high demand.
Read the full story HERE.
--
A photo posted to a local Facebook page showing a woman who seated her dog on the seat of a booth at the table of a Rock Springs restaurant has hit a nerve, splitting the community.
Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that some are appalled, calling the act “entitled” and unhygienic, while others clap back, telling people to leave the woman and her dog alone.
“there's so many angles, you know, what if it's a service dog? What if it's an older person, what if it's all she has, versus what if others at the restaurant have allergies or issues. And so I talked to an etiquette expert who said everyone could maybe give a little depending on the circumstances. And I talked to the restaurant owner who of Sapporo, who said he just didn't have the heart to ask someone to part with her dog, not knowing whether she relied on it or what she was going through.”
The Wyoming Department of Agriculture, which oversees restaurant cleanliness standards, bars all animals except service dogs from restaurants.
Read the full story HERE.
--
The Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale is about to demonstrate for the 43rd time why it’s one of the most unique and esteemed Western art auctions in the United States. Western artists covet a spot in the prestigious show, and many cite it as one of the favorite events of their careers. But Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that this will be a bittersweet show for some Wyoming artists who lost an important partner with the burning of Cody's Caleco Foundry in May.
“Cody is renowned as a small town with a great art scene. The Buffalo Bill art show and sale every year is a big part of that. But there is a bit of a twinge of sadness to the show this year because the Caleco bronze foundry, which was one of the only bronze foundries in the state of Wyoming that specializes in the arcane art, if you will, of lost wax casting, which is how they make bronze sculptures - that burned down in May. And a lot of the Wyoming bronze artists who participate in the show, they not only did most of their work at Caleco, they lost a lifetime of work in the form of their molds when the foundry burned down.”
The Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale is a joint fundraiser for the Buffalo Bill Center of the West and the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce. The monthlong gallery exhibit of paintings and sculptures culminates in a live auction held under an enormous tent in the museum's parking lot in September.
Read the full story HERE.
--
And Gus couldn’t cut it on a ranch, but the 20-year-old chestnut horse has found another niche in life as an unofficial cheerleader for Cody Middle School.
By a happy twist of fate, Gus ended up in a small pasture right next to the school, and outdoors reporter Mark Heinz has been told that the horse that is so friendly with people he’s been described as a “1,200-pound dog,” absolutely loves it.
“This horse just loves people. It's it just a fortunate stroke of irony is his property runs up right against the the Cody middle school there, and they say he sits and waits for the bell to ring so he can run up to the fence and see all the kids. Both his owner and the father in law who keeps Gus on his property, have said they started noticing more and more junk in his corral, and then, and then the other day, father in law found a blow dart inside Gus corral, and it could have done some really serious damage to him..”
Though 20 years old is getting up there in age for a horse, his owner says Gus still has plenty of spunk left in him.
Read the full story HERE.
--
And that’s today’s news! For a deeper dive into the people and issues that affect Wyoming, check out The Roundup, conversations with the most interesting people in the Cowboy State. A new episode drops tomorrow, when I have a conversation with Jim Wilkinson from the Cheyenne Frontier Days organization. You can find the link on our website, on our YouTube Channel, and wherever you get your podcasts. And of course, you'll find it in our FREE daily email newsletter!
Thanks for tuning in - I’m Wendy Corr, for Cowboy State Daily.
